Psychology

Fall
This course is designed to introduce knowledge and practical skills to effectively work with individuals receiving treatment with chemical dependency and/or substance use disorder (SUD). Students will explore the nature of substance use to gain insight on physiological and psychological aspects of chemical dependency. Students will become familiar with evidence-based intervention and treatment options including concepts of motivational interviewing skills, cognitive-behavioral therapy, additional skills training and 12-step facilitation. In this course students will explore step-by-step approaches to treatment with an emphasis on some of the issues surrounding aspects of treatment of chemical dependency and/or SUD. 

Fall
This course is an introduction to research in Human Services and the Behavioral Sciences. Students learn conceptual foundations of psychological research, including the nature of psychology as a science, the ethics of research, research designs, the nature of research variables, and the logic of research design and statistical analysis. Topics include empirical, qualitative, survey research, and program evaluation. Students complete the course through a demonstration of their empirical writing skills with an APA formatted research proposal.

Fall, Spring, Summer
This course is a general introduction to the scientific study of the brain, behavior, and mental processes of humans and animals, with emphasis on the goals of psychology: to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior. Students examine the substance of psychology such as biopsychology, sensation and perception, learning, memory, cognitive processes, affective behaviors, and mental illness through an examination of the theories, principles, and methods of research used in the field. Examples and applications enable the student to acquire the elements of critical thinking as adapted to the research environment. Students produce an APA formatted research paper. This course applies the fundamental principles of psychology as a natural science. Students explore current research through reading original empirical research and write an APA formatted analytic research paper.
 

Spring
Educational Psychology is the study of individual behaviors in an environment where instruction takes place. This course provides the foundational theories, tools, and techniques of classroom instruction and management strategies. Students will also study what makes a good teacher, the role of research in education, effective program development, assessment, theories of learning, diversity, motivation, and learning environments.
 

Fall, Spring, Summer
This course covers various aspects of human development across the life span. It focuses on theoretical issues, developmental tasks, human differences, and applications of the knowledge with the area of human development. Human development is a broad field that looks at the changes, processes, and challenges encountered in daily living. Life span development examines the body of knowledge we call development. This course will expose students to the wide range of environmental factors, from physical to multicultural, aging, typical and atypical interactions between the organism and the environment, the normal and the challenges, and the success and the failures of living.

Spring
This course will focus on the basic principles and procedures of behavior modification. It is designed to introduce the student to some of the theoretical aspects of the subject, but primarily to focus on "how-to" skills such as analyzing behavior, interpreting it in behavioral terms, writing behaviorally, and developing behavioral programs.

As Needed
This course is an exploration of how psychology, the science of behavior and mental processes, is applied in the workplace. The field of Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology embraces two broad, closely related, and overlapping scientific approaches to the psychology of work. Organizational psychologists work at the level of the organization. Some conduct research, others occupy staff positions, and still others serve as consultants on matters of leadership, job satisfaction, worker motivation, organizational communication, conflict management, organizational change, and group processes. Industrial psychologists work at the personnel, employee relations, and human resources level. They practice psychology within the work setting, are heavily involved with data and statistics, and engage in a variety of activities including recruitment and interviewing, selection and placement, job analysis and evaluation, training and development, performance appraisal, compliance with state and federal laws, and participation in litigation. Both areas of I/O psychology rely on scientific research methods to advance knowledge through the design, implementation, and evaluation of various processes. The focus in this course will be on industrial and organizational psychology, specifically job analysis, description, and evaluation; employee selection; performance evaluation; motivation; job satisfaction; leadership; and group and team development. The course will include reading, writing, discussion, exercises, and research.

Spring, Summer
This course examines behaviors currently described as psychological disorders, as well as theoretical, clinical, and experimental perspectives of the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychopathology. Emphasis is placed on terminology, classification, etiology, assessment, and treatment of the major disorders. Upon completion, students should be able to distinguish between normal and abnormal behavior patterns, as well as demonstrate knowledge of etiology, symptoms, and therapeutic techniques. Students explore current research through reading original empirical research.

Spring
This upper-level course examines the implications of living longer, applying the biopsychosocial model to the study of the aging process from several cultural and contextual perspectives. A variety of attitudes, myths and stereotypes about aging are discussed. Aging is viewed from the perspective of America's past view of the elderly to an emerging view of the elder individual as an important contributor to society. A strengths approach to the aging process is examined and contrasted against the usual medical model of aging. The course examines aging issues with special emphasis on the supportive role of the Human Services worker in the area of mental health. Current research and research methods are integrated into the coursework through writing assignments. Service-learning may be required.

Spring
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the study of death and dying, covering the key issues and questions in the field.  We look at the personal and social attitudes regarding death in our society as well as those of other cultures and times.  This class draws upon sociological, psychological, anthropological, historical, medical, and spiritual investigations into the subject of death.  As you review your textbook, you will find coverage of death-related issues ranging from personal confrontations with mortality to the study of large-scale encounters with death such as disaster and terrorism.

Fall
This course is a general introduction to the profession of counseling with emphasis on ethics and the client/counselor relationship. Students examine the role and function of the counselor, self-reflection, and current issues in counseling. Examples and applications enable the student to acquire the elements of critical thinking as adapted to the research environment. Students produce an APA formatted research paper. Students explore current research through reading original empirical research.

Fall
This course presents the fundamental concepts and computational techniques of elementary statistics. Topics studied include statistical graphs, measures of central tendency, standard deviation, percentiles, probability, binomial and normal distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and linear correlation/regression. Students will use a statistical software package to obtain basic sample statistics and graphs for data analysis; a calculator may be used for routine computations.