Psychology

Introduction to research methods used to explore current issues in social psychology. This course provides hands-on learning experiences in research design, data collection and analysis, and reporting of research findings.

Overview of the description, cause and treatment of various psychological disorders of childhood. Prerequisite: PSYC 2700 recommended.

This course is designed to provide an overview of the academic and clinical activities within the field of clinical psychology. Theories, research, psycho therapeutic approaches, and critical professional issues will be explored.

This course provides a broad survey of psychological science on women and girls, addressing such topics as gender stereotypes, gender socialization, love and romantic relationships, sexuality, pregnancy and motherhood, women and work, and violence against women.

Course focus: 1) Background and theories of adolescence, 2) contributions to adolescence from: puberty, intellectual growth, and identify formation, 3) contexts of adolescence: the family situation, peer groups, school, and culture, 4) special topics of adolescence; religious, moral, and sexual development, sex roles, career planning (and achievement), disorders (drugs, delinquency, depression, suicide, etc.). Prerequisite: PSYC 2700 or 6 hours in Psychology.

Infancy is the time of life during which enormous changes take place- newborns are very different from the inquisitive, walking and talking 2-year-old. The following lines of development during the first two years are traced in detail: motor, perceptual, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Environmental influences, including parental behavior are considered, as well as the effect the infant has on caregivers.

Seminars on special and current topics in psychology.

This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of psychology.

Training for undergraduate teaching assistants to promote course material to assist students enrolled in Psyc active learning courses to perform activities designed for the corresponding discussion/lab section.

An original experimental project is undertaken in which each student is responsible for the design and operation of the experiment. S/U grading. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: 14 credits of psychology and instructor permission.

This course will support Psyc RAs in goal setting during their RA work, and help developing professional skills such as grant writing for UVA awards and presenting data at internal and external events.

Topics include the design of independent research projects, ethical considerations in research, computer applications, and preparation for a career in psychology. S/U grading. Prerequisite: Acceptance in Psychology or CogSci Distinguished Majors Program.Enrollment Requirement: You are required to register for PSYC 4970 or PSYC 4980 or COGS 4970 or COGS 4980.

The course will couple real-world internship experience with weekly readings and substantive in-class discussions about psychology-oriented concepts. Students will have the opportunity to reflect on their internship experience, to learn from others, and to make valuable connections between their academic studies and future career paths.

Group Process and Facilitation is a 2-semester, 4- or 5-credit course sequence. In semester 1, students learn background knowledge and skills related to: advanced reflective listening, group processes and management, leadership and facilitation. Students also participate in their own Hoos Connected group. In semester 2, students are eligible to co-facilitate 1-2 Hoos Connected group(s) and also receive weekly group supervision.

Group Process and Facilitation is a 2-semester, 4- or 5-credit course sequence. In semester 1, students learn background knowledge and skills related to: advanced reflective listening, group processes and management, leadership and facilitation. Students also participate in their own Hoos Connected group. In semester 2, students are eligible to co-facilitate 1-2 Hoos Connected group(s) and also receive weekly group supervision.

Learning, Emotions and Motivation will be explored from animal models of clinical conditions, historical case studies in humans of brain-derived emotional disturbances, and current innovations to treat brain disorders. These important discoveries will be presented for students to understand underlying biological and neural mechanisms that mediate adaptive changes to motivate healthy behavior.

Topics include psychological and linguistic theory; experimental and empirical studies of linguistic usage; development of language in infants and children; cross-cultural studies of linguistic usage; and the biology of language.

This course will consider the psychological development and psychosocial issues of deaf people. Topics covered will include cognition, education, hearing and speech perception, impact of family interaction and communication approaches, influence of etiology/genetics, language development, literacy, mental health, social and personality development, interpersonal behavior, and current trends.

This course surveys intimate relationships beginning with animal models and perspectives from evolutionary biology to psychology and ending with a consideration of the many alternative forms of intimate relationships, parenting, and families in contemporary life. The course will integrate basic research with individual, cultural, and other perspectives. Student presentations and papers are a key part of the course.

In this interdisciplinary seminar, we will discuss recent research on autism at multiple levels (biological, cognitive, social) and from multiple perspectives (autistic individuals, scientists, disability studies scholars, families, schools, community/government organizations).

Introduces basic concepts in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurochemistry needed for an understanding of brain and behavior. PSYC 3210 is recommended.

This class provides a hands-on introduction to applied data science in Psychology and Neuroscience with Python. Students will learn to design and code experiments, collect and process data, and analyze and visualize results, all with freely-available, cross-platform, open-source Python libraries. Advanced topics will include applications of optimization, machine learning, and statistics libraries.

The course explores the essential role of memory in everyday life to reveal how successful behaviors are coordinated and executed by information stored in one of six memory systems. The seminar presents a comprehensive understanding of neural processes underlying learning, mechanisms involved in encoding learned material into memory and the events that permit successful recall of life's experiences to interact effectively in the environment.

We will discuss basic concepts in genetics/epigenetics and the role these molecular modifications play in behavior and disorder. We will evaluate empirical papers and learn the molecular techniques described within them. Completion of this course should result in increased knowledge of the use of genome level data in psychology and biology.

The goal of this course is to familiarize you with ideas about empathy, as rooted in basic neuroscience. Topics covered include the separate neural networks underlying emotional versus cognitive empathy, empathy assays designed to measure theory of mind/prosocial/empathetic behavior in humans and animals, and synaptic plasticity. We will investigate creativity and self-regulation as ways to enhance empathy in humans.