A semester-long study of topics in Psychology. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
Systematic exploration of traditional fields of psychology, including biopsychology, sensation and perception, cognitive, learning, developmental, social, personality, and clinical areas. Special attention will be given to the nature of evidence and its interpretation in behavioral science, as well as to ethical considerations and controversies arising in connection with the conduct and application of psychological research.
An examination of the scientific method as applied to psychological research. This course will address issues in theory testing, measurement, experimental and correlational designs and research ethics. The course will also cover descriptive statistics and exploratory data analysis, including graphical and computer-based statistical analysis. Extensive laboratory and writing experience required, with coverage of library search methods and APA style. Laboratory required.
This course is a continuation of PSYC 252W. The course will cover basic and intermediate topics in inferential statistics, including coverage of correlation/regression analysis, ANOVA, effect size and power analysis. The course will emphasize the use of statistical software in the analysis of behavioral science data and will require the students to engage in technical writing of statistical reports.
A semester-long study of topics in Psychology. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
This course is designed to help junior psychology majors begin their exploration of career interests and professional goals. There are two ways students will begin this exploration. First, students will complete vocationally-relevant assessments on personal skills, values, interests, and professional goals. These assessments will be used both to consider possible career paths and to guide students to think intentionally about possible internships. Second, speakers in various psychology-related careers will present information to students about internship opportunities and discuss the experiences, coursework and educational requirements necessary to pursue various psychology-related careers. This course is only offered remotely to accommodate the speakers' schedules and to facilitate conversation between speakers and students.
This is an introductory course in developmental psychology, designed to introduce physical, cognitive, social and emotional changes throughout the life span., We will also discuss the roles of environment and context on development, as well as policy and other practical applications of these concepts.
Developmentalists regard adolescence as a qualitatively special period/state of life which is different than prior childhood or future adult maturity. In contrast, some social historians see adolescence as a recent phenomenon shaped by industrialization and extended formal education which may be more apparent than real. Our interest is concerned with what adolescence means for our times. We will look at how general psychological theories interpret adolescence. We will also consider general issues young people deal with (family, school, employment, etc.), as well as special problems that some adolescents face (ethnic status, gender perspectives, and poverty).
An introduction to the major approaches to studying human personality (e.g., psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive) with emphasis on how traditional personality theories relate to existing and modern research. Assignments will offer opportunities for both self-reflection and analysis of course content.
This course provides an overview of psychological disorders of adults. Utilizing the current diagnostic framework, symptoms of major classes of mental illness such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia will be reviewed. Issues regarding etiology, assessment, and diagnosis will be discussed. The primary focus will be on understanding the nature of disorders, including an in-depth review of empirically-supported scientific theories regarding the development and maintenance of mental health problems. Only minor emphasis will be given to the treatment of disorders.
The study of individual thought and behavior in social contexts. Major content areas include the perception of oneself and others, social judgment and inference processes, attitude formation and change, conformity, altruism, aggression, prejudice and interpersonal attraction. The course emphasizes theory and findings from experimental laboratory research.
When diagnosing psychological disorders, clinicians rely on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). In this class, we will examine the scientific evidence regarding the reliability and validity of the DSM for diagnosing psychological disorders, particularly in children and adolescents. We will begin by considering the concepts of “abnormality” and mental illness as defined in the DSM and then examine child and adolescent disorders found in the DSM with regard to symptom presentation and etiology. Finally, we will evaluate the evidence regarding the reliability and validity of the DSM child and adolescent disorders we review.
A systematic introduction to the nature of the learning process, emphasizing a topical/theoretical orientation. Major topics covered include the historical legacy of neobehaviorism, classic and contemporary Pavlovian conditions, techniques of instrumental learning, the nature of reinforcement, aversive learning, generalization and discrimination, and recent developments in the field. A service learning component is included.
This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of animal cognition and behavior from an evolutionary perspective. Note that while humans are animals, this class will primarily focus on various other animal species. We will explore the evolution and function of several processes, including sensation and perception, emotion, concept formation, learning (classical and instrumental conditioning), remembering, reasoning, social cognition, and communication.
The biological bases of animal behavior will be examined. Neuroanatomical and psychopharmacological techniques will be applied to processes including sleep, emotion, learning, and memory, as well as neuropsychological disorders.
This course will consider the subjects of attention, concept formation, pattern recognition, language, memory, artificial intelligence, creative thinking, problem solving and other aspects of cognition.
This course explores the processes and mechanisms involved in detecting stimuli from the environment and how we perceive information gathered through sensation. Topics include psychophysics, neurophysiology, the visual system, object perception, color vision, sound and audition, touch and pain, and chemosensation (gustation and olfaction).
Much of our knowledge of cognitive processes is derived from cases in which something has "gone wrong" with normal brain activities, either through brain injury or disease. Students will receive an introduction to neurobiological techniques and their application to the study of cognition. Neurological, neuropsychological and developmental abnormalities will be emphasized.
In this course, we will examine how psychology interfaces with legal issues. Topics we will explore include: criminal responsibility, eyewitness memory and testimony, jury selection and jury decision-making, the insanity defense, involuntary civil commitment, forensic evaluation in cases of child sexual abuse, false confessions, profiling, and child custody determinations.
This course allows members of the Psychology Department to offer topical courses, in areas not already part of the curriculum, which can be tailored to meet student and faculty interests. May be repeated for credit.
Note: This course may count in one of the following foundation categories of the Psychology major depending on the topics offered.
PSYC 370A Topics in Psychology: Clinical and Applied
PSYC 370B Topics in Psychology: Biological and Psychophysical Processes
PSYC 370C Topics in Psychology: Cognitive and Learning
PSYC 370D Topics in Psychology: Social, Developmental, and Personality
This course is intended for students who wish to receive credit to work with faculty on research or to study with faculty. Students may earn 1, 2, or 4 semester hours.
A semester-long study of topics in Psychology. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
This course is designed to help students continue their career exploration and professional planning that they began in PSYC 310. This will be done by having students complete personality assessments, by examining their own personal experiences and coursework that have led them to consider particular careers, and by considering in what ways their senior internship experiences provided information they can use to evaluate possible career paths. A main focus of the course is the completion of both a Career Exploration Project and a Career Fit Analysis to evaluate how well their career planning fits their values, skills, interests, professional goals, personality, and internship and other personal experiences.
A semester-long study of topics in Psychology. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
This course represents an opportunity to take a specialized, advanced-level class from a faculty member. Seminar students will complete the senior thesis paper for psychology.
The Senior level Independent Study can be taken as an extension of PSYC 498W for continued work on a research project or at a field internship site. Specifically, research interns may earn independent study credit for conducting advanced analyses on their research results and revising their empirical research reports, e.g., for potential publication. Field interns may earn independent study credit for continuing work at their internship site, in excess of the minimum requirement of 168 hours.
This course provides senior Psychology majors with applied psychological experience obtained through a research internship in which students conduct original research under faculty supervision. Students may not begin their internship hours prior to successful completion of, or concurrent enrollment with PSYC 253.
This course provides senior Psychology majors with applied psychological experience obtained through a field internship at an organization engaging in psychological or related work. Field internships count toward the World Engagement: Community Engaged Learning General Education requirement. Students may not begin their internship hours prior to successful completion of, or concurrent enrollment with, PSYC 253, and concurrent enrollment in PSYC 410 when taking PSYC 498.
Continuation of PSYC 498 for Psychology Honors candidates to complete their scholarly thesis requirement under faculty supervision.
Willamette University