Social Psychology Courses
Development of Gender Roles (3 Credits)
Social, cognitive, hormonal and personality factors in development of gender roles; determinants of behavioral and cognitive gender differences.
Personality (3 Credits)
Review of the contributions to the understanding of normal personality in the theories of the Freudian and other analytical schools; of Allport, of representative behaviorist groups and of constitutional typologists; also, methods of assessing and understanding individual personality.
Social Psychology (3 Credits)
Problems of human experience and behavior in the social context; theories and current methodology in research on the influence of the group on cognitive processes, motivation, personality structure and the self; attitudes and prejudice; leadership; group processes.
The Psychology of Women (3 Credits)
(cross-listed with WGSP 23500)
Psychological functioning of women; sexuality, pregnancy, social roles and status, aging, achievement, life styles, power.
Adolescence (3 Credits)
This course reviews the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes that typically occur during adolescence. Topics include classic and contemporary theories of adolescent development and the interactions between adolescents and their social and cultural environments.
Social Cognition of Gender (3 Credits)
The course examines the social cognitive and motivational processes that a) underpin beliefs about and evaluations of men and women, b) affect behaviors toward and by men and women, and c) change or entrench attitudes and behaviors.
Attitudes and Persuasion (3 Credits)
This course examines both traditional and current theory and research on attitudes and attitude change in social psychology. The first third of the course covers the historical background of the field, the nature of attitudes, problems associated with the measurement of social attitudes and behavior, the conceptual structure and organization of attitudes, and the relation between attitudes and behavior. The middle third of the course explores one of the most-researched topics in attitude research: stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. The final third of the course examines various social psychological theories of attitude change and persuasion, along with their diverse applications.
Advanced Social Psychology Theory and Methods (3 Credits)
In-depth training in the concepts and skills necessary for conducting scientific research in social psychology. Core concepts in social psychology are used as the basis for case-studies in which different methods for examining constructs are illustrated and compared.
Cultural Psychology (3 Credits)
As ours society becomes more multi-cultural, the question of how culture impacts psychological processes is increasingly important. The goal of this course is to expose students to the ways that cultural meanings, practices, and institutions influence and reflect individual human psychologies, with an emphasis on cultural variability in psychological theories and research findings. Topics include but are not limited to: a) What is cultural psychology; b) Research methods in cultural psychology; c) Historical and conceptual issues in cultural psychology d) cross-cultural models of self, attention, perception, morality, memory, human development and health, e) cultural differences in gender effects and f) policy implications of cultural psychology
Current Topics in Social Psychology (3 Credits)
Focuses on contemporary knowledge and issues in the scholarly literature in selected areas within social psychology. Emphases are on interdisciplinary approaches and critical thinking, including links to theoretical, empirical, and applied foundations of the field. Topics vary each term.
