Academics

Psychology

 

Tom Toleno

Psychology is one of the offerings in the Social Sciences. Psychology is distinguished from other fields by its emphasis on a person's individual experience in understanding phenomena. Historically, a number of perspectives have arisen and thus there are many sub-fields in and approaches to psychology.

Psychology is an offering within a traditional liberal arts curriculum; thus it is not necessary to prepare for it as if it were a major. It may be for some, but it is not necessarily for many. Students are encouraged to study broadly, to follow issues, phenomena, and problems across disciplines in the social sciences, and even across fields as in interdisciplinary projects. For example, students have combined psychology and the arts, especially theater, dance, and the visual arts. Other combinations have included biology and psychology, humanities and psychology – especially literature, history, and philosophy.

Those students who choose to prepare for a graduate program find that there are different requirements, depending on the kind of graduate work intended. Those studying to be counselors have a different set of priorities than those studying developmental psychology. Students who want to study education also have different priorities.

  1. If you are just beginning psychology, and you have a liberal arts agenda, sample from the list of introductory and intermediate courses, and sample from history, literature, philosophy, biology, and any of the other social sciences.
  2. If you have some focus, then some combinations will make more sense than others. Do not try to do it all; you will miss too many opportunities to broaden out your interest. Your focus may lead to one of four tracks: counseling, developmental psychology, experimental psychology, or education.
  3. If you are thinking of graduate school, you need some basic, intermediate, and advanced courses and tutorials. A graduate school will want to see history and theory of psychology, two classes in perception, cognition, or linguistics, social psychology, and statistics.
  4. Talk to the faculty about your interests. Begin with any basic introductory offering in the social sciences (e.g., anthropology, sociology, or psychology). If you want a specific introduction to psychology, consider "Persistent Problems of Psychology," an introductory history and theory course focusing on four major perspectives of the field. Otherwise, jump in to a specific area of interest at the introductory or intermediate level. Study broadly; you will most likely end up using courses you never thought were connected (e.g., Economics, American studies, Religion, Literature, Philosophy, and Color Seminar.)

Starting Points (Basic and Introductory Courses)

Persistent Problems in Psychology (SSC34)
An introduction to the history and theory of psychology, offering a survey of psychology's major perspectives. (Introductory)

Educational Psychology (SSC120)
This course examines the application of learning, motivation, and cognitive theories to educational psychology. (Introductory)

Psychology & Literature (SSC60)
An examination of the works of Carl Gustav Jung and the Post-Jungian movement. The course addresses the impact of his thought on psychology and on literature. (Introductory)

Pursuing Interests (Intermediate and Thematic Courses)

Adolescence & the Family (SSC196)
An examination of the family and the emerging adolescent in the family. (Intermediate)

Abnormal Psychology (SSC108)
An analysis of the major approaches to abnormal psychology and the resulting theories of personality. (Intermediate)

Educational Psychology (SSC120)
This course examines the application of learning, motivation, and cognitive theories in resolving the angst in educational settings. (Text: The Promise of Educational Psychology by Richard E. Mayer) (Intermediate)

Theories of Personality (SSC147)
Major theories of personality are discussed and compared. The emphasis is on the underlying assumptions regarding persons and the therapies and psychotherapies which have emerged. (Advanced)

Self in Social Interaction (SSC133)
An historical and philosophical investigation of the self which examines how social theories make use of the concept. Various approaches are examined, ranging from psychological theory (Freud, James, Skinner, Maslow, and Rogers) to sociological theory (G.H. Mead, Erickson, Goffman, Parsons) and to philosophy (S.S. Shoemaker and Ned Block).(Advanced)

Cognition: Memory & Attention (SSC112)
A survey of various approaches to cognition, examining human processes; e.g., memory, attention, thinking. (Intermediate)

Perception of the Environment (SSC50)
A study of the physiology and psychology of perception, the means by which we maintain contact with and obtain knowledge about the environment. Participants will be required to conduct a series of empirical projects throughout the semester. (Intermediate)

Seminar on Religion (SSC225)
An introduction to some of the discussion which psychologists have made to the study of religion. Some emphasis will be placed on the debate around "pure consciousness" (e.g., James, Katz, Forman), and the questions of "evil in the world." Fourth credit requires a major paper.

Seminar on Play (SSC469)

Seminar in Aesthetics (SSC447)

Participatory Observation (SSC249)
A course on method, emphasizing participant observation in field situations.

Areas Of Interest For Plan-Level Work

Sample Tutorial Topics