PSYC 001 Introduction to Psychology (Prerequisite for PSYC Major) - Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1 & T2

This course is designed to introduce students to the scientific study of behavior. It includes the topics of the structure and functions of the brain and its influence on behavior, perception, learning, memory, motivation, intelligence, personality theories, the cognitive, physical and social development through the life course, abnormal behavior and its treatment, and social behavior and interaction. This course requires active learning and this is reflected in the structure of assessments.

PSYC110 Psychology Research Methods I (Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1 & T2)

Psychology experiments can range from simple to complex, but there are some basic terms and concepts that all students of psychology should understand. This course introduces students to the core methodological concepts and procedures used in empirical research in psychology.

The course will cover basic research methods in psychology, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Basic issues relating to the formulation of research questions, hypothesis generation and testing, research design, measurement, descriptive and inferential statistics, and ethical principles will be discussed. Applications in various areas of psychology will be used to illustrate these issues.

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*STAT101 is not a pre-requisite to PSYC110. Please always refer to the pre-requisite stated in BOSS as pre-requisites could change over time.​

Do also note that SSMR001 Research Methods in Social Sciences is an inactive course. IDIS100 Research Methods in Sociology and Political Sciences cannot be taken in lieu of PSYC110. Students who wish to do psychology electives must take PSYC110.

PSYC208 Psychology Research Methods II (Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1 & T2)

This course builds on the methodological concepts and procedures discussed in PSYC110. It aims to equip students with the essential knowledge and skills for conducting and evaluating empirical research in psychology. Students will be provided with hands-on experience in carrying out a psychological experiment from designing the study to data collection and data analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Statistical methods are a big part of the course— but these will be learned in the context of psychological research. As much as possible, we will try to conduct in-class experiments and surveys and learn about statistics by analyzing these data immediately after they are collected.

PSYC102 Abnormal Psychology (Offered in AY2016 - 2017, T2)

Many students have preconceived notions (some true, some not) about the various mental illnesses. In this course, we seek to separate fact from fiction. We take a scientific look at the major psychological disorders that are classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The course is not intended to provide practical training in clinical diagnosis, but rather to familiarize students with the major research and theories in the field of psychopathology and a broad understanding of mental health problems.

PSYC 103 Cognitive Psychology (Offered in AY2016 - 2017, T2)

Cognitive psychology is a bridge between basic physiological processes involving brain mechanisms and all of the complex human behaviors. Cognitive psychology involves the study of mental processes. Our focus will be on the fundamental processes of information acquisition and utilization. Basically we will study how information gets into our cognitive system, how it is represented within this system, and how it gets utilized within complex cognitive processing. It involves areas such as perception, attention, learning, memory, knowledge, language, reasoning, problem solving, decision making, and many other topics.

PSYC 104 Developmental Psychology (Offered in AY2016 - 2017, T2)

This course provides a general survey of developmental processes that influence the growth of the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional aspects of the person throughout the lifespan. The content is drawn from research and theories in developmental psychology. Implications for parenting, education, and social policy making will be discussed so that students can apply course information to meaningful problems.

PSYC105 Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1)

This course is intended to be a survey of Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology. Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology is an applied discipline devoted to the discovery and application of principles of psychology to workplace issues. You will learn about the various theories used and developed by I/O psychologists, and will discuss some of this research in detail. You will also explore the ways in which I/O psychologists apply these theories in the “real world.” Discussions in class will be based on information found in the textbook as well as many other topics and research studies that go above and beyond the text. Exams will be based on information presented in class as well as the information from the textbook.

PSYC107 Psychology of Individual Differences (Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1)

This course will review how psychologists study and measure personality, as well as the historical and contemporary theoretical perspectives of personality. The student will develop a sound understanding of the concept of personality and be challenged to think about personality as it relates to daily life and work environment.

PSYC108 Social Psychology (Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1)

Social psychology is the scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people. The field of social psychology covers a broad range of topics with far-reaching practical implications. This course will provide you with an introduction to the basic principles, theories, and research results of social psychology. We will cover topics such as person perception, social thinking, attitudes and persuasion, prejudice, love, hate, helping, hurting, group decision making - just to name a few.

PSYC109 Psychology of Group Processes and Decision Making (Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1)

This course is designed to provide a foundation in scientific literature for understanding groups and inter-group processes from an organizational psychological perspective. The current course will be especially concerned with behaviors in groups or teams with specific tasks to perform, like solving a problem, reaching a decision, or resolving a conflict. Examples of key topic areas include social loafing, polarization, groupthink, information sharing, inter-group conflicts, and crowd. This course encourages students to identify and solve practical problems related to work groups and teams in organizations. Throughout the semester, we want to ask the question of how to communicate and present our knowledge to influence policies and practices for effective team process utilization in the real world.

PSYC111: Subjective well being (The Science of Happiness)

This course is designed to provide students with a foundation in the scientific literature on happiness, or subjective well-being. In particular, the course will cover questions about the measurement of happiness, the causes and consequences of happiness, happiness interventions, and happiness as an aim for society. The course will focus on rigorous scientific evidence, not self-help books or anecdotal evidence.

The course does not aim to make students happier (although I would be pleased if it does!).

PSYC112 Health Psychology (Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1)

This course is designed to provide students with a foundation in the scientific literature and key concepts related to health psychology. In particular the course will examine health-related behaviors and evaluate interventions aimed at modifying or promoting these behaviors. Topics will include health and wellness promotion, stress, coping and resilience and psychological issues with managing chronic and terminal illnesses. This course requires active learning and engagement.

PSYC201 Psychometrics and Psychology Testing (Pre-requisites: PSYC001 Introduction to Psychology, PSYC110 Psychology Research Methods One, and at least one PSYC100 level course)

On the Internet, you’ll find hundreds of tests that claim to measure your personality, attitudes, or intelligence. On-line polls are also popular on websites and in newspapers. An important question is, “Are these tests any good?” That’s what psychometrics is all about. Psychometrics is a scientific approach to evaluating how well we are measuring a psychological concept. This course covers the measurement principles and data analysis techniques associated with the development, validation, and use of psychological tests such as personality tests, measures of attitudes and values, and intelligence tests. In this course, you will work on a group project to develop a personality test. This project will give you hands-on learning of such topics as test construction, reliability assessments, test validation strategies, and factor analysis. We will also discuss issues like psychometric test bias and social fairness, implementing psychometric measures and assessing practical outcomes, and professional and ethical issues in psychological testing.

PSYC202 Cultural Psychology

For a long time, the field of psychology makes timeless and universal claims about human behavior and consciousness. Yet psychology is rooted in particular cultural and historical circumstances, is informed by values, ideas, and conceptions of the mind that are specific to social and cultural groups. In this course, we will consider current theories and research on culture, race, and ethnicity. You will gain a better understanding of the ways in which socio-cultural contexts influence psychological processes, learn about empirical methods in cultural psychology, and achieve a better appreciation of cultural groups in different areas of the world. You will also learn how to consider issues of culture in the interpretation of personal experiences and in the application of cultural diversity issues to various settings.

The course aims to achieve three goals: a. to enhance the students' awareness of the balance between the social and biological substrates of human behavior; b. to increase the students' sensitivity to problems of intercultural conflict; and c. to facilitate the students’ learning on the basics of successful cultural psychology research as well as the students’ competency of examining cultural psychological theory and application in the cross-cultural context.

Some of the topics that will be covered in this course are following:

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- What is culture?​

- Cross-cultural research method

- Culture and self

- Culture and emotion

- Culture and cognition

- Culture and social behavior

- Acculturation and multiple cultural identities

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This is a 200 level course with several pre-requisites. As such, this course requires that you assume the responsibility of your learning by being able to carry the workload with proper guidance from the instructor but no constant hand-holding. You are expected to read, study, and critically think about all the materials in the textbook, the journal articles and any other assigned readings, even if those are not covered in the class lectures, discussions, or exercises. You are also expected to engage in and initiate theoretical and research discussions. The aforementioned form the basis for the design of the class sessions and assessments.

PSYC 204 Psychology of Reasoning and Thinking (Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1)

People often have difficulty in evaluating and making choices because they may be afraid of making a bad decision or of taking risks. They may be unsure about how to make tradeoffs (e.g. price versus quality), or they may feel overwhelmed by too many different options and alternatives. With limited cognitive capability, most people find their decision-making processes challenging. To make you a better decision maker, we will cover topics such as judgments of risk and uncertainty, emotional decision making, heuristics/biases, and creative thinking processes. In addition, we will connect decision-making theories to other areas of application, such as negotiation, consumer behaviour, and team processes. This class will help identify heuristic thinking and decision-making biases and will facilitate optimal decision making.

PSYC 205 Evolutionary Psychology

People often have difficulty in evaluating and making choices because they may be afraid of making a bad decision or of taking risks. They may be unsure about how to make tradeoffs (e.g. price versus quality), or they may feel overwhelmed by too many different options and alternatives. With limited cognitive capability, most people find their decision-making processes challenging. To make you a better decision maker, we will cover topics such as judgments of risk and uncertainty, emotional decision making, heuristics/biases, and creative thinking processes. In addition, we will connect decision-making theories to other areas of application, such as negotiation, consumer behaviour, and team processes. This class will help identify heuristic thinking and decision-making biases and will facilitate optimal decision making.

PSYC 207 Psychology of Motivation (Offered in AY 2016 - 2017 T1)

Our motivation energizes us to achieve a desired end state. In psychology, motivation research is connected to a broad range of topics with far-reaching practical implications. This course will provide you with an introduction to the basic theories, principles, and empirical findings of the psychology of motivation. After establishing a common ground of knowledge on the basic theories and processes of motivation, we will explore how this knowledge can be applied to understanding a diverse set of psychological phenomena such as self-regulation, self-enhancement motive, persuasion, decision-making, resource allocation, negotiation, and cultural processes. In this class, you will engage in a group practicum project to apply the motivation theories and concepts in a mentorship exercise, with the aim to motivate your mentee to achieve his/her goal (e.g., doing regular exercise, dieting, learning a sport, earning a desired midterm grade).