Course Descriptions

This course focuses on psychological issues relevant to death and dying. Topics to be examined include societal attitudes toward death and dying, dealing with loss and grief, memorialization and funerals, relevant legal issues, suicide and life threating behaviour, and the psychological meaning of death.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.

This course examines the social, emotional, moral, cognitive and physical development of typical children from conception to late childhood. Individual development is considered from a psychological perspective within the contexts of family and culture.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.

This course introduces theories and research methods in adolescent development. Attention is given to normative development in physical, cognitive, social and emotional domains. Basic theories underlying adolescent research and strengths and weaknesses of methods in this area will be examined.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.

This course focuses on normal psychological development from maturity to old age. Topics to be examined include consideration of critical issues of research methods; problems of adjustment of the aged such as physical decline, retirement, aloneness, and disengagement; the needs and care of the aged; antecedents of successful aging; the psychology of dying and death; and theories of aging.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.

This course reviews major theories, both historical and contemporary, in the study of personality. Psychoanalytic, social learning, existential-humanistic, and trait perspectives will be covered, along with a discussion of their strengths and limitations.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.
Note: Costs in addition to tuition may apply to Independent Studies sections of this course.

This course reviews major patterns of abnormal behaviour with respect to their origins, course and treatment. The focus is on understanding abnormal behaviour using an integrated knowledge of basic principles of general psychology.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.
Note: PSY 222 recommended.

This course surveys theory and research on cultural issues in psychology, including developmental, cognitive and social psychology. Emphasis is placed on fundamental concepts, theoretical perspectives, and methodological issues pertinent to the study of culture and human behaviour.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.

This course gives students a broad overview of group dynamics and inter-group relations. Topics to be examined may include group decision-making, leadership, conflict and cooperation, collective behaviour, prejudice, and minority-majority relations.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.
Note: Students with credit for PSY 221 cannot take PSY 225 for credit.

This course introduces students to the world of social psychology, one that helps us understand how people think, feel, and behave in their social environments. Historical and contemporary theorizing and core research methods will be reviewed on topics such as stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, aggression, group behaviour, and interpersonal attraction.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.

This course examines topics that fall under the rubric of human sexuality (e.g., sexual and gender diversity, prostitution, and pornography). Particular emphasis is placed on how socio-cultural forces shape individuals' experiences as sexual beings and their interpretations of various sexual practices.

Prerequisite(s): PSY 121 or permission of the instructor.

This course applies psychological theories to the understanding of criminal behaviour. An overview of assessment and treatment issues as they apply to specific types of criminals (e.g., sexual offenders, psychopathic offenders) will also be provided.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.
Note: PSY 222 or 223 or 257 is recommended.

This course examines the role psychology plays in promoting justice within the legal system. Theory, research, and methodology related to the psychology of evidence are also reviewed.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.

This course explores the role of statistics in research including statistical concepts and models (e.g., correlation and analysis of variance). The laboratory component will consist of training in the use of statistical software.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 120.3 or PSY 121.3.
Note: Students with credit for COMM 104, ECON 204, EPSE 441, GEOG 301, SOC 225, STAT 244 or equivalent may not take this course for credit. Refer to Statistics Course Regulations in the Arts & Science section of the Catalogue if intending to use for Arts & Science credit.

This course further examines the role of statistics in research (e.g., multiple regression). The laboratory component will consist of training in the use of statistical software.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 233.3
Note: Four-year and Honours students should take PSY 235 concurrently. Refer to Statistics Course Regulations in the Arts & Science section of the Catalogue if intending to use for Arts & Science credit.

This course introduces students to both experimental and non-experimental research methods and designs used in psychology. The course focuses on the interplay between research questions, theory, the selection of appropriate research procedures and resulting conclusions. The laboratory component will consist of practical training and application of the concepts discussed in class.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 233.3
Note: Four-year and Honours students should take PSY 234 concurrently. Students with credit for PSY 232 or 372 cannot take PSY 235 for credit.

This course introduces students to key concepts from the philosophy of science and from research design and provides a broad overview of contemporary approaches to qualitative inquiry in the discipline of psychology. Students will be introduced to ways of formulating research questions that are suitable for qualitative study; methods for generating qualitative data (e.g., interviews); and ways of analyzing qualitative data (e.g., grounded theory and discourse analysis).

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 120 or PSY 121.

This course examines the language, techniques, concepts and general subject matter of physiological psychology. Topics may include: sensory processes, motor systems, the brain, memory and learning.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 120.

In this course, the human mind and behaviours that emerge as products of the mind will be considered as the outcome of adaptations brought about by natural selection. The evolutionary significance of concepts such as altruism, cooperation and conflict, morality, deceit, self-deception and illness will be examined.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 120.3 or PSY 121.3
Note: Students with credit for PSY 244 cannot take PSY 243 for credit.

This course introduces students to research and theory on the topic of human brain function. Topics include research techniques and strategies, developmental neuropsychology, localization and lateralization of function, recovery of function, and deficits associated with lesions of the neocortex.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 120.

This course surveys the neurophysiological and cognitive mechanisms underlying perception, with special emphasis on vision and hearing. It focuses on the fundamental principles of sensory information processing, including basic structure and function of sensory receptors, neural pathways of sensory systems, and the cognitive processes that organize, identify, and interpret sensory information.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 120.

This courser surveys the major cognitive processes involved in attention, memory, comprehension and production of language, and higher order thinking (reasoning, problem solving, and decision making).

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 120.

This course introduces students to research and theory on the structures and processes involved in human memory. Topics include distinct sensory, short-term, and long-term memory stores, the format of representation in memory, and the determinants of effective memory performance.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 120.

This course explores and evaluates theories and research involving the psychology of language. Broadly defined, the topics will include visual and auditory language issues regarding encoding, representation, comprehension, production, acquisition, biological foundations, dysfunction, and cultural influences.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 120.

This course reviews relevant topics in clinical and counselling psychology, including psycho-diagnostic testing, and the major approaches to therapeutic change.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.
Note: Students with credit for PSY 357 cannot take PSY 257 for credit.

This course focuses on psychological theories and research related to the development, prevention and treatment of illness. Topics covered may include the effects of stress on health, coping with pain, the physician-patient relationship, patient non-compliance, and a variety of risky health behaviours such as substance abuse.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.3
Note: Students who have taken PSY 360 cannot take PSY 260 for credit.

This course introduces psychological theories and research on the effects of the physical and social environments on human behaviour. The design and evaluation of changes which might promote adaptive behaviour are also examined.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): PSY 121.
Note: Students who have taken PSY 360 may not take this course for credit.

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours