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Lasell University
Lasell University

2015 - 2016 Academic Catalog

Psychology Minor

The Psychology minor consists of six courses and is available to all non-Social Science students.
Course Code Course Title Credits
Core Courses
MATH208 Statistics 3
PSYC101 Psychological Perspectives (KP) 3
Choose 1 from the following:
PSYC111 Generations in America 3
PSYC221 Child Development 3
PSYC223 Adolescent Psychology 3
Choose 1 from the following:
PSYC202 Psychology of Personality 3
PSYC220 Social Psychology 3
PSYC302 Biological Basis of Behavior 3
PSYC318 Abnormal Psychology 3
PSYC323 Brain Function & Dysfunction 3
PSYC328 Cognitive Processes 3
PSYC331 Experimental Design in Psychology 4
PSYC345 Assessment of Individual Differences 3
Choose 2 from the following:
CJ309 Children & Violence 3
COM321 Media & Children 3
ENG235 From Sounds to Sentences 3

Two elective courses to be selected from any 200 level or above Psychology course given by the Social Sciences department: 6 credits

Students who are considering graduate work in Psychology are strongly urged to take PSYC 331: Experimental Design in Psychology

Credit Requirements for minor: 18 credits.

MATH208 - Statistics

This is an introductory course in descriptive and inferential statistics with an emphasis on applications in business and the social and biological sciences. Topics include: data analysis, and graphical methods of describing data, measures of central tendency and variability, probability, the normal distribution, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression analysis. Prerequisites: MATH 106 with a grade of C or better or demonstrated competency through placement testing and ENG 102.

PSYC101 - Psychological Perspectives (KP)

In this course, students learn to think like psychologists as they study classic and contemporary topics in human behavior, feeling, and thought. Students learn to apply psychological perspectives of thought, including biological, cognitive, sociocultural, humanistic, psychodynamic, and behaviorist, to better understand the human experience. Students will learn to use these perspectives to explore how individual behavior is influenced by and influences one’s biology, family, community and society. Topics may include human development, personality, psychopathology, human relationships, language, memory, perceptual processes, and intelligence, among others.

PSYC111 - Generations in America

This course offers a social-developmental, multidisciplinary overview of issues related to the expanding age population in the United States. Students examine aging stereotypes, characteristics of aging populations, and the impact of age-related forces on individuals in American society. The course is geared toward students in a variety of disciplines and provides a knowledge base that can be applied to other areas of study.

PSYC221 - Child Development

This course examines the physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional development of the child from birth to adolescence. The contributions of social and cultural experiences as well as the role of biological factors in development are examined as are major theories of development. Students are introduced to the research approaches used to study human development and may be required to carry out observations in various settings. Prerequisite: PSYC 101.

PSYC223 - Adolescent Psychology

This course provides a survey of contemporary knowledge of the human brain, examining normal developmental brain processes and common brain functions. The course also covers common disorders and emphasizes understanding the impact of atypical brain development and the consequences of brain trauma. Intervention strategies and treatment are included. Prerequisite: PSYC101

PSYC202 - Psychology of Personality

This course introduces students to a variety of the most important theories of personality: i.e., Freud, Jung, Adler, Rogers, and others. Case studies are examined with the intent of making theories more practical and useful. Prerequisite: Any 200 level psychology course.

PSYC220 - Social Psychology

This is an introduction to the study of social interactions from a psychological perspective. Research reviewed focuses on topics such as: social perception, group interaction, attitude formation, attitudinal change, aggression, conflict, and pro-social behavior. Prerequisite: PSYC 101.

PSYC302 - Biological Basis of Behavior

This course examines current research in the fields of biology, neuroscience, and psychology that explain the role of neural mechanisms in evoking and controlling human behavior. Topics include: thirst and hunger, sleep and arousal, sexual behavior, emotion, aggression, learning, memory, and mental disorders. Prerequisite: PSYC 101.

PSYC318 - Abnormal Psychology

This course examines the wide range of personality and behavioral disorders. Both traditional and contemporary theories of psychopathology are reviewed. Emphasis is also placed on the tools, techniques, and process of both the diagnosis and the treatment of various disorders. Prerequisite: PSYC 202 or PSYC 220.

PSYC323 - Brain Function & Dysfunction

This course provides a survey of contemporary knowledge of the human brain, examining normal developmental brain processes and common brain functions. The course also covers common disorders and emphasizes understanding the impact of atypical brain development and the consequences of brain trauma. Intervention strategies and treatment are included. Prerequisite: PSYC101

PSYC328 - Cognitive Processes

This course studies the ways that humans learn, remember, communicate, think, and reason. Emphasis is on the role of experimental data in development and evaluation of cognitive theories. Prerequisite: PSYC 101 & MATH 208

PSYC331 - Experimental Design in Psychology

This laboratory course covers concepts of the scientific method in psychology including the logic of experimental and correlational designs, issues of control, sampling, measurement of variables, ethical issues in research, use of online professional search procedures, and writing in APA style. As part of the lab, students carry out an experiment and learn to use SPSS to create a database and perform statistical analyses. Prerequisites: MATH 208 and either PSYC 101 or SOC 101 or permission of the instructor.

PSYC345 - Assessment of Individual Differences

This course studies a wide variety of tests and measurements used to assess intelligence, aptitude, achievement, and personality in clinical and counseling psychology, in education, and in business. Consideration of the history and theory of these tests is complemented by discussion of practical concerns related to their selection, their administration, and their interpretation in specific settings. Prerequisites: MATH 208 and PSYC 101.

CJ309 - Children & Violence

This course examines the psychological, criminal justice, and legal issues surrounding children who experience violence in their lives, either as victims or perpetrators of violence. Topics include child maltreatment, pedophilia, online child predators, school victimization, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, child sex offenders, and youth homicide. Prerequisite: PSYC 221, PSYC 223, CJ 201, or LS 204.

COM321 - Media & Children

This course examines the uses and effects of mass communication among children and adolescents. By taking a developmental perspective, the course explores how youth at different stages of cognitive development watch, understand, and respond to media content. The first part of the course focuses on children’s uses and processing of media. The second part of the course reviews the effects of various types of content (e.g., advertising, stereotypes, violence). The final part of the course considers the role of interventions (e.g., media literacy, ratings, parental mediation) in preventing media-related outcomes that are harmful and promoting those that are positive. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to critically evaluate the role of media in the lives of children.COM 101 or PSYC 101.

ENG235 - From Sounds to Sentences

This course considers the acquisition of human language as a biologically based and species-specific communication system. The interaction, from infancy through early and later childhood, between biological preparedness and environmental influence is studied, as is the development of phonology (sound system), lexicon (vocabulary), syntax (sentence structure), and pragmatics (language use). The developmental phases through which a young learner passes as the language systems develop are also studied in this course. Bilingualism, dialect, language disorder, and early written language development are considered. Prerequisite: ENG 102.