Chair, Associate Professor William Klein

Professors Nicholas Rohrman, Diane Winn, and Edward Yeterian; Visiting Professor David Prichard; Associate Professor Klein; Assistant Professor Tarja Raag; Visiting Assistant Professors Patricia Robinet and Heather Haas; Visiting Instructor Scott Horton; Teaching Associate Colleen Burnham

The Psychology Department seeks to fulfill three objectives. The first is to prepare students for graduate work in psychology and ultimately for professional careers as teachers, researchers, and practitioners. The second is to prepare students majoring in psychology to enter the business or professional community with a strong background in human behavior and its determinants. The third is to provide courses for students majoring in other fields for whom psychological knowledge may be useful. Laboratories are equipped to conduct a fairly wide range of studies in human sensory, perceptual, and memory phenomena and include animal facilities and surgery for physiological and comparative research. There are also laboratories for social, personality, and developmental research. Several small research laboratories are dedicated for use by advanced students. All laboratories as well as a data center for student use are equipped with computers having network and mainframe access.

The department stresses the scientific approach to the study of human behavior and requires a fairly extensive set of quantitative and experimental courses for all majors. Each student conducts independent research as an integral part of the major. Colby psychology students have presented numerous papers at professional meetings and have been awarded prizes for undergraduate research excellence at various scientific meetings.

Requirements for the Major in Psychology
Psychology 121, 122, 214, 415; at least two courses from 251, 253, 254, 255; at least two courses from 236, 237, 239, 256, 274, 374; at least two courses from 232, 233, 234, 272; at least two courses numbered 300 or higher, one of which must be a seminar selected from 331, 332, 335, 352, 355, 356, 357, 358, 372, 376, 378.

One year of laboratory experience in the natural sciences is recommended.

The point scale for retention of the major applies to all courses offered toward the major as prescribed above. All requirements for the major must be met in conventionally graded courses.

Honors in Psychology
Students seeking to participate in the honors program must make formal application to the department during the junior year. In addition to fulfilling the basic requirements for the psychology major, students must take one additional course in psychology numbered above 300 and complete the honors research sequence (Psychology 483, 484). Upon vote of the department, the student will be awarded his or her degree "With Honors in Psychology."

Attention is also called to the Senior Scholars Program.

Requirements for the Minor in Psychology
Psychology 121, 122, 214; at least one course from 251, 253, 254, 255; at least one course from 232, 233, 234, 272; at least one course from 236, 237, 239, 256, 274, 374; at least one course from 331, 332, 335, 352, 355, 356, 357, 358, 372, 376, 378, 477.

COURSE OFFERINGS

[117]    Altruism and Aggression Seminar    An examination of philosophical, ethological, sociobiological, and psychological approaches to understanding the causes of altruistic and aggressive behavior. Consideration to the role of such factors as mood, personality, social models, deindividuation, and the media in the production of such behaviors. Student presentations explore specialized topics such as assassination and community service. Enrollment limited. Cannot be counted toward the psychology major or minor. Two credit hours.    

121f    Introduction to Psychology I    An examination of classical and contemporary issues in psychology: history and systems, research methods, physiological psychology, sensation, perception, consciousness, learning, memory, cognition, and language. Participation in psychological research is required. Four credit hours.  S.    WINN

122s    Introduction to Psychology II    Further examination of classical and contemporary issues in psychology: development, motivation, emotion, intelligence, personality, psychopathology, psychotherapy, social psychology, applied psychology. Participation in psychological research is required. Prerequisite: Psychology 121. Four credit hours.    HAAS, KLEIN, RAAG

[136]    Topics in Sex and Gender    An introductory-level examination of psychological research and theory on topics in sex and gender. Both traditional and current perspectives reviewed. Focus topics are drawn from research literatures in the area of sex/gender, including sexuality, gender roles, gender identity, social behaviors, stereotypes, health, and cognition. Priority to non-psychology majors and minors. Cannot be counted toward the psychology major or minor. Three credit hours.  D.    

171j    Psychology of Nazi Germany    An examination of the historical, social, economic, and psychological conditions that led to the establishment of the Nazi Germany totalitarian regime, from approximately 1900 to the end of World War II. Includes introductory material on the Holocaust and the conditions that made it possible as well as current attempts at denial. Cannot be counted toward the psychology major or minor. Prerequisite: Psychology 121. Two credit hours.    ROHRMAN

214fs    Research Methods and Statistics    Discussion of techniques used in conducting behavioral research. Includes literature survey, hypothesis formulation, control techniques, and research design as well as descriptive and inferential statistics. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.  Q.    KLEIN, WINN

232f    Cognitive Psychology    The human information processing system: how stimulus information is transformed, stored, retrieved, and used. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    ROHRMAN

233f    Physiological Psychology    The study of neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes and behavior, including the ways in which the nervous system subserves sensory coding and perception, movement, motivation, emotion, consciousness, learning, and memory. Includes historical antecedents and integration of animal experimental and human clinical data. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    ROBINET

234j    Theories of Learning    A comparative examination of Pavlovian, instrumental, and operant theories of learning and their application to animal and human behavior. Includes historical antecedents and current issues. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Three credit hours.    ROBINET

235f    Laboratory in Brain and Behavior    A laboratory supplement to Psychology 233. Major emphasis on techniques that enhance the understanding of brain-behavior relationships. Cannot be counted toward the psychology major or minor. Prerequisite: Concurrent or prior enrollment in Psychology 233 and permission of the instructor. One credit hour.    CANCELLED

236s    Drugs, Brain, and Behavior    A consideration of the relationships among drugs, the nervous system, conscious experience, and behavior. The history as well as the psychopharmacology of a wide variety of licit and illicit substances will be surveyed--including alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, marijuana, psychedelics, opiates, prescription drugs, and over-the-counter medications. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    ROBINET

237s    Psychology of Language    Selected topics in psycholinguistics, language and thought, the role of linguistic entities in psychological processes, propaganda and persuasion. Will normally include an independent project. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    ROHRMAN

[238]    Parapsychology    A scientific study of aspects of human behavior and experience that are "anomalous"--i.e., difficult to explain within current scientific paradigms. These anomalous experiences fall into three general categories: extrasensory perception (obtaining information without using sensory or perceptual systems, including telepathy, clairvoyance or remote viewing, and precognition); psychokineses (mental interaction with physical objects), and phenomena suggestive of survival after bodily death (including near-death experiences and apparitions). A laboratory component involves data collection and statistical analysis. Cannot be counted toward the psychology major or minor. Prerequisite: Psychology 214. Two credit hours.    

239f    States of Consciousness    The psychology of perceptual-cognitive experiences in states of consciousness such as sleep, hypnosis, meditation, and trance. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    WINN

251f    Theories of Personality    An examination of historical and current perspectives on the study of personality. Psychoanalytic, dispositional, sociocultural, and existential-humanistic theories of personality are covered. In addition, issues relevant to the study of personality, such as personality assessment, the stability and continuity of personality traits, and disorders of personality, are included. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    HAAS

253f    Social Psychology    An examination of major topics and current issues and research in social psychology. Includes self-perception, social cognition, attitudes, interpersonal attraction, social influence, altruism, aggression, group processes, decision making, and various special applied topics such as social psychology and business, health, and the legal system. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    KLEIN

254s    Abnormal Psychology    An examination of major paradigms, current issues, and research in abnormal psychology. Includes definitions and conceptualizations of abnormality, diagnostic classification, epidemiology, etiology, and clinical intervention strategies as applied to the major categories of mental disorder. Special topics such as the cross-cultural study of psychopathology, the legal implications of diagnostic classifications, and the importance of co-morbidity in the study of psychopathology are addressed. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    HAAS

255f    Child Development    Principles of psychological development from conception through preadolescence, from a biological, sociocultural, and psychodynamic perspective. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    HAAS

256s    Adolescent and Adult Development    Principles of psychological development from adolescence through senescence. Focus is on the individual's typical attempts to cope with changes in physical structure, social roles, and personal identity. Emphasis is on the application of theoretical concepts to research findings. Prerequisite: Psychology 255. Four credit hours.    HORTON

257f    Educational Psychology    Psychological principles applied to problems of education. Principles of developmental psychology, educational testing and measurement, child and adolescent problems, and pathology. For related practicum courses, see the Program in Education and Human Development. Cannot be counted toward the psychology major or minor. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or above. Four credit hours.    RAAG

272s    Sensation and Perception    The major human senses (vision, audition, somesthesis, taste, smell) studied as physiological systems and as intermediaries between the physical and perceived environments. Lecture and separate laboratory. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    WINN

[274]    Applied Psychology    A survey of nonclinical applications of psychology, including as possibilities such content areas as consumer behavior, advertising, and the impact of mass media on behavior, forensic, environmental, and medical psychology. Prerequisite: Psychology 121, 122. Four credit hours.    

331f    Interpersonal Perception Seminar    How we judge and explain our own and others' behavior. Discussion topics include stereotypes, first impressions, self-fulfilling prophecies, detection of deception, and social perception motives. Focus also on people's self-evaluations, such as how they view their abilities and potential; how they process and remember self-relevant information; and how they present themselves to others. Resulting implications for academic achievement, health, and social relationships are considered. Prerequisite: Psychology 214 and 253. Four credit hours.    KLEIN

[332]    Seminar in Judgment and Decision Making    An exploration of antecedents and consequences of human judgment and decision making. Topics include decisional regret, counterfactual thinking, statistical heuristics, perceptions of personal and public risk, overconfidence in prediction, escalation of commitment, motivated reasoning, negotiation strategies, and methods of improving reasoning. Special emphasis will be placed on applications of research to such topics as stereotypes, superstitious and supernatural beliefs, health and medicine, legal decision making, sports, and interpersonal relationships. Comfort with algebra recommended. Prerequisite: Psychology 214 and 253. Four credit hours.    

335s    Developmental Psychology Seminar    An examination of research and theory in developmental psychology, with an emphasis on current issues. Topics may include nonverbal behaviors, facial expressions, social development, cognitive development, gender development, infancy, adolescence, or aging. Prerequisite: Psychology 255 and permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.    RAAG

[352]    Sex and Gender Seminar    An examination of the human experience from the perspective of research/theory on sex and gender. Topics include biological processes, social behavior, personality, cognition, health, stereotypes, gender roles, gender identity, sexuality. Emphasis on sex-based behaviors and gender-based behaviors from a developmental perspective. Prerequisite: Psychology 255. Four credit hours.    

355f    Psychopathology Seminar    An examination of primary literature focusing on empirical, conceptual, and methodological issues and controversies in the field of psychopathology. Topics drawn from the major domains of mental disorder (e.g., schizophrenia, personality disorders, mood disorders). Issues may include symptomatology; assessment and diagnosis of disorder; social, biological, and genetic factors contributing to disorder; and approaches to management and treatment. Prerequisite: Psychology 254. Four credit hours.    PRICHARD

356s    Social Psychology Seminar    Critical examination of various areas of research in social psychology, with an emphasis on current issues. Discussion topics may include attitude structure and change, cognitive dissonance, group dynamics, health beliefs and behavior, justice, reasoning, self-presentation, social cognition, and stereotypes. Enrollment limited. Prerequisite: Psychology 214, 253, and permission of the instructor. Four credit hours.    KLEIN

357s    Seminar in Psychopharmacology    An examination of current issues in the area of psychopharmacology. Topics may include the neuropharmacology of drugs of abuse, maternal use of illicit drugs, pharmacotherapy of mental disorders, drug use in sports, neurobiology of addiction, drug regulations, drug use and health, and drug use prevention. Prerequisite: Psychology 236. Four credit hours.    ROBINET

358s    Personality Seminar: Current Issues in Personality    An examination of primary literature focusing on empirical, conceptual, and methodological issues and controversies in the field of personality psychology. Issues may include the validity and usefulness of current structural models of personality; the role of behavior genetics in the study of personality; the study of temperament and its relationship to personality; and the biological bases of personality. Emphasis not only on current issues facing the field but also on the modern personality theorists whose ideas and research are most influential in shaping the field. Prerequisite: Psychology 214, 251. Four credit hours.    HAAS

[372]    Neuroscience Seminar    In-depth examination of current issues in physiological psychology and human neuropsychology. Topics may include hemispheric specialization, sex differences in the nervous system, neural substrates of learning and memory, physiological bases of behavior disorders, drugs and behavior, psychosurgery, and brain tissue transplants. Includes integration of animal experimental and human clinical data. Prerequisite: Psychology 233. Four credit hours.    

374s    Human Neuropsychology    The neural bases of abnormal human behavior and cognition, with integration of data from clinical neuropsychology and behavioral neurology. Topics include brain imaging technologies; neuropsychological evaluation; brain dysfunction and mental illness; neurotransmitters and behavior; developmental disorders; dementias and memory disorders; degenerative diseases; infectious diseases; seizures; traumatic brain injury; disorders of communication; and emotional-motivational dysfunction. Emphasis on the way in which disorders of the nervous system aid in understanding normal psychological processes. Prerequisite: Psychology 233. Four credit hours.    YETERIAN

376s    Seminar in Propaganda and Persuasion    The 20th century might be called the Age of Propaganda. By governments, charities, churches, advertisers, politicians, hate groups, and business and environmental groups, and in newspapers, magazines, books, films, television, radio, the theater, and the arts, we are assaulted by a never-ending barrage of persuasive messages. An examination of the historical development of propaganda (since World War I, when mass media propaganda began), its techniques of psychological manipulation, and the impact of current propaganda efforts on ourselves and our society. Prerequisite: Psychology 232 or 237. Four credit hours.    ROHRMAN

[378]    Transpersonal Psychology Seminar    A survey of human experiences that transcend the personal--i.e., trance states in which consciousness seems to dissociate from ordinary reality and extend beyond the self and the limitations of time and/or space. Topics may include various transpersonal experiences facilitated by hypnosis (e.g., past incarnation and fetal experiences), the shamanic journey, mediumistic trance (or channeling), out-of-body experiences, spiritual visions and encounters, and archetypal or mythological experiences. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor; Psychology 239 strongly recommended. Four credit hours.    

398s    The Psychology of Death and Dying    Contemporary Western society has been described as "death phobic." This seminar will encourage students to approach, rather than avoid, death-related issues. Topics will include medical and spiritual definitions of death, coping with dying, terminal illness, the hospice movement, euthanasia, suicide, funeral practices, grief and bereavement. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor, Psychology 239 recommended. Four credit hours.    WINN

415f, 416s    Psychological Research    Each student will conduct a research project on a question about human or animal behavior or mental processes. The question will be addressed by analyzing and synthesizing scientific literature (415). The investigation may include data collection (416). The project will integrate the knowledge and skills acquired in Psychology 214 and one or more content areas of the discipline. Students must apply to department during previous academic year. Prerequisite: Psychology 214, content area courses relevant to the research topic, and junior or senior standing in the major. Two credit hours.    FACULTY

477f    History and Systems of Psychology    The historical background of modern psychology from the Greeks to Wundt and the development of systematic modern viewpoints such as structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism, Gestalt, and psychoanalysis. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing as a psychology major. Three or four credit hours.    ROHRMAN

483f, 484s    Honors Research    Under faculty supervision, students prepare a proposal and carry out an independent, empirical project culminating in the preparation of a paper of publishable quality and a formal presentation. A 3.5 major average at the end of the senior year is a condition of successful completion of this program. Application required during junior year. Prerequisite: A 3.5 major average at the end of the junior year and permission of the department. Three credit hours.    FACULTY

491f, 492s    Independent Study    Individual projects, under faculty supervision, in areas in which the student has demonstrated the interest and competence necessary for independent work. Cannot be counted toward the psychology major or minor. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. One to four credit hours.    FACULTY