PSY 441 (CCM 402) Stages of Life & Health Care (3).
See course description for CCM 402.

PSY 442 Infancy (3).
A comprehensive overview of growth and development during the first three years of life. Topics covered will include how infants gather information from the world around them, what we know about infants’ relationships with other people, and about the uniqueness of their personalities. A concerted effort will be made to achieve a balance between theory, research and practical information.

PSY 443 (PGS 443). Integrating Eastern and Western Approaches to Psychology (3).
The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with orientations from both Eastern and Western psychology. This includes focus on theory and research, along with experiential classroom exercises in various healing approaches, such as Buddhism, Sufism, Morita therapy, psychoanalysis, behavior therapy and cognitive therapy, among others. Emphasis will be upon expanding one’s thinking by integrating Eastern and Western approaches, toward enlarging the view of possibilities in understanding ourselves and others, and in promoting healing and growth. Prerequisite: PSY 101.

PSY 444 Story in Psychology: Narrative Perspectives on Human Behavior (3).
Employing a pro-seminar format, we explore how stories and story construction serve as an increasingly influential and integrating paradigm by which to understand human behavior. We will look at the historical and conceptual foundations of the narrative perspective and compare this approach with more traditional models of human psychological functioning. We will pay particular attention to autobiographical memory, self-narrative and identity development in the contemporary world as well as narrative approaches to psychotherapy and health care as examples of the perspective’s scope. We will consider recent advances in narrative research methodologies, particularly those qualitative approaches which focus upon interview and other autobiographical sources of data. Students will be expected to prepare an individual presentation on a topic of their choosing and personal interest. Prerequisites: PSY 101, PSY 201 or equivalent and at least one major psychology subspecialty course at the 200- 300-level. Limited to juniors and seniors.

PSY 445 The Psychology of Grief: Current Understandings and Interventions (3).
Psychology 445 will examine grief processes that take place within individuals and families as they experience loss. The course will focus on the nature and causes of grief as well as strategies for effective counseling interventions. There will be an emphasis on loss due to death, however, other types of psychosocial and physical losses will also be considered. Accordingly, we will explore a variety of factors that facilitate and/or impede the ability to function after loss. The course will initially trace the development of dominant models of grief and their historical and theoretical underpinnings. Considerable emphasis will be on examining the grief process as it is played out in the context of family. The family is seen as an interactive system, with a complex mix of actions, perceptions and expectations that influences relationships and the experience of grief among family members. This course will also consider a postmodern view of bereavement as a complex phenomenon embedded in a unique context involving social, cultural, philosophical and psychological factors.

PSY 446 Cognition and Aging (3).
This course will examine the normal cognitive changes that our growing senior population faces. We will discuss and distinguish between the types of cognition that remain stable with age and those that tend to decline with age. Specifically, this course will focus on how attention, memory, language processing and problem solving change are affected by the aging process. The course will also question whether intelligence changes with age and will examine how creativity and wisdom contribute to definitions of intelligence. Students will be required to write a term paper I APA style on a topic related to cognition and aging. Prerequisite or corequisite: Senior psychology major or permission of instructor.

PSY 447 (GWS 447) Psychology of Stereotype, Prejudice and Discrimination (3).
This course is designed to enhance the understanding of the development and persistence of stereotypes. The psychology of social cognition with regard to the accuracy and inaccuracy of those stereotypes will be addressed as well as how the inaccuracies may lead to prejudice and discrimination. We will explore how this affects our social interactions; specifically addressing the areas of race, class and gender. Students will read book chapters and journal articles and are expected to contribute to classroom discussions of these materials. Students will also complete a writing project. Prerequisites or corequisites: PSY 101 and PSY 201 or permission from instructor. SENIORS ONLY.

PSY 448 Clinical Neuropsychology (3).
Clinical neuropsychology studies human behavior following damage to or dysfunction of the nervous system. Such study seeks to establish both (a) the accurate assessment and remediation of damage or dysfunction and (b) a more complete understanding of the intact nervous system. Utilizing a proseminar format, this course is designed to introduce the advanced undergraduate student of psychology to the research findings and clinical applications of this developing subfield within psychology. Both case studies and laboratory-based research will be reviewed. Topics will include general principles of the brain-behavior relationship, basic and higher cognitive functions of the cerebral cortex, neuropsychological testing and assessment and processes of rehabilitation. Prerequisites: PSY 101 and BIO 103 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

PSY 449 The Psychology of Disability (3).
This course explores in-depth some of the major psychological issues relevant to the field of disabilities. Following a seminar format, topics to be discussed include: autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, deafness, blindness, dual diagnosis, housing alternatives, self advocacy, sibling relationships, the social meaning of disabled, deinstitutionalization and human relationships. The perspective of the person with a disability and/or their family and support systems will be considered. Prerequisites: PSY 101; PSY 315 recommended.