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| SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY The primary research interests of the University of Houston’s graduate program in Social Psychology are currently concentrated around Health Behavior and Close Relationships. Our research on health behavior includes the prevention of substance abuse and other risk behaviors among adolescents, as well as stress and its effects on the immune system. Research on relationships examines the beliefs, cognition, and communication in and about close personal relationships. The program emphasizes the application of social psychological theories, methods, and concepts to research in real life settings and important social issues. Faculty members in the program have continually received support from both federal (e.g., NIH) and local agencies. Recent graduates of the doctoral program have received appointments at a number of university and research organizations such as: Michigan State University, State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Alabama, University of California at Santa Cruz, Duke University, Texas Youth Commission, Texas Department of Human Resources, Wayne State University, Stanford University, California State University at Sacramento, Baylor College of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, University of Arizona, and the University of Wisconsin. Students working in the areas of health behavior or close relationships are prepared for positions in university departments and federally funded research organizations. The social psychology curriculum is directed at developing the student’s strength in quantitative methods and theoretical, conceptual, and biological perspectives that are central to advanced training in social psychology. While students are encouraged to engage in self-initiated research endeavors, students in the program also have an opportunity to participate in active research programs under the mentorship of various members of the psychology faculty. There is also opportunity for inter-disciplinary research, allowing for a breadth of research experiences. Strong departmental programs in industrial-organizational, developmental, and clinical psychology provide excellent opportunities to augment and diversify the training in the social psychology program, as does the student’s access to courses offered in the Texas Medical Center (e.g., epidemiology, public health) and other universities in the Houston metropolitan area. The core classes for social psychology students include: Foundations of Social Psychology, History and Theories of Social Psychology, Social Cognition, Methods in Social Psychology, Grantwriting/Proposal development, and Program Evaluation. At least two semesters of statistics, as well as a minor (9 units) are also required. Recent social graduate students have minored in Marketing, Political Science, or Quantitative Methods. All students will complete a masters thesis and successfully pass comprehensive examinations before culminating their experience with a dissertation. Students generally take 4-5 years to complete the program. |
SOCIAL FACULTY Linda K. Acitelli, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Director of Social Psychology Program Close Relationships Richard I. Evans, Ph.D. Distinguished University Professor, Director, Social Psychology/Behavioral Medicine Research Group, and Director, Dialogues with Notable Contributors to Psychology Project Health Psychology, Social Influence Models in Prevention of Addictive and Other Health Threatening Behaviors C. Raymond Knee, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Director of the Interpersonal Relations and Motivation Research Group Interpersonal Relations and Motivations Roy Lachman, Ph.D. Professor and Director of Graduate Studies History and Philosophy of Science; Interdisciplinary Science in Service of Improving the Human Condition Lynne Steinberg, Ph.D. Associate Professor Item Response Theory, Personality Measurement Stephanie J. Tobin, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Social Cognition, Persuasion, Causal Uncertainty |
| Social Graduate Students |
Psychology Courses ...
Psychology Courses at Bryn Mawr College
101, 102. Experimental Psychology
Psychology as a natural science. A survey of methods, facts and principles relating to basic psychological processes. Major topic areas include neural bases of behavior, learning and motivation, psychosocial development and abnormal psychology, human cognition, cognitive development, individual differences and social psychology. Lecture three hours, laboratory four hours a week. The laboratory provides experience with contemporary methods of research on both animals and humans. (staff, Division IIL)
201. Learning Theory and Behavior
This course covers the basic principles of behavior, most of which were discovered through animal research, and their application to the understanding of the human condition. Traditionally, learning has been described in terms of operant and Pavlovian processes, with modeling treated as a special kind of operant conditioning. The basic procedures and principles of operant and Pavlovian conditioning are examined, and their relation to complex human functioning, such as concept formation and awareness, is explored. An introduction to functional assessment and functional analysis -- the benchmarks of applied behavior analysis -- will follow. Lecture three hours, laboratory one to two hours a week. (Neuman, Dividion IIL)
203. Educational Psychology
Topics in the psychology of human cognitive, social and affective behavior are examined and related to educational practice. Issues covered include learning theories, memory, attention, thinking, motivation, social/emotional issues in adolescence, and assessment/learning disabilities. This course provides a Praxis Level I opportunity. Classroom observation is required. (Cassidy, Division I)
205. Experimental Methods and Statistics
An introduction to experimental design, general research methodology, and the analysis and interpretation of data. Emphasis will be placed on issues involved with conducting psychological research. Topics include descriptive and inferential statistics, experimental design and validity, analysis of variance, and correlation and regression. Each statistical method will also be executed using computers. Lecture three hours, laboratory 90 minutes a week. (Thapar, Division II or Quantitative)
206. Developmental Psychology
A topical survey of psychological development from infancy through adolescence, focusing on the interaction of personal and environmental factors in the ontogeny of perception, language, cognition, and social interactions within the family and with peers. Topics include: developmental theories; infant perception; attachment; language development; theory of mind; memory development; peer relations, schools and the family as contexts of development; and identity and the adolescent transition. (Wozniak, Division I)
208. Social Psychology
A survey of theories and data in the study of human social behavior. Special attention to methodological issues of general importance in the conduct and evaluation of research with human subjects. Topics include: group dynamics (conformity, leadership, encounter groups, crowd behavior, intergroup conflict); attitude change (consistency theories, attitudes and behavior, mass media persuasion); and person perception (stereotyping, attribution theory, implicit personality theory). Participation in a research project is required. (McCauley, Division I)
209. Abnormal Psychology
An examination of the main psychological disorders manifested by individuals across the life span. It begins with a historical overview followed by a review of the major models of psychopathology, including the medical, psychoanalytic, cognitive, behavioral and family systems. Disorders covered include anorexia/bulimia, schizophrenia, substance abuse, depression and anxiety disorders. Topics include symptomatology and classification, theories of etiology, research on prognosis, treatment approaches, and studies of treatment effectiveness. Two lectures, one discussion section a week. (Schulz, Division I)
212. Human Cognition
A survey of the history, theories and data of cognitive psychology. Emphasis is placed on those models and methods that fall within the information-processing approach to human cognition. Topics include perception, object recognition, attention and automaticity, memory, mental representations and knowledge, language, and problem solving. Data from laboratory experiments (including those conducted within the course) and the performance of patients with brain damage are reviewed. Participation in (self-administered) laboratory experiments is mandatory. A research project or paper is also required. (Thapar, Division IIL)
214. Behavior Modification
This course covers the basic principles of behavior and their relevance and application to clinical problems. The theoretical approaches of Pavlovian conditioning and operant conditioning (behavior analyses) will be covered to help understand the methods used in clinical practice. Topics may include eating disorders, anxiety disorders, addictive behavior, autistic behavior, attention deficit hyper-activity disorder, and oppositional/conduct disorder. Methods for recording, analyzing and modifying behavior will be covered. This course provides a Praxis Level I opportunity. It cannot be taken if you previously have taken Psychology 104. (Neuman, Division I) Not offered in 2003-04.
218. Behavioral Neuroscience
An interdisciplinary course on the neurobiological bases of experience and behavior, emphasizing the contribution of the various neurosciences to the understanding of basic problems of psychology. An introduction to the fundamentals of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurochemistry, with an emphasis upon synaptic transmission; followed by the application of these principles to an analysis of sensory processes and perception, emotion, motivation, learning and cognition. Lecture three hours a week. (Thomas, Division II)
305. Psychological Testing
Principles of measurement relevant to both experimental and individual differences psychology, with special emphasis on evaluating tests for either research or practical selection problems. Tests considered include intelligence tests (e.g. WAIS, WISC, Stanford-Binet, Raven's Matrices), aptitude tests (e.g. SAT, GRE), and personality tests (e.g. MMPI, NEO, Rorschach). Issues considered include creativity versus intelligence testing, nature versus nurture in IQ scores, and effects of base rate in using tests for selection. Participation in a research project is required. Prerequisite: Psychology 205. (McCauley)
312. History of Modern American Psychology
An examination of major 20th-century trends in American psychology and their 18th- and 19th-century social and intellectual roots. Topics include: physiological and philosophical origins of scientific psychology; growth of American developmental, comparative, social and clinical psychology; and the cognitive revolution. Open only to juniors and seniors majoring in psychology. (Wozniak)
323. Cognitive Neuroscience: Exploring the Living Brain
A survey and critical analysis of research and theory regarding biological, psychological, social and cultural determinants of sex differences in cognition. The first half of the semester will examine the role that developmental processes, cultural socialization and gender-role stereotypes play in the creation of sex differences in cognition. The second half will examine the role that sex chromosomes and hormones play in creating sex differences in the brain and behavior. Class time will involve discussion of theory and research as well as the design and execution of original research. (Thapar, Division IIL) Not offered in 2003-04.
350. Developmental Cognitive Disorders
This course uses a developmental and neuropsychological framework to study several cognitive disorders (e.g., language delay, specific reading disability, nonverbal
learning disabilities and autism) Cognitive Disorders are viewed in the context of the normal development of language, memory, attention, reading and quantitative/spacial abilities. More general issues of curriculum/pedagogical adjustment, educational placement, law and policy for children with disabilities will also be covered. Students will participate in a course-related placement approximately four hours a week. This course provvides a Praxis Level I opportunity. (Cassidy) Not offered in 2003-04.
351. Developmental Psychopathology
An examination of research and theory addressing the origins, progression and consequences of maladaptive functioning in children, adolescents and families. The course will concentrate on several major forms of psychopathology, such as depression and disruptive behavior syndromes, and family-based risk factors for psychopathology, such as parenting quality and marital conflict. An important focus of the course is on the identification of risk and protective factors for psychopathology. The course will also examine prevention efforts designed to reduce risks and enhance protective factors. Prerequisite: Psychology 206 or 209 (Rescorla)
352. Advanced Topics in Developmental Psychology
This course will provide in-depth study of a major area of developmental psychology (i.e., theory of mind, language acquisition, memory). Class time will involve discussion of theory and research in the topic of focus. In addition, students will gain laboratory research experience using developmental techniques by replicating pre-existing research experiments with children and adults and by designing and implementing original studies. Prerequisite: Psychology 206 (Cassidy, Division IIL) Not offered in 2003-04.
353. Advanced Topics in Clinical Developmental Psychology
This course examines research and theory at the intersection of clinical and developmental psychology. Topics will include emotion and family relationships, stress and psychological or physical well-being, and family research methods. Class will involve discussion of relevant theory and research as well as the design and execution of research projects. Open only to juniors and seniors majoring in psychology. (Schulz)
395. Psychopharmacology
A study of the role of drugs in understanding basic brain-behavior relations. Topics include: the pharmacological basis of motivation and emotion; pharmacological models of psychopathology; the use of drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression and psychosis; and the psychology and pharmacology of drug addiction. Prerequisite: Psychology 218. (Thomas)
396. Topics in Neural and Behavioral Science
(Thomas; cross listed as Biology 396) Not offered in 2003-04.
397. Laboratory Methods in the Brain and Behavioral Sciences
An introduction to the elements of electronics necessary for understanding both neuronal functioning and the instruments that measure neuronal functioning. Subsequent lectures and laboratories cover principles of electrical stimulation of the brain, chemical stimulation, lesioning, histology, and recording of single cell activity and the activity of populations of cells. The emphasis is on correlating neural and behavioral events. Prerequisite: Psychology 218, which may be taken concurrently. (Thomas) Not offered in 2003-04.
398. Cognitive Issues in Personality and Social Psychology
An examination of recent research in relation to issues of social perception (e.g. stereotypes and judgements of members of stereotyped groups), intergroup conflict (e.g. sources of group cohesion and "groupthink"), and identification (e.g. emotional involvement with film characters, possessions and ethnic/national groups). Prerequisite: Psychology 208. (McCauley)
401. Supervised Research in Neural and Behavioral Sciences
(staff; cross listed as Biology 401)
403. Supervised Research in Psychology
Laboratory or field research on a wide variety of topics. Students should consult with faculty members to determine their topic and faculty supervisor. (staff)
Psychology Courses at Haverford College
Several Haverford courses can be substituted for the equivalent Bryn Mawr courses for purposes of the Bryn Mawr psychology major, as indicated below:
Students should consult with the psychology chair at Bryn Mawr to determine which of the following Haverford courses can count toward the Bryn Mawr psychology major:
212d. Experimental Psychology
212g. Personality Assessment
212g. Social Cognition
212h. Research Methods in Biological Psychology
390a,b. Senior Thesis
391a,b. Senior Research Tutorial in Cognition
392a,b. Senior Research Tutorial in Personality
393a,b. Senior Research Tutorial in Social Psychology
394a,b. Senior Research Tutorial in Biological Psychology
Each issue, the Monitor is highlighting the work of an APA division that has completed APA's five-year review process, which is conducted by the Committee on Division/APA Relations. For more information on the review process, visit www.apa.org/about/division.html. |
A CLOSER LOOK AT DIVISION 8 Improved public health is a priority for many APA Div. 8 social psychologists. By Erika Packard After a woman experiences a heart attack, research indicates it's unlikely that she will stop performing such household chores as changing bed linens or vacuuming, even though these jobs can further injure or even kill a person with a weakened heart. However, male heart patients tend to follow doctors' orders to decrease or completely stop all strenuous activity, sometimes permanently. Why is it that many women tend to fall back into a stereotyped caretaking role–even when it puts their health at risk–but men tend to change their behavior? This is the kind of practical question members of APA's Div. 8 (Society for Personality and Social Psychology) are studying in addition to basic research on people and their thoughts, feelings and behaviors–on, for instance, where our personalities come from; what causes us to fall in love, hate our neighbors or join with others to clean our neighborhoods; and how culture shapes who we become and how we interact with one another. While always concerned with such basic investigations, Div. 8 researchers are increasingly moving beyond them as well. In the household-chores research, for instance, Div. 8 member Jerry Suls, PhD, is seeking practical ways to help heart patients help themselves prevent more attacks Indeed, members are using their strong scientific backgrounds to craft interventions in real-world health settings, says Cornell University psychology professor David Dunning, PhD, Div. 8's executive officer. Adds Div. 8 President Margaret S. Clark, PhD, of Yale University, social psychologists traditionally have studied intrapersonal, interpersonal and group processes at just the right level for designing interventions. Clark, for instance, studies relationships and has found that members of married couples typically start off marriages supporting their partners noncontingently, as a need for support arises. However, as a marriage progresses, a partner may move to what Clark terms "record keeping," or refusing to provide support unless support is promised in return. Unfortunately, this behavior can undermine spouses' sense of truly mutual partner care, Clark finds. To restore the sense of being cared for, Clark suggests that therapists avoid asking couples to make contracts with one another. "Process-focused research suggests this is unwise–it is unlikely to restore a sense of caring," she says, advising that, instead, couples should focus on increasing trust and mutual responsiveness to needs. Intervening for safer sex In another instance of a practical Div. 8 investigation, member Blair T. Johnson, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Connecticut, uses his social-psychology expertise in social influence to explore the efficacy of HIV-prevention interventions. For example, Johnson and his colleagues published a 2003 article in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (Vol. 154, No. 4, pages 381–388), reviewing 44 studies of interventions for adolescents. According to their meta-analysis, intensive behavioral interventions reduced HIV risk, especially because they increased skill acquisition regarding condom use, increased discussions between partners about safer sex and decreased the onset of sexual intercourse or the number of partners. "A critic might be concerned that safer-sex interventions might increase adolescent sexual behavior," he says. "In fact, the studies showed the opposite–interventions reduced overall incidence of sex. And adolescents who were having sex were more likely to use condoms." Johnson stresses the importance of publishing in a broad array of journals, not just those focused on psychology. "In trying to take the news of our insights to public health officials and scholars in other disciplines, we can potentially improve respect for it at the same time as we help solve a real-world problem," he says. Heart attacks and gender roles University of Iowa psychology professor Jerry Suls, PhD, the Div. 8 member studying the aforementioned women's and men's post-heart attack behavior, is interested in whether and how married men and women change their traditional sex roles after one partner's cardiac event. "We've been trying to understand how heart attack patients adjust to their illness," he explains, "and we're particularly interested in how gender stereotypes play a role in that adjustment and the kind of social support people get." His participants have been Midwestern married couples over the age of 60. Women, Suls notes, are more likely to assume social or emotional family responsibilities as well as tangible ones, such as household chores. While many cardiac patients exercise in a graded fashion as part of their rehabilitation–usually under professional supervision–many women return to high exertion household tasks before they should, Suls finds. Suls's research also suggests that women don't listen to their bodies even after a heart attack. "Men tend to moderate their activity when they experience symptoms," Suls says, "but the women seemed to ignore their symptoms." Sticking to their traditional gender role, and continuing high-activity tasks like household chores have serious health consequences for female heart attack patients, he notes. Encouraging behavior change Another Div. 8 member, Alex Rothman, PhD, an associate psychology professor at the University of Minnesota, is using his social and personality background to focus on another women's health issue: the prevention of breast cancer. In particular, he studies how the phrasing of health messages influences women's decisions to get a mammogram. Even though screenings offer the benefit of early detection, he notes, women often focus on the risk of finding something unwanted. Rothman's work compares the effectiveness of a gain-framed screening-behavior message, such as "If you get a mammogram, you'll have the chance to find breast cancer early," with a loss-framed message, such as "If you don't get a mammogram, you'll miss the chance of being able to find breast cancer early when it's treatable." He's found that gain-framed messages are more effective when trying to promote prevention behaviors, such as using sunscreen or condoms, while loss-framed messages are better for promoting screening behaviors like getting tested for HIV or undergoing a colonoscopy to check for colon cancer. "I'm interested in understanding the basic decision processes that people use and rely on as they engage in actions that affect their health," he says. "What we're pursuing is a thoughtful understanding of those processes that can then inform the design of interventions to promote healthy behavioral practices." Though social psychology theorists have often focused on how to get a person to start a behavior–such as showing up for a first mammogram or following physician's orders to quit smoking or lose weight–Rothman and others are also now studying how to get them to continue their new behavior. "Behavior change is a critical public health issue–we need to get people to exercise more, modify their diets, and the health benefits that will come from those changes are really quite dramatic," says Rothman. "However, it's not enough to just lose weight or start exercising, you have to keep the weight off and continue exercising." According to Rothman, social psychology theories have focused on how and why people start a behavior. Building on this work, Rothman and his colleagues have developed a model that addresses the processes that guide both the initiation and maintenance of behavior. "We've designed smoking-cessation and weight-loss interventions to test our model of initiation and maintenance," says Rothman. |
The Uncertain Connection between Verbal Theories and Research Hypotheses in Social Psychology
RICHARD J. HARRIS
University of New Mexico
Examples spanning 20 years and various areas of social psychology illustrate the great difficulty of knowing what implications do or do not follow from the postulates of verbally stated theories. Reliance on verbally stated theories in preference to mathematical or computer-simulation models thus severs a vital link in the hypothetico-deductive chain.
The goal of this paper is to illustrate the great difficulty of knowing what research hypotheses do or do not follow from the postulates of any but the simplest, single-factor verbally stated theory. Convincing evidence would be provided by a comprehensive survey of all verbally stated theories subjected to empirical test in, say, the past 10 years, with a sufficiently detailed analysis of each to demonstrate its inherent ambiguity. The less comprehensive approach taken in thc present paper is to provide this sort of analysis for a few examples of research hypotheses widely accepted as following from well-known theories, in hopes that the existence of ambiguities in even these cases, despite the credentials of the theories, theorists, and researchers involved, will convince the reader that the problem is not restricted to neophytes or incompetents.
Specifically, we will focus upon theories that embody sufficiently perceptive insights to have stimulated wide interest and that are considerably above average in the care and precision with which their authors have stated their postulates. These theorists, by the very excellence of their efforts, carry a disproportionate responsibility for the widespread impression among social psychologists that the precision and testability of mathematical models can be achieved (with less algebraic labor and no loss of audience) by carefully stated verbal theories. In seeking to dispel this notion, the present paper must take on a predominantly negative tone. Excellent discussions of the positive virtues of formal models are available elsewhere (e.g., Abelson, 1968; Atkinson, Bower, & Crothers, 1965; Estes, 1957; Rosenberg, 1968).
Each example offered below will present the verbal postulates of a theory, together with one or more verbally stated) research hypotheses "derived" from these postulates. A translation of the postulates into mathematical symbols and equations will then be offered, and it will be shown that the research hypotheses do not necessarily follow from the postulates of the theory. The particular mathematical translation offered for any given verbal theory is only one (and not necessarily the best) of many possible translations, each consistent with the verbally stated postulates. One such translation is sufficient for present purposes, however, since a claim that some hypothesis "follows from" or "is derived from" a set of postulates is equivalent to the claim that this hypothesis would follow from any reasonable translation of those postulates. This is best illustrated by considering our first example.
Please send reprint requests to R. J. Harris, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131. The final draft of this paper-was prepared while the author was Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Ohio State University. A more caustic version of the present paper is available in Harris (Note 1), which paper was the basis of a presentation by the same title at the 82nd annual convention of the American Psychological Association in New Orleans, September 2. 1974, a three-page abstract of which was published in the Division 8 proceedings of that convention (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1974, 1, 1-3).
Example 1: Ability Comparisons in Festinger’s Theory of Social Comparison Processes1
Festinger’s (1954) theory of social comparison processes includes "Derivation D1: When a discrepancy exists with respect to opinions or abilities there will be tendencies to change one’s own position so as to move closer to others in the group" (p.126). Im addition, social comparison theory includes "Hypothesis IV: There is a unidirectional drive upward in the case of abilities which is largely absent in opinions" (p. 124). From a consideration of the interaction of these two factors, Festinger concludes that "When and if uniformity of opinion is achieved, there is a state of social quiescence" (p. 125). but that for abilities "a state of social quiescence is never reached" (p. 125) because each individual wishes "to be slightly better than the others with whom (he) compares (himself)" (p. 127), and this goal cannot be achieved simultaneously by all members of the group.
On the surface, this contention would seem to contradict Derivation D1, since being slightly better than comparison persons would represent a (small) discrepancy with respect to abilities which Derivation D1 claims one will attempt to reduce. However, we can assume that Festinger meant to say "When a sufficiently large discrepancy exists..." and/or that Derivation D1 and Hypothesis IV represent separate forces which summate in determining the point at which net pressure to change is zero. A more formal representation of this portion of social comparison theory is provided by the statement that each member of a group will seek to adjust his position on the ability dimension so as to maximize D(x), the desirability of his position x, where D(x)= c(x) – u(x), c(x) being the comparison-based component of the desirability of position x and u(x) being the component attributable to the unidirectional drive upward. The verbal statements of social comparison theory further imply that c(x) must be a monotonically decreasing function of ½ x - xother½ , (the absolute value, sign ignored, of the difference between x and thc position on the ability dimension of a comparison person), while u(x) must be some monotonically decreasing function of x. The research hypothesis Festinger "derived" from social comparison theory and for which he provided evidence based on studies of level of aspiration and of intra-group competition amounts to the assertion that D(x) attains its maximum for a value of x slightly higher than xother. Unfortunately, this research hypothesis does not necessarily follow from social comparison theory.
Three courses from this category are required for the master's degree.
GPSY 5102 Visual Perception and Cognition
Spring 2006. Three credits.
Arien Mack
The course provides an introduction to the area of visual perception. It is designed to make clear why perception is an important problem for psychologists. Various aspects of perception are considered. Among these are questions concerning the nature of focal perception, motion perception, the perception of space, and questions concerning the development of perceptual processes. No prior knowledge of the field is assumed.
GPSY 5104 History and Systems of Psychology
Spring 2006. Three credits.
Arthur Blumenthal
Great moments in modern psychological research and discovery stand upon a mountain of historical roots. This course describes and interprets those roots and their cultural contexts. It traces the development of differing systems of thought and the clashes between those systems. It reviews the tangled rise of modern psychology and gives samples of the detective work that expose some of this field's origin myths. The course is in three parts: (a) the classical roots, (b) the nineteenth-century boom, and (c) the twentieth-century bust.
GPSY 5110 Cognitive Psychology
Fall 2005. Three credits.
William Hirst
This course surveys the progress made in understanding the human mind from the perspective of cognitive science. The areas of memory, attention, and thinking are examined.
GPSY 6101 Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
Fall 2005. Three credits.
Marcel Kinsbourne
Students are introduced to the structure and function of physiological substrates of behavior. The role of physiological systems in the regulation of behavior is examined with emphasis on contemporary findings and theoretical issues with particular attention to neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuroanatomy, sensory and motor systems, and motivated behaviors. Basic anatomy and physiology are reviewed within the context of the control of behavior.
GPSY 6107 Language and Thought
Spring 2006. Three credits.
Michael Schober
This course surveys research on psycholinguistics, cognition, and the relation between language and thought. Topics include the psychological reality of grammars proposed by linguists; individual and dyadic processes in language planning, production perception, and comprehension; meaning, categorization, and knowledge representation; universals in language and thought; and problem solving and reasoning.
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B. DEVELOPMENTAL, PERSONALITY, ABNORMAL, AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Three of the four courses from this category are required for the master's degree, one each from Personality [P], Social [S], Developmental [D], and Abnormal [A].
GPSY 5120 Social Psychology [S]
Fall 2005. Three credits.
Emanuele Castano
This course is designed to provide students with a broad overview of social psychological research. Central to this course is the idea that human beings are not isolated entities who process information like computers, but social animals engaged in a complicated network of social relations, both real and imagined. Constrained by our cognitive capacities and guided by many different motives and fundamental needs, we attempt to make sense of the social world in which we live and of ourselves in relation to it. We shall see how this influences perceptions of the self, perceptions of other individuals and groups, beliefs and attitudes, group processes, and intergroup relations. Readings emphasize how various theories of human behavior are translated into focused research questions and rigorously tested via laboratory experiments and field studies.
GPSY 5151 Psychology of Personality [P]
Spring 2006. Three credits.
Beatrice Kraemer
This course discusses theory and research in the area of individual differences and personality functioning, with particular emphasis on trait, social, cognitive, and biological approaches.
GPSY 5152 Psychopathology I [A]
Fall 2005. Three credits.
Andrew Evdokas
Fundamental diagnostic categories are discussed in depth. Relevant theoretical issues and clinical approaches to particular problems are explored.
GPSY 5153 Psychopathology II [A]
Spring 2006. Three credits.
McWelling Todman
This course is an introductory survey of biological, cognitive, sociocultural, and epidemiological aspects of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Prerequisite: GPSY 5152.
GPSY 6155 Developmental Psychology [D]
Fall 2005. Three credits.
Joan Miller
This course surveys major theories and research findings in developmental psychology. Among the topics addressed are attachment, emotion regulation, cognitive development, language acquisition, social cognition, family and peer relationships, morality, and aging. Consideration is given both to biological and cultural influences on development as well as to issues in life-span developmental psychology.
GPSY 6156 Psychopathology III: Biosocial and Cognitive
Theories of Addiction [A, S]
Fall 2005. Three credits.
Karen D'Avanzo
This course is an introductory survey of the psychological, biological, and sociological models of substance abuse and dependence. It is a required course for those individuals who wish to obtain an MA with a concentration in mental health and substance abuse counseling. Prerequisite: GPSY 5152 or permission of the instructor. This course provides 75 clock hours of NYSOASAS-approved CASAC training.
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Role of Individual Agency in Sociohistorical Psychology
I conclude this incomplete and summary exposition of Vygotsky's approach by considering the question of individual subjectivity, or agency, in sociohistorical psychology. If human psychology is socially determined, does this mean that the individual is reduced to an automaton that passively receives social influences? Does society become in this view a reified set of conditions and institutionalized norms devoid of human action? In short, does Sociohistorical psychology succumb to the problems of mechanism that plague behaviorism, role theory, and other social theories?
Vygotsky clearly did not conceive his sociohistorical approach as endorsing mechanical determinism. He certainly believed that individuals are active even though their psychological processes are socially determined. Individuals think, evaluate, analyze, synthesize, abstract, and select from social influences. Individuals construct new meanings that modify existing socially constructed ones, and they certainly recreate social institutions and norms. These do not operate automatically apart from human maintenance. Figure I depicts the active role of individuals in constructing culture (cf Ratner, 1991, pp. 179-182; Lawrence & Valsiner, 1993).
Although Vygotsky recognized individual agency, he regarded it as socially organized. He opposed Piaget's model of subjectivity that stands outside social life and assimilates and deforms social experience in accordance with the mind's own processes.
The thrust of Vygotsky's work leads to the conclusion that new meanings, constructions, conditions, and institutions are fashioned from existing social reality. Vygotsky's entire emphasis is on the socially mediated character of psychology. His definition of higher psychological processes is mental activity, which is shaped and objectified through cultural artifacts such as signs and symbols. Individual subjectivity (agency) must exist as a moment of social activity. Subjectivity is active; how- ever, it functions within parameters of social life (Arievitch & Van der Veer, 1995). This is why Vygotsky wrote that what is "essential is not that the social role can be deduced from the character, but that the social role creates a number of characterological connections" (Vygotsky 1997a, p. 106).
Individual subjectivities exist as participants in a system of social activities and values. Even novel psychological phenomena which individuals construct are always permeated by the characteristics of social activities and values.
In the first place, the motivation to construct new psychological phenomena is generated by social experience. Certain categories of individuals, occupying particular positions in the social system, and experiencing definite irritations, become motivated to construct new phenomena. The motivation is socially distributed among classes, genders, and ethnic groups. It is not randomly distributed among individuals.
In addition, new psychological phenomena rest upon social values. Most new phenomena are simply new forms of existing values and social activities. For ex- ample, deviant behavior is innovative in that it violates social norms; however, deeper analysis reveals that deviant behavior is only an exaggeration of existing values and activities (violence, depersonalization, possessiveness, competitiveness, materialism, self-aggrandizement); it does not transcend them (Rieber, 1997). Although the deviant behavior is a creative invention, it recapitulates prevailing values and activities. Unusual forms of psychosis have been analyzed to be extreme forms of common social values such as individualistic self-expression, presenting a false self, and blaming oneself (Ratner, 1997b). Homosexuality is innovative in the sense that it rejects socially sanctioned heterosexual sexual objects; however, homosexual couples recapitulate the violence and other psychological phenomena of heterosexual couples (cf. Lie, 1991). Consequently, homosexuality is innovative only in the sense of expressing prevailing values and social relationships in a new form (10).
Vygotsky's Early Work and Politics
Born in 1896, Lev Vygotsky grew up during the Russian revolution. He graduated from a university, where he studied law, in 1917, the year the Bolsheviks took power. Instead of practicing law, Vygotsky became a school teacher. He read extensively in pedagogy and psychology; he lectured at various institutes, teacher's colleges, and workers' schools (on a wide range of topics including psychology, pedagogy, art, and literature); and he conducted some elementary psychological experiments. Although he was completely self-taught, he wrote a masterful article, which was accepted at the 1924 Second Neurological Congress of Psychology in Leningrad. Luria and Kornilov heard Vygotsky's address and invited him to join their faculty at the Mos- cow State University Institute of Experimental Psychology. After a 10-year career as a psychologist, Vygotsky was dead from tuberculosis (Van der Veer & Valsiner, 1991, pp. 4-18).