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Psychology Class Directory

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Please note: not every psychology class is offered every semester, or even every year. More specific or advanced courses are often on rotation and are subject to Professor availability, so do not rely on the classes being offered. Some of the more advanced classes are only offered once every two years, for example. An explanation is available and how often by the department by clicking here.

100 and 200 level classes are offered quite often. For more information about what classes will be offered in which semesters or what is upcoming, contact the Psychology Department. As always, the PSA tries to keep this as up-to-date as possible, but we are not responsible for mistakes. This information is based on the current listing of psychology classes that are available in U of R self-service.

PSYC 101

Introductory Psychology: Social, Developmental, and Clinical Focus – An introduction to the study of adjustment, disorders, development, personality and the social environment of the person.

PSYC 102

Introductory Psychology: Biological and Cognitive Focus – An introduction to the study of brain and behaviour, perception, learning, memory, cognition, motivation and emotion.

PSYC 204

Research Methods in Psychology – An examination of research methods in psychology. Psychology majors should take this course early in their programs, as it is relevant to all areas of psychology and is a prerequisite for many upper year courses.

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and PSYC 102

PSYC 210

Lifespan Developmental Psychology – An introduction to biological, cognitive, and social aspects of psychological development across the lifespan. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and PSYC 102

PSYC 220

Social Psychology – The study of human behaviour in its social context dealing with the impressions we form of others and emphasizing the influence of group membership and interactions upon important psychological processes. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and PSYC 102

PSYC 230

Perspectives on PersonalityA survey of theory and research related to individual differences in thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102

PSYC 255

Biological Foundations of Behaviour – An introduction to the structure and function of the nervous system and the cells that comprise it. Emphasis is placed on neuroplasticity, by examining how the brain effects and is affected by normal and abnormal behaviour. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102

Note: Students who have completed BIOL 407 may not take this course for credit

PSYC 270

Human Information Processing – A survey of theory and research findings in the areas of perception, attention, memory, language, and human reasoning. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102

PSYC 305

Statistics in Psychology – An examination of statistical principles and their application to solving research problems in psychology. This course reviews descriptive statistics and emphasizes univariate inferential statistics.

Prerequisites: PSYC 204

Note: Students who have completed STAT 160 or STAT 200 may not take this course for credit. STAT 160 or STAT 200 will fulfill the major requirement.

PSYC 310

Child Development – An in-depth study of the biological, cognitive, and social aspects of psychological development during the prenatal period, infancy, early and middle childhood. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 210

PSYC 311

Adolescent Psychology – An in-depth study of the biological, cognitive, and social aspects of psychological development during the period from early to late adolescence. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 210 

PSYC 320

Advanced Topics in Social Psychology – An examination of selected topics, key issues, and current debates in social psychology. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 220

PSYC 321

Forensic Psychology – An overview of the field of forensic psychology – the intersection of psychology and the law. Topics include: psychology of police investigations, deception, eyewitness testimony, child victims and witnesses, juries, mental illness in court, sentencing and parole, domestic violence, sexual offenders, psychopathy, risk assessment, and special offender populations. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102 and completion of 60 credit hours

Note: Declared majors in Justice Studies may register with PSYC 101 OR 102 and completion of 60 credit hours. Must not have previously received credit for PSYC 320 as a forensic course

PSYC 330

Psychology of Women – An examination of the major theories, research methodologies, and data in the field of the psychology of women. Philosophical values of feminism and the psychological impact of women’s historical roles in society, and cultural perspectives pertaining to women will be considered throughout. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101, 102, and two 200 level courses in the social sciences, or permission of the instructor

PSYC 333

Abnormal Psychology – The course focuses on the psychological study of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and PSYC 102 in addition to completion of 60 credit hours

PSYC 335

Psychology of Individual Behaviour and Interpersonal Relations – A study of the relationship between the self-concept and social behaviour in terms of the theoretical formulations of motivation, attitude formation, and group process. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 220 and 230

PSYC 336

Humanistic Psychology – A comprehensive examination of the major theorists and key issues in humanistic psychology.

Prerequisite: PSYC 230 

PSYC 337

Psychodynamic Psychology – An examination of theories and issues in psychodynamic psychology. 

Prerequisite: PSYC 230 

PSYC 338

Motivation & Emotion – A survey of theory and research findings in the areas of motivation and emotion. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 230

PSYC 340

Psychology & Environment – Mismatch between human activities and ecological maintenance processes causes many environmental problems. Psychology can thus be an important contributor to developing sustainable environmental practices. This class will review psychological theory and research on factors that influence environmentally responsible or irresponsible behaviour. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 or 102 in addition to completion of 45 credit hours or permission of the instructor 

PSYC 355

Brain Mechanisms and Behaviour – An examination of the neural mechanisms underlying a broad range of normal and abnormal behaviours. Emphasis is placed on the neural mechanisms underlying motivation and arousal, learning and memory, and mental disorders. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 255

PSYC 356

Human Neuropsychology – An examination of human brain-behaviour relationships and the effects of brain damage on behaviour. Topics may include: neuropsychological assessment and research methods in behavioural neuroscience; laterality; neuroplasticity; and neural mechanisms underlying emotion, sensory, and motor processing. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 255 

PSYC 371

Learning – A survey of theory and research findings in the areas of human and animal learning.

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 270

PSYC 372

I Don’t Remember – A survey of theory and research findings in the area of memory and attention. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 270

PSYC 373

Human Reasoning – Examines how people use, misuse, and fail to use available information in reasoning and decision-making with emphasis on theoretical, interdisciplinary approaches to understanding human reasoning and applications in everyday life. Discussion of contemporary issues will complement “hands-on” experience in designing and executing an empirical research study. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 270 

Note: PSYC 220 is recommended.

PSYC 374

Psycholinguistics – A survey of theory and research findings in the areas of language acquisition and use. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101, 102, and 270 

PSYC 375

PSYC 375 – Perception – A survey of theory, research findings, and research methodology in the areas of sensation and perception. Students are familiarized with methods commonly used in perception research through completion of several laboratory assignments. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 270

PSYC 382

Consciousness Studies – An in-depth examination of consciousness as it is viewed from the cognitive and neuroscience perspectives. This is not a survey course. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 270, and at least one additional 200-level PSYC course, or permission of the Department Head

PSYC 383

Health Psychology – A general interest course in Health Psychology examining how stress and social experiences influence health across the lifespan, the psychological ramifications of chronic and terminal illnesses (e.g. heart disease, cancer, diabetes) and common interventions used by health psychologists to foster psychological and physical wellbeing. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102, or permission of the Department Head.

Note: Formerly numbered PSYC 388AD. Students may receive credit for only one of PSYC 388AD or PSYC 383.

PSYC 388AA

Political Psychology – This course introduces students to the field of political psychology. Drawing on social, personality and cognitive theories in psychology, this course explores psychological understandings of a variety of political issues such as voter behavior, leadership, political conflict, reconciliation, terrorism and extremism. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102

PSYC 388AB

Positive Psychology – This course will include historical and philosophical foundations of positive psychology while reviewing related disciplines and discussing their contributions to the field. Some areas of focus will be: well-being, virtues, values, strengths, self-actualization, love and friendships, resilience, positive affect, optimism and hope, gratitude, lifespan, and organizations. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102

PSYC 388AC

Cross Cultural Psychology – In order to better understand how clinical psychology seeks to investigate and apply concepts of disorder to other cultures, it is important to examine the factors in western culture that contribute to the development of these concepts in the first place. This course will review how psychological/psychiatric disorders are derived, which then allows for a fuller understanding of the extent to which these disorders apply across cultures. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 or PSYC 102 or permission of the department head in addition to the completion of 60 credit hours

PSYC 388AE

Issues in Professional Leadership – Leadership involves competence in discipline-specific problem solving and management of people, which is enhanced by knowledge of human nature. This course will discuss psychological knowledge of attention, communication, motivation, and decision-making relevant to professional leadership contexts to enhance success in building relationships for purposes such as managing problem-solving teams and communicating with policy-makers and the public. 

Prerequisite: PSYC 101 or 102 or permission of the Department Head & completion of 60 credit hours

PSYC 388AF

Psychology of Evil – Using examples from psychological research and historical events such as the Stanford Prison Experiment, residential schools, and the Holocaust, this course will examine the processes that lead humans to commit and/or tolerate large scale acts of evil. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102 or permission of the Department Head and completion of 60 credit hours.

PSYC 388AG

Women’s Reproductive Mood Disorders – A general interest course exploring the phenomenology of women’s reproductive mood disorders – mood disorders that are triggered by female reproductive events. The characteristics, causes and consequences of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, depression during pregnancy, postpartum depression and perimenopausal depression will be a particular focus. 

Prerequisite: PSYC 101 or 102 or permission of the Department Head and completion of 60 credit hours

PSYC 388AH

Mental Health in the Workplace – Mental health in the workplace overviews the basic concepts, theories, and research on mental health in the workplace. Through this course the student will have a better understanding of how to prevent, intervene, and accommodate mental health concerns in the workplace. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102.

PSYC 388AJ

Psychology of the Jury – An examination of juror decision-making research from Canada and the United Stated. Topics may include: the CSI-Effect, perceived policy legitimacy, juror selection, and emotion, in addition to other pre-trial, mid-trial, and post-trial sources of juror bias.

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 and 102 or permission of the department head and completion of 60 credit hours.

PSYC 388AK

The Psychology of Pandemics – Psychological factors play a key role in pandemics, from influencing adherence to public health measures that are vital in mitigating viral spread to the way in which people cope with the threat of pandemic infection and related sequalae to increases in stigmatization and xenophobia. This course will provide an in depth overview of the history of pandemics, the current evidence regarding the role of psychological factors in pandemics, and implications for preparedness for future pandemics.

Prerequisites: PSYC 204

PSYC 400

Honours Thesis in Psychology – A research thesis in psychology. 

Prerequisites: Completion of 90 credit hours including all Arts core (BA) or Science cognate (BSc) courses, all required 200 level psychology courses and PSYC 305. 

PSYC 405 must either precede or be taken concurrently with PSYC 400. At the time of registration for the course, a student must have a GPA of at least 75% in psychology courses and 70% overall.

Registration is subject to the availability of thesis supervisors and must be approved by the Honours Committee.*

*Note: The required 6 credit hours must be spread equally over two consecutive semesters (PSYC 400AA/AB).* 

PSYC 400AA – Honours Thesis – First Half – A research thesis in psychology. Permission of the department head is required to register. 

PSYC 400AB – Honours Thesis – Second Half – A research thesis in psychology. Permission of the department head is required to register.

PSYC 405

Advanced Statistics in Psychology – Examination of models of analysis appropriate to psychology and related disciplines, emphasizing analysis of variance and regression, and other topics in data analysis in psychology. Labs will introduce students to data analysis using statistical packages such as SPSS and R. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 305. A minimum grade of 65% in PSYC 305 or permission of the instructor

PSYC 408

History and Systems in Psychology – A survey of the origins, theoretical approaches, and methodologies of psychology. 

Prerequisites: Two 300-level courses in Psychology

Note: Students who have previously received credit for PSYC 406 and/or PSYC 407 may not take PSYC 408 for credit.

PSYC 415AD

Infant Development – This course will survey the psychological development of the human infant, from the prenatal period to approximately 2 years of age. We will examine research into infants’ physical, cognitive, and social development, and consider the relative influence of biological and environmental factors in early development. 

Prerequisite: PSYC 310

PSYC 415AE

Social-Emotional Development and Applications – This course examines theory and research on social and emotional development from birth through adolescence and the relative influence of various contextual factors, such as peers, out-of-home care, and media. Implications for problematic outcomes in families, daycares, and schools, and for prevention and intervention practices, will be discussed.

Prerequisite: PSYC 210

PSYC 415AF

Theory of Mind – This seminar course will cover both seminal and current research on the development of Theory of Mind, as well as its conceptual and biological underpinnings.

Prerequisite: PSYC 270, PSYC 310, & PSYC 305

PSYC 420

Selected Topic in Social Psychology – A seminar on a selected topic in social psychology. 

Prerequisite: PSYC 320 or permission of the instructor

PSYC 455

Selected Topics Behavioural Neuroscience – An advanced seminar course on a selected topic in behavioural neuroscience. 

Prerequisite: PSYC 355 or 356

PSYC 460

Intro to Clinical Psychology – An introduction to Clinical Psychology, which is a broad field of practice and research concerned with the application of psychological principles to alleviate distress and promote wellbeing. Clinical psychologists deal with a wide range of mental and physical health problems and engage in a range of professional activities (e.g. assessment, diagnosis, therapy, research). 

Prerequisites: Two 300-level courses in psychology or PSYC 333

PSYC 461

Tests and Measurement – A survey of psychological tests and measurement. Topics include: ethics and social consequences of testing, norms, reliability, validity, and representative tests in the cognitive and affective domains. This course is invaluable to students who may wish to go on in psychology in clinical and educational settings. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 305

PSYC 490AC

Family Dynamics and Personality Development – Examination of family systems, dynamics, and cycles, and how these affect the developing personalities of children. 

PSYC 490BE

Advanced Study of Neurobehavioral Disorder – Advanced investigation of neurological & physiological mechanisms. 

PSYC 490BW

Psychology of Eyewitness Processes – This course will examine the various psychological theories regarding eyewitness memory and accuracy. Special attention will be paid to examining research on improving eyewitness accuracy as well as examining race as it relates to eyewitness reliability. 

Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor and the Department Head is required to register.

PSYC 490CA

Persuasion, Attraction and Aggression – Course will review the theory and studies relating to persuasion when one person stands alone against the group or argues against a popular position. 

PSYC 490CE

Advanced Research Methods – This independent reading course follows a first semester where student(s) has written a research proposal. This independent study will facilitate student(s) conducting the research, and writing and honours-equivalent thesis.

PSYC 490CF

Memory (Advanced) – Advanced studies in Memory. A survey of theory and research findings in the area of memory and attention. 

Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor and Department Head

PSYC 490CG

Personal Mythology – This course offers an in-depth exploration of the relevance of themes from world mythology for psychological functioning in everyday life. Included are opportunities for phenomenological self-exploration of mythological structures of human imagination. 

Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor and the Department Head is required to register

PSYC 490CH

Psychopathology and Cognition – This course will focus on facets of cognition (e.g., information processing, thoughts, attention, memory, etc.) and how they relate to health and disorder, in particular depression. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 101, 204, 305, 333

PSYC 490CI

Applications of Statistical Methods – A review of applications of statistical methods in psychology. 

PSYC 496AA

Neurobehavioural Disorders – An examination of behavioural and mental disorders in relation to pathologies of the nervous system. Emphasis is placed on a clinical neuropsychological approach to the study of brain-behaviour relationships. 

Prerequisite: PSYC 355 or PSYC 356

PSYC 496AC

Psychology and the Criminal Justice System – This course reviews basic psychological principles and theories as they relate to the criminal justice system including police investigations, eyewitness identification, interviewing/interrogation, and criminal trial and sentencing procedures. 

PSYC 496AH

Infant Cognition – A survey of theories and research of infant (i.e., birth to toddlerhood) learning and cognition.

Prerequisites: PSYC 210 and 270, or permission of Department Head.

PSYC 496AN

Human Reasoning and Decision Making – Class will explore human reasoning and decision making processes from a cognitive psychology perspective. Topics include formal reasoning, heuristics, algorithms, creativity, flexibility in decision making, errors in human reasoning, the origins of such errors, affective forecasting, discounting, and the exploitation of reasoning errors and inference by unscrupulous advertisers and others. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 270 and 305

PSYC 496AX

Children and the Law – This course examines the role of children in the justice system. Readings will include empirical articles and legal commentary on issues related to child victims/witnesses. 

Prerequisite: PSYC 220 minimum grade 70% 

PSYC 496AZ

Qualitative Research Methods – A comprehensive overview of qualitative methods in psychology, focusing on the main methodological approaches to qualitative inquiry, their foundations, and their applications. 

Prerequisite: PSYC 204

PSYC 496BA

Psychology & Contemporary Art – An examination of the intersection between contemporary art practice and current psychological theory and research. 

Prerequisite: One 300-level PSYC course or permission from the instructor

Note: This course is also open to students in the Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance, who require permission from the instructor and Department Head.

PSYC 496BB

Cross-Cultural Psychopathology – An examination of abnormal behaviour and clinical disorders across different cultures. Course will also survey methods used to conduct research that examines clinical disorders across cultures. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 333

PSYC 496BC

Psychology of Mindfulness – What is mindfulness? This course will survey modern scientific consensus on mindfulness approaches; how current mindfulness approaches dovetail with ancient wisdom regarding the human condition; and discusses limitations and controversies in the field of mindfulness. The course will offer enrollees opportunities to practice meditative techniques espoused by the mindfulness movement. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 204 and 333