Psychology is the study of mind and behavior, the “how” and “why” of human activities. A social science that exploded into global consciousness throughout the 21st century, psychology continues to shape our experience within society and provide insights into the human potential for growth, healing, and understanding.
The five pillars of psychology (biological, cognitive, developmental, social/personality, and clinical/health), along with a scientific-minded approach are integrated throughout the course activities and discussions while incorporating a justice-oriented lens that seeks to understand the ways that privilege and power can inform research and practice.
This course is designed to be a survey course that briefly touches, at a macro level, on many facets of the study of psychology as a science and an applied science. Students should be prepared to be active participants in class, to read occasionally challenging scientific literature, and complete an APA research project focused on a psychology topic of their choosing as their culminating assessment.
Faculty: Javier Rizo and Christina Dimitri