Course Descriptions
Office of Admissions
Pacific Graduate School of Psychology
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P3 Bachelor of Science in Psychology
Course Descriptions
Psychology Courses
Psychology of Learning and Memory PY310
This course provides students with an understanding of the scientific investigation of learning and memory. Both experimental and related theoretical developments are considered, as well as the application of the basic principles of learning and memory. Topics include classical and operant conditioning, stimulus control, schedules of reinforcement, choice, and punishment. Current theories about memory, including cognitive and neural organization of memory, mechanisms of remembering and forgetting, and why people sometimes falsely remember events that never happened will be explored. 4 Units
Research Design and Methods PY340
This course will teach students the investigative designs and methods used in psychological research. Issues involved in the design of non-experimental and experimental methods of research, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, and writing reports will be covered. Students will conduct a research project and produce a professional report. 4 Units
Psychological Writing PY300
This course will help students develop their writing, reading, critical thinking, and literature search skills within traditional formats for communicating scholarship in psychology. The course will cover the use of APA style for experimental reports and literature reviews. Assignments will emphasize how to interpret experimental findings and evaluate support for hypotheses. Other assignments will require students to synthesize findings from several published studies and draw conclusions about a body of research. 3 Units
Theories of Personality PY330
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the major theoretical perspectives and fundamental principles of personality. They will be exposed to a variety of competing paradigms on personality, e.g., trait theories, psychoanalytical theories, humanistic and cultural theories, learning theories, and cognitive theories. Students will develop an understanding of the relationship between these perspectives and how they apply to individuals in contemporary society. 4 Units
Social Psychology PY320
Students will learn about the scientific investigation of social behavior. They will study the theory and empirical research in social psychology: conformity, obedience, helping, and aggression; attitudes, persuasion, identity and roles; person perception, attribution, and social judgment; interpersonal and intergroup relationships, social conflict, prejudice, and stereotyping. And they will explore the implications of these concepts for explaining current social phenomenon. 4 Units
Psychology of Life Span Development PY380
This course will explore psychological development from birth to adulthood. Infancy and the early and middle childhood years will be explored, followed by examining adolescence, early, middle and late adulthood. Topics will include: the principles and theories of development; perceptual, cognitive, social, and personality development; family, school, and other societal influences on development; physical, intellectual, and social development; identity; sexuality; changing social contexts; and life transitions. 4 Units
Abnormal and Clinical Psychology PY390
This course examines the classification systems for abnormal behavior, and uses the DSM IV Multiaxial diagnostic system as the base for studying currently recognized major diagnostic categories. The major theories about the development of psychological disorders will be explored: analytic theories, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and biological. The course will review the various psychological and biological treatments currently used to assist clients with these disorders. 4 Units
Psychology of Gender PY360
This course will survey the major issues concerning gender and the science of psychology in an attempt to answer the question: why is there a gender gap when women and men share more psychological similarities than differences? Topics include: developmental processes and gender; biology and gender; cross-cultural perspectives of gender; gender and power; language and gender. 4 Units
Senior Internship PY355
The senior project will be a clinical or research project approved by the each student's academic advisor. Clinical projects may involve an internship experience in a community agency or in some other setting where students will have opportunities to witness the practical applications of the theories they have been studying in class. Students who choose to do a research project will either assist a professor with an ongoing research project or they will design their own project. 2 Units per Quarter
Cross-Cultural Psychology PY375
This course will study of psychology from various cultural perspectives with a view to identifying patterns of behavior that are universal and those that are culturally specific. The course looks at the extent to which American research findings apply to other societies and where such research fails to explain other cultures' behavior. Also examined will be issues that arise in cross-cultural encounters and methods students can develop to facilitate cross-cultural communication and constructive engagement. 4 Units
Applied Social Psychology PY370
This course will explore the application of social psychological theory and research to evaluating the impact of social interventions, strategies, and shortcomings in personal and social decision making; the effects of mass media and other sources of social persuasion; conflict resolution and negotiation; applications in legal, medical, educational, and business settings. The issues that will be examined will be done so through the lens of three major theoretical areas within social psychology: social cognition, social relations, and social influence. These issues will include health, violence against women, volunteerism, the environment, and law. 4 Units
Senior Capstone Class PY400
This course will be a topical course covering two topics and team taught by two professors. The topics will be broad, requiring students to bring together the theories, practices, concepts and ideas that have been explored in earlier coursework and the experiences they have gained in their internships and practical experiences. The topic will be chosen by faculty in the program each year. 4 Units
General Education & Upper Level Topics Courses
Human Biology BIO250
This course is a basic study of the structure and functioning of the human body. Emphasis will be placed on the interrelationships among different biological systems and upon developing a general understanding of the nervous systems and the brain. Students will investigate major biological principles; understand how cells function; examine the major physiological and anatomical characteristics of the human body; study how body organ systems function as a unit; and develop an appreciation for the interconnectedness of the human body's organ systems. 4 Units
Statistical Methods MA220
This course is an introduction to the statistical methods used in psychological research and will include topics, such as, techniques for organizing data, computing and interpreting measures of central tendency, variability, and association, estimating confidence intervals, tests of hypotheses, t-tests, correlation, and regression, analysis of variance and chi-square tests, and the use of computer statistical packages. 4 Units
Fundamentals of Social Action SO340
This course teaches students the basics of non-profit work: organization, leadership, communications, institutional research, budget management, volunteer workers, turning ideas and political beliefs into actions, etc. The course will be taught by an instructor and by guest lecturers who represent various aspects of the non-profit world.
Philosophy of Science PH200
This course will explore what science is, what it does, and how it works. Students will examine the features of the scientific method, which distinguish science from pseudo-science; how theoretical considerations and experiments interact to shape the scientific picture of the world; how scientific theories evolve and how theories from different scientific disciplines are related; and whether science does or should purport to provide a literally true picture of the world. The course will consider not only what is peculiar to the culture of science, but also how this scientific culture fits into the culture of the larger society. 4 Units
Cultural Anthropology AN350
This course provides an introduction to the concepts in the anthropological study of human behavior. It explores the ways of life of people in different societies and outlines various strategies anthropologists have used to study and understand them. Cultural anthropologists use the concept of culture to account for the tremendous variety of practices and beliefs that appear throughout the world. The capacity to create and sustain cultural understandings is unique to humans--culture is central to the human adaptation to physical, social and psychological environments. Topics to be covered will include the concept of culture, language, kinship and social organization, economics, socialization, psychology, politics, religion, and global issues. 4 Units
Intercultural Studies: Ethnic Identity and Social Stratification AN370
This course is an introductory study of ethnic and racial identities-their meanings and functions-as they relate to the culturally diverse and socially stratified U.S. society. Students will explore the relationship between ethnic and racial identities and social stratification from different theoretical and personal perspectives. The course will assist students in developing their own perspective on several matters of social policy and debate, such as racial profiling, affirmative action, immigration, diversity-training programs, and reparations. 4 Units
Sociology: Social Problems SO300
This course will expose students to the method of analyses used in sociology. It will use these tools to examine and understand a variety of contemporary issues that are relevant to the program theme of social action. These social problems will be examined from the perspective of the societies they emerge in and the forms of human social interaction which promote and foster them. 4 Units
Sociology: Globalization SO320
Globalization refers to a variety of political, economic, cultural, and social changes that are currently transforming our world. Countries are increasingly interconnected by flows of information, trade, money, immigrants, technology, and culture. Trans-national corporations and political organizations (e.g., the UN) have grown in size and influence, as have the organized social movements that lobby or oppose them. The goal of the course is clarify what globalization is and how it is affecting societies around the world. This course provides an overview of globalization and its consequences, drawing on new theoretical ideas from sociology and related fields. 4 Units
Ethics PH300
This course provides an introduction to those problems of philosophy that are problems of moral philosophy, or ethics. Students will examine problems that arise when we try to make moral judgments: problems such as cultural relativism ("What's right for us is not necessarily right for them"), subjectivism ("What's right for me is not necessarily right for you"), and the role of religion in morality (e.g., "What's right is just what God says is right"). Students will also consider several historically important and still-prominent theoretical approaches to ethics that attempt to provide systematic procedures for answering questions about right and wrong. A variety of important moral issues, such as famine relief, euthanasia, abortion, and genetic engineering will be explored in order to develop methods of thinking about the reasons for and against the moral judgments we are tempted to make. 4 Units
Economic Issues in Today's World EC210
This course will introduce students to the methods of analyses used in Economics and will apply these to understanding some of the major social problems of our age.