PSYCH 1:
Introduction to Psychology
An introduction to the science of how people think, feel, and behave. We will explore such topics as intelligence, perception, memory, happiness, personality, culture, social influence, development, emotion, and mental illness. Students will learn about classic and cutting edge research, a range of methods, and discover how psychology informs our understanding of what it means to be human, addresses other fields, and offers solutions to important social problems.nnAn alternative version of the course, PSYCH 1L, is also offered for reduced (3) units, but does not count for major/minor requirements for Psychology or other disciplines. For more information on PSYCH 1 and PSYCH 1L, visit http://psychone.stanford.edu
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 1L:
Introduction to Psychology
A reduced-unit version of Stanford¿s popular Psych 1 class. An introduction to the science of how people think, feel, and behave. We will explore such topics as intelligence, perception, memory, happiness, personality, culture, social influence, development, emotion, and mental illness. Students will learn about classic and cutting edge research, a range of methods, and discover how psychology informs our understanding of what it means to be human, addresses other fields, and offers solutions to important social problems. nThe primary version of the course, PSYCH 1, is offered for 5 units and counts for major/minor requirements for Psychology and other disciplines. For more information on PSYCH 1 and PSYCH 1L, visit http://psychone.stanford.edu
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 4N:
Predicting aggregate choice
Preference to freshmen. Is prediction of group choice possible and how can it be done? This course is ideal for students that would like to extend predictions about individual choice to group choice, and who plan to apply this knowledge to future research.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 7N:
Learn to Intervene, Wisely
Do you ever look around and see ways that the world could be a better place, especially if people behaved a little differently? Do you wonder what prevents better outcomes? nnIn this seminar, we will examine social-psychological processes that lie behind diverse social problems, especially how people make sense of themselves, other people, or important situations, sometimes in pejorative ways that undermine outcomes. Then we will examine interventions that address critical processes to promote human flourishing. You¿ll have the opportunity to read and discuss classic and contemporary ¿wise¿ psychological interventions such as: how a change in the sign on a hospital soap dispenser can increase soap use; how a change in survey items can raise voter turnout; how a change in a single question can improve dating relationships; and how reading-and-writing exercises that address students¿ beliefs about intelligence and belonging in school can improve achievement years into the future. In learning about this research, you will discover more about psychological processes, how basic research helps clarify these processes, how they contribute in complex field settings to social problems, and how they can be altered.nnAs you learn from past research, you¿ll have the opportunity to design your very own ¿wise intervention¿ and to workshop others¿ efforts. You will identify a social problem on campus of interest to you, say: How can you reduce waste in the cafeteria? How can you get more people to take the stairs? How can you get people to hold more inclusive attitudes? Then you will identify a psychological process you think contributes to this problem, implement an intervention in the field and track the results. nnWhen you have completed this seminar, you will more fully understand the psychological aspect of social problems and how this can be addressed through rigorous research.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
PSYCH 7Q:
Language Understanding by Children and Adults
How do we first learn to find meaning in strings of speech sounds? Understanding spoken language requires the rapid integration of acoustic information with linguistic knowledge and with conceptual knowledge based on experience with how things happen in the world. Topics include research on early development of language understanding and laboratory methods of how young children make sense of speech. Observations of preschool children and visits to Stanford laboratories. Might be repeatable for credit.
Last offered: Autumn 2012
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 8N:
The New Longevity
Adult development from the perspective of life-span theory -- a conceptual framework that views development as a series of adaptations to physical, societal and individual resources and constraints. Students will learn about demographic and medical changes, ways that individuals typically change socially, emotionally and cognitively as they move through adulthood. An understanding of the conceptual foundations of the life-span approach and place aging of young people today in historical context.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 9N:
Reading the Brain: the Scientific, Ethical, and Legal Implications of Brain Imaging
It's hard to pick up a newspaper without seeing a story that involves brain imaging, from research on psychological disorders to its use for lie detection or "neuromarketing". The methods are indeed very powerful, but many of the claims seen in the press are results of overly strong interpretations. In this course, you will learn to evaluate claims based on brain imaging research. We will also explore the deeper ethical and philosophical issues that arise from our ability to peer into our own brains in action. The course will start by discussing how to understand and interpret the findings of brain imaging research. We will discuss how new statistical methods provide the ability to accurately predict thoughts and behaviors from brain images. We will explore how this research has the potential to change our concepts of the self, personal responsibility and free will. We will also discuss the ethics of brain imaging, such as how the ability to detect thoughts relates to personal privacy and mental illness. Finally, we will discuss the legal implications of these techniques, such as their use in lie detection or as evidence against legal culpability.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SMA
PSYCH 10:
Introduction to Statistical Methods: Precalculus (STATS 60, STATS 160)
Techniques for organizing data, computing, and interpreting measures of central tendency, variability, and association. Estimation, confidence intervals, tests of hypotheses, t-tests, correlation, and regression. Possible topics: analysis of variance and chi-square tests, computer statistical packages.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Math, WAY-AQR, WAY-FR
Instructors: ;
Baiocchi, M. (PI);
DiCiccio, C. (PI);
LaRocque, K. (PI);
Ren, Z. (PI);
Tsao, A. (PI);
Xia, L. (PI);
Bi, N. (TA);
Celentano, M. (TA);
DiCiccio, C. (TA);
Janson, L. (TA);
Katsevich, G. (TA);
Kizilcec, R. (GP);
Paepcke, A. (GP);
Sankaran, K. (TA)
PSYCH 10N:
Kids, Culture, and Poverty: From Biology to Social Action
Years before they set foot in school, children growing up in poor families begin to diverge from children in richer families in their trajectories of cognitive and language growth. These differences have powerful and enduring consequences for the health, well-being, educational success, and longevity of individuals, as well as for the future prosperity of the societies in which children become adults. Early childhood is a time of both enormous promise and considerable risk, and parents in different cultures have widely differing practices and beliefs about their role in enabling children to avoid risk and achieve their potential. In this seminar we will evaluate evidence from the biological and social sciences showing how positive and negative experiences in infancy have profound and enduring effects on early brain architecture, with cascading consequences for later development in childhood and adulthood. We will also consider the challenges of designing more effective programs and social policies to provide support for families in diverse cultural contexts, with the goal of helping more children to reach their full potential.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 4
PSYCH 11N:
Origin of Mental Life
Preference to freshmen. Mental life in infancy; how thinking originates. How do babies construe the objects, events, people, and language that surround them? Recent advances in psychological theory, hypotheses, and evidence about how the infant human mind develops.
Last offered: Spring 2012
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 12N:
Self Theories
Preference to freshmen. The impact of people's belief in a growing versus fixed self on their motivation and performance in school, business, sports, and relationships. How such theories develop and can be changed.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 13N:
Emotion Regulation
This seminar provides a selective overview of the scientific study of emotion regulation. Topics include: theoretical foundations, cognitive consequences, developmental approaches, personality processes and individual differences, and clinical and treatment implications. Our focus is on interesting, experimentally tractable ideas. Meetings will be discussion based.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 13S:
Dynamical models of mental processes: Development, analysis, and simulation
Mathematical modeling has been a critical component in modern psychological and cognitive neuroscience research on the dynamics of mental processes. This course is designed to equip the new generation of such scientists with tailored mathematical knowledge to develop models of their own. I will use classical models and my own experience in modeling decision making as examples to demonstrate the process from vague ideas to the development, refinement, analysis and simulation of dynamical models. Along the way, systematic knowledge in differential equations, numerical methods, principle component analysis etc will be provided to facilitate the general ground for future models of students¿ choosing. Open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
Last offered: Summer 2012
| Units: 2
PSYCH 15N:
Interpersonal Influence
This course will examine how individuals influence each other, both intentionally as well as nonconsciously. The focus will be on individuals in dyads rather than in groups. We will examine a) subtle interpersonal influence processes such as nonverbal communication, b) structural sources of interpersonal influence such as gender, race, social class, and culture, and c) interpersonal influence within different relationships such as organizational and romantic relationships. Familiarity with technology and video editing is useful. Students will have the opportunity to make brief podcasts and iMovie videos, as weekly responses to readings, as well as for the final class project.
Last offered: Autumn 2012
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 16N:
Amines and Affect
Preference to freshmen. How serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine influence people's emotional lives. This course is ideal for students that would like to get deeper exposure to cutting edge concepts and methods at the intersection of psychology and biology, and who plan to apply their knowledge to future research.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI, WAY-SMA
PSYCH 17N:
Language and Society: How Languages Shape Lives
Do people who speak different languages think differently? What role does language play in politics, law, and religion? The role of language in individual cognition and in society. Breaking news about language and society; the scientific basis for thinking about these broad issues.
Last offered: Spring 2010
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
PSYCH 20N:
How Beliefs Create Reality
This seminar will take an interdisciplinary approach to exploring how subjective aspects of the mind (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, and expectations) can fundamentally change objective reality. Over the course of the semester, students will be challenged to think critically about research from psychology, sociology, and medicine, which suggests that what we think, believe and expect plays a significant role in determining our physical health, performance and well-being. Students will explore research on how mindsets about nutrition, exercise, and stress can alter the body¿s response to those phenomena. Students will also uncover how social interactions with friends, family, colleagues and the media influence the perceived quality and impact of cultural products such as art, music, and fashion. And students will learn about the neurological and physiological underpinnings of the placebo effect, a powerful demonstration of expectation that produces real, healing changes in the body. Finally, students will have the opportunity to consider real world applications in disciplines including policy, business, medicine, academics, athletics and public health and consider the ethical implications of those applications. Throughout the class active participation and an open mind will be critical to success. The final weeks of class will be dedicated to student designed studies or interventions aimed to further explore the power of self-fulfilling prophecies, placebo effects, and the social-psychological creation of reality.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
PSYCH 25N:
Psychology, Inequality, and the American Dream
Despite legal prohibitions against discrimination and the fact that many people endorse egalitarian values, inequality persists in America. What role do psychological factors play in perpetuating inequality? How can psychologically "wise" reforms promote equal opportunity? Topics include prejudice and discrimination, school achievement, social class, and race/ethnicity.
Last offered: Autumn 2009
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 26N:
Language Acquisition: Exploring the Minds of Children
Language is an extraordinary competence distinguishing humans from other species, yet there is debate about the role of biology in guiding language acquisition. Does language development follow an innate ¿bioprogram¿ or does it build on more general cognitive abilities, influenced by early experience? Topics include biological and experiential influences on the emergence of linguistic ability as children learn a first language. Discussions of theory and research, visits to Stanford laboratories and observations of very young language learners.
Last offered: Winter 2014
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 27N:
The Psychology of Prejudice
Preference to freshmen. Social psychological theories and research on stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and racism. Psychological perspectives include those emphasizing personologic, cognitive, motivational, and sociocultural contributions to prejudice. Emphasis is on applying each approach to understanding real-world contexts such as educational and occupational contexts, and to the implications of this research for efforts to reduce prejudice and discrimination.
Last offered: Winter 2010
| Units: 3
PSYCH 29N:
Growing Up in America
Preference to freshmen. To what extent is it possible to describe an "American" experience? How are different people included in or excluded from the imagined community that is America? How do a person's race, class, gender and sexuality affect his or her experience of belonging to this country? These are just some of the questions we will consider as we familiarize ourselves with the great diversity of childhood and young adult experiences of people who have grown up in America. We will read and discuss narratives written by men and women, by urban, suburban, and rural Americans, and by Asian Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, Latina/os, and European Americans.
Last offered: Winter 2014
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
PSYCH 30:
Introduction to Perception
Behavioral and neural aspects of perception focusing on visual and auditory perception. Topics include: scientific methods for studying perception, anatomy and physiology of the visual and auditiory systems, color vision, depth perception, motion perception, stereopsis, visual recognition, pitch and loudness perception, speech perception, and reorganization of the visual system in the blind.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SI, WAY-SMA
PSYCH 35:
Minds and Machines (LINGUIST 35, PHIL 99, SYMSYS 1)
(Formerly SYMSYS 100). An overview of the interdisciplinary study of cognition, information, communication, and language, with an emphasis on foundational issues: What are minds? What is computation? What are rationality and intelligence? Can we predict human behavior? Can computers be truly intelligent? How do people and technology interact, and how might they do so in the future? Lectures focus on how the methods of philosophy, mathematics, empirical research, and computational modeling are used to study minds and machines. Undergraduates considering a major in symbolic systems should take this course as early as possible in their program of study.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-FR
PSYCH 45:
Introduction to Learning and Memory
The literature on learning and memory including cognitive and neural organization of memory, mechanisms of remembering and forgetting, and why people sometimes falsely remember events that never happened. Cognitive theory and behavioral evidence integrated with data from patient studies and functional brain imaging. Required prerequisite: PSYCH 1.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 50:
Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
Survey of topics relating brain activity to cognitive processes and behavior. The course begins with an overview of neurophysiology and techniques to measure brain activity. We then discuss perceptual and motor processes before investigating neural responses related to attention, memory, and cognitive control. The course concludes with a discussion of brain processes related to reward, decision making, and social cognition.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SI, WAY-SMA
PSYCH 50A:
Practicum in Teaching: Intro to Cognitive Neuroscience
TA training for Intro to Cognitive Neuroscience: preparing for sections, grading assignments, reviewing and answering questions in Canvas online forums and supporting office hours and review sections. Enrollment limited to teaching assistants for Psych 50: Intro to Cognitive Neuroscience. May be repeat for credit
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 60:
Introduction to Developmental Psychology
Psychological development from birth to adulthood, emphasizing infancy and the early and middle childhood years. The nature of change during childhood and theories of development. Recommended: PSYCH 1.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 60A:
Introduction to Developmental Psychology Section
Guided observation of children age 2-5 at Bing Nursery School. Corequisite: 60.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
PSYCH 70:
Self and Society: Introduction to Social Psychology (SOC 2)
Why do people behave the way they do? This is the fundamental question that drives social psychology. Through reading, lecture, and interactive discussion, students have the opportunity to explore and think critically about a variety of exciting issues including: what causes us to like, love, help, or hurt others; the effects of social influence and persuasion on individual thoughts, emotion, and behavior; and how the lessons of social psychology can be applied in contexts such as health, work, and relationships. The social forces studied in the class shape our behavior, though their operation cannot be seen directly. A central idea of this class is that awareness of these forces allows us to make choices in light of them, offering us more agency and wisdom in our everyday lives.nnnThis course is offered for 3-4 units. The 4 unit option has weekly discussion sections while the 3 unit version does not.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
PSYCH 75:
Introduction to Cultural Psychology
The cultural sources of diversity in thinking, emotion, motivation, self, personality, morality, development, and psychopathology.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
PSYCH 80:
Introduction to Personality and Affective Science
How do we measure personality and emotion? What parts of your personality and emotions are set at birth? What parts of your personality and emotions are shaped by your sociocultural context? Can your personality and emotions make you sick? Can you change yours personality and emotions? There are questions we begin to address in this introductory course on personality and emotion. Prerequisite: Psych 1.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 90:
Introduction to Clinical Psychology
History of clinical psychology, models and assessment of personality, behavior, cognition, psychopathology, and approaches to the treatment of abnormal behavior. Emphasis is on current theory, research, issues in, and the role of clinical psychology in contemporary society. Recommended: 1.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 95:
Introduction to Abnormal Psychology
Theories of and approaches to understanding the phenomenology, etiology, and treatment of psychological disorders among adults and children. Research findings and diagnostic issues. Recommended: PSYCH 1.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 101:
Community Health Psychology (HUMBIO 128)
Social ecological perspective on health emphasizing how individual health behavior is shaped by social forces. Topics include: biobehavioral factors in health; health behavior change; community health promotion; and psychological aspects of illness, patient care, and chronic disease management. Prerequisites: HUMBIO 3B or PSYCH 1, or equivalent.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 101S:
Introduction to Neuroscience
Introduction to structure and function of the nervous system. The course first surveys neuroscience research methods, physiology, and gross anatomy. We then study the brain systems which produce basic functions such as perception and motion, as well as complex processes like sleep, memory, and emotion. Finally, we examine these principles in cases of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Last offered: Summer 2015
| Units: 4
PSYCH 102:
Longevity (HUMBIO 149L, NENS 202)
Interdisciplinary. Challenges to and solutions for the young from increased human life expectancy: health care, financial markets, families, work, and politics. Guest lectures from engineers, economists, geneticists, and physiologists.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 102S:
Introduction to Neuroscience
Introduction to structure and function of the nervous system. The course first surveys neuroscience research methods, physiology, and gross anatomy. We then study the brain systems which produce basic functions such as perception and motion, as well as complex processes like sleep, memory, and emotion. Finally, we examine these principles in cases of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 4
PSYCH 103:
Intergroup Communication (CSRE 103)
In an increasingly globalized world, our ability to connect and engage with new audiences is directly correlated with our competence and success in any field How do our intergroup perceptions and reactions influence our skills as communicators? This course uses experiential activities and discussion sections to explore the role of social identity in effective communication.nnThe objective of the course is to examine and challenge our explicit and implicit assumptions about various groups to enhance our ability to successfully communicate across the complex web of identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-EDP
PSYCH 103F:
Intergroup Communication Facilitation (CSRE 103F)
This is a TA training course for Psych 103 - Intergroup Communication
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 104:
Uniquely Human
Are humans the only species that displays altruism, experiences uncertainty, and is capable of language and deception? Sources include empirical and theoretical papers in comparative psychology. Prerequisite: 1.
Last offered: Winter 2011
| Units: 3
PSYCH 104S:
Affective Science
This course will provide an introduction to a growing field known as affective science, which focuses on the study of emotion and other related phenomena (i.e., motivation, pain, etc.). We will explore core questions in affective science, including: 1) What is emotion and why is it useful? 2) How do emotions influence the way we perceive, attend to, and understand the world? 3) How do emotions become dysfunctional, and how can individuals control them? We will attempt to approach these questions from multiple perspectives, including i) neurobiological ii) behavioral, and iii) sociocultural perspectives.
Last offered: Summer 2015
| Units: 3
PSYCH 105:
Social Neuroscience
Over the last 20 years, neuroscientists have become increasingly interested in studying topics that were previously the purview of social psychologists. In this seminar, we will survey neuroimaging research on topics such as self perception, person perception, empathy, and social influence. More broadly, we will consider the contributions that neuroscience can (and cannot) make to social psychological theory. Students will be responsible for leading discussions and producing one in-depth review or research paper at the end of the quarter.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 105S:
General Psychology
In what ways does the scientific study of psychology increase our understanding of the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors we observe and experience in everyday life? What are the main areas of psychology and the different questions they seek to answer? This course will give you an introduction to the field of psychology and its many different areas. You will learn about the central methods, findings, and unanswered questions of these areas, as well as how to interpret and critically evaluate research findings.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
PSYCH 106:
Seminar on Visual Development
Describe basic development of visual system, introduce research methods/experimental designs, and present pathologies of visual development.
Last offered: Winter 2013
| Units: 3
PSYCH 107:
Visual Processing of Faces
How do we perceive a face, recognize its identity or judge its subtle communicative cues (e.g. emotion or intention)? How does our ability to visually process faces develop with age and change though out our life span? What is the role of nature vs. nurture in this development? How do social attitudes, culture and face perception interact? In addressing these questions, we will learn about behavioral, electrophysiological and neuroimaging approaches to understanding face processing and critically examine the theories and original research that have defined the field. The course is designed to give you an in depth understanding of face processing while exposing you to methods and ideas that are useful in evaluating a wide range of cognitive neuroscience research.
Last offered: Winter 2013
| Units: 2-3
PSYCH 107S:
Introduction to Social Psychology
A comprehensive overview of social psychology with in-depth lectures exploring the history of the field, reviewing major findings and highlighting areas of current research. Focus is on classic studies that have profoundly changed our understanding of human nature and social interaction, and, in turn, have triggered significant paradigm shifts within the field. Topics include: individuals and groups, conformity and obedience, attraction, intergroup relations, and judgment and decision-making.
Last offered: Summer 2010
| Units: 3
PSYCH 108:
Longevity through Film
The media informs the understanding of life stages and shapes expectations about our futures. This course will explore the realities and fictions about life-span development through film. This course will revolve around selected films compared with the literature on life stages. Guest filmmakers, psychologists, sociologists and thought leaders will join the class to discuss human development.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3
PSYCH 108S:
Introduction to Social Psychology
This course aims to blend a comprehensive overview of social psychology with in-depth lectures exploring the history of the field, reviewing major findings and highlighting areas of current research. The course will focus on classic studies that have profoundly changed our understanding of human nature and social interaction, and, in turn, have triggered significant paradigm shifts within the field. Some of the topics covered in this class will include: individuals and groups, conformity and obedience, attraction, intergroup relations, and judgment and decision-making. The course, overall, will attempt to foster interest in social psychology as well as scientific curiosity in a fun, supportive and intellectually stimulating environment.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
PSYCH 109:
An introduction to computation and cognition
How does the mind process information in order to choose good actions given the tangle of experience? The studies of computation and cognition synergise in diverse and powerful ways, from precise models of thinking to analysis of large behavioral data sets. In this course we will investigate questions of information representation and processing through a combination of lectures, hands-on (`flipped classroom¿) exercises, and extended homework assignments. We will explore method for psychological data analysis and three of the main computational approaches to modeling the mind: reinforcement learning, neural networks, and Bayesian inference. Using these tools we will explore human abilities such as reasoning and social cognition. Pre-requisites: Psych 1 and CS 106a (or consent of instructor).
| Units: 4
PSYCH 109S:
Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
3)Introduction of the neurobiology of behavior including the biology of nervous system, the neural basis for perception, learning, memory, decision making and neurological disorders. Introduction to different research techniques that are prevalent in current neuroscience studies including fMRI, EEG, TMS and single unit recording.
Last offered: Summer 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 110:
Research Methods and Experimental Design
Structured research exercises and design of an individual research project. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2010
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
PSYCH 111S:
Abnormal Psychology
This course will provide an introduction to abnormal psychology. It will be targeted towards students who have had little or no exposure to coursework on mental disorders. The course will have three core aims: 1) Explore the nature of mental disorders, including the phenomenology, signs/symptoms, and causal factors underlying various forms of mental illness, 2) Explore conventional and novel treatments for various mental disorders, 3) Develop critical thinking skills in the theory and empirical research into mental disorders. The course will explore a wide range of mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, addiction, eating disorders, and personality disorders.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
PSYCH 113S:
Developmental Psychology
This class will introduce students to the basic principles of developmental psychology. As well as providing a more classic general overview, we will also look towards current methods and findings. Students will gain an appreciation of how developmental psychology as a science can be applied to their general understanding of children and the complicated process of growing into adults.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
PSYCH 115S:
Personality Psychology
This course will focus on current empirical and theoretical approaches to personality. Lectures will be organized around the following questions central to personality research: How and why do people differ? How do we measure individual differences? Does personality change over time? How does personality interact with sociocultural factors to influence behavior? What makes people happy? What are the physical, mental, and social consequences of personalities?
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
PSYCH 118F:
Literature and the Brain (ENGLISH 118, ENGLISH 218, FRENCH 118, FRENCH 318)
Recent developments in and neuroscience and experimental psychology have transformed the way we think about the operations of the brain. What can we learn from this about the nature and function of literary texts? Can innovative ways of speaking affect ways of thinking? Do creative metaphors draw on embodied cognition? Can fictions strengthen our "theory of mind" capabilities? What role does mental imagery play in the appreciation of descriptions? Does (weak) modularity help explain the mechanism and purpose of self-reflexivity? Can the distinctions among types of memory shed light on what narrative works have to offer?
Last offered: Autumn 2012
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
PSYCH 119:
Psychology and Public Policy
Applications of psychology to public and social policy. Factors that affect the influence of psychological research and individual psychology on the creation of policy, and the influence of policy on attitudes and behavior at the personal and societal levels. Topics include education, health care, and criminal justice.
Last offered: Winter 2010
| Units: 5
PSYCH 119S:
The Psychology of Stigma
What obese people, African Americans, people with physical disabilities, lesbians, and Muslims have in common: social stigma. The social and psychological experiences of individuals living with social stigmas. Classic and current theory and research. Topics include: function, nature, and types of stigma; how stigmatized individuals view their identities and cope; mental and cognitive consequences; and interactions between stigmatized and non-stigmatized. Literature employing research methods including neuroimaging and social interaction studies.
Last offered: Summer 2011
| Units: 3
PSYCH 120:
Cellular Neuroscience: Cell Signaling and Behavior (BIO 153)
Neural interactions underlying behavior. Prerequisites: PSYCH 1 or basic biology.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
PSYCH 124S:
Applying Psychology to Modern Life
A scientific examination of everyday modern life. Topics include: how research on attention and memory can be applied to improve study strategies; how advertisers persuade and how their techniques can be resisted; how interpersonal conflicts can be avoided through knowledge of common errors in judging other people; and how studies on attraction and love can improve close relationships.
Last offered: Summer 2011
| Units: 3
PSYCH 125S:
Language andThought
How are we able to produce and comprehend language in all its complexity? How does language processing interact with other parts of cognition? In this course, we will focus on several main themes: language production and comprehension, discourse, language acquisition, bilingualism, and linguistic relativity. We will explore these themes through lecture, demonstrations, analysis of empirical work, and student-led discussion. Special attention will also be given to the various experimental methods we use to conduct psycholinguistic and developmental research (e.g., self-paced reading, eye-tracking, cross-modal priming, and neural imaging).
Last offered: Summer 2015
| Units: 3
PSYCH 129:
Happiness, Well-Being, Gender (FEMGEN 156)
Exploring the meaning and attainment of psychological well-being and happiness, this course will address gender differences in well-being and approaches that can be used by all individuals to improve their state of happiness and well-being. Course literature will be drawn primarily from social, clinical, and positive psychology, but will be drawn from other disciplines as well. Students will actively engage with course material by critiquing studies, discussing research, and applying methods for improving well-being to their daily lives.
Last offered: Winter 2014
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 130:
Experimental Pragmatics
How do we understand language as it is used in context? Pragmatic reasoning allows us to go beyond the literal semantics of what someone says to infer what they actually meant. This course will be an in-depth investigation of recent experimental work on pragmatics. Students will read the primary research literature as they learn the skills necessary to develop and run an original experiment investigating our pragmatic inference abilities. Required: Psych 131, Linguist 130A, Linguist 188, or permission of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3
PSYCH 130A:
NARRATIVE PSYCHOLOGY
This is an exploration of how human experience is remembered, organized, and transformed through stories people tell about their lives. Through a multicultural perspective we examine how narrative approaches in human development and health care offer promising ways to psychological and social wellness. We integrate transdisciplinary scholarship, traditional cultural wisdom, and self-reflective, experiential learning to connect our academic work with our personal lives.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 130S:
Positive Psychology: Happiness & Well-Being
Exploring the meaning and attainment of psychological well-being and happiness, this course investigates approaches that can be used by all individuals to improve their state of happiness and well-being. Course literature is drawn primarily from social, clinical, and positive psychology, but is also drawn from other disciplines as appropriate. In this course, students will actively engage with course material by critiquing studies, discussing research, and applying methods for improving well-being to their daily lives.
Last offered: Summer 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 132A:
Navigating Race and Identity in America: The Role of Psychology in Racial Interactions (CSRE 118F)
How have social institutions and historical factors led to the belief systems and stereotypes that shape how race is experienced in American society, and how do these belief systems affect the way individuals within racial groups come to view and define themselves?nThis course will serve as an introduction to how people¿s psychology¿how they think, feel, and act¿shapes their experience of race and identity in America. After a brief discussion about the structural and systemic origins of the racial status quo, we will examine the way that individuals navigate the social and racial landscape of modern-day America. Complementing courses that take sociological approaches to race in America, this course will focus on how individuals¿ perceptions and thoughts about the world affect how they interpret and respond to social situations.nFor example, the course will address:n¿nhow stereotypes about one¿s race or identity can cause individuals to feel threatened, and can undermine health, feelings of belonging, and academic performance n¿nhow an individual¿s concerns about the thoughts and beliefs of others can radically affect identity formation, particularly during adolescencen¿nhow individuals have to navigate multiple cultural identities, especially as minority group members contending with mainstream ideas that differ from their ownn¿nhow majority group members (e.g., Whites) view their role in racial systems, and how they deal with concerns about being or appearing prejudiced n¿nhow interventions can use social psychological concepts to mitigate negative outcomes of racial inequalitynWe will then use our understanding of these concepts to examine and consider different racial situations thoughout American society and to understand how individuals navigate and experience race and identity. Throughout the course, we will watch films, read literature, and analyze music and art that reflect the experience of race and identity.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 4
PSYCH 132S:
The Neglected Senses: Hearing, Touch, Smell and Taste
Whereas psychology and neuroscience have made great strides in understanding how we perceive the world through all five of our senses, most undergraduate courses focus primarily on vision. The most popular undergraduate perception textbooks devote less than half of their pages to all four other senses. This course will be devoted to these neglected senses: hearing, taste, olfaction and touch. The course will provide answers for the following questions: What stimuli activate the senses of hearing, taste, olfaction and touch? How do we detect that these stimuli are there? How does the brain process information from the senses? How do the senses affect each other? And what can we learn from studying people¿s behavior alone (using psychological methods)?
Last offered: Summer 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 134:
Seminar on Language and Deception (LINGUIST 134)
Deceptive, exploitative, and other noncooperative uses of language. How is language used to deceive or exploit? Where are these techniques practiced and why? What are the personal, ethical, and social consequences of these practices? Prerequisite: 131, LINGUIST 1, or PHIL 181.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 134S:
The Art and Science of Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence has been promoted as essential in finding meaning and fulfillment in our work and relationships. This course is designed to provide an introduction to research and theory on emotional intelligence as a relatively new concept in psychology that has profound influence in education, health, and business. We will critically review it as a scientific concept, looking at the research and the biological bases for emotional intelligence. We will then explore its four basic areas of self understanding, self management, social understanding, and social management. For each area we will engage in self reflection and learn and practice ways of enhancing our emotional intelligence.
Last offered: Summer 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 136S:
Learning and Memory: Theory and Applications
This course explores how our behavior in the present is guided by our past experiences, and how we can apply these principles to our own learning and to the broader world around us. We will explore the theory of learning and memory, including an introduction to multiple memory systems, the ways in which memory can succeed but also fail, and how memory integrity changes across the lifespan and across clinical populations. We will also explore applications of this theoretical content to the real world technologies and policies that touch our everyday lives, such as applications in brain training, advertising, the legal system, and the classroom.
Last offered: Summer 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 138:
Wise Interventions (PSYCH 238, PUBLPOL 238)
Classic and contemporary psychological interventions; the role of psychological factors in social reforms for social problems involving healthcare, the workplace, education, intergroup, relations, and the law. Topics include theories of intervention, the role of laboratory research, evaluation, and social policy.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 138S:
Motivation to Learn
Why do some students delight at the thought of challenging tasks while others only care about getting the grade? Why do some seek out opportunities to learn in and out of school while others feel anxious just showing up to class? Why do our failures sometimes debilitate and other times invigorate? How do we turn our desires to achieve into concrete action? Where do these motivational processes come from and how might we use our understanding of motivation to improve educational systems? This course will address these and other fascinating questions as we consider theory and research on motivation, primarily as it applies to educational contexts. The course will be based largely around interactive discussions of primary source articles, with some lecture in order to provide you with important background information and a framework for discussing the readings.
Last offered: Summer 2015
| Units: 3
PSYCH 139S:
Psychology of Women
Women comprise half of the human population, yet throughout much of history, the study of human thought and behavior has been largely male focused. In fact, some of the earliest psychological studies of women were conducted primarily to argue for the evolutionary supremacy of men. During the past fifty years, the field of psychology has made significant strides towards considering women and men equally worthy subjects of inquiry. In this course, we will discuss this growing body of research related to gender and the female experience. We will focus on six main themes: social and biological approaches to studying gender, evidence for gender similarities and differences, gender stereotypes and sexism, gender and language use, women in the workplace, and female sexuality. We will explore these themes through lectures, in class demonstrations, analysis of empirical work, and student led discussion.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
PSYCH 140:
Introduction to Psycholinguistics (LINGUIST 145)
How do people do things with language? How do we go from perceiving the acoustic waves that reach our ears to understanding that someone just announced the winner of the presidential election? How do we go from a thought to spelling that thought out in a sentence? How do babies learn language from scratch? This course is a practical introduction to psycholinguistics -- the study of how humans learn, represent, comprehend, and produce language. The course aims to provide students with a solid understanding of both the research methodologies used in psycholinguistic research and many of the well-established findings in the field. Topics covered will include visual and auditory recognition of words, sentence comprehension, reading, discourse and inference, sentence production, language acquisition, language in the brain, and language disorders. Students will conduct a small but original research project and gain experience with reporting and critiquing psycholinguistic research.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
PSYCH 140S:
Sport Psychology
Focus is on research methods and findings and how to apply these findings to students' own performance. Topics include methods of performance enhancement, psychological characteristics of top performers, group dynamics and processes, effective leadership practices, the effects of stereotyping on sport participation and performance, and debates in the field. Emphasis will be on sports, although most topics can be applied to performance in general.
Last offered: Summer 2010
| Units: 3
PSYCH 141:
Cognitive Development
This course aims to offer an understanding of how human cognition ¿ the ability to think, reason, and learn about the world ¿ changes in the first few years of life. We will review and evaluate both classic findings and state-of-the-art research on cognitive development, and learn about the methods used to reveal what children know and think about the world. The course will help students to understand, discuss, and critically evaluate the major theories and explanations of intellectual growth, and consider implications of cognitive development research on real-world issues in education and social policy. Prerequisites: Psych 1.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 141S:
Health Psychology
Why is it so difficult for people to stick to an exercise plan? Why don¿t people take their doctor¿s advice? Why aren¿t public health announcements more effective? This course addresses these questions by providing an overview of health psychology: the scientific study of behaviors and cognitive processes related to health states. In this course, we will discuss the mind/body connection, the influence of social/cultural and physical environments on our health, cognitive processing of health information, health belief models, and the link between emotion and health. Understanding the interactions between these biological, psychological, and social influences on individuals' health states is crucial for developing effective health communication and intervention programs. We will approach all course topics from both theory-driven and applied perspectives.
Last offered: Summer 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 142S:
The Psychology of Social Media
People interact with the world around them largely through mediated means ¿ internet, television, radio, etc. This course will survey current social media ¿ e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc ¿ and popular culture in order to highlight the psychological processes at play. Topics will include: social belonging, interpersonal attraction, identity, bias, and cyberbullying. Students will be expected to learn how to study social media and popular culture using psychological methods.
Last offered: Summer 2011
| Units: 3
PSYCH 143:
Developmental Anomalies
For advanced students. Developmental disorders and impairments. What the sparing of mental abilities in otherwise devastating disorders (or vice versa) tells about the mind and its development in the normal case. Examples of disorders and impairments: autism, congenital blindness, deafness, mental retardation, attachment disorder, and Williams syndrome. Limited enrollment. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2009
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
PSYCH 143S:
The Psychology of Mean Girls
This course examines the phenomenon of relational aggression and its implications on girls' lives and relationships. Using the theoretical lenses of moral and social psychology, we will consider how girls experience relational aggression and how it affects their friendships and other social negotiations. While adolescents will be the main focus group, examples from college-age and older girls will also be considered. Classwork will include case studies, reflection papers, and a final research paper on a related topic of the students' choice.
Last offered: Summer 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 145:
Seminar on Infant Development
For students preparing honors research. Conceptual and methodological issues related to research on developmental psycholinguistics; training in experimental design; and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 145S:
Close Relationships
Relationships are central to the human experience, and relationship science seeks to understand how our connections to others shape how we think, feel, and act. The purpose of this course is to explore the classic and current research and theory on close relationships in the field of psychology. Some of the topics we will explore are friendship, attraction, love, familial ties, conflict, social cognition, interdependency, sexuality, loss, and the sociocultural shaping of relationships. The course, in part, aims to create budding relationship scientists, who can turn their real-world interests and observations into testable hypotheses with the methods and tools of the field.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 146:
Observation of Children
Learning about children through guided observations at Bing Nursery School, Psychology's lab for research and training in child development. Physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and language development. Recommended: 60.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
PSYCH 146S:
Brain, Mind, and Behavior
How does the complexity of human behavior arise from the mind and brain? This course surveys approaches to linking these three concepts. We will introduce the brain with a hands-on neuroanatomy demo. We will explore how neurons manipulate signals to communicate, transforming our sensory experiences into rich internal representations, used to guide our attention, decision-making, and social interactions. We will immerse ourselves in the methods of cognitive neuroscientists, tinkering with models linking brain signals with behavior, learning how those signals are recorded (e.g. fMRI and EEG) and perturbed (e.g. TMS), and fine-tuning our ability to design psychological experiments. We will think about how these concepts apply in our own lives, while also learning to critically assess current research.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 147:
Development in Early Childhood
Supervised experience with young children at Bing Nursery School. 3 units require 4 hours per week in Bing classrooms throughout the quarter; 4 units require 7 hours per week; 5 units require 10.5 hours per week. Seminar on developmental issues in the Bing teaching/learning environment. Recommended: 60 or 146, or consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
PSYCH 147S:
Introduction to the Psychology of Emotion
Our emotions influence how we perceive the world, inform how we make critical life decisions, and connect us with other people. Affective science, the scientific study of emotion, investigates how emotions shape our lives. In this course, we explore how emotions arise as feelings we experience, behaviors we commit, and physiological reactions to our environments. Across these levels of analysis, we will consider how emotions interact with our personalities, past experiences, future goals, stages of development, and socio-cultural surroundings. We will learn how affective science has clarified the nature of emotion, how emotions evolved across diverse animal species, and how emotions impact our health and relationships with others. You will leave this class with an improved, scientifically-informed understanding of your own and others emotions, and strategies for how to effectively use and manage your feelings in daily life.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
PSYCH 148S:
The Psychology of Bias: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination
From Black Lives Matter to mansplaining, issues of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination grab our attention and draw our concern. This course brings together research from social, cognitive, affective, developmental, cultural, and neural perspectives to examine the processes that reflect and perpetuate group biases. Along with these various research perspectives, we will consider perspectives of both privileged and disadvantaged group members. Where do stereotypes come from? Why is race so hard to talk about? Can we be biased without knowing it? How can we reduce prejudice and conflict? We will address these and other questions through lectures, class discussion, and group presentations.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
PSYCH 149:
The Infant Mind: Cognitive Development over the First Year
How do babies learn so much in so little time? Emphasis is on cognitive and perceptual development, and the relationship between brain and behavior in infancy. Prerequisite: 1. Recommended: 60 or 141.
Last offered: Spring 2009
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
PSYCH 150:
Race and Crime (CSRE 150A)
The goal of this course is to examine social psychological perspectives on race, crime, and punishment in the United States. Readings will be drawn not only from psychology, but also from sociology, criminology, economics, and legal studies. We will consider the manner in which social psychological variables may operate at various points in the crimina; justice system- from policing, to sentencing, to imprisonment, to re-entry. Conducted as a seminar. Students interested in participating should attend the first session and complete online application for permission at https://goo.gl/forms/CAut7RKX6MewBIuG3.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 150B:
Race and Crime Practicum (CSRE 150B)
This practicum is designed to build on the lessons learned in PSYCH 150: Race & Crime. In this community service learning course, students will participate in community partnerships relevant to race and crime, as well as reflection to connect these experiences to research and course content. Interested students should complete an application for permission at: https://goo.gl/forms/CAut7RKX6MewBIuG3. Prerequisite: PSYCH 150 (taken concurrently or previously).
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
PSYCH 151:
Emotion Regulation and Psychopathology
A broad overview of specific emotion regulation impairments in various psychopathologies and discussion of how current treatment protocols are likely to aid recovery by forming more adaptive emotion regulation ability. nTopics include: Foundations and Emotion regulation models, Emotion regulation impairments in Mood disorders (Unipolar Depression and Bipolar Disorder), Anxiety disorders (Social Phobia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder), Eating disorders (Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa), and Personality Disorders (Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder).
Last offered: Winter 2011
| Units: 3
PSYCH 152:
Mediation for Dispute Resolution (EDUC 131)
Mediation as more effective and less expensive than other forms of settling disputes such as violence, lawsuits, or arbitration. How mediation can be structured to maximize the chances for success. Simulated mediation sessions.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 152F:
Doing Race and Ethnicity: How and Why it Matters
Going to school and work, renting an apartment, going to the doctor, watching television, voting, reading, and attending religious services are all activities that involve doing¿consciously or unconsciously¿race and ethnicity. In this course, we draw from history, psychology, genetics, and literary studies to understand contemporary racial formations and cultural representations. Course will include two 50-minute lectures with a required online discussion section. Enrollment capped at 20 students.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 3
PSYCH 154:
Judgment and Decision-Making
Survey of research on how we make assessments and decisions particularly in situations involving uncertainty. Emphasis will be on instances where behavior deviates from optimality. Overview of recent works examining the neural basis of judgment and decision-making.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 155:
Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (COMPLIT 195, CSRE 196C, ENGLISH 172D, SOC 146, TAPS 165)
How different disciplines approach topics and issues central to the study of ethnic and race relations in the U.S. and elsewhere. Lectures by senior faculty affiliated with CSRE. Discussions led by CSRE teaching fellows. Includes an optional Haas Center for Public Service certified Community Engaged Learning section.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
PSYCH 156:
Communicating Neuroscience
Understanding the structure and function of the brain is presently an international goal with Brain Initiatives in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Due to this global interest, knowledge about the brain is influencing all aspects of society. As such, accurate communication and translation of neuroscience findings are of utmost importance. This course will examine ways to translate and to communicate neuroscience research for public outreach, with a focus on the role of technology. Topics include: television, feature articles, blogs, documentaries, and online videos. Students will learn different ways to accurately translate and communicate neuroscience topics in the context of theoretical and methodological approaches and to apply these tools in an original way to generate a completed outreach piece by the end of the course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 157:
Social Foundations of Expertise and Intelligence
Psychological conceptions of expertise, ability, and intelligence and the research methods used to study these attributes. Topics include: research on how expertise in a diverse set of disciplines is developed; the role of practice in nurturing expertise; whether intelligence predicts life outcomes; the genetic and environmental determinants of intelligence; whether genes or environment explain racial differences such as the Black-White performance gap and the East Asian achievement advantage; and the Flynn effect.
Last offered: Spring 2010
| Units: 3
PSYCH 158:
Emotions: History, Theories, and Research (PSYCH 259)
Graduate students register for 259. Theoretical and empirical issues in the domain of emotions. The history of emotion theories, current approaches, and the interaction between emotion and cognition.
Last offered: Winter 2008
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 159:
Psychology of Attitude Change and Social Influence
Review of classic and current research on attitudes, attitude change and persuasion. Increase appreciation for the ways that our thoughts, actions, and feelings are shaped and manipulated by social influences.
Last offered: Spring 2011
| Units: 3
PSYCH 161:
Emotion (PSYCH 261)
(Graduate students register for 261.) The scientific study of emotion. Topics: models of emotion, emotion antecedents, emotional responses (facial, subjective, and physiological), functions of emotion, emotion regulation, individual differences, and health implications. Focus is on experimentally tractable ideas.
Last offered: Winter 2010
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 164:
Brain decoding
Can we know what someone is thinking by examining their brain activity? Using knowledge of the human visual system and techniques from machine learning, recent work has shown impressive ability to decode what people are looking at from their brain activity as measured with functional imaging. The course will use a combination of lectures, primary literature readings, discussion and hands-on tutorials to understand this emerging technology from basic knowledge of the perceptual (primarily visual) and other cognitive systems (such as working memory) to tools and techniques used to decode brain activity.nPrerequisites: Either Psych 30 or Psych 50 or Consent of Instructor
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
PSYCH 167:
Seminar on Aggression
The causes and modification of individual and collective aggression. Major issues in aggression: social labeling of injurious conduct, social determinants of aggression, effects of the mass media, institutionally sanctioned violence, terrorism, psychological mechanisms of moral disengagement, modification of aggressive styles of behavior, and legal sanctions and deterrence doctrines.
Last offered: Winter 2009
| Units: 3
PSYCH 168:
Emotion Regulation (PSYCH 268)
(Graduate students register for 268.) The scientific study of emotion regulation. Topics: historical antecedents, conceptual foundations, autonomic and neural bases, individual differences, developmental and cultural aspects, implications for psychological and physical health. Focus is on experimentally tractable ideas.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 169:
Advanced Seminar on Memory
Memory and human cognition. Memory is not a unitary faculty but consists of multiple systems that support learning and remembering, each with its own processing characteristics and neurobiological substrates. This advanced undergraduate seminar will consider recent discoveries about the cognitive and neural architectures of working, declarative, and nondeclarative memory. Required: 45.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
PSYCH 170:
The Psychology of Communication About Politics in America (COMM 164, COMM 264, POLISCI 124L)
Focus is on how politicians and government learn what Americans want and how the public's preferences shape government action; how surveys measure beliefs, preferences, and experiences; how poll results are criticized and interpreted; how conflict between polls is viewed by the public; how accurate surveys are and when they are accurate; how to conduct survey research to produce accurate measurements; designing questionnaires that people can understand and use comfortably; how question wording can manipulate poll results; corruption in survey research.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 171:
Research Seminar on Aging
Two quarter practicum exposes students to multiple phases of research by participating in a laboratory focusing on social behavior in adulthood and old age. Review of current research; participation in ongoing data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Prerequisites: 1, research experience, and consent of instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
PSYCH 172:
Self-fashioning (PHIL 186A, PHIL 286A)
This undergraduate and graduate seminar will examine philosophical and psychological literature relevant to self-fashioning. Meetings will be discussion oriented, and each meeting will focus on a different question of theoretical and applied significance. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. May be repeat for credit
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 175:
Social Cognition and Learning in Early Childhood
Social cognition ¿ the ability to recognize others, understand their behaviors, and reason about their thoughts ¿ is a critical component of what makes us human. What are the basic elements of social cognition, and what do children understand about other people¿s actions, thoughts, and feelings? How do these capacities help us understand the world, as learning unfolds in the first few years of life? This course will take a deeper look at the intersection of social cognition and cognitive development to better understand how children learn about the world.nnStudents will explore various topics on social cognition with an emphasis on (but not limited to) developmental perspectives, including face perception, action understanding, Theory of Mind, communication, and altruism, and think about how these abilities might be linked to the developmental changes in children¿s understanding of the world. The course will encourage students to think hard about the fundamental questions about the human mind and how it interacts with other minds, and the value of studying young children in addressing these questions. Students should expect to read, present, and discuss theoretical and empirical research articles and to develop original research proposals as a final project. nnStudents will have an opportunity to develop their proposals into a research project in PSYCH 187, a lab course offered every other year in Spring (next offer expected to be Spring 2018) as a sequel to this course. This course fulfills the WIM requirement. nnPrerequisitesPsych60 or Psych141, or see instructor
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 176:
Biology, Culture and Family in Early Development (HUMBIO 147)
Early childhood is a time of both enormous promise and vulnerability. Parents differ widely in their practices and beliefs about their role in enabling children to avoid risk and to achieve their potential for a healthy and productive life in the particular physical, social and cultural contexts of the communities and societies in which they live. In this seminar we will evaluate evidence from the biological and social sciences showing how experiences in infancy have profound and enduring effects on early brain architecture, with consequences for later language, cognitive, and socio- emotional development in childhood and adulthood. We will also consider the challenges of designing more effective social policies and programs to provide support for families in diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts, who all want to help their children thrive. A community-service learning option, working with children as a reading tutor, is included for students taking this class for 4-units. Enrollment is limited and consent of instructor is required. Please send a brief statement of your interests, goals, and academic preparation relevant to the themes of this class to Prof. Fernald (afernald@stanford.edu). Pre-requisites: Psych 01 and Psych 60, or Human Biology 3B.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
PSYCH 178:
New Methods for Old Questions: Linking Social Cognition and Social Cognitive Neuroscience
Novel technology can fuel new discoveries and generate new questions for future research. For instance, looking-time methods for studying infants or response time (RT) measures in cognitive psychology have been enabled by the use of computers and video cameras. More recently, neuroimaging techniques (such as fMRI) have transformed the field by offering a more direct look into the working human brain. These methods are, in a way, ¿old¿ and ¿new¿ ways of studying what psychologists want to study ¿ mental representations. nnWhat are the promises and challenges of using these methods to study human cognition and its development? What have we learned, where have we fallen short, and why? Most importantly, how can we make the most out of these new methods to bear on our understanding of social cognition and its development? After the first two weeks of lectures on basic methods, each week we will consider a topic that has been extensively studied in cognitive development literature. Topics will include: perception of agency, theory of mind, and morality; on each topic, we will compare two different ways of studying mental representations ¿ the ¿old¿ way (behavior) and the ¿new¿ way (neural response) ¿ to assess their relative benefits and shortcomings, and to discuss the promises and pitfalls for combining the two.nnThis course will be a combination of lectures, presentations, and discussions aimed primarily for upper-class undergraduate students or graduate students who do not have much background in neuroimaging methods, but interested in learning more about neuroimaging methods and think about how these methods can (and cannot) help address questions about social cognition and development. Prerequisite: Psych60 or Psych141, or see instructor
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 3
PSYCH 180:
Social Psychological Perspectives on Stereotyping and Prejudice
The seminar will review classic and current literature from social psychology on stereotyping and prejudice. We will cover the perceiver's persepective including the formation and maintenance of stereotypes, the functions and costs of stereotyping, and stereotype change. We will also explore how targets are affected by stereotypes and prejudice, as well as intergroup relations. Recent research concerning the role of cognitive, affective, motivational and behavioral processes will be emphasized.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
PSYCH 180A:
SPARQshop: Social Psychological Answers to Real-world Questions (PSYCH 283A)
Undergraduate and graduate students will work in teams to design, build, test, and distribute online toolkits that help practitioners solve real-world problems by applying social science. Graduate students can build toolkits for their own research. Students will learn how to assess the needs of practitioner audiences; write text, design graphics, and program activities for these audiences; prepare, deliver, and produce a TED-style online video; design surveys in Qualtrics; and build and user-test the toolkit. Readings and class discussions will include modules on design thinking, storytelling, science writing, information design, and impact evaluation. For an example of a toolkit in progress, please visit spacereface.org. Permission of instructor required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 182:
Seminar in Applied Cognitive Development
Much is known about how children learn. But how can this knowledge be used to create effective, age-appropriate health and educational interventions for children? This course surveys research in basic and applied cognitive development. Students will then have the opportunity to design an intervention for young children based on what they¿ve learned. Recommended: Psych 60 or Psych 141.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 183:
SPARQ Lab
Join SPARQ (Social Psychological Answers to Real-world Questions) as a research assistant and help with projects addressing real-world issues.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 187:
Research Design, Implementation, and Communication in Cognitive Development
This course is offered primarily for students who have taken PSYCH175 (Winter) and wish to further develop their final papers into a research project. Students will learn how experiments are designed and conducted using young children as participants, whose task comprehension/compliance/attention span are all very different from adults. The goal of this course is to provide hands-on experiences in designing, creating, and adjusting stimuli/protocols, and through this process, help students understand how studying such populations, despite its difficulties, can help us answer some of the most interesting questions about the human mind. Students will experience all stages of designing and running an experiment with children within a structured time frame, and present their studies by presenting their work and writing a final paper at the end of the course. Students should expect to commit hours outside of class, for creating stimuli and collecting data.nPrerequisites: PSYCH175, or see instructor
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-4
PSYCH 189:
Stanford Center on Longevity Practicum
Student involvement in an interdisciplinary center aimed at changing the culture of human aging using science and technology. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 9 units total)
PSYCH 190:
Special Research Projects
May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-6
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 191:
Special Research Projects in the Mind & Body Lab
May be repeated for credit or for grade. Prerequisites: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-6
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 192:
Career and Personal Counseling (EDUC 134, EDUC 234)
Theories and methods for helping people create more satisfying lives for themselves. Simulated counseling experiences.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3
PSYCH 193:
Special Laboratory Research
May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: 1, 10, and consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-6
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 194:
Reading and Special Work
Independent study. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Boroditsky, L. (PI);
Carstensen, L. (PI);
Clark, H. (PI);
Crum, A. (PI);
Dweck, C. (PI);
Eberhardt, J. (PI);
Fernald, A. (PI);
Gardner, J. (PI);
Gotlib, I. (PI);
Grill-Spector, K. (PI);
Gross, J. (PI);
Gweon, H. (PI);
Hard, B. (PI);
Heaney, C. (PI);
Knutson, B. (PI);
Krumboltz, J. (PI);
Lepper, M. (PI);
Markman, E. (PI);
Markus, H. (PI);
McClelland, J. (PI);
McClure, S. (PI);
Miller, D. (PI);
Monin, B. (PI);
Poldrack, R. (PI);
Ramscar, M. (PI);
Ross, L. (PI);
Thomas, E. (PI);
Tormala, T. (PI);
Tsai, J. (PI);
Tversky, B. (PI);
Wagner, A. (PI);
Walton, G. (PI);
Wandell, B. (PI);
Wine, J. (PI);
Winters, J. (PI);
Wise, B. (PI);
Yamins, D. (PI);
Maitreyi, A. (GP)
PSYCH 195:
Special Laboratory Projects
Independent study. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: 1, 10, and consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-6
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Boroditsky, L. (PI);
Camp, N. (PI);
Carstensen, L. (PI);
Clark, H. (PI);
Cohen, G. (PI);
Crum, A. (PI);
Dweck, C. (PI);
Eberhardt, J. (PI);
Fernald, A. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gardner, J. (PI);
Goodman, N. (PI);
Gotlib, I. (PI);
Grill-Spector, K. (PI);
Gross, J. (PI);
Gweon, H. (PI);
Hard, B. (PI);
Heaney, C. (PI);
Knutson, B. (PI);
Krumboltz, J. (PI);
Lepper, M. (PI);
Markman, E. (PI);
Markus, H. (PI);
McClelland, J. (PI);
McClure, S. (PI);
Miller, D. (PI);
Monin, B. (PI);
Norcia, A. (PI);
Poldrack, R. (PI);
Ramscar, M. (PI);
Ross, L. (PI);
Thomas, E. (PI);
Tormala, T. (PI);
Tsai, J. (PI);
Tversky, B. (PI);
Wagner, A. (PI);
Walton, G. (PI);
Wandell, B. (PI);
Wine, J. (PI);
Winters, J. (PI);
Yamins, D. (PI);
Zaki, J. (PI);
Maitreyi, A. (GP)
PSYCH 196:
Contemporary Psychology: Overview of Theory, Research, Applications
Capstone experience for juniors and seniors that bridges course work with research opportunities. Lectures representing the department's areas: social, personality, developmental, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology. Faculty present current research. Discussions led by advanced graduate students in the field represented by that week's guest. Students write research proposals. Small grants available to students to conduct a pilot study of their proposed research. Limited enrollment. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
PSYCH 196A:
Advanced Psychology Research Methods
This course is designed for advanced psychology students familiar with basic research methods (Honors and Coterms) who wish to build on and develop more sophisticated, independent research skills. Topics will include research design and evaluation, introductory statistics and basic programming in R, logistics of running a study at Stanford (including online studies with Qualtrics and Amazon¿s Mechanical Turk), interpreting and writing up the results of statistical analyses, giving an academic presentation, and more. Students will gain hands on, pragmatic skills in each of these areas through individual and group projects and presentations, problem sets, and instructor and peer feedback. By the end of the course, students will have the knowledge and skills they need to develop and execute their own independent research project (e.g., their honors or coterm thesis project).
Last offered: Winter 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 197:
Advanced Research
Limited to students in senior honors program. Weekly research seminar, independent research project under the supervision of an appropriate faculty member. A detailed proposal is submitted at the end of Autumn Quarter. Research continues during Winter and Spring quarters as 198. A report demonstrating sufficient progress is required at the end of Winter Quarter.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-4
PSYCH 198:
Senior Honors Research
Limited to students in the senior honors program. Finishing the research and data analysis, written thesis, and presentation at the Senior Honors Convention. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 199:
Temptations and Self Control (PSYCH 299)
(Graduate students register for 299.) Why do people do things that that they come to regret? How can people minimize behavior such as exercise avoidance, angry words, overeating, unsafe sex, and dangerous driving? Sources include classical and current research from experimental psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, and neuroeconomics. Real-world applications.
Last offered: Autumn 2007
| Units: 2
PSYCH 201:
Social Psychology Lecture Series
Required of social psychology graduate students. Guest lecturers from Stanford and other institutions. May be repeated for credit. (Miller)
| Units: 3
PSYCH 201S:
Bayesian Statistics for Psychologists
Have you ever collected data and then not know how to analyze it? Bayesian data analysis is a general purpose data analysis approach for making explicit hypotheses about where the data came from (e.g. the hypothesis that data from 2 experimental conditions came from two different distributions). In this course, we will explore and learn how to use Bayesian data analytic tools for analyzing data from psychology experiments. Students will develop a strong foundation for statistical intuitions and build on these intuitions to conduct Bayesian analyses of experimental data. The course will focus on the practicalities of running Bayesian analyses, of describing analyses for purposes of publication, and of making inferences about data and design decisions for subsequent experiments. This course is ideal for graduate or advanced-undergraduate students in Psychology, Linguistics, and related fields, who conduct experiments on human behavior; also appropriate for students without experience in psychological experiments but with experience in statistics.
Last offered: Summer 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 202:
Cognitive Neuroscience
Graduate core course. The anatomy and physiology of the brain. Methods: electrical stimulation of the brain, neuroimaging, neuropsychology, psychophysics, single-cell neurophysiology, theory and computation. Neuronal pathways and mechanisms of attention, consciousness, emotion, language, memory, motor control, and vision. Prerequisite: For psychology graduate students, or consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
PSYCH 203:
MODELS OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
How do children learn to understand and produce their native language? Language acquisition is a core topic in cognitive science and has been a key test case for formal approaches. Topics include: learnability theory, grammatical approaches, connectionist models, and probabilistic models.
Last offered: Winter 2011
| Units: 3
PSYCH 204:
Computation and cognition: the probabilistic approach (CS 428)
This course will introduce the probabilistic approach to cognitive science, in which learning and reasoning are understood as inference in complex probabilistic models. Examples will be drawn from areas including concept learning, causal reasoning, social cognition, and language understanding. Formal modeling ideas and techniques will be discussed in concert with relevant empirical phenomena.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
PSYCH 204A:
Human Neuroimaging Methods
This course introduces the student to human neuroimaging using magnetic resonance scanners. The course is a mixture of lectures and hands-on software tutorials. The course begins by introducing basic MR principles. Then various MR measurement modalities are described, including several types of structural and functional imaging methods. Finally algorithms for analyzing and visualizing the various types of neuroimaging data are explained, including anatomical images, functional data, diffusion imaging (e.g., DTI) and magnetization transfer. Emphasis is on explaining software methods used for interpreting these types of data.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
PSYCH 204B:
Human Neuroimaging Methods
This course introduces the student to human neuroimaging using magnetic resonance scanners. The course is a mixture of lectures and hands-on software tutorials. The course begins by introducing basic MR principles. Then various MR measurement modalities are described, including several types of structural and functional imaging methods. Finally algorithms for analyzing and visualizing the various types of neuroimaging data are explained, including anatomical images, functional data, diffusion imaging (e.g., DTI) and magnetization transfer. Emphasis is on explaining software methods used for interpreting these types of data.nRequired: Psych 204a; Recommended: Cognitive Neuroscience.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 205:
Foundations of Cognition
Topics: attention, memory, language, similarity and analogy, categories and concepts, learning, reasoning, and decision making. Emphasis is on processes that underlie the capacity to think and how these are implemented in the brain and modeled computationally. The nature of mental representations, language and thought, modular versus general purpose design, learning versus nativism. Prerequisite: 207 or consent of instructor. nOpen to Psychology PhD students only.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 206:
Cortical Plasticity: Perception and Memory
Seminar. Topics related to cortical plasticity in perceptual and memory systems including neural bases of implicity memory, recognition memory, visual priming, and perceptual learning. Emphasis is on recent research with an interdisciplinary scope, including theory, behavioral findings, neural mechanisms, and computational models. May be repeated for credit. Recommended: 30, 45
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 207:
Professional Seminar for First-Year Ph.D. Graduate Students
Required of and limited to first-year Ph.D. students in Psychology. Major issues in contemporary psychology with historical backgrounds.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-3
PSYCH 207B:
Professional Development Seminar in Psychology
For graduate students who wish to gain professional development skills to pursue an academic career. May be repeated for credit. Course is intended for second year Ph.D. student in Psychology but open to all years.
Last offered: Winter 2011
| Units: 0-1
| Repeatable
1 times
(up to 1 units total)
PSYCH 208:
Advanced Topics in Self-Defense
Seminar. Threat to the self and how people deal with them. Readings from social psychological areas including social comparison, self-affirmation, self-completion, self-discrepancy, shame and guilt, terror management, dimensions of self-worth, self-regulation, self-presentation, psychophysiology, and moral identity. Enrollment limited to 15.
Last offered: Winter 2008
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 209:
Neural Network Models of Cognition: Principles and Applications
Neural Network models of cognitive and developmental processes and the neural basis of these processes, including contemporary deep learning models. Students learn about fundamental computational principles and classical as well as contemporary applications and carry out exercises in the first six weeks, then undertake projects during the last four weeks of the quarter. Recommended: computer programming ability, familiarity with differential equations, linear algebra, and probability theory, and one or more courses in cognition, cognitive development or cognitive/systems neuroscience.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
PSYCH 211:
Developmental Psychology
Prerequisite: 207 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 212:
Classic and contemporary social psychology research
Evolution of ideas from early experiments on group dynamics, attitude change, and cognitive dissonance to later work on behavioral and emotional attribution, and more contemporary work on strategies and shortcomings in judgment and decision-making and on implicit influences on attitudes and behavior. Other topics include social dilemmas, conflict and misunderstanding, positive psychology, and the application of social psychological principles and findings to ongoing social problems including social inequality, education, and the challenge of addressing climate change.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 213:
Affective Science
This seminar is the core graduate course on affective science. We consider definitional issues, such as differences between emotion and mood, as well as issues related to the function of affect, such as the role affect plays in daily life. We review autonomic, neural, genetic, and expressive aspects of affective responding. Later in the course we discuss the role of affect in cognitive processing, specifically how affective states direct attention and influence memory, as well as the role of affect in decision making. We will also discuss emotion regulation and the strategic control of emotion; the cultural shaping of emotional experience and regulation; disorders of emotion; and developmental trajectories of experience and control from early to very late life. Meetings are discussion based. Attendance and active participation are required. Prerequisite: 207 or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 215:
Mind, Culture, and Society
Social psychology from the context of society and culture. The interdependence of psychological and sociocultural processes: how sociocultural factors shape psychological processes, and how psychological systems shape sociocultural systems. Theoretical developments to understand social issues, problems, and polity. Works of Baldwin, Mead, Asch, Lewin, Burner, and contemporary theory and empirical work on the interdependence of psychology and social context as constituted by gender, ethnicity, race, religion, and region of the country and the world. Prerequisite: 207 or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 216:
Public Policy and Social Psychology: Implications and Applications (IPS 207B, PUBLPOL 305B)
Theories, insights, and concerns of social psychology relevant to how people perceive issues, events, and each other, and links between beliefs and individual and collective behavior will be discussed with reference to a range of public policy issues including education, public health, income and wealth inequalities, and climate change, Specific topics include: situationist and subjectivist traditions of applied and theoretical social psychology; social comparison, dissonance, and attribution theories; stereotyping and stereotype threat, and sources of intergroup conflict and misunderstanding; challenges to universality assumptions regarding human motivation, emotion, and perception of self and others; also the general problem of producing individual and collective changes in norms and behavior.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
PSYCH 216A:
Statistics and data analysis in MATLAB
This course will cover basic statistical principles that are widely n useful for the analysis of neuroscience and behavioral data, such as nerror bars and confidence intervals, multivariate probability n distributions, regression and classification, linear and nonlinear n models, cross-validation, bootstrapping, and model selection. In each n class, we will cover the theory behind a statistical principle and n learn how to implement the principle efficiently in MATLAB. Example n material can be found at http://randomanalyses.blogspot.com. n Prerequisites: Familiarity with basic statistics and programming in MATLAB
Last offered: Spring 2012
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 217:
Topics and Methods Related to Culture and Emotion
Preference to graduate students. How cultural factors shape emotion and other feeling states. Empirical and ethnographic literature, theories, and research on culture and emotion. Applications to clinical, educational, and occupational settings. Research in psychology, anthropology, and sociology. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 218:
Early Social Cognitive Development
Current literature on social and cognitive development in infancy emphasizing the interface between the two domains. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2009
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 220:
Special Topics in Cognitive Development
In the last few years, research at the intersection of cognitive and social development has burgeoned, yielding unprecedented knowledge about the roots of the human (social) mind in infants and children. In this course, using an outstanding new volume edited by Susan Gelman and Mahzarin Banaji, we will discuss work that highlights the social nature of cognitive development (e.g., the degree to which social learning may account for uniquely human cognitive abilities) and that explores the early emergence of social knowledge and understanding (e.g., mental models of relationships, knowledge of good and bad, beliefs about ingroups and outgroups, and knowledge of other people's minds).nPrerequisites: Psychology 207 or permission of instructor
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 220S:
Temptations and Self Control
Why do people do things they come to regret, such as lack of exercise, angry words, overeating, unsafe sex, or dangerous driving? How can they minimize such behaviors? Sources include classical and current research from experimental psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, and neuroeconomics. Emphasis is on real-world applications.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 221:
Image Systems Engineering
This course is an introduction to digital imaging technologies. We focus on the principles of key elements of digital systems components; we show how to use simulation to predict how these components will work together in a complete image system simulation. The early lectures introduce the software environment and describe options for the course project. The following topics are covered and software tools are introduced:n- Basic principles of optics (Snell's Law, diffraction, adaptive optics).n- Image sensor and pixel designsn- Color science, metrics, and calibrationn- Human spatial resolutionn- Image processing principlesn- Display technologiesnA special theme of this course is that it explains how imaging technologies accommodate the requirements of the human visual system. The course also explains how image systems simulations can be useful in neuroscience and industrial vision applications.nThe course consists of lectures, software tutorials, and a course project. Tutorials and projects include extensive software simulations of the imaging pipeline. Some background in mathematics (linear algebra) and programming (Matlab) is valuable.nPre-requisite: EE 261 or equivalent. Or permission of instructor required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 222:
From Classic Experiments to Cutting Edge Neuroimaging: The Functional Neuroanatomy of Visual Cortex
We will discuss the fundamental organizational principles of the visual system starting by discussing classic papers in non-human primates and proceeding to discuss recent neuroimaging studies in humans. We will then examine how understanding these organizational principles has influenced mapping the functional organization of visual system. Finally, we will analyze neuroimaging datasets and examine how well one can evaluate and define visual areas in the human brains by understanding these principles.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 9 units total)
PSYCH 223:
Social Norms
This course covers research and theory on the origins and function of social norms. Topics include the estimation of public opinion, the function of norms as ideals and standards of judgment, and the impact of norms on collective and individual behavior. In addition to acquainting students with the various forms and functions of social norms the course will provide students with experience in identifying and formulating tractable research questions.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
PSYCH 224:
Research Topics in Emotion Regulation
Current research findings and methods, ongoing student research, and presentations by visiting students and faculty. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instuctor.
Last offered: Spring 2009
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 225:
Special Neuroscience Seminar with Dr. Shinobu Kitayama
How will culture influence the human mind? Is culture a superficial overlay on the basic, universal computational machine called the mind? Alternatively, is culture a crucial constitutive element of the mind? If so, what are specific mechanisms underlying this constitution process? And what theoretical framework do we need to make a visible progress on these questions? More generally, how can we start discussing meaningfully and productively about various problematic dichotomies such as mind versus body, culture versus biology, and nurture versus nature? An emerging field of cultural neuroscience has the potential of addressing these and other important questions and thus bridging natural, behavioral, and social sciences of the human mind.nnThis seminar reviews the field of cultural neuroscience. It starts with a discussion of some theoretical foundations of the field, including cultural psychology, cognitive and social neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and population genetics (PART 1). We will then discuss several specific content domains with a focus on cross-cultural variations in brain responses (PART 2). The seminar will conclude with a discussion on gene x environment interaction in varying cultural contexts (PART 3). nnStudents can take the seminar for credit. One unit for attending all five sessions, two units for all five session and a short paper.
Last offered: Spring 2011
| Units: 1-2
PSYCH 226:
Models and Mechanisms of Memory
Current topics in memory as explored through computational models addressing experimental findings and physiological and behavioral investigations. Topics include: explicit and inplict learning; role of MTL structures in learning and memory; and single versus dual processes approaches to recognition. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Autumn 2008
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 228:
Ion Transport and Intracellular Messengers
(Graduate students register for 228.) Ion channels, carriers, ion pumps, and their regulation by intracellular messengers in a variety of cell types. Recommended: 120, introductory course in biology or human biology.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 231:
Questionnaire Design for Surveys and Laboratory Experiments: Social and Cognitive Perspectives (COMM 339, POLISCI 421K)
The social and psychological processes involved in asking and answering questions via questionnaires for the social sciences; optimizing questionnaire design; open versus closed questions; rating versus ranking; rating scale length and point labeling; acquiescence response bias; don't-know response options; response choice order effects; question order effects; social desirability response bias; attitude and behavior recall; and introspective accounts of the causes of thoughts and actions.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
PSYCH 232:
Brain and Decision Making
Neuroeconomics combines experimental techniques from neuroscience, psychology, and experimental economics, such as electrophysiology, fMRI, eye tracking, and behavioral studies, and models from computational neuroscience and economics. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
PSYCH 233:
MATLAB and Psychtoolbox for the Behavioral Sciences
Topics such as experiment design, stimulus presentation, counterbalancing, response collection, data analysis, and plotting. Programming experiments. Final project programming a complete behavioral experiment relevant to student's research.
Last offered: Spring 2012
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 234:
Special Topics in Depression
In this course we will discuss current issues in the study of major depression, including the epidemiology and phenomenology of depression and other affective disorders, psychological and biological theories of depression, gender differences in depression, cognitive and social functioning of depressed persons, findings from neuroimaging studies of depression, depression in children, risk factors for depression, issues involving suicide, and implications of the NIMH RDoC initiative for the study of depression and other psychiatric diagnostic categories. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Psychology or consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 235:
Motivation and Emotion
This graduate seminar will take a social-cognitive perspective on motivation and emotion. Meetings will be discussion oriented, and each meeting will focus on a different question of theoretical and applied significance. Prerequisite: 207 or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 236C:
Seminar in Semantics: Formal semantics and the psychology of reasoning (LINGUIST 236)
Discussion of topics at the interface of natural language semantics and psychology of reasoning, such as conditionals, causal language, the language of uncertainty, generics, and syllogistic reasoning.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 237:
Mathematical Cognition
The course will examine the basis of numerical and mathematical abilities, and the acquisition and learning of mathematical skills, drawing on experimental and modeling studies. Topics will include numerosity, counting, basic arithmetic, and fractions, as well as algebraic and geometric reasoning as well as insight into mathematical and scientific problems. Roles of rules, procedures and symbolic, spatial, and sensory-motor representations; relationship between skill and understanding; nature of discovery and insight in mathematical reasoning; the relationship between insight and proof. Open to PhD and Masters students and to Juniors and Seniors who have completed an introductory level course in cognitive or developmental psychology.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 2-4
PSYCH 238:
Wise Interventions (PSYCH 138, PUBLPOL 238)
Classic and contemporary psychological interventions; the role of psychological factors in social reforms for social problems involving healthcare, the workplace, education, intergroup, relations, and the law. Topics include theories of intervention, the role of laboratory research, evaluation, and social policy.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4
PSYCH 239:
Formal and Computational Approaches in Psychology and Cognitive Science
Do psychology and cognitive science need formal theories and/or explicit computational models? What insights should such things provide? What is the proper relationship between different theoretical and modeling approaches? Between different levels or kinds of analysis? Where do informally stated theories fit in and what are the roles of formal and computational modeling approaches in relation to other less explicitly specified forms of theorizing? This seminar will explore these issues and compare different formal and computational model variants, especially connectionist and probabilistic models, within 3-4 different target domains. Possible target domains include categorization, property induction, causal learning, perceptual decision making, language acquisition, semantics and pragmatics, and mid-level vision.
Last offered: Spring 2011
| Units: 3
PSYCH 240:
What Changes?
When children get older, they start to behave differently. What¿s changing? In other words, what specific mechanisms underlie different developmental correlations between age and behavioral competence. Of course, the answer (or more likely, answers plural) to this question will differ vastly from domain to domain, but are there generalizations that we can make about the ways that different factors affect behavior across domains - differences in developmental drivers for so-called ¿lower-level¿ tasks versus ¿higher-level¿ tasks, or age-related differences in the determinants of change during specific time periods? In this course, we¿ll try to get a handle on some of the extant proposals on these questions, and maybe offer some of our own.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 241:
Probabilistic Models of Social Behavior and Affect
How do we reason about other people and ourselves? Is human behavior in social situations a set of ad-hoc and irrational responses--or can we understand humans as making rational inferences under uncertainty about the people they are interacting with? This project-based seminar will re-examine classic findings from social psychology and affective science through the lens of rational analysis and probabilistic models. In collaboration with instructors, students will develop projects focused on making testable theoretical models of classic tasks and literatures with the goal of creating a publishable end product. Phenomena under consideration include but are not limited to: cognitive dissonance, attribution theory, mindset theory, stereotyping, and emotion perception.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 4
PSYCH 243:
General Development Seminar
May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructors. Restricted to Developmental graduate students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 244:
Psychology of Aging
Theory and research in gerontology. Normal and abnormal changes that occur in biological, cognitive, and psychological aging. Emphasis is on the environmental factors that influence the aging process. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Psychology or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 245:
Social Psychological Perspectives on Stereotyping and Prejudice
Classic and contemporary social psychological approaches to prejudice and stereotyping. Emphasis is on how stereotypes are employed and maintained, and the influence of stereotyping and prejudice on behavior in domains including education, employment, politics, and law. Limited enrollment.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 3
PSYCH 246:
Cognitive and Neuroscience Friday Seminar
Participant presentations. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: graduate standing in psychology or neuroscience program.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 247A:
Cognitive Science of Religion (ANTHRO 359A)
This seminar course will cover cognitive and evolutionary approaches to understanding religion. The class features cutting edge research on the cognitive science of religion from anthropology and psychology. Why is religious belief so powerful and resilient in human history? This course explores the new cognitive and evolutionary approaches to understanding religion that have recently attracted such widespread attention. Readings come from anthropology and psychology and include Boyd, Richerson, Henrich, Sperber, Barrett, McCauley, Boyer, Atran, Sosis, Norenzayan, Astuti, Harris, Legare and others.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
PSYCH 248:
Advanced fMRI modeling and analysis
This seminar will discuss the state of the art in methods for the modeling and analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Potential topics include connectivity modeling, causal modeling, multivariate pattern analysis, encoding models, and classification analysis. The seminar will include hands-on analysis exercises in addition to lectures.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
PSYCH 248A:
fMRI Analysis Bootcamp
This course will provide a hands-on overview of methods for processing and analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Topics include preprocessing, statistical modeling, spatial normalization, statistical power analysis, multiple comparison correction, connectivity modeling, machine learning, and Bayesian modeling. The seminar will include hands-on analysis exercises in addition to lectures.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 249L:
Workshop on Language and Social Reasoning (LINGUIST 249L)
To what extent can language use be treated as a special case of social cognition? The class will be based around visiting lectures by major researchers in this area, along with meetings to prepare for their visits by discussing key readings. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
6 times
(up to 6 units total)
PSYCH 250:
High-level Vision: From Neurons to Deep Neural Networks (CS 431)
Interdisciplinary seminar focusing on understanding how computations in the brain enable rapid and efficient object perception. Covers topics from multiple perspectives drawing on recent research in Psychology, Neuroscience, Computer Science and Applied Statistics. Emphasis on discussing recent empirical findings, methods and theoretical debates in the field. Topics include: theories of object perception, neural computations underlying invariant object perception, how visual exemplars and categories are represented in the brain, what information is present in distributed activations across neural populations and how it relates to object perception, what modern statistical and analytical tools there are for multi-variate analysis of brain activations.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 250A:
High-level Vision: From Neurons to Deep Neural Networks
This advanced level seminar is an interdisciplinary course focusing on understanding how computations in the brain enable rapid and efficient object perception. The course will cover topics from multiple perspectives drawing on recent research in neuroscience, computer science and psychology. Emphasis will be placed on examining recent findings pertaining to computational theories of high-level vision, ongoing debates in the field, and discussion of recent empirical findings.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
PSYCH 251:
Affective Neuroscience
Theory and research. Comparative and human research approaches map affective function to neuroanatomical and neurochemical substrates. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 252:
Statistical Methods for Behavioral and Social Sciences
For students who seek experience and advanced training in empirical research. Analysis of data from experimental through factorial designs, randomized blocks, repeated measures; regression methods through multiple regression, model building, analysis of covariance; categorical data analysis through two-way tables. Integrated with the use of statistical computing packages. Prerequisite: 10 or equivalent.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-6
PSYCH 253:
Statistical Theory, Models, and Methodology
Practical and theoretical advanced data analytic techniques such as loglinear models, signal detection, meta-analysis, logistic regression, reliability theory, and factor analysis. Prerequisite: 252 or EDUC 257.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 254:
Lab in Experimental Methods
Laboratory class in experimental methods for psychology, with a focus on technical/computer-based methods. Programming experience helpful although not required. Topics include data collection on the web, data management and data analysis.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
PSYCH 257:
Individually Supervised Practicum
Satisfies INS requirements for curricular practical training. Relevant experience for graduate students as part of their program of study. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: graduate standing in Psychology, consent of adviser.nn (Staff)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 3-5
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 258:
Graduate Seminar in Social Psychology Research
For students who are already or are planning to become involved in research on social construal and the role that it plays in a variety of phenomena, notably the origin and escalation of conflict.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 259:
Emotions: History, Theories, and Research (PSYCH 158)
Graduate students register for 259. Theoretical and empirical issues in the domain of emotions. The history of emotion theories, current approaches, and the interaction between emotion and cognition.
Last offered: Winter 2009
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 261:
Emotion (PSYCH 161)
(Graduate students register for 261.) The scientific study of emotion. Topics: models of emotion, emotion antecedents, emotional responses (facial, subjective, and physiological), functions of emotion, emotion regulation, individual differences, and health implications. Focus is on experimentally tractable ideas.
Last offered: Winter 2010
| Units: 3
PSYCH 261A:
Learning and Cognition in Activity (EDUC 295)
Methods and results of research on learning, understanding, reasoning, problem solving, and remembering, as aspects of participation in social organized activity. Principles of coordination that support cognitive achievements and learning in activity settings in work and school environments.
Last offered: Spring 2011
| Units: 3
PSYCH 263:
Cognitive Neuroscience: Vision
Decision, categorization. Bayesian inference, working memory, attention, cognitive control, conscious perception and awareness. The neural basis for all of these cognitive functions have been extensively studied in the domain of vision. Why vision? Because a great deal of scientific inquiry has delineated both the behavioral and physiological aspects of basic sensory processing in vision. Because of this, cognitive neuroscience questions can be precisely formulated in the context of vision. As a result we have some of the best answers to the question of what neural mechanisms underlie cognitive functions in the domain of vision. The course will combine lectures and in-depth discussions of primary literature to develop key concepts in the neuroscience of vision and how these concepts have been built on to understand the neural basis of higher cognition. Guest instructors will include Bill Newsome, Tirin Moore and Kalanit Grill-Spector.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 264:
Moral Minds: What Can Moral Psychology Tell Us About Ethics (ETHICSOC 304)
SAME AS LAW744. Recent psychological advances in our understanding of the cognitive and social origins of morality cast a new light on age-old questions about ethics, such as: How did our moral sense evolve in our species? How does it develop over our lifetime? How much does our culture, religion, or politics determine our moral values? What is the role of intuition and emotion in moral judgment? How "logical" is moral judgment? How do other people's moral choices affect us? Does character matter or is behavior entirely dictated by the situations we find ourselves in? If it is purely situational, are we morally responsible for anything? How far will we go to convince ourselves that we are good and moral? Barbara Fried and Benoit Monin will review empirical answers to these questions suggested by behavioral research, and lead discussions on their implications for ethics. Students enrolled in the course will be selected through an application process. The application can be found at http://web.stanford.edu/~arnewman/MoralMinds.fb, and is due at 11:59 p.m. on November 14, 2014.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 2
PSYCH 265:
Social Psychology and Social Change (EDUC 371)
The course is intended as an exploration of the major ideas, theories, and findings of social psychology and their applied status. Special attention will be given to historical issues, classic experiments, and seminal theories, and their implications for topics relevant to education. Contemporary research will also be discussed. Advanced undergraduates and graduate students from other disciplines are welcome, but priority for enrollment will be given to graduate students. In order to foster a vibrant, discussion-based class, enrollment will be capped at 20 students. Interested students should enroll in the class through simple enroll or axess, and complete this survey (https://tinyurl.com/SPSC17) to be considered for admission to the course. Please contact the course TA, Michael Schwalbe (schwalbe[at]stanford.edu), if you have any further questions.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 2-3
PSYCH 266:
Current Debates in Learning and Memory
Memory is not a unitary faculty, but consists of multiple forms of learning and remembering. The cognitive and neural architectures of memory, focusing on the application of functional brain imaging (primarily fMRI and ERP). Psych 45 and Psych 169 required if undergraduate student.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 267:
Human Memory: Facts, Fallacies, and Fragile Powers
Seminar. Applications of memory concepts in everyday life and in social and clinical settings. Topics include personal identity, childhood amnesia, autobiographic memory, emotions and memory, memory distortions, illusions, self-serving biases, recovery of repressed memories, false memories, implicit memories, and unconscious influences on social behavior, with applications to psychopathology.
Last offered: Winter 2007
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 268:
Emotion Regulation (PSYCH 168)
(Graduate students register for 268.) The scientific study of emotion regulation. Topics: historical antecedents, conceptual foundations, autonomic and neural bases, individual differences, developmental and cultural aspects, implications for psychological and physical health. Focus is on experimentally tractable ideas.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 269:
Graduate Seminar in Affective Science
May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Psychology. (Gotlib)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 270:
The Self: Representations and Interventions
We will examine research and theory on mental models of the self, others, and the social world; how these develop; and how interventions can alter or leverage these mental models to improve human functioning and outcomes.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 271:
Writing About Psychology
Writing clear and compelling prose is a vital skill for any psychologist, but one that is often not formally taught. This graduate seminar will provide a chance for students to think systematically about writing for audiences within and outside of psychology, and to concretely improve pieces of writing that matter to them. The course will take the form of a "writer's workshop", in which each student will bring two pieces of writing¿one empirical, and one intended for a popular audience, to be discussed by the class. All class members will discuss each piece of writing twice, providing constructive feedback for the target student to revise her or his work. The workshop will be supplemented by general discussions of writing principles and examples of good writing in psychology.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3
PSYCH 272:
Special Topics in Psycholinguistics
May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2012
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 273:
Graduate Seminar on Language, Cognition, and Perception
Current topics and debates. Readings from psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, ethology, anthropology, and philosophy. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Spring 2010
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 274:
Graduate Research Workshop on Psychological Interventions (EDUC 287)
Psychological research has the potential to create novel interventions that promote the public good. This workshop will expose students to psychologically 'wise' intervention research and to support their efforts to conduct such interventions, especially in the context of education, broadly conceived, as well as other areas. The first part of the class will address classic interventions and important topics in intervention research, including effective delivery mechanisms, sensitive behavioral outcomes, the role of theory and psychological process, and considerations of the role of time and of mechanisms that can sustain treatment effects over time. In the second part of the class, students will present and receive feedback on their own ongoing and/or future intervention research. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Psychology or Education, or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 3
PSYCH 275:
Graduate Research
Intermediate-level research undertaken with members of departmental faculty. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.nn (Staff)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Boroditsky, L. (PI);
Carstensen, L. (PI);
Clark, H. (PI);
Cohen, G. (PI);
Crum, A. (PI);
Dweck, C. (PI);
Eberhardt, J. (PI);
Fernald, A. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gardner, J. (PI);
Goodman, N. (PI);
Gotlib, I. (PI);
Grill-Spector, K. (PI);
Gross, J. (PI);
Gweon, H. (PI);
Heaney, C. (PI);
Knutson, B. (PI);
Krumboltz, J. (PI);
Lepper, M. (PI);
Markman, E. (PI);
Markus, H. (PI);
McClelland, J. (PI);
McClure, S. (PI);
Miller, D. (PI);
Monin, B. (PI);
Norcia, A. (PI);
Poldrack, R. (PI);
Ramscar, M. (PI);
Rosenhan, D. (PI);
Ross, L. (PI);
Thomas, E. (PI);
Tormala, T. (PI);
Tsai, J. (PI);
Tversky, B. (PI);
Wagner, A. (PI);
Walton, G. (PI);
Wandell, B. (PI);
Wine, J. (PI);
Winters, J. (PI);
Yamins, D. (PI);
Zaki, J. (PI);
Maitreyi, A. (GP)
PSYCH 277:
Psychology of Pedagogy (EDUC 248)
How can methods and insights from psychology inform education practice, particularly in a higher education context? This course aims to develop your skills as critical consumers and producers of empirical findings on teaching and learning. Course involves a quarter-long project to develop a pedagogical research proposal, supplemented and informed by readings, guided discussions, and group workshops.
Last offered: Winter 2014
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
PSYCH 278:
Social Cognitive Development: New Methods for Answering Old Questions
Novel technology can fuel new discoveries and generate new questions for future research, for instance, the use of video cameras has transformed the field of developmental psychology. More recently, the use of neuroimaging techniques (such as fMRI) to study the developing brain has been gaining lots of interest among developmental psychologists. What are the promises and challenges of using these neuroimaging methods to study cognitive development? This course will be a discussion-based seminar class (with some lectures from the instructor and from students) aimed for graduate students who are interested in learning more about how these methods can help address questions about cognitive development, with a particular focus on children's developing understanding of their social world.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 1-2
PSYCH 279:
Topics in Cognitive Control
The processes that enable flexible behavior by biasing contextually relevant perceptual, mnemonic, and response representations or processing pathways. Cognitive control is central to volitional action, allowing work with memory, task/goal states, and overriding inappropriate responses. Current models of cognitive control, functional neuroimaging, and neuropsychological evidence. Recommended: 45. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Autumn 2012
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 280:
Foundations and Contemporary Topics in Social-Educational Psychology (EDUC 307)
At its core, social psychology is concerned with educational problems because it addresses the problem of how to change hearts and minds in lasting ways. This course explores the major ideas, theories, and findings of social psychology, their educational implications, and the insights they shed into how and when people change. There will be a focus on educational issues. Intersections with other disciplines, in particular social development and biology, will be addressed. Historical tensions and traditions, as well as classic studies and theories, will be covered. Graduate students from other disciplines, and advanced undergraduates, are welcome (class size permitting).
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 2-4
PSYCH 281:
Practicum in Teaching
Enrollment limited to teaching assistants in selected Psychology courses. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Carstensen, L. (PI);
Dweck, C. (PI);
Eberhardt, J. (PI);
Fernald, A. (PI);
Gotlib, I. (PI);
Grill-Spector, K. (PI);
Gross, J. (PI);
Haas, A. (PI);
Hard, B. (PI);
Heaney, C. (PI);
Knutson, B. (PI);
Krumboltz, J. (PI);
Markman, E. (PI);
Markus, H. (PI);
McClelland, J. (PI);
Miller, D. (PI);
Monin, B. (PI);
Ross, L. (PI);
Thomas, E. (PI);
Tsai, J. (PI);
Wagner, A. (PI);
Walton, G. (PI);
Wandell, B. (PI);
Wine, J. (PI);
Winters, J. (PI);
Zaki, J. (PI);
Hard, B. (GP);
Maitreyi, A. (GP);
Wong, L. (GP)
PSYCH 282:
Practicum in Teaching PSYCH 1
Logistical TA training including: preparing for sections; creating, correcting exams; grading an iterative writing assignment; office hours; review sessions; developing audiovisual expertise; communicating via coursework. Review of student evaluations with instructor to set goals and strategies. Second quarter focuses on pedagogical improvement. Limited to current PSYCH 1 TAs. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 283:
International Conflict Resolution Colloquium (IPS 250A)
(Same as LAW 611.) Sponsored by the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation (SCICN). Conflict, negotiation, and dispute resolution with emphasis on conflicts and disputes with an international dimension, including conflicts involving states, peoples, and political factions such as the Middle East and Northern Ireland. Guest speakers. Issues including international law, psychology, and political science, economics, anthropology, and criminology.
Last offered: Winter 2012
| Units: 1
PSYCH 283A:
SPARQshop: Social Psychological Answers to Real-world Questions (PSYCH 180A)
Undergraduate and graduate students will work in teams to design, build, test, and distribute online toolkits that help practitioners solve real-world problems by applying social science. Graduate students can build toolkits for their own research. Students will learn how to assess the needs of practitioner audiences; write text, design graphics, and program activities for these audiences; prepare, deliver, and produce a TED-style online video; design surveys in Qualtrics; and build and user-test the toolkit. Readings and class discussions will include modules on design thinking, storytelling, science writing, information design, and impact evaluation. For an example of a toolkit in progress, please visit spacereface.org. Permission of instructor required.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 284:
Computational Modeling of a Range of Neural Circuits
Lectures, student presentations, and extensive software exercises. Focus on quantifiable models of neural signaling, starting with physical specification of input signals, sensory transductions, spiking, and mean electrical field potentials, and the inter-relation to BOLD signals (fMRI). Applications will be drawn from many examples, but a there will be a particular focus on the visual pathways and how measurements and models relate to visual perception.
Last offered: Spring 2012
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 285:
Graduate Seminar on Theory of Mind
Theory of Mind ¿ the ability to reason and think about other minds ¿ has been a topic of extensive research and heated debates in the past few decades. The course will provide an in-depth overview of the major theories that have motivated empirical research. Students will read and discuss theoretical papers as well as empirical work that have supported or refuted these theories, and the latest research on Theory of Mind, from various disciplines including (but not limited to), cognitive development, comparative psychology, and cognitive neuroscience.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
PSYCH 287:
Brain Machine Interfaces: Science, Technology, and Application
This course explores the current state of brain-machine interfaces: technologies that directly stimulate and/or record neural activity. Such interfaces are being used to treat nervous system disorders, including hearing, seeing, and motor dysfunction. We expect that the range of applications will expand over the next decade to other neurological conditions and to augmentation of function. The material we cover aims to explain some of the existing technology and to clarify its limitations and promise. The course organization is designed to develop new ideas and promote new collaborations for extending the reach of these technologies. The class will feature lecturers with expertise in brain-machine interfaces of various sorts or related technologies and methods, as well as directed readings and discussion about new work in the field. In the previous year lectures were given by: Brian Wandell, Daniel Palanker, Nikos Logothetis, John Oghalai, Stephen Baccus, Paul Nuyujukian, Dan Yoshor and Nick Melosh.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 288:
Hierarchical Linear Modeling for Psychological Sciences
HLM is a statistical theory and a computer program used to analyze multi-level data, such as trials within participants or students within classrooms. HLM allows researchers to analyze data at each level of analysis separately, to partition the total variance across different levels, to explain variance at each level separately using level-appropriate predictors, and to model cross-level interactions. How to use the HLM program and to model various types of multi-level data using it. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Spring 2009
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 289:
Sensory Representations in Language and Memory
Is recollecting an experience similar to re-experiencing it? How closely tied is our knowledge to the perceptual representations and processes that may have given rise to it? What role do perceptuo-motor representations play in understanding language? We will review the recent literature on perceptual re-activation in episodic memory, perceptual grounding in semantic representations, and neural reuse of perceptual mechanisms for abstract thought. Emphasis will be placed on recent research with an interdisciplinary scope, including discussion of theory, behavioral findings, neural mechanisms, and computational models. Prerequisite: Psych 207 or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Autumn 2010
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 290:
Graduate Research Methods
Primary tool use for psychologists: basics of experiment design; computer-based experiments; web-based experiments; data analysis packages and data presentation; exploratory statistics; eye-tracking methods; psychophysiology methods; survey construction; corpus and discourse analysis; and perhaps hypnosis. Prerequisite: Ph.D. student in Psychology.
Last offered: Winter 2007
| Units: 2
PSYCH 291:
Psychology Teaching Methods
Open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Principles of good teaching. Students practice teaching skills.
Last offered: Autumn 2007
| Units: 1-2
PSYCH 292:
Special Topics in Emotion Regulation
This seminar will consider special topics in emotion regulation. Admission is by invitation only.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 293:
Communication, Intentionality, and the Origins of Language
How did language evolve to become a ubiquitous, definitional part of human life? What relationship does children's early language have to their understanding of intentionality and other methods of non-verbal communication? This seminar will survey theoretical and experimental nwork on the foundations of human language, communication, and intentionality, with the goal of understanding what we know and what questions are still open. Areas of focus include developmental work on communication; whether early language use is referential/intentional and whether early words are general or particular; and research on language evolution and animal communication.
Last offered: Autumn 2012
| Units: 3
PSYCH 294:
Human Prosociality
Human beings engage in a vast amount of prosocial behaviors (including altruism and cooperation) that critically support our success as a social species. That said, the psychological underpinnings of prosociality remain surprisingly enigmatic. This seminar will survey classic and modern theories of prosocial behavior from evolutionary biology, economics, psychology, and neuroscience, with an emphasis on common ideas about the cognitive and affective mechanisms supporting such behaviors. Students will be responsible for leading discussions and producing one in-depth review or research paper at the end of the quarter.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 3
PSYCH 295:
Cognitive Modeling using Bayesian Statistics
This course introduces the student to cognitive modeling from a Bayesian statistical approach. The goal of the course is to facilitate and promote Bayesian fitting for a large variety of latent cognitive models to data through the use of accessible computer software. Within particular cognitive models, students will learn how to first construct a basic model, and then add various effects such as individual or group differences, substantive prior information, covariates, and contaminant processes. Along the way, students will gain a better understanding of the many advantages of Bayesian statistics over frequentist-type analyses. A strong statistical or computer science background is not required.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 2-3
PSYCH 297:
Seminar for Coterminal Master of Arts
Contemporary issues and student research. Student and faculty presentations.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 298:
Advanced Studies in Health Psychology
This course provides an overview of the major concepts and questions in the field of health psychology. Through reading, lecture and interactive discussion, students have the opportunity to explore and think critically about a number of psychological and social influences in determining health including: emotions, beliefs, relationships, stress, motivation, behavior change, spirituality, culture, and social influence. Students will also discuss the role of important and current topics in the field of health psychology and medicine such as the changing role of the patient and provider relationship, health-care policy and the environment, placebo effects, wearable health devices, and the use of technology in medicine. Course is offered to graduate students and advanced undergraduates with permission from the instructor.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 3
PSYCH 299:
Temptations and Self Control (PSYCH 199)
(Graduate students register for 299.) Why do people do things that that they come to regret? How can people minimize behavior such as exercise avoidance, angry words, overeating, unsafe sex, and dangerous driving? Sources include classical and current research from experimental psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, and neuroeconomics. Real-world applications.
Last offered: Autumn 2007
| Units: 2
PSYCH 303:
Human and Machine Hearing
Topics: Linear and nonlinear system theory applied to sound and hearing;nunderstanding how to model human hearing in the form of algorithms thatncan process general sounds efficiently; how to construct, display, andninterpret "auditory images"; how to extract features compatible withnmachine-learning systems; how to build systems that extract informationnfrom sound to do a job; and example applications of machine hearing tonspeech, music, security and surveillance, personal sound diaries, smartnhouse, etc. Prerequisites: basic calculus and algorithms.
Last offered: Autumn 2010
| Units: 3
PSYCH 373:
Research Seminar: Mind, Brain, and Computation
Faculty and student research presentations focusing on work linking cellular, systems, cognitive, behavioral, and computational neuroscience. Limited to affiliates of the Center for Mind, Brain and Computation. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 383:
International Conflict Resolution (IPS 250)
Same as LAW 5009; formerly Law 656) This seminar examines the challenges of managing and resolving intractable political and violent intergroup and international conflicts. Employing an interdisciplinary approach drawing on social psychology, political science, game theory, and international law, the course identifies various tactical, psychological, and structural barriers that can impede the achievement of efficient solutions to conflicts. We will explore a conceptual framework for conflict management and resolution that draws not only on theoretical insights, but also builds on historical examples and practical experience in the realm of conflict resolution. This approach examines the need for the parties to conflicts to address the following questions in order to have prospects of creating peaceful relationships: (1) how can the parties to conflict develop a vision of a mutually bearable shared future; (2) how can parties develop trust in the enemy; (3) how can each side be persuaded, as part of a negotiated settlement, to accept losses that it will find very painful; and (4) how do we overcome the perceptions of injustice that each side are likely to have towards any compromise solution? We will consider both particular conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the South African transition to majority rule, as well as cross-cutting issues, such as the role international legal rules play in facilitating or impeding conflict resolution, the intragroup dynamics that affect intergroup conflict resolution efforts, and the role of criminal accountability for atrocities following civil wars. Special Instructions: Section 01: Grades will be based on class participation, written assignments, and a final exam. Section 02: Up to five students, with consent of the instructor, will have the option to write an independent research paper for Research (R) credit in lieu of the written assignments and final exam for Section 01. After the term begins, students (max 5) accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
PSYCH 459:
Frontiers in Interdisciplinary Biosciences (BIO 459, BIOC 459, BIOE 459, CHEM 459, CHEMENG 459)
Students register through their affiliated department; otherwise register for CHEMENG 459. For specialists and non-specialists. Sponsored by the Stanford BioX Program. Three seminars per quarter address scientific and technical themes related to interdisciplinary approaches in bioengineering, medicine, and the chemical, physical, and biological sciences. Leading investigators from Stanford and the world present breakthroughs and endeavors that cut across core disciplines. Pre-seminars introduce basic concepts and background for non-experts. Registered students attend all pre-seminars; others welcome. See http://biox.stanford.edu/courses/459.html. Recommended: basic mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 801:
Master's TGR Project
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bandura, A. (PI);
Boroditsky, L. (PI);
Bower, G. (PI);
Carstensen, L. (PI);
Clark, H. (PI);
Dweck, C. (PI);
Eberhardt, J. (PI);
Fernald, A. (PI);
Flavell, J. (PI);
Gotlib, I. (PI);
Grill-Spector, K. (PI);
Gross, J. (PI);
Hastorf, A. (PI);
Heaney, C. (PI);
Horowitz, L. (PI);
Johnson, S. (PI);
Knutson, B. (PI);
Krumboltz, J. (PI);
Lepper, J. (PI);
Lepper, M. (PI);
Maccoby, E. (PI);
Markman, E. (PI);
Markus, H. (PI);
McClelland, J. (PI);
McClure, S. (PI);
Miller, D. (PI);
Monin, B. (PI);
Ramscar, M. (PI);
Rosenhan, D. (PI);
Ross, L. (PI);
Shepard, R. (PI);
Steele, C. (PI);
Thomas, E. (PI);
Tormala, T. (PI);
Tsai, J. (PI);
Tversky, B. (PI);
Wagner, A. (PI);
Walton, G. (PI);
Wandell, B. (PI);
Wine, J. (PI);
Winters, J. (PI);
Zajonc, R. (PI);
Zimbardo, P. (PI);
Maitreyi, A. (GP)
PSYCH 802:
PhD TGR Dissertation
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Ambady, N. (PI);
Boroditsky, L. (PI);
Carstensen, L. (PI);
Clark, H. (PI);
Cohen, G. (PI);
Crum, A. (PI);
Dweck, C. (PI);
Eberhardt, J. (PI);
Fernald, A. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gardner, J. (PI);
Goodman, N. (PI);
Gotlib, I. (PI);
Grill-Spector, K. (PI);
Gross, J. (PI);
Gweon, H. (PI);
Heaney, C. (PI);
Knutson, B. (PI);
Krumboltz, J. (PI);
Lepper, M. (PI);
Markman, E. (PI);
Markus, H. (PI);
McClelland, J. (PI);
McClure, S. (PI);
Miller, D. (PI);
Monin, B. (PI);
Norcia, A. (PI);
Poldrack, R. (PI);
Ramscar, M. (PI);
Ross, L. (PI);
Thomas, E. (PI);
Tormala, T. (PI);
Tsai, J. (PI);
Tversky, B. (PI);
Wagner, A. (PI);
Walton, G. (PI);
Wandell, B. (PI);
Wine, J. (PI);
Winters, J. (PI);
Yamins, D. (PI);
Zaki, J. (PI);
Maitreyi, A. (GP)
