PSYCH 1:
Introduction to Psychology
Human behavior and mental processes including the nervous system, consciousness, learning, memory, development, emotion, psychopathology, interpersonal process, society, and culture. Current research.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
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.
Terms: Win
| 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
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 2013
| 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.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI, WAY-SMA
PSYCH 20N:
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies, Placebo Effects, and the Social-Psychological Creation of 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: Win
| 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 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 144, PHIL 99, 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. Recommended: 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 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: 4
| 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 60B:
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. This course is not a Writing in the Major course. Please register for Psych 60 which satisfies the WIM requirement. Recommended: PSYCH 1.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 70:
Introduction to Social Psychology
Topics related to the influence of other people on individuals' thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Factors that affect the way that we perceive ourselves and others; how people influence others; how persuasion happens; what causes us to like, love, help, or hurt others; and how social psychology helps to understand quesions about law, business, and health. Fulfills WIM requirement
Terms: Spr
| Units: 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.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| 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.
Terms: Spr
| 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.
Terms: Aut
| 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: Win
| 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.
Terms: Sum
| 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 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 103:
Intergroup Communication
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: WAY-EDP
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.
Terms: Sum
| 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.
Terms: Spr
| 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 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.
Terms: Spr
| 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 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 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.
Last offered: Summer 2014
| 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 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: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
PSYCH 121:
Ion Transport and Intracellular Messengers (PSYCH 228)
(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: 1-3
| UG Reqs: 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).
Terms: Sum
| Units: 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.
Terms: Win
| 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 131:
Language and Thought (PSYCH 262)
The psychology of language including: production and understanding in utterances; from speech sounds to speaker's meaning; children's acquisition of the first language; and the psychological basis for language systems. Language functions in natural contexts and their relation to the processes by which language is produced, understood, and acquired. Prerequisite: 1 or LINGUIST 1.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
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
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.
Terms: Win
| 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
Introduction to learning and memory, including the ways that our past influences our present through multiple memory systems, the ways in which memory not only can succeed but also can fail, and how memory integrity changes across the lifespan and across clinical populations. Special emphasis on applications of theoretical content to the real world technologies, policies, and diseases that touch our everyday lives.
Terms: Sum
| 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.
Terms: Aut
| 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.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
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
How children's thinking and mental abilities change from infancy on. The major theories and explanations of intellectual growth. Sources include classic findings and state-of-the-art research on cognitive development. Prerequisite: 1.
Terms: Aut
| 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.
| 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 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 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 150:
Race and Crime
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.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 150B:
Race and Crime Practicum
This practicum is designed to build on the lessons learned in PSYCH 150. Students will be assigned to internships relevant to race and crime. Prerequisite: PSYCH 150.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
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.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 155:
Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (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
Instructors: ;
Markus, H. (PI);
Moya, P. (PI);
Akcinar, E. (TA);
Carey, R. (GP);
Cortes Barragan, R. (TA);
Gardiner, M. (TA);
Handron, C. (TA);
Horowitz, A. (TA);
Jimenez Ruvalcaba, L. (TA);
Murray, D. (TA)
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:
Perceptual Cognition
While we are typically unaware of it, sensory perception continually solves immensely complex problems. Sensory information is noisy, comes through different modalities and neural resources for processing are limited. Through a combination of lectures and in-depth reading of primary literature the course explores advanced contemporary issues in perception such as the role of attention, bayesian sensory inference, cue combination, crowding, and how environmental statistics may shape encoding and decoding of sensory responses. Prerequisite: Psych 30
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
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 224L)
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: Win
| 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 175:
Early Learning and Social Cognition
Social cognition, the ability to perceive others, understand their behaviors, and reason about their thoughts, is a critical component of what makes us human. In what ways does this ability help young children learn about the world, and what can science tell us about the representations and the inferential processes that underlie early learning? This course will explore various topics on social cognition with an emphasis on (but not limited to) developmental perspectives, including face perception, action understanding, and Theory of Mind, and encourage students to think about how these abilities might be linked to the developmental changes in children's understanding of the world. Another goal of the course is to offer an insight into the fundamental questions that have motivated psychological research on social cognition, and the value of developmental methods 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. nPrerequisites: Psych60 or Psych141
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
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.
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
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 183:
Mind, Culture, and Society Research Core
Required of students in the mind, culture, and society specialization track. Research training on a variety of projects that explore how social identities such as race, class, gender, and culture affect psychological experiences across domains including education, law, business and health. Must participate for two consecutive quarters. Permission of instructor required. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 2-3
| Repeatable
for credit
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: 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.
Terms: Spr
| 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: ;
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);
Hard, B. (PI);
Hastorf, A. (PI);
Heaney, C. (PI);
Horowitz, L. (PI);
Knutson, B. (PI);
Krumboltz, 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);
Wise, B. (PI);
Zimbardo, P. (PI);
Maitreyi, A. (GP);
Williams, P. (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: ;
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);
Flavell, J. (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);
Hastorf, A. (PI);
Heaney, C. (PI);
Knutson, B. (PI);
Kosslyn, S. (PI);
Krumboltz, 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);
Norcia, A. (PI);
Poldrack, R. (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);
Woon, T. (PI);
Zaki, J. (PI);
Maitreyi, A. (GP);
Williams, P. (GP);
Woon, T. (TA)
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.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
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: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
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: 207 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 204:
Computation and cognition: the probabilistic approach
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: Spr
| Units: 3-4
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: Aut
| Units: 3
PSYCH 204B:
Computational Neuroimaging: Analysis Methods
Neuroimaging methods with focus on data analysis techniques. Basic MR physics and BOLD signals. Methods for neuroimaging data using real and simulated data sets. Topics include: linearity of the fmri signal; time versus space resolution tradeoffs; noise in neuroimaging; correlation analysis; visualization methods; cortical reconstruction, inflation, and flattening; reverse engineering; can cognitive states be predicted from brain activation? Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
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 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 209:
Neural network and deep learning models for cognition and cognitive neuroscience
Models of cognitive and developmental processes and the brain basis of such processes, including perception, attention, memory, decision making, language processing, acting and thinking. Models considered will include neural network models including contemporary deep learning models, as well as other process models spanning a spectrum from abstract to neurally realistic. Relationships between such models and more abstract models of cognitive processes including probabilistic models will be explored. Students learn about classic models and carry out exercises in the first six weeks and will undertake projects and learn about recent developments during the last four weeks of the quarter. For advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Recommended: some familiarity with computer programming, differential equations, linear algebra, and/or probability theory, and courses in cognitive psychology and/or cognitive neuroscience.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
PSYCH 211:
Developmental Psychology
Prerequisite: 207 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 212:
Social Psychology
Classic studies in experimental social psychology. Group and group dynamics; compliance and social pressure; conformity, cooperation, conflict, and social dilemmas; attraction and preference; attitudes and attitude change; social comparison, emotion, and affiliation; dissonance, consistency, and self-justification; attribution and self-perception; judgment and decision making, motivation, automaticity, and culture.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
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.
Terms: Spr
| 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 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: Win
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 221:
Applied Vision and Image Systems
This course is an introduction to imaging technologies including hardware and the image processing pipeline. There is an emphasis on how these technologies accommodate the requirements of the human visual system. The course is intended for students interested in various aspects of imaging technologies, includingnn- Digital cameras and displaysnn- Image processing and compressionnn- Image quality analysisnn- Human color, pattern and motion visionnnThe course consists of lectures, tutorials and a project. Lectures cover the tools used in digital imaging and image quality measurement. Tutorials and projects include extensive software simulations of the digital imaging pipeline. Some background in mathematics (linear algebra) and programming (Matlab) is valuable.
Terms: Win
| 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.
Terms: Spr
| 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 228:
Ion Transport and Intracellular Messengers (PSYCH 121)
(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: 1-3
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: Spr
| 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: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 236C:
SEM IN SEMANTICS: Reasoning with Quantifiers (LINGUIST 236)
Description: Team project-oriented class exploring linguistic, psychological, and computational models of how people reason about statements involving quantifiers and related devices, including negation and negative polarity items, superlatives, and definite descriptions. One-third of the class time will be devoted to covering core material and recent papers; the remaining two-thirds will be for project development with guidance from the instructors. Prerequisite: Linguist 230B or permission from the instructors
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
for credit
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.
Terms: Aut
| 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 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 251:
Affective Neuroscience
Theory and research. Comparative and human research approaches map affective function to neuroanatomical and neurochemical substrates. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| 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.
Terms: Spr
| 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: 3
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 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 262:
Language and Thought (PSYCH 131)
The psychology of language including: production and understanding in utterances; from speech sounds to speaker's meaning; children's acquisition of the first language; and the psychological basis for language systems. Language functions in natural contexts and their relation to the processes by which language is produced, understood, and acquired. Prerequisite: 1 or LINGUIST 1.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
PSYCH 263:
Computational Tools for Brain and Behavior Research
Rapid developments in experimental techniques from behavioral measurements, calcium imaging, multielectrode recordings, ECoG, EEG and fMRI have led to an explosion of data for understanding the brain and behavior. This course explores computational tools that can make sense of these data from dimensionality reduction, classification analyses to model fitting, as well as techniques for validating results such as permutation analyses, cross-validation, model selection and bootstrapping. The emphasis will be on developing a practical understanding of computational methods as well as intuition about what these methods can tell us about brain and behavior. The course is a mixture of lectures, reading and discussion of examples of uses of computational tools from recent primary behavioral and neuroscience literature as well as hands-on computer tutorials.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
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.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
PSYCH 265:
Social Psychology and Social Change (EDUC 371X)
The course is intended an exploration of the major ideas, theories, andnfindings 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. Interested students should contact Shannon Brady (stbrady@stanford.edu).
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). Recommended: 45
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
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 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.
Terms: Spr
| 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: ;
Ambady, N. (PI);
Bandura, A. (PI);
Boroditsky, L. (PI);
Bower, G. (PI);
Carstensen, L. (PI);
Clark, H. (PI);
Cohen, G. (PI);
Crum, A. (PI);
Dweck, C. (PI);
Eberhardt, J. (PI);
Fernald, A. (PI);
Flavell, J. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gardner, J. (PI);
Goodman, N. (PI);
Gotlib, I. (PI);
Grill-Spector, K. (PI);
Gross, J. (PI);
Gweon, H. (PI);
Hastorf, A. (PI);
Heaney, C. (PI);
Horowitz, L. (PI);
Knutson, B. (PI);
Krumboltz, 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);
Norcia, A. (PI);
Poldrack, R. (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);
Zaki, J. (PI);
Zimbardo, P. (PI);
Maitreyi, A. (GP);
Williams, P. (GP)
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.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
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.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 280:
Foundations and Contemporary Topics in Social-Educational Psychology (EDUC 304)
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).
Terms: Spr
| 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: ;
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);
Haas, A. (PI);
Hard, B. (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);
Zaki, J. (PI);
Zimbardo, P. (PI);
Hard, B. (GP);
Lee, K. (GP);
Maitreyi, A. (GP);
Williams, P. (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 287:
Brain Machine Interfaces - Theory and Technology Course Information (NSUR 287)
(Same as MCP 287) There is a growing number of methods to interact with the living nervous system. This seminar will review methods, principal results, and ideas for designing devices that either act on or read out data from the nervous system. A principal objective of designing these devices is to use them for sensory prosthetics (retinal implants and motor control units), and also for reducing the symptoms of different diseases (Parkinsons, Depression, Epilepsy). We will consider a wide variety of applications, but our emphasis will be on electronic devices that either stimulate or read-out from the human brain.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
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 297:
Seminar for Coterminal Master of Arts
Contemporary issues and student research. Student and faculty presentations.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
for credit
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 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);
Williams, P. (GP)
PSYCH 802:
PhD TGR Dissertation
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Ambady, N. (PI);
Bandura, A. (PI);
Boroditsky, L. (PI);
Bower, G. (PI);
Carstensen, L. (PI);
Clark, H. (PI);
Cohen, G. (PI);
Dweck, C. (PI);
Eberhardt, J. (PI);
Fernald, A. (PI);
Flavell, J. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Goodman, N. (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);
Norcia, A. (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);
Zaki, J. (PI);
Zimbardo, P. (PI);
Maitreyi, A. (GP);
Williams, P. (GP)
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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 110:
Research Methods and Experimental Design
Structured research exercises and design of an individual research project. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
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.
| Units: 5
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.
| Units: 1-3
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.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 148:
Introduction to Counseling (EDUC 130)
The goal of counseling is to help others to create more satisfying lives for themselves. Clients learn to create and capitalize on unexpected events to open up new opportunities. The success of counseling is judged, not by the words and actions of the counselor, but by the progress that the client makes in the real world after counseling itself is ended. Students are encouraged to exert their full efforts within reasonable time limits to improve their competence.
| 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.
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
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).
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| Units: 3
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.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 179:
The Psychology of Everyday Morality (PSYCH 270)
(Graduate students register for 270.) For graduate students, coterms, and senior Psychology majors. Traditional approaches focusing on how morality colors mundane human activities such as eating and on morality as defined by actors themselves rather than social scientists. Moral hypocrisy, food and disgust, taboo trade-offs, moral reproach, and prejudice with compunction. Limited enrollment. Prerequisite: 70 and consent of instructor.
| Units: 4
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.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 186:
The Psychology of Everyday Morality (PSYCH 286)
Recent literature on morality from a social psychological perspective. Topics include moral judgment, moral intuitions, moral hypocrisy, moral identity, moralization, moral reproach, shame and guilt, temptations, and self-regulation. Contemporary psychological research emphasizing descriptive approaches (what people actually do) rather than normative ones (what one should do).
| Units: 3
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).
| Units: 3
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.
| 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 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.
| Units: 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
| Units: 1-3
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.
| 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.
| 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.
| Units: 3
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
| Units: 1-3
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.
| 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
| 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 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| Units: 1-3
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.
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 234:
Topics in Depression
Current research topics including epidemiology and phenomenology of affective disorders, psychological theories of depression, gender differences in affective disorders, cognitive and social functioning of depressed persons, psychobiology of affective disorders, depression in children, postpartum depression, suicide issues in the treatment of depression, and cultural aspects of affective disorders. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Psychology or consent of instructor. May be repeated for credit
| Units: 1-3
| 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.
| Units: 3
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.
| Units: 2-4
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.
| 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.
| Units: 4
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.
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 247:
Fundamentals of Neuroscience for Non-Life-Scientists
Human behavior and the human brain and how it enables perception, learning, decision making, planning, and action with a focus on how neuroscience may be presented or used in law, business, or education contexts. Neurotechnology and experimental methods used to conduct research.
| Units: 2
PSYCH 248:
Reproducibility in Scientific Research
This seminar will discuss the ongoing reproducibility crisis in science and explore computational approaches to help enhance reproducibility. Topics will include null-hypothesis testing versus Bayesian approaches, statistical power, replication, cross-validation, and reproducible coding practices. In-class exercises will focus on computing practices such as version control, unit testing and validation, literate programming, and code reviews.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 249:
Human Motivation
Current research and theory including questions concerning the nature of human motives, intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, the roles of affect and cognition, and lifespan and cultural influences on motivation. Prerequisite: 207 or consent of instructors.
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 250:
High-Level Vision: Object Representation (CS 431)
(Formerly CS423 High-Level Vision: Behaviors, Neurons, and Computational Models) 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.
| Units: 3
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.
| Units: 1-3
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.
| Units: 3
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.
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 270:
The Psychology of Everyday Morality (PSYCH 179)
(Graduate students register for 270.) For graduate students, coterms, and senior Psychology majors. Traditional approaches focusing on how morality colors mundane human activities such as eating and on morality as defined by actors themselves rather than social scientists. Moral hypocrisy, food and disgust, taboo trade-offs, moral reproach, and prejudice with compunction. Limited enrollment. Prerequisite: 70 and consent of instructor.
| Units: 4
PSYCH 272:
Special Topics in Psycholinguistics
May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
| 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.
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
PSYCH 274:
Graduate Research Workshop on Psychological Interventions (EDUC 287X)
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.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 277:
Psychology of Pedagogy (EDUC 248X)
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.
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
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.
| Units: 1-3
| 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.
| Units: 1
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.
| Units: 1-3
PSYCH 286:
The Psychology of Everyday Morality (PSYCH 186)
Recent literature on morality from a social psychological perspective. Topics include moral judgment, moral intuitions, moral hypocrisy, moral identity, moralization, moral reproach, shame and guilt, temptations, and self-regulation. Contemporary psychological research emphasizing descriptive approaches (what people actually do) rather than normative ones (what one should do).
| Units: 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| Units: 2
PSYCH 291:
Psychology Teaching Methods
Open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Principles of good teaching. Students practice teaching skills.
| Units: 1-2
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.
| 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.
| 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.
| Units: 2-3
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.
| 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.
| Units: 3
PSYCH 383:
International Conflict Resolution (IPS 250)
(Same as LAW 656) This seminar examines the challenges of managing and resolving violent inter-group 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 focuses on the following questions: (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? Among the conceptual issues we will examine include the problem of spoilers who seek to sabotage agreements, the role of mediators, the role international legal rules can play in facilitating or impeding conflict resolution, and the advantages and disadvantages of unilateral versus and reciprocal measures in advancing conflict resolution efforts. Particular conflicts we will explore include the Northern Ireland conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the U.S.-Soviet Cold War rivalry. Prerequisite for undergraduates: consent of instructor.
| Units: 3
