Psychology
Program Chairman: Starkey Duncan, Br 204, 702-8862
Student Affairs Coordinator: Marjorie Wash, Br 109, 702-8861,
marj@ccp.uchicago.edu
World Wide Web: http://www.ccp.uchicago.edu/psychollllogy.html
Program of Study
The requirements of the Bachelor of Arts in psychology, together with the department's broad range of course offerings, allow students to tailor programs to their own talents and goals. It may serve as preparation for graduate work in psychology or in related fields such as sociology, anthropology, linguistics, or the communication and information sciences. Psychology courses are also suitable for biological sciences concentrators interested in the relations between physiology, mind, and behavior, and for mathematics concentrators interested in the applications of quantitative methods. Those who foresee a profession in law, public health, urban planning, personnel management, social work, education, or journalism also find the program valuable. Psychology may interest students who are still focusing their goals and are considering the social sciences or a public service profession. Because research experience and contact with faculty are important requisites for professional development, students who plan a career in psychology are advised to contact a compatible faculty member by the end of their third year, with a view toward consultation and joint research.
Program Requirements
Eleven courses are required for the concentration. Up to three of these may be reading and research courses. With the exception of the reading and research courses, all of the others require a letter grade.
Summary of Requirements
Concentration 1 Psych 200 (introductory survey)
1 Stat 200 or 220
1 Psych 202 or Sociol 202 (methods course)
1 course in the biological or environmental determinants of behavior (Area A): Psych 211, 215, 217, 280
1 course in cognitive or individual
psychology (Area B): Psych 213, 223, 233, 238, 256
1 course in personality, social, or cultural psychology (Area C): Psych 230 or 234
5 additional psychology courses
11
Honors. Students who have a grade point average of at least 3.0 overall and 3.5 in the concentration and who wish to write an honors paper in the senior year may do so by arrangement with a faculty sponsor by the end of the junior year. The honors paper must represent a more substantial project than the average term paper. It must be read and approved by the faculty sponsor and a second faculty member.
Faculty
JEANNE ALTMANN, Professor, Department of Ecology & Evolution, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, and the College
LAWRENCE BARSALOU, Professor of Psychology (Cognition & Communication) and the College
R. DARRELL BOCK, Professor Emeritus and Faculty Fellow, Departments of Psychology (Human Development and Research Methodology & Quantitative Psychology) and Education
ABRAHAM BOOKSTEIN, Professor, Department of Psychology (Research Methodology & Quantitative Psychology) and Center for Information & Language Studies
NORMAN M. BRADBURN, Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Psychology (Human Development and Research Methodology & Quantitative Psychology); Professor, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, Graduate School of Business, and the College; Senior Vice-President, National Opinion Research Center
ROBERT A. BUTLER, Professor Emeritus and Faculty Fellow, Departments of Psychology and Surgery and the College
BERTRAM COHLER, William Rainey Harper Professor, the College; Professor, Departments of Psychology (Human Development), Education, and Psychiatry and the Divinity School
MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, Professor, Departments of Psychology (Human Development and Mental Health) and Education and the College
STARKEY DUNCAN, Professor, Department of Psychology (Cognition & Communication and Developmental Psychology); Chairman, Psychology Program in the College
RAYMOND D. FOGELSON, Professor, Departments of Anthropology and Psychology (Human Development) and the College
DANIEL G. FREEDMAN, Professor, Department of Psychology (Human Development) and the College
SUSAN GOLDIN-MEADOW, Professor, Departments of Education and Psychology
WILLIAM GOLDSTEIN, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology (Cognition & Communication and Research Methodology & Quantitative Psychology) and the College; Chairman, Committee on Research Methodology & Quantitative Psychology
SEBASTIAN P. GROSSMAN, Professor, Department of Psychology (Biopsychology) and the College
KRISTIAN J. HAMMOND, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science
ERIC P. HAMP, Robert Maynard Hutchins Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Departments of Linguistics, Psychology (Cognition & Communication), and Slavic Languages & Literatures; Director, Center for Balkan & Slavic Studies
GILBERT H. HERDT, Professor, Department of Psychology (Human Development and Mental Health) and the College; Chairman, Committee on Human Development; Director, Center for Research on Culture & Mental Health
JANELLEN HUTTENLOCHER, William S. Gray Professor, Departments of Education and Psychology (Cognition & Communication and Human Development) and the College; Chairman, Committee on Developmental Psychology
PHILIP W. JACKSON, David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Education and Psychology (Human Development), Committee on Analysis of Ideas & Study of Methods, and the College
BOAZ KEYSAR, Associate Professor of Psychology (Cognition & Communication) and the College
SUSAN C. LEVINE, Professor, Departments of Psychology (Biopsychology and Cognition & Communication) and Pediatrics and the College; Chairman, Committee on Cognition and Communication
JERRE LEVY, Professor, Department of Psychology (Biopsychology and Cognition & Communication) and the College
FREDERICK F. LIGHTHALL, Professor, Departments of Education and Psychology (Social & Organizational Psychology) and the College
JOHN A. LUCY, Professor, Department of Psychology and Committee on Human Development
DANIEL MARGOLIASH, Associate Professor, Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy
MARTHA K. MCCLINTOCK, Professor, Department of Psychology (Biopsychology, Developmental Psychology, Human Development, and Mental Health) and the College; Chairman, Committee on Biopsychology
DAVID MCNEILL, Professor, Departments of Psychology (Cognition & Communication and Developmental Psychology) and Linguistics and the College; Chairman, Department of Psychology
HOWARD MOLTZ, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology (Biopsychology) and the College
HOWARD NUSBAUM, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology (Biopsychology and Cognition & Communication) and the College
JOEL M. POKORNY, M.D., Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology & Visual Science and Psychology
ALLAN RECHTSCHAFFEN, Professor Emeritus, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology and the College; Director, Sleep Research Laboratory
TERRY REGIER, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology (Cognition & Communication)
ROBERT J. RICHARDS, Professor, Departments of History, Philosophy, and Psychology and the College; Chairman, Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science; Director, Program in History, Philosophy, & Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HiPSS)
MILTON J. ROSENBERG, Professor, Department of Psychology (Social & Organizational Psychology and Research Methodology & Quantitative Psychology) and the College; Chairman, Committee on Social & Organizational Psychology
STEVEN K. SHEVELL, Professor, Departments of Psychology (Biopsychology, Cognition & Communication, and Research Methodology & Quantitative Psychology) and Ophthalmology & Visual Science and the College
RICHARD A. SHWEDER, Professor, Department of Psychology (Human Development and Mental Health), Committee on South Asian Studies, and the College; Chairman, Committee on Human Development
MICHAEL SILVERSTEIN, Samuel N. Harper Professor, Departments of Anthropology, Linguistics, and Psychology (Cognition & Communication) and Committee on the Analysis of Ideas & Study of Methods
VIVIANNE C. SMITH, Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology & Visual Science and Psychology (Biopsychology)
NANCY L. STEIN, Professor, Departments of Education and Psychology (Cognition & Communication, Developmental Psychology, and Human Development) and the College
SUSAN S. STODOLSKY, Professor, Departments of Education and Psychology (Human Development)
THOMAS R. TRABASSO, Stella M. Rowley Professor, Departments of Education and Psychology (Cognition & Communication, Developmental Psychology, and Human Development) and the College
EVE VAN COUTER, Research Associate (Professor), Departments of Medicine and Psychology (Biopsychology)
HUGH R. WILSON, Professor, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Committee on Neurobiology, and the College
AMANDA WOODWARD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology (Cognition & Communication and Developmental Psychology)
BENJAMIN D. WRIGHT, Professor, Departments of Education and Psychology (Research Methodology & Quantitative Psychology); Director, MESA Psychometric Laboratory
MARVIN ZONIS, Professor, Department of Psychology (Human Development and Mental Health), Graduate School of Business, and the College
Courses
Courses numbered 200 to 299 are open only to undergraduates. Courses that bear both a 200-level number and a 300-level number are open both to undergraduates and graduates, with the parallel numbers indicating that undergraduates and graduates are held to different requirements. Courses bearing only a 300-level number are open both to undergraduate and graduate students with both groups being held to the same graduate-level requirements. Courses at the 400 level are open only to graduates except by special permission as warranted by an undergraduate's academic needs. Boldface letters in parentheses refer to the areas noted in the preceding Summary of Requirements section. L refers to courses with a laboratory.
200. Fundamentals of Psychology. This course is an introduction to the basic concepts and research in the study of behavior. Principal topics are sensation, perception, cognition, learning, motivation, and personality theories. R. Butler. Autumn.
202. Introduction to Behavioral Research. This course is an introduction to the concepts and methods used in behavioral research. The major topics addressed are: the nature of behavioral research, testing of research ideas, quantitative and qualitative techniques of data collection, artifacts in behavioral research, analyzing and interpreting research data and ethical considerations in research. T. Trabasso. Spring.
207. Systems and Behavioral Neurobiology (=BioSci 211, Biopsy 207, Psych 207). PQ: Common Core biology. This is a seminar-level course that considers problems concerned with the structure and function of the nervous system in invertebrates and vertebrates. Emphasis is placed on reading primary literature related to current research topics. The lab involves learning basic techniques in neurophysiology and beginning to apply them to independent research projects. D. Margoliash, J. Ramirez. Winter. L.
208. Stereotypes and Social Categories: A Cognitive Approach. This course examines the problem of social categorization and stereotyping from the perspective of experimental cognitive psychology. Some of the topics include biases in the way we perceive and remember people, the development of stereotypes, why stereotypes are difficult to change, and how the mind represents individuals and social groups. We consider whether social categories function like other kinds of categories or whether the social world is a unique domain. In addition, we address methodological problems in social cognition research. B. Hagen-Crawford. Winter.
209. Language Construal in Context: A Developmental Perspective. This course is intended to be an introductory exploration into context effects on language processing over development. Lay theories of language processing assume that meaning is construed through words. Empirical research suggests that this is not the case. The course attempts to show when (in development) and how (at the level of processing) contextual variables impact the construal of meaning during face-to-face interactions. The course focuses primarily on two types of contextual variables. Specifically, the role that nonverbal behaviors (for example, facial expression, tone of voice, hand gestures) and pragmatic information (for example, shared knowledge, speaker status, convention) play in the development of language processing is discussed. In addition, the course addresses different theoretical positions on how context influences language processing. S. Kelly. Spring.
211. Biological Bases of Behavior. This
course is a survey of physiological and neuroanatomical factors
involved in learning, motivation, and emotion. S. Grossman.
Autumn. (A)
212. Biopsychology and Learning and Memory (=Biopsy 212, Psych 212). Following a brief review of the elements of neuroanatomy, physiology, pharmacology of the brain, and the psychology of learning and memory, the course focuses on the following questions: What are the physiological and/or biochemical changes that occur as a consequence of learning? Where do they occur? What parts of the brain may be uniquely concerned with the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of memories? P. Grossman. Spring.
213. Introduction to Human Development II: Adolescence, Adulthood, and Aging (=HumDev 308, Psych 213). PQ: Psych 241 or consent of instructor. The transitions from youth to middle age to old age are considered, such as personality change and changing concomitants of family, work, and other roles. The relations between young and old, and the position of older persons in a changing society are also studied. M. Csikszentmihalyi. Spring. (B)
215. Brain Asymmetry. PQ: Prior courses in psychology, biology, and statistics required; knowledge of cognitive psychology, developmental biology or genetics, and basic human neuroanatomy helpful. This course covers the evolution, development, manifestations, and psychological consequences of cerebral asymmetry of function in the human brain, as well as variations in patterns of asymmetry as a function of gender, handedness, and psychological characteristics. This course includes a brief review of the history of mind-brain concepts and basic coverage of the functional anatomy of the human brain. J. Levy. Winter. (A)
217. Developmental Biopsychology (=BioSci 210, Biopsy 217, EvBiol 320, HumDev 320, Psych 217). PQ: Psych 200 or Common Core biology. This course is an introduction to biological and physiological analysis of behavior and to principles of neural and endocrine integration. We use a developmental emphasis, with experimental and clinical literature. M. McClintock. Winter. (A)
218. Social Context of Vertebrate Reproduction (=HumDev 324, Psych 218). This lecture/discussion seminar focuses on social aspects of reproduction and reproductive behavior. The topic is addressed at several levels of analysis: physiology, behavior, and population structure. Variation within and across species is emphasized. Topics include mating and parental care, gender differences in behavior, sex ratios, levels of selection, neuroendocrine mechanisms, ecology and energetics, timing of reproduction, and cooperation and conflict. M. McClintock, J. Altmann. Spring.
223. Introduction to Developmental Psychology (=Educ 210/310, HumDev 307, Psych 223). This course is an introduction to developmental psychology, stressing the development and integration of cognitive, social, and perceptual skills. Discussion section required. S. Hans, S. Goldin-Meadow. Autumn. (B)
224. Victorian Women and Their Society: A Problem in Writing Lives (=Fndmtl 288, GS Hum 276/376, MAPH 311, Psych 224). We read Freud's cases of Elisabeth von R. and Dora, Jean Strousse's biography of Alice James, and Alice James' diary, with some discussion of the life-history in the social sciences and humanities. We consider how a life story is constructed, questions of "normal" and "abnormal," the balance of vulnerability and coping with adversity, and the interplay of biography and both social and historical forces. Students may do a life-history based on interviews and psychological tests or study a historical figure for the course paper. B. Cohler. Autumn.
225. Cognitive Development (=Educ 294/394, Psych 225). This course examines the intellectual development of the child. Topics include the growth of the child's understanding of the physical and social world and the development of memory and thought processes. J. Huttenlocher. Spring.
227. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and LISP I (=ComSci 250, Psych 227). PQ: ComSci 115-116 or 105-106. This course is an introduction to the theoretical, technical, and philosophical issues of AI and looks at natural language processing, planning, problem solving, diagnostic systems, naïve physics, and game playing. LISP and LISP programming are introduced. K. Hammond, Staff. Autumn.
228. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and LISP II (=ComSci 251, Psych 228). PQ: ComSci 250. This is a continuation of the issues and topics introduced in ComSci 250. K. Hammond. Winter.
229. Self, Role, Niche, and Adaptation (=Educ 229, Psych 229). Psychological, cross-cultural, and ecological perspectives on self, person, identity, relationship, role, group, and niche are examined in studying human conduct in natural-cultural and organizational settings. F. Lighthall. Not offered 1997-98; will be offered 1998-99.
230. Cultural Psychology (=HumDev 310, Psych
230). A discipline called cultural
psychology is emerging. It is not general psychology; it is not
cross-cultural psychology; it is not psychological anthropology;
it is not ethnopsychology. This class explores what it is. R.
Shweder. Autumn. (C)
231. Introduction to Developmental Neuropsychology (=Biopsy 231, Psych 231). Class discussions focus on major syndromes of cognitive disability in childhood, for example, autism, dysphasia, and dyslexia. Experimental, clinical, and neurological methods used to describe these syndromes are covered. In addition, various topics in normal development, such as hemispheric specialization, are discussed. S. Levine. Winter.
232/333. Introduction to Language Development (=Educ 242/442, HumDev 316, Psych 232/333). This course addresses the major issues involved in first-language acquisition. We deal with the child's production and perception of speech sounds (phonology), the acquisition of the lexicon (semantics), the comprehension and production of structured word combinations (syntax), and the ability to use language to communicate (pragmatics). S. Goldin-Meadow, A. Woodward. Winter.
233. Cognition, Development, and Learning (=Educ 216/316, Psych 233). This course surveys studies on the acquisition, development, and use of knowledge. The emphasis is on how individuals interpret and represent concepts and events, and how they undergo conceptual change as a result of learning and development. N. Stein, T. Trabasso. Spring. (B)
234. Cross-Cultural Human Development (=HumDev 311, Psych 234). This course is an evaluation of cognitive-developmental, psychoanalytic, and learning-theoretical accounts of human development in light of cross-cultural evidence. It provides a consideration of the nature of culture and the logic of both the comparative method and developmental and evolutionary explanations. G. Herdt. Autumn. (C)
235. Introduction to Interaction Research. There have been three main interests in recent research on interaction: (1) the expression of emotion, (2) the process of interaction itself (how it is that participants are able to accomplish interactions), and (3) the use of behaviors observed in interaction as indices of the participants' enduring characteristics or transient states. Selected examples of these major types of research are considered in terms of their conceptual framework and their approach to studying the phenomenon in question. The discussion focuses on the nature of interaction and on approaches to studying it. S. Duncan. Winter.
236. Development in Infancy. PQ: Psych 200 or 223, or consent of instructor. In this course, we explore the development of human perceptual, cognitive, motor, and social abilities during the first two years of life. The study of infants provides a window into issues of nature and nurture, and the ways in which structure in the organism and structure in the environment converge in developing systems. We cover both classical and current models, giving special attention to the role of changing empirical methods in informing theory. A. Woodward. Autumn.
238. Problem Solving and Reasoning. This
course covers theory, methods, and research on how people use
knowledge and concepts to understand, represent, and symbolically
solve problems. T. Trabasso. Autumn. (B)
239. Biological Rhythms of Sleep and Dreaming
(=Biopsy 239, Psych 239). This course
starts with an overview of oscillatory processes in human physiology
and behavior and then focuses on rhythms with a near twenty-four
hour (circadian) period. The central mechanisms that control the
day-to-day reproducibility of diurnal variations in mood, vigilance,
cognitive function, cardiovascular function, and hormonal release
are described. Implications for conditions of sleep deprivation,
shift work, and jet lag are discussed. Alterations in sleep and
biological rhythms in aging and in a variety of pathological conditions,
such as blindness and mood disorders, are presented. Methodological
issues relevant to the monitoring and analysis of rhythmic processes
are discussed. Visit to the sleep research laboratory required.
E. Van Cauter. Autumn.
247. The Development of Social Understanding. This course focuses on the development of emotional and social understanding from infancy through adolescence. We discuss the following questions: How do we conceptualize and define emotional understanding? How are emotions linked to thinking, language, and body expression? How are moods and emotions related? Are there temperamental differences that predispose individuals to act in certain ways? How good is emotional memory? What is the role of emotional understanding and expressiveness in young children's developing memory and theory of the mind? N. Stein. Autumn.
248. Seminar in the Social Psychology of
National and International Politics. PQ:
Third- or fourth-year standing.
This course reviews recent and classic research utilizing social
and depth-psychological approaches with the intention of representing
the main lines of inquiry in contemporary political psychology.
Among the topics treated are the psychodynamic study of political
leadership and of certain major political figures, including Hitler,
Gandhi, Nixon, and Daley; political socialization; determinants
and dynamics of party preference and electoral choice in the United
States; deterrence theory; a cognitive processing system and its
interaction with politics in the determination of arms policy;
psychological factors in international conflict and conciliation;
and political change and revolution. M. Rosenberg. Spring.
255. Language Socialization (=HumDev 354, Psych 255). This course is a survey of current work exploring the role of language and discursive practices in the child's development of thought, emotion, social relations, and so on, with a strong emphasis on ethnographic comparison both with other cultures and with subcultures within our own society. J. Lucy. Spring.
256. Introduction to Cognitive Psychology.
Viewing the brain globally as an
information processing or computational system has revolutionized
the study and understanding of intelligence. This course introduces
the theory, methods, and empirical results that underlie this
approach to psychology. Topics include categorization, attention,
memory, knowledge, language, and thought. L. Barsalou. Autumn.
(B)
258. Psychiatric Patient and Life World (=Psych 258, SocSci 279). PQ: Consent of instructor. This course provides students with an opportunity to work under the supervision of the instructors with psychiatrically ill adults at Somerset House, a 405-bed "intermediate care facility" on the North Side that provides residential services and treatment for persistently ill adults through old age as an alternative to institutionalization. Students also participate in inpatient services in a public psychiatric hospital in Tinley Park. This clinical experience is integrated with readings and class discussion regarding origin, course, and intervention for major mental disorders. Additional consideration is given to public policy issues related to intervention among persisently troubled adults. The class meets on Friday from 9 A.M. through late afternoon. B. Cohler. Spring.
270. Judgment and Decision Making. PQ: Two quarters of calculus or consent of instructor. This course is an overview of the psychology of decision making and judgment processes. Specific topics are drawn from the following areas: decision making when goals are in conflict, decision making when the consequences of the decision are uncertain, and predictive and evaluative judgments under conditions of uncertain and incomplete information. Decision models prescribing "optimal" behavior are compared with empirical data and theories of human performance. W. Goldstein. Autumn.
274. Psychology of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Contributions. PQ: Consent of instructor. In this seminar, four or five major works are closely examined with special attention to two questions: How do religious experience and belief coordinate with individual psychodynamic processes? How does religion serve in the psychological mediation of social change and the restoration of social stability? Among the works read are William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience; Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion; Erwin Goudenough, The Psychology of Religious Experience; R. H. Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism; and Kurt Samuelsson, Religion and Economic Action. M. Rosenberg. Autumn.
277. Freud: Social and Cultural Psychology. PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. D. Orlinsky. Winter.
278. Introduction to Psychotherapy. PQ: Psych 285 or consent of instructor. D. Orlinsky. Autumn.
280. Sensation and Perception (=Biopsy 280, Psych 280). This course centers on visual and auditory phenomena. Aside from the basic sensory discriminations (acuity, brightness, loudness, color, and pitch), more complex perceptual events, such as movement and space, are discussed. The biological underpinnings of these several phenomena are considered, as well as the role of learning in perception. S. Shevell. Winter. (A)
287/387. Connectionist Modeling I: Techniques. The first in a two-quarter sequence, this course provides an introduction to the computational techniques underlying the field of connectionist modeling. Topics covered include the Hopfield nets, perceptrons, and recurrent layered networks, together with supervised and unsupervised training algorithms for such networks. Facility in programming and a grasp of basic calculus and linear algebra is helpful but not required. T. Regier. Winter.
288. Information Theory and Coding. PQ: Knowledge of basic mathematics. This course introduces students to the mathematical theory of information with emphasis on coding, especially the development of efficient codes. Topics include an introduction to coding, quantification of information and its properties, Huffman codes, arithmetic codes, L to Z and other adaptive coding techniques, and applications. A. Bookstein. Winter.
293. Undergraduate Research. PQ: Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Available for either Pass or letter grading. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
294. Honors Paper Preparation. PQ: Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Available for either Pass or letter grading. This course is not a requirement for doing an honors paper. It may be taken for one or two quarters, depending on the magnitude of the project. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
296. Undergraduate Research in Biopsychology.
PQ: Students are required to
submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Available
for either Pass or letter grading.
This course may be taken for one or two quarters, depending on
the size of the project. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
301. Gender and Sexual Development (=HumDev 353, Psych 301). This course is an advanced introduction to basic issues in the theory and methodology of the study of gender identity and the role of sexual development in cultural and psychological perspective. G. Herdt. Winter.
310. Perspectives in Drug Abuse (=PhaPhy 329, Psych 310). This course provides a broad overview of the major classes of abused drugs, including epidemiology, pharmacology, etiological factors, and short- and long-term effects. H. de Wit, L. Seiden, P. Vezina. Spring.
316. Conflict, Conversation, and Point of View. This seminar is devoted to the examination of conflict resolution as conflicts occur in the family, in business enterprises, in courts of law, in academic settings, and in international arenas. Despite the diversity of conditions under which conflict occurs, experiencing and remembering conflict has a universal representation. The dimensions that are used to define, recognize, and resolve a conflict do not vary across either culture or domain. Readings include articles from international relations; cultural approaches to conflict; marital and family interaction; developmental approaches to conflict resolution; arbitration and courts of law; studies of repressed and false memory; and excerpts from Machiavelli's analysis of crisis and conflict. N. Stein. Spring.
319. Language, Culture, and Thought (=HumDev 319, Psych 319). PQ: Consent of instructor. This course is a survey of research on the interrelation of language, culture, and thought from the evolutionary, developmental, historical, and culture-comparative perspectives, with special emphasis on the mediating methodological implications for the social sciences. J. Lucy. Winter.
327. Neuropsychopharmacology (=BioSci 268, Neurbi 327, PhaPhy 327, Psych 327). PQ: BioSci 200 or BchMB 301, or consent of instructor. This course studies the effects of pharmacological agents on behavior with an emphasis on physiological and biochemical mechanisms. L. Seiden, H. De Wit, P. Vezina. Autumn. L.
343. Topics in Early Socialization. This course focuses on the relationship between the child's interaction with others and various aspects of socialization. The emphasis is on studies of the child's natural (as opposed to experimentally arranged) interactions with others, primarily during the first two years. Among the topics considered are the process of interaction itself, the nature of the child's early interaction abilities, conflict, discipline, peer interaction, self-regulation, emotion, gender issues, moral development, and problematic parent-child interaction. Research methods and conceptual foundations of readings are analyzed in class discussion. S. Duncan. Autumn.
344. Computational Neuroscience III: Networks (=Math 344, Orb/An 344, Psych 344). This course discusses neural nets and cognitive neuroscience. Specific topics include brain imaging and cognition, human speech perception, an introduction to the mathematics of neural nets and connectionist modeling of psychological processes. J. Cowan, H. Nusbaum, T. Regier, L. Towle. Spring.
345. Conflict in Early Parent-Child Relationships. Interaction processes in conflicts between parents and young children are examined. Conceptual and methodological issues are considered, including theories of conflict, theories of face-to-face interaction, research approaches to interaction, and studies of family conflicts of various sorts. Conflictual interaction is related to topics of interest in developmental psychology such as compliance, negotiation, discipline, socialization, and self-control. Videotapes made in the homes of families are used to illustrate conflicts. S. Duncan. Spring.
346. Agency: Theories of Planning and Action (=ComSci 353, Psych 346). PQ: ComSci 350 and 352. The issues involved with the construction of autonomous intelligent agents are examined. The class focuses on the current work on agency being done by the Chicago AI Lab and explores problems of planning from memory, control of activity, integration of perception and reasoning, and learning from execution. K. Hammond. Autumn.
357. Psychology of Spoken Language. From the point of time that the acoustic speech signal strikes our ears, we understand this signal as language. The clicks and pops and trills of the sound pattern itself are not part of our perceptual experience of spoken language. How do we understand sound patterns as words? What are the processes that mediate spoken language comprehension and what kind of knowledge is used by these processes? This course examines the theoretical issues and research addressing these basic questions in human language understanding. H. Nusbaum. Spring.
359. Theory and Practice of Measurement (=Educ 359, Psych 359). This course is an introduction to the basic ideas of scientific measurement. Practical models for the construction of fundamental objective measurement are deduced from the measurement theories of Campbell, Thurstone, Guttman, Luce and Tukey, and Rasch. Applications in educational and psychological research are discussed. Connections with and improvements on contemporary educational test practice and psychometrics are explained. Practical methods for identifying item bias, equating tests, building item banks, setting standards, and diagnosing irregular test performance are developed, explained, and illustrated. B. Wright, J. Linacre. Winter.
360. Advanced Psychometric Theory (=Educ 360, Psych 360). This course is an introduction to the practice of fundamental measurement in social science research. The mathematical models on which the construction of fundamental measurement is based are explained, discussed, and illustrated. Applications to educational and psychological tests, survey questionnaires, attitude inventories, and social surveys are studied. Students learn to use computer programs to construct and calibrate variables and to make measures and set standards on these variables. Students are helped to apply these methods to their own research data and shown how to prepare their results for a lecture and for publication. B. Wright, J. Linacre. Spring.
361. Contemporary Issues in Biopsychology (=Biopsy 361, Psych 361). PQ: Psych 211 or 311. This class discusses contemporary issues. S. Grossman. Winter.
369. Neuropsychopharmacology II (=Biopsy 369, PhaPhy 328, Psych 369). This is the second of a two-quarter series examining the effects of drugs on the central nervous system and behavior. This course is designed to cover the major classes of therapeutic and abused drugs and their effects on the central nervous system and behavior. P. Vezina, H. De Wit, L. Seiden. Winter.
376. Psychology of Language (=Ling 376, Psych 376). PQ: One year of linguistics or consent of instructor. Topics include language production and comprehension, language acquisition and thought, language use, gestures, language in nonhuman species, and language in artificial systems. D. McNeill. Spring.
381. Introduction to Computational Psychology. This course introduces students to the use of computation as a theoretical construct in psychology and teaches them how to apply these concepts for their own purposes. We provide a historical overview of computation in psychology and highlight when and how computational modeling can be a helpful accompaniment to empirical inquiry. These general issues are illustrated largely through examples of symbolic computational models, although non-symbolic systems such as connectionist models are discussed. Course notes and excerpts from Unified Theories of Cognition (Newell, 1990) are used. Students manipulate existing software packages in a series of computational homework sets. H. Nusbaum, T. Regier. Autumn.
384. Anthropology of Sexual Cultures (=HumDev 384, Psych 384). This course is a basic introduction for the advanced study of theories and accounts of sexual cultures, practices, and ideologies across history and societies, from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, in Western culture and non-Western groups. G. Herdt. Winter.
385. Cognitive Neuropsychology (=Biopsy 385, Psych 385). This seminar surveys basic studies that provide a foundation for cognitive neuropsychology, including research on brain damage, single-unit recording, evoked potentials, PET and MRI scanning, and computational modeling. H. Nusbaum. Winter.
386. Questionnaire Design and Analysis (=Educ 308, Psych 386, SSA 451/551). This course introduces designing, writing, piloting, and analyzing the kinds of questionnaires used in social, psychological, health care, and marketing research. This course is particularly valuable to students considering careers in marketing, health care, social service, or a social science. B. Wright, J. Linacre. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
470-471. Language in Culture I, II (=Anthro 372-1, -2, Ling 311-312, Psych 470-471). PQ: Consent of instructor. Must be taken in sequence. This two-quarter course presents the major issues in linguistics of anthropological interest, including, in the first half, the formal structure of semiotic systems, the ethnographically crucial incorporation of linguistic forms into cultural systems, and the methods for empirical investigation of "functional" semiotic structure and history. The second half of the sequence takes up basic concepts in sociolinguistics and their critique, linguistic analysis of publics, performance and ritual, and language ideologies, among other topics. M. Silverstein, Winter; S. Gal, Spring.