2008-2009 Catalog - Virginia Wesleyan College

152 PSYCHOLOGY327 Social Psychology (3)Our development as socialized human beings is shapedthrough our interactions with groups of other people. Inturn, the structure and function of both the formal andinformal groups that exist in a society are shaped by thepersonalities of the individuals who comprise theirmembership. In this course, students discover bothacademically and experientially the nature of such grouprelatedpsychological dynamics as attitude formation,interpersonal attraction, social conflict, and bureaucraticorganization. Identical to SOC 327. Prerequisite: junior/senior status and six semester hours of either psychology orsociology. Offered each fall.333 Assessment of Individual Differences (3) (E)An examination of the theoretical and practicalconsiderations involved in the construction, administration,and interpretation of psychological tests to measuresuch factors as achievement, aptitudes, interests, andpersonality structure. Prerequisite: junior/senior status andany 200-level psychology course. Offered fall of oddnumberedyears.337 Advanced Developmental Psychology (3)Describes the physical, social, emotional, and cognitivechanges that occur during the period from conceptionthrough adolescence and the interrelationships among thesechanges that form, along with social and cultural contexts,the mature individual. Although emphasis is placed onnormal development, a representative sample of child andadolescent emotional and behavioral disorders arediscussed. An integral part of this course is to have studentsunderstand how the findings of developmental psychologicalresearch may be applied to real-world concerns.Prerequisites: junior/senior status and any 200-levelpsychology course; freshmen and sophomores by consentonly. Identical to HHS 337. Offered each fall.341 Cognitive Development (3)Familiarizes students with the normal course ofcognitive development during childhood and adolescence,the specific and general theories that seek to explain thatdevelopment, and the literature that relates cognitivedevelopmental findings to the acquisition of academicskills. Prerequisites: junior/senior status and any 200-levelpsychology course or EDUC 225. Offered spring of evennumberedyears.348 Language Development (3) WFamiliarizes students with the phonological, syntactic,semantic, and pragmatic aspects of both normal andatypical language development as it proceeds throughoutlife. Issues relating to oral and written language will beaddressed. Prerequisites: junior/senior status and any200-level psychology course. Offered fall of odd-numberedyears.350 Psychology and the Law (3)Presents an opportunity to view the practicalapplication of psychology within the criminal justicesystem. The foundations of forensic psychology areillustrated by examining criminal events covered in thelocal and national news media. Prerequisites: junior/seniorstatus and PSY 201. Offered when circumstances permit.355 Theories of Personality (3)A survey of the major theoretical descriptions of personalitystructure beginning with Freud’s psychodynamicmodel and tracing developments thereafter throughexposure to significant alternative viewpoints. Prerequisites:junior/senior status and any 200-level psychology course.Offered each fall.356 Abnormal Psychology (3)The various categories of disturbed behavior aredescribed in terms of their defining symptom patterns.Causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention are alsodiscussed. Prerequisite: junior status, any 200-levelpsychology course or consent. Offered each spring.360 Theories of Motivation:Animal Behavior (3)Presents the theories of motivation with particularemphasis on how they apply to animal behavior. Thebiological systems underlying motivational processes areoutlined and discussed. There are visits to local animal careand training facilities, individual or group projects, andreport writing. Prerequisites: junior/senior status, PSY 201and 277. Offered intermittently.362 Theories of Motivation:Human Behavior (3)The activation, direction and maintenance of goalorientedbehavior is studied from a variety of theoreticalperspectives. The primary focus is on conscious behaviorssuch as goal-setting, selection of self versus otherperspectives and the effects of such orientations on behavioras well as psychological needs, and specific topics such asaltruism and aggression. Prerequisites: junior/senior statusand PSY 201. Offered fall of even-numbered years.370 The Construction ofPerceptual/Reality (3)Because the effectiveness of adjustment to one’s physicaland social surroundings is affected by how the individualinterprets environmental events, a genuine understandingof behavior depends on a knowledge of the mechanismsthat construct personal realities. This course traces thephysiological and psychological events that lead fromstimulation of the sensory systems to the eventualemergence of perceptually guided responses. Prerequisite:junior/senior status. Offered fall of even-numbered years.