233 Psychology Mission The mission of the psychology department is to assist students in the development of lifelong professional, spiritual, scholarly and scientific talents. Talents in psychology involve the systematic study of behavior and mental processes. By adopting the American Psychological Association recommendations for learning goals and outcomes, the psychology department is committed to encouraging personal and intellectual growth by maintaining a rigorous academic curriculum designed to give the student knowledge of behavior, cognitive processes and emotional functioning. We promote an understanding of how this knowledge is scientifically acquired and applied in a diverse and global society. The psychology program strongly emphasizes the development of analytic and expressive skills that are the basis of investigation, evaluation and communication in this socially responsible field. Outcomes 1. Students will demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings and historical trends in psychology. 2. Students will understand and apply basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis and interpretation. 3. Students will respect and use critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and mental processes. 4. Students will understand and apply psychological principles to personal, social and organizational issues. 5. Students will be able to weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity, act ethically and reflect other values that are the underpinnings of psychology as a discipline. 6. Students will demonstrate information competence and the ability to use computers and other technology for many purposes. 7. Students will be able to communicate effectively in a variety of formats. 8. Students will recognize, understand and respect the complexity of socio-cultural and international diversity. 9. Students will develop insight into their own and others behavior and mental processes and apply effective strategies for self-management and self-improvement. 10. Students will emerge from the major with realistic ideas about how to implement their psychological knowledge, skills and values in occupational pursuits in a variety of settings.
234 Major Requirements For a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Psychology, a student completes 3 of psychology courses with courses required in each of the following groups: Core psychology courses: PSYC 111 Introductory Psychology PSYC 320 Social Science Research Methods PSYC 499 Capstone Psychology Research At least one course from Group A Developmental/Biological: PSYC 121 Child and Adolescent Development PSYC 122 Adult Development PSYC 223 Living with Loss PSYC 261 Psychology of Sex and Gender BIOL 445 Neuroscience At least one course from Group B Cognitive/Personality/Social: PSYC 221 Abnormal Psychology PSYC 224 Social Psychology PSYC 281 Motivation PSYC 381 Personality PSYC 471 Cognitive Psychology At least one course from Group C Applied: PSYC 231 Behavior Modification PSYC 305 Marriage and the Family PSYC 330 Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy PSYC 350 Helping Skills Additional credit hours are elective and may consist of any approved psychology courses. Three hours of MATH 220 Statistics is required as a psychology major support course. For a Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree in Psychology, a student completes the 3 of psychology courses required for the BA degree (including MATH 220 Statistics) and additional courses in science and math including: CHEM 110 General Chemistry I CHEM 111 General Chemistry II BIOL 211 Human Anatomy and Physiology I BIOL 212 Human Anatomy and Physiology II An approved calculus course
235 Minor Requirements For a Minor in Psychology, a student completes 21 hours of psychology courses including: PSYC 111 Introductory Psychology from Group A Developmental/Biological from Group B Cognitive/Personality/Social from Group C Applied Additional hours are to be chosen as electives from any approved psychology course offerings, including MATH 220 Statistics. Teaching Endorsement Education majors wishing a teaching endorsement, second teaching area, in Psychology, complete either 30 hours in psychology or 15 hours in psychology plus 15 hours in the broad area of Social Sciences. Either option satisfies the requirements for the 7-12 Social Sciences-Psychology Endorsement. Core psychology courses: AND PSYC 111 Introductory Psychology PSYC 320 Social Science Research Methods PSYC 499 Capstone: Psychology Research from Group A Developmental/Biological from Group B Cognitive/Personality/Social from Group C Applied Additional hours are to be chosen as electives from any approved psychology course offerings, including MATH 220 Statistics. Major Requirements for Physical Therapy Pre-Professional Training Undergraduate students who plan to apply for admission in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at Clarke and desire an undergraduate degree in Psychology should complete 33 approved credit hours of psychology courses, including all core courses and at least three hours from Groups A, B and C, (as listed above), with additional credit hours to be chosen as electives from any approved psychology course offerings. Three hours of MATH 220 Statistics is required as a psychology major support course.
236 Minor Requirements for AT and PT Students Any student who is majoring in athletic training (AT) or in the pre-physical therapy program (PT) wishing a Minor in Psychology completes 21 approved credit hours of psychology courses as follows: Core psychology courses: PSYC 111 Introductory Psychology Group A Developmental/Biological: PSYC 121 Child and Adolescent Development PSYC 122 Adult Development Group B Cognitive/Personality/Social: While no courses are required, a minimum of three hours is strongly recommended. Group C Applied: PSYC 330 Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy and/or PSYC 350 Helping Skills Additional hours are to be chosen as electives from any approved course offerings, including MATH 220 Statistics. Application to Major Clarke students may apply to a major field after having completed 30 hours of academic work. Ordinarily, a student may apply for a major in psychology upon completion of 12 hours of course work in psychology at Clarke, of which three credits must include statistics, with a C- or better grade. Transfer students who enter Clarke with 60 or more credit hours should apply to their majors within the first two semesters of attendance at Clarke, after having taken at least six credit hours of psychology course work at Clarke. Transfers must complete the requirements for the major and no less than 18 credit hours at Clarke in psychology. Note: The department reserves the right to decide on the acceptability of psychology courses offered by other campuses to fulfill major requirements. Students who have taken a lifespan course, such as lifespan development or human development, may substitute the course for a Group A course in the major. Approval for course substitution is granted by the department chair. To apply for a psychology major, students must: Complete 12 hours of psychology course work with minimum grades of C- or better and an overall minimum GPA of 2.00, including the completion of MATH 220 Statistics with a minimum grade of C -. Submit a completed application form to the academic affairs office. Meet with the psychology faculty to discuss the applicant s progress and goals at this stage of psychology preparation.
Successful completion of these steps will result in full admittance to the psychology department. A student who has been accepted as a psychology major will be dismissed from the program if grades lower than a C- are received in three psychology courses, or if the student s GPA drops below 2.0 for two consecutive semesters. A student must repeat a psychology course in which a grade lower than a C- is received. The student will be dropped from the major if a course needs to be repeated more than once. Cooperative Education/Internships 237 Internships provide an important opportunity for responsible psychology majors to gain valuable practical experience under professional supervision. This gives participating students a chance to apply classroom knowledge, help others and identify which of the many areas of psychology they might enjoy working in. Recent psychology interns have performed a wide variety of activities, including working with individuals having severe and persistent mental illness, serving as a staff member in a group home for emotionally disturbed adolescents and providing psychological support for victims of domestic violence. Without special approval, no more than three credit hours of cooperative education/internship and three credit hours of independent research or study may be counted toward the major. Computer Literacy Requirement Students majoring in psychology are expected to have a proficiency in computers, which would minimally include the computer concepts and applications of word processing, database, spreadsheet, graphics and electronic research. Satisfaction of the general education technology proficiency is expected. Research Requirement Psychology majors are required to take two courses in which the primary focus is the implementation and written explanation of scientific research in psychology. Those courses are: PSYC 320 Social Science Research Methods and PSYC 499 Capstone: Psychology Research. Senior Performance Requirement Students are required to complete PSYC 499 Capstone: Psychology Research. This is an integrative project that is implemented, carried out and written according to American Psychological Association (APA) style. Course Descriptions PSYC 111 INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY A scientific survey of selected topics of interest in psychology. These include such topics as biology and behavior, sensation, perception, consciousness, learning, memory, intelligence, motivation, emotion, personality, abnormal behavior, therapy and social psychology. Attention is given to research methods in psychology, as well as to the history of psychology itself.
238 PSYC 121 CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT A study of research and theories of physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development from conception through adolescence. Special topics are discussed including attachment, child maltreatment, bullies, movies and media, adolescent employment and teenage pregnancy. PSYC 122 ADULT DEVELOPMENT An examination of physical, cognitive and socioemotional development issues in adulthood from young adulthood to later life, including issues of career, family, aging, retirement and death. PSYC 221 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY An examination of the most recent approaches to the understanding and treatment of various mentalhealth problems, such as phobias, depression, psychoses and other forms of abnormal behavior. Included are comparisons to the more traditional approaches to these problems. Prerequisite: PSYC 111. PSYC 223 LIVING WITH LOSS Designed to assist individuals to examine their personal philosophy of life and death. Losses throughout life as well as methods of coping and caring provide the focus of the course. It also provides the basis for assisting others by being able to respond in a caring holistic manner during a time of impending loss of grief. Specific focus on death and dying is included. See NURS 233. Prerequisite: PSYC 121 or PSYC 122. PSYC 224 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY An analysis of the interaction between the individual and the group. Topics include conformity, mass communication, propaganda and persuasion, social cognition, self-justification, human aggression, prejudice and liking, loving and interpersonal sensitivity. Prerequisite: PSYC 111 or SOC 101. PSYC 231 BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION A practical approach to the elementary principles of behavior modification. Topics include reinforcement, punishment, extinction, stimulus control, generalization and classical conditioning. Prerequisite: PSYC 111. PSYC 261 PSYCHOLOGY OF SEX AND GENDER This course provides a comprehensive and academically sound introduction to the biological, psychosocial, behavioral and cultural aspects of sexuality and gender. Topics include the biological basis of sexuality, sexual behavior, love and the development of relationships, communication, exploring personal values, complexities of gender, cultural perspectives on sexuality, sexual problems and social issues. Prerequisites: PSYC 111, PSYC 121, PSYC 122, or SOC 101. PSYC 280 TOPICS IN PSYCHOLOGY Issues such as: critical thought with contemporary issues in psychology, history of psychology, learning and memory, professional seminar and transpersonal psychology. Prerequisite: Acceptance to psychology major or consent. PSYC 281 MOTIVATION Hunger, sex, addiction, sleep, aggression, happiness, creativity, etc. Why do we do what we do? What motivates our behavior? An honest and eye-opening examination of the many factors that arouse, maintain and direct human behavior. Prerequisite: PSYC 111.
239 PSYC 305 MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY Basic framework of the systems approach to understanding marriage and family relationships. Experience with various techniques will be provided through role plays. Prerequisite: PSYC 111, PSYC 121 or PSYC 122. PSYC 320 SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH METHODS A comprehensive examination of experimental designs and techniques used in psychological research. Topics include sampling and generalizability, measurement, reliability, validity and methods of measuring behavior. Students will be expected to use this course as preparation for developing their own research study/experiment, which will occur in PSYC 499 Capstone: Psychology Research. Prerequisite: Psychology major or consent. PSYC 330 THEORIES OF COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY An examination and discussion of major psychological approaches to helping people with personal problems. Emphasis is placed on comparing and contrasting various approaches and their techniques. Prerequisite: PSYC 111, PSYC 121, or PSYC 122. PSYC 350 HELPING SKILLS An experientially designed course for students interested in developing active listening and effective interpersonal skills. Helping skills are taught and practice opportunities are provided through role plays and taped sessions. This class is appropriate for anyone who will be working with people in any type of interpersonal setting. Prerequisites: PSYC 111, PSYC 121 or PSYC 122. PSYC 381 PERSONALITY Is there such a thing as personality? What evidence do we have that personality traits exist? From where do these traits come? What is the relationship of these traits to behavior? All of these questions and much more are addressed in this class. Students learn about personality by studying major personality theories and by examining their own individual personalities. Prerequisite: PSYC 111. PSYC 385 Physiological Psychology 3 hours Basic neuroanatomy, physiology, and psychopharmacology to serve as foundation for learning about sensory and motor systems, homeostatic regulation, the biological underpinnings of language, learning, memory, higher order cognition and neurological and psychiatric disorders. Prerequisite: PSYC 111, 121, or 122. PSYC 395 PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP cv Individual internships on campus and off campus provide valuable supervised practical experience. No more than three credit hours may be applied to the major without approval of department chair. Prerequisites: PSYC 305, PSYC 330, PSYC 350, acceptance as a psychology major or consent. PSYC 471 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY The thinking involved in such activities as language, problem-solving, and memory are investigated. Topics including the self, consciousness, and emotion s role are addressed. Students grapple with what it means to think like a human being, as distinct from other forms of creation. Prerequisite: PSYC 111.
240 PSYC 490 INDEPENDENT STUDy cv Individual study in the field of psychology supervised by a psychology faculty member. No more than three credit hours may be applied to the major without approval of the department chair. Prerequisite: Acceptance as a psychology major with a minimum GPA of 2.5 in major courses and/ or consent. PSYC 499 Capstone: Psychology Research This course provides a focal point for and closure to the psychology major within the context of a liberal arts education. As a departmental offering, this course focuses on individual empirical research on a topic chosen by the student and expands to include breadth and integration of knowledge and synthesis. Approved research plans are supervised by a psychology faculty member and include statistically analyzed results that are reported in a professionally written research paper. Psychology major and general education outcomes are integral to course assessment. Prerequisites: Ordinarily a student must have junior/senior standing with a minimum of 42 credit hours in general education completed; PSYC 320, and acceptance as a psychology major or consent.