- Writing Courses
- Psychology
of Disaster
- Psychology of Disaster is a first-year writing course that focuses on
the psychological
experiences of disaster victims, as well as factors influencing how
non-victims perceive and
respond to disaster. Psyc119 fulfills the
first-year college writing
requirement. Please note
that Psyc119 does not contribute to the major or minor requirements for
Psychology, nor
does it substitute for the 100-level Introductory or General Psychology
course.
Given Tulane's location in New Orleans, this course draws heavily upon the
Katrina disaster.
We will, however, read and discuss the psychological effects of other
natural and error-based
disasters, including earlier major hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, the
space shuttle
tragedies, and terrorist attacks. The first portion of the term will focus
on the psychological experiences
of disaster victims,
including stress and coping, ruminative thoughts, and assessment of risk.
These topics will
provide the backdrop for the most fundamental and broadest aspects of good
writing, such
as organizing and constructing a sound argument. The second portion of the
term will focus
on how non-victims perceive and respond to disaster, including the role of
the media victim
derogation, and helping behavior. These latter topics will provide the
backdrop for the finer
points of good writing, including variation in sentence structure,
grammar, and revision.
- Applied Social Psychology
- Psyc443
applies the theories and methodology of social psychology to a various
issues such as the legal system, sports psychology, violence
against women, health psychology, and political psychology. An optional
writing practicum is offered to satisfy the college writing
requirement. Prerequisites are Psyc212, Psyc343, and junior standing.
- Attitudes and Persuasion
- When offered as Psyc480, Attitudes and Persuasion will be writing
intensive
- Honor's Thesis
- With instructor permission, honors theses in psychology may satisfy the intensive writing requirement.
- Statistics Courses
- Univariate
Statistics I
- Required of psychology majors and minors, Psyc209 covers the logic of
experimental design and provides an overview of basic statistical
procedures to draw inferences from data. Includes analysis of variance,
regression, and chi-square tests. Psyc100 or Psyc101 or Psyc102 is a
prerequisite. Psyc209 previously was numbered Psyc212.
- Univariate Statistics II
- Psyc611 is the second course in the statistics sequence, designed primarily to meet the needs of beginning graduate students in the social sciences and undergraduate students likely to pursue graduate study in psychology. Psyc209/212 is a prerequisite. Instructor approval for undergraduate student enrollment is required.
- Lecture and Seminar Courses
- Social Psychology
- Psyc343 provides a broad overview of the
social bases of behavior, that is, the individual in social context.
Topics include group phenomena such as social facilitation, stereotyping
and prejudice, attitudes and persuasion, stress and coping, and
intimate relationships. Honors sections include seminar discussions of
research papers. A 100-level psychology course is the prerequisite.
- Social Psychology-Honors
- The honors section of Social Psychology includes seminar discussions
of research papers, and provides opportunities to write papers applying
social psychological theory to current events and issues. Like the
basic course, Psyc343H provides an overview of the social bases of
behavior, including social faciliation, stress and coping, stereotyping,
persuasion, and intimate relationships.
- Attitudes
and Persuasion
- Psyc661/745, the seminar in attitudes and persuasion, provides an in-depth examination of how attitudes are formed, measured, and cognitively represented as well as classic and contemporary models of persuasion. Psyc343 (social psychology) and Psyc209/212 (univariate I ) is a prerequisite for this course.
- Laboratory Courses
- Experimental Social Psychology
- Psyc344 details the techniques used in the laboratory and field to examine
social psychological phenemona. In the laboratory component of the course,
students conduct experiments and write research reports according to the
style of the American Psychological Association.
Psyc209/Psyc212 and Psyc343 are prerequisites
- Research Methods in Social Cognition
- In Psyc345, students critique and discuss experiments in cognitive social psychology.
Topics include attribution, schema use, person memory, and social
inference. In the laboratory component of the course, students conduct
experiments and write research reports according to the style of the
American Psychological Association. Psyc209/Psyc212 and Psyc343 are
prerequisites.
- Research Methods in Social Cognition - Honors
- In the honors section of Psyc345-H, students also write a research proposal and
alternate cofacilitating the article discussions. Honors standing,
Psyc209/Psyc212, and Psyc343 are
prerequisites.
- Research Methods in Prejudiced Communication
- Courses numbered as Psyc480 are special topics laboratory course
that satisfies a
psychology laboratory requirement for majors and minors. The course
examines research on prejudiced communication from a social psychological
perspective.
- Attitudes
and Persuasion
- A&P is taught seminar format, and when numbered as Psyc480 has an additional laboratory component. Like the basic seminar, the course provides an in-depth examination of how attitudes are formed, measured, and cognitively represented as well as classic and contemporary models of persuasion. Psyc343 (social psychology) and Psyc209/212 (univariate I ) is a prerequisite for this course.
- Directed Research
- Advanced Personality and Social Psychology
- Psyc668 is an independent studies
course in which students act as research assistants for empirical research
on
impression formation, stereotyping, and communication. Open
by invitation only to students who have had AT LEAST Psyc343 and
Psyc209/Psyc212,
but most typically have had a lab course in social psychology (Psyc344 or
Psyc345)
- Honor's thesis
- A student who previously has worked in the advisor's lab, and is a member of the honor's program, often conducts a senior honors thesis under that advisor's direction. Theses in the Department of Psychology are empirical in nature, and usually are a natural extension of the advisor's research. The number of students conducting theses each year varies across faculty members. I typically invite one or two students to conduct their thesis under my direction. Examples of the kinds of theses that students write in my lab, and how they relate to ongoing laboratory research can be found on pages describing the work of my former and current honors students. The Department also has compiled a list a Honor's Thesis conducted under the direction of Department faculty, for the last several years.
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| Department of Psychology | Tulane University | 2007 Percival Stern Hall | New Orleans LA 70118 |
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| Phone: (504)865-5331 | Fax: (504)862-8744 | psych@tulane.edu |
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