This is an archive. See the current website at www.ssp.harvard.edu.

Psychology

Not all courses are available to SSP students. For example, some courses are offered only for graduate credit. Note especially any listed prerequisites.

PSYC S-1 Introduction to Psychology (30204)
(Syllabus) (Print version)
Adam J. Wenzel
(4 credits: UN, NC) T,Th 3:30-6 pm, Science Center, Hall D. Eight-week session. Required sections to be arranged. Tuition $2,275.
Harvard College students see additional information.

Students completing this course gain a broad understanding of modern psychology. Lectures, readings, demonstrations, and multimedia displays address basic topics in historical and contemporary psychology, including various perspectives: biological, psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and evolutionary. Section meetings provide opportunities for active participation in individual and group projects.

PSYC S-23d Behaviorism and Behavior Modification (31818)
(Print version)
Todd Farchione
Seminar. (4 credits: UN, GR, NC) M,W 12:30-3 pm, Science Center, Room 469. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275. Limited enrollment.

Modern behaviorism emerged at Harvard under the leadership of B. F. Skinner, identified by several criteria as the most eminent psychologist of the twentieth century. Harvard's archival records offer a productive setting for the study of this controversial approach to psychology, recognized today for its scientific contributions and practical applications.

PSYC S-25x Summer Seminar—The Meaning of Madness (32016)
(Syllabus) (Print version)
Richard J. McNally
(4 credits: UN) M-Th 3:30-6 pm, William James Hall, Room 474. Short session II. Tuition $2,275. Limited enrollment.
Summer Seminars are open to Secondary School Program students who are juniors or seniors in high school as well as to college undergraduates.

This summer seminar concerns the different approaches to understanding mental illness. Each class includes a brief overview lecture by the instructor followed by student presentations and discussion based on readings. The focus of the seminar is on controversial issues and key questions: How do we define mental disorder? Does it differ from normality only by degree? Or does it differ in kind? Are mental disorders artifacts of particular cultures or particular times in history? Or are they universally valid types of disease that emerge across time and culture? Are mental illnesses increasing in today's society? Or are we medicalizing increasingly normal human variation? How should society deal with mentally ill persons who commit crimes? Do mental disorders have evolutionary significance? Do they reflect psychobiological adaptations in the natural history of the human race? How should we treat mental disorders? Is psychotherapy or drug therapy the best approach?

PSYC S-1015 Psychological Trauma (32013)
(Syllabus) (Print version)
Richard J. McNally
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) M-Th 3:30-6 pm, William James Hall, Room 1. Short session I. Optional sections to be arranged. Tuition $2,275.

Few topics in contemporary American culture have sparked as much controversy as has psychological trauma. Although clinical interest in trauma waxed and waned since the 1890s when Freud proposed that people repress memories of childhood sexual assault, interest has markedly increased since 1980 when the American Psychiatric Association ratified the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to describe the problems of troubled combat veterans of the Vietnam War. The purpose of this course is to survey the clinical, historical, cultural, and political aspects of psychological trauma.

PSYC S-1240 Abnormal Psychology (30206)
(Syllabus) (Print version)
Shelley H. Carson
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) T,Th 6-8:30 pm, William James Hall, Room 105. Eight-week session. Required sections to be arranged. Tuition $2,275.

This course is an introduction to the study of psychopathology. It focuses on theoretical models of abnormal behavior as they relate to the definition, etiology, and treatment of mental disorders. Diagnostic classification, and behavioral and biological features of the major syndromes of psychopathology are emphasized. Prerequisite: Introductory course in psychology.

PSYC S-1293 Normal and Optimal Aging (31644)
(Syllabus) (Print version)
Douglas H. Powell
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275.

*** PSYC S-1293 has been CANCELED.***

PSYC S-1603 Adolescent and Young Adult Development (32156)
(Syllabus) (Print version)
Dante Spetter
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) T,Th 9:30 am-noon, 51 Brattle Street, Room 319. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275.

Adolescence and early adulthood are unique periods in social, emotional, spiritual, and cognitive development. Youth must first incorporate new ways of thinking and feeling into their emerging self concepts, and later establish an identity apart from the family of origin. Whereas in prior generations, choosing a career was often considered the sine qua non of identity development (at least for young men) most young adults expect to change both jobs and careers several times. Similarly, forming intimate partnerships followed a far more predictable template, at least for the majority of young people, but today's youth more consciously consider a wide array of types of relationships. This course focuses on both the traditional perspectives on cognitive, social, and emotional development and on the challenges of negotiating these universal developmental tasks in the modern world.

PSYC S-1760 Why People Change: Psychology of Influence (30207)
(Print version)
Richard N. Wolman
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) T,Th 3:30-6 pm, Boylston Hall, Room 105. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275.

Students examine the changes that occur in thoughts, feelings, and behavior as a result of growth and development, both normal and abnormal, within the individual and the effects of outside intervention. The course attempts to establish a conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between personal history and personality formation, and it examines efforts to modify the individual through outside influence, including psychological, neurophysiological, and spiritual dimensions. There are readings from classical and contemporary sources. Prerequisite: Familiarity with psychology or permission of the instructor.

PSYC S-1870 Law and Psychology (30208)
(Syllabus) (Print version)
Ellsworth Lapham Fersch
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) M,W 3:30-6 pm, William James Hall, Room 105. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275.

This course compares legal and psychological approaches to human behavior and considers their interaction. Topics include criminal, ethnic, and racial profiling; confessions; the insanity defense; involuntary commitment to mental hospitals and substance abuse programs; marriage and divorce and custody; eyewitness identification and testimony; juries; expert witnesses; and victimless crimes. The course discusses the roles of lawyers and of psychologists and psychiatrists, in theory and in practice. The course focuses on case studies and on research.

PSYC S-1875 Crime and Justice (30209)
(Syllabus) (Print version)
Ellsworth Lapham Fersch
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) M,W 6-8:30 pm, William James Hall, Room 105. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275.

This course addresses street crime and white-collar crime, diverse concepts of adult and juvenile justice, and social reaction to crime and violence. Topics include the use of psychology and social relations in theories of criminal behavior, including the motivations of terrorists; punishment and rehabilitation of offenders; treatment of victims, such as abuse and rape survivors; imprisonment; and the death penalty. The course discusses the roles of psychologists, criminologists, and participants in and beyond the criminal justice system. The course focuses on case studies and on research.

PSYC S-1900 Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (32113)
(Website) (Print version)
David DeSteno
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) M,W 12:30-3 pm, Emerson Hall, Room 104. Eight-week session. Required 1-hour weekly sections to be arranged. Tuition $2,275.

This course provides a conceptual and practical introduction to statistics used in psychology and other behavioral sciences. It covers basic topics in statistics, including measures of central tendency and variability, probability and distributions, correlation and regression, hypothesis testing, t-tests, analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and nonparametric analyses. The course includes a lab section with instruction in statistical analysis using SPSS.

 



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