PSYC 1100a, Introduction to Psychology  Peter Salovey

A survey of major psychological approaches to the biological, cognitive, and social bases of behavior.  SO
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

PSYC 1379a, Thinking  Woo-Kyoung Ahn

A survey course on how we think—and how we can think better. The course presents psychological theories and evidence that reveal common pitfalls in reasoning, as well as strategies for improving and critically assessing our thinking. Specific topics include decision making, judgment under uncertainty, rationality, confirmation bias, causal reasoning, moral judgment, logical reasoning, fake news, self-concept, perspective taking, language and thought, creativity, concepts, and genetic essentialism.  SO
TTh 1:05pm-2:20pm

PSYC 1390a / CGSC 1390a, Mental Lives of Babies and Animals  Nicolò Cesana-Arlotti

Interdisciplinary exploration of the cognitive, social, and emotional capacities of creatures lacking language and culture. The extent to which our complex psychology is unique to mature humans; the relative richness of a mental life without language or culture. Some attention to particular human populations such as children with autism and adults with language disorders.  SO
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

* PSYC 1425a / CHLD 1250a / EDST 1125a / PSYC 125, Child Development  Ann Close and Carla Horwitz

This course is first in a sequence including Theory and Practice of Early Childhood Education (CHLD1270) and Language Literacy and Play (CHLD 1280). This course provides a theoretical base in child cognitive, social, and emotional development and tools to sensitively and carefully observe infants and young children. This course assumes it is not possible to understand children without understanding families and culture, and parent-child relationships. The course overview includes major theories in the field, focusing on the complex interaction between the developing self and the environment, exploring current research, theory, and practice. Students have the opportunity to see how programs for young children use psychodynamic and interactional theories to inform curriculum development. Students do two separate weekly observations over the course of the semester (3 hours total per week). They observe in a group setting for 2 hours each week at a Yale-affiliated childcare center. Students will also arrange a weekly 1-hour observation (in person or virtually) of a child under age 6. Students must make their own arrangements for these individual observations. If it is not possible to arrange a child to observe, please do not apply to take this course. Priority given to juniors, seniors, Ed Study students.  WR, SO
W 1:30pm-3:25pm

* PSYC 1427b / CHLD 1270b / EDST 3127b, Theory and Practice of Early Childhood Education  Carla Horwitz

The course deals with development and delivery of curricula for young children ages 3-6 and the current context of educational reform and debate. Goals are to deepen insights through critical analysis of educational programs for young children in light of current research and developmental theory and to understand how culture and political context contribute to the practice of education. Regularly scheduled seminar discussions and workshops that engage students with learning materials emphasize the ongoing dynamic process of developing emergent curriculum and focus on methods of creating a responsive, inclusive environment; planning and assessment; appreciating cultural and linguistic diversity; teachers’ roles; anti-bias education; working with families; conceptualizing the professional challenges of collaborating on a teaching team within the organization of the school; standards and accountability and the role of policy and advocacy in educational change. The course will use current journals, internet sources, video and other recent media as primary sources in addition to current research and other texts. Students must arrange to do a weekly one-hour observation (in-person or virtually) of a child under age 6 and an additional 2 hour in-person classroom observation at Calvin Hill Day Care Center or another Yale-affiliated childcare center. Total observation time commitment is 3 hours per week. If you are unable to find a child to observe, please do not register for this class. Introduction to Child Development (CHLD 1250/PSYCH 1425/EDST 1125) is recommended. Permission of instructor is required. Priority given to juniors, seniors, and Ed Studies students.  WR, SO
T 1:30pm-3:25pm

* PSYC 1428b / CHLD 1280b / EDST 3128b, Language, Literacy, and Play  Ann Close and Carla Horwitz

The focus of this course will be to demonstrate the complicated role that play has in the development of language and literacy skills. A major part of each topic presentation will be a discussion of the role that play has in the curriculum in enhancing these developmental areas. There is a widespread consensus that play is an essential component of a developmentally appropriate early childhood curriculum. Research indicates that play enhances a child’s creativity, intellectual development and social emotional development. Because learning to play, learning language and learning literacy skills are all part of the process of thinking and communication, the course will provide a view which attempts to demonstrate the integration of language, literacy and play in an early childhood education curriculum. Theoretical aspects of each of these developmental areas will be examined first, and it will be that theoretical understanding which will be the basis upon which ideas about curriculum will be explored, experienced and discussed. Students must arrange to do a weekly one-hour observation (in-person or virtually) of a child under age 6 and an additional 2 hour in-person classroom observation at Calvin Hill Day Care Center or another early childhood program. Total observation time commitment is 3 hours per week. If you are unable to find a child to observe, please do not register for this class. Introduction to Child Development (CHLD 1250/PSYCH 1425EDST 1125 recommended. Permission of instructor. Enrollment priority will be given to juniors, seniors, and Ed Studies students.  WR, SO  RP
W 9:25am-11:20am

PSYC 1700a / EDST 1180a, Clinical Psychology  Shirley Wang

The major forms of psychopathology that appear in childhood and adult life. Topics include the symptomatology of mental disorders; their etiology from psychological, biological, and sociocultural perspectives; and issues pertaining to diagnosis and treatment.  SO  0 Course cr
MW 1:05pm-2:20pm

* PSYC 2538a / NSCI 2380a, Computational Methods in Decision Making  Robb Rutledge

This course provides training on how to use computational models to understand human behavior with a focus on learning, decision making, and happiness. Data is collected in a variety of tasks including new experiments designed by students, and is analyzed using computational models. Prerequisites: CPSC 100, CPSC 112 or other course involving programming (e.g., Matlab, Python, C++); course in statistics or data science; PSYC 160 or other human neuroscience course; or permission of instructor.  SC
T 9:25am-11:20am

* PSYC 2670a / NSCI 270 / NSCI 2700a, Research Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience  Stephanie Lazzaro

This course introduces methods used by cognitive neuroscientists to discover the structural and functional features of the nervous system. A combination of lectures and hands-on lab activities help students understand the structure and function of the human brain.  WR, SC
T 1:30pm-3:25pm

* PSYC 2760a / NSCI 2600a, Research Methods in Psychopathology: Psychotic Disorders  Tyrone Cannon

Methods of research in psychopathology. Focus on longitudinal designs, high-risk sampling approaches, prediction of outcomes, and modeling change over time. Students design and perform analyses of clinical, cognitive, genetic, neuroimaging and other kinds of measures as predictors of psychosis and related outcomes, using existing datasets supplied by the instructor.  SO
W 1:30pm-3:25pm

PSYC 3240a / CGSC 3240a / NSCI 3230a, Human Neuropsychology  Randolph Helfrich

Neuropsychology is the fascinating study of how brain functions give rise to behavior and cognition. This course offers an in-depth exploration of how brain lesions provide crucial insights into the workings of the human mind. Through case studies of individuals with various brain injuries and disorders, students learn how specific brain areas contribute to attention, memory, language or/and motor control. By examining the consequences of various pathologies, students learn about the connections between brain structure and function, offering a unique window into the complex processes that govern human behavior. The course covers state-of-the-art neuroimaging and neurophysiology techniques and clinical assessment methods to understand how disruptions to the brain’s architecture lead to cognitive and behavioral changes. We discuss a range of neuropsychiatric conditions, including stroke, epilepsy, dementia, movement disorders, or traumatic brain injury to understand the challenges presented by these disorders. Whether it’s unraveling the mysteries visual agnosia, attention and memory disorders, or studying the profound shifts in personality after frontal lobe injury, this course provides an exciting journey into the brain’s function from the perspective of individual patients. Prerequisite: PSYC 160/NSCI 160.
TTh 9am-10:15am

PSYC 3317a / EDST 1237a / LING 1179a, Language and Mind  Maria Pinango

The structure of linguistic knowledge and how it is used during communication. The principles that guide the acquisition of this system by children learning their first language, by children learning language in unusual circumstances (heritage speakers, sign languages) and adults learning a second language, bilingual speakers. The processing of language in real-time. Psychological traits that impact language learning and language use.   SO  RP  0 Course cr
TTh 2:35pm-3:50pm

PSYC 3318a / LING 2200a, Phonetics I  Jason Shaw

Each spoken language composes words using a relatively small number of speech sounds, a subset of the much larger set of possible human speech sounds. This course introduces tools to describe the complete set of speech sounds found in the world's spoken languages. It covers the articulatory organs involved in speech production and the acoustic structure of the resulting sounds. Students learn how to transcribe sounds using the International Phonetic Alphabet, including different varieties of English and languages around the world. The course also introduces sociophonetics, how variation in sound patterns can convey social meaning within a community, speech perception, and sound change.   SO  0 Course cr
TTh 2:35pm-3:50pm

PSYC 3327a / LING 2270a, Language and Computation I  Tom McCoy

This course introduces the design and analysis of computational models of language. There are many properties of language that make it challenging to handle computationally: First, language is ambiguous - a given word or sentence can have many possible meanings. Second, our linguistic experience is sparse - many aspects of language (e.g., certain sentence structures) occur very rarely, posing a challenge for computational systems that learn from data. Third, language has an enormous amount of hidden structure - words and other linguistic units can have complex relationships with each other that are not apparent on the surface. In this course, we explore the computational approaches that can overcome these challenges. Topics include finite state tools, neural networks, Bayesian approaches, computational morphology and phonology, grammar and parsing, lexical semantics, and the use of linguistic models in applied problems. Prerequisite: prior programming experience or permission of instructor.  QR, SO
TTh 9am-10:15am

* PSYC 3372a / LING 4900a, Research Methods in Linguistics  Robert Frank

Development of skills in linguistics research, writing, and presentation. Choosing a research area, identifying good research questions, developing hypotheses, and presenting ideas clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing; methodological issues; the balance between building on existing literature and making a novel contribution. Prepares for the writing of the senior essay.
W 4pm-5:55pm

* PSYC 3375a / CGSC 375 / CGSC 3750a / LING 2759a, Linguistic Meaning and Conceptual Structure  Maria Pinango

The meaning of a word or sentence is something in the human mind that has specific properties: it can be expressed (written/signed/spoken forms); it can be combined with other meanings; its expression is not language dependent; it connects with the world; it serves as a vehicle for inference; and it is hidden from awareness. The course explores these properties in some detail and, in the process, provides the students with technical vocabulary and analytical tools to further investigate them. The course is thus intended for those students interested in undertaking a research project on the structure of meaning. the nature of lexico-conceptual structure, that is, the structure of concepts which we refer to as “word meanings”, and how they may be combined through linguistic and non-linguistic means. Its ultimate objective is to bridge models of conceptual structure and models of linguistic semantic composition,  identify their respective strengths and weaknesses and explore some of the fundamental questions that any theory of linguistic meaning composition must answer. Evidence discussed will emerge from naturalistic, introspectional, and experimental methodologies.  Prerequisites: LING 110, CGSC 110, LING 217, or LING 263.  SO
MW 2:35pm-3:50pm

PSYC 3380a / CGSC 3380a / NSCI 3380a, Minds, Brains, and Machines  Julian Jara-Ettinger

Leibniz compared the brain to a mill, Freud to a hydraulic system, and now we think of it as a computer. Have we gotten it right? If so, what kind of computer is the brain? And what kind of software is the mind? This course explores these questions by integrating classical and cutting-edge findings from artificial intelligence, cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology. In this course you learn how modern artificial intelligence works—including deep neural networks, program synthesis, and neuro-symbolic approaches. You learn how to think about artificial intelligence from the perspectives of cognitive science and neuroscience. And you learn how current advances in AI are helping us understand how the mind and brain works. Conversely, you also learn how advances in psychology and neuroscience have played a key role in the biggest ideas in AI. This course is ideal for a variety of students: Psychology and cognitive science majors that want to learn about AI. CS students that want to know how to think about AI from a cognitive perspective. And anyone who wants to know how to think critically about all the advances in the study of minds, brains, and machines. Students are strongly encouraged to have taken either Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 110), or Introduction to Cognitive Science (CGSC 110). Introduction to Computer Science (CPSC 201) is also ideal.  SO
TTh 4pm-5:15pm

* PSYC 3450b / CHLD 3500b / EDST 1350b, Autism and Related Disorders  Mariana Torres-Viso, Kelly Powell, and James McPartland

Weekly seminar focusing on autism and related disorders of socialization. A series of lectures on topics in etiology, diagnosis and assessment, treatment and advocacy, and social neuroscience methods; topics cover infancy through adulthood. Supervised experience in the form of placement in a school, residence, or treatment setting for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Details about admission to the course are explained at the first course meeting. Prerequisite: an introductory psychology course.  SO
HTBA

PSYC 3470a / CGSC 3610a / LING 3610a / PSYC 163, Language Acquisition  Athulya Aravind

The development of communication and language in children from birth to adolescence. Preverbal communication, lexical learning, morphological and syntactic development, phonological perception and production, the acquisition of pragmatic and communicative competence, and the relation of these skills to literacy.  SO
Th 9:25am-11:20am

PSYC 3508a, Intergroup Relations: The Psychology of Social Inequality  Jennifer Richeson

This course surveys core concepts in social psychology through the lens of societal intergroup relations. Specifically, the perception, cognition, and motivations that give rise to the formation, maintenance, and even acknowledgement of societal inequality are examined. We also examine the effects of societal inequality on perception, cognition, motivation, and health (individual outcomes), as well as how inequality may shape close relationships and even broader sets of interactions between and within societal groups. Prerequisites: PSYC 110 or equivalent and PSYC 150.  SO
MW 11:35am-12:50pm

PSYC 3550a / CGSC 3550a, Inside the Hive Mind: The Psychology of Group Life  Yarrow Dunham

Human life is life in groups. Our lives depend on a complex web of others who furnish us with food, shelter, clothing, protection. Even our sense of self is largely defined in terms of who we are similar to and different from. And groups are by no means unique to our species, providing social organization in species as insects or even bacteria. But to place groups in a biological and evolutionary framework is to confront a central mystery, the mystery of cooperation: Why help others who may or may not help you back? And why don’t cheaters invade the population of cooperators, taking advantage of their niceness without reciprocation? This course begins with the evolutionary and biological origins of group life. When and why does group behavior evolve? What problems does it solve, and what forms does it take in other species? We then turn to the unique ways in which group behavior plays out in humans. Here we cover classic psychological work on topics like social identity, stereotyping and prejudice, and conformity, seeking to understand the ways in which group-mindedness enables both what is best and worst in our species. PSYC 1100 or PSYC 1300 (Introduction to Psychology or Introduction to Cognitive Science)  SO
TTh 2:35pm-3:50pm

* PSYC 4130a / CGSC 413 / CGSC 4130a, Mind, Brain, and Society  Marvin Chun

Recent advances in modern neuroscience as they inform or complicate issues in society. Views from disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, economics, political science, law, and religion.  SO
Th 9:25am-11:20am

* PSYC 4320a / NSCI 4550a, Under Pressure: The Psychology of Stress  Dylan Gee

While stress serves an adaptive function that is critical for survival, chronic or extreme stress can have a negative impact on mental and physical health. Understanding the broad range of factors that can exacerbate or reduce stress, how we respond to stress, and the ways that experiences and effects of stress can differ across people and across stages of development can provide foundational insights for dealing with stress in our lives. This seminar integrates psychological, neurobiological, social, developmental, and clinical perspectives on stress. In addition to developing a foundation in the theoretical and empirical literature on stress, students will have the opportunity to engage in experiential learning related to coping skills drawn from evidence-based interventions in psychology. Priority given to seniors. Prerequisites: There are no formal prerequisites for the course, but one of the following is strongly recommended: PSYC 110, PSYC 160, PSYC 230, PSYC 335, PSYC 352, or PSYC 376.  SO
M 1:30pm-3:25pm

* PSYC 4430a / NSCI 443 / NSCI 4430a, Topics in the Neuroscience of Memory  Stephanie Lazzaro

A seminar style overview and examination of the neuroscience of memory. In this seminar, we discuss some significant historical findings in the study of memory, as well as focus on more recent, current research. How memory works and how memories can be altered and improved are discussed. Topics may include sleep and memory consolidation, re-consolidation, false memories, superior autobiographical memory, as well as the the effects of rewards, novelty, exercise, and social cues on various types of memory. Goals for this course include acquiring an in-depth and integrative understanding of the current research and directions surrounding the neuroscience of memory, and thinking critically about the methodology and evidence in the research papers that are read and discussed. We discuss strengths and limitations of the research and theories, as well as real-world applications. Prerequisites: PSYC 110, PSYC 160, or PSYC 130
Th 9:25am-11:20am