The Department of Psychological Science emphasizes the investigation of human behavior as it develops across the life span in diverse contexts. The faculty share a strong commitment to interdisciplinary research aimed at advancing our understanding of the determinants of human health, well-being, and functioning in a broad range of developmental, social, cultural, and environmental contexts. The faculty are also dedicated to research that has the potential to address important societal problems. Undergraduate students begin with basic course work in developmental psychology, health and preclinical (abnormal) psychology, and social psychology. Subsequent courses cover such topics as social, emotional, and cognitive development across the lifespan from infancy to old age, behavioral disorders and developmental psychopathology, counseling and therapy, cultural, social, and personality influences on behavior, attitude formation and change, cognition and emotion, health psychology, stress and coping, environmental psychology, and psychology and the law. Opportunities are available to work with faculty members on research in these and other areas. Obtaining research experience as an undergraduate also provides a valuable background for entry into many graduate programs.
Research in the area of social and personality psychology focuses on theory-based empirical work that addresses a variety of important social issues across the life span. Our faculty have research interests covering a broad range of topics including investigations of social cognition and decision-making, effects of emotions on reasoning and memory, subjective well-being, self and identity across cultures, control behavior, personality resilience, interpersonal relations, adaptation to stressful life events, risk perception, and psychology and law.
