Kate Niederhoffer's PSY 301 homepage

New Link to Fun Experiment!

Course Description: Psychology is the study of the human mind and behavior: individuals' thoughts, feelings, and actions. This course is a systematic introduction to contemporary psychology. Because the field is extremely broad and diverse, the course briefly examines the theories, research, and applications of five psychological domains. The main goal is to engage students through the personal relevance of material across the domains. The domains we will examine include (1) Neuropsychology, the relationship between brain and behavior; (2) Cognitive Psychology, how people acquire, use, and remember information; (3) Developmental Psychology, how thinking, reasoning, language and social skills change across the human lifespan; (4) Social and Personality Psychology, the study of individuals' thoughts, feelings and behavior and how others influence those thoughts, feelings and behaviors; and (5) Clinical psychology, the nature, causes and treatment of psychological disorders. Through lectures, discussions, demonstrations, group activities, and films we will take a scientific approach to explore specific topics within these domains.

	Required Text: Gazzaniga. M. & Heatherton, T. (2003). Psychological Science: The Mind, Brain and Behavior. W.W Norton & Company, Inc. Link to student website (activities, review materials, etc.).
	Experimental Requirement: UT Department of Psychology requires each student enrolled in PSY 301 to participate in 5 hours of experiments or write a 5-page research paper to gain some familiarity with, and appreciation of, the aims, methods, problems, and results of psychological research. Information about the experimental requirement will be discussed on the first day of class. If you do not have the form handed out, refer to the experimental requirement webpage. Failure to complete the experimental requirement will result in your receiving and Incomplete in the class. The experimental requirement has no effect on your grade in the course. If you are prepared to participate, here is a link to sign up for experiments.
	Syllabus and Schedule 4/21: Guest lecture by Dr. Allison Chase
	Lectures (available after class): 4[4/26; 4/28; 5/3]; 3[4/19; 4/14; 4/12; 4/7; 4/5]; 2[3/22; 3/8; 3/3; 3/1; 2/25; 2/23]; 1[2/11; 2/09; 2/04; 2/02; 1/28; 1/26; 1/21] Lecture Outlines for Exam 4 (5/05): 5/03; 4/28; 4/26 Exam answers: Exam 4; Exam 3 ; Exam 2; Exam 1
	Email the Video Jockey of the week to offer suggestions
Assignments:	LIFE (an online survey);
Interesting Links:	Encyclopedia of Psychology; James Pennebaker's homepage; David Buss' homepage; Dan Wegner's homepage; Social Psychology Network; UT Psychology Homepage;
Psychology in the news:	NY Times article on Blogs 1/12/04; A Psychologist's take on Reality TV; Fast-track fix for children with phobias, NY Times 1/20/04; LA Times article on Spotlight Effect; Psychology Today on Stanley Milgram; Stanley Milgram on Obedience; NY Times 4/12/04 on new alleged fabricated Psych book; NY Times 5/04/04 on Ellis' confrontational therapy; NY Times 5/04/04 on hypochondriasis
Websites/ Articles mentioned in lectures	On Gourmand Syndrome; On Memory Olympics; On Jean Kilbourne; On Sleep Disorders; On Stanford Prison Experiment; On Milgram's Obedience; Personality Surveys; On Billy Milligan (MPD);