Social Science Program
The College offers a program for students seeking certification to teach Social
Science in the secondary schools. The program includes three required components:
the Social Science core, the secondary education core, and a major in psychology.
Graduation requirements for this major is noted in this catalog under the department.
There is no major in Social Science. Dr. Lou Manza is the coordinator of the Social
Science Certification Program.
Program Requirements:
Social Science core courses (33 credits):
| This survey course examines the relationship between research and theory in the field of psychology, with emphasis on the field of applied psychology. Individual and societal influences on physical and psychological health will be examined. Topics will include psychological testing, personality theory, intelligence, motivation and emotion, social behavior, and psychological disorders and treatment. |
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| A survey of major ideas in child development and educational psychology, with an emphasis on classroom applications. Topics include human development, intelligence, language, learning, memory, motivation, social and cultural contexts of development, and assessments. |
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| A study of the major theories of personality, with emphasis on psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology, behaviorism, social learning, and trait theory. |
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| This course provides a broad foundation for understanding child development through an integration of practical, theoretical, and research orientations. Attention is given to both cultural and biological determinants of social, cognitive, physical, and emotional development, focusing on individual differences as well as group similarities. |
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| A study of the inter- and intra-personal relationships between individuals and groups, with emphasis on theories and research studies. The topics covered may include attitude development and change, conformity, persuasion, person perception, attribution, attraction and group processes. |
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| An introduction to the sociological perspective with a focus on how individual behavior is shaped by the social context. The nature and characteristics of human societies and social life are examined from a perspective known as the "sociological imagination". Topics range from the influence of culture on human behavior, the development of the self, group dynamics, deviance, population, and social inequality. |
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| Introduction to both physical and cultural anthropology including human evolution, human variation, and cross-cultural analysis and comparison. |
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| Contemporary social problems are examined from a constructionist perspective. Topics selected for study vary according to societal trends, but typically include an examination of social change, poverty, globalization, environmental degradation, deviance, and health. |
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| An overview of family focusing on family structure and interaction. Diverse topics range from sexuality and love, mate selection and dating, parenting, dysfunctional families, and divorce. A historical and cross-cultural approach is employed in addition to a sociological approach. |
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| The major objective of this course is to help students become aware of the degree to which behavior (including one's own) is culturally determined. As we continue to move toward a global society with increasingly frequent intercultural contacts, we need more than simple factual knowledge about cultural differences; we need a framework for understanding inter-cultural communication and cross-cultural human relations. Through lecture, discussion, simulations, case- studies, role-plays and games, students will learn the inter-cultural communication framework and the skills necessary to make them feel comfortable and communicate effectively with people of any culture and in any situation involving a group of diverse backgrounds. |
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† indicates a required course
Secondary Education core courses (22-24 credits):
| A study of the basic principles and procedures for middle school and secondary classroom management and instruction |
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| Students spend an entire semester in an area school under the supervision of a cooperating teacher. |
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† indicates a required course
Psychology (PSY) major courses (25 credits):
| This laboratory course is designed as an introduction to the conceptual and methodological foundations of psychological science. Through an exploration of several content areas in psychology, including physiological psychology, sensation & perception, learning, cognition, and states of consciousness, the course provides a conceptual background for understanding behavior, and active engagement with the scientific process (including theory building, hypothesis testing and critical analysis of empirical data). |
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| A study of the history of psychology, including philosophical precursors to psychology, early and modern schools of thought within psychology, important trends, and famous psychologists. |
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† indicates a required course
One of the following lab courses:
| The course will provide students with experience planning (including IRB approval), observing, measuring, and analyzing child behavior using the methods employed by developmental researchers. This is intended to supplement the theory and research background they receive in PSY 324. |
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| Students will be given the opportunity to experience how psychological tests are designed and evaluated. Each student will conduct a literature review on their selected topics, and then design, construct, distribute, and evaluate the validity/reliability of a psychological test instrument consistent with a research theme that will change every year. |
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| This course is intended to provide students with hands-on experience in the types of survey design, observational research, and lab-based experimentation consistent with group behavior, interpersonal relationships, and the interaction between social issues and popular culture. The course culminates in the presentation of data from students' original research within social psychology. |
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| This is an advanced, hands-on seminar in cognitive science, which will allow students to explore a preferred interest in human thinking via laboratory research. Students will review the literature on their chosen topic, design an experiment addressing this issue, and then collect and analyze the data from their experiment. The course culminates with an oral and written presentation of their research. |
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| Students will be introduced to methods used in the study of the nervous system and its influence on behavior. Lab work will include collecting, analyzing, and reporting data from physiological studies, as well as sheep brain dissection. In addition, students must complete an APA style proposal for an individual research project. |
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One course from each of the following:
Biopsychology
| This course serves as an introduction to the content areas and methodology of neuropsychology, the study of the relationships between brain function and behavior. Topics include basic communication in the nervous system, organization and function of sensory and motor systems, hemispheric specialization, localization of function, brain injury and plasticity, and issues associated with neuropsychological assessment. |
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| This course surveys the most commonly used substances to treat mental disorders, such as antianxiety, antidepressant, antipsychotic, mood- stabilizer, psychostimulant, and cognitive enhancer medications. The course also discusses the brain and its most common neurotransmitters, how transmitting neurons send and receive electrochemical information, the pharmokinetics (metabolism and elimination) and pharmacodynamics (absorption, distribution, and effects) of each drug as well as the action sites, side effects, and mechanisms of each drug. |
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| A study of the biological basis (substrates) of behavioral processes. The course focuses on the physiology of reflexes, sensation and perception, learning and memory, sleep, ingestive behaviors, emotion and psychopathology. |
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Cognition
| Surveys structures and functions of, and research strategies to examine, the various sensory systems with particular emphasis on the visual system. Physiological and philosophical aspects of perception are discussed. |
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| This course explores various processes involved in knowledge acquisition, storage, and retrieval. Specific topics include associative learning mechanisms, the impact of reinforcement and punishment on behavior, generalization and discrimination, memory encoding, long-term memory storage and retrieval, memory distortions, and the sources of individual differences in learning and memory. |
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| This course explores the human mind by integrating philosophical, psychological, and biological perspectives on the nature of thought processes. Specific topics discussed in this framework include attention, perception, consciousness, memory, language, reasoning, intelligence, and thought-related dysfunctions. |
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Psychopathology
| A study of mental, emotional and behavioral problems, including alcohol and drug abuse, brain disorders, criminal and psychopathic behavior, neuroses, psychophysiological reactions, psychoses, sexual deviations, subnormal intelligence and suicide. |
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| A study of the ways psychologists assist persons and groups. Particular attention is given to assessment, individual and group therapy, marriage and family counseling, and community psychology. |
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| An introduction to the principles of psychological measurement, methods of test design and construction, and applications and interpretations of existing psychological tests. |
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