Psychology

The MA degree is in general psychology, but students may focus their course work, independent study, and thesis research in one of three content areas: (1) applied and evaluative psychology; (2) social, cognitive, and developmental psychology; (3) biopsychology and comparative psychology. Students interested in animal behavior and conservation may choose the MA in Animal Behavior & Conservation offered by the Psychology Department.

1. Applied and evaluative psychology. Faculty research interests include topics in personality, psychopathology, theories of therapeutic methods, group dynamics, health and gender, stress and stress management, substance use, tests and measurements. Although the department offers theoretical courses on clinical topics, it does not offer supervision in counseling or therapy.

2. Social, cognitive, and developmental psychology. Faculty research interests include multicultural issues, cognitive and linguistic development, discursive social psychology, gender and cognition, attitudes, political psychology, psycholinguistics, decisionmaking, memory function in different populations.

3. Biopsychology and comparative psychology. Faculty research interests include hormonal influences on and neural control of behavior, mechanisms of drug abuse, developmental neuroscience, vision, animal learning and comparative cognition, evolution of behavior, animal orientation and communication, cerebral specialization of function.