Educational Psychology

Psychological techniques and insights for education, including human development, individual difference and most appropriate guidance for learners. Required of all education majors, a required elective course for all the students in the Teacher Certification Program.
 

Guidance

Foundations of theory and practice in Guidance focused on developmental and¡¡educational tasks seen in current problems at school. Special emphasis is laid on the¡¡linkage with counseling. Required of those seeking teacher certification.
 

Introduction to Contemporary Psychology

This course is designed to acquaint beginning students with the basic content and methodology of contemporary psychology as an academic pursuit and as a profession. Psychology as a scientific and humanistic enterprise is the integrating theme of the course. Applications of psychological knowledge and methods to many problems of widespread human concern are addressed as time and circumstances warrant.
 

Psychological Measurement and Evaluation

Significance and aims of psychological measurement. Basic thoughts on methods and evaluation and basics of psychological statistics - descriptive and inferential statistics.
 

History and Recent Trends in Psychology

Survey of the development of psychological concepts, experimentation, and theories. The role of psychology in a unified science of human behavior. Prerequisite: Educational Psychology.
 

Experimental Research Method in Psychology

Learning basic principles and methodologies for psychological research; especially basic experiments and practicum. Students should take "Educational Psychology" or "Introduction to Contemporary Psychology"; and "Psychological Statistics and Data Analysis" before taking this course.
 

Field Research Method in Psychology

Learning psychological approaches to various phenomena in the real world. Projects focusing mainly on survey by use of questionnaire. The students should take "Experimental Research Method in Psychology" before taking this course.
 

Psychological Statistics and Data Analysis

Concepts, principles and practices of inferential statistics for research in psychology. Research plans and main methods (including the use of computer package) for statistical hypothesis testing appropriate for the quality of measured data. Prerequisite: Psychological Measurement and Evaluation.
 

Biological Foundations of Mind and Behaviour

Genetic, ethnological, neuro-physiological and psychopharmacological bases of animal and human development. Emphasis on the role of the central nervous systems in learning, emotion, motivation and personality.
 

Cognitive Psychology

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to basic cognitive phenomena as understood and investigated by contemporary specialists in the field of cognitive psychology. A secondary purpose is to demonstrate the relevance of cognitive theories and research methodologies to real world situations.
 

Psychology of Perception

Introduction to the basic process of perception and cognition in human behavior, from sensation and perception to memory and thought. Emphasis on how we organize and interpret sensory information, how this information is stored and utilized in relation to concept formation, language and problem-solving. Cases of handicapped children and adults with visual, auditory and language disorders are discussed. Prerequisite: Introduction to Contemporary Psychology.
 

Psychology of Language

This course explores the relationship between psychology and language.
 

Psychology of Development

An overview of cognitive and social development processes during early childhood and pre-adolescence from biological, psychological and developmental perspectives within the larger socio-cultural context. Major theories and concepts in human development. Contemporary problems and topics in developmental psychology with a particular focus on the diversity of human development. A required elective course for all the students in the Teacher Certification Program.
 

Psychology of Cultural and Human Diversity

A survey course of theory, methods and research in culture and psychology. Discussion of different definitions of culture, and an examination of what the different definitions imply for how culture should be studied. The role of culture across a range of psychological areas, including perceptual and cognitive processes, human development, language, gender, and social behavior. Issues concerning cultural contact and intercultural relations, as well as the application of psychology in different arenas (e.g., health, organizational, clinical, school, and community psychology).
 

Social Psychology

Origin, development and methodology of the different approaches to the study of human social behavior. The processes of social behavior, social attitudes, patterns of interpersonal relationships, psychological structure and the functions of various groups.
 

Clinical Psychology

Basic course in historical and contemporary issues, major theories, study methods, kinds of treatments, areas of application, and social significance of clinical psychology, with discussions on the views of and the ways of understanding human from clinical psychology.
 

Counseling

Foundations of theory and practice in modern Counseling Psychology focused on individual identity exploration and human relations containing creativity and destructivity. Also, practical basic skills are taught and discussed. Required of those seeking teacher certification.
 

Mental Health

Theory of adjustment process and reaction patterns to stress and frustration, with examination of relation of adjustment to personality and mental health. Methods of preventing mental disorders and promoting mental health on individual, group and community levels.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Psychology in Religious Experiences

The religious convictions people hold often play a significant role in shaping their adaptation to the demands of life. Theologians as eminent as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas speculated on the basic question of what it means to be human, including the transcendent nature of human experience. Psychologists as eminent as William James have explored the phenomena of human religious experience. This course will examine such topics as the psychological nature of religious belief and behavior, what religion contributes to our understanding of basic human nature, psychological techniques for exploring the religious experiences of people, the relationship between religion and health/illness, the social psychology of religious experience, religion as it relates to issues of peace and conflict, biological/neurological correlates of religious experience, and the role of religion in psychotherapeutic settings.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Multivariate Statistics in Psychology

Advanced course in psychological statistics. Main concepts, principles and practices of multivariate statistics in psychology. Research plans, requirements for analytic methods, appropriate choice of techniques, and its interpretations.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Observation and Interview in Psychology

Advanced research methods in psychology. Observation of behaviors and psychological interviewing with effective data analysis including basic techniques of psychological testing and ethical issues.Prerequisite: Experimental Research Method in Psychology, Field Research Method in Psychology.
 

Studies in Neuro-Biopsychology

This course is intended as a forum in which selected topics related to the biological foundations of mind and behavior can be explored in greater detail than possible in the "Biological Foundations of Mind and Behavior". Topics could include such issues as changing views of human nature occasioned by recent insights into the evolutionary and genetic determinants of mental structure and function, selected neurological and psychological disorders from a biological perspective, treatment options occasioned by new technologies and new insights into brain structure and function, ethical dimensions of mind-brain research, etc.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Cognitive Models

This course investigates cognitive faculty such as memory, language, learning, comprehension, and problem solving from the perspectives of computational information-processing models. We will survey some major cognitive models (theories), and discuss how psychological phenomena of cognition may be investigated and understood through developing and experimenting with computational models.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Psychology of Language

This course explores the relationship between the human mind and language. We will study how the mind as a cognitive system processes language. More specifically, this course will focus on how language is processed by the human cognitive system. Major topics that the course covers include lexical knowledge and semantic processing of words, sentence processing, and text comprehension. We will approach these topics from the perspective of cognitive psychology. Students will have an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of language processing and also learn methodologies of psychology of language through experimental projects.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Adolescence Psychology

An overview of physical, emotional, and social aspects of development in adolescence. Special emphasis on development and consolidation of self-concept. Also examining psychological problems caused by imbalance between internal and external developments.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Language Development

An examination of diverse theories and concepts on the universal and particularistic features of language development. Language acquisition processes involving the interactions between innate linguistic competence and the external environment. Acquisition of words, word rules, and semantic rules in cognitive development.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Psychological Dimensions of Peace and Conflict Resolution

This course is based on the perspective that peace and conflict are inherently linked to the attitudes, values, and beliefs that individuals and groups hold about the nature of the world in which they live. Psychologists can offer principles and conceptualizations that not only help with an understanding of issues of injustice, peace, conflict and warfare but also how to address these issues in a practical way. Considering the individual to be a complex mix and product of the biological, the psychological, and the social, the follwing basic issues will be addressed in this course: (1) the physiological, psychological and medical consequences of a loss of peace and security; (2) the various psychological principles, both explicit and implicit, related to the phenomena of attribution and group processes that bring people into cooperative or competitive arrangements with one another; (3) methods for managing and/or resolving conflict, once initiated; and (4) deploying psychological theory, methodology and data to educate people toward a more peaceable future.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Community Psychology

A survey of theories, methods, approaches, and issues in community psychology. An emphasis will be placed on "prevention interventions" in various community settings from an ecological perspective while drawing on other related fields (e.g., sociology, anthropology, social welfare, public health). Topics include: Historical development of community psychology in the U.S. and Japan; social change policies and strategies; disease prevention and health promotion; empowerment, community participation, consultation, and self-help approaches; and stress, coping and social support approaches.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Interpersonal Behaviour

The purpose of this course is to discuss some aspects of interpersonal behavior, the social psychological mechanism, and to critically examine research conceptualization, design, and methodology on the specialized topics by reading articles and through the discussion.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Psychology of Organization Development

Organizations are products of human activities. They can be highly developed but can also be fragile and easily destroyed or can self-destroy. Since organizational dynamics work beyond the power of the individual, individuals often feel a sense of helplessness in the face of organizational change or they neglect preparing for the dynamic process associated with change. The aim of this course is to search for new ways of developing creative organizations in line with individual growth through scrutinizing methods and techniques of coaching and consultation for business executives and through the use of organizational development workshops.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Social Psychology

Advanced course in social psychology. The purpose of this course is to select important theme in social psychology and to critically examine research conceptualization, design, and methodology on the specialized topics by reading articles and through the discussion.
 

Studies in Clinical Psychology

Basic understanding of the purpose, method, and significance of case study, considered as the core of research method in clinical psychology. Seminar and practice with discussion on its contemporary problems are a research method. Prerequisite: CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Counseling

Understanding principles and methods of counseling, examining counseling practices through various phenomena in the educational fields, and acquiring basic skills for counseling in terms of experiential approaches.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Personality

Classical and modern theories of personality and their development. Interrelated inherited, physical, social and cultural factors in personality traits, structure and function. Problems of socialization and individualization, including formation of the ego and the self. Deviant personality, including multiphasic personality. Prerequisite: Educational Psychology or Introduction to Contemporary Psychology.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Studies in Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a unique innovation of the 20th century which brought us a creative matrix of stimulating new knowledge for scientific technology and the arts, not only in the field of medicine, but also in psychology, education, business management, society, culture, politics and in interdisciplinary fields such as issue of peace and conflict. Some important products of psychoanalysis are discussed and examined in terms of experiential and reconstructive methods on the basis of writings by Sigmund Freud. It is the aim of this course to have students understand the authentic meanings that psychoanalysis developed for human beings and to enhance students' interest in the intra-psychic universe of human individuals.
(Offered Alternate Years)

Senior Thesis

Senior students, under the guidance of an advisor, will select a subject related to their major and prepare a senior thesis. The final product should represent the efforts of one year of sustained and rigorous thinking, research, and writing. Required of all students in their senior year.