Music can get your feet tapping, trigger a cascade of memories, mire you in nostalgia, or leave you with an earworm. What happens when tools drawn from cognitive science are applied to understanding these experiences? What can music tell us about the human mind, and what can psychology and neuroscience tell us about music? This course will provide an introduction to music cognition, emphasizing the potential and the challenges that characterize work at the intersection of science, the humanities, and the arts. Students will gain experience posing their own questions at this intersection, and identifying appropriate methods to answer them.

Cognitive neuroscience is a young and exciting field with many questions yet to be answered. This course surveys current knowledge about the neural basis of perception, cognition and action and will comprehensively cover topics such as high-level vision, attention, memory, language, decision making, as well as their typical and atypical development. Precepts will discuss the assigned research articles, pertaining to topics covered in class with an emphasis on developing critical reading skills of scientific literature.

This course will provide an introduction to the scientific study of sensation and perception, the biological and psychological processes by which we perceive and interpret the world around us. We will undertake a detailed study of the major senses (vision, audition, touch, smell, taste), using insights from a variety of disciplines (philosophy, physics, computer science, neuroscience, psychology) to examine how these senses work and why. We will begin with physical bases for perceptual information (e.g., light, sound waves) and proceed to an investigation of the structures, circuits, and mechanisms by which the brain forms sensory percepts.

Introduction to a mathematical description of how networks of neurons can represent information and compute with it. Course will survey computational modeling and data analysis methods for neuroscience. Example topics are short-term memory and decision-making, population coding, modeling behavioral and neural data, and reinforcement learning. Classes will be a mix of lectures from the professor, and presentations of research papers by the students. Two 90 minute lectures, one laboratory. Lectures in common between NEU 437/NEU 537.

The purpose of this seminar course is to explore brain function through the lens of food. Why do we get hungry? How do we search for food? Why do we like some tastes and not others? What is the relationship between what we eat and our cognitive function or even our cognitive evolution? We will learn about the life-essential functions of obscure neural circuits and the more obscure processes of commonly known neural circuits. Over the course of the semester, we will move from neuropeptides to cooking culture; from gut-brain interactions via microbes to the importance of teeth on our neuroanatomy.

A survey of experimental & theoretical approaches to understanding how cognition arises in the brain. This complements 501, focusing on the mechanisms responsible for perception, attention, decision making, memory, cognitive & motor control, and planning, with emphasis on the representations involved & their transformations in the service of cognitive function. Source material spans neuroscience, cognitive science, & work on artificial systems. Relevance to neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders is also discussed. This is the 2nd term of a double-credit core lecture course required of all Neuroscience Ph.D. students.

A major component of many careers is mentoring trainees. Mentoring practices profoundly affect the well-being of a team, and consequently, its productivity and success. While there is no magic formula, there are best practices that can help you improve your mentoring and develop a reflective mentoring style. In this course, we discuss these and practice them weekly. Small groups meet for weekly facilitated discussions of what worked and what did not, and help each other solve dilemmas encountered. We also practice self-mentoring through goal-setting and tracking.

Advanced seminar that reflects current research on brain and behavior.

Introduction to a mathematical description of how networks of neurons can represent information and compute with it. Course surveys computational modeling and data analysis methods for neuroscience. Example topics are short-term memory and decision-making, population coding, modeling behavioral and neural data, and reinforcement learning. Classes are a mix of lectures from the professor, and presentations of research papers by the students. Two 90 minute lectures. Lectures in common between NEU 437/NEU 537. Graduate students carry out a semester-long project.

Survey of different types of psychological disorders and different models of explanation. Students will come to understand the conflicting viewpoints and treatment approaches that characterize the clinical field, and will understand what is presently known and unknown about psychopathology.

An exploration of original texts in the history of ideas about the workings of the human mind starting in Antiquity and leading to the development of the empirical discipline of psychology in the 19th century and some of its modern trends. Subsequent developments, including the child study movement, are explored though 20th century writings, culminating with Sartre's philosophical psychology and sources in Eastern thought to put the Western trajectory in perspective.

This sequence is designed to provide Sophomores with an in-lab research experience over two semesters, with PSY 230 in the Fall being the prerequisite for PSY 231 in the Spring. PSY 230 is a non-credit bearing class while PSY 231 carries a full unit of credit (both are graded P/D/F). Students will gain an introduction to research within a Psychology lab. Students are expected to spend a minimum of 6 hours per week engaged in research and attend weekly meetings as outlined by the mentoring faculty. At the end of each semester, students will submit a written report of their research experience (PSY 230) and present their findings (PSY 231).

Science searches for patterns in data. Quantitative methods are tools for finding and evaluating these patterns. This course introduces foundational concepts in quantitative methods, including data visualization and common statistical tests used in psychological research.

The scientific study of social behavior, with an emphasis on social interaction and group influence. Topics covered will include social perception, the formation of attitudes and prejudice, attraction, conformity and obedience, altruism and aggression, and group dynamics.

The course will survey discoveries and progress made over the past 50 years of research, from classic experimental findings and fundamental theoretical principles to the cutting edge of research that lies increasingly at the interface of psychology with neuroscience (neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes), computer science (artificial intelligence and machine learning), and mathematics (formal models of complex processes). Topics will include perception, attention, memory, decision making, reasoning, problem solving, language, and cognitive control.

Principles of psychology relevant to the theory and practice of education. Through readings, discussion, and classroom observations, students study theories of development, learning, cognition (including literacy), and motivation, as well as relevant individual and group differences; assessment; and the social psychology of the classroom. The course focuses on two main topics: 1) how learning at multiple school levels is influenced by one's own characteristics, experiences, and various learning contexts; and 2) how the practice of teaching is, in fact, a clinical practice and what that means for educators, students, schools and society.

The objectives of this course are to understand the bio-psycho-social/processes that influence health-related behaviors, health and wellness, and health-care delivery. Topics to be examined include the psycho-physiological, neuro-psychological and socio-cultural bases of health and illness; pain; adaptation to chronic illness; stress; personality and illness; death, dying, and grief; substance use; obesity and nutrition.

Scientists and humanists study "human nature" from radically different perspectives. This course explores interdisciplinary ways of tackling the gnarly problem of understanding ourselves. We'll grapple with questions like: Is human nature fundamentally good or evil? Is this even a sensible question to ask? How do technology and culture impact human morality and the ways we study it? What can AI tell us about human nature? Students will learn how to critically evaluate research examining the porous boundaries between self and society, and to think imaginatively about what the scientific method can reveal about humans- now and in the future.

This course explores the neural foundations of social cognition in natural contexts. Highly controlled lab experiments fail to capture and model the complexity of social interaction in the real world. Recent advances in artificial neural networks provide an alternative computational framework to model cognition in natural contexts. In the course, we will review and critically evaluate deep learning models related to visual perception, speech, language, and social cognition, juxtaposing them against conventional cognitive models.

This course examines how social, behavioral and cultural factors influence human behavior and the conceptualization of mental health and psychopathology, with a focus on current, controversial topics. Students will examine the ways their understanding of mental and physical health and well-being are shaped by their own values and assumptions, as well as societal constructs and structures such as the health care system. The class is designed to promote cultural competence in diagnosis, treatment and research strategies.

Cyborgs are created when biological brains are enhanced with technology. This course will explore a wide range of mind-machine interactions. Are search engines changing the structure of human memory? Is your laptop or smartphone part of your mind? Are human brains flexible enough to update motor and sensory systems, expanding the self to include artificial limbs, exoskeletons, remote-control devices, night vision, wearable computing, etc.? How do experiences in virtual reality impact psychology? As technology advances we are all becoming cyborgs. Now is an exciting time to study the interactive interface of technology and mind.

This course is designed as a high-level overview of social psychology for psychology graduate students. Human beings are fundamentally social animals. Each day they think about, interact with, and/or are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. More than it is commonly realized, people's experiences shape and are shaped by their thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In this course, we cover a range of social psychology topics, emphasizing ideas represented within our department and continually thinking about people as being fundamentally socially embedded.

This graduate-level course provides a practical introduction to advanced statistical methods in psychological research. It begins with a brief review of generalized linear models and interactions, and progresses to cover mediation and moderation models. Students are thereafter introduced to Bayesian statistics, followed by a deep exploration of hierarchical/mixed-effect models from both frequentist and Bayesian perspectives. In addition to these topics, the course also examines dimensionality reduction techniques, non-parametric statistics, and alternatives to traditional null-hypothesis significance testing.

This seminar series explores the overlap of psychological science, computational methods, and statistics through a diverse set of interactive activities. External guest speakers present colloquium talks on emerging methods as well as novel insights into established approaches, complemented by hands-on tutorials or in-depth discussions. Other sessions feature student-led presentations on data analysis challenges and solutions in ongoing or published work, highlighting an often-overlooked aspect in scientific presentations. The student sessions may also include tutorials on useful statistical methods or tools.

Current research and issues in cognition, perception, and learning. Seminar participants present ongoing research and discuss current topics of interest in the literature.

An advanced seminar that considers current research in social psychology. Contemporary research conducted by the seminar participants is discussed.

Research internship at a host institution to perform scholarly research relevant to student's dissertation work. Research objectives are determined by advisor in conjunction with outside host. A mid-semester progress review and a final paper are required. Enrollment for full-time internships is limited to post-generals students for up to two semesters, contingent on department approval.

Prejudice is one of the most contentious topics in modern American society. There is debate regarding its causes, pervasiveness, and impact. This goal of this course is to familiarize students with the psychological research relevant to these questions. We will review theoretical perspectives on prejudice to develop an understanding of its cognitive, affective, and motivational underpinnings. We will also discuss how these psychological biases relate to evaluations of, and behavior toward, members of targeted groups. In addition, research-based strategies for reducing prejudice will be discussed.

A course required for and limited to students in the Joint Degree program in Social Policy. Two major areas of psychology make important contributions to the study of social policy and inequality. The first is social psychology, which focuses on inter-group relations, interpersonal perception, stereotyping, racism, aggression, justice and fairness. The second domain involves the fields of social-cognition, judgment and decision making, areas of research that study human information processing in a way that is not about individual differences, and often not social.