Page 215 of Boston College 2006-2007 University Catalog by Boston College University

tinuing to contemporary controversies about the nature of emotion. Some of the questions to be considered are whether or not there are basic emotions, the relation of emotion to cognition and action, and whether emotions are innate or learned through our particular culture. The focus is on biological, social, and cultural subdisciplines of psychology, but contributions of anthropology, philosophy, and other disciplines will be discussed as well. James Russell PS 531 Social Psychology of Human Emotion (Spring: 3) Prerequisites: At least a 300-level course in psychology and permission of instructor This seminar examines human emotion from a social psychological perspective. Topics include the role of social context in the perception of emotion in self and others, the role of cognitive and attentional processes in the elicitation of emotion (including Schachter and Singers two-factor theory), theories of emotional consciousness, and psychophysiological indicators of emotion. Lisa Feldman Barrett PS 569 Special Topics in Developmental Psychology (Spring: 3) Offered Periodically The topic of this advanced seminar will vary from year to year, with an eye to covering in depth an issue of current concern to the field. In 2006-07, the topic will be Play: Its Developmental and Educative Functions and will be taught by Peter Gray. To understand better the functions of play we shall examine: (1) play as it exists in animals, in human hunter-gatherers, and in modern cultures; (2) historical changes in attitudes about play in Western cultures; (3) the roles of play in human development; and (4) the immediate cognitive benefits of a playful emotional state. Peter Gray PS 572 Neuroscience I (Fall: 3) Prerequisites: For undergraduates BI 304-305 or PS 285 Cross Listed with BI 572 An advanced and comprehensive treatment of the structure and function of the nervous system. Topics covered in the first semester include the following: cellular and molecular neurobiology; developmental neurobiology; sensory systems. Marilee Ogren PS 573 Neuroscience II (Spring: 3) Prerequisites: For undergraduates BI/PS 572 or BI 304-305, or PS 285 Cross Listed with BI573 A continuation of Neuroscience I. Topics covered in the second semester include the following: motor systems; neurobiology of motivation and emotion; neurobiology of learning and memory; cognitive neuroscience. Jon Horvitz Michael Numan PS 579 Special Topic: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience (Fall: 3) Prerequisites: Graduate student or permission of instructor The topic of this advanced seminar will vary from year to year, with an eye to covering in depth an issue of current concern to the field. See department for details. Scott Slotnick PS 582 Advanced Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience: Learning and Memory (Fall/Spring: 3) Prerequisites: PS 285 or PS 286, for graduate students, permission of the instructor Memory results from lasting changes in synaptic connections generated by the pattern of neuronal activity at the time that the memory was formed. The modifications that accompany memory formation may be as subtle as an altered ionic conductance or as conspicuous as the formation of new synapses. This course examines how memory is encoded, stored and retrieved at several levels of biological complexity: the integrative functions of neural networks or systems, changes at the cellular level, and intracellular events that regulate and modify neuronal activity. Robert Ross PS 590 History of Psychology (Fall: 3) Prerequisites: For undergraduates, at least one 300-level course in Psychology, graduate students, permission of the instructor This course offers a survey of the philosophical roots and development of psychological thought from the Grecian and Medieval periods to the present. Topics will include: classical doctrines of human nature in early Greek philosophy; emergence of science in the post-Renaissance period and the contributions of Descartes, Locke, British Empiricists and Associationists to the evolution of psychological theory; review of major developments including Darwins evolutionary theory in the nineteenth century; the emergence of psychology as an independent discipline in Germany and the United States; the rise and demise of the major schools in psychology, Structuralism, Functionalism, Gestalt, Behaviorism, and Psychoanalysis. Ali Banuazizi PS 600 Introduction to Social Work (Fall/Spring: 3) Cross Listed with SC 378, SW 600 The Department PS 721 Human Behavior and the Social Environment (Fall: 3) Cross Listed with SW 721 See course description in the Graduate School of Social Work. The Department Graduate Course Offerings PS 606 Experimental Design and Statistics (Fall: 3) Prerequisite: An undergraduate course in statistics This course focuses primarily on the design of research experiments and the inferential statistics used to assess their results. Analysis of variance techniques that assess the main and interactive effects of multiple independent variables on single dependent variables will be emphasized. Randolph D. Easton PS 625 Graduate Independent Study (Fall/Spring: 3) Norman H. Berkowitz PS 640-641 Research Workshop in Social Psychology I and II (Fall/Spring: 3) Graduate students and faculty in the field of Social Psychology discuss ongoing research; students in the Honors Program may attend with permission of the instructor. Norman Berkowitz Donnah Canavan ARTS AND SCIENCES The Boston College Catalog 2006-2007 215

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