Psychology

Professors T. Fikes (chair), R. Paloutzian, B. Smith

Assistant Professors A. Gurney, S. Rogers

Description of the Major. Psychology is the science that deals with the behavioral and mental functioning of individuals. It includes both basic scientific and applied aspects, and encompasses a wide variety of explanatory and descriptive levels ranging from neural-physiological to social. All three degree options in psychology at Westmont encourage students to sample broadly from across these aspects and levels, and to focus in those areas of special interest.

All degree options incorporate (a) lower-division coursework in methodological and theoretical foundations, (b) lower-division coursework in allied disciplines, (c) core upper-division lecture and laboratory courses in specific areas of psychology, and (d) a senior capstone experience involving practicum, individual research, or both. Students who intend to pursue an applied field of psychology should take practicum. Those who expect to pursue graduate school are encouraged to take research and possibly practicum, depending on their interests.

Distinctive Features. The department provides several types of training and opportunities to enrich students’ academic and professional development and help them achieve their career goals. Students may major in psychology by choosing one of three degree options: a Bachelor of Arts degree, allowing maximum flexibility to major or minor in other disciplines; a Bachelor of Science degree, broadly emphasizing the various research disciplines of psychology; and the Behavioral Neuroscience track, focusing particularly on the neural bases of behavior. Both of the latter options emphasize psychology’s connections with biology and chemistry. Each of these options is compatible with a wide variety of career choices, including clinical and counseling practice, basic and applied research, and many others.

The capstone experience, which is designed to integrate knowledge and skills gained throughout the curriculum, also allows students to focus on areas of particular interest. Students can experience the kind of career work they may wish to pursue in the practicum. Psychology majors at Westmont can also engage in original research with professors. Summer research opportunities are often available with some financial support. Part-time positions are available assisting professors or working in the department. Professionals from the psychological community present their research and insights at departmental and divisional colloquia. Students are encouraged to present their research at and attend psychological conferences. The G. Eugene Walker Award for Outstanding Achievement in Psychology provides financial support to students who attend a psychological convention, meeting, or training session. The Westmont College chapter of Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology, sponsors speakers, professional activities, and service to the community. Finally, the department presents the Willard F. Harley Outstanding Student Award to a graduating senior.

The psychology department encourages its majors to participate in an off-campus program before the end of the junior year.

Off-campus experiences may include participation in a Westmont-sponsored program like Europe or England semester, or Israel, Europe, or Sri Lanka Mayterm, in which the student completes general education requirements, electives, and in some cases major requirements. Another option is to enroll in the Urban Program in San Francisco. A third option is to spend a semester at a university in another country, taking a combination of psychology, general education, or elective courses. Students should work closely with their academic advisors when planning for a semester away from the Westmont campus so they can complete their graduation and major requirements in the proper sequence and in a timely manner.

Career Choices. A bachelor’s degree in psychology is desirable for anyone whose interests involve human behavior. Positions in teaching, ministry, law and law enforcement, social work, public relations, youth work, personnel management, communications, recreation, rehabilitation, emergency services, advertising, administration, and the health industries are open to psychology majors.

The major also provides the essential foundation for graduate work. Career opportunities at this level broaden to include clinical and counseling psychology, teaching, consulting, and research in areas like social, developmental, or cognitive psychology, the neurosciences, psychological testing, behavioral medicine, industrial/organizational, sports, or health psychology, just to name a few.

Requirements for a B.A. Major: 48 units

Required Lower-Division Courses: 12 units

(To be completed by the end of the sophomore year.)
PSY 1 General Psychology (4)
PSY 13/13L Experimental Psychology & Lab (4)
MA 5 Introduction to Statistics (4)
Recommended: Courses from related fields; biology, anatomy and physiology; sociology; additional statistics or mathematics; computer science.

Required Upper-Division Courses: 36 units

PSY 111 History and Systems of Psychology (4)
One of the following: 4 units: PSY 120/120L Cognitive Psychology & Lab (4); PSY 121/121L Psychology of Learning & Lab (4); PSY 124/124L Sensation and Perception & Lab (4); PSY 125/125L Behavioral Neuroscience & Lab (4)
Two of the following: 8 units: PSY 115 Child Development: Infancy through Adolescence (4); PSY 122 Social Psychology (4); PSY 131 Abnormal Psychology (4); PSY 135 Psychological Testing (4); PSY 140 Personality (4); PSY 141 Fundamentals of Clinical & Counseling Psychology (4)
Four units from the following two options:: PSY 196 Capstone Senior Practicum in Psychology (4); PSY 197, 198 Capstone Senior Research in Psychology I/II (4)
Additional Upper-Division PSY Electives: 16 units

Requirements for a B.S. Major: 60 units

Required Lower-Division Courses: 12 units

(To be completed by the end of the sophomore year.)
PSY 1 General Psychology (4)
PSY 13/13L Experimental Psychology & Lab (4)
MA 5 Introduction to Statistics (4)

Required Upper-Division Courses: 32 units

PSY 111 History and Systems of Psychology (4)
PSY 197 Capstone Senior Research in Psychology I (2)
PSY 198 Capstone Senior Research in Psychology II (2)
Two of the following: 8 units: PSY 120/120L Cognitive Psychology & Lab (4); PSY 121/121L Psychology of Learning & Lab (4); PSY 124/124L Sensation and Perception & Lab (4); PSY 125/125L Behavioral Neuroscience & Lab (4)
Two of the following: 8 units: PSY 115 Child Development: Infancy through Adolescence (4); PSY 122 Social Psychology (4); PSY 131 Abnormal Psychology (4); PSY 135 Psychological Testing (4); PSY 140 Personality (4)
Additional Upper-Division PSY Electives: (8)

Required Courses from Other Disciplines: 16 units

CS 10 Introduction to Computer Science I (4)
One of the following: 4 units: MA 7 Finite Mathematics (4); MA 9 Elementary Calculus I (4); MA 10 Elementary Calculus II (4)
Two of the following: 8 units: BIO 5 General Biology I (4); BIO 6 General Biology II (4); BIO 11 Human Anatomy (4); BIO 12 Human Physiology (4); CHM 1 Introductory General Chemistry (4); CHM 5 General Chemistry I (4); CHM 6 General Chemistry II (4); PHY 11 Physics for Life Science Majors I (4); PHY 13 Physics for Life Science Majors II (4); PHY 14 Physics for Life Science Majors Laboratory (1); PHY 21 General Physics I (4); PHY 23 General Physics II (4); PHY 24 General Physics Laboratory (1)

Requirements for a Minor: 24 units

Required Lower-Division Courses: 8 units

PSY 1 General Psychology (4)
MA 5 Introduction to Statistics (4)

Required Courses: 16 units

One of the following: 4 units: PSY 13/13L Experimental Psychology & Lab (4); PSY 120/120L Cognitive Psychology & Lab (4); PSY 121/121L Psychology of Learning & Lab (4); PSY 124/124L Sensation and Perception & Lab (4); PSY 125/125L Behavioral Neuroscience & Lab (4)
One of the following: 4 units: PSY 111 History and Systems of Psychology (4); PSY 115 Child Development: Infancy through Adolescence (4); PSY 122 Social Psychology (4); PSY 131 Abnormal Psychology (4); PSY 135 Psychological Testing (4); PSY 140 Personality (4); PSY 141 Fundamentals of Clinical & Counseling Psychology (4); PSY 175 Psychology of Religion (4)
Additional requirements from above two sections: 8 units

Requirements for a B.S. Major, Behavioral Neuroscience Track: 65 units

Required Lower-Division Courses: 12 units

(To be completed by the end of the sophomore year.)
PSY 1 General Psychology (4)
PSY 13/13L Experimental Psychology & Lab (4)
MA 5 Introduction to Statistics (4)

Required Upper-Division Courses: 33 units

PSY 125/125L Behavioral Neuroscience & Lab (4)
PSY 111 History and Systems of Psychology (4)
PSY 192 Individual Research in Psychology (1)*
PSY 197 Capstone Senior Research in Psychology I (2)**
PSY 198 Capstone Senior Research in Psychology II (2)**
One of the following: 4 units: PSY 120/120L Cognitive Psychology & Lab (4); PSY 121/121L Psychology of Learning & Lab (4); PSY 124/124L Sensation and Perception & Lab (4)
Two of the following: 8 units: PSY 115 Child Development: Infancy through Adolescence (4); PSY 122 Social Psychology (4); PSY 131 Abnormal Psychology (4); PSY 135 Psychological Testing (4); PSY 140 Personality (4)
Additional Upper-Division PSY Electives: (8)

Required Courses from Other Disciplines: 20 units

MA 9 Elementary Calculus I (4)
BIO 5 General Biology I (4)
BIO 6 General Biology II (4)
CHM 5 General Chemistry I (4)
CHM 6 General Chemistry II (4)

*PSY 192 must be completed prior to the end of the junior year. Most students in this track take more than one unit of PSY 192, during different semesters.
**PSY 197/198 projects must be on approved topics in behavioral neuroscience.

Lower-Division Course Descriptions

PSY 1 General Psychology (4) Survey of major areas of psychology with emphasis on basic concepts, theories, and facts of behavior.

PSY 13 Experimental Psychology (4) Prerequisites: PSY 1; MA 5. The logic of scientific investigation with an examination of research principles, designs, and reports; experimentation with human and animal subjects; and an original research project.

Upper-Division Course Descriptions

PSY 111 History and Systems of Psychology (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1, junior standing or permission of instructor. Background of modern psychology, development of various schools, and appreciation of the complexity of the discipline today.

PSY 115 Child Development: Infancy through Adolescence (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1. Human development from conception through adolescence. Considers social, psychological, cognitive, and biological processes.

PSY 120 Cognitive Psychology (4) Prerequisites: PSY 1; MA 5; PSY 13. Theory and research on the nature of memory, concept formation, language production and comprehension, and problem solving. Laboratory section required.

PSY 121 Psychology of Learning (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1; MA 5. Theories and research in classical and operant conditioning. Laboratory section required.

PSY 122 Social Psychology (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1. Theory and research on social bases of behavior. Topics of personal and social relevance: social cognition, attitudes, prejudice, aggression, group influence, conformity, authoritarianism, and obedience.

PSY 124 Sensation and Perception (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1; MA 5. Research and theories of audition, vision, taste, smell, and somesthesis; speech, music, pain, time, color, space, and motion perception. Laboratory section required.

PSY 125 Behavioral Neuroscience (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1; PSY 13. Analysis of behavior as a function of neurological and physiological processes. Laboratory section required.

PSY 131 Abnormal Psychology (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1. Mental and emotional disorders, their symptomatology, etiology, classification, and methods of treatment.

PSY 135 Psychological Testing (4) Prerequisites: PSY 1; PSY 13. Principles of measurement and evaluation. Development, administration, and interpretation of a variety of psychological assessment devices.

PSY 140 Personality (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1; junior standing. Scientific definition and assessment of personality; major theories and current research areas.

PSY 141 Fundamentals of Clinical and Counseling Psychology (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1, 131. Foundations and principles of individual and group helping processes.

PSY 150 Topics in Psychology (2-4) Prerequisite: PSY 1 and consent of instructor. Content as announced.

PSY 175 Psychology of Religion (4) Prerequisite: PSY 1; junior standing. Theory and research on the psychological understanding of religion. Topics: religious development, conversion, intrinsic-extrinsic religious orientation, special groups and religions, social compassion, and mental health.

PSY 190 Individual Internship in Psychology (1-4) Prerequisites: PSY 1 and consent of instructor. Psychology-related field work in local or San Francisco area placements (see IS 190 for description of San Francisco Urban Program internship opportunities). May not be taken concurrently with PSY 196; Urban Program placements must be pre-approved.

PSY 192 Individual Research in Psychology (1-4) Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Laboratory or field research with a faculty member. Students may be involved in any or all of the following: conduct literature reviews, carry out research procedures, analyze data, or write up results.

PSY 196 Capstone Senior Practicum in Psychology (4) Prerequisites: PSY 1, 131, 141; senior standing. Field work in local mental health facilities, schools, probation and social service agencies, or research facilities.

PSY 197 Capstone Senior Research in Psychology I (2) Prerequisites: PSY 1, 13; senior standing. Development of a professional research proposal that likely includes preliminary data collection. In-depth training in doing literature searches and reviews, applying research ethics, selecting experimental designs, and thinking critically in research.

PSY 198 Capstone Senior Research in Psychology II (2) Prerequisites: PSY 1, 13, 197; senior standing. Continuation of PSY 197 with a focus on carrying out the research project proposed in PSY 197, and writing and submitting a professional level report for presentation. (If required by his or her program, a student may petition to take PSY 198 for 4 units.)