Psychology

The mission of the Department of Psychology undergraduate program is to educate students about the major research findings and theories in the field of psychology, and to train them to use an empirical approach to understanding human behavior. Specifically, the program endeavors to provide students with

• Broad exposure to the basic concepts and ethical issues of psychology
• Education in the scientific method, including applied research opportunities
• Strong critical-thinking and written-communication skills, including the ability to evaluate and convey the evidence for claims regarding human behavior
• Experience through internship and practicum opportunities at partnering community organizations (ranging from domestic violence hotlines to the district attorney’s office)

All students participate in and collaborate on research as part of the academic course sequence. Students are encouraged to gain additional research experience through research assistant positions in faculty labs and the undergraduate honors thesis program. The psychology major affords students great flexibility in selecting upper-division courses to fit individual goals and interests. Classroom and internship opportunities are enriched by numerous faculty research programs that range in levels of analysis and intellectual focus. An undergraduate degree in psychology provides the background for a broad range of careers, including social services, education, law, or graduate programs in psychology.

Preparation. High school preparation should include courses in social sciences as well as the natural sciences (physics, biology, chemistry). Language and mathematical skills are also highly desirable. In general, the broad liberal-arts training that prepares students for college studies is appropriate for majoring in psychology at the university.

Careers. Some students major in psychology to prepare for graduate training and careers in related fields such as personnel relations, vocational and personal counseling, medicine and dentistry, social and case work, marketing, administration, the legal profession, or counseling in the public schools. Others prepare for careers as academic psychologists (teaching and research), clinical psychologists (mental health centers, institutions, and private practice), industrial and organizational psychologists, and government psychologists (testing, research, and administration).

Career information is also available on the American Psychological Association website.

Review of Courses

Among lower-division courses, Mind and Brain (PSY 201) and Biopsychology (PSY 304) offer instruction in cognitive and biological psychology. Mind and Society (PSY 202), Thinking (PSY 330), Culture and Mental Health (PSY 366), and Psychology of Gender (PSY 380) introduce psychology as a social science.

Transfer students should plan to take no more than two lower-division courses before starting upper-division work. The introductory courses should be chosen with an eye toward prerequisites for upper-division courses and toward providing a broad background in the field. Transfer equivalents for lower-division courses are evaluated case by case. Check with the department’s head advisor to determine equivalency of completed introductory work.

Upper-division courses fall into three categories:

1. Statistical Methods in Psychology (PSY 302) and Research Methods in Psychology (PSY 303) are designed to teach research skills and methodologies
2. Other 300-level courses are of broad interest to many different majors throughout the university as well as to psychology majors
3. Area courses, numbered 410 to 480, designed for psychology majors, may be open to other students who fulfill the prerequisites by optaining instructor approval

Group Requirements. For psychology courses approved to fulfill social science or science group requirements, see the current course list on the registrar’s website, registrar.uoregon.edu/common/group_courses.php.

Major Requirements

Required courses for the major must total a minimum of 44 credits in psychology—at least 36 upper division and at least 16 taken at the University of Oregon. A maximum of 4 credits in any Practicum (PSY 409) may be applied to the 36 upper-division credits. Practicum credits must be earned at a practicum site approved by the head undergraduate faculty advisor. Required courses must be taken for letter grades and passed with C– or better. Elective psychology courses may be taken pass/no pass. Students must take 12 elective credits, 8 of which must be actual content courses.

Prerequisites for upper-division psychology courses are as follows: Set I requirements should be completed by the end of the sophomore year and Set II by the end of the junior year. Delays could postpone graduation.

Set I. College Algebra (MATH 111) or equivalent or Introduction to Methods of Probability and Statistics (MATH 243); Mind and Brain (PSY 201); Mind and Society (PSY 202); College Composition I and II or III (WR 121 and 122 or 123)

Set II. Statistical Methods in Psychology (PSY 302), Research Methods in Psychology (PSY 303)

Upper-division credits are distributed as follows:

1. At least 8 credits selected from HPHY 333, LING 396, PSY 410 (Evolutionary Psychology), 433, 435, 436, 438, 440, 445, 449, 450, 475, 476
2. At least 8 credits selected from PSY 420, 456–459, 461, 468–473, 478, 480

In addition, majors must complete 12 credits of college-level biology, chemistry, or physics. These courses need not be a sequence, but must have the same subject code. A combination of CH 111, BI 211, and BI 212 or 213 satisfies this requirement.

Planning a Program

Besides attending lecture courses, students may participate in seminars, reading and conference courses, laboratory work, fieldwork, and other means of gaining experience.

Sample Program

The sample program below provides an idea of a typical course load during the freshman year.

Departmental requirements for a psychology major are designed to maximize individual curriculum planning. This should be done in close and frequent consultation with the advisor.

Peer Advising. The psychology department’s peer advisors attempt to make academic advising more effective, welcoming, and efficient.

Questions about the university system (e.g., how to read the schedule of classes, grading procedures, where to seek financial assistance, how to plan a course schedule) and specific inquiries about the department’s norms, opportunities, facilities, and faculty members are welcome.

During the school year, the peer advising office in 141 Straub Hall has regularly scheduled hours. Psychology students are invited to use the facilities (a small library, journals, and graduate school brochures) and to talk informally with a friendly peer advisor.

Preparation for Graduate Study

A bachelor’s degree is seldom sufficient qualification for professional work in psychology; at least a master’s degree is required for most positions. Students should not undertake graduate work unless their grades in undergraduate psychology and related courses have averaged mid-B (3.00) or better.

Prospective graduate students in psychology are advised to take courses in related fields such as anthropology, biology, computer science, chemistry, linguistics, mathematics, philosophy, physics, and sociology. Strong preparation in quantitative methods is advisable. Reading knowledge of at least one second language appropriate to psychology also may be useful.

Honors Curriculum

Students with excellent records who plan to pursue a career in psychology may consider applying to the departmental honors program at the end of their sophomore year. The honors program centers on an independent research project, which the student develops and carries out under the supervision of a departmental committee. Information about admission criteria and how to apply is available http://psychweb.uoregon.edu/undergraduates/honors-program.

Minor Requirements

The department offers a minor in psychology. All courses must be passed with a grade of C– or better. Special Studies (PSY 199) does not count toward the minor. The minor requires 28 credits in psychology, to be distributed as follows:

All 28 credits must be taken for letter grades and passed with a C– or better. At least 16 credits must be upper division.

Middle and Secondary School Teaching Careers

The College of Education offers a fifth-year program for middle-secondary teaching in social studies. This program is described in the College of Education section of this catalog.

The department emphasizes graduate work at the doctoral level, but an individualized master’s degree program is available to a limited number of students.

Master’s Degree Program

The individualized master’s degree program does not lead to a PhD. The degree—either a master of arts (MA) or a master of science (MS)—requires 45 credits of course work. Application materials and information may be obtained from the department website. Clinical training is not available in the master’s program.

Doctoral Degree Programs

The five chief PhD program options are clinical; cognitive-neuroscience; systems neuroscience; developmental; and social-personality.

The department maintains a psychology clinic; specialized facilities for child and social research; experimental laboratories for human research, including a variety of large and small computers for online experimental control; and well-equipped animal laboratories.

Applicants to the PhD program in psychology must take the aptitude test and submit the score from the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and provide three letters of recommendation on special forms provided by the department. Detailed information about admission, including application forms and information about awards and graduate teaching fellowships (GTFs), may be obtained from the department website.

During the first year of graduate work, students acquire a broad background in psychology and are introduced to research. Each student’s program is planned in relation to background, current interests, and future goals. Research experience and a dissertation are required of PhD candidates; teaching experience is recommended, and opportunities to teach are available.

For general regulations governing graduate work at the university, see the Graduate School section of this catalog.

Clinical Program

Clinical psychology at the University of Oregon is based on a clinical scientist training model directed toward understanding assessment, prevention, and treatment of psychological problems and disorders. Accredited in clinical psychology by the American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation (750 First Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002-4242, 202-336-5979), the clinical program provides strong research training in the etiology of child and adult psychopathology, family and peer relationships, influence of culture, evaluation of treatment and preventive interventions, and design and testing of optimal assessment strategies. The program is also a member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science, an organization dedicated to enhancing science and research training in clinical psychology. The program prepares future clinical scientists to contribute to the understanding of psychopathology and optimal intervention strategies and to provide state-of-the-art clinical training.

First-year graduate study includes department courses required of all students: a yearlong sequence surveying the areas of psychology, a statistics sequence, and a research project. In addition, clinical students must take a practicum (PSY 609) in clinical methods, assessment, and ethics. Program requirements include six additional courses: Psychopathology (PSY 620), Clinical Psychobiology (PSY 621), and Intervention Science (PSY 610); the other three courses are assessment, intervention, and clinical electives.

Students are trained in the use of empirically supported assessment and intervention strategies in two yearlong required practicums: a cognitive behavior therapy practicum offered through the UO Psychology Clinic and a child and family practicum offered through the Child and Family Center. Optional additional practicums are also available in various settings in the community.

The program’s supporting area requirement can be completed through a selection of course work, research, and writing. Recent examples of supporting areas have been psychophysiology, brain imaging, and developmental psychopathology. By the end of the third year, a student is expected to have completed required course work, the supporting area, and a preliminary examination. The fourth year is devoted mainly to research for the PhD dissertation. In the fifth year, students typically take a yearlong clinical internship approved by the American Psychological Association and receive their degrees.

Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience

The University of Oregon has a strong program for training students in cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and systems neuroscience. While students work closely with faculty members in research, the student’s development of an independent research direction is encouraged. Research areas include the cognitive and neural basis of perception, cortical sensory information processing, the molecular and cellular basis of memory, visual cognition, selective attention, working memory, long-term memory, executive control, action, language processing, brain plasticity, information processing and trauma, and other topics. Training is closely geared to students’ backgrounds and goals. An informal weekly seminar allows graduate students and faculty members to present their research. Many instructors and students interested in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience attend these seminars, which are particularly useful in acquainting first-year students with their professors. In addition, there are opportunities to participate in formal seminars and in a variety of other research groups. Research facilities are ample and easily accessible; students are able to conduct research on almost any topic in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.

Psychology faculty members in cognitive psychology have joined with those in other departments to offer work in this field. For more information, see the Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences in the Research Institutes and Centers section of this catalog.

Developmental Psychology

The Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon has recently expanded the scope of its developmental program with the addition of new faculty members and new emphases in the graduate curriculum. Our current program offers extensive coverage of development during infancy, childhood, and early adolescence. Several areas of research are strongly represented including cognitive development, social-emotional development, developmental psychopathology, and developmental social neuroscience. Particular areas of expertise within these broad areas include imagination, theory of mind, executive functioning, self-concept, infant processing of action, and the relation between early social understanding and language learning. Collaborations among developmental, cognitive, clinical, and social faculty members and students are common. The developmental group also has strong links to the Oregon Social Learning Center, Child and Family Center, Oregon Research Institute, and the interdisciplinary Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences. A developmental emphasis in the clinical program offers clinical students an opportunity for extensive involvement in developmental research through the development and psychopathology training program. In addition, clinical students may gain experience with children through child-focused practicums in the Psychology Clinic.

Social and Personality Psychology

The Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon offers graduate training in both basic and applied domains of social and personality psychology. Research interests of the faculty include structure, development, and change dynamics of personality attributes and belief systems; attitudes, values, and moral sentiments; self and identity processes; interpersonal perception; social interaction, relationships, and group dynamics; attribution, perspective taking, and related social cognitive processes; decision making, emotion, and risk perception; emotion regulation; and psychology and the law.

Systems Neuroscience

The University of Oregon offers graduate and postdoctoral study in the neurosciences through the Institute of Neuroscience with faculty members from the Departments of Biology, Human Physiology, and Psychology. The program is focused on laboratory-based neuroscience directed toward understanding relationships between nervous systems and behavior. Students take courses in psychology and neuroscience during the first two years in the program. The required core neuroscience curriculum includes courses in cellular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience. Other formal and informal courses provide instruction in electrophysiology, neuroanatomy, neuroethology, and biochemistry. The program is designed to train students to become independent research scientists in neuroscience.

Our current faculty represents approaches to the study of the brain at many levels, ranging from behavioral to molecular. Each faculty member maintains an active research program, and graduate students may gain laboratory and research experience working in these programs. Students have an opportunity to learn modern techniques in electrophysiology, neuroanatomy, molecular neuroscience, and behavior. Research programs of the psychology faculty include the genetic and neural bases of learning and memory, sensory information processing in cortical circuits, environmental influences on the development of the nervous system, and the neurobiology of visual attention. Neuroscience research programs of the biology faculty include brain mechanisms of sound localization, the electrophysiology and anatomy of hair cells, and the control of chemotaxis in Caenorhabditis elegans.

For more information on the Institute of Neuroscience’s interdisciplinary program, see the Neuroscience section of this catalog.

Transfer students should have the psychology head advisor evaluate courses taken at another institution that might duplicate these courses. Credit is not given for repeating equivalent courses.

201 (H) and 202 (H) are introductory courses in psychology for prospective honors students in psychology or Clark Honors College students. They are open to students with a UO GPA of at least 3.50 or a high school GPA of at least 3.80. Instructor consent is required for registration. 

199 Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R)

201 Mind and Brain (4) Introduction to perception, memory, learning, and cognition.

202 Mind and Society (4) Introduction to topics in clinical, personality, social, and developmental psychology.

302 Statistical Methods in Psychology (4) Probability and statistics applied in psychological research. Topics include descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, correlation, regression, and design of experiments. With laboratory. Sophomore standing required. Prereq: MATH 111 or 243; WR 121; pre- or coreq: PSY 201, 202.

303 Research Methods in Psychology (4) Use of library and bibliographic methods, handling of survey data, coding, interviews, standardized tests, and experiments. Prereq: PSY 201, 202, 302; WR 122 or 123.

304 Biopsychology (4) Relationships between brain and endocrine activity and behavior. Topics include sensation, perception, sexual behavior, drug effects, eating, drinking, sleeping, dreaming, and learning.

330 Thinking (4) Psychological methods involved in problem solving, complex learning, and various forms of rational and irrational reasoning and belief systems.

348 Music and the Brain (4) Explores the neural correlates of our perception of tonality, harmony, melody, and rhythm and how these relate to neurobiology, brain damage, and cognitive neuroscience.

366 Culture and Mental Health (4) Role of culture in the definition and maintenance of mental health and the definition and treatment of mental illness.

376 Child Development (4) Survey of social, intellectual, and personality development in infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Previously offered as PSY 375; not repeatable.

380 Psychology of Gender (4) Critical analysis of evidence for sex differences, gender roles, and the effect of gender on traditional issues in psychology. Topics include parenthood, violence, and sexual orientation.

383 Psychoactive Drugs (4) Physiological and behavioral effects of psychoactive drugs such as alcohol, opiates, barbiturates, and excitants. The psychology of use and overuse; therapies for correcting drug problems.

388 Human Sexuality (4) The nature of human sexuality; hormonal, instinctual, and learned factors in sexuality; psychosexual development; sexual orientation; frequency and significance of various types of sexual behavior; sexual inadequacy; sexual deviation.

399 Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R)

401 Research: [Topic] (1–21R)

403 Thesis (1–12R)

405 Reading and Conference: [Topic] (1–21R)

406 Field Studies: [Topic] (1–21R)

407/507 Seminar: [Topic] (1–5R)

408 Laboratory Projects: [Topic] (1–9R)

409 Practicum: [Topic] (1–9R)

410/510 Experimental Course: [Topic] (1–5R)

Courses numbered between 412 and 480 have the following prerequisite: PSY 303.

412/512 Applied Data Analysis (4) Intermediate-level practical data analysis and interpretation. Topics include experimental design, analysis of variance, multiple regression, exploratory data analysis. Extensive computer use. Honors psychology majors only.

420/520 Psychology and Law (4) Introduction to topics of concern to both psychology and the law. Includes eyewitness identification, legal decision-making, criminal defenses, profiling, polygraphy, and mental-health law.

430 Cognitive Science (4)

433/533 Learning and Memory (4) Processes underlying learning and memory, including evolution. Topics range from simple forms of behavior change to the acquisition, retention, forgetting, and retrieval of symbolic information.

435/535 Cognition (4) Issues of memory; coding for storage, control processes for storage; attention and cognitive control; analysis of more complex cognitive tasks; approaches to problem solving.

436/536 Human Performance (4) Motor and intellectual capacities; analysis of the flow of information within the nervous system; applications of performance principles to human-machine systems.

438/538 Perception (4) Topics covered are color, size, shape, depth, distance, and movement. Examines the relationships between stimuli and perception, stimuli and the neural response, and the neural response and perception.

440/540 Psycholinguistics (4) Processes and structures underlying language use. Methods of studying language processing. Relationships between psycholinguistic data and observations from linguistics and neurophysiology.

445/545 Brain Mechanisms of Behavior (4) Organization of the mammalian brain. Structure and function of the neuronal systems underlying vision, perception, motivation, coordinated movement, sleep-wakefulness, learning and memory, and affective disorders. Prereq: PSY 303, 304.

449/549 Human Neuropsychology (4) Integrative neural mechanisms of normal and abnormal processes in systems (e.g., selective attention, language, memory, object recognition, and emotion). Prereq: PSY 303, 304.

450/550 Hormones and Behavior (4) Relationships among the brain, endocrine systems, and behavior. Developmental effects of hormones on the brain, puberty, sexuality, aggression, stress.

456/556 Social Psychology (4) Processes underlying social perception and social interaction. Topics include aggression, the self-concept, stereotyping and prejudice, conformity, persuasion, attraction, and helping.

457/557 Group Dynamics (4) Topics in small-group dynamics, including decision-making, conflict, and changes over time in group structure and behavior.

458/558 Decision-Making (4) Examines interdependence between mind and culture in substantive domains such as social cognition, motivation, emotion, and psychopathology. Cultural pluralism, collective identities, tolerance, and diversity considered.

459/559 Cultural Psychology (4) Examination of the interdependence between mind and culture in various substantive domains such as social inference, motivation, emotion, and psychopathology.

460/560 Advanced Social Psychology: [Topic] (4R) Selects a specific topic of inquiry from social psychology (e.g., person perception, self-concept, empathy) and examines research and debates on the topic. R thrice when topic changes for maximum of 16 credits.

461/561 Imagination (4) Topics in human imagination, including creativity, children’s pretend play, fiction writing, imagery, mental time travel, consciousness, dreaming, virtual worlds, and disorders of the imagination.

468/568 Motivation and Emotion (4) Adaptive human behavior; considers biological processes involved in emotions, how emotions interact with cognition, and social influences.

469/569 Psychopathology (4) Major descriptive and theoretical approaches to etiological, developmental, and social factors in emotion and personality disorders. Includes assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and special topics.

471/571 Personality (4) Theory and methods for studying human traits, including personality measures and tests; studies of age, gender, and culture. Current research in personality.

472/572 Psychology of Trauma (4) Cognitive, neuropsychological, developmental, social, and clinical approaches to understanding trauma. Includes analysis of childhood trauma, sexual assault, domestic violence, terrorism, combat, and natural disasters.

473/573 Marital and Family Therapies (4) Behavioral basis of dyadic interactions; adult intimacy and love relationships. Clinical-counseling approaches: assessment, marital therapies, and evaluation. Models of marital adjustment and assessment of interpersonal relationships.

475/575 Cognitive Development (4) Intellectual development in children from infancy to adolescence with a focus on early childhood. Topics covered include perception, attention, memory, reasoning, conceptual structure, social cognition.

476/576 Language Acquisition (4) How children acquire language from the earliest speech sounds to full sentences. Topics include babbling, first words, word combinations, the relationship between cognition and language development.

478/578 Social Development (4) Theoretical issues and empirical studies of social-emotional development. Topics may include attachment, temperament, moral development, family interaction, self-image, aggression, and sex-role development.

480/580 Development and Psychopathology (4) Biological and environmental factors that shape normal and abnormal development. Analysis of how family functioning affects psychopathology and resilience in children and adolescents.

490, 491, 492 Honors in Psychology (1,1,1R) Reading and conference. R twice for maximum of 3 credits each. Honors psychology majors only.

503 Thesis (1–16R)

601 Research: [Topic] (1–21R)

602 Supervised College Teaching (1–3R)

603 Dissertation (1–16R)

605 Reading and Conference: [Topic] (1–21R)

607 Seminar: [Topic] (1–5R)

609 Practicum: [Topic] (1–9R)

610 Experimental Course: [Topic] (1–21R)

611 Data Analysis I (4) Introduction to probability, hypothesis testing, and analysis of variance with applications. Includes training in the statistical analysis of data by computer. With laboratory.

612 Data Analysis II (4) Multiple regression and advanced topics in analysis of variance. Includes training in the statistical analysis of data by computer. With laboratory. Prereq: PSY 611.

613 Data Analysis III (4) Multivariate techniques including MANOVA, factor analysis, principal components. Includes training in the statistical analysis of data by computer. With laboratory. Prereq: PSY 612.

620 Psychopathology (3) Definition, measurement, and diagnosis of deviant behavior; includes critical reviews of research on the etiology, intervention, and outcome of major mental disorders. Major standing required.

621 Clinical Psychobiology (3) Research and theory from the neurosciences applied to clinical problems and biological therapies. Major standing required.

623 Personality Assessment (3) Theory, methods, and related research in approaches to personality assessment; includes projective and objective techniques. Clinical psychology students only.

704 Internship: [Topic] (1–15R) Clinical doctoral students only, under the guidance of the director of clinical training. R as needed to complete internship requirements.