Program Advisor: Vonda Plett, Ph.D. (web page)
Assistant Professor of Psychology

By studying psychology, you can explore many facets of human experience, from development, learning and memory to social interactions and the physiological underpinnings of these phenomena. Study in Psychology offers a more thorough understanding of yourself and others.

At CMU, the psychology program offers the explicit opportunity to consider critically various points of contact between psychology and faith. Skills learned in psychology are useful in counselling, teaching, business, ministry, or higher-level study.

At CMU, you can study Psychology as a four-year major (minimum 48 credit hours), a three-year major (minimum 30 credit hours), or a minor (minimum 18 credit hours) within the Bachelor of Arts. Click here for information about the requirements of this program (PDF). For specific questions about this program, contact the Program Advisor.

Find below a list of all the courses CMU offers in the field of Psychology. The introductory course is offered each year. Other courses are offered in a rotation so that students will have opportunity to take all the courses required by their majors or minors over the years of their studies at CMU.

Courses

The following section contains a complete list of courses for its curriculum. For current course listings please see the Course Description section of our website.

PSYC-1000/6 Introduction to Psychology (Formerly: 41.100/6): Examination of the basic concepts and principles of individual behaviour. Topics may include: perception, motivation, emotion, learning, memory, intelligence, personality, states of consciousness, social interaction, developmental processes, hereditary and environmental influences, normal and abnormal behaviour, therapeutic methods, and psychological measurement.

BUSI/PSYC-2020/3 Organizational Behaviour (Formerly: 44.202/3): Examination of the impact of human behaviour on the formal and informal organization. Topics include leadership, work groups, organizational conflict, and communications. Prerequisite: BUSI 1000/3 or PSYC 1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2030/3 Research Design in Psychology (Formerly: 41.203/3): An introduction to basic research designs in the social sciences. Topics include considerations in data collection, descriptive and survey methods, measurement techniques, experimental methods, the interpretation and reporting of results, and research ethics. This course is required for Psychology majors. Includes a laboratory requirement. A laboratory fee will be assessed. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2040/3 Research Analysis in Psychology (Formerly: 41.204/3): An introduction to basic techniques in data analysis for the social sciences, and their relation to specific research designs. Topics include descriptive statistics, predictive techniques, hypothesis testing and estimation, and inferential statistics. This course is required for Psychology majors. Includes a laboratory requirement. A laboratory fee will be assessed. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2100/3 Social Cognition and Influence (Formerly: 41.210/3): An examination of how we think about ourselves and about the people around us. Topics include social perception, our social selves, beliefs and judgments, attitudes, conformity, and persuasion. Prerequisite: PSYC- 1000/6 or permission of the instructor.

PSYC-2110/3 Social Relationships and Behaviour (Formerly: 41.211/3): A study of how relationships are formed, maintained, and disrupted. Topics may include group dynamics, close relationships, prejudice, aggression, attraction, and conflict. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2200/3 Developmental Psychology—Childhood (Formerly: 41.220/3): A study of psychological development from prenatal life until puberty. Topics include personality and social development, perceptual and cognitive development, language, intelligence, and moral development. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2210/3 Developmental Psychology—Adolescence (Formerly: 41.221/3): A study of psychological development from puberty until adulthood. Topics may include history of theory and research on adolescence, family structures, parent and peer pressure, sex role development, identification, cognitive development, and youth culture. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2220/3 Developmental Psychology—Adulthood (Formerly: 41.222/3): A study of psychological and psychological development and adjustment during adulthood and aging. Topics include normal aging processes, family relationships, work and retirement, health concerns, life satisfaction, and end of life issues. Prerequisite: PSYC- 1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2300/3 Cognitive Processes (Formerly: 41.230/3): Our unique cognitive processes determine the subjective nature of the world around us and of the people we encounter. In this course, we examine the processes by which we perceive and attend to our environments, the ways we learn and remember, how we produce and comprehend language, and how we reason and make decisions. We study both effective functioning and the biases and failures we experience. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2400/3 Counselling Theories (Formerly: 41.240/3): An overview of current counselling theories, such as Psychoanalytic, Existential, Person-Centered, Gestalt, Reality, Behaviour, and Cognitive therapies. Attention will be given to their respective therapeutic processes and to a critical evaluation of each theory. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2410/3 Counselling Techniques (Formerly: 41.241/3): Explores the formation of helping relationships, using the Human Relations Model of Helping, with a focus on selfunderstanding as a basis for effective communication and understanding of human interactions. Topics will also include helping skills, helper characteristics, communication skills, barriers to communication, relationship establishment, ethics and values clarification. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 and 2400/3.

PSYC/SOCI-2700/3 Interpersonal Communication (Formerly: 41/42.270/3): An examination of the multilevel communication processes that underlie and support social interaction and relationship formation and change. Special attention will be given to the differences and connections between verbal and nonverbal communication and to the rules and rituals of social interaction in everyday life. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or SOCI-1020/3 or former SOCI-1000/6.

PSYC-2800/3 History of Psychology (Formerly: 41.280/3): This course explores the intellectual and social contexts within which the diverse theories and models of the discipline have arisen. Major themes and trends will be analyzed, together with influential theorists and landmark studies. Most importantly, the assumptions underlying psychological explanations for human behaviour will be examined. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-2950/3 Topics in Psychology (Formerly: 41.295/3): The content of this course will vary from year to year, depending on the needs of students and the interests and availability of instructors. Prerequisite: PSYC-1000/6 or permission of instructor.

PSYC-3030/3 Qualitative Inquiry in the Social Sciences: An introduction to conducting qualitative research in the social sciences. Topics include: the assumptions that inform qualitative research designs; procedures for gathering meaningful data through interviews, observation, and textual archives; the analysis of such data; and ethical issues pertaining to the research endeavour. Includes a laboratory requirement. A laboratory fee will be assessed. Prerequisite: 45 credit hours of university-level courses or permission of the instructor.

BUSI/PSYC-3000/3 Organizational Leadership (Formerly: 44/41.300/3): Examination of the theory and practice of leadership and decision-making in organizations. Topics include trait, behavioural and situational models of organizational leadership, leadership as power and influence, and processes involved in the decision making of individuals and groups, large and small, formal and informal. Attention will also be given to development of skills in leadership. Prerequisite: 45 credit hours of university-level courses.

PSYC-3400/3 Abnormal Psychology (Formerly: 41.340/3): An examination of current theory and research regarding abnormal human behaviour, and an attempt to understand psychological disorders within the context of human biology, development, and society. Topics may include stress and anxiety, affective disorders, psychophysiological and personality disorders, mental health, policy and social issues. Both scientific explanation and phenomenology will be addressed. Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of university-level studies, including PSYC-1000/6 or permission of the instructor.

PSYC/INTG-3800/3 Psychology and Christianity (Formerly: 41/11.380/3): Both Christian belief and psychological theory have much to say about human nature, about what/ how we can know, and about how we should think and behave. There are many points of agreement and of conflict. This course represents a re-consideration of various psychological theories and well-known research findings from Christian perspectives. Prerequisite: 12 credit hours in Psychology.

PSYC-3950/3 Topics in Psychology (Formerly: 41.395/3): The content of this course will vary from year to year, depending on the needs of students and the interests and availability of instructors. Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of university-level study, including PSYC-1000/6.

PSYC-4940/3 Independent Study in Psychology (Formerly: 41.494/3): A study in a specific area of Psychology under the direction of a faculty member. Prerequisites: PSYC-1000/6, an additional nine credit hours in Psychology, and a minimum of 60 credit hours of university-level studies.

PSYC-4950/3 Topics in Psychology (Formerly: 41.495/3): The content of this course will vary from year to year, depending on the needs of students and the interests and availability of instructors. Prerequisite: 30 credit