This is an archived copy of the 2018-2020 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Department of Psychology

The information in parentheses after a course number is the Texas Common Course Numbering (TCCN) designation. Only TCCN designations that are exact semester-hour equivalents of University courses are listed here. Additional TCCN information is given in Appendix A.

Psychology: PSY

Lower-Division Courses

PSY 301 (TCCN: PSYC 2301). Introduction to Psychology.

Basic problems and principles of human experience and behavior. Three lecture hours a week for one semester, or the equivalent in independent study.

PSY 304 (TCCN: PSYC 2308). Introduction to Child Psychology.

General introduction to physical, social, and cognitive development from conception onward. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Only one of the following may be counted: Psychology 304, 333D, Women's and Gender Studies 333D, 345 (Topic 6). Prerequisite: Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C.

PSY 305. Introduction to Cognitive Psychology.

Introduction to the study of how people perceive, act, communicate, and reason. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C.

PSY 306. Introduction to Human Sexuality.

Introduction to the science of sex and mating. Provides an overview of the psychological, biological, and social factors that contribute to sexual well-being and human sexual attraction. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Psychology 306 and 346K may not both be counted.

PSY 308. Biopsychology.

Introduction to the biological bases of psychological processes and behavior. Overview of the physiology and anatomy of the nervous system, followed by a survey of brain mechanisms of perception, cognition, learning, and emotion; biological perspectives on drug action and mental disease. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C.

PSY 309 (TCCN: PSYC 2316). Personality.

Research and theory concerning personality structure, dynamics, development, and assessment. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C.

PSY 317 (TCCN: PSYC 2317). Statistical Methods in Psychology.

Recommended for majors who plan to do graduate work in psychology or related fields. Measures of central tendency and variability; statistical inference; correlation and regression. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C.

PSY 418. Statistics and Research Design.

Survey of statistics, including central tendency, variability and inference, and scientific methodology used in psychological research. Three lecture hours and two discussion hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C and credit for one of the following: African and African Diaspora Studies 302M, Educational Psychology 371, Mathematics 302, 303D, 403K, 305G, 408C, 408K, 316; Statistics and Data Sciences 301, Statistics and Data Sciences 302 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 302), 303 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 303), 304 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 304), 305 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 305), 306 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 306), 318 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 318), 328M (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 328M).

PSY 319K (TCCN: PSYC 2319). Social Psychology.

Theory and research on the analysis of human conduct in social settings. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C.

PSY 119S, 219S, 319S, 419S, 519S, 619S, 719S, 819S, 919S. Topics in Psychology.

This course is used to record credit the student earns while enrolled at another institution in a program administered by the University's Study Abroad Office. Credit is recorded as assigned by the study abroad adviser in the Department of Psychology. University credit is awarded for work in an exchange program; it may be counted as coursework taken in residence. Transfer credit is awarded for work in an affiliated studies program. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary.

Upper-Division Courses

PSY 323. Perception.

PSY 323P. Perceptual Systems: Neurons, Behavior, and Evolution.

An introduction to perceptual systems, with an emphasis on perception in human and nonhuman primates. Subjects include the physics of perceptual stimuli, the neural processing of perceptual information, the performance of human and other primates in perceptual tasks, and the evolution of perceptual systems. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Psychology 323P and 341K (Topic: Perceptual Systems: Neurons/Behavior/Evolution) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: For psychology majors, upper-division standing and Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each; for others, upper-division standing, Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C, and one of the following with a grade of at least C: African and African Diaspora Studies 302M, Civil Engineering 311S, Economics 329, Educational Psychology 371, Electrical Engineering 351K, Government 350K, Mathematics 316, 362K, Mechanical Engineering 335, Psychology 317, Sociology 317L, Social Work 318, Statistics 309, Statistics and Data Sciences 301, Statistics and Data Sciences 302 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 302), 303 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 303), 304 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 304), 305 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 305), 306 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 306), 318 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 318), 321 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 321), 328M (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 328M).

PSY 323S. Sex Differences in Cognition and Perception.

Examination of facts, theories, and implications of sex differences in human cognition and perception. Subjects include genetic and hormonal origins of sex differences, structural differences in the body and brain, verbal abilities, spatial abilities, learning, memory, sensory-motor abilities, and the auditory, olfactory, visual, and other sensory systems. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Psychology 323S and 341K (Topic: Sex Differences in Cognition and Perception) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: For psychology majors, upper-division standing and Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each; for others, upper-division standing, Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C, and one of the following with a grade of at least C: African and African Diaspora Studies 302M, Civil Engineering 311S, Economics 329, Educational Psychology 371, Electrical Engineering 351K, Government 350K, Mathematics 316, 362K, Mechanical Engineering 335, Psychology 317, Sociology 317L, Social Work 318, Statistics 309, Statistics and Data Sciences 301, Statistics and Data Sciences 302 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 302), 303 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 303), 304 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 304), 305 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 305), 306 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 306), 318 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 318), 321 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 321), 328M (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 328M).

PSY 323V. Seeing and Acting in a Virtual World.

PSY 325K. Advanced Statistics.

PSY 326K. Principles of Conditioning and Learning.

PSY 129S, 229S, 329S, 429S, 529S, 629S, 729S, 829S, 929S. Topics in Psychology.

PSY 332. Behavioral Neuroscience.

PSY 332C. Hormones and Behavior.

PSY 332D. Human Brain Imaging in Psychology.

PSY 332M. The Neuroscience of Motivation and Reward.

PSY 333C. Controversial Issues in Development.

PSY 333D. Introduction to Developmental Psychology.

PSY 333E. Identity Formation.

PSY 333F. Fantasy and Reality.

PSY 333G. The Development of Attachment Relationship.

PSY 333M. Infant Development.

PSY 333N. Cognitive Development.

PSY 333P. Child Language.

PSY 333R. Social Development in Children.

PSY 333T. Adolescent Development.

PSY 333W. Moral Development.

PSY 334D. Psychology of Human Mating.

PSY 334E. Evolutionary Psychology.

PSY 337. Psychology of Language.

PSY 338K. Psychology of Reading.

PSY 339. Behavior Problems of Children.

PSY 340M. Industrial Psychology.

PSY 341K. Selected Topics in Psychology.

Topic 4: Health Psychology.
Topic 7: Epidemiology.
Topic 8: Learning and the Brain.
Topic 12: Personality Assessment. Theoretical and methodological issues involved in trying to understand and measure personality.
Topic 14: Robot Cognition.
Topic 15: History of Modern Psychology. A survey of the diverse roots of modern psychology, the competing schools that influenced psychology's development, and the perspectives that guide scholarship in present-day psychology. Psychology 341K (Topic 15) and 341K (Topic: History and Systems of Psychology) may not both be counted.
Topic 16: Psychology of Fundamentalism. Psychological research and theory on religious fundamentalism. Considers the nature of different forms of religious fundamentalism, and possible psychological mechanisms that motivate fundamentalism. Includes topics such as the development of fundamentalism, the movement from fundamentalism to terrorism, and fundamentalism and the family.
Topic 17: Psychology and Religion. An exploration of the psychological processes involved in religion. Discusses seminal psychological theories of religion, such as the work of James, Freud, Jung, and Maslow. Discussion of empirical work includes topics such as the development of religion across the life span, religious experience, conversion, and the effects of religion on mental and physical health.
Topic 18: Language and Thought.
Topic 19: Psychology of Literature. Delves into the relation between literature and psychological research. Addresses this relation in terms of character development, plot devices, and historical influences. Broadly explore why people are interested in reading literature that might be subjective or wholly fictional in nature. Explore the extent to which authors create characters that 'ring true' to what psychological science has learned about human nature and how this affects the reader's enjoyment of the literature. Psychology 341K (Topic: Psychology of Literature) and 341K (Topic 19) may not both be counted.

PSY 343K. Substance Abuse.

PSY 345. Individual Differences.

PSY 346K. Psychology of Sex.

PSY 350. Motivation.

PSY 352. Abnormal Psychology.

PSY 353K. Psychopharmacology.

PSY 355. Cognition.

PSY 355C. Development of Categories and Concepts.

PSY 355D. Animal Cognition.

PSY 355M. The Cognitive Psychology of Music.

PSY 355N. Cognitive Neuroscience.

PSY 355R. Reasoning and Decision Making.

PSY 357. Undergraduate Research.

Supervised research experience. Individual instruction. May not be counted toward a major in psychology. May be repeated for credit. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: At least thirty semester hours of college coursework, Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C, and consent of instructor.

PSY 458. Experimental Psychology.

Techniques of psychological research illustrated in a series of laboratory experiments. Two lecture hours and four laboratory hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing, Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each, and a University grade point average of at least 3.25.

PSY 158H. Honors Research Tutorial.

Enrollment restricted to students in the Psychology Honors Program. Individual instruction. May be repeated for credit. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing, Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each, and consent of the honors adviser.

PSY 359. Selected Topics: Readings: Tutorial.

Supervised reading in selected topics of significance; area of intensive study is chosen by the student in consultation with the instructor. Individual instruction. May not be counted toward a major in psychology. May be repeated for credit. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing, Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C, and consent of instructor.

PSY 359H. Honors Research I.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing, Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each, six semester hours of upper-division coursework in psychology, a grade point average of at least 3.50 in psychology courses taken at the University, a University grade point average of at least 3.25, and consent of the honors adviser.

PSY 364. Introduction to Clinical Psychology.

PSY 364M. Mental Illness and the Brain.

PSY 364P. Positive Psychology and the Good Life.

A survey of the emerging field of positive psychology, including assessment and determinants of well-being; human strengths and virtues; the good life considered from evolutionary, economic, sociological, and cross-cultural perspectives; and applications to issues such as social change. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Psychology 341K (Topic: Positive Psychology and the Good Life) and 364P may not both be counted. Prerequisite: For psychology majors, upper-division standing and Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each; for others, upper-division standing, Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C, and one of the following with a grade of at least C: African and African Diaspora Studies 302M, Civil Engineering 311S, Economics 329, Educational Psychology 371, Electrical Engineering 351K, Government 350K, Mathematics 316, 362K, Mechanical Engineering 335, Psychology 317, Sociology 317L, Social Work 318, Statistics 309, Statistics and Data Sciences 301, Statistics and Data Sciences 302 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 302), 303 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 303), 304 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 304), 305 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 305), 306 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 306), 318 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 318), 321 (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 321), 328M (or Statistics and Scientific Computation 328M).

PSY 364S. Human Sexuality.

PSY 364T. Multicultural Psychotherapy.

PSY 365E. Emotion.

PSY 365G. Gender and Racial Attitudes.

PSY 365L. Advanced Social Psychology.

PSY 371. Learning and Memory.

PSY 371R. Brain Mechanisms and Learning Theory Applied to Real World Scenarios.

PSY 373N. The Neurobiology of Attention.

PSY 377P, 677P. Undergraduate Practicum.

Field experience in applied psychology. Students are supervised by faculty members and by practitioners in community agencies. One lecture hour and ten or twenty hours of fieldwork a week for one semester. May not be counted toward a major in psychology. May be repeated for credit. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and consent of the practicum supervisor.

PSY 379H. Honors Research II.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing, Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each, Psychology 458 and 359H, and consent of the honors adviser.