Applied Psychology (APSY-UE)

Introduction to the fundamental principles of psychology, emphasizing both the unity & the diversity of a field that spans major theoretical & research areas, including biological bases of human behavior, learning, development, motivation, & social and abnormal behavior. Links between theory & classic as well as contemporary research are a recurrent theme. Liberal Arts Core/MAP Equivalent - satisfies the requirement for Society & the Social Sciences

Focuses on understanding people in their social contexts; integrates social action & psychological research in culturally diverse contexts; introduces community psychology & perspectives on intervention & social change; & considers how contexts are powerful in shaping a human behavior.

A comprehensive overview of human development from conception through adolescence. Theories of developmental psychology are related to research findings, & implications are drawn for practical issues. Liberal Arts Core/CORE Equivalent - satisfies the requirement for Society & Social Sciences

Social psychology concepts, theories, & research & their relation to educational problems. Concepts treated are attitudes, values, roles, norms, communication, conformity; areas emphasized are group processes & influence, social motivation, prejudice, & authoritarianism. Liberal Arts Core/CORE-MAP Equivalent - satisfies the requirement for Society & the Social Sciences

Consideration of the major theories of personality. The work of various theorists is discussed as it relates to personality development through the life span. Liberal Arts Core/CORE Equivalent - satisfies the requirement for Society & Social Sciences

Introduction to research and theory of human development across the life span. Seminal theories & basic research of individual growth & development are analyzed & critiqued. Emphasis is on the range in human development with discussion of normative & non-normative development. Emphasis is also placed on the importance of understanding the influence of normative & non-normative contexts of development, including the impact of culture, heritage, socioeconomic level, personal health, & safety. Relations between home, school, & community and their impact on development are also explored via readings, lectures, discussions, & weekly observations in the field. Interrogation of implicit folk theories as a foundation for exploration of formal knowledge of human development.

Further analysis of research findings & theories of human development focusing on early childhood, & applied across various institutional contexts. Important issues include: language development, assessment of readiness to learn, separation from the family, peer relationships, aesthetic experiences. Developmentally appropriate consideration of abusive & dangerous environments, & of alcohol, tobacco & drug use will also be included. Direct application of theory & research is made through field-based inquiry & issue-based investigation.

Further analysis of research findings & theories of human development focusing on childhood, & applied across various institutional contexts. Important issues include: numeric competence, assessment of reading problems, gender differences in learning styles. Developmentally appropriate consideration of abusive & dangerous environments, & of alcohol, tobacco, & drug use will also be included. Direct application of theory & research is made through field-based inquiry & issue-based investigation.

Further analysis of research findings & theories of human development focusing on early through late adolescence & applied across various institutional contexts. Important issues include puberty, cross-gender peer relations, preventing risky behaviors, understanding & mastering test-based graduation requirements, transition to work/college, identity development, depression, & aggression. Developmentally appropriate consideration of abusive & dangerous environments & of alcohol, tobacco, & drug use is also included. Direct application of theory & research is made through field-based inquiry & issue-based investigation.

Overview of diverse research designs & essential components of research methods, including: formulation of questions & hypotheses, identification of variables & operational definitions, sampling, data collection, & basic statistical & psychometric techniques. Students learn the basic elements & logic of social science research & develop a conceptual understanding of statistical & psychometric techniques.

This course is an introduction to the science of human connection and its promise for advancing solutions to our most pressing societal problems. The science of human connection incorporates a wide range of disciplines including developmental and social psychology, neuroscience, primatology, and the health sciences to reveal: 1) the social and emotional nature of humans; 2) how particular cultural values and beliefs disrupt our social and emotional capacities and needs and; 3) the implications for understanding the roots of our problems and how to solve them. Liberal Arts Core/MAP Equivalent - satisfies the requirement for Societies and Social Sciences

This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to gain or enhance their knowledge in psychology by exploring an area of their interest under the guidance of a full-time professor. Students may enroll in credit-bearing, paid or unpaid internship work directly related to their major field of study under the guidance of an NYU full-time professor through an independent study. Only students who have successfully completed the Seminar sequence (APSY-UE 1124 and 1125) will be considered eligible to use internship work to satisfy an independent study.

Experiential course providing an overview of counseling techniques, focusing on the interview as an interactional process.

This course trains students in the practice of transformative interviewing and analysis, a method used to disrupt stereotyping and to foster connection. This tool is based on the science of human connection that tells a five-part story of who we are as humans, how stereotypes get in the way and cause a crisis of connection, the consequences of the crisis, and the solutions. Transformative interviewing is a solution to the crisis of connection. Through readings, discussion and practice, students learn the transformative interviewing method.

Overview of major areas in psychology that are critical to education; discussion of concepts & principles fundamental to the learning process & their application to teaching.

Overview of the conditions facing immigrant-origin and displaced children and youth in the U.S. and globally. Emphasis is placed on the experiences of children and youth in the contexts of family, school, social networks, and community in different countries and cultural environments. Discussion includes family- to policy-level interventions to improve the developmental potential of children and youth from immigrant families.

A historical analysis of mental health viewed within a changing social & political context. Special attention given to the changing notions of mental health. Applications to different populations & symptoms &, as a corollary, changing notions of intervention.

Overview of psychological theoretical frameworks, concepts, strategies & tactics of intervention & social change at different levels of analysis. Emphasis is placed on designing & implementing social change interventions in the domains of environmental behavior, poverty, inequality, health, education, conflict & peace, collective action & social movements.

Musicians are increasingly writing about experiences with mental health difficulties, such as posttraumatic stress, suicidal ideation, and psychosis. Their vulnerability in song can help listeners feel less alone and can reduce stigma in talking about mental health issues and accessing treatment. In this course, students examine songs from diverse artists and genres to explore how music can provide a unique understanding of mental health issues by emphasizing lived experience and open and honest expression.

Theories, conceptions, & descriptions of psychopathology with an emphasis on the interrelationship of diagnosis & treatment, theories of symptoms formation, & criteria of normality.

Focuses on the psychology of women & their mental health throughout the life cycle. Topics include socialization & gender, feminist theory & therapy, as well as high prevalence of disorders which occur in girls & women.

Critical examinations of the ways that cultures have shaped major theoretical perspectives, diagnoses, & practices in psychology. Various perspectives that consider race/ethnicity, gender, social class, & language use, are explored.

Examines concepts associated with sexual orientation, gender identity and LGBTQA+ development and discusses interventions to support LGBTQA+ individuals across the lifespan. Explores various health and mental health issues, including issues around oppression, intersectionality, discrimination and heteronormativity, as well as LGBTQA+ history, advocacy and culture.

Students learn to draw connections between their practical experience in the field & psychological literature . The course also introduces students to professional practice and to ethical guidelines protecting human research participants. A minimum of 8 hours of supervised fieldwork experience per week is required, students must attend supervision seminars.

Students explore in greater depth the connections between practice, theory & research through a semester-long independent project. A minimum of 8 hours of supervised fieldwork experience per week is requires; students must attend supervision groups.

In-depth look at specific quantitative & qualitative methodologies in the social sciences discussed & application of methodological understanding gained in previous research methods course, including: developing skills in coding & analyzing data, assessing & improving reliability of measures, & presenting results. Students also learn about special problems of design & measurement when research extends beyond the individual.

Exposes students to approaches to research in diverse settings in the field of Applied Psychology. Students begin developing ideas for independent research. Through scaffolded experiences, lectures, discussions, guest speakers, research lab visits, and readings, students develop and articulate goals for engaging in independent research, identify types of mentorship and ways to integrate their own goals for research with the work of a potential mentor, and begin to formulate ideas for their research proposals.

Examination of learning processes, covering major theories, related research & practical implications. Learning is discussed from a developmental perspective, highlighting its relation to cognition, social, and emotion.

This course will introduce students to issues in the design, implementation & evaluation of social interventions aimed at addressing social problems such as delinquency, lags in early learning, youth unemployment, poverty & its effects on human development, & so on. Students will become familiar with a range of problems & programs, and will study one program in depth across the semester with a small team of classmates.

Discussion of human growth across the lifespan; multiple contexts in which development unfolds are explored & implications for practice are considered.

Physical, intellectual, social, & psychosexual of adolescent development. Attention to youth from diverse racial/ethnic & sociocultural backgrounds. Applications & implications for schooling & for prevention & intervention programs directed at psychosocial problems in adolescence are discussed.

This course shines a bright light on racial inequality in the United States by focusing on structural disparities in key areas of American life: Income, wealth and employment; the right to vote, health and wellbeing, education and juvenile justice. Vanguard leaders from across NYU and across fields of Law, Public Health and Allied Health fields, Education, Social Work, and Public Policy provide insights on key scholarly and community-based frameworks they use to confront problems of inequality in the United States. They share their expertise in designing and implementing policy solutions that offer the promise of a more equitable future.

Adopting an ecological approach that emphasizes that #ContextMatters, we explore the theoretical foundations and methodological approaches to studying the development of African American children; the role of contextual influences (specifically, family, school, neighborhood, culture) on children’s learning and developmental processes; and apply research on African American children and families to larger social and/or policy issues. Class includes a visit to the chomburg Center and the curation of an African American Children and Families Museum.

Examination of the complex relationships between family & school systems, with a special focus on low-income urban communities as they relate to child development. Topics explore the roles culture, immigration, & racial/ethnic diversity play in establishing effective partnerships between families & schools.

Examination of key issues facing families & governments in raising children for a 21st century global society. Topics might include: economics & politics affecting child well-being nationally & internationally; child-rearing challenges faced by families & government in low, middle, & high income nations, public (government) & private (family, business and charitable); the role of science & participatory/democratic processes in increasing the effectiveness of public & private investments in children.

Examination of parenting views & practice across socio-cultural groups, discussion of similarities & differences in parenting around the globe, how parenting changes over the life course of the child, & how parenting shapes children’s development.

Examination of group dynamics through reading, lecture, discussion, & participation in small experiential groups. Discussion of the processes that occur in the development of groups.

An examination of the ways in which culture & context shape counselor & client identities & their cross-cultural encounters. Topics include individual identities & systems of societal privilege & oppression associated with gender & sexuality, race/ethnicity, disabilities, class, religion, & other forms of cultural influences. The course also focuses on effective strategies for navigating cross-cultural relationships in helping professions.

A year-long seminar sequence intended only for students in the honors program in applied psychology. The seminars have three main objectives: (a) to provide a forum where students engage in serious intellectual discussion about the process of research, (b) to provide guidance and structure to students in the process of conducting their independent research studies, & (c) to prepare students for presentation of their senior thesis & oral examination. All honor students must have a research mentor & an approved research project prior to registering for the course.

Seminar course of students in the Honors Program in Applied Psychology. The course has three main objectives: (a) provide a forum where students engage in a serious intellectual discussion about the process of research, (b) to provide guidance & structure to students in the process of conducting their independent research studies, & (c) prepare students for presentation of senior thesis & oral examination. All honors students must have a research mentor & approved research project prior to registering for this course.

Community psychology focuses on the application of psychological theory, concepts and knowledge to address the needs, concerns and aspirations of communities. Specifically, community psychology is concerned with person environment interactions and the ways in which society impacts on individual and community functioning. Community psychology adopts a collectivist paradigm in understanding behaviour and in applying relevant methods and techniques. This course will introduce students to the field of community psychology with emphasis on theory and methods of community psychology within the context of the psycho-social needs of the Ghanaian society. Topics include: the history of community psychology; doing community research; prevention and health promotion; interventions and program evaluation; community mental health, understanding communities and social and community change.

This course is designed to give students a comprehensive overview of developmental psychology following a chronological approach. The course covers major theories and research findings on human development, and provides students with the opportunity to appreciate the practical significance of sound theory and research. The course has two distinguishing features: (1) a cross-cultural focus and, (2) an applied emphasis. By the end of the semester, students will be able to: (a) summarize the major theories, concepts and research methods in developmental psychology, especially as these relate to the study of child development in different contexts, (b) identify basic developmental processes and milestones, and (c) apply developmental concepts to real life situations through the observation of children in their natural settings.

Introduction to research and theory of human development across the life span. Seminal theories & basic research of individual growth & development are analyzed & critiqued. Emphasis is on the range in human development with discussion of normative & non-normative development. Emphasis is also placed on the importance of understanding the influence of normative & non-normative contexts of development, including the impact of culture, heritage, socioeconomic level, personal health, & safety. Relations between home, school, & community and their impact on development are also explored via readings, lectures, discussions, & weekly observations in the field. Interrogation of implicit folk theories as a foundation for exploration of formal knowledge of human development.

Further analysis of research findings & theories of human development focusing on early childhood, & applied across various institutional contexts. Important issues include: language development, assessment of readiness to learn, separation from the family, peer relationships, aesthetic experiences. Developmentally appropriate consideration of abusive & dangerous environments, & of alcohol, tobacco & drug use will also be included. Direct application of theory & research is made through field-based inquiry & issue-based investigation.

Further analysis of research findings & theories of human development focusing on childhood, & applied across various institutional contexts. Important issues include: numeric competence, assessment of reading problems, gender differences in learning styles. Developmentally appropriate consideration of abusive & dangerous environments, & of alcohol, tobacco, & drug use will also be included. Direct application of theory & research is made through field-based inquiry & issue-based investigation.

Further analysis of research findings & theories of human development focusing on early through late adolescence & applied across various institutional contexts. Important issues include puberty, cross-gender peer relations, preventing risky behaviors, understanding & mastering test-based graduation requirements, transition to work/college, identity development, depression, & aggression. Developmentally appropriate consideration of abusive & dangerous environments & of alcohol, tobacco, & drug use is also included. Direct application of theory & research is made through field-based inquiry & issue-based investigation.

This course aims to examine the psychological and socio-cultural outcomes of “othering”. We analyze the function and role of “othering” from the perspective of those who are often placed in the position of being “the other” and those who hold authority to label “other”

An examination of the ways in which culture and context shape counselor and client identities and their cross-cultural encounters. Topics include individual identities and systems of societal privilege and oppression associated with gender and sexuality, race/ethnicity, disabilities, class, religion, and other forms of cultural influences. The course also focuses on effective strategies for navigating cross-cultural relationships in helping professions.