Psychology Programs  

Psychology Courses  

Associate Professor Shafritz, Chairperson
Professors Dill, Kassinove, Levinthal, Metlay, Motta, O’Brien, Sanderson, Schare, Schmelkin, Serper, Tsytsarev, Valenti; Associate Professors Barnes, Cox, Flaton, Froh, Gilbert, Johnson, Liu, Masnick, Meller, Novak, Pineno, Ohr, Shafritz, Shahani-Denning, Shapiro, Shin, Weingartner; Assistant Professors Mills, Nolan, Ploran; Instructor Grossman

The Leo A. Guthart Distinguished Professorship in Teaching Excellence is held by Dr. Liora Pedhazur Schmelkin, Professor of Psychology. See

Psi Chi: a national psychology honor society; see Honors .

Psychology is the science of behavior and the physiological and cognitive processes associated with behavior. Psychology is also the profession that applies the science of behavior to practical problems. Human behavior can be understood from each of four broad theoretical perspectives. The biological perspective considers the evolutionary, neuroscientific, and biological processes that determine and shape our behavior. The cognitive perspective considers the role of the mind in behavior, including how we perceive and represent the world, learn and remember information, and solve problems. The developmental perspective considers how behavior and mental processes change across the lifespan. The social perspective considers the dynamic relationship between the individual and the social context in which behavior occurs. Psychology is an interdisciplinary scientific field that draws on theories, concepts, and methods of inquiry from neighboring natural science and social science disciplines. All inquiry in psychology is guided by the scientific method, a process of answering questions about behavior that involves forming theoretical explanations and testing those theories against real-world observations.