Courses

An advanced study of the motivational and emotional processes that influence complex human thought and behavior. Concepts will be explored from historical, biological, environmental/learning, and psychological perspectives and applied to real-world situations.

The need for and purpose of psychology in sport and physical activity. An examination of the research focusing on psychological and social psychological factors influencing athletic and motor performance.

An historical and thematic overview of the cognitive science of religion, introducing students to major figures, themes, methods, models, and results from the discipline. A major emphasis is understanding cognitive processes important for sustaining belief in supernatural agents, afterlife beliefs, prayer, and rituals. Students will also investigate the philosophical implications of the scientific data, connecting the cognitive science of religion to issues such as the rationality of religious belief and the lived experience of religious believers.

A thematic overview of evolutionary psychology, introducing students to applications of an evolutionary framework to various aspects of human thought and behavior. Topics surveyed include origins, sex, group cooperation, morality, religion, and cultural group selection. Students will also investigate broader social and philosophical implications of the scientific data, connecting evolutionary psychology to issues such as moral decision making and perspectives on the human person.

This course will introduce students to various traditions of qualitative social inquiry and their associated methodological features. Emphasis will be placed on the practical application of these traditions of inquiry as their associated methods of data collection and analysis are applied in a range of research settings.

An examination of selected issues, theories, or topics within the field of psychology.

This travel studies course explores the historical and cultural contexts that influenced the founders of psychoanalytic and logotherapy psychologies. Specifically, this course examines the zeitgeist of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Viktor Frankl and how the intellectual climate of their time influenced their theories. The existing political, social, religious, and economic forces - including racial discrimination and war - will be studied within the localities that these psychologists lived and practiced to understand the global and European context for psychological thinking and social engagement. This is an experiential group based course where interaction with the various presentations and encounters are processed throughout each day with debriefing and feedback sessions. Engaging the intensity of the experience (e.g. Dachau, Frankl & Jungian Institutes etc.) enables a deeper connection and learning of the social context and the dynamics of racism and global issues.

Historical roots of modern psychology. Major systems of thought within the discipline in the context of a Christian view of humans and the world.

This course examines the notion of spirituality in light of the psychological theories of Jung, Frankl, Maslow, May, Fromm; contemporary trans-personal psychologists; and Christianity, as well as several Eastern religions. Includes the exploration of spiritual themes such as suffering, surrender and relinquishment, forgiveness, love and unity, ecstasy and peak experience, mysticism and sacredness, creativity, meaning, meditation and serenity, authenticity and truth, and birth and death.