A review of the interplay of psychosocial and biological processes in the development of stress and emotion regulation. Theory and research on infant attachment, mutual regulation, gender differences in emotionality, neurobiology of the parent-infant relationship, and the impact of socialization and parenting on the development of infant stress and emotion.

This advanced course in developmental psychology explores selected topics in childhood and adolescent development during school age (age 4 through age 18). Topics covered include: cognitive, social, emotional, linguistic, moral, perceptual, identity, and motor development, as well as current issues in the field as identified by the instructor.

This course will examine research and theory on the evolution and development of social behaviour and social cognition with a focus on social instincts, such as empathy, altruism, morality, emotion, friendship, and cooperation. This will include a discussion of some of the key controversies in the science of social development from the second half of the nineteenth century to today.

This course will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the biological, cognitive, and social factors that shape emotional development in infancy and childhood. Topics covered will include theories of emotional development, the acquisition of emotion concepts, the role of family and culture in emotional development, the development of emotion regulation, and atypical emotional development. Through learning influential theories, cutting-edge methods, and the latest research findings, students will gain an in-depth understanding of the fundamental aspects of emotional development.

This course is intended to advance students' understanding of contemporary personality theory and research. Emerging challenges and controversies in the areas of personality structure, dynamics, and development will be discussed.

The clinical practice of neuropsychological assessment is an applied science that is concerned with the behavioural expression of personality, emotional, somatic and, or brain dysfunction with an emphasis on how diversity (e.g., cultural, racial, gender, sexuality, class, religion, other aspects of identity and the intersections among these), can further mediate this relationship. The clinical neuropsychologist uses standardized tests to objectively describe the breadth, severity and veracity of emotional, cognitive, behavioral and intellectual functioning. Inferences are made on the basis of accumulated research. The clinical neuropsychologist interprets every aspect of the examination (both quantitative and qualitative components) to ascertain the relative emotional, cognitive, behavioural and intellectual strengths and weaknesses of a patient with suspected or known (neuro)psychopathology. Findings from a neuropsychological examination can be used to make diagnoses, inform rehabilitation strategies, and direct various aspects of patient care. In this course, we will comprehensively explore the science and applied practice of neuropsychological assessment.

The philosopher Aristotle proposed long ago that a good life consists of two core elements: happiness (hedonia) and a sense of meaning (eudaimonia). What is happiness and meaning, and how do they relate to psychological wellbeing? How do these desired states or traits change across life, and can they be developed with specific interventions? What roles do self-perception and social relationships play in these phenomena? We will focus on the conceptual, methodological, and philosophical issues underlying these questions.

This course will provide students with an introduction to prominent behavioural change theories (i.e. psychodynamic, cognitive/behavioural, humanist/existential) as well as empirical evidence on their efficacy. The role of the therapist, the patient and the processes involved in psychotherapy in producing positive outcomes will be explored.

This course deals with conceptual issues and practical problems of identification, assessment, and treatment of mental disorders and their psychological symptomatology. Students have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the psychological tests and the normative data used in mental health assessments. Lectures and demonstrations on test administration and interpretation will be provided.

This course will provide an advanced understanding of the etiology, psychopathology, and treatment of common mental disorders in adults. Theory and research will be discussed emphasizing biological, psychological, and social domains of functioning. Cultural influences in the presentation of psychopathology will also be discussed.

This course focuses on the application of psychology to the law, particularly criminal law including cognitive, neuropsychological and personality applications to fitness to stand trial, criminal responsibility, risk for violent and sexual recidivism and civil forensic psychology.

This course examines advanced cognitive functions through a cognitive psychology lens. Topics covered include: thinking, reasoning, decision-making, problem-solving, creativity, and consciousness.

This course will provide an in-depth examination of research in the field of visual cognitive neuroscience. Topics will include the visual perception of object features (shape, colour, texture), the perception of high-level categories (objects, faces, bodies, scenes), visual attention, and comparisons between the human and monkey visual systems.

This course is about understanding how the human brain collects information from the environment so as to perceive it and to interact with it. The first section of the course will look into the neural and cognitive mechanisms that perceptual systems use to extract important information from the environment. Section two will focus on how attention prioritizes information for action. Additional topics concern daily life applications of attentional research.

An exploration of how the brain supports different forms of memory, drawing on evidence from electrophysiological, patient neuropsychological and neuroimaging research. Topics include short-term working memory, general knowledge of the world (semantic memory), implicit memory, and memory for personally experienced events (episodic memory).

This course provides an overview of the cognitive and neural processes that underlie humans’ auditory abilities. Core topics include psychoacoustics, the auditory cortex and its interconnectedness to other brain structures, auditory scene analysis, as well as special topics such as auditory disorders. Insights into these different topics will be provided from research using behavioural, neuroimaging, computational, and neuropsychological techniques.

Studies the perceptual and cognitive processing involved in musical perception and performance. This class acquaints students with the basic concepts and issues involved in the understanding of musical passages. Topics will include discussion of the physical and psychological dimensions of sound, elementary music theory, pitch perception and melodic organization, the perception of rhythm and time, musical memory, musical performance, and emotion and meaning in music.

This course will introduce students to current understanding, and ongoing debates, about how the brain makes both simple and complex decisions. Findings from single-cell neurophysiology, functional neuroimaging, and computational modeling will be used to illuminate fundamental aspects of choice, including reward prediction, value representation, action selection, and self-control.

This course provides an overview of the cognitive and neural processes and representations that underlie language abilities. Core topics include first language acquisition, second language acquisition and bilingualism, speech comprehension, and reading. Insights into these different abilities will be provided from research using behavioural, neuroimaging, computational, and neuropsychological techniques.

An examination of behavioural and neurobiological mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of drug dependence. Topics will include principles of behavioural pharmacology and pharmacokinetics, neurobiological mechanisms of drug action, and psychotropic drug classification. In addition, concepts of physical and psychological dependence, tolerance, sensitization, and reinforcement and aversion will also be covered.

The course focuses on methodological skills integral to becoming a producer of psychological research. Students will learn how to identify knowledge gaps in the literature, to use conceptual models to visualize hypothetical relationships, to select a research design most appropriate for their questions, and to interpret more complex patterns of data.

Introduces conceptual and practical issues concerning research in social psychology, and provides experience with several different types of research.
This course is designed to consider in depth various research approaches used in social psychology (such as attitude questionnaires, observational methods for studying ongoing social interaction). Discussion and laboratory work.

This course introduces conceptual and practical issues concerning research in developmental psychology. Developmental psychology focuses on the process of change within and across different phases of the life-span. Reflecting the broad range of topics in this area, there are diverse research methods, including techniques for studying infant behaviour as well as procedures for studying development in children, adolescents, and adults. This course will cover a representative sample of some of these approaches.

A widespread survey on techniques derived from clinical psychology interventions and wellness and resilience research paired with the applied practice and implementation of those techniques designed specifically for students in the Specialist (Co-op) program in Mental Health Studies. Students will attend a lecture reviewing the research and details of each technique/topic. The laboratory component will consist of interactive, hands-on experience in close group settings with a number of techniques related to emotion, stress, wellness, and resilience. These are specifically tailored for university student populations.

In this course students will be introduced to the study of human movement across a range of topics (e.g., eye-movements, balance, and walking), and will have the opportunity to collect and analyze human movement data. Additional topics include basic aspects of experimental designs, data analysis and interpretation of such data.

This course introduces conceptual and practical issues concerning research in cognitive psychology. Students will be introduced to current research methods through a series of practical exercises conducted on computers. By the end of the course, students will be able to program experiments, manipulate data files, and conduct basic data analyses.

The course introduces brain imaging techniques, focusing on techniques such as high-density electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), together with magnet-resonance-imaging-based neuronavigation. Furthermore, the course will introduce eye movement recordings as a behavioural measure often co-registered in imaging studies. Students will learn core principles of experimental designs, data analysis and interpretation in a hands-on manner.

This course will introduce students to a variety of topics in psychology as they relate to climate change and the psychological study of sustainable human behaviour. Topics covered will include the threats of a changing environment to mental health and wellbeing; the development of coping mechanisms and resilience for individuals and communities affected negatively by climate change and a changing environment; perceptions of risk, and how beliefs and attitudes are developed, maintained, and updated; effective principles for communicating about climate change and sustainable behaviour; how social identity affects experiences and perceptions of a changing environment; empirically validated methods for promoting pro-environmental behaviour; and how, when required, we can best motivate people to action.

A survey of developments in Western philosophy and science which influenced the emergence of modern psychology in the second half of the Nineteenth Century. Three basic problems are considered: mind-body, epistemology (science of knowledge), and behaviour/motivation/ethics. We begin with the ancient Greek philosophers, and then consider the contributions of European scholars from the Fifteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. Twentieth Century schools are discussed including: psychoanalysis, functionalism, structuralism, gestalt, behaviourism, and phenomenology.

The concept of the unconscious mind has been integral to our understanding of human behavior ever since Freud introduced the concept in 1915. In this course, we will survey the history of the concept of the unconscious and discuss contemporary theory and research into the nature of the unconscious. Topics such as implicit cognition, non-conscious learning, decision-making, and measurement of non-conscious processes will be discussed from social, cognitive, clinical, and neuroscience perspectives. We will explore the applications and implications of such current research on the unconscious mind for individuals, culture, and society.