Courses

Below are a selection of commonly offered psychology courses at QCC. 

Introduction to Psychology - PSY 101
In this survey course, the student becomes aware of and appreciates the various influences upon behavior. The topics covered include, but are not limited to, the nervous system, sensation and perception, motivation, learning, emotion, and personality. Through an investigation of these areas, within a multiplicity of cultural contexts, the student understands the diversity of the human condition.

Survey of Lifespan Development - PSY 121
This course examines the span of human development from conception to death. Students explore the processes that occur throughout the life stages, the continuity of the life span, and general development and its surrounding issues and events. Students acquire accepted vocabulary for this area of study and relate course topics to their own lives.

Human Development I: Conception - Adolescence - PSY 123
This course surveys human development from conception through the middle years. Topics include the central issues of biological, psychological, sociological, and cognitive development. Students explore the theories of Freud, Erikson, Piaget, and others. Students examine both stage and behavioristic approaches of viewing human development; the interaction between physical and psychological growth; the relationships and differences between the developing child and societal settings; and cross-cultural research.

Human Development II: Adolescence - PSY 124
This course covers the adolescent years and stresses biological, psychological, sociological, and cognitive development. Topics include the adolescent in present-day society and important psychological and sociocultural factors and theories that explain adolescent development. Students examine several theories relating adolescent growth and development. 

Human Sexuality - PSY 142
This course covers social, cultural, and psychological perspectives of human sexuality. Students explore differences related to gender role formation, sexual orientation, sexual attraction, premarital sex, teenage pregnancy, sexually-transmitted diseases, and other related topics within a context of multicultural diversity. Students study specific topics of human sexuality and the research and the professionals in that field. Students examine their own values, beliefs, and behaviors with respect to these topics, and establish ways of applying this information to their own sexuality. 

Human Relations in Organizations - PSY 158
This course examines the nature of organizations to facilitate students’ entry into, and success within, organizational settings. Topics include the factors that influence individual behavior in organizations and the interrelationships between psychological and other social sciences. Students learn how these sciences contribute to overall organizational experiences and self-development. They examine types of organizations, effective motivational techniques, communication essentials, team development, and leadership practices. Students also examine global and multicultural influences that contributing to the nature of organizations and organizational success. 

Introduction to Counseling - PSY ​231
This course provides an overview of the major theoretical approaches to conducting counseling and psychotherapy. Students critically examine the theories and research as it applies to counseling and psychotherapy. Topics include the basic skills necessary to be an effective counselor; assessment, goal setting and intervention; ethics; diversity; and self-awareness as a beginning professional. Students learn beginning counseling skills and develop an appreciation of the current and relevant issues in the field. 

Psychological Statistics - PSY 250
This course covers how quantitative methods are used to answer questions in psychology. Students examine psychological applications of measures of central tendency, measures of variability, and standardization of scores (z-scores). Students learn to conduct, interpret, and report effect sizes and significance testing for comparing means (t-tests and ANOVAs with one and two factors), assessing relationships (bivariate correlation and regression), and comparing frequencies based on nominal data (chi-squared) within research scenarios commonly encountered in psychology. Additionally, students are introduced to advanced statistical techniques used in psychology such as reliability analysis, factor analysis and path analysis. Special attention is given to identifying the appropriate statistics to use for a given research question and data set, to ethical issues in data analysis, and to the use of statistical software. 

Research Methods in Psychology - PSY 251
Through instruction in research design and the application of the scientific method to psychology, students learn to evaluate the validity of claims about behavior and mental processes as they appear in both popular media and the professional scientific literature, to design and conduct psychological research, and to report on the results of psychological investigations using APA style. Topics covered include measurement and validity, ethics, survey research, correlational research, experiments with one and with multiple independent variables, identification and control of confounds, and quasi-experiments. Students conduct hands-on psychological studies involving appropriate statistical analyses that will be written up as APA style reports. 

Introduction to Cognition - PSY 252
This course serves as an introduction to the field of cognitive psychology, familiarizing students with theories and research regarding learning, memory, and thinking. Topics include: the history and foundations of cognitive psychology; neural bases; learning, memory and knowledge; language; reasoning and problem-solving; social and emotional influences, and changes in cognition across the lifespan.

Social Psychology - PSY 253
This course introduces students to the scientific study of how humans influence, relate to, and think about each other as practiced in social psychology. Major topics covered include social cognition, attributions, the self, attitudes and persuasion, conformity, group dynamics, interpersonal relationships, helping behavior, aggression, and prejudice. Themes emphasized throughout the course include the role of culture in influencing social psychological phenomena, the application of the scientific method to the study of social behavior, and the use of social psychological theories to better understand behavior encountered in daily life and in the world around us. 

Theories of Personality - PSY 261
This course introduces personality theories and theorists, definitions of personality, development and structure of personality, motivation, and concepts of self. Students examine various theories of structure and development of personality, human motivation, concepts of self, and the mature personality as proposed by Freud, Skinner, Jung, Fromm, Allport, Rogers, Frankl, and Perls.

Abnormal Psychology - PSY ​262
This course focuses on issues of mental health and mental illness. Topics include examination of various symptoms and causes of mental illness, current trends in treatment, and new developments in community health resources. Students explore the various approaches used to define and treat abnormal behaviors, including the statistical and absolute models, in order to understand and adopt a sensitive approach toward individuals whose behaviors are symptomatic of a disorder. 

Chemical Dependency - PSY 273
This course covers the biological, psychological, and social factors involved in licit and illicit drug use and abuse. Students examine the types of drugs most commonly used and abused; psychosocial consequences of prolonged drug use and abuse; Federal, state, and local regulations governing drug use; efforts made to deal with drug use and abuse and drug related problems; and the nature and varied patterns of drug use and abuse in today's society. The course emphasizes types of drug treatment and counseling and the probable effects of different treatments upon the drug-dependent client. 

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