Psychology
What Should Psychology Majors Know?
By the time they graduate all majors in Psychology should have a clear understanding of how to navigate the system of information resources available at Smith. At the very least they should graduate from Smith with the ability to recognize and evaluate high quality research. We want to provide majors with the skills to track down relevant information on any topic of interest to them. Ideally this should include (1) the ability to locate information from professional data bases that abstract knowledge in psychology (such as PSYCINFO), (2) the ability to evaluate the quality of this information, and (3) the ability to effectively use this information for answering questions that might pertain to their own life-long learning or their ability to initiate independent research.
Writing Intensive Classes
Students who have taken writing intensive classes should already have the learned the following skills:
These skills may be regarded by all students as a base for further study. Help is available through the Neilson Library Reference Department's Ask a Librarian options.
Beginning Psychology Majors
First and second year psychology students will be introduced to basic information literacy skills.
Psychology Journals - Located in the Science Library |
Call Number |
---|---|
(The) American Psychologist | BF 1 .C87 |
Annual Review of Psychology (book) | BF 30 .A56 |
Current Directions in Psychological Science | BF 1 .A55 |
Psychological Bulletin | BF 1 .P75 |
Psychological Review | BF 1 .P7 |
Specialty Journals for Research Tracks in Psychology - Science Library |
|
---|---|
Mind and Brain: | Cognition; Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience; Journal of Neuroscience; Brain Research; Physiology and Behavior |
Health and Illness: | Health Psychology; Psychosomatic Medicine; Annals of Behavioral Medicine; Behaviour Research and Therapy; Behavior Therapy; Cognitive Therapy and Research; Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology |
Person and Society: | Journal of Personality; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; Journal of Social issues; Political Psychology; Psychology of Women Quarterly; Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Journal of Early Adolescence; Journal of Research on Adolescence |
Advanced Psychology Majors
In Which Classes Should Students Learn These Skills?
The Psychology Department incorporates information literacy into courses across levels; a sampling is below.
Breadth | Courses |
---|---|
Foundational | Psychology 100: Introduction to Psychology Psychology 120: Human Cognition Psychology 140: Health Psychology Psychology 150: Abnormal Psychology Psychology 165: Adult Development |
Intermediate | Psychology 201: Statistical Methods for Undergraduate Research Psychology 202: Introduction to Research Methods Psychology 213: Language Acquisition Psychology 215: Brain States Psychology 253: Developmental Psychopathology Psychology 266: Psychology of Women and Gender |
Advanced | Psychology 301: Advanced Research Design and Analysis Psychology 315: Autism Spectrum Disorders Psychology 326: Topics in Biopyschology - Behavioral Epigenetics Psychology 355: Seminar in the Scientific Basis of Psychotherapy Psychology 374: Research Seminar on Categorization and Intergroup Behavior |
In addition, as a scientific discipline, the psychology department works closely with students in conducting original empirical research. Students may work in faculty labs or, with faculty approval, initiate an independent research project. In both of these instances students are routinely asked to conduct literature searches in order to contribute to the research enterprise. Students who work with faculty on research often enroll in Psychology 400 (Special Studies) or Psychology 432d (Honors Thesis). In recent years approximately 70 psychology students a year work with faculty in their labs. Finally, many of our other introductory (100-level) and intermediate (200-level) courses require a review of some part of the psychology literature to complete written assignments (e.g., a scientific literature review on a topic relevant for each particular course).
Ethical Issues
Students must learn how to make clear distinctions between received knowledge and the production of new knowledge. The ethical use of information means that students must be able to acknowledge when they incorporate the work of others into their own work. Therefore, every written or oral production in the discipline must clearly state its sources. This ethical issue will be enforced in all psychology courses at Smith College.
June 10, 2014