Areas of Concentration

Students are required to complete a concentration requirement in one of the four areas listed below. As described on the major requirements page, this involves taking at least two 100-level or above classes in one of the areas where the introduction/survey class was taken. An overview of the different concentration areas is provided below.

The human brain may be the most sophisticated machine in the universe. This exceptionally compact device is responsible for virtually all behavioral and mental achievement, from the criminal to the sublime. Brain research, often called "the last frontier," has accelerated in recent years, and it has begun to reveal remarkable insight into memory, perception, emotion and an array of other behavioral and mental processes.

The human brain is the centerpiece of a biological approach to behavior, but its role must be understood within the broad context of its evolution, and of the forces that shape it during an individual's development. Moreover, one must appreciate its relationship to other aspects of physiology, such as the endocrine and immune systems. The courses in this track have been designed to provide this broad perspective on the brain and behavior. The initial course is PSY 91, which is also a core course in the concentration in the Neurosciences. http://unp.aas.duke.edu/ .

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is the study of what people and animals know and do. Relying on experimental evidence, models and theory, it studies how people and animals attend, learn, perceive, reason, and remember, and it examines how people in particular solve problems and use concepts, images, language and other modes of representation.

PSY 92 introduces the major topics. Subsequent courses focus on specific issues (perception, memory, reasoning, and language development, etc.) and on the research and modeling methods used to address them. Faculty research interests include sensory capabilities (audition, vision, taste, smell, touch), perception and perceptual coding, stimulus definition, mental representation, psycholinguistics, cognitive aspects of aging, individual differences in cognition, and perceptual and cognitive development.

Students can receive training in these general areas as well as in such specific issues as autobiographical memory, memory for rhyme and prose, categorization, imagery, specific learning, memory expert/novice differences, everyday cognition, and differences in perception by infant, children, adults and the aged.

Developmental Psychology

The developmental track emphasizes development across age. It encompasses a broad review that includes biological, cognitive, emotional, and social processes as they develop across infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. It includes such diverse areas as the development of sensory and motor systems, the development of children's thinking and reasoning, and the development of social behavior in families, peer groups, and social institutions. Theoretical orientations represented are also diverse and range from views of human and animal development that emphasize biological evolution, to those that stress social learning or the organization of mental structures. See the Bulletin about the multi disciplinary undergraduate certificate programs in Human Development and Early Childhood Studies.

Personality/Social Psychology

The courses in this area are designed to take account of recent research and conceptual advances as well as historical approaches to the timeless questions of human character and human behavior. These courses, beginning with PSY 99, introduce the student to methods and concepts for understanding the personalities of children and adults, the behaviors of individuals and groups under varying conditions, and the deviant behaviors manifested by persons and groups designated as psychopathological. The courses are designed to raise and consider issues pertaining to such questions as the following: What constitutional and environmental factors are important for "normal" as well as optimal development and functioning? How do environmental factors influence socialization and conformity with the norms of the society? What are the characteristics of psychologically problematic and psychopathological behavior? What methods are currently used to assess such problem behaviors and what techniques are applied to alleviate them? While the track courses are available to all students, they will be especially relevant and valuable for those who aspire to advanced study of clinical, social or personality psychology, or for those whose career plans involve a people-centered vocation or profession.

Our department does not have the resources to provide all students with formal opportunities to work with individuals and groups classed as psychopathological. However, many volunteer opportunities are available in Durham and surrounding communities. Several student groups and local agencies help coordinate these opportunities.