Course Search

This course examines current and historical ways of understanding, approaching, and treating various forms of psychological suffering, framed as psychological/psychiatric diagnoses.  Particular emphasis is given to evolving diagnostic constructs and distinguishing between professional diagnoses and popular culture understandings of psychopathology.

The primary learning objectives of the course are: 1. Familiarize the students with the phenomenology of various psychological disorders by understanding their etiology and theoretical explanation.2. Contribute to the student’s knowledge base of psychology by examining and discussing individual differences of cases, and by understanding the operational definitions of Axis I & II disorders, and multi-axis diagnoses. 3. Develop research skills (database usage & information literacy) and communication skills (effective writing in APA format & oral communication).Lectures on the development and diagnosis of various psychological disorders, in conjunction with case discussions and videos, will paint a well-rounded picture of etiological and contemporary facets of psychopathology. Assigned pre-class readings should foster critical and integrative thinking, with expectations of the students to bring in prepared questions and items for discussion. The student will learn, from the final paper, how to integrate class readings/lectures/discussions and psychological research into a cohesive and explanatory paper on any disorder found in the DSM-IV-TR.

*The learning goals displayed here are those for one section of this course as offered in a recent semester, and are provided for the purpose of information only. The exact learning goals for each course section in a specific semester will be stated on the syllabus distributed at the start of the semester, and may differ in wording and emphasis from those shown here.

• PIA 101 or GNA 106 or GSS 102