Weill Medical College of Cornell University · Courses
HD
120 courses with the subject HD, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
HD 1102Introduction to Cognitive Science3
This course provides an introduction to the science of the mind. Everyone knows what it's like to think and perceive, but this subjective experience provides little insight into how minds emerge from physical entities like brains. To address this issue, cognitive science integrates work from at least five disciplines: Psychology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Linguistics, and Philosophy. This course introduces students to the insights these disciplines offer into the workings of the mind by exploring visual perception, attention, memory, learning, problem solving, language, and consciousness.
Introduction to Human Development provides a broad and foundational overview of field of human development, starting from conception and ending through process of death and dying. The course will start with an outline and explanation of the lifespan perspective in human development. The biological beginnings of life and prenatal development will serve as the start of the discussion of human development, followed by an exploration of physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development at each subsequent stage within the lifespan (e.g., infancy, early childhood, middle & late childhood, etc.). Discussion of each developmental stage will highlight major research findings and their real-world application.
Basic perceptual concepts and phenomena are discussed with emphasis on stimulus variables and sensory mechanisms. All sensory modalities are considered, vision is discussed in detail.
A comprehensive introduction to current thinking and research in developmental psychology that approaches topics from both psychobiological and cognitive perspectives. We will use a comparative approach to assess principles of development change. The course focuses on the development of perception, action, cognition, language, and social understanding in infancy and early childhood.
Since its inception the US legal system has been a system of social cognition and judgment: Humans perceiving and judging other humans to determine their fate. There are things about the system to admire, but major problems persist. Innocent people get convicted; guilty people go free. Why? Historically, that system built on social cognition has been ignorant about how human judgment actually works—producing errors as a result. This course explores the science of how we think about other people—our perceptions, memories, and judgments—can shape decisions and outcomes in the legal system, sometimes with devastating consequences. Grounded in psychological science and research on social cognition, we’ll examine how mental shortcuts, impression formation, moral judgment and group dynamics influence everything from eyewitness testimony to police investigations, from jury deliberations to sentencing. We will apply classic and cutting-edge research to identify what went wrong in real-world cases and how we could do better. Students will learn how understanding the psychology of social thinking can help explain—and ultimately improve—the legal system.
HD 2150Introduction to Human Development: Infancy and Childhood3
HD 2150 introduces students to the major theoretical perspectives, methods (both classic and contemporary), research findings, and controversies in the study of child development. Prenatal development and development in infancy and childhood are examined, including physical, cognitive, and social/emotional development. The focus is on individual development from an interdisciplinary perspective, with an emphasis on psychological development, but also drawing from the fields of sociology, history, biology, anthropology, neuroscience, and education. This is a second-level course, so the emphasis is on analytical, creative, and practical understanding and application of concepts of development.
HD 2170 introduces students to the major theoretical perspectives, research findings, research methods, applications, and controversies in the study of human development during the period of adolescence and the transition to emerging adulthood. The main focus is on individual development, but we view this development from an interdisciplinary perspective. The emphasis in the course is on psychological development, but we also will draw on related fields, such as sociology, anthropology, biology, neuroscience, and education. Within psychology, we will be looking at adolescence and emerging adulthood from the standpoints of developmental, cognitive, social, personality, clinical, and biological psychology. There will be some use of statistics in the course, but sophisticated knowledge of statistics is not required. This is a second-level course, so the emphasis is on creative, analytical, practical, and wise understanding and application of concepts of development.
Introduces students to theories and research in adult development and aging. Describes biological, psychological and social changes from early through late adulthood. Identifies strategies to promote healthy aging at the individual and societal level.
HD 2200The Human Brain and Mind: An Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience3
At the turn of the 21st century the age of Embodied Cognition dawned: a reconsideration of relationships between body, brain, and mind. Researchers in philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and cognitive neuroscience challenged the 20th-century dogma that the mind is like a digital computer, and can be studied independently of the body, brain, and world. Researchers turned their attention to the role that bodily experience plays in thinking and learning, and the roles neural systems for perception and action play in cognition. This course views the field of Cognitive Neuroscience through the lens of Embodied Cognition research, and evaluates the extent to which embodiment may be passing fad, a useful shift in perspective, or a revolutionary new way of building theories about brain and mind.
Introduction to psychology from a biological perspective, which focuses on brain mechanisms of behavior. Topics include the structure and function of the nervous system, physiological approaches to understanding behavior, hormones and behavior, biological bases of sensation and perception, learning and memory, cognition, emotion, and communication.
This course provides an overview to common psychological disorders, The course begins with foundational lectures on the history and scientific evolution of the field, followed by in-depth examination of specific clinical disorders and an introduction to their treatment.
This course will provide you with an overview of how children's cognition develops. We will investigate how cognition develops from many different perspectives. The main perspectives will be biological, genetic-epistemological, socio-cultural, and information-processing ones. This course also will help you to understand how cognition influences other areas of development, including intelligence, development of the self, language, and social development. Finally, different populations will be considered to better understand the roles not only of nature and nurture, but also of how the two interact to influence development.
There is no getting away from the brain. Everything a person does, creates, thinks, feels, believes, and experiences (including making sense of course descriptions!) depends on it. But, how? How could a three pound mass of cells and the body in which it exists see, decide, or remember, let alone navigate a busy city, play soccer, or write poetry? This course will provide students with the foundational concepts and tools they will need to begin to address these questions, providing insight into how modern cognitive neuroscientists understand the brain, how it works, and how the mind emerges from all of this. Students will learn core principles of modern human cognitive neuroscience (e.g., brain structure versus function, connectivity, reuse) and their application to cognition (e.g., action, perception, attention, memory, emotion, language, cognitive control, and consciousness). Topics in neuroanatomy, human neuroscience methods, and neurological conditions will also be covered.
HD 2350Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in Early Childhood3
Children who grow up in multilingual environments have a profoundly different experience compared to monolingual children. In this course, we examine the nature and impact of this experience on the socio-emotional, cognitive, and linguistic development of young children, focusing on the complex multilingual and multicultural reality in Israel as our main case study. Specifically, we explore the multilingual development of children from several minority and immigrant groups in Israel: Arabs, Former Soviet Union (FSU) and Ethiopian immigrants, Israeli-born children of labor migrants, deaf communities, among others.
What counts as a community? How do communities shape who we are? How can we engage in action to transform the communities we are a part of? These questions guide our inquiry in this introductory community psychology course. Community psychology examines the interrelationship between individual wellbeing and the multiple social structures and contexts with which individuals interact. Community psychologists are united by a shared commitment to understanding individuals using a multidisciplinary perspective, including developmental psychology, education, and sociology. Beyond seeking to understand, community psychologists also emphasize values, applied and participatory research, and action to promote the well-being of entire communities from a strengths-based perspective. This lecture-based course will provide an overview of theory, research, and action in community psychology. We will focus on (a) essential community psychology theories, (b) methodological strategies for studying alongside communities, and (c) practical applications related to understanding social and environmental contexts as essential components of the human experience. Throughout the course, we will discuss the role of communities in shaping our understandings of diversity, equity, and social justice.
HD 2510Social Gerontology: Aging and the Life Course3
Analyzes the social aspects of aging in contemporary American society from a life course perspective. Topics include (1) an introduction to the field of gerontology, its history, theories, and research methods; (2) a brief overview of the physiological and psychological changes that accompany aging; (3) an analysis of the contexts (e.g., family, friends, social support, employment, volunteer work) in which individual aging occurs, including differences of gender, ethnicity, and social class; and (4) the influences of society on the aging individual.
HD 2580Six Pretty Good Books: Explorations in Social Science4
This course is modeled after Great Books literature courses in the humanities, but with two important differences: we read non-fiction books in the social sciences rather than the humanities, written by highly prominent contemporary social scientists. The course title refers to the fact that the books are new, hence their potential greatness has yet to be confirmed by the test of time. We choose living authors to give students a unique opportunity: to interact with each of the six authors in Q&A sessions via live or recorded video conferencing. Great Books courses are organized around books rather than the more traditional theme-based approach in most undergraduate classes, and each book is intended to stand on its own. Although the topics vary widely, each of the books addresses fundamental puzzles that motivate social science inquiry regarding human behavior and social interaction. These puzzles cut across disciplinary boundaries, hence the course is co-taught by psychologist Steve Ceci and sociologist/information scientist Michael Macy who provide continuity by calling attention to similarities and differences in theories, concepts, assumptions, and methods between sociologists (who focus on what happens between individuals) and psychologists (who focus on what happens within individuals). The authors vary from year to year but include famous social scientists such as Claude Steele, Daniel Kahneman, Nicholas Christakis, Beverly Tatum, Malcolm Gladwell, and Steven Pinker.
What is personality? How is it scientifically studied and measured? To what extent, do biological, social, and cultural factors shape personality? Is personality an expression of our genetic make up and biology, the culmination of social influences, the interplay of both, or the result of random events? In this course, we will review the major theoretical paradigms of personality psychology, discuss contemporary research, theory, and methodology, and learn about key historical debates in the study of personality.
Why and how do humans become moral beings? And what is a moral being anyways? Humans have written about these questions for as long as they have written about any deep question. Over the past century, however, empirical scientists have joined the investigation into moral development. This course will use empirical evidence to evaluate major theories of morality and its development. In the process, we will learn about topics like: cultural differences and similarities in moral orientations, the origins of helping and harming, and the development of moral reasoning and emotions childhood to adulthood.
This course explores how cognitive, social & clinical psychology are used in law. Law makes many assumptions about human psychology, and lawyers and judges regularly rely on psychological research in their cases. The course examines the psychology underlying criminal confessions; children's testimony; the insanity defense; risk assessment; judge and jury decision making; criminal punishment; constitutional law; and common law (tort, contract, and property) disputes. The course assesses the use and misuse of psychology in these subjects.
Introduction to research and theory in social psychology. Topics include social influence, persuasion, and attitude change; culture, social interaction and group phenomena; evolution, altruism, and aggression; stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination; everyday reasoning and judgment.
This course will introduce students to the basics of research design and will review several methodologies in the study of human development. The focus of the course will be on descriptive and experimental methods. Students will learn the advantages and challenges to different methodological approaches. The course also places an emphasis on developing students' scientific writing and strengthening their understanding of statistics.
This is a course on applications of data science in social science using R. We will cover fundamentals of statistical and causal inference, exploratory data analysis and data reduction, supervised learning, and recent, prominent applications of machine learning in social science.
Educational psychology is the application of psychological principles and concepts to cases of teaching and learning. We study behavioral, cognitive, embodied, and social-cultural perspectives on learning and thinking, and we use them in planning and reflecting on weekly fieldwork outside the classroom. In the process, we become more mindful and skilled learners ourselves and better facilitators of others' learning. *Both the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 courses will focus on educational psychology as it relates to PreK-Adult learners; however, Fall fieldwork experiences will be with learners across the PreK-Adult spectrum; Spring fieldwork experiences will be with adult learners ONLY.
This lecture-based course will provide an overview of the development of memory throughout the lifespan, from infancy to old age. Students will learn about the models of memory, how memory develops through the years, as well as the neurological, cognitive, and social factors that influence memory development.
In this course, we will explore how language interacts with power: how does language reflect, shape, threaten and reinforce power relations in human society? From childhood through old age, language is an ever-present source of symbolic power. We use it to develop and express our identities, to position ourselves in hierarchies, and to establish group membership and exclusion throughout life. Language shapes ourselves, our families, our social lives, and our institutions. Understanding how people use language can provide a window into hidden aspects of both individuals and the social world.
As it is with much of scientific discovery, a poet, William Wordsworth, best explained development with a simple phrase: The Child is father of the Man (person). In this course, we explore how our adult selves come to be through the lens of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. You will learn about current perspectives and controversies, the latest understanding of the development of multiple physiological systems (e.g., vision, perception, language, etc.) as interactions between molecular mechanisms, experience, and neural plasticity. Weekly short reaction papers, class exercises, and midterm and final projects, will all be geared towards developing a personal appreciation for the subject as well as an understanding of the issues in developmental cognitive neuroscience as a field.
Covers comparative and evolutionary approaches to the study of the relationship between peripheral hormones and neuroendocrine mechanisms in vertebrates, including humans, with sexual behavior, affiliative bonds and social grouping, parental behavior, aggression, mating systems, stress, learning and memory, and biological rhythms.
HD 3225 introduces students to psychological assessment. This course will explore the basic methods, concepts, and challenges in the development and use of psychological tests. We will cover the conceptual, scientific, and methodological principles that guide test development. We will explore assessment of intelligence, aptitudes, achievement, personality, motivation, and psychopathology. We will discuss multimodal psychological evaluations and how they can be used to inform decision making (for instance forensic, ADHD, learning disability, compensation and pension evaluations, and etermining eligibility for services) in addition to ethics. Throughout the course, students should gain an understanding of the scientific manner in which psychological tests are constructed and evaluated, the different types of psychological testing, and the utility of psychological testing, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.
This course will focus on the complex interactions between neurochemicals and their receptors (pharmacodynamics) that drive human behavior. It will provide an overview of the principles of neurotransmission of chemicals as well as how alterations in their normal function can manifest in pathological behavior/mind processes.
Covers the science of self-regulation and its development over the human life span. After providing an overview of historical perspectives, the class will focus on contemporary research including homeostasis in bodily systems, self-control and regulation, goal setting, economic perspectives, as well as the role of emotions and personality.
Why do some children grow up well-adjusted and others do not? This course applies a developmental framework to understanding psychological disorders. We will consider the common disorders of childhood and adolescence; the individual contexts which promote risk versus resiliency; trends and trajectories in disorders over time; and the complex ethical issues associated with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders early in life.
This course explores psychological research on gender, examining the interactions between biology and social learning, gender identity, stereotypes, gender diversity, and discrimination. We will critically evaluate gender with respect to cognition, attitudes, leadership, close relationships, psychological and physical development, achievement, communication, and health. Our engagement with course material will use an intersectional approach that acknowledges that gender development, expression, and experience are deeply impacted by race, social class, sexuality, ability, and culture.
This course will examine the ways in which sex and gender impact the expression of severe psychopathology. We will try to understand these relationships using different levels of analysis. This will involve an exploration of biological, psychological, cognitive, and social factors associated with sex and gender as they influence the epidemiology, phenomenology, etiology, diagnosis, and course of illness in major forms of psychopathology: specifically, schizophrenia, major affective illness, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders. We will examine these topics through the frameworks of psychological science, feminism, and intersectionality, and attempt to integrate the offerings of each, to generate a nuanced understanding of mental illness.
This course examines infant development from conception through toddler hood, emphasizing the interconnected growth of the whole child—biological, cognitive, emotional, and social. Drawing on contemporary research and inclusive perspectives, students explore how culture, care giving, and individual differences shape early development.
Humans are said to be social animals. This seminar provides an in-depth exploration of what it means to be social. Examples of topics to be covered include the fundamental need to belong and the affiliative system underlying cooperation; attachment and the proclivity to form strong affective ties throughout the life span; the biological bases of attraction and relationship formation; and the various consequences of thwarted relational needs, including the end of relationships through break-up, divorce, or death, and social alienation and chronic loneliness. We will focus on people's most intimate relationships - with partners, parents, and close friends - but will explore how our social nature is expressed in diverse ways - with unknown others, in social networks, and with political leaders, celebrities, and objects. These topics will be considered from diverse theoretical perspectives including work from social neuroscience, social, personality, developmental, cognitive, and evolutionary psychology, as well as drawing from work in communications, information science, sociology, and political science. Articles will be a combination of theoretical, review, or perspective pieces as well as empirical papers.
Takes a comprehensive look at current research and theory in the emerging field of Positive Psychology. Students become familiar with theories, methods, and empirical research pertaining to the psychology of human strengths, virtues, abilities, and talents.
HD 3530Risk and Opportunity Factors in Childhood and Adolescence3
This advanced active-learning class will focus on theories and empirical findings concerning risky decision making in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The material will be scholarly and intellectually challenging. We will engage active-learning strategies such as problem-based learning, case studies, group projects, and extended discussions. The course draws on multiple disciplines, such as psychology, economics, neuroscience, and information sciences (e.g., AI). If your main interest is in positive psychology, youth development applications, or social factors such as poverty, there are other excellent courses in Human Development focusing on those topics. Class sessions will consist of lectures covering the theoretical background, key topics and discussion designed to deepen understanding and explore possible real-life applications in law, medicine, and public health.
Covers the science of interpersonal relationships. Examines the basic nature of human affectional bonds, including their functions and dynamics. Covers such topics as interpersonal attraction and mate selection, intimacy and commitment, love and sex, jealousy and loneliness, the neurobiology of affiliation and attachment, and the role of relationships in physical and psychological health.
Social group membership - based on race and ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, sex, gender and gender identity, etc. and their intersection- can profoundly influence one's experience of the world and each other. Through this course we will cover the basic experimental social psychology research on thoughts and beliefs (stereotypes), evaluative attitudes (prejudice), and behaviors (discrimination) that are based on group membership. We will explore how empirical research developed from primarily examining explicit (blatant) prejudice in the 20th century to recent examinations of implicit forms of stereotyping and prejudice. We will explore how stereotyping and prejudice can arise from basic perceptual and categorical processes, discuss strategies for minimizing expressed bias in interpersonal situations, and examine the experience of high status - and the consequences of losing it. The ultimate aim is to enhance your ability to evaluate and analyze the scientific merit of this research and apply it to real world social issues.
For study that involves both responsible participation in a community setting and reflection on that experience through discussion, reading, and writing. Academic credit is awarded for this integration of theory and practice.
This course provides an overview to the theory, concepts, and controversies underlying common psychological disorders, as well as an introduction to transdiagnostic perspectives on mental health.
What have we learned about the psychology of Native Americans and what questions are needing answers? In Native American Psychology, we will investigate these questions. This course will provide an overview of the psychology of Native Americans; accounting for current theories and research on the experiences, behavior, and identities of Native Americans. The course will offer students an immersive, in-depth experience of the topics and themes that scholars are investigating in Native American Psychology. The course will start with an outline and discussion of the major theories of Native American psychology, as well as, prominent scholars who have contributed to Native American psychology. Discussions will then examine the psychological experiences of Native Americans across an array of content areas of psychology and contexts in the world. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of Native American experiences, the course will examine these two experiences with an intersectional lens, examining these experiences with issues of gender, sexual orientation, ability, age, and social class in mind.
HD 4230Seminar in Legal and Psychological Science3
This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of legal psychology, with a focus on cognitive, developmental, and social science contributions to legally-relevant questions. The seminar blends reading, discussion, active learning, and applied exercises to help students develop and evaluate research proposals in any aspect of psychology that is broadly relevant to the law. Among the themes that will be discussed are suggestibility, memory reliability, forensic interviewing, facial processing, and decision-making in legal contexts. Students will read foundational and contemporary research, engage in weekly discussions, and design their own hypothetical research project that relates to one or more course themes. An emphasis will be placed on students developing their own hypotheses and methods for testing them. These are not limited to themes that are researched by the instructor, hence this is an opportunity to think outside the box, uninhibited by the research conducted by the instructor. This last sentence deserves amplification: Students are not expected to develop studies that are related to those of Professor Ceci; the idea is to come up with a study of your own and defend it against criticisms by the class. In the past members of 4230 have developed many interesting hypotheses unrelated to the instructor’s own program of research.
HD 4235Designing Research in Legal and Psychological Science3
Introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of legal psychology, with a focus on cognitive, developmental, and social science contributions to legally-relevant questions. The seminar blends reading, discussion, active learning, and applied exercises.
This undergraduate seminar will focus on contemporary issues in stress and affective science and their implications for mental and physical health. Through reading, writing, and discussion, students will analyze theoretical approaches to the measurement of stress, emotions, and health. Additionally, we will consider issues of individual differences in stress responsivity, including the concepts of risks and resilience, positive health, and flourishing.
Translational Research on Decision Making is a 4000-level course focusing on basic foundations in translational research on decision making across the lifespan. The course will introduce students to the latest research and theory in this area and provide opportunities for hands-on applications of their learning in fields such as law, medicine, public health, behavioral economics, and policy. This course will cover such topics as human subjects protection, working with populations across the lifespan (e.g., children; adolescents; adults), database development, working with external partners and stakeholders (e.g., schools; hospitals), and basic concepts and techniques in decision making. Students in this course will participate in weekly class meetings together and in small groups focused on specific concepts, skills, and findings. During class meetings, we discuss research readings, critique research designs, learn about scientific methods, interpret empirical findings, and discuss alternative designs. Students work closely with each other but also work independently. Students will be provided with opportunities for hands-on application in real-world fields. Students attend a weekly class meeting, read pertinent papers from the primary literature, write reaction reports, integrate material across readings, and work cooperatively to understand and critique concepts, methods, analyses, and findings in the scientific literature.
HD 4260Translational Research on Memory and Neuroscience3
Translational Research in Memory and Neuroscience is a 4000-level course that is intended to provide students with background in the latest theoretical ideas, empirical findings, and research methods in both the behavioral and neuroscience sides of the contemporary science of human memory. This will prepare students to understand and eventually conduct both supervised and independent research on these topics by studying and writing about the work in recent research articles and by learning some of the design, programming, and analysis tools that are required to conduct such work. Students will receive in-depth exposure to behavioral and neuroscience research on memory through a course that that focuses on mainstream, theory-driven experimentation with normal adult populations and that also focuses on developmental investigations with child, healthy elderly, and neurologically impaired populations. Students will learn about that research together with other students. During weekly class meetings, students will receive instruction and discuss research readings. They will also make formal class presentations, in which they interpret the results in those readings. To demonstrate their understanding, students will write weekly reaction responses about their readings. Weekly readings will come from the primary peer-reviewed scientific literature.
Offered to students who are currently conducting research or planning to do research in the near future on one of the three topics-memory, self, or emotion. The course examines current data and theories concerning the topics from a variety of perspectives and at multiple levels of analysis, particularly focusing on the interconnections among these fields of inquiry. The scale of observation is viewed as occurring within the person (brain mechanisms, including genetics), at the level of the person (content-goals, beliefs, desires, etc.), and between persons (relationships and group interaction-including culture).
HD 4331Event Cognition: How Minds, Brains and Bodies Experience Events3
People experience and remember complex and dynamic environments as events. This seminar draws on work from cognitive neuroscience to characterize how people shape experience into events, and how these processes support adaptive behavior. The course will start with discussions of historical and modern perspectives about the relationships between minds, bodies, and experience. We will then cover topics ranging from the perception of motion and causality to social learning and interaction. The primary goals are for you to be able to (1) read and evaluate research in psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, and (2) describe and understand the implications of this research for how minds and bodies are adapted to everyday situations.
The intricate relations between language and thought have stirred a heated debate from ancient philosophy to the era of modern science. Does language precede thought or vice versa? Do different languages create a different understanding of one's physical and social environment? In this course we will examine some leading theories and empirical studies on the interconnections between these two complex abilities of the mind; and explore their developmental trajectories and interactions from infancy to adulthood.
This is a course on applications of artificial intelligence in social science. The course will cover published research on and with AI, focusing on health, politics, and everyday life. Students will evaluate past studies, replicate published AI-based research designs, and propose original research.
HD 4420Intimate Relationships: Liking, Loving, and Interpersonal Attraction3
This seminar will cover topics in intimacy relationships, especially liking, loving, and interpersonal attraction. Some topics will be: What is love? What leads people to be attracted to (or repelled by) one another? What makes relationships succeed or fail? How does one even know if a relationship is succeeding or failing? How does one repair damaged relationships? When is it time to leave? How does love vary across cultures?
New technologies are changing our world at a rapid pace. In many cases, the society does not fully understand the impact of technology and is not prepared for the speed of the change that is occurring. This course will explore a few of these new technologies and investigate their effects on the users and on the society at large. The topics that will be explored include face recognition, virtual reality, violence in media, general AI, and the technological singularity. We will look at the ways in which these technologies affect our lives, with a focus on education, entertainment, employment, politics, and the future of humanity.
This course on the climate crisis acquaints students with the psychological factors underlying ecocide and anthropogenic climate change and the possible avenues for its mitigation, with a particular focus on climate justice and Indigenous knowledges and ways of relating to nature. In parallel with reading and discussing primary literature on these topics, students work on research projects, complementing theory with practice and placing it in the local geopolitical context.
Young children are incredible learners. In a handful of years, they become fluent speakers of a language (or more than one!) and acquire abstract, coherent concepts about the physical, natural, and social world. How is this learning possible? Informed by research, class discussions, assignments, and a collaboration with the Sciencenter, we examine children’s learning, curiosity, and exploration and how these can be shaped by their observations and interactions with others. A particular focus of this semester is on children's learning of skills associated with later entry into the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. As an engaged-learning course, we will work in collaboration with the staff of the Sciencenter (http://www.sciencenter.org/about-us.html), a non-profit, hands-on science museum, to examine children's learning and support their mission.
This seminar provides a selective overview of the scientific study of emotion. Topics include: theoretical foundations and history; functions of emotion; behavioral expression of emotion; biological and sociocultural approaches; and applications (e.g., personality, psychopathology, physical health, judgments and decisions, and happiness). Within each topic, we will critically examine methods, measures, and theoretical conclusions.
This course will survey theory, research, and practice with regard to human creativity and its development. An especial emphasis will be on how to use research findings in the service of developing your own creativity. Examples of topics will include theories of creativity, research on creativity, improving creativity, mental health and creativity, and the dark side of creativity.
This course will cover the psychology of wisdom. Among the topics to be covered are the definition of wisdom, theories and models of wisdom, development of wisdom, measurement of wisdom, relations of wisdom to other characteristics, state versus trait characteristics of wisdom, teaching for wisdom, wisdom and leadership, wisdom and society.
HD 4560Black Girlhood Studies: Rememory, Representation, and Re-Imagination3
How has history shaped our notion of Black girlhood? What is our collective understanding of Black girlhood? How do we see and understand Black girls? Black Girlhood Studies is a multidisciplinary field that draws on education, literature, psychological, and sociological perspectives as tools to see and honor Black girls' lived experiences. In this seminar course, we will use a mixture of lectures and facilitated discussions to provide an overview of Black girlhood as it relates to historical and current-day social, political, and cultural constructions of Black girlhood within and beyond the United States. We will also interrogate how Black girls deconstruct and interrupt these social constructions by engaging in scholarly works, popular press articles, poetry, music, film, and novels. Throughout the course, we will make space to imagine a world where Black girls' ways of knowing, being, and experiencing the world are honored.
This is a capstone seminar for seniors who are interested in graduate or professional study in scientific disciplines that focus on human behavior and social interaction. The intent is to provide seniors with an opportunity to summon, integrate, and apply insights that they have acquired over the course of their undergraduate education, and give prospective graduate students the opportunity to lead discussions in a large introductory lecture course, Six Pretty Good Books. Each seminar member is part of a two or three-person team that leads the discussion together, under the supervision of a graduate teaching assistant. Seminar meetings are devoted to building lesson plans for leading an effective discussion of each of the six books. The authors vary from year to year but include Malcolm Gladwell, Michelle Alexander, Nate Silver, and Nicholas Christakis. All authors have agreed to participate in a Q&A session with the students which seminar members are required to attend.
HD 4600Professional Development in Geriatric and Palliative Research1.5
This course serves as a companion class for students admitted to the Geriatric Palliative Research Immersion Program who are engaged in concurrent research with remote mentors at Weill Cornell Medicine. Students in this course will learn about research methods, techniques, and practices in geriatric and palliative settings and engage with various providers and stakeholders in the field.
HD 4610Community and Residential Services in Geriatric and Palliative Care1.5
This course serves as a companion class for students admitted to the Geriatric/Palliative Immersion Program. Students in this course will learn about the continuum of geriatric/palliative care and different types of community-based and residential services that support it. They will hear first-hand perspectives from different providers and stakeholders and learn about ongoing research within the field.
HD 4620Research Seminar: Brain Activity and Cognition3
To gain knowledge in empirical research and its role within the broader field of cognitive neuroscience, students will attend a weekly seminar, read and critically evaluate primary research articles, and engage in scholarly activities that support the development of research and analytical skills. We will focus on selected readings examining the neural bases of attention, learning, and emotion. An overarching goal of this seminar is to develop students' ability to critically analyze contemporary theories and empirical findings concerning brain function and cognition. Within a single semester, we will examine and critique foundational and contemporary research related to attention, learning, and emotion. Emphasis will be placed on interpreting primary research articles, evaluating methodological approaches, synthesizing findings across studies, and considering future directions for inquiry. Through seminar discussions, written assignments, and independent scholarly work, students will develop the skills necessary to engage with and contribute to research in cognitive neuroscience. Attendance and active participation in seminar discussions are expected.
HD 4630Introduction to Functional MRI Analysis for Human Neuroimaging3
Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a method of observing relationships between in-vivo neural activity and behavior. This method is a truly interdisciplinary feat combining engineering, physics, and biology, but is at times reduced in popular media as pretty brain pictures. In this course, students will learn the promises and limitations of fMRI methods and becomes educated consumers and skeptics of both popular and scientific literature. In addition, students will be able to see a demonstration of hands-on data analysis. The final project will be an oral presentation and a written study proposal to include a literature review, the design of an fMRI paradigm, and an analysis plan.
In this course you will learn the fundamentals of magnetic resonance imaging in a psychiatric context and the proper tools to critically ingest primary research literature of this nature. You will learn the mechanisms behind the methods, know the controversies, understand current debates, and survey current research across behavioral syndromes. A key theme of this class will be understanding to what extent biological correlates reflect mechanisms and their dysfunctions, the dysfunctions of the environment, bio/neurodiversity, or reasonable if unwanted consequences of being humans trying to survive. Context outside of the body will be incorporated into our questions and synthesis. Annotations, study visualization, discussion, and midterm and final projects emphasizing your own interests in the class will work towards creating a rigorous and humanized understanding of neuroimaging in behavioral syndromes. Graduate students will be expected to lead discussion in one class for a topic of their choosing. They will identify further readings, report on further context for the studies and findings, following up on papers done after the readings as well as papers cited.
Each year, more than 100 million people worldwide develop clinically recognizable depression. Because of its prevalence, depression is sometimes called the common cold of psychopathology. This course provides a wide-ranging examination of the theories, methods, and major controversies in mood disorders research, including coverage of social, cognitive, and biological perspectives.
HD 4720Current Research in Emotion, Cognition, and Brain3
The course will cover advanced topics in research on the emotions from central neural and peripheral physiological perspectives, with an emphasis with how emotions shape different aspects of cognition and behavior.
What does it mean to think like a scientist? This course will explore the structure of scientific thinking, from its philosophical foundations through current efforts to make science fair and replicable. The thought processes that underlie the methods used in psychology and neuroscience are rarely made explicit in courses on statistics and research methods - understanding these thought processes can make us better scientists and sharper thinkers.
HD 4790Contemporary Perspectives on Human Bonding3
Provides students who have taken and excelled in HD 3620, an opportunity to explore the topics/theories/issues in greater depth and share their insights and discoveries with students currently enrolled in HD 3620. Specifically, students enrolled in HD 4790 will conduct searches of the latest scientific literatures and popular press writings with the goal of developing a presentation and leading discussions.
HD 4850Professional Development in Translational Research2
As a supplement to their immersive learning experience working on faculty research projects, students in this course will engage with actors and ideas from across the youth development research and practice communities, learn about research methods and dissemination to various audiences, and begin to see the world from a translational research perspective.
As a supplement to their immersive learning experience working on translational research projects led by CHE faculty, and building on their experience in HD4850 (Professional Development in Translational Research), this course will provide opportunities for students to put their learning into practice by proposing and implementing a translational research project in collaboration with community partners.
Moral Psychology in Action is an applied psychology course for students who want to make a difference in the world through ethical leadership and positive contributions in organizations, and who are drawn to scholarly work on psychology, ethics, and morality. The course is experiential and takes place mostly outside the classroom through students' individualized partnerships in community organizations, businesses, and institutions. Learning outcomes include enhanced critical reflection, intercultural competence, ethical practice, and the practice of applied moral psychology research methods.
This course is a rigorous introduction to graduate statistics for social sciences. We will briefly review descriptive statistics and probability theory. We will discuss fundamental inferential frameworks at length, with a focus on Frequentist and Bayesian statistics. The remainder of the semester will be focused on the analysis of randomized studies.
This second part of the graduate statistics sequence is intended to teach more advanced techniques of modern quantitative data analysis, with a focus on the analysis of non-randomized studies. We will cover a variety of models, including models with linear and non-linear effects, model with random effects, and models for limited dependent variables.
HD 6020Research in Risk and Rational Decision Making3
This hands-on laboratory course will develop research skills in the context of risk and rational decision making in human development from multiple disciplinary perspectives and with respect to different kinds of decision-making under risk and uncertainty. Topics will depend on student interests but may include decisions about war, terrorism, cancer control and prevention (e.g., screening tests), personal behaviors that involve risk (e.g., HIV prevention), and other public health risks (e.g., vaccinations), law enforcement (e.g., use of a weapon), and legal decision making (e.g., jury deliberations). Students will read the research literature, discuss the latest empirical findings and scientific theories of risk and rationality, and engage in group work and peer review to hone their skills. Students will then design research projects and engage in research activities as well as read additional references tailored to their interests.
What is an emotion? Are emotions universally recognizable? Do emotions change throughout life? Where do emotions reside in the brain? Can we control our emotions? How do emotions influence the quality of our close relationships? In this seminar, we will consider such questions from the perspective of contemporary psychological research.
HD 6180Special Topics: The Intersection of Law and Psychology1.5
This course explores basic and applied psychological research, with a particular focus on their relevance to the law. Drawing from interdisciplinary sources—ranging from social and cognitive psychological research to law reviews—we will examine how jurors, judges, police witnesses, and legal professionals evaluate evidence, make social judgments, form beliefs, and make decisions in legal contexts. Our ultimate goal is to identify what went wrong in real-world cases and how we can improve the legal system. In addition to engaging with academic research, the course emphasizes the application of psychological science to real-world legal problems. We will consider how psychological expertise can inform actual cases, contribute to expert testimony, and guide the development and advocacy of evidence-based interventions and policy reforms. Students will also have opportunities to workshop their own research ideas and develop a methodological toolkit for investigating questions at the intersection of psychology and law.
Focuses on how the scientific study of human memory interfaces with the theory and practice of law. Students study relevant areas of memory research and memory theory.
HD 6200First-Year Proseminar in Human Development1.5
Designed as an orientation to the department and the university. Activities include attendance at research presentations, visits to departmental research laboratories, relevant informational sessions (e.g., Institutional Review Board for Human Participants, proposal writing), and guidance in preparing a public research presentation to be made at the end of spring semester.
This graduate seminar is designed to give an overview as well as in-depth analysis of topics related to autobiographical memory and its development. Readings focus heavily on current theories and empirical research on a wide range of topics including childhood amnesia, reminiscence bump, emotion and memory, memory accuracy, development and disruption, neurological perspectives, memory functions, and memory across cultures.
HD 6290The Structure and Dynamics of Self-Regulation4
Takes an in-depth look at structural and dynamic aspects of self-regulation with particular emphasis on empirical approaches and methodological challenges. Students will identify areas of overlap with their own interests and develop concrete ideas of how a self-regulatory angle can enrich their research ideas or broaden their professional perspective.
Morality changes constantly. What is wrong in one situation is right in another. Children acquire new moral principles as they grow older. And over human history, societies have transformed their views on how to treat its members. How is moral change possible? And what is its direction-if it has one? In this seminar, we will engage with diverse perspectives on moral change. Readings will come from developmental, cognitive, and social psychological research on morality, as well as philosophy, history, and other related fields. Students will participate in weekly discussions, give a class presentation, and submit a final paper.
HD 6560Black Girlhood Studies: Rememory, Representation, and Re-Imagination3
How has history shaped our notion of Black girlhood? What is our collective understanding of Black girlhood? How do we see and understand Black girls? Black Girlhood Studies is a multidisciplinary field that draws on education, literature, psychological, and sociological perspectives as tools to see and honor Black girls' lived experiences. In this graduate-level seminar course, we will systematically explore historical and contemporary social, political, and cultural constructions of Black girlhood within and beyond the United States. We will also interrogate how Black girls deconstruct and interrupt these social constructions by engaging in scholarly works, popular press articles, poetry, music, film, and novels. Throughout the course, we will make space to imagine a world where Black girls' ways of knowing, being, and experiencing the world are honored.
HD 6570Special Topics in Community Psychology: Critical Methodologies and Epistemic Justice3
How do our ways of knowing shape our research? What methodological tools can support us in working alongside community members in equitable and humanizing ways? How might research be used as a tool for creating spaces and methods for healing, re-imagining, and transforming our communities? In this interdisciplinary graduate-level seminar, we will use readings, facilitated discussions, and workshops to critically examine and interrogate (a) epistemological and theoretical foundations of critical psychological research, (b) qualitative methodological strategies for studying alongside communities, and (c) practical applications for re-imagining psychological science. Throughout the course, we will reflect on our positioning as researchers and consider ethical dilemmas in community-engaged work.
HD 6610Text and Networks in Social Science Research3
This is a course on networks and text in quantitative social science. The course will cover published research using text and social network data, focusing on health, politics, and everyday life, and it will introduce methods and approaches for incorporating high-dimensional data into familiar research designs. Students will evaluate past studies and propose original research.
HD 6635Introduction to Functional MRI Analysis in Human Neuroimaging4
Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a relatively new method of observing relationships between in-vivo neural activity and behavior. This method is a truly interdisciplinary feat combining engineering, physics, and biology, but is at times reduced in popular media as pretty brain pictures. In this course, students will learn the promises and limitations of fMRI methods and become educated consumers and skeptics of both popular and scientific literature. In addition, students will have hands-on experience in analyzing fMRI data from preprocessing to higher-level techniques using univariate and multivariate analyses. Beyond this, graduate students will learn how to use scripting to create neuroimaging paradigms, automate analyses, and create analyses pipelines using BASH. The final project will be an oral presentation and a written study proposal to include a literature review, an fMRI paradigm, and an analysis pipeline for a future study.
HD 6640The Science and Politics of Gender in the Academy3
Designed for graduate students and select seniors who are interested in graduate study in scientific disciplines that focus on human behavior and social interaction. The purpose of the seminar is examine the science and politics in an academic career. The seminar has three goals: 1) to promote discussion, debate, and an eventual understanding of sociopolitical aspects of the academy, 2) to provide members with an opportunity to summon, integrate, and apply insights that they have acquired through readings and discussion as they analyze arguments from the standpoint of multiple social sciences, and 3) to integrate scholarship across disciplinary lines.
This seminar examines how the physical and social contexts of disadvantage shape child development. We investigate how childhood disadvantage influences biology and health as well as cognitive and socioemotional development through the settings disadvantage children grow up in.
HD 6690The Nature and Function of Affectional Bonds3
This course will examine human bonding primarily from a psychological perspective, drawing on empirical and theoretical work from the fields of developmental, clinical, evolutionary, cognitive, personality, and social psychology, and secondarily from ethology, anthropology, sociology, and neurobiology. The central goal of the course is to define and explain basic structure, functions, dynamics, and formation of human affectional bonds, especially those of the attachment and mating variety.
This course provides an overview to the etiology, manifestation, diagnosis, course, and treatment of the most commonly presented DSM-V psychological disorders.
HD 6720Current Research in Emotion, Cognition and Brain3
The course will cover advanced topics in research on the emotions from central neural and peripheral physiological perspectives, with an emphasis with how emotions shape different aspects of cognition and behavior.
What does it mean to think like a scientist? This course will explore the structure of scientific thinking, from its philosophical foundations through current efforts to make science fair and replicable. The thought processes that underlie the methods used in psychology and neuroscience are rarely made explicit in courses on statistics and research methods - understanding these thought processes can make us better scientists and sharper thinkers.
HD 6810Proseminar in Affective and Clinical Science I1.5
This course is intended as a professional development seminar for graduate students hoping to pursue research that integrates affective and clinical science. It is modeled after the popular Brown Bag courses at peer institutions. Class meetings will blend student presentations; workshopping of emerging research; analysis of classic and recently published scholarship in the field; and visiting speakers. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the scientific methods needed to study this topic and build the skills required for an academic career - while simultaneously developing a community of scholars with shared interests in this area of research.
