Online Courses in Psychology

The following online psychology courses are not offered in every term. Please check the subject chart and/or a specific course page to see when courses are offered.

PSYC 100/6.0: Principles of Psychology (Fall-Winter) (Summer)

This online psychology course is an introductory survey of basic areas of psychology including perception, cognition, learning and motivation and their biological substrata. Also reviewed are child development, individual differences, social psychology and abnormal psychology. The course is based on a blended model where on-line learning is supplemented with ‘live’ (synchronous) weekly office hours and small-group tutorials conducted either over the web or on campus (for students who live in, or near, Kingston and choose this option.

PSYC 235/6.0: Abnormal Psychology (Summer)

This course aims to provide you with a critical appreciation of contemporary issues in the field of abnormal psychology. The emphasis throughout the course will be on the contributions of empirical research to the classification, etiology and treatment of the behavioural disorders examined. Other than the introductory chapters, generally each chapter deals with a major diagnostic category, describing the symptoms that distinguish each disorder from others. Each chapter will describe the incidence and natural history of the disorder and etiological theories as well as evaluate treatment approaches.

PSYC 241/3.0: Social Psychology  (not offered in 2013/14)

This online psychology course is a study of the individual in the social context: Self and identity, social cognition, interpersonal behavior (affiliation, attraction, sex, aggression, altruism); social attitudes, prejudice and discrimination; social influence and group processes (conformity, leadership and intergroup relations); applied social psychology.

PSYC 251/3.0: Developmental Psychology (Summer)

This online psychology course is an introduction to the scientific study of human development, with an emphasis on social, cognitive, and neurobiological processes underlying perceptual, cognitive, and emotional development from infancy to adolescence.

PSYC 271/3.0: Brain and Behaviour I (Winter)

This online psychology course is an introduction to behavioural neuroscience. The course primarily focuses on the basics of neuronal operation, functional neuroanatomy, neuropharmacology, and behavioral neuroscience methods. This will be followed by an examination of input (sensory) and output (motor) systems of the brain. Finally, topics relevant to lateralization of function will be covered.

PSYC 370/3.0: Brain and Behaviour II (Summer)

The relationship between brain and behaviour. The first part of the course examines topics relevant to brain plasticity, including neurodevelopment, brain damage and learning and memory; followed by a section on the biopsychology of motivation that covers the neural mechanisms of eating, sexual behaviour and sleep. The final section deals with disorders of cognition and emotion, including drug addiction, stress and psychiatric disorders.

PSYC 333/3.0: Human Sexuality (New course coming Fall 2013)