Psychology Courses

PSY101 Psychology for All

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Psychology evolved out of both philosophy and biology. Discussions of these two subjects date as far back as the early Greek thinkers including Aristotle and Socrates. The word psychology is derived from the Greek word psyche, meaning ‘soul’ or ‘mind.’ Psychology is both an applied and academic field that studies the human mind and behavior. Research In psychology seeks to understand and explain thought, emotion and behavior. Applications of psychology include mental health treatment, performance enhancement, self-help, and many other areas affecting health and daily life.

PSY201 Introduction to Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Provides students with a general overview of the subject matter of psychology, which is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. The course aims to give students a better understanding of why people act, think, and feel the way they do. Among others, it covers topics on learning, personality, emotions, psychological disorders, social interactions, and the biological bases of behavior. Knowledge will be drawn from the major approaches of psychology, namely psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, social and biological. 

PSY202 Child Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course explores theories and research findings, on prenatal development, physical growth, emotional, social, and intellectual development, and cultural influences in children prior to adolescence. 

PSY204 Social Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology

PSY234 Development across the Life Span

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Human development through the lifespan is devoted to the study and understanding of constancy and change of human beings in the physical, cognitive, social and emotional domains interpreted through a variety of theoretical frameworks, contexts, and interdisciplinary research. The course will cover the periods of childhood, adolescence, adulthood, late adulthood and old age. 

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology

Co-requisite: ENG101 Academic English I

PSY245 Research Methods I

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Students will develop skills which prepare them to design, conduct and analyze research including a thorough knowledge of the following: literature searches, evaluation of research literature, critiquing and deconstructing an empirical article, developing research questions and hypotheses, research ethics, scientific and APA writing style. There will be special emphasis on the need for psychological research in the Lebanese context.

Co-requisite: ENG202 Advanced Academic English

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology

PSY256 Sensation and Perception

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course explores how multisensory mechanisms transform external stimuli into information that our brains can understand and reliably interpret. All senses will be examined with an emphasis on vision. Topics include perception of color, motion, form, depth, perceptual illusions, and perceptual disorders such as inability to see motion and/or identify objects or faces. 

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology

PSY267 Cultural Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course will give students an introduction to the scientific, theoretical and applied basis of cultural psychology. Students will develop an understanding of universal and culturally shaped psychological processes and how they shape morality, religious thought, emotions, psychological health, conformity and other hot topics in the field. 

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology

PSY302 Health Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course is designed to introduce the basic concepts of Health Psychology. Students will be introduced to different medical disorders and diseases and their impact on the psychological health and functioning of individuals with these disorders. Students will study physical limitations and adaptations. Psychological treatments of persons with disorders and physical limitations will be introduced. Topics covered will include depression and illness, traumatic injuries, neuromuscular diseases, cancer, and chronic pain. Also covered will be the use of psychological techniques to improve behaviors for wellness including smoking cessation, proper nutrition, and exercise. Such methods of treatment will include biofeedback, relaxation and behavioral goal setting.

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY303 Introduction to Neuroscience

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This introductory neuroscience course will explore how our brains work and are formed, how our brains guide us through the changes in life, and why it is important to increase understanding of our brains. This course will allow you to discuss 1) why the brain is the body’s most important organ, 2) how brain cells communicate using both electrical and chemical signals, 3) how genetically determined brain circuits are the foundation of the nervous system, 4) how life experiences change the nervous system, 5) how intelligence arises as the brain reasons, plans, and solves problems, 6) how the brain endows us with natural curiosity to understand how the world works, and 7) how fundamental discoveries promote healthy living and the treatment of disease.

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY303H Introduction to Neuroscience

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This introductory neuroscience course will explore how our brains work and are formed, how our brains guide us through the changes in life, and why it is important to increase understanding of our brains. This course will allow you to discuss 1) why the brain is the body’s most important organ, 2) how brain cells communicate using both electrical and chemical signals, 3) how genetically determined brain circuits are the foundation of the nervous system, 4) how life experiences change the nervous system, 5) how intelligence arises as the brain reasons, plans, and solves problems, 6) how the brain endows us with natural curiosity to understand how the world works, and 7) how fundamental discoveries promote healthy living and the treatment of disease.

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY304 Psychology of Youth

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course focuses on the physical, cognitive and emotional changes experienced by young people and how these changes are affected by family, peers, dating, and the media. It also considers the challenges faced by adolescence, with a focus on drugs and deviance.

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology and PSY234 Development across the Life Span
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY311 Exceptional Child

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course provides an introduction to the concept of exceptionality and an overview of the various forms of atypical growth and development. Course work includes psychology and identification of exceptional children. Focus is on children classified as having learning disabilities and their implications for classroom life in both special cases and inclusion setting.

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY320 Theories of Personality

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course provides a comprehensive coverage of the most influential theories of personality. It also examines the interplay of forces that shape the individual’s personality throughout the course of life. 

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY322 Mind and Behavior

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the problems, theories and research on the human mind and other cognitive systems. The following topics will be covered: perception, memory, attention reasoning, problem solving, language comprehension, and production and cultural cognition

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY323 Social Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Social Psychology focuses on how individual motives, cognitions, attitudes are affected by groups, organizations and institutes. These influences will be explored in domains such as interpersonal attraction, prejudice, conformity, attitudes, aggression and motivation.

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY324 Theories of Learning

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course provides an analysis of the factors in learning, through a survey of the major theories of learning. Special emphasis is placed on the learning principles and their implications in the teaching process.

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY326 Psychological Assessment

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Psychological assessment is a building block of a clinical psychologist’s training. Validated and standardized tools are used in clinical research as well as in clinical assessment in the various aspects of the human existence; clinical diagnostics, characterological, personality, neurocognitive, intellectual, social and cultural. This course will expose students to methods by which psychologists conceptualize psychological measures using reliability, validity and generalizability, and teach them how to apply psychological assessment tools. Students will learn how to perform, score and interpret several psychological assessment tools varying between personality, pathology, intelligence and aptitude.

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY335 Organizational Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Organizational psychology is the study of techniques and theories related to understanding, predicting, and managing human behavior within organizations in order to increase organizational effectiveness and individual well-being. Topics include selection, training, appraisal, job attitudes, work motivation, leadership, job design, organizational culture, and work environment. 

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY335H Organizational Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Organizational psychology is the study of techniques and theories related to understanding, predicting, and managing human behavior within organizations in order to increase organizational effectiveness and individual well-being. Topics include selection, training, appraisal, job attitudes, work motivation, leadership, job design, organizational culture, and work environment. 

Pre-requisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology
Co-requisite: ENG102 Academic English II

PSY345 Research Methods II

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course covers advanced research designs as well as advanced statistical analyses in psychological research. Students will be introduced to advanced research designs and will to enter data and run descriptive and inferential analyses The course combines both lectures and lab-based sessions. 

Prerequisite: PSY245 Research Methods I and ENG202 Advanced Academic English

PSY355 Biological Basis of Behavior

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course is designed to familiarize students in the principles of biological psychology and to the fundamentals of the relationships between behavior and brain mechanisms. This course constitutes a comprehensive survey of the anatomical structures and physiological processes that determine behavior including the nervous, sensory and motor systems that are necessary for our ability to function effectively in the world. 

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology

PSY361 Research Methods

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Students will develop skills on literature search, critical review of empirical articles, hypothesis formulation, and APA writing, among others. Students will acquire skills in quantitative research and qualitative methods of data collection. The course will also cover main research designs in psychology (e.g., correlational and experimental), and issues on ethics, sampling, and reliability and validity of psychological studies. Students will design and implement a small-scale research study and will be introduced to different ways to analyze data using the SPSS statistical package and report results. The course combines both lectures and lab-based sessions.

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology and STA302 Introduction to Statistics in Social Sciences
Co-requisite: ENG202 Advanced Academic English

PSY425 Abnormal Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

In this course students examine the field of abnormal psychology, surveying the major psychological disorders and their classification. Emphasis is on recognizing symptoms and exposure to some treatment approaches. 

Prerequisites: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology and ENG202 Advanced Academic English

PSY466 Counseling Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the field of counseling psychology. Topics related to the contemporary counseling psychology approaches will be discussed. The core of the course will focus on theory and application. Case studies will supplement theoretical material.

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology and ENG202 Advanced Academic English

PSY491 Internship

[1 cr.]

The Academic Internship course provides students’ with a unique opportunity for learning about particular fields of Psychology through a combination of direct hands-on experience, formal study, collaborative learning with peers and the mentoring of junior students. The course is comprised of two main components: fieldwork at an internship site. For this component of the course some students may choose to get involved in collaborations with academic faculty or organizations in the U.S. via LAU’s New York office facilities. The second component is academic work in an internship seminar where the following topics are taken up: Ethical Issues in Professional Life, Social Justice, Legal Issues, Exploration of our skills, personality types and career aspirations, Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication. Each student is expected to spend 200 hours per semester.

Pre-requisites: PSY361 Research Methods, STA302 Introduction to Statistics in Social Sciences, and senior standing.

PSY498 Topics in Psychology

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course deals with an area of psychology, or a topic that is not usually dealt in other psychology courses. Topics will vary depending on contemporary issues in the field of psychology and students’ needs as agreed upon by the faculty of the program. 

Prerequisite: PSY201 Introduction to Psychology and ENG202 Advanced Academic English

PSY499 Senior Study

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This is the capstone course and it involves an independent empirical study on a topic chosen by the student.

Prerequisites: PSY361 Research Methods and COM203 Art of Public Communication

PSY499H Senior Study

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This is the capstone course and it involves an independent empirical study on a topic chosen by the student.

Prerequisites: PSY361 Research Methods and COM203 Art of Public Communication