Psychology

Course Description:  This class describes some of the biological factors that have a large influence on the behavior of humans and other animals.It is intended as a prerequisite for subsequent upperdivision psychobiology classes in our department.

It is team-taught by 3 professors, each of whom will administer a multiple choice exam for their respective section.

The first section will be taught by Dr Henry and the lectures will sequentially cover the topics of evolution of human behavior, biological factors that are involved in schizophrenia, depression, intellectual functioning, sexual orientation, aggression, alcohol consumption and metabolism. The next set of lectures will deal with the structure and function of the nervous system, including a brief overview of brain function, neurochemistry, and sensory processes.

Following the first midterm, Dr Coss will lecture on adaptive significance and evolution of the nervous system, classical and operant conditioning, the stress response, learning and memory, pre- and post-natal hormone exposure and sexual variation and neurobiology of birdsong

Following the second midterm, Dr Owings will lecture on reproduction and social behavior, the nature of proximate mechanisms underlying social systems: simplicity and redundancy, human maternal vocalizations to infants as biologically relevant signals: an evolutionary perspective, early social learning and behavior, and predator-prey relationships. The final exam will be non-cumulative and will cover Dr. Owings material.