Psychology

Course Description:

Emotions are among the most interesting topics in psychology:  How did they arise in evolution? What are their functions? How do they work? Are there cross-cultural differences in emotions and emotional expressions or are human emotions universal? What is the neurological and hormonal foundation of emotions in the brain? Are there individual differences in emotional experience, and if so what causes them (genes, culture, early experiences)? These are some of the questions we will address in this course.  We will use a paperback textbook, which will be supplemented by lectures.  There will be three in-class exams (one for each third of the course) and an optional final (optional if you take all three in-class exams). There will be a few brief written exercises and/or research projects, most taking less than an hour to complete. The book is relatively old (1996) and is currently being revised. If possible we will get advance copies of some of the new material and provide feedback to the authors about its value.