PSY 415 - Psychology of Extraordinary Events

Institution:

Hilbert College

Subject:

Description:

This course will explore the aspects of life and world events that move beyond the important and significant to what will be called ?extra­ordinary. The field of Psychology has defined many of the components of biological, behavioral and cognitive functioning in the realm of the normal and the abnormal. However, much less attention has been paid to the few but notable instances where events do not have a handy frame of reference, that is, when an event is ?extra-ordinary. In fact these events seem to defy definition, with most observers simply ?knowing or ?having a gut feeling when one has occurred. One of the first tasks in this course will be to define what is meant by an ?extra-ordinary event. Once defined, this course will explore the roles of biological and psychological functioning as they relate to such events. Functions such as arousal, stress, emotion, motivation, memory, social processes, adjustment and psychopathology will be explored by the use of book chapters, journal articles, movies, and movie clips. Through these explorations, this definition will be modified and a class produced concept map will be created as a record of the group’s thoughts on the subject. This course is intended to operate similarly to a graduate level symposium on a current topic in the field of Psychology, albeit appropriately focused for an undergraduate audience.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.hilbert.edu

Phone Number:

(716) 649-7900

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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