Director of Undergraduate Studies: Brett Fajen
Director of Graduate Program: Frank J. Lee

The field of psychology uses scientific methods and procedures to study all aspects of behavior and cognitive processes. The knowledge it acquires about such topics as motivation, perception, learning, memory, personality, and social interaction is of major practical value in many settings (e.g., industry, education, health care). The department offers programs of study leading to a Bachelor of Science with a major in psychology and to a Master of Science degree.

There are a number of dual major options involving psychology and the following disciplines: computer science, biology, and management. Dual majors are also available in combination with several engineering disciplines (e.g., psychology and electrical, computer, and systems engineering).

The dual majors with computer science and engineering are especially appropriate trajectories for the Minds and Machines Program. (This program is described in the section on Interdisciplinary Programs. Information can also be obtained by e-mailing brings@rpi.edu or via the Web at http://www.mm.rpi.edu.)

A minor in psychology is also available. Finally, a wide range of courses highly relevant to other fields of study at Rensselaer (e.g., engineering, management, biology) is offered. These courses reflect the belief, shared by all members of the department, that information about human behavior is invaluable to individuals in virtually every field of endeavor.

Areas of Advanced Research and Study

Advanced study and research conducted by the students and faculty of the department has an applied orientation. Areas include:

• Human factors—cognitive factors in decision making and task performance, the interaction of humans with machines, information display, environmental determinants of alcohol consumption, transportation safety, and consumer product warnings.
• Industrial and organizational psychology—organizational training, leadership, motivation, performance evaluation, employee selection, organizational behavior, trust and honesty in the workplace, video and e-mail surveillance issues, job attitudes, negotiation and organizational conflict, legal and labor relations issues.
• Cognitive Science—artificial intelligence, cognitive engineering and human factors, cognitive modeling, perception and action, psychopharmacology, psychology and philosophy of reasoning.

Excellent facilities exist within the department for research in all these areas. The Minds and Machines Laboratory, Cognitive Science Laboratory, Interactive and Distance Education Assessment (IDEA) Laboratory, and dedicated space in the Institute’s new Social and Behavioral Research Laboratory each supports the department’s diverse interests in cognitive science.

Undergraduate Curriculum

General information

The applied nature of many of the department’s course offerings, including the Minds and Machines program, provides students with a wide range of practical skills and knowledge, useful in many different employment settings. The program is also designed to prepare psychology majors for graduate work.

The department’s philosophy is to provide maximum flexibility to each student in devising a specific plan of study. Requirements for a major are as follows: completion of three basic courses in psychology (General Psychology, Experimental Methods and Statistics, Undergraduate Thesis) and completion of at least 18 additional credit hours within the department. The latter courses are electives and will be chosen by students in consultation with their departmental advisers.

In addition, students must complete the basic degree requirements in physical, life, and mathematical sciences. The specific courses chosen to complete these requirements will, again, be selected by students and their academic advisers in accordance with their individual interests and goals.

Dual majors are available in computer science, electrical, computer, and systems engineering, and decision science and engineering systems. A dual major in management and psychology is also available. This last program involves completing certain requirements established by the Lally School of Management and Technology in addition to those described above. Please see the section on the Lally School for further information and a list of course requirements for the dual major in management.

General Psychology is typically taken in the first year, Experimental Methods and Statistics and Undergraduate Thesis in the third or fourth year. Because students are permitted flexibility in the selection of many courses, individual curricula may vary considerably within the framework of basic Institute degree requirements. Students are encouraged to take full advantage of the educational opportunities offered at Rensselaer by supplementing basic requirements in science and mathematics whenever feasible.

Minimum Credit Hours  This curriculum requires a minimum of 124 credit hours.

A typical four-year program is described below:

*The science sequence may be selected, with the assistance of the student’s adviser, from among 1000-level introductory sequences in biology, chemistry, computer science, geology, or physics, including ERTH-1030, ERTH- 1040 Natural Science I, II. See the handout on the science core available from the School of Science.

The Minds and Machines Program and Laboratory

Program Director  Selmer Bringsjord

The Minds and Machines (M&M) Program offers students a number of options for the B.S. degree and combines these degrees with hands-on research that starts at the beginning of the first year in connection with the Minds and Machines Laboratory. This course work and research is designed to prepare students to build and manage the building of both “smart” machines (e.g., intelligent agents that search the Web, expert systems, robots), and machines that make us smarter (e.g., better human-machine interfaces, Web browsers that learn from our surfing, automated theorem-provers). The emphasis is on learning by doing, and the doing, even for students new to the program, involves hands-on research at the intersection of computer science, logic, psychology, artificial intelligence, and relevant areas of engineering (e.g., computer systems, electrical, mechanical). Research is carried out in significant part in the Minds and Machines Laboratory and includes specific research projects described on the program’s Web site. Much of the undergraduate research in the M&M Program and Laboratory reflects an entrepreneurial spirit: for example, students working in the gaming area are encouraged to try to build systems that can be sold in the marketplace.

Students select a Bachelor of Science “trajectory” in line with their interests and with what part of the information economy they want employment in or what type of graduate study they may wish to pursue. Trajectories include:

B.S. in Computer Science and Psychology  a dual major in these two disciplines (most of those interested in gaming technology and the gaming industry are in this trajectory), the requirements and template for which are shown on the program’s Web site.

B.S. in Information Technology and Psychology

B.S. in Information Technology and Pre-Law

B.S. in Computer Systems Engineering (or Electrical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering) and Psychology—a dual major appropriate for students interested in robotics.

B.S. in Computer Science and Philosophy  (especially appropriate for those interested in logic-based systems, e.g., expert systems).

B.S. in Psychology  (with courses having a computational emphasis).

In addition to developing technical expertise in the relevant areas of information technology, the Minds and Machines Program is designed to allow students to analyze and discuss (with the help of science fiction films) the “big” questions raised by research and engineering in the program— questions such as: How smart can machines get? As smart as us? Is creativity the line that machines will never cross? Can machines be conscious? How would we tell? And so on.

Further information can be obtained by accessing the program’s Web site through the director’s (Selmer Bringsjord’s) home page www.rpi.edu/~brings or by contacting him directly at selmer@rpi.edu.

Minor Programs

Psychology
To complete the minor in psychology, a student chooses a minimum of four psychology courses, with at least one at the 4000 level.

Brain and Behavior Minor
This minor focuses on understanding how the structure, physiology, and chemistry of the brain shape human behavior and the practical implications of this understanding for medicine, psychology, and Biotechnology.

PSYC-1200 General Psychology (prerequisite)
PSYC-4320 Psychobiology (required)

Select two from the following ten:

PSYC-2940 Readings in Brain and Behavior
PSYC-4110 Motivation and Performance
PSYC-4410 Sensation and Perception
PSYC-4450 Learning
PSYC-4500 Drugs, Society, and Behavior
PSYC-2960 Topics in Brain and Behavior
PSYC-4600 Cognition and The Brain
PSYC-4770 Psychopharmacology and Behavior Toxicology
PSYC-4940 Readings in Brain and Behavior
PSYC-4960 Topics in Brain and Behavior

Community and Health Psychology
This minor focuses on applying psychology to helping people develop the understanding needed to exert a constructive control over their own behavior and their interactions in real-world social situations.

PSYC-1200 General Psychology (prerequisite)
PSYC-4720 Abnormal Psychology (required)

Select two from the following eleven:

PSYC-2730 Social Psychology
PSYC-2940 Readings in Community and Health Psychology
PSYC-2960 Topics in Community and Health Psychology
PSYC-4110 Motivation and Performance
PSYC-4340 Human Sexuality
PSYC-4400 Personality
PSYC-4500 Drugs, Society, and Behavior
PSYC-4630 Aids: Paradise Lost
PSYC-4770 Psychopharmacology and Behavior Toxicology
PSYC-4940 Readings in Community and Health Psychology
PSYC-4960 Topics in Community and Health Psychology

Human Factors Minor

This minor focuses on applying basic psychological principles to the interaction between person and machine. As technology becomes more sophisticated it is critical to design equipment that provides an optimal fit to the needs and abilities of the people using the equipment.

PSYC-1200 General Psychology (prerequisite)
PSYC-2220 Human Factors in Design (required)

Select two from the following eight:

PSYC-4160 Human Factors Seminar
PSYC-4180 Selected Topics in Engineering Psychology
PSYC-4280 Human-Computer Interaction
PSYC-2940 Readings in Human Factors
PSYC-4940 Readings in Human Factors
PSYC-4370 Cognitive Psychology
PSYC-2960 Topics in Human Factors
PSYC-4960 Topics in Human Factors

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

This minor focuses on applying psychology to performance in the work place. This minor will help individuals develop the knowledge base needed to improve their performance and the performance of others in the work place.

PSYC-1200 General Psychology (prerequisite)
PSYC-4200 Industrial/Organizational Psychology (required)

Select two from the following six:

PSYC-2730 Social Psychology
PSYC-4110 Motivation and Performance
PSYC-2940 Readings in Industrial/Organizational Psychology
PSYC-2960 Topics in Industrial/Organizational Psychology
PSYC-4940 Readings in Industrial/Organizational Psychology
PSYC-4960 Topics in Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Perception and Action Minor

This minor focuses on perception, with an emphasis on its role in the performance of both routine and skilled goal-directed activity. Individuals will acquire empirical, computational, and theoretical skills useful for experimental research and modeling.

PSYC-4410 Sensation and Perception (required)
PSYC-4420 Perception in Action (required)

Select two from the following six:

PSYC-2220 Human Factors in Design
PSYC-4160 Human Factors Seminar
PSYC-4280 Human-Computer Interaction
PSYC-4370 Cognitive Psychology
PSYC-4940 Readings in Perception and Action
PSYC-4964 Cognitive Modeling

Social Psychology

This minor focuses on the personal and situational factors influencing social behavior. Individuals will develop techniques to enhance their social perception, decision making, group influences on behavior, and attitudes.

PSYC-1200 General Psychology (prerequisite)
PSYC-2730 Social Psychology (required)

Select two from the following nine:

PSYC-2600 Moral Development
PSYC-2940 Readings in Social Psychology
PSYC-2960 Topics in Social Psychology
PSYC-4940 Readings in Social Psychology
PSYC-4960 Topics in Social Psychology
PSYC-4720 Abnormal Psychology
PSYC-4400 Personality
PSYC-4340 Human Sexuality
PSYC-4630 Aids: Paradise Lost

Graduate Programs

The Master of Science program in psychology provides for concentrations in industrial/organizational and human factors. The program, however, is quite flexible and can provide for other interests as well as interdisciplinary work with other departments at Rensselaer.

Graduate Degree Requirements   Thirty credit hours are required. The department has specific course requirements including work in statistical design and methods and Master’s Thesis. Students are permitted flexibility in the selection of electives.

Professional Program in Cognitive Systems Engineering

This new interdisciplinary Master of Science program is designed for students who wish to capitalize on the growing demand for machine systems that interact smoothly with, and sometimes emulate aspects of, humans. The program can be completed in one academic year of full-time study or pursued part-time.