Course Description
Women as the subject of psychological inquiry. Topics include personality theory, psychopathology, psychological aspects of reproductive health, psychological reaction to being victimized, and life crises.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Research proposal on a women's issue within the student's discipline.
Athena Title
PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN
Prerequisite
PSYC 1101
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Upon completing this course, students should have learned: 1. About classic and current theories regarding the psychological development and socialization of girls and women in the United States 2. About the social construction of gender and gender-related differences in behavior 3. To critically evaluate psychological theory and research examining gender-related differences in a variety of areas, including cognitive abilities and social behavior 4. About the biological bases of human sexual development, particularly as it relates to cultural constructions of gender 5. About the interactive influence of race, ethnicity, and class on girls' and women's psychological development across the life-span
Topical Outline
1. Introduction and course overview 2. Psychological approaches to understanding girls and women 3. The meanings of difference: sex, gender, and cognitive abilities 4. Dominant images of women: implications for socialization 5. Sex, status, and power: the role of socialization 6. Biological and cultural constructions of sex and gender 7. Childhood gender-role socialization 8. Race and class effects on gender-role socialization 9. Girls' experiences of puberty and adolescence 10. Sexuality and relationships 11. Women and long-term relationships 12. Pregnancy and motherhood: psychological correlates 13. Work and achievement: sociocultural factors 14. Psychological consequences of violence against women 15. Gender and psychological disorders; sex-bias in diagnosis and treatment, race and culture in psychotherapy
Syllabus