Applied Behavioral Sciences Course Descriptions

The following are courses in the B.A. in Applied Behavioral Sciences expected to be offered in Spring 2010.   

CMN 329  PERSUASION (4 credits)
Explores major theoretical assumptions of current persuasion research.  Examines causes and effects of effective and ineffective persuasion.  Develops persuasive skills and strategies for a variety of persuasion applications, e.g. political, intercultural, and advertising. This is not a persuasive speaking performance course.

PSY 347  SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY (4 credits)
Survey of social psychological theory and research on how individual behaviors, thoughts, and feelings are influenced by the social context in which it occurs.  PREREQUISITE:  PSY. 105 or 106 [Intro. Psychology]

PSY 363  ALCOHOLISM, DRUG ADDICTION & RECOVERY (4 CREDITS)
The goal of this course is for students to learn how licit and illicit drugs (use, abuse, and dependence) impact the (1) brain (2) individual (3) family (4) neighborhood (5) mental health centers and hospitals and (6) national policy and the prison system. We will also examine how licit and illicit drugs are impacted by the above variables, as it is a mutual relationship.  Drugs will be treated as neither good nor bad; addiction will be considered an illness much like depression or anxiety.

CMN 313  NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION (4 CREDITS)
This course surveys various conceptual areas generally subsumed under the broad rubric of nonverbal communication.  Topics include:  physical appearance, gestures, face and eye behavior, vocalics, proxemics, touch, time, environmental contexts as well as application of nonverbal behaviors to specific interpersonal communication contexts. 

DCM 307  ANALYZING HUMAN BEHAVIOR (4 credits)
This course targets the link between the physical environment and social behavior. Every physical space is also a social space; its organization contains a “code” of responsive behavior for people to understand. We focus on these “codes,” and examine the ways they provoke conformity and deviance from individuals and groups. Students are expected to enter the social environment and gather publicly-observable data for analysis in the classroom setting. The ethics of social research, and of an observer’s interaction with the environment, are key points of inquiry during the quarter. Students in this course work at a “pre-ethnography” level, and are primed by its conclusion to enter and analyze any social group and its physical surround.  S2D, FX.

DCM 308  APPLIED STATISTICS (4 credits)
In this class, students will look at how numerical knowledge is created and interpreted, and how these processes give us tools to critical analyze ideas, policies, and scientific conclusions.  Some knowledge of mathematics is essential to understanding statistics. Thus, completion of a standard course in quantitative reasoning or college algebra will be of great help in succeeding in this course of study. S2X, FX.

DCM 309  APPLIED RESEARCH (4 Credits)
This course allows the student to develop competence in the process of systematic, academic inquiry. The Applied Research course requirements focus on key aspects of inquiry. Students create a research proposal responding to a purpose, problem, and question each chooses to target (but do not actually carry out the data collection or analysis during this particular quarter).  Students will explore research methodologies—quantitative and qualitative—and create a research design proposal based on a literature review and carefully constructed question, hypothesis, and methodology.
 
DCM  323  THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AGING AND THE AGED (4 credits)
This course provides an overview of the current theories, themes and issues of adult development and aging. In addition to understanding these theories and issues, students will explore questions such as: Does wisdom come with increasing age? Do people really change over time? What are the keys to positive aging? S3C, H3X.

PSY 302   PERSONAL ADJUSTMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH (4 credits)
Personal Adjustment and Mental Health is a semi-required course in the Comprehensive Evening Program and may be taken for psychology credit as part of a psychology minor.   The course presents psychological theories and data that are personally relevant. It represents an extension of, and builds upon, several areas of Introductory Psychology, especially personality, social, learning, biological and abnormal psychology. As a result of successfully completing this course, you should have a better understanding of yourself and of others, and of the world in which we live, and you might even be a better person for it.

CMN 353   COMMUNICATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE (4 credits)
In order to better understand the kinds of changes that occur in organizations as well as the situational or contextual appropriateness of what constitutes effective communication; fundamental organizational issues will be viewed from a number of prominent theoretical perspectives. Such issues will be examined from structural, human resource, political as well as symbolic theoretical perspectives.  In addition, the theoretical underpinnings of what constitutes "Change" as a dynamic organizational force will be explored.  Finally, in addition to this theoretical concentration, the structure, design and implementation of training/ development programs will be explored as well.

CMN 357   GROUP DECISION MAKING (4 credits)
This is an advanced undergraduate course in small group communication that addresses various issues in small group decision making processes in organizational contexts. Class materials will focus on various theories, research, and practices, and their applications to issues in real life. The goals of the course are (1) to learn diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives related to small group communication, (2) to be able to identify and analyze decision making processes and outcomes in teams, (3) to learn various factors on individual, group, and organizational levels that influence the effectiveness of decision making, (4) to experience leading informal group discussions, and (5) to learn skills to work in groups effectively.

DCM  324  EFFECTIVE GROUP AND PERSONAL DYNAMICS (4 credits)
This course design unifies two levels of human behavior and motivation: group and personal. Processes leading to decision-making and other actions rest in articulable patterns on both corporate and individual dimensions. We seek, in this educational arena, to activate and analyze this set of motives and to apprehend, and perhaps predict, this bi-lateral source of human motivation. In so doing, the group-level patterns leading to appreciable action and those emanating from each individual will more easily be understood, and their root patterns put to beneficial use. H3X, FX.

DCM 310  THINKING CRITICALLY (4 credits)
 This course strengthens students’ analytical thinking ability through practice in the skills and strategies of critical thinking and reading, and in the construction and evaluation of logical arguments.  In pursuing these goals, we encounter principles of logic, strategies of persuasion, and techniques of propaganda. The course presents a variety of readings, exercises, and projects designed to help students develop learning and skill in the following areas: identifying assumptions, connecting assertions to evidence, stating generalizations, analyzing arguments, and bringing multiple perspectives to bear on complex issues and questions. 

DCM 311  CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND NEGOTIATION (4 credits)
This course will examine several aspects of communication. We will examine perception, assumption, language and sensitivity in the workplace and beyond, applying strategies drawn from theory to actual work-place situations. Successful collaboration and teamwork are the result of clear interpersonal communication. Done well, collaborative problem solving stimulates new ideas and more sophisticated approaches. To this end, we will consider the issues of empathy and personal style in the workplace and beyond. The question of conflict will be examined from several angles, and defined in several practical ways. We will analyze the differences and similarities between (among others) status-based, ego-based and issue-based conflicts in the workplace and beyond, and apply the theory of principled negotiation to identify and resolve these conflicts. 
 
DCM 303  LEADERSHIP MODELS FOR STRONG ORGANIZATIONS (4 credits) 
This course is designed to explore the research, practices, purposes and scope of leadership as a tool to develop leadership skills that will influence and inspire others.  Both individual and organizational aspects will be presented and will include such areas as behaviors, ethics, communications, cultures and current practices.  Emphasis will be on application of leadership theories and skill building through self-assessment exercises and cases.  FX, H3A.

PSY 354   COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY (4 credits)
Students will meet the following goals:  1. To understand and think critically about the major tenets of community psychology.  2.  To understand the role of the environment in human behavior and the advantages of viewing behavior as a function of person-environment interactions.  3.  To understand various approaches to and levels of community interventions. 4.  To apply community psychology to a range of social issues. 5.   Get an opportunity to integrate course learning with a community service placement site.

DCM 325  WORK & SOCIETY (4 credits) 
We will consider work from the perspective of our needs and values, but also from the perspective of the needs of society. We will also consider the value that society assigns to different types of work (and the impact of that valuation on us as individuals and as members of various social groups). Other topics will include how work affects our family and social lives, the impact of modern values on how we view our work, and the role of technology in how we do our work and in how we view our work. A3D, H4.

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Adult Learning Seminar (These are required in all 3 majors)

DCM 313  LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE AND SELF-ASSESSMENT (2 credits)
Students will explore the nature of learning from experience and self-assessment.  They will develop a reflective learning autobiography and read about theories of adult learning.  Students will also be introduced to the DePaul Library, taking the online library tutorial.  Time management issues and tools, as well as life stages and learning interests will also be explored.    

DCM 314  LEARNING AND TRANSFORMATION
Building on last quarter’s seminar, student will look closely at the notion of transformative learning.  Additionally, using learning style inventories, they will reflect on ways to exercise various learning styles in their work, and capitalize on their strengths. 
 
DCM 315   EXPLORING THE FIELD (2 credits)
Students will work on professional goal setting and action plans by conducting research on their chosen field, exploring trends, ethical issues, controversies, best preparation strategies, and other salient matters.  In addition, the concept of “good work” and what that means for one’s own career will be debated and discussed. 

DCM 316   WORK IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT (2 credits) 
Globalization of the world’s economy has dramatically changed the interactions of people from different cultures.  As a result, the importance of understanding cultural difference has increased significantly.  This seminar will introduce students to the challenges and opportunities associated with living, working and learning in a global environment.  This will be done through discussion, reading, case studies, films and exercises to increase cultural self awareness as well as cross-cultural sensitivity.

DCM  317   ETHICS IN THE PROFESSIONS (2 credits)
Students will explore various approaches to determining right, morally acceptable, behavior.  Epistemology and several ethical frameworks will be examined.  Students will write, discuss, and debate case studies from their workplaces or field.  

DCM 318   SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES IN THE DISCIPLINES (2 credits)
Students will look at the nature of social justice, creating a working definition of the widely used term.  Readings will guide examination of issues of social justice in students’ fields or disciplines.  

DCM 319   CREATIVITY AND INNOVATIVE THINKING (2 credits)
Connections among such varied disciplines as physics, politics, and poetry will be examined and investigated within students’ own discipline/profession.  Using a variety of approaches to integrative and innovative thinking, students will explore interconnectedness, expanding possibilities, creativity, and decision-making

DCM 320   PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT (2 credits)
In this class, students will study the concept and use of professional portfolios and create criteria by which they will choose work to include in their own portfolios.  They will assess and evaluate their professional goals using the portfolio as a tool in that assessment.  Networking and sharing of information and experience will be emphasized.

DCM 321  CAPSTONE PLANNING (2 credits)
Students will begin the research for their capstone project, one that is directly related to the major and meant to be the final entry in the professional portfolio. Project ideas and topics will be discussed, refined, and formally proposed. Students will complete a review of the appropriate literature and construct a methodology by which they will carry out the capstone project in the final quarter.

DCM 322  CAPSTONE PROJECT/PORTFOLIO REVIEW (3 credits)
Students complete the capstone project in this course and also will review their learning portfolio selections thus far and make strategic choices for their (1) professional and (2) learning portfolios. In addition, this quarter will provide students the opportunity to wrap-up and reflect on their learning overall. (NOTE: This seminar is a 3-credit course.)

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