Alfred State courses are grouped into the following sections:
A course designed to help students understand the basic concepts and principles of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development at each major stage of life - from conception until old age. Major theories are explained and fully integrated throughout the life span.
This course is designed to assist the student in developing the helping skills necessary to conduct a productive, helping session. Helping models, ethical considerations, and interview methods will be examined, particularly as they apply to the human services field. Students will video and participate in mock counseling sessions.
Major emphasis is upon understanding the symptoms, etiology, diagnostic classification, and theories pertaining to psychopathology. Special attention is paid to the medical model, the psychological model, and the behaviorist model as they apply to the causes and treatment of the behavioral disorders. Newer developments in therapy are analyzed which treat mental disorders as problems of living rather than specific diseases.
An advanced course to acquaint the student with general principles of psychology as they are applied in industry and business. The focus of the course will be on the viewpoints of industrial and organizational psychologists and will cover such topics as: history of work (Scientific Management and Human Relations), personnel selection, training and performance appraisal, job satisfaction and work motivation, group dynamics, leadership, labor-management relations, organizational communication, organization development (e.g., TQM) and work conditions including stress, drug abuse, alcoholism, employment, discrimination, and sexual harassment. Some topics will be discussed from a global perspective.