Undergraduate
Evening & Online
The Psychology – Resilience and Performance Optimization major gives you the professional tools surrounding:
The Bachelor of Science in Psychology – Resilience and Performance Optimization requires 42 credit hours, in addition to General Education courses.
The philosophy and comprehensive approach to stress reduction through the re-establishment and enhancement of the state of well-being.
An overview of the application of psychology in areas such as mental and physical health, stress management, coping processes and resiliency, interpersonal communication, marriage and the family, gender and sexuality, and organizational processes. Emphasis is given to the processes that can help people manage or cope with the demands and challenges of everyday life in order to benefit society and have a life well lived.
Resilience allows us to cope with stress, navigate relationships with other people, pursue opportunities with confidence, and bounce back from setbacks, trauma, and loss. This course examines evidence-based cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, and self-care skills that have been shown to promote psychological health in the face of adversity. Coverage will touch upon resilience-promoting attitudinal and cognitive variables, coping styles, the role of family and social networks, and brain-body mechanisms.
Prerequisite: PSYC 120. This course explores biological underpinnings of behavior and mental processes, such as wakefulness and sleep, emotional behaviors, reproductive behaviors, selected psychological disorders, learning and memory, and the sensory systems. An overview of neuroanatomy and neurotransmitters is provided.
Positive psychology seeks to understand optimal human behavior. It emphasizes a scientific approach to knowing, guiding, healing, educating and helping people to flourish.
The course will introduce you to the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to become an effective team member. Students will explore factors influencing team success, such as team composition, motivation and group cohesion, communication, managing conflict, power dynamics, cultural sensitivity, and approaches to problem solving and leadership.
Prerequisites: Day-PSYC 101; CCPS-PSYC 120 or PSYC 222. Following a brief introduction to personality theories, the course focuses on the etiology, classification and treatment of behavior disorders.
Prerequisite: PSYC 120 or PSYC 222.
This course explores the ways in which traumatic events are experienced and the range of posttraumatic reactions. Areas of emphasis may include child abuse, rape, domestic violence, homicide, witnessed violence, and combat. Sociocultural and historical understandings of trauma and socially-sanctioned violence will also be discussed.
This course will examine the etiology of addictive processes, as well as the impact of addiction on biological, psychological, intellectual, and socioemotional functioning. Cross-cultural aspects of substance misuse, abuse, and dependence are also addressed.
The study of the family as a dynamic social institution. Students will examine family structures and socialization processes within multicultural and socio-historical contexts, including patterns of role behaviors, division of labor, decision-making and the life cycle.
This course examines conflict causes and effects as well as ethical issues. Students will use case studies and simulations to practice skills for conflict resolution. An investigation of theoretical and practical aspects of conflict assessment, negotiation, problem solving and mediation are integral to this process.
Prerequisite: PSYC 120, PSYC 222, SOCI 120, or CRIM 120.
This course introduces the language of research, the elements of quantitative and qualitative approaches, and ethical principles and challenges. Consideration is also given to techniques for collecting data and factors that influence the reliability and validity of findings.
Prerequisites: CRIM 120, PSYC 120, or SOCI 120 and a college-level math course. This course provides a general overview of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques behavioral researchers use to analyze data. Topics will include frequency distributions and graphing, measures of central tendency, variation, and relative standing, simple linear regression, and hypothesis testing. Should be taken before a student accumulates 60 credit hours (junior status).
Prerequisite: Senior Status, BSCI 272, and BSCI 274.
The senior capstone is designed to be the culminating course for the major. It provides an opportunity for students to re-examine principal theories and methodologies in their disciplines and write a well-researched review paper on a topic relevant to their personal interests, professional goals, or occupation.
Jobs in psychology are projected to grow 14% by the year 2028 nationally. The median annual wage is $79,010. The median wage for clinical, counseling and school psychologists in Missouri specifically is $76,480.
Many career paths require advanced training and certification. A Bachelor of Psychology – Resilience and Performance Optimization degree will prepare you for a broad range of fields, including: