Psychology
The goal of the Psychology Department is to provide students with the tools to pursue novel questions about behavior and the mind using the scientific method. Strong emphasis is placed on helping students learn to communicate their ideas clearly and concisely.
About the Major
At Hamilton, psychology students are introduced to a breadth of topics (e.g., clinical, cognitive, developmental, evolutionary, neuroscience, and social) while also gaining a strong foundation in research methodology and statistics. Students have opportunities to apply their knowledge, such as through research with a professor or at the New England Center for Children, a treatment facility for individuals with autism. From introductory courses through the Senior Project, students learn to use the scientific method to pursue questions about human nature.
Students Will Learn To:
- Explain how behavior and the mind are shaped by a variety of factors (e.g., biological, sociocultural)
- Evaluate sources, evidence, and psychological theories critically
- Employ appropriate research methods and statistics to address novel psychological questions ethically
- Communicate ideas clearly and concisely, demonstrating awareness of both disciplinary conventions and the target audience
A Sampling of Courses
Explore these select courses:
This course will explore the interactive relationships among evolved adaptations, development, learning, and culture, emphasizing ways in which these work together to shape individuals’ behavior. Questions covered will include: What does it mean to take an evolutionary approach to psychology? What are the major evolutionary theories, and how have they been used to explain human behavior? What are the methods and assumptions of evolutionary approaches?
In this course we will take a social psychological approach to understanding stereotypes, prejudice(s), and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and other group memberships. We will examine classic and contemporary theories and research on topics such as cognitive, motivational, evolutionary, and sociocultural explanations of prejudice; modern forms of prejudice/implicit bias; the impact of prejudice and discrimination on targets of prejudice; and prejudice reduction.
Meet Our Faculty
defensive self-esteem, responses to ego threat, and negative consequences of thought suppression
social, emotional, and self-regulatory development; infant and child temperament; parent-child relationships
learning and inference; functional neuroimaging; computational neuroscience; cognitive science
moral judgment, moral behavior, perceptions of blame, and social cognition
emotion, social stress, psychoneuroimmunology, psychophysiology, and neurogenetics
cognitive neuroscience of perception and attention; experimental psychology; cognitive psychology; human neuropsychology
electrophysiological recordings for the analysis of sensory processing; general physiology; neurophysiology; neuroanatomy; sensory systems
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and associated behavior problems; transition to college; assessment; learning disabilities; parent training; stress and coping
Siobhan Robinson
Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Director of Neuroscience
neurobiology of learning, memory and motivation
cognitive and socioemotional development; self-control; play and imagination; psychological distancing
Keelah Williams
Assistant Professor of Psychology; Director Jurisprudence, Law and Justice Studies
law, stereotyping and prejudice, and evolutionary psychology
cognition, attention, memory and language processing
intellectual and developmental disabilities, assessment and treatment of challenging behavior, organizational change management
Explore Hamilton Stories
Psych Researchers Study Interaction Between Blame and Moral Character
Inspired by a recent public trial and her previous work on moral character, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Rebecca Dyer decided to study the interaction between blame and moral character with three students.
White’s Student Researchers Study Children’s Self-Control
“A lot of the research I do on self-control is focused on the preschool age range,” White said. “If we are going to create interventions to build children’s skills, we want to do it while the prefrontal cortex is developing the most.”
Williams on Friendship Jealousy
Assistant Professor of Psychology Keelah Williams was recently interviewed for an episode of the podcast Ten Percent Happier. The episode, titled “Jealousy: Friends & Lovers,” is part of a series on feelings.
Careers After Hamilton
Hamilton graduates who concentrated in psychology are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:
- Senior Financial Analyst, IBM
- Clinical Social Worker, Washington, D.C. Department of Mental Health
- Product Quality Analyst, Google
- School Psychologist, Dundee Central School
- Neuroscientist, Massachusetts General Hospital
- Chief Architect, Port Authority of NY & NJ
- Vice President of Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook
- Professor, Georgetown University Law Center
- Assistant Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service
- Program Director, National Science Foundation
- Senior Deputy General Counsel, San Francisco Unified School District
Explore Our Spaces
The Taylor Science Center houses the offices for faculty members in psychology. The complex contains an atrium with a coffeehouse, an auditorium, and more than 100 teaching and student research laboratories.
Contact
Department Name
Psychology Department
Contact Name
Jen Borton, Acting Chair
Clinton, NY 13323
