Overview of Course

PSY 252: Mind, Brain, and Behavior is an investigation into the core principles of sensation and perception, cognitive psychology, and cognitive neuroscience to highlight the connections between brain function and human behavior. In this course, we’ll examine how our senses are transformed into meaningful experiences and learn how our brain networks drive cognitive processes such as attention, memory, language, and decision-making. By combining theory with practical experiments, you'll explore how your brain processes what you see and hear, how it adapts over time, and how your thoughts influence your feelings and social interactions.

What makes this course particularly transformative is its global, experiential learning environment. As we navigate diverse international ports, we will have the opportunity to observe firsthand how cultural, environmental, and social factors influence brain development and behavior. Field excursions and local interactions will provide real-world context to classroom discussions, allowing you to compare cutting-edge neuroscience research with the dynamic landscape of human experience in various parts of the world.

Interactive lectures, collaborative group projects, and lab-based activities will empower you to critically analyze how both nature and nurture contribute to the mind-brain-behavior connection. By the end of the semester, you will have not only deepened your understanding of the neural mechanisms of cognition but also developed a global perspective on how different environments modulate our psychological processes. Be prepared for a journey that challenges conventional boundaries and enriches our understanding of what it means to be human.