Psychology
Study the human condition
Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. This field seeks to understand people's emotions, behavior, and thoughts. Psychology at MVC provides students with the academic and applied tools to skillfully examine the nature of human behavior from a biopsychosocial perspective, such as biological, psychological, and social factors.
Programs of Study
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AAssociate Degree
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TTransfer Degree
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CCredit Certificate
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NNon-Credit
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Limited Enrollment -
Online Options
Psychology for Transfer
Associate of Arts for Transfer
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The Associate in Arts in Psychology for Transfer degree is designed to prepare students who wish to transfer for the purposes of pursuing studies in psychology. Specifically, this degree allows students to complete various lower division courses in preparation for obtaining a baccalaureate degree in psychology at a California State University (CSU).
Program Code
MAA566/MAA568
Units
19 - 20 Units
Why study psychology?
What You'll Learn and Where You Can Go
- How to apply the basic tenets of psychology to the study of more in-depth topics in upper division courses.
- Understand and describe key concepts, principles and applications in the field of psychology and its content domains.
- How to distinguish between the main theoretical perspectives in psychology
- How to analyze the primary subfields of psychology and gauge their contributions to the understanding of behavior, cognition, and emotion.
- How to use APA style to communicate the results of research in written reports and oral communications.
- Apply information literacy and use scientific reasoning to interpret, design, and conduct basic psychological research and understand psychological phenomena.
The psychology field offers varied academic and career pathways include a variety of positions in human services, business, school, clinical, research, or industrial psychology.
- Alcohol and drug treatment counselor
- College counselor
- Community organization worker
- Education administrator
- Mental health counselor
- Personnel recruiter
- Probation officer
- Psychology public relations worker
- School counselor
- School psychologist
- Teaching at higher education institutions
Support for Learning and Working in Psychology
- View a list of psychological societies and organizations from around the world with an emphasis in psychological science.
- View a list of psychology-related organizations that represent professionals in the respective areas of their psychology specialty, and provide such opportunities as networking, continuing education, professional development, policy making and much more.
- View a list of regional psychological associations. Regional psychological associations are organizations representative of the scientific and professional interests of the psychologists within a given region of the country.
Meet Psychology Faculty
Your psychology faculty are determined to provide exceptional, high-quality, rich and meaningful learning experiences for our diverse learners. We can't wait to teach and learn with you.
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Adviye Tolunay-Ryan, Ph.D. -
Adam Felton, Ph.D. -
Sara Yerushalmian, Ph.D. -
Kyla Rankin, Ph.D.
Part-Time Faculty
Psychology Courses
In addition to degree credit, MVC psychology courses may be used to fulfill general education requirements for California State University-General Education-Breadth pattern (CSU GE-Breadth) or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) pattern.
Historical and philosophical antecedents of contemporary psychology; the scientific study of behavior and mental processes as systemized in learning, motivation, emotion, personality, intelligence, and thought.
PSY-1:
- 3 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Available online and in-person during fall, spring, summer, winter
PSY-1H:
- 3 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Available online and in-person every two years (check the class schedule) as part of the Honors Program, and offers an enriched experience for accelerated students.
The scientific study of brain-behavior relationships and mental processes. Course topics include the historical scientific contributions and current research principles for studying brain-behavior associations and mental processes, basic nervous system structure and function, and the discussion of ethical standards for human and animal research.
- 3 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Available during the following terms: fall, spring, possibly summer (check the class schedule)
This course examines individual human behavior in relation to the social environment. It includes emphasized topics; such as, aggression, prejudice, interpersonal attraction, attitude change, gender roles, and social cognition.
- 3 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Available during the following terms: fall, spring
Examines the prevailing theories and research of developmental psychology and the stages of human development from conception to death.
- 3 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Available online and in-person
- Available during the following terms: fall, spring, summer, winter
Explores opportunities for adjustment and growth in a variety of circumstances, such as family, work, and interpersonal relationships. Topics include personal development through the life cycle, biological, psychological, and social aspects of stress, personal coping skills, interpersonal communication, family relationships, and effective integration of work with leisure.
- 3 units | Transferable to UC, CSU
- Available during the following terms: fall, spring
Examines the basic concepts and principles of the prevailing theories of personality and evaluates the scientific, theoretical, and practical merits of their assumptions and propositions.
- 3 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Available during the following terms: fall, spring
Survey of historical and contemporary approaches to diagnosing, understanding, and treating major forms of psychological disorder, including: anxieties, fears, obsessions, psychosis, sexual and personality disorders, disorders of childhood and adolescence.
PSY-35:
- 3 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Available during the following terms: fall, spring
PSY-35H:
This Honors course offers an enriched experience for accelerated students through limited class size; seminar format; focus on primary texts; and application of higher-level critical thinking skills. Students will produce a minimum of 5,000 words of instructor-evaluated writing.
- 3 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Available during major terms as approved by Honors Program council.
This course introduces students to basic statistical methods and analyses commonly used in behavioral science research. Topics cover both inferential and descriptive statistics including correlations, regression analysis, chi-squares, t-tests, analysis of variance, and an introduction to factorial designs. This course covers the logic of hypothesis testing and emphasizes conceptualization of material and interpreting findings for use in behavioral science research above computation. This course trains students to use a statistical software package used by behavioral science researchers and prepares them to proficiently consume published research in the behavioral sciences. Requires MAT-35 Intermediate Math completion or qualifying mathematics course placement.
- 3 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Prerequisite: MAT-35 OR qualifying mathematics placement
- Available during the following terms: fall, spring
Introduces students to psychological research methods with emphasis on the use of the scientific method. The laboratory will complement the lectures and allow each student to design and conduct behavioral research, including collecting and analyzing research data.
- 4 units | Transferable to UC and CSU
- Prerequisite: PSY-1/1H and PSY/SOC-48 or MAT-12/12H
- Available during the following terms: fall, spring, possibly summer (check the class schedule)