Courses Offered (past or present) by Lab Director Kirk Warren Brown, PhD
Community (all welcome)
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
The Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program has become one of the foremost secular trainings in the world to enhance mindfulness. Since 1979, this well-respected program has been completed by more that 17,000 people. Scientific research conducted over the past 25 years has supported its benefits for psychological well-being, physical health, wellness, and enhanced quality of personal relationships.
MBSR training focuses on the learning and refining of "wise attention" (mindfulness) that can enhance our ability to relax and be aware of our psychological states, physical states, and actions. Program participants learn to mobilize their inner resources to take better care of themselves and make positive life changes. The program aims to help participants develop resources and skills that can be applied to everyday situations as a means to cope more effectively with stress and to find greater health and balance, ease, and peace of mind over a lifetime.
The MBSR course has 8 weekly classes, each approximately 2.5 hours in length + a day-long retreat to allow for immersive practice in mindfulness. For more information, contact Dr. Brown at kwbrown at andrew.cmu.edu.
Undergraduate
Introduction to Psychology
Graduate
Research Methods for Social Psychology
This seminar focuses on advanced topics in research design and methodology with an emphasis on their specific application to social psychology. The central focus of the course is on the interplay of theory development and empirical testing in social psychological science. Major topics addressed include the nature of theories and how they operate in the context of research design, how hypotheses are developed, the design of empirical research in social psychology, practical issues related to conducting research, and thinking about the role of research design in data analysis and interpretation. In addition, ethical issues, research presentation, and the research writing process are addressed.
Multilevel Modeling
This course addresses a number of expressions of Multilevel Modeling (MLM) that are now in common use in all the major branches of psychology, as well as in education and other sciences. The techniques covered allow students to address a wide variety of research questions. The course begins with a review of simple and multiple regression, and then extends the relevant regression principles to MLM. The largest portion of the course is devoted to specific multilevel modeling approaches to intervention/treatment trials, cross sectional designs, longitudinal designs, and dyadic designs. Particular attention is given to the application of these techniques to substantive problems in psychology and education. By the end of the course, students have a deeper knowledge of how MLM works, where it is appropriately applied, and how to conduct the analyses and interpret the results.
Statistics for Psychological Science I and II
The first course introduces students to the General Linear Model (GLM) and two of its most common expressions in psychology: Linear Regression and Analysis of Variance. Additionally, students are familiarized with several current theoretical issues in data analysis (e.g., the place of null hypothesis significance testing). This course seek to balance a conceptual understanding of the GLM approach with practical application. The course begins with a review of hypothesis testing and an introduction to GLM, and then extends the relevant GLM principles to Analyses of variance (ANOVA) and both simple and multiple regression. Particular attention is given to the application of ANOVA and multiple regression to substantive problems in psychology. By the end of the course, students have a working knowledge of the principles of GLM and the ability to inspect diagnostics to test underlying model assumptions, conduct GLM analyses, and interpret the results.
The second course introduces students to advanced expressions of the General Linear Model (GLM) in common use in contemporary psychological science. The techniques covers have application in all the major branches of psychology addressing a wide variety of research questions. The course begins with a review of simple and multiple regression, and then extends the relevant GLM principles to confidence intervals in regression, tests of moderation and mediation in regression, and logistic regression. Particular attention is given to the application of these techniques to substantive problems in psychology. By the end of the course, students have a deeper knowledge of several major applications of GLM, will be able to conduct advanced GLM analyses, and interpret the results. This course is designed to provide the necessary foundations for skillfully using several advanced GLM analyses, as well as provide a basis for advanced-level courses using these and related methods (e.g., multilevel modeling, survival analysis, structural equation modeling).
Image Credit
Sculpture by takomabibelot.