Undergraduates who may not feel ready to commit to a research lab may still learn about psychology by enrolling in several courses taught by Dr. Mendoza. He strives to create a fun, yet challenging, learning environment in which students are expected to actively contribute to their own and their peers’ education. Dr. Mendoza uses active learning demonstrations, discusses current events, and incorporates mainstream media into his lectures to make the class more accessible to his students. Furthermore, he strongly emphasizes deep conceptual understanding over strict memorization of content. By pushing his students to critically think about and make personal connections with the course material, Dr. Mendoza aims to generate long-lasting excitement about psychology.
Introduction to Psychology (PSY 100)
This foundational course is designed to introduce students to the broad field of psychology. Although psychologists are interested in a variety of topics and investigate them through different perspectives, they are all concerned with scientifically studying the relationship between human mental processes and behavior. Students are provided with an overview of specialized areas such as biological, developmental, cognitive, abnormal, personality, and social psychology. Students also learn how to evaluate research claims and be encouraged to reflect on how psychological principles can be applied to their understanding of everyday life.
Research Design and Statistical Analysis with Lab (PSY 201/202)
This year-long course is designed to introduce students to psychological research design and statistical analysis. Whereas most psychology courses focus on describing “what” people do and explaining “why” they engage in such behaviors, students discover “how” psychologists come to think about and investigate these phenomena. The course covers hypothesis generation, research ethics, measurement reliability and validity, survey and experimental design, and statistical computation and interpretation. Students also apply the principles of scientific inquiry to review past literature and conduct their own psychological studies, which they present through APA-style manuscripts, in-class oral presentations, and a final poster at the PC Psychology Conference.
Psychology of Gender (PSY 305)
This course is designed to provide a psychological perspective on gender issues. We will examine the myths and stereotypes associated with men and women in our society, the gender differences and similarities that have been identified in research, and the evidence and theoretical arguments concerning the origin of these behaviors. Because my orientation is that of a social scientist, the class will be taught from an empirical perspective. Thus, we will cover research studies being conducted and the answers currently being proposed on longstanding and contemporary issues pertaining to the psychology of gender. In particular, we will discuss bias and discrimination, power and privilege, sexual behavior and orientation, gender roles and norms, intimacy and violence, health and aging, and social causes and activism.
Social Psychology (PSY 317)
This survey course in social psychology examines how individuals think, feel, and behave in social situations. Social psychologists seek to answer many questions that are relevant to our daily lives. How are we influenced by the presence of others? How do we come to know ourselves? How do we form impressions of the people we meet? What causes relationships to begin or to fail? What accounts for the prejudice that people feel? Why are people sometimes helpful, but at other times aggressive or even cruel? In this course, students learn about the theories and empirical research that aim to answer such questions about human behavior. The goal is to develop an understanding of these phenomena and to apply social psychological principles to make better sense of our social world.
Industrial & Organizational Psychology (PSY 321)
This survey course in I/O psychology investigates the important question of how psychology operates in the workplace. The “I” side of the field traditionally focuses on components of human resources, such as the recruitment, selection, training, assessment, and development of workers. The “O” side examines the more social aspects of the workplace, including employee attitudes, motivation & stress, teamwork & diversity, leadership, and organizational culture. The overarching goal of I/O is to better understand how work influences people and how people influence work. This course will introduce you to key topics in I/O, provide you with an overview of empirical research in the area, and have you consider the practical real-world implications of these scientific findings.
Methods & Analysis: Social Psychology with Lab (PSY 367)
This upper-level course is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of how psychologists scientifically study social phenomena. In particular, students expand upon what they learned in RDSA II to critically evaluate and conduct social psychological research. Students have weekly discussions of empirical articles to learn about various topics in the field, such as social cognition and perception, conformity and obedience, attraction and close relationships, stereotypes and prejudice, and media effects on aggressive and prosocial behavior. Students are also expected to make connections between the weekly topics and current world events to understand the relevance of social psychology. Through the lab component of the course, students learn how to carefully analyze research methodology and are prepared to design, carry-out, and analyze their own social psychological experiments, which they present through a talk at the PC Psychology Conference.
The Psychology of Stereotypes & Prejudice (PSY 470)
This advanced seminar is designed to provide you with a deeper psychological understanding of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. We will have weekly in-depth discussions of theoretical chapters and empirical research articles, during which we will cover topics such as: the formation of intergroup bias, the influence of explicit goals and implicit attitudes, the effects of social stigmas, anxiety within interracial interactions, and strategies for combating inequality. The goal of these discussions will be to integrate various perspectives in the field in order to gain an understanding of how stereotypes and prejudices develop, why they are maintained, and how they can be reduced. We will make frequent connections between the class material and current events in order to apply our knowledge to the real world. We will also engage in active learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom that will help students (a) gain awareness of their own personal biases, (b) learn to question why they possess them, and (c) reflect on how these biases may be subtly expressed in ways that contribute to social forms of injustices.
This foundational course is designed to introduce students to the broad field of psychology. Although psychologists are interested in a variety of topics and investigate them through different perspectives, they are all concerned with scientifically studying the relationship between human mental processes and behavior. Students are provided with an overview of specialized areas such as biological, developmental, cognitive, abnormal, personality, and social psychology. Students also learn how to evaluate research claims and be encouraged to reflect on how psychological principles can be applied to their understanding of everyday life.
Research Design and Statistical Analysis with Lab (PSY 201/202)
This year-long course is designed to introduce students to psychological research design and statistical analysis. Whereas most psychology courses focus on describing “what” people do and explaining “why” they engage in such behaviors, students discover “how” psychologists come to think about and investigate these phenomena. The course covers hypothesis generation, research ethics, measurement reliability and validity, survey and experimental design, and statistical computation and interpretation. Students also apply the principles of scientific inquiry to review past literature and conduct their own psychological studies, which they present through APA-style manuscripts, in-class oral presentations, and a final poster at the PC Psychology Conference.
Psychology of Gender (PSY 305)
This course is designed to provide a psychological perspective on gender issues. We will examine the myths and stereotypes associated with men and women in our society, the gender differences and similarities that have been identified in research, and the evidence and theoretical arguments concerning the origin of these behaviors. Because my orientation is that of a social scientist, the class will be taught from an empirical perspective. Thus, we will cover research studies being conducted and the answers currently being proposed on longstanding and contemporary issues pertaining to the psychology of gender. In particular, we will discuss bias and discrimination, power and privilege, sexual behavior and orientation, gender roles and norms, intimacy and violence, health and aging, and social causes and activism.
Social Psychology (PSY 317)
This survey course in social psychology examines how individuals think, feel, and behave in social situations. Social psychologists seek to answer many questions that are relevant to our daily lives. How are we influenced by the presence of others? How do we come to know ourselves? How do we form impressions of the people we meet? What causes relationships to begin or to fail? What accounts for the prejudice that people feel? Why are people sometimes helpful, but at other times aggressive or even cruel? In this course, students learn about the theories and empirical research that aim to answer such questions about human behavior. The goal is to develop an understanding of these phenomena and to apply social psychological principles to make better sense of our social world.
Industrial & Organizational Psychology (PSY 321)
This survey course in I/O psychology investigates the important question of how psychology operates in the workplace. The “I” side of the field traditionally focuses on components of human resources, such as the recruitment, selection, training, assessment, and development of workers. The “O” side examines the more social aspects of the workplace, including employee attitudes, motivation & stress, teamwork & diversity, leadership, and organizational culture. The overarching goal of I/O is to better understand how work influences people and how people influence work. This course will introduce you to key topics in I/O, provide you with an overview of empirical research in the area, and have you consider the practical real-world implications of these scientific findings.
Methods & Analysis: Social Psychology with Lab (PSY 367)
This upper-level course is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of how psychologists scientifically study social phenomena. In particular, students expand upon what they learned in RDSA II to critically evaluate and conduct social psychological research. Students have weekly discussions of empirical articles to learn about various topics in the field, such as social cognition and perception, conformity and obedience, attraction and close relationships, stereotypes and prejudice, and media effects on aggressive and prosocial behavior. Students are also expected to make connections between the weekly topics and current world events to understand the relevance of social psychology. Through the lab component of the course, students learn how to carefully analyze research methodology and are prepared to design, carry-out, and analyze their own social psychological experiments, which they present through a talk at the PC Psychology Conference.
The Psychology of Stereotypes & Prejudice (PSY 470)
This advanced seminar is designed to provide you with a deeper psychological understanding of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. We will have weekly in-depth discussions of theoretical chapters and empirical research articles, during which we will cover topics such as: the formation of intergroup bias, the influence of explicit goals and implicit attitudes, the effects of social stigmas, anxiety within interracial interactions, and strategies for combating inequality. The goal of these discussions will be to integrate various perspectives in the field in order to gain an understanding of how stereotypes and prejudices develop, why they are maintained, and how they can be reduced. We will make frequent connections between the class material and current events in order to apply our knowledge to the real world. We will also engage in active learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom that will help students (a) gain awareness of their own personal biases, (b) learn to question why they possess them, and (c) reflect on how these biases may be subtly expressed in ways that contribute to social forms of injustices.