Psychology (MA)

Master of Arts in Psychology

Program Website: Psychology

Field(s) of Specialization

• Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Lifespan Development
• Social/Personality

Faculty and Administration

For a listing of program faculty and administrative contacts, please visit the program directory.

Program Description

The Psychology Department offers MA and PhD programs. Students may select Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience, Lifespan Development, or Social/Personality as their focus. Both MA and PhD programs are characterized by active faculty collaboration within and across areas and by a research focus. Both programs have a part-time option. Part-time students must ensure that there is sufficient flexibility in their work schedules to allow for attendance at courses, seminars, colloquia, and examinations; to engage in data collection; and to participate in meetings with supervisors as required. Student-faculty meetings are scheduled at the mutual convenience of the student and supervisor. The PhD program offers special opportunities for students to individualize their learning experience through a choice of methods courses and a choice of electives, including apprenticeships and independent study courses.

Field(s) of Specialization

Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience: The Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience graduate program at Brock University reflects the multidisciplinary nature of the neurosciences. Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience integrates concepts and methods from biology, chemistry, physiology, pharmacology, cognitive science, and psychology, in the study of the neurological underpinnings of behaviour and cognition. The basic tenet of the field is that behaviour ultimately reflects brain function and that understanding brain function helps us to understand behaviour. Research may be on a number of levels of analysis, ranging from the single cell to the whole organism. Individual students working in the field at Brock will usually specialize in a particular area, but they must also learn to appreciate the concepts and methods related to other issues and other levels of analysis. Research involves the use of a wide range of modern neuroanatomical, neurophysiological, and neuropharmacological techniques and behavioural measures in studies of humans and other animals. Brock researchers use a variety of electrophysiological, and behavioural techniques to investigate, for example, the physiological basis of sleep and the consequences of sleep deprivation, the neural correlates of normal and disrupted attention and memory processes, individual differences in attention and cognitive control, psychophysiological measures of developmental changes in cognitive and emotional function, neurophysiological correlates of personality, EEG/ERP measures of cross-cortical connectivity, electrophysiological and behavioural investigations of visual information processing, the impact of early experience on perceptual and cognitive development, and the long-term sequelae of mild closed head injury. Other researchers in our group perform behavioural pharmacological studies of major neurotransmitter systems (cholinergic, glutamatergic, dopaminergic), and their role in the production of vocalization and initiation of locomotor activity in rodents, the effects of stress on brain development and sensitivity to drugs in rodents, and the role of hormones in human and animal behaviour. A strong interdisciplinary team has formed the Brock Institute for Electrophysiological Research to help advance this field within neuroscience.

Lifespan Development: From birth to death, development is shaped by changes both within the individual and in his or her environment. Our program emphasizes development through the lifespan studied from social, emotional, cognitive, and/or neuropsychological perspectives. Particular emphasis is placed on the theoretical and practical implications of measuring change over time in the contexts of normal and atypical development, Laboratories are available for the study of perceptual and cognitive development in children and older adults, parent-child interactions, children’s peer relationships, childhood aggression, psychopathology, adolescent and emerging adulthood lifestyle choices, resilience, youth engagement, and adolescent learning disabilities. Current research involves both community and special populations from infants to older adults. Close links with faculty in Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience allow interested students to work towards an integration of neurological and experiential factors that help shape development, especially those related to emotional and cognitive self-regulation. Opportunities to engage in developmental research may be available through the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement. In addition, faculty are involved in the Lifespan Development Research Centre (LDRC) and other multidisciplinary research initiatives. These research initiatives provide unique opportunities for research and thesis collaboration.

Social/Personality: The Social/Personality psychology group at Brock is involved in a broad range of research based on a situational approach to human behaviour, relatively enduring individual difference factors, and the synergy between the person and the social situation. Research interests of the Social/Personality faculty at Brock range from basic research issues to applied psychology. Several members of the group, for example, are involved in the study of social issues. Faculty conducting social issues research are focused on topics such as: forgiveness and forgiveness seeking; stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination; immigration and group threat; social justice; trauma; and well-being. Faculty are also currently pursuing research in the structure of personality, psychopathy and forensic psychology, gender and sexuality, altruism and emotion regulation, perception of emotion, and differential attention towards and recognition of in- versus out-group members. This diversity of research topics is complemented by an array of methodologies for investigating social/personality issues, including observational methods, self-report questionnaires and interviews (in labs and via the internet), experimental procedures, eye-tracking technology, etc. Students are encouraged to collaborate with multiple members of faculty to develop and strengthen their research experience.

Program Objectives

The objectives are to provide intensive research training in the fields of Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, and Social/Personality Psychology and to develop an appreciation of the scientific basis of psychology and the skills necessary to systematic examination of basic or applied issues in the field of interest. Many graduates will pursue further training at the doctoral level; others will be prepared to work in a wide variety of occupations in which an appreciation of the theoretical, conceptual, and methodological basis of psychology is of value.

Normally, those admitted to the MA program have the option of proceeding on to the PhD program when the MA criteria have been met and formal permission to proceed has been granted.

All MA students have the opportunity to serve as teaching assistants in each year of their program.

For full-time students the program is normally six terms (two years).

Facilities

The department has well-equipped RF-shielded, sound-attenuated rooms for the collection of GSR, EKG, EMG, and high-density EEG and ERP data with source generator software for the study of neurocognitive and psychophysiological function; a three-bedroom sleep laboratory equipped with multiple channel digital amplifiers and specialized software for recording and analysis of human sleep and alertness in a 24-hour context; enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of steroid hormones in samples collected from rodents or humans; animal housing equipment for neurobehavioural studies, particularly for bioacoustic and locomotor analysis; animal labs with operant chambers, Y-mazes, automated activity cages, and provisions for surgery and histology; one-way mirror and video-equipped rooms and play rooms for behavioural assessment and observation; a 3-dimensional camera for creating ecologically valid face stimuli; eye trackers for recording fixation patterns in child and adult participants; a 4-dimensional camera (3D plus motion) for recording and analyzing facial movements; separate rooms for individual and group testing; a computer lab housing multiple computers in separate cubicles, each machine equipped with software for administering questionnaires and collecting reaction time data; a psychophysiological lab for assessing sexual arousal; and an easily accessed pool of Psychology undergraduates who regularly volunteer for research participation. Research activities are supported by highly efficient Electronics and Machine shops. The University Library provides online access to a substantial number of scientific databases and journals that are relevant to the three areas of specialization. In addition, students have in-person borrowing privileges at most Canadian university libraries, subject to the policies of the lending library.

A new $6.5 million Centre for Lifespan Development Research includes facilities for research on developmental issues across the lifespan, including easy access for community participants and laboratories for the electrophysiology and psychophysiology of cognitive aging and adolescent brain development, visual perception in children and older adults; clinical issues in learning disabilities, developmental problems, and trauma (e.g., abuse, brain injury). The new complex also houses a laboratory for computer data acquisition in social and personality psychology, as well as bookable testing/interview rooms, observation recording labs, and meeting space.

Admission Requirements

Successful completion of an Honours Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent, in Psychology or related fields, including courses in research methods and statistics, with a minimum average of 78%. Successful applicants typically have achieved an average of at least 80% in each of their last two years of undergraduate study. Normally, applicants will have completed an Honours thesis (where possible). In the absence of an Honours thesis, applicants must provide evidence of research experience that includes conceptual contributions to a research project (e.g., proposal, paper, poster). Scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test are recommended but not required for applicants with a background in Psychology or related fields. Please see the list of faculty members who recommend submitting a GRE score with your application.

Students applying at the MA level should indicate on their application whether they intend to pursue graduate studies through to a PhD so that their application can be considered in the context of their academic goals.

The Graduate Admissions Committee will review all applications and recommend admission for a limited number of suitable candidates.

Please note that, in any given year, admission to a particular field of study depends, in part, on the availability of supervisory and teaching resources.

Part-time study is available.

Students applying to the MA program with backgrounds other than Psychology or related fields:

In recognition of the interdisciplinary nature of Psychology, the Admissions Committee will consider applications from students holding degrees in allied fields. To ensure that such applicants have a background in psychology adequate for successful completion of their graduate program, applicants from fields outside Psychology or related fields must have completed an undergraduate thesis in another discipline that involved empirical research of scope and complexity comparable to that of an undergraduate Psychology thesis and must submit the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test and the GRE Psychology Subject Test scores.