Program Overview

This program supports mathematical, statistical, and computational studies that relate to psychological research. The content area of the research can be quite diverse, including any of the areas (animal behavior, clinical, cognitive, physiological, social/personality) of the Psychology Department. Quantitative studies contribute to theory construction, to applications of theory, and to the analysis of data. The quantitative program attempts to support any program of study in which formal reasoning plays a major role in the investigation of psychological research problems. No strong distinction is drawn between theoretical and applied studies, and indeed, many interesting problems have implications for both theory and applications.

We encourage students to take suitable courses wherever they find them, and to tailor programs of study to the research interests of the individual student. Of course, quantitative courses in the Psychology Department are acceptable, but so, too, are courses taught in Biostatistics or Statistics, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, and the School of Education. Students are encouraged to select courses that provide a coherent background for the study of mathematical or statistical problems, or computer models in their own area of research. Students from any area may specialize in quantitative psychology.

The courses selected must be rigorous and contain substantial mathematical, statistical, or computational content. Students are encouraged to examine the course offerings in Psychology and other department such as Statistics, Educational Psychology, Biostatistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Applied Mathematics. The quantitative paper should address issues that arise in the student's research. It is expected that the paper will make an important contribution and might lead to an independent publication concerning quantitative issues.