The search to understand the psychological and neural mechanisms that support and shape human cognition and behavior is ripe for the fruitful application of computational and data sciences. Although we have made progress in understanding the key factors that drive human behavior, the efforts to date have served to illustrate the deep complexity of these processes and the need for the application of more sophisticated computational and data analytic approaches to understand them.
Faculty in the Psychological & Brain Sciences Track are actively involved in research that includes mapping the brain and understanding how different modalities of data from brain mapping can be connected to behavior, in-depth behavioral phenotyping using data from social networks, smartphones, and other sensors, understanding the lifespan dynamics of individual differences in behavior and social and economic outcomes using multi-generational, multi-country panel studies. You can learn more about the research interests of program faculty on the track faculty page.
Track Course Requirements
Students must complete three substantive classes in one subfield (Behavior, Brain, & Cognition, Clinical Science, Social/Personality, Development & Aging). With permission, students may substitute the Psychological & Brain Sciences Research Methods Course for one of those substantive classes depending on their background in Psychological Science.
Social and Personality Psychology
- PSYCH 4270: Social Gerontology
- PSYCH 4355: Personality Development Across the Lifespan
- PSYCH 5030: Seminar in Experimental Social Psychology
- PSYCH 5921: Theories of Social Psychology
- PSYCH 5594: Psychology of the Good Life
- PSYCH 5991: Social Cognition
Clinical Science
- PSYCH 5452: Clinical Science: Introduction to Intervention
- PSYCH 5454: Introduction to Affective Science
- PSYCH 5526: Neuropsychological Assessment
- PSYCH 5870: Clinical Psychology of Aging
- PSYCH 5886: Intervention with Older Adults
- PSYCH 5958: Emotion Regulation
- PSYCH 8370: Advanced Psychopathology
Behavior, Brain, & Cognition
- PSYCH 4182: Perception, Thought, and Action
- PSYCH 4330: Psychology of Language
- PSYCH 4765: Inside the Disordered Brain: Biological Basis of the Major Mental Disorders
- PSYCH 4746: Biological Pathways to Psychopathology: From Genes and the Environment to Brain and Behavior
- PSYCH 5098: Advanced Seminar in Human Memory
- PSYCH 5526: Neuropsychological Assessment
- PSYCH 5665: The Science of Behavior
- PSYCH 8087: Advanced Cognitive Psychology
- PSYCH 8352: Theories of Personality Psychology
- Biol 5651: Neural Systems
Aging and Development
- PSYCH 4355: Personality Development Across the Lifespan
- PSYCH 5427: Social Gerontology
- PSYCH 5591: The Development of Social Cognition
- PSYCH 5870: Clinical Psychology of Aging
- PSYCH 5886: Intervention with Older Adults
Josh Jackson
Track Chair, Psychological & Brain Sciences
Associate Professor, Psychological & Brain Sciences
PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Email: j.jackson@nospam.wustl.edu
Josh Jackson’s research focuses on the assessment of individual differences in an effort to better understand the link between individual differences and life outcomes (e.g., premature mortality, job market success). His research routinely combines existing large scale longitudinal datasets with additional multimodal data sources ranging from broad country/county/census tract data to more “boutique” datasets such as intensive time series data and biomarker assays. Frequently used quantitative methods include: Bayesian multi-level models, IRT, SEM, and network models.