Maryville College

Behavioral Sciences at Maryville College

Psychology, Child Development, ASL & Deaf Studies, and Sign Language Interpreting comprise the Behavioral Sciences at Maryville College.  All require a working knowledge of human behavior and the application of that study to a variety of situations or special populations, whether working in the classroom as an elementary school teacher, contributing to mental health or community organizations, or interpreting for the Deaf. 

The Division emphasizes a ‘hands-on’ approach to learning, so most classes incorporate opportunities to be actively engaged with the subject matter.  Psychology students will do laboratory and field experiments, Child Development students will observe and interact with children, and ASL and Interpreting students will interact with members of the Deaf community. 

Class Favorites

Social Psychology (PSY/SOC 221) –One of the most popular psychology electives taught by Dr. Crystal Colter. "Because social psychology includes topics such as persuasion, romantic attraction, prejudice, and conformity," says Colter, "part of the joy of learning for students in this course is that they can take what they learn and apply it directly to their own lives."

Comparative Interpreting (SLI 321) - Students and the teacher enjoy the diverse settings practice and information in this course. Students experience everything from interpreting on stage with whole body movement, to practicing interpreting in the College health clinic, to the local General Sessions Court during actual court proceedings, such as traffic court, divorces, and criminal and civil cases.  Beth Willhoit ‘04 said, “Interpreting in court is hard, but it is cool!”

Child Development (Psy 211) – As one of the foundation courses of the Child Development & Learning major and a popular psychology elective, students create and engage in children's programs designed to apply classroom learning and enhance the emotional lives of children. “Understanding development comes through playing, talking, and listening to children. Students rarely forget the theories they have seen in action,” according to Dr. Ariane Schratter.

Quick Fact:

In the past 17 years, all Maryville College interpreting majors who have pursued interpreting jobs have obtained them.

Behavioral Sciences at MC

News

  • Maryville College’s RaeKenya Walker selected for THEC service award
  • Fager will be Maryville College’s next dean
  • More than 70 students honored at Academic Awards Ceremony
  • Faculty Showcase at MC will explore widowers’ sense-of presence experiences
  • MC now enrolling area children for Project Lead program
  • Dr. Crystal Wright Colter presented a poster entitled "An examination of academic and social self-efficacy, social support, and resource utilization among first-generation college students" at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association in Charlotte, NC in March 2008 with MC student co-authors Ashley McBee, Kristan Armstrong, Kim MacLennan, Keith Ellis, Michaela Porubanova, and Meghan Delacerna. The poster won a $300 Regional Research Award from Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology.
  • Dr. Crystal Wright Colter presented as part of a Participant Idea Exchange (roundtable discussion) a session entitled "Designing the Introductory Psychology Course to Reduce the Stigma Surrounding Mental Illness" at the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Petersburg, FL in January 2008.
  • Dr. Crystal Wright Colter attended the Best Practices in Black Student Achievement conference at Clemson University in January 2007.
  • Ms. Peggy Maher completed training as a video relay interpreter in December 2005 and now works a few hours for Sorenson Video Relay Services in Knoxville.
  • Ms. Karen Beale, Ph.D. candidate in Developmental Psychology at North Carolina State University, will be joining the faculty in August 2006.  Her interests are in Emotional development and expression across the lifespan.
  • Dr. Lori Schmied, professor of psychology, will publish an article in May 2006 in the History of Psychology journal [Schmied, L.A., Steinberg, H., & Sykes, E.A.B. (2006). Psychopharmacology’s debt to experimental psychology. History of Psychology, 9, in press].
  • Dr. Lori Schmied, professor of psychology, will give an invited talk on "Caffeine to Cocaine: Contributions of Early Experimental Psychology to Psychopharmacology" to the Southern Society for Psychology and Philosophy in Charleston, SC, April 2006.
  • Dr. Ariane Schratter, assistant professor of psychology, along with C. Berry, B.Holt, and M. Ballew, presented "The Student Intervention Team at Maryville College" during the Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience in Atlanta, GA, February 2006.
  • Dr. Chad Schrock, assistant professor of psychology, published an article with N. Unsworth, R.P. Heitz and R.W. Engle (2005). An automated version of the operation span task. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 37(3).
  • Dr. Kathie Shiba will both chair and be a presenter in a panel discussion entitled, Experiencing Other Cultures: Travel to Asia, at the annual ASIANetwork Conference, Lisle, IL, April, 2006.