PSYC 323 Psychology of Evil
This course will examine the theory and research behind the troubling issue of human malice. Readings will address historical and contemporary examples of "evil" as both a moral absolute and a societal construction, focusing on a variety of behaviors from murder to allegations of vampirism and witchcraft to foreign and domestic terrorism to internet "trolling." Humankind's propensity to perceive and engage in evil will be discussed from several angles of the behavioral sciences, including social psychology (e.g., mob behavior and scapegoating), genetics and neuroscience (evolutionary predictors), personality and individual differences ('bad apples'), cultural anthropology (mythology and folklore), and even popular culture (portrayals of evil in media and fiction). Prerequisites: WRIT 113, First-Year Academic Writing; LSCI 105, Information Theory and Practice or LSCI 106, Information Sources for Architecture and Interior Design or LSCI 205, Information in the Disciplines; and PSYC 200, Introduction to Psychology.