Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour

Overview

At McMaster, the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour (PNB) leads the study of psychological science, the nervous system and the brain, and behaviour in animals and humans. Experimental psychologists conduct research to understand why people think, feel, and behave the way they do, while clinical psychologists, counsellors, and related professionals apply this knowledge to help people, institutions, and society deal with issues relating to functioning and happiness.

Neuroscientists use cutting-edge tools to study the biophysical and electrochemical properties of nerve cells, the developmental biology of neural circuit formation, and information processing in the brain. Behavioural scientists study cognitive processes in individual animals and humans leading to interactions between individuals and groups in societal or natural settings. PNB鈥檚 undergraduate programs will give you a strong foundation for a career or further academic and professional training.

Areas of Research

Animal Behaviour

Members of the Animal Behaviour Group use a wide variety of techniques to conduct laboratory and field experiments on animals ranging from fruit flies to bats to mice to humans.

Cognition

Cognitive scientists study a wide variety of problems, but are united in the goal of understanding how people mentally represent their experience and then use these representations to operate effectively.

Perception

The goal of perception research is to understand how stimuli from the world interact with our sensory systems, forming visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory representations of the world.

Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology is concerned with the factors that affect physical, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social development across the lifespan.

Evolution & Social Behaviour

The social sciences and biology meet in psychology, and this is especially the case at McMaster, where the study of social cognition, development, and behaviour are integrated with the study of animal behaviour, physiology, and the evolution of behaviour.

Systems & Behavioural Neuroscience

Behavioural Neuroscientists study behaviour and its functional correlates in the brain with the goal of understanding the neural bases of psychological and behavioural responses.