Dr. Abeyta’s Teaching Philosophy
Teaching is important because I see education as a tool of empowerment. Education can help people better their lives, as well as the lives of others. Therefore, I believe it is my responsibility as a teacher to create a classroom environment that fosters engaged learning and intellectual growth, so students can understand and adapt to the ever-changing world around them. I strive to create this environment by designing courses with clear and achievable goals/standards and ensuring students make progress toward them. Moreover, I make class engaging by cultivating interesting and relatable learning activities that push students to be creative and think critically. Finally, I endeavor to foster an inclusive climate that celebrates diversity and strives to ensure access, opportunity, and advancement for ALL students.
Courses Dr. Abeyta Teaches
Note: Dr. Abeyta is always looking to improve his courses and so course content may change from semester to semester. The sample syllabi are meant to give a general idea of what to expect.
Introduction to Social Psychology (830:135)
This class provides an overview of foundational topics in social psychology and is designed for non-psychology majors (though psychology majors enjoy it too!). This class is designed to get students to see social psychology all around them and to think about how insights from social psychology can help them understand the following: society/current events, their social lives, culture and diverse perspectives, human conflict/prejudice, and career success.
Sample Intro to Social Psychology Syllabus
Cultural Psychology (830:365)
This course is designed to offer students an introduction to the growing field of Cultural Psychology. This course builds upon the foundation provided by the survey of topics explored in Introduction to Psychology by considering how culture and diversity impact the various issues that psychologists study.
cultural psychology sample syllabus
Method and Theory in Psychology (830:255)
Survey of research methods in psychology, emphasizing the guiding role of theory in scientific research. Consideration of the nature and history of scientific theories in psychology, hypothesis generation, review of extant literature, measurement, experimental design, control of extraneous variables, analysis, interpretation, replication, and testing the ecological validity of results. Emphasis on the self-correcting nature of the research process through replication and extension, peer review, increased methodological sophistication, and quantitative analysis.
Special Topics in Psychology: Existential Social Psychology
I have offered this course as a graduate seminar for MA students and a summer course for undergraduate students. This class is designed to offer students an introduction to the growing field of existential social psychology. Existential social psychology uses rigorous scientific methods to investigate how people deal with BIG questions about existence, such as: “Who am I?”, “What’s my purpose in life?”, “What happens when life ends?”, “How do I relate to other people and nature itself?”, and “Why do I believe in things I can’t see, touch, or verify?”. Students learn about psychological theories that look to answer these existential questions and review research that provide support for these theories. Students also consider the implications of these existential concerns for psychological health and well-being, as well as connect theory and research on existential social psychology to real-world social issues like prejudice/discrimination, ideological conflict, and terrorism/extremism.
Graduate seminar sample syllabus
existential social psych summer 2020