Time Schedule:
Nancy J Kenney
WOMEN 357
Seattle Campus
Physiological and psychological aspects of women's lives: determinants of biological sex; physiological and psychological events of puberty, menstruation, and menopause; sexuality; pregnancy, childbirth; the role of culture in determining the psychological response to the physiological events. Recommended: PSYCH/WOMEN 257. Offered: jointly with PSYCH 357.
Class description
Psychobiology of women is the study of the way in which physiology and behavior interact in women's lives. This course concentrates on those aspects of physiology which delineate women from men (mostly reproductive endocrinology) and which play a major role in women's lives. It deals not only with the ways in which physiology affects behavior but also with the often less thought about ways in which behavior affects physiology. The first section of this course is designed to establish a basic foundation of understanding of women's anatomy and physiology. Heavy emphasis is placed on the role of hormones in women's lives. The course assumes that the students have limited or no background in biology at the outset but progresses in its discussion to include complex interactions between various hormonal systems important to female functioning. The second section of this course is an exploration of the physiological and behavioral changes associated with major events or experiences in women's lives. Some of these events are ones which all women experience like puberty (Why does it happen? When does it happen? and How do girls react to the changes in their bodies?), the monthly cycle and its relationship to behavior (we live it, we have a love-hate relationship with it, it's blamed for all women's problems, why), and menopause ( it has an even worse image than the monthly cycle because it combines being a woman with getting older - two strikes). Others events discussed are optional, i. e., they may or may not be experienced by a given woman. These include pregnancy (a major secretive cult of womanhood), contraceptive use (how do those things work?, what's available? and what do they do to a woman's body and behavior?), abortion (what are the physical and psychological aftereffects?). Others events discussed are experienced by some women but should be understood by all people. These include infertility (a growing problem), PMS (lots of press but what is it really and do most women really have it) and lesbianism (sexuality of women in general is a very poorly understood and ignored topic). In each of these cases, the course concentrates on the physiological causes or effects of the event and examine, as much as possible, the behavioral implications of the event. Interestingly, in some cases, the biology will be well understood but the behavioral effects not well understood. In other cases, the behavior will be better understood than the physiology and in some really amazing cases, neither the behavior nor the physiology will be well understood.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Course meets 4 hours per week for lecture and 1 hour per week for discussion. During lectures, students are highly encouraged to ask questions or to comment on course material.
Discussion section meetings immediately preceding tests are used for review of material. Remaining section metings are used to discuss current social issues relevant to course material. To prepare for these discussions, students are asked to prepare brief papers discussing her/his own opinion on the issues at hand and then arguing the opposite position. During some quarters, this course can be taken with a Service-Learning Option. In this case, the student registers for a volunteer placement in a service site selected for this course. The student agrees to spend 2 to 4 hours per week at the site during the academic quarter. Service-learning tutors work with the students to help them relate class material to their placement site.
Recommended preparation
This course is intended for students with little or no background in psychology, women studies or biology. Exposure to any of these fields at the introductory level would be helpful but is not necessary.
Class assignments and grading
Readings are all from "The Complexities of Women: Integrative Essays in Psycholgy and Biology (2nd ed.)" edited by Kenney, Brot, Moe and Dahl (Kendall-Hunt, 1996). Amount of reading is very light early in the quarter and increases for the second half of the course. Additional assignments are in the form of opinion papers required for many discussion sections. These are discussed above.
Course grade is based mainly on test scores. Three midterms and a final are given. Grades are based on the percentage of total possible points earned on the four exams with individuals earning 96% or more of the possible points receiving a grade of 4.0. Course grades decline by 0.1 for every 1% below 96%. Additional credit is given for participation in quiz sections and for participation in Service Learning.
