Through their exposure to research in social psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, behavioral psychology, and other areas of the discipline, our students learn to apply their knowledge of psychological concepts to understand situations involving teamwork, problematic behavior, and conflict resolution. Furthermore, students will gain a deeper understanding of why people engage in certain behaviors in social contexts.
Aristotle identified human beings as “the social animal.” Indeed, our social nature, social connections, and dependence on one another constitute our greatest sources of joy, as well as perhaps our most profound challenges. We now live in a time when scientific research, and nearly any other kind of creative and intellective work requires teamwork and cooperation. Learning to work effectively in teams has gone way beyond solely academic knowledge but has become a critical skill for success in our students’ future endeavors.
Our faculty model this behavior every day in our research and labs. All the labs in the Psychology Department work as teams of Principal Investigators, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate students as they advance knowledge in their particular topics. We also cooperate with colleagues in diverse disciplines across Temple University, around the United States, and throughout the world.
The Psychology Department offers many opportunities for students to learn about teamwork and conflict resolution. Courses in Behavioral Psychology, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and Social Psychology expose students to research and theory around teamwork and group processes. Upper-level courses such as Direct Applications of Behavioral Principles and Human Performance Improvement require student teams or consulting groups to work together to tackle real-world challenges. Students in these classes also learn research-based methods to facilitate working together and being accountable to one another.
Beyond the classroom, students can gain valuable experience in teamwork through working as a research assistant in any of the excellent research labs in the Psychology Department, participating in student organizations such as Psi Chi and the Psychology Majors Association, or the many other student organizations throughout Temple University. Faculty often encourage students to form study groups in their classes. The university provides both physical and cyber infrastructure for students who want to work together. The Charles Library offers many collaboration spaces, as does the TECH Center and other buildings around campus. Students also can access state-of-the-art collaboration software to ensure that the obstacles of time and distance may be overcome.
Research, scholarship, and work of the future relies on cooperation and teamwork. Our questions are too broad and complex to be tackled by a single scientist laboring alone in a lab. Our employers present us with tasks that are more demanding and challenging than one person can complete. No one is an island. Through coursework, research experiences and modeling the right behavior we endeavor to prepare Temple students to succeed in a team environment and often remind them of 3 important words – collaborate to graduate.