The Science & Practice of Compassion & Prosociality Everyone needs help sometimes. Giving and receiving help gets us through the day, connects us to others, and ensures our mental and physical well-being. Despite these benefits, lending a helping hand or accepting help can be hard. Why is something so essential so difficult for so many? In this course, we will discuss the psychological, cultural, and brain bases of compassion and prosociality. To put knowledge into practice, this course is largely experiential. Students will undergo Compassion Cultivation TrainingTM each week to acquire the skills necessary for extending compassion to the self and to friend, foe, stranger, and the world. Designed at Stanford University and The Compassion Institute, this training challenges worldviews for the betterment of ourselves and others. This course is especially appropriate for students going into the health professions. (PSYC 105, Open to junior and senior psychology and neuroscience majors, others by approval) 3 hr. sem.

Introduction to Psychology  This course will provide a general introduction to the field of psychology. The most central and important theories, concepts, findings, controversies, and applications in the following areas will be considered: biological bases of behavior, learning, perception, thinking, development, personality, psychological disorders, and social behavior. (Open to Juniors and Seniors by waiver only) 3 hrs lect./1 hr. disc.

Emotions Emotions inform thoughtful decisions, but also prompt knee-jerk reactions that make us appear irrational at times.  They inspire and dissuade us at both conscious and unconscious levels.  They evolved to trigger self-protective responses, but their dark side fuels self-destructive behaviors as well.  In this course we will discuss what emotions are, where they come from, how individual emotions differ, and whether or not everyone experiences emotions the same way.  We will also explore how appreciating the complexities of emotions might improve emotion regulation and interpersonal dynamics.  Topics to be considered will include biological, socio-cultural, clinical, and cognitive theories of emotion.

Brain and Behavior Activity within our brains provides the basis for our thoughts and behavior.  Brain activity and behavior are dynamic processes subject to temporary changes (e.g. emotional states, attention, sleep/wake cycles, and sensations) and lasting modifications (e.g. development, language, personality, memory, and therapeutic treatments).  In this course, we will explore brain mechanisms that produce complex behaviors and examine the contributions of brain activity to psychological and neurodegenerative disorders. During either a lab or a discussion section, we will develop our understanding of brain structure, probe our own brain activity, and/or investigate how chemical changes alter animal behavior in predictable ways.

Social Neuroscience Social neuroscience integrates neuroscientific and psychological approaches to enrich our  understanding of human social behavior. The field is concerned with how we recognize, understand, and interact with each other in social settings. We will explore how the brain processes (and is shaped  by) social/emotional information and how it gives rise to our physiological, cognitive, and behavioral repertoires of social responses. Topics include: theories and methods of social neuroscience research,  the brain bases of social processes such as the self, person perception, social affiliation, rejection and  conflict, social cognition, group dynamics, emotions, and cultural neuroscience.(PSYC 0226 or PSYC 228 or NSCI 0252; Open to psychology or neuroscience majors only, others by  approval) 3 hrs lect.

Social Neuroscience Social neuroscience integrates neuroscientific and psychological approaches to enrich our  understanding of human social behavior. The field is concerned with how we recognize, understand, and interact with each other in social settings. We will explore how the brain processes (and is shaped  by) social/emotional information and how it gives rise to our physiological, cognitive, and behavioral repertoires of social responses. Topics include: theories and methods of social neuroscience research,  the brain bases of social processes such as the self, person perception, social affiliation, rejection and  conflict, social cognition, group dynamics, emotions, and cultural neuroscience. (not open to students who have taken PSYC/NSCI 0437) (PSYC 0226 or NSCI 0252; Open to psychology or neuroscience majors only, others by  approval) 3 hrs lect.

Religion and Science: Mindfulness and Modern Psychology Mindfulness meditation is now widely embraced as a way to enhance personal wellbeing. To better understand this ancient practice, we will explore its traditional Buddhist background alongside its application and study in modern psychology and neuroscience. We will first study mindfulness in its historical context and examine how a traditionally religious practice was adapted for modern individualistic and therapeutic purposes. We will learn basic neural and psychological foundations of emotion, cognition, social behavior, and psychological disorders and raise theoretical and methodological issues in the scientific study of mindfulness. As an experiential component, students will also receive meditation training throughout the semester.

Kim Cronise

Reviews and ratings for Kim Cronise at Middlebury College.Kim Cronise teaches Science of Compassion, Introduction To Psychology, Emotions and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Kim Cronise good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

Prof. Cronise is a good teacher but her Intro to Psych class is harder than the other sections from what I've heard. Exams are closed note/book and other sections are not. Participation is important and it is a very reading heavy course. The mockumentary project is good in theory but the assignment rubric is very subjective.

Overall, this course was interesting and applicable to real life. The workload was manageable, with relatively few assignments outside of the readings. However, the exams were very difficult and relied heavily on rote memorization of the course content.

I loved this course. We did intensive compassion training for nine weeks, including daily meditation practices and journaling. You have to do all the reading for class because we discuss it in depth, and you submit long question sets in response to those readings before each class. It is a lot of work, but it is worth it. 