Psychology is the systematic and scientific study of behavior and experience. It seeks to explain how physiological, personal, social, and environmental conditions influence thought and action. Research with humans aims to understand, predict, and influence behavior.  In the past century, psychology has moved from being a branch of philosophy to being both an experimental science and an active helping profession. It has developed several specialized sub-areas with foci spanning from the level of the nerve cell (e.g., the neural basis of memory) to that of society (e.g., the developmental consequences of the Head Start program).  A strong grasp of psychology requires knowledge of the approach and content of each of its sub-areas. Students gain this understanding by completing courses in the four main cores: Physiological/Cognitive, Social/Personality, Developmental, and Clinical. They choose additional courses to meet individual needs with the help of a psychology adviser. Furthermore, students who major in psychology learn to evaluate research articles and to design, conduct and report experiments.  More about the Program