Degree Requirements: Bachelor's Degree
Completion Time: 2-3 years
Earned Credits: 34
Through education in physiology, psychology, and technology, Saybrook University's psychophysiology degree program trains students to assess and assist two types of people:
- Healthy people desiring to enhance performance through behavioral control of their physiological systems
- Unhealthy individuals who can be trained to recognize and control dysfunctional physiological systems.
Saybrook’s M.S. in Psychophysiology degree program is intended for people with undergraduate degrees who are seeking basic skills in psychophysiology and associated areas. The program is designed to prepare graduates for transition into Saybrook’s Applied Psychophysiology Doctoral program and trains people to incorporate psychophysiological techniques into their current professions.
Typical coursework in our master’s program includes:
- Foundations of Psychophysiology
- Psychophysiological Recording, Assessment, and Intervention
- Basic Hypnosis: Optimal Functioning
- Basic Biofeedback
- Basic Neurofeedback
- Psychophysiological Research
- Basic Bioscience
Because psychophysiological assessments and techniques are applicable across a broad range of careers, graduates of Saybrook University’s psychophysiology degree program may have the opportunity to affect lives in fields and industries such as sports, education, business, and the military.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Assess and appraise the knowledge of the biological basis of behavior and accurately relate and interpret behavioral dysfunctions to underlying biological dysfunctions
- Evaluate and interpret psychophysiological recording methodology and set, monitor, recognize, and consistently perform correct recordings utilizing psychophysiological equipment
- Create, organize, and conduct independent psychophysiological research studies utilizing accepted design and analysis techniques so that students recognize common mistakes in published studies involving design and analysis and can teach others how to do so
- Explain and assess the physiological and stress responses underlying both behavioral and physiological sequences impacting optimal functioning in order to design and conduct appropriate training utilizing psychophysiologically based techniques to optimize functioning in business, education, sports, and (when appropriately licensed) clinical environments
- Explain and integrate ethical principles and professional practice standards as promulgated by the field’s professional organizations, within the field of applied psychophysiology
More program information can be found in our academic catalog.
Specializations
The master’s degree in psychophysiology provides two separate specializations to meet students’ needs. These include a Science and Research Specialization for students primarily interested in learning psychophysiological research techniques and who want to continue in basic science and research programs, and the Optimal Functioning Specialization which is a practice-oriented program addressing the need for optimal performance specialists in sports, performing arts, and other areas. Each of these Specializations consists of 34 credits, including the following psychophysiology courses designed to foster expertise in research techniques or optimal performance specialties:
Science and Research
- APH 4101 – Essentials of Bioscience 3 credit(s)
- APH 4201 – Psychopathology for Psychophysiologists 3 credit(s)
- APH 5121 – Methodology in Psychophysiological Research 3 credit(s)
- APH 5122 – Data Analysis in Psychophysiological Research 3 credit(s)
- APH 4514 – Master’s Thesis 3 credit(s)
Optimal Performance
- APH 6499 – Psychological Applications for Sports and Performing Arts 3 credit(s)
- APH 5470 – Optimal Functioning in the Sports and Performing Arts Environment 3 credit(s)
- APH 5480 – Foundations of Sport and Performing Arts Physiology 3 credit(s)
- APH 5620 – Basic Training and Education in Hypnosis 3 credit(s)
The M.S. in Psychophysiology degree program teaches students to assess and assist (a) reasonably well-functioning people to perform better through behavioral control of their physiological systems, and (b) people with ailments caused by moderate dysfunctional patterns in their physiological systems. Students in our Psychophysiology program learn to be research-oriented professionals who use knowledge of the biological bases of behavior to assess their clients’ behavioral and physical problems and then correct them through physiologically oriented behavioral interventions.
The M.S. Psychophysiology takes two to three years to complete, including the completion of a research-based thesis. Students attend three in-person meetings each year when they are enrolled in the Psychophysiology program. Each is about five days long. Two of the meetings are Saybrook University’s Residential Conferences, and one is the annual meeting of the field’s professional society: the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.
Essentials of Bioscience
What is Bioscience? This psychophysiology course teaches the fundamentals of electronic circuitry, biochemistry, human electricity, math, and human physiology as used in professional psychophysiology. Required knowledge of electronic circuitry must be sufficient to understand how a psychophysiological recording device functions and what the controls do, including roll-off, signal-to-noise ratios, frequency spectrums, etc. Knowledge of biochemistry must be sufficient to understand the structure of major neurotransmitters, behavior, enzyme interactions, etc. Knowledge of human electricity must be sufficient to understand impulse propagation, the direction of electric fields, etc. Knowledge of mathematics must be sufficient to understand behavioral genetics, field studies, and basic statistics. Knowledge of human physiology must be sufficient to understand synapses, motor chains, hormonal feedback cycles, respiration, SNS complexes, etc., as used in professional psychophysiology.
Fundamentals of Psychophysiology
Psychophysiological Measures: This psychophysiology course explores the manifold ways the brain and body work together to produce behavior and the cycle between behavior and physiology. The course begins with a description of the body’s organizational structure and genetics as related to behavior. The basic physiological ways information is received from the external and internal environments through a variety of sensors and then processed by the hormonal and nervous systems are described. Typical psychophysiological dysfunctions and interventions are also described.
Pain Assessment and Intervention
Psychophysiological Illness and Pain: This psychophysiology course describes the underlying psychophysiology of pain and summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of evidence supporting the efficacy of self-regulatory interventions for the prevention and reduction of various pain problems. Interactions between pain, stress, and muscle tension are emphasized. Extensive examples of how to perform psychophysiological interventions for various psychophysiologically maintained and magnified pain states are provided. The pathophysiology of migraine, tension, cluster, rebound, medication-induced, and other types of headaches are reviewed. The current schema for differential diagnosis of the various types of headaches is discussed in relation to interactions among behavioral medicine providers, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, and other health care providers. The evidence supporting the efficacy of behavioral interventions for various types of headaches is reviewed. Detailed examples of patient education and training materials are provided along with typical behavioral training regimes and pathways.
EEG Biofeedback: Assessment and Intervention
An exploration of EEG Biofeedback Therapy and Applications: This psychophysiology course teaches the principles of recording the brain’s electrical activities through EEG and other imaging techniques that pertain to applied psychophysiological assessments and interventions. The basic psychophysiology of the EEG signal is reviewed in relationship to educational applications and disorders (such as epilepsy and ADHD) treated with EEG biofeedback. The strengths and weaknesses of evidence supporting the use of EEG biofeedback for a variety of clinical disorders are reviewed and the techniques for performing EEG biofeedback are detailed.
Q: Is it required to choose a specialization to complete the M.S. in Psychophysiology degree?
Yes. A specialization is required to complete the Psychophysiology degree program. These include a science and research specialization for students interested in learning psychophysiological research techniques and who want to continue in basic science and research programs. There is also the optimal functioning specialization which is a practice-oriented program addressing the need for optimal performance specialists in sports, performing arts, and other areas. Each of these specializations consists of 34 credits.
Q: What length of time does the M.S. in Psychophysiology degree take to complete?
A: Completion time for the Psychophysiology degree is typically two to three years, with 34 earned credits. The benefit of the Online M.S. in Psychophysiology degree is the self-paced nature of the coursework, allowing you to adjust class schedules on a situational basis.
Q: What industries can a graduate of the M.S. in Psychophysiology degree apply their skills in?
A: This Psychophysiology degree is extremely diverse in its application post-graduation. Graduates from the Psychophysiology program have gone on to affect lives in fields and industries such as sports, education, business, and the military.
Q: What applicable skills will students in the M.S. in Psychophysiology degree program develop?
A: This Psychophysiology degree program equips graduates with many applicable skills. They include comprehension of the fundamentals of bioscience, biofeedback, and neurofeedback and assessment and intervention tactics for underlying psychophysiological illnesses.
Q: Is the M.S. in Psychophysiology degree 100% online?
A: While the coursework for the M.S. Psychophysiology can be completed online, the Psychophysiology degree program does require attendance at three in-person meetings each year. These include two of Saybrook University’s Residential Conferences and one annual meeting of the field’s professional society, the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. This allows for a rich learning experience that combines the flexibility of online learning with valuable face-to-face interactions.