University of Padua

This course studies diverse social psychological phenomena that have been examined in the context of neuroscience, with particular attention to decision-making, aggressive behavior, status, dominance, and racial bias/discrimination. In doing so the course (1) studies diverse systems that are involved in the study of social neuroscience (structural/anatomical, neuroendocrinological,); (2) critically considers the methodological approaches used to study the associations between neurological systems and social behaviors/attitudes; and (3) evaluates the theoretical contributions of these approaches and studies. Students are expected to develop critical scientific reasoning skills, in addition to a knowledge base in this area. Students are required to have completed at least one social psychology course, and at least one course in neuroscience and neuroscience methodology, as prerequisites.

This course includes an introduction to cognitive neuropsychology and foundations of neuroanatomy, neurology, and neuroradiology; a discussion of cognitive neuropsychology of the agnosias, aphasias, alexias, agraphias, apraxias, and amnesias; and an over view of cognitive neuropsychology of the executive functions. The course covers the normal cognitive architecture, by means of the study of brain-damaged patients. The course requires a basic knowledge of psychobiology and cognitive psychology as a prerequisite.

This course examines the study of preferences and experimental aesthetics within its historical context, the main themes of neuroesthetics and topics of debate in the field, and the methodologies used in the empirical study of aesthetics. The course discusses topics including the definitions of art, empirical aesthetics, Darwin and evolutionary perspectives, sensory systems , reward systems, scenes and landscapes, motion, color, faces and body, and current debates and future developments. The course requires basic knowledge of the foundations of cognitive psychology, of perception, and of the neural basis of behavior.

This course offers a study of neurology. The course discusses topics including general knowledges of anatomy and biochemistry of the central nervous system including neurotransmitters; general knowledges of neuroimaging; and pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and prognosis, possibility of pharmacological and surgical treatment, and neuropsychological correlates of the following diseases: Alzheimer dementia, Parkinson disease, tauopathies; Huntington disease, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, Epilepsy, cerebrovascular diseases, multiple sclerosis, and palliative care and end of life. The course requires students to have knowledge of the anatomy of the central nervous system and main vascular districts, and general knowledge of magnetic resonance imaging, PET, and SPECT, as prerequisites for the course.

This course focuses on theories and empirical scientific findings that are key to the most recent developments in social and group psychology, and to the understanding of intragroup and intergroup dynamics in the real world. The concept of diversity guides the course and its main textbook. Course topics include the many facets of diversity and the possible threats to diversity, such as stereotypes, prejudice, stigma, and discrimination; applying concepts towards understanding actual intragroup and intergroup dynamics and interactions in societies; and promoting a critical debate on social issues associated with diversity, in particular ethnic diversity, in contemporary societies. The course discusses diversity and threats to diversity; theories of prejudice and prejudice reduction; social categorization and social identity; intergroup interactions, stigma, and discrimination; and diversity and power dynamics in societies. Basic knowledge of social psychology and psychometrics may be useful as a prerequisite.

This course discusses the main and most recent theories on the development of emotion regulation, with a special focus on its role in children’s learning processes. The course adopts a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach presenting 1) the foundation of the development of emotion regulation and its role for later development of healthy, competent functioning; 2) the strong interconnection between emotion and cognitive regulation; and 3) the protective role of emotion regulation when coping with internal and external sources of stress during childhood. Furthermore, research methodologies (including physiological measures) and cultural-contextual influences are presented. At the end of the course, students should be able to express knowledge about the development of emotion regulation and its role in promoting, wellbeing and learning across the life span. Moreover, they should be able to understand and apply key concepts in the development of emotion regulation real-life practical educational and clinical contexts as well as to plan a simple research with adequate methodologies for the study of emotion regulation in children. The course examines topics such as the definition of emotion regulation; methods of assessment of emotion regulation (from self-reports to psychophysiological measures); development of emotion regulation from infancy to adolescence; the polyvagal theory, emotion, and self-regulation; emotion and cognition in learning; and emotion regulation and stress. The course requires students to have basic knowledge in developmental psychology as a prerequisite

This course is for students who studied Italian for a short period and can express themselves using basic structures, can introduce themselves, and can talk about themselves and their daily routines. It runs at the A1/A2 level according to the CEFR level. This communicative course develops oral skills in Italian.

This course discusses sensory and cognitive processes. The course consists of an introductory methodological part which covers the main psychophysical methods for the measurement of the absolute and differential threshold and psychometric function, psychophysical laws, and the SDT. The second part of the course examines the way of action of the main mechanisms and visual processes including static spatial vision and central and peripheral dynamic, grouping and segmentation, recognition of faces and objects, visual research, visual attention, eye movements and reading, and learning and memory. This course requires students to have taken previous courses on the anatomy and physiology of sensory systems, and statistics as a prerequisite for the course.

This course offers an introduction to the history of medieval art in Italy, focusing on selected case studies which are investigated with a multidisciplinary approach and with specific regard to the visual arts. The course consists of three topics. The first topic discusses the Italian Middle Ages, and covers periodization and terminology; artists, patrons, publics, and projects of the arts; and iconographies, techniques, media and materials, and style. The second topic discuss Giotto and the city, Padua in the first half of the 14th century, and the Scrovegni chapel. The third topic discusses the Signorie, Communes, and the art of power in Padua, Milan, Florence, and Siena. This course is taught in a degree program which introduces students to knowledge of Italian language throughout the degree. The first year of instruction in this degree begins in English and then gradually shifts to Italian by the third year. Because this course is taught in the first semester of the first year of the degree, the course is mostly taught in English with some Italian and is appropriate for students who do not speak Italian.

The course discusses topics including space and cognition; geographical space; measurements of spatial knowledge; spatial knowledge acquired from maps; spatial knowledge acquired by navigation; the main neuro-cognitive structures involved in cognitive maps formation, landmark recognition, allocentric, and egocentric knowledge and switching between them; clinical conditions associated with spatial orientation and knowledge; weakness and challenges in spatial knowledge and representations; space and language; individual visuospatial differences in processing and representing spatial information; the relationship between individual visuospatial differences and environment learning using different modalities (maps, navigation and descriptions) with different methodologies; and spatial representations in motor activities and sport. The course requires prerequisite knowledge of introductory aspects of psychology (as perception, language, memory and learning), models of cognitive psychology, and individual differences.