Psychology

This course brings together several professionals in audiology, deaf education, cognitive psychology, and mental health to outline the role of psychology in understanding music. Students learn how different disciplines within the field of psychology can be applied to the study of music. Several topics are explored from basic auditory neuroscience exploring how we perceive aspects of music such as melody, harmony, and rhythm to how music has personal meaning in the context of memory and emotion. Students explore questions like, Why do certain songs get stuck on repeat in my head?’ How does music evoke strong emotions? Is music special: does our brain process music differently to other auditory stimuli? The course discusses what we mean by music, the basic elements of music and how the brain processes these elements. The course looks at how we appreciate music, the evolutionary function of music and whether we are born with an innate musical ability. The course considers contributions from developmental and cognitive psychology, and what these can tell us about how we process music. Finally, students look at music in clinical populations by reviewing case studies where musical ability or perception have been implicated and discussing the efficacy of music therapy in various clinical groups. 

Through theoretical studies and practical exercises, the course conveys knowledge about the structure and function of the brain and key areas of modern cognitive neuroscience, such as attention, memory, language, and cognitive control, as well as emotions and social interaction. The understanding of normal function is the primary focus of the course, but clinical examples are also used as they provide substantial illustrations of normal functioning. Furthermore, the course provides knowledge about relevant research methods within the area, and major emphasis is placed on the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. This module has two parallel components, the first theorical and the second laboratory.  In the theory section, the focus is on higher cognitive functions, such as, attention and cognitive control, memory, language, social interaction, problem-solving, and thinking and decision-making. Furthermore, the module communicates knowledge about the neurocognitive basis of emotion and how cognitive function is influenced by emotion. The module also introduces different types of brain damages and psychoorganic syndrome. In the laboratory, train important skills for conduction of empirical studies in cognitive neuroscience, including reporting of the results in accordance with the international norms for publication in the psychology.

This course introduces students to psychological theories of prejudice, discrimination, and intergroup relations, with a strong emphasis on applying these theories to multi-ethnic and racial contexts in various parts of the world (e.g., the UK, US, Turkey). Students consider key issues in the study of intergroup relations in reference to perceptions and experiences of majority and minority group members as well as classic and contemporary theory and research on prejudice and intergroup relations. The applications of such theory and research to pressing social issues (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism) are also discussed.

This course theoretically explores the psychology of play and enjoyment manifested through various entertainment-based media—including dramas, films, variety shows, political entertainment, and social networking services. The primary goal is to understand the underlying mechanisms of media enjoyment through empirical research. The curriculum focuses on analyzing media user responses through key concepts of entertainment psychology, such as empathy, immersion, identification, narrative comprehension, and affective disposition. Rooted in psychological perspectives, this course applies traditional media effects theories to the context of entertainment content and provides an in-depth examination of the psychological influence of entertainment in the contemporary media environment. 

This course explores the psychological foundations of risk‑taking behaviors and violent conduct from a clinical and psycho-pathological perspective. It examines the psychological, social, and developmental determinants of these behaviors, as well as the main conceptual frameworks used to analyze them.

This course explores how group identities are formed, how individuals understand themselves in relation to others, and how both connection and division emerge within and between social and political groups. Drawing on key theories, cutting-edge research, and global case studies, students examine the psychological mechanisms that shape social relations including how people connect, cooperate, and sometimes come into conflict.

From group belonging and everyday social interactions to the psychological roots of intergroup bias, and polarization, the course traces how social minds are shaped by identity, group life and the broader social and political context. It then moves into real-world applications, exploring how ideas from social psychology can help us to better understand division and conflict as well as foster connection and promote social change. This course also considers the role of social media and how it can both drive conflict and foster connection.

This course introduces students to different psychological perspectives for thinking about social justice, inequality, freedom, and collective life. Drawing on social psychology, cognitive psychology, cultural psychology, affective neuroscience, clinical and abnormal psychology, and selected psychodynamic perspectives, the course examines psychological processes involved in social judgment, prejudice, collective action, mental health, and social change. Rather than approaching social justice as a fixed concept or through a single dimension of analysis, the course considers it as a dynamic, socially and culturally situated construction shaped by how people perceive, interpret, feel, contest, and organize around questions of fairness, exclusion, autonomy, and belonging. Anchored in Paris, and in a context where liberté, égalité, fraternité remains both an aspiration and a point of tension, the course also introduces students to French traditions that continue to inform clinical psychology and the human sciences. Through readings, guest lectures, and site visits, students encounter ideas that may offer complementary lenses for contemporary psychology. This comparative approach allows students to place U.S.-style psychological frameworks in dialogue with French ways of thinking about the psyche, society, language, power, and institutions. Field-based learning plays an important role in the course. At La Salpêtrière Hospital, students visit a historically significant site for the development of psychology, psychiatry, neurology, clinical observation, and institutional care in France. The visit to the Paris Commune offers a different kind of historical case study, focused on collective action, social identity, political imagination, and struggles over equality, while also allowing students to discover another facet of historic Montmartre. Guest speakers, including clinical psychologists working in France, help students connect these historical and theoretical questions to contemporary issues in mental health, liberty, autonomy, social inclusion, and public care. Together, these experiences invite students to expand psychological concepts with complementary analytical tools drawn from French theory, cultivating a critical perspective on the psychology of social justice in a French context.

Food choices have a large impact on peoples’ health, the welfare of animals, stakeholders in the food system, and ultimately the planet. This course focuses on food environments and the consumer, to understand the factors that lead to unhealthy and unsustainable choices and how these can be shifted.
The course explores a wide range of disciplines and topics, from brain processes and gut bacteria (biology and nutrition science) to decision making processes (psychology), to cultural processes (sociology), to the food environment (marketing and human geography) and finally behavior change interventions (Communication and psychology). The course includes an excursion to get some hands-on experience and guest lecturers who contribute to resolving the issues in the food system. The course discusses societal issues such as obesity, malnutrition, food waste, microplastics, the protein transition and diet hypes. The research methods with which food science is conducted in order to take part in meaningful discussions about sustainable and healthy food consumption are introduced.

This course provides a better understanding of language‑related activities associated with the languages studied, through several approaches in psychology (psycholinguistics, cognitive and learning psychology, and neuropsychology). In the first part, different writing systems (logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic) are presented, followed by an examination of the processing and learning of written language. The second part of the course focuses on bilingualism (inter‑individual differences, language organization) and its effects on cognition.

In this course, students study autism spectrum disorder, a neurodevelopmental condition, across all stages of the lifespan – from early childhood into old age. The course focuses on cognition, while contextualizing the condition at different stages of development. Students explore areas in childhood and adolescence, including memory, language, learning, the "self," mental health, and transgender issues. Students also examine adulthood topics including Bayesian theories of perception, maternal autism, memory, sensory, and emotional processing. The course finishes with addressing some of the consequences of ageing in autism.