Psychology

This course examines the neurobiological aspects of normal aging as well as those caused by various forms of dementia. It analyzes the cognitive changes and decline associated with aging on a normal brain, as well as those impacted by Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, vascular dementia, and dementias due to HIV. It also explores techniques and procedures for early detection of cognitive impairment and possible intervention in the areas of memory, control and integration processes and language.

This course offers a study of happiness in relation to science and education as well as discussion of the pursuit of personal happiness.

The course presents the main theoretical trends and empirical work on motivation and emotion from the behavioral, cognitive, and neuroscience approaches, with a special emphasis on current research trends and topics. 

You will explore and apply theoretical concepts of cognitive psychology to develop an understanding about what enables professionals to become top performers in their field. Throughout the course, you will develop the skill to apply theoretical concepts to(business) practice, cases, as well as to your own experiences and educational situation. This transfer will be done through modeling complex situations and formulating specific implications and recommendations. You will also learn to manage your own and others' learning with a special emphasis on feedback-seeking.

Description

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHOD(S) USED IN THIS COURSE IS WITH RESERVATION. A RE-EMERGENCE OF THE CORONAVIRUS AND NEW COUNTERMEASURES BY THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT MIGHT FORCE COORDINATORS TO CHANGE THE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHODS USED. THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEACHING/ASSESSMENT METHOD(S) WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE COURSE SYLLABUS.

When do smart people make stupid decisions? Why can't you force people to be creative? How do you become an expert at something? And why do some experts fail, make mistakes, or become overconfident in decision making? The present course analyzes and examines how people make decisions in business and everyday life. Based on insights from cognitive psychology we explore how professionals make decisions and learn in different work settings. Specifically we will study such topics as cognitive biases, creativity, learning from failure, and expertise development. The course provides a strong foundation in cognitive psychology that can contribute to your understanding in many different domains, such as (behavioral) economics, finance and marketing.

Literature

An e-reader has been compiled with introductory book chapters, academic articles and non-fiction book chapters.

Prerequisites

Students need to be interested in issues of decision-making, learning and human performance. An advanced level of English is crucial to engage in all activities in this course.

The course offers a study of the fundamental theoretical bases and practical methodology to carry out a neuropsychological assessment in order to obtain a clear neuropsychological diagnosis. The course discusses how to collect the neuropsychological anamnesi including all relevant information on the personal history of the patient; how to observe the patient, his/her behavior and how to interview him/her; how to select and administer the appropriate psychometric tests; and how to integrate all the information in a diagnostic reasoning. The course examines topics including behavior assessment and measurement, neuropsychological anamnesi, interview techniques, psychometric instruments, diagnostic conclusion, and the neuropsychological report. There are no prerequisites, but knowledge of brain and behavior relationship and the bases of neuropsychology are important for following the course.

This course examines major concepts and methods used in studying the individual behavior in social settings. It covers interpersonal attraction, leadership, aggression, group processes, attitude change and person perception.

This course introduces the perspectives, research methods, and findings of cultural psychology. The course cultivates one's own ability to understand and deal with variations in psychological processes across cultural and ethnic groups, as well as to understand the cultural grounding of their own experiences and actions. By the end of this course, students are expected to have the ability to explain how cultural contexts shape psychological processes through cultural practices.