Psychology

This course provides a psychological perspective on how to live a good life. To this end, this course consists of three main themes: 1) happy life, 2) meaningful life, and 3) dignified life. A happy life consists of sub-themes such as the definition and measurement of happiness, the components of happiness, the consequences of happiness, the characteristics of a happy state and society, and the characteristics of a happy individual. A meaningful life consists of themes of meaning, source of meaning, goals and achievements, and self-control, and finally, a dignified life consists of sub-themes of virtuous living, human rationality and diversity, and healthy framing. 

This is an advanced course in psychological statistics. The objective of the course is to gain knowledge of multivariate statistics especially non-experimental, cross-sectional data. The course covers how to select, conduct, interpret, and report quantitative statistical analyses to help answer research questions that involve multiple dependent variables. Students are expected to have taken PSY104 and PSY223. R and R Studio will be used as main statistical packages. 

The course focuses on the molecular and pharmacological foundations of psychiatric diseases. Based on understanding of the normal brain processes involved in the functioning of the brain (and focusing on regulatory, behavioral, and cognitive aspects of neuroscience), pathological processes in anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and psychotic disorders are covered. Current treatments and new treatment options are part of an endeavor to initiate students in the exciting story of the (dys)functioning brain and its behavioral consequences. Each week expert lectures illustrate relevant topics in each domain studied. Several psychiatric disorders are explained from a clinical perspective by a psychiatrist and from a neurobiological perspective by a researcher in that particular area. The process of conducting an experiment to presenting the scientific data is reviewed. Students work individually or in small groups on each (CNS disease) topic and produce weekly products (presentations). Participants write a publication and get a walkthrough of the scientific review process. All this is performed in the framework of the development of new innovative therapeutics for CNS disorders. 

This course develops a basic understanding of the science of psychology including topics like ethics, research design, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics. This course covers: types of research, measurement, ethics, assumptions, correlation, ANOVA, t-tests, chi-squared, and the philosophy of science. Students are expected to demonstrate command of how psychology research is done, how to tell the difference between correlational and experimental research, how to read scientific articles, to understand matters of ethics in research, and the basics of statistics. All assessment is quantitative.

This course provides an introduction to developmental psychology, which seeks to understand and explain changes in an individual’s physical, cognitive, and social capacities across the lifespan. The overarching themes are to describe changes in an individual’s observed behaviour over time, and to uncover the processes that underlie these changes. The course begins by introducing the historical and conceptual issues underlying developmental psychology and the research methods used for studying individuals at different ages. It then proceeds to address physical development in the prenatal period, followed by cognitive and social development during infancy. The course then examines change during childhood by introducing major theories of cognitive development and addressing the social contexts of development (parents, peers, and social relationships; morality, altruism, and aggression). The course concludes by addressing the physical, cognitive, and social changes of adulthood and ageing.

Students are introduced to human cognition and behavior, addressing foundational topics in psychological science. These foundational topics include key concepts such as evolution, genetics, neuroscience, human evolutionary biology and anthropology, and specific topics, such as perception, memory, heuristics and biases, decision-making, child development, psychopathology, personality and individual differences, emotion, attraction and sexuality, cross-cultural differences, social relations, stereotypes and prejudice, norms and attitudes, social learning, social influence and persuasion, and group processes. The course offers an integrated perspective on these topics, investigating the evolution and variation in human psychology over time, across cultures, and over the lifespan. Students learn the history of the study of humans and human psychology, offering students the historical context to trends in research. 

This course introduces students to Cognitive Psychology, the scientific study of how the mind works. Students become familiar with the field of Cognitive Psychology and its research approaches, and appreciate its relevance to everyday functioning. A variety of relevant topics are discussed, such as perception, attention, memory, language and decision-making, both in terms of the prevalent theoretical models, as well as empirical evidence.

This course explores the central question: How does our environment — natural or built — affect our mind, behavior, and brain? In a time of rapid environmental change, with expanding urbanization, shrinking green spaces, rising climate anxiety, and evolving relationships with technology, understanding the connection between environment and mental processes is more crucial than ever. Students examine what makes environments beneficial to our brain and wellbeing, how surroundings shape cognition, whether one can design cities that support mental health, and what happens in the brain when one feels connected—or disconnected—from nature. The course traces the history and key theories of environmental neuroscience, introduces sensory perception and environmental stress, and investigates the impact of both natural and urban settings on mental health. Through lab visits, neuroimaging case studies, and a hands-on research project, students actively engage with current research. Grounded in three core pillars—interdisciplinarity, research-driven inquiry, and reflective engagement—this course encourages students to draw on diverse methods, collaborate on original studies, and consider their own experiences of space and place as they explore how neuroscience can inform real-world environmental design and policy.

Health psychology is the study of how biological, psychological, and social factors influence health, illness, and healthcare. This course aims to (1) understand the field of health psychology, (2) examine the biopsychosocial model in health promotion and risk behaviors, (3) integrate biological, psychological, and social approaches to prevention and treatment, and (4) analyze how behaviors and psychosocial factors like stress impact physical and mental health. Topics include The systems of the body, Stress, Coping, resilience and social support, Health behaviors, Health promoting behaviors, Health compromising behaviors, The management of pain and discomfort, Management of chronic health disorders, Psychological issues in terminal illness, Heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and Type II Diabetes, Psychoneuroimmunology and immune-related disorders, and Using health services / Patients, providers, and treatments. 

This course examines the theories and methods of investigating memory and attentional processes to consider a number of domains of higher cognitive processing including memory, language, object and face recognition, categorization, and reasoning. An integrating theme of the course will be how such cognitive capacities contribute to skilled behavior and expertise across a range of domains of human behavior, and how they are implemented in artificial intelligence systems. The practical program will expose students to a variety of the research methods used to investigate higher cognitive processes, develop their understanding of how these methods can be used to investigate hypotheses about mental processes and consider applications of cognitive research to real-world problems and issues.