Psychology

This course introduces mindfulness as a psychological construct, presenting and discussing ways to understand and describe the concept. It presents theoretical perspectives that seek to illuminate the origin, development, potential, and limitations of mindfulness. The course examines clinical and cognitive empirical studies that demonstrate various operationalizations and effects of mindfulness interventions. It also contains a smaller practical part where select mindfulness exercises are exemplified to provide a practice-based understanding of the concept of mindfulness. Assessment is based on an individual or group written assignment of 8-14 pages. 

This course introduces advanced issues of the Psychology of Music. Whenever possible, the course introduces the application of the concepts of psychology of music in the everyday life. The course highlights the positive aspects of music listening (e.g., inducing a positive mood, relaxation, etc.) and the positive aspects connected to musical practice (e.g. better memory skills, spatial skills, etc.). The course is divided in two parts. The first part of the course includes an overview of acoustics, music theory, methodology, and physiology as linked to music psychology. The first part of the course provides the necessary tools to understand the literature of auditory perception and psychology of music. The course discusses topics including basic concepts such as sound, sound waves, acoustics, sound in music and music theory, methods of psychology of music, anatomy and physiology of the auditory system, and loudness and absolute threshold; as well as psychology of music topics including music training in hearing loss and aphasia; psychoacoustics and mp3; music and cognition: Mozart effect, background music and cognition, music talent and cognition, and the cognitive abilities of musicians and non-musicians; pitch: illusions, pitch coding of simple and complex tones, musical intervals, harmonic, melodic, consonance, the representation of pitch, amusia, and absolute pitch; and music as a universal language: music perception in infants and animals. The course requires a strong background in the main concepts of cognitive psychology such as perception, attention, memory, learning, and intelligence, and a solid methodological background as a prerequisite.

This course examines the fundamentals of cognition. Topics include key cognitive domains and operations such as attention, memory, language, problem solving and decision making. The course requires students to take Introduction to Psychology as a prerequisite.

The course provides students with core knowledge of current discussions about theories of how cognitive processes are shaped by more broad bodily processes, specially those of the motor system. It focuses on the influence of bottom-up processes in the formation of emotions, and the relation to theories of the self. The course encourages cross sectional discussions about the relationship between our three main overarching topics: embodiment, emotions, and the self, as well as the implications for cognition, behavior, and decision making. Students learn the relevance of these topics for psychology by examining some specific clinical disorders in both psychological and medical research. Similarly, examples for the relevance of this intersection in everyday-life as well as for areas outside psychology are highlighted.

In this course, students are introduced to the innovative and mind-blowing field of developmental neuropsychology. The anatomy of the brain and relevant brain functions are introduced at the beginning of the module. Through case studies, students explore the fundamental research and the most recent advances in the field. Students endeavor to find solutions to the questions presented by researching various articles and group discussion. For example, why is there a change in the ability to discriminate between human faces and monkey faces in babies of 12 months? And why is this difference not present at 6 months? Cognitive development is typically measured by changes or improvements in cognitive processes. In this course, processes such as language, reasoning, and memory etc. are explored in terms of their developmental trajectory and how this trajectory relates to changes in the maturing brain. It examines how these developmental changes can be measured by various neurological methods (e.g. fMRI and EEG). The field trip included in the course focuses on the importance of neuroscientific research methods and forms a unique and practical insight into the subject matter. Midway through the course the students construct a research proposal regarding developmental neuropsychology in subgroups and present this proposal.

This is a special studies course with projects arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific topics of study vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. The number of units varies with the student's project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student's special study project form.

This course introduces a variety of topics relevant to normal cognitive functioning as well as psychopathology. While one-half of the course takes a neuroscientific approach, the other half of the course draws on psychological, sociocultural, cognitive, and biological perspectives. Assessment: coursework (70%), final exam (30%).

The course introduces the main concepts of human resource management, practical use, and research discoveries. Topics include recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and evaluation, compensation management, and workplace health management, lending understanding to the role and function of human resource management, as well as how the field of psychology is involved within the organizations. Text: G. Dessler, HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT; and various references. Assessment: group project (40%), participation (20%), final exam (40%).