Psychology

This course explores issues with humankind's relationship to food from a psychobiological perspective. The course focuses on appetite control and constructs of hunger and satiety. Students discuss flavor perception and hedonics, concepts of food craving and addiction, and food choice and preference. The course examines non-nutritive effects of foods (including nutriceuticals) and links food to mood and cognition. Finally, students explore the basis of the rise of obesity and disordered eating from a psychobiological perspective.

This course examines the field of human factors. First, the theoretical groundwork (human perception and performance, design principles, and trust in automation) is laid and participants gain first practical insights into complex socio-technical systems. Afterward, students team up to put the theoretical foundation into the real world, examining typical challenges in human-automation interaction. The course consists of a holistic research process from the development of the research question to the presentation of the results. Thereby, the investigated technologies can vary broadly (e.g. humanoid robots, mobile applications, navigation devices, or websites). The course discusses topics including human information processing and action selection as well as accompanying limitations; common methods to analyze and optimize typical human factors problems; evaluation methods for human- machine-interaction in the context of user-centered design; fundamentals of Cognitive Engineering; human information processing and action selection; display design & usability; human-automation interaction; human-robot interaction; joint specification of the research technology and question; consolidation and application; and social and ethical issues in human-machine Interaction.

This course provides an interdisciplinary focus on six issues of current social concern. The topics include the consequences of child abuse, the effect of divorce on children, perceptions of rape and rape victims, eating disorders, stereotyping and prejudice, and abortion. Students have the opportunity to explore these contemporary social issues from a psychological and sociological perspective, using relevant readings as well as intimate lectures and a range of media sources.

This course examines basic concepts, theories and research findings of romantic love and intimate relationship from the perspective of psychology of gender. It covers different stages in the development of love; interpersonal processes within romantic relationships (such as conversation, conflict, etc.); the role of sexuality in love; gender differences in romantic feelings and behaviors; and break-ups and divorce.

This course provides a general overview of psychology. It explores various forms of human behavior, including thinking, using language, solving problems, and making decisions at the individual level, as well as forming social relationships and participating in group actions at the interpersonal level. Students not only learn about psychological theories and research, but also discover ways to apply such knowledge to their own experiences. Topics include personality, social psychology, motivation and emotion, development, perception, cognition and learning, body-mind, and mental disorders. Text: either W. Weiten, PSYCHOLOGY: THEMES AND VARIATIONS; or E.E. Smith et al., ATKINSON AND HILGARD'S INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY. Assessment: tutorial attendance and participation (8%), research and experiment participation (6%), 800- to 1,000-word essay (8%), lab report (8%), test (10%), final exam (60%).

This course investigates the cognitive correlates (information processing) and neurobiological mechanisms of declarative, or explicit memory. It discusses several cognitive models, including Baddeley's Working Memory model, the Modal model, and the interference theory in forgetting. In addition, the role of long-term potentiation (LTP) in memory is discussed, as well as how different brain areas contribute to memory. Throughout the course, relevant methodological issues regarding memory research are covered. Importantly, brain anatomy and function are an important part of this course; an interest in and understanding of these fields at the level of Introduction to Psychology or higher is highly recommended. In addition to the tutorial meetings, students complete a practical and paper assignment in which the memory performance of real subjects is assessed. Prerequisites for this course are an Introduction to Psychology course; a course on Brain and Action is highly recommended.