Psychology

This course systematically examines factors that influence happiness, such as objective conditions (money, marriage, etc.), happiness-related personality traits, and cultural variables that have been identified by recent scientific studies. It then re-evaluates happiness from an evolutionary perspective. 

This course offers a comprehensive overview of key issues in the study of international migration and immigrant integration. A dynamic approach that follows migrants’ journey from their origin countries to their receiving societies and examines the interethnic relations that develop therein is taken. The course is structured around three main themes: theories of immigration and immigration governance; categorization of migrants; integration outcomes and policies. A combined multidimensional perspective (comparing the integration of immigrants and their descendants in various domains of life, including the education system, the labor and housing markets, the neighborhood, politics, etc.) with a cross-national lens (comparing classical immigration countries and more recent immigrant-receiving countries) and a multilevel and multi-actor analytical framework (considering immigrants in relation to both their home/sending and host/receiving countries, and the networks of actors with which they interact, such as families, ethnic communities, government agencies, local administrators, NGOs, etc.) is used. The course has a strong empirical focus: it critically analyzes and discusses empirical studies that test theoretically derived hypotheses in various contexts. The perspective adopted is primarily sociological but insights from other disciplines such as human geography, political science, social psychology, economics, and anthropology are used.

This course presents the fundamental concepts of the theory of learning, emphasizing experimental methodologies, the design of experiments, and the interpretation of results. It begins with an exploration of the characteristics of learning and the methodology used in research. Other topics include unconditioned behavior, habituation and sensitization, Pavlovian excitatory conditioning, stimulatory relations, instrumental conditioning, reinforcement programs and election behavior, reinforcement theories, stimulatory control of behavior, avoidance, punishment, and memory.

This course elaborates on the biological, psychological, and societal determinants of sexuality (in general) and sexual disorders (in specific). There are 4 lectures and 4 educational meetings in which a theme or group of complaints are discussed. These themes are (biological and psychological) theories on sexuality, sexual diversity, sexual dysfunctions in men and women, the impact of physical/psychological health and disease on sexual behavior and well-being, and the role of attachment and relationships (context and history) on sexuality. The theory is supplemented with practical clinical training in which students reflect on their own sexual development and learn to administer a sexual anamnesis.  The course also includes one theoretical practicum in which students discuss a specific research question and brainstorm possible research designs.