Psychology

People communicate, for the most part, through language. Language (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) is so ordinary and commonplace that one often forgets that it is actually a highly complex and miraculous capacity, with its own specific laws and peculiarities. Understanding the properties of the language system is very important for understanding and clarifying the process of communication. This course covers the following topics: how psychologists and linguists view the structure and functioning of the human mind and the place of language competence in it; how a language is acquired and the difference between language acquisition by children and acquisition by adults; the processes that take place in our heads when we perceive and interpret the written or spoken language; impairments in the ability to use language and how are they related to defects (congenital or acquired) in the brains; how and where language knowledge and language processing is represented in the brain, and how we can make its investigation measurable and visible; the genetic basis of language; and how participants in a conversation understand each other's intentions.

This course provides an overview of the study of the development of children and adolescents. Students will learn about the changes that occur across different domains of development throughout infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Students learn about developmental theories, themes, and concepts, and about the methods involved in developmental research. The addresses critical issues and frameworks that shape how we understand and study development, such as the interacting roles of nature and nurture in development, debates about continuity and discontinuity in development, the influence of the socio-cultural context on development, the role of children in their own development, and the interaction of the social, cognitive, and biological domains in development.

The course explores theoretical and technical knowledge concerning the psychological processes underlying individuals’ behaviors at the workplace. Communication and decision-making processes are connected and continuously take place in the working environment. The course examines several types of organizational structures, and the impact of novel technologies on the working processes. Finally, the course applies the most appropriate methods and techniques for carrying out in-field studies in the organizational context. The course discusses topics including organizational theories; organizational structure and culture; occupational psychology (selection and evaluation); communication; groups and team-building; leadership and management; decision making and creativity; motivation and job design; attitudes, values, job satisfaction, and commitment; human error; health at workplace; marketing; ergonomics; eye tracking and psychophysiology at workplace; brainstorming; focus groups; affinity diagrams; and video analysis.

This course introduces students to core material in the areas of psychology broadly defined, including an introduction to research methods in Psychology. The course is intended for students who are visiting from overseas universities. It can serve as an introduction to the field for students taking the course as part of their psychology degree at their home university, or as an outside subject in another degree program.

This course examines the psychological factors involved with human judgment and decision making. It will contrast human decision making with normative theories of rational choice, and survey psychological evidence of systematic decision biases and errors in judgments. It will discuss the heuristics and biases approach to judgment and decision errors, and critiques of this approach. 

This course examines the influence of psychoanalysis and art on each other. It primarily focuses on dream psychology, psychology of the creative process, and aesthetic experience. It explores basic conceptions of psychoanalytic psychology, including the unconscious, the formation of dreams, and conditionality of love. The psychoanalytic theory is evidenced with examples from visual art, literature, and film, some of which are explored through field trips to current exhibitions of Czech and international art, offering a first-hand experience. In addition to theoretical study of psychoanalysis and its application on art and artistic process, including the psychoanalysis of the creative process, the aesthetic experience, and psychoanalytic aesthetics and criticism (including film theory), students also employ the theories and techniques related to the creative process
to critically reflect on a work of art or to produce one of their own, accompanied by a reflection on their own creative process. The areas of art covered during the course include dreams and art, jokes and humor, surrealism, and the uncanny.