Psychology

The course deals with the main topics of interest in Social Psychology. The course examines the main concepts and theoretical frameworks in Social Psychology and the seminal experiments of the field. The course discusses topics including an introduction to social psychology, research methods in social psychology, self and self-presentation, social perception and cognition, attitudes, symbolic communication and language, social influence and persuasion, understanding groups, and group processes.

Cultural psychology examines how our psychology (perception, emotion, judgment, attitudes, personality, etc.) and our culture (the distribution of values, practices, beliefs, institutions, and human-made physical environments within which each of us uniquely develops) make one another up. Some of the topics explored in this course include: how language influences how we think or what we can think about; the extent to which are our emotions shared across the species and the extent to which they depend on culture; mental disorders such as PTSD, depression, ADHD, or schizophrenia, which are more highly diagnosed in the U.S. than in other countries around the world; the role culture might play in mental health and in its diagnosis, and in the conception of mental disorders themselves. A common tension throughout this class is the extent to which we can—or should— generalize about psychology across the human species. Arguably, unlike any other species in earth's history, humans come into the world ill-prepared to survive in any particular physical environment; yet, thanks in large part to social and cultural systems, we are able to adapt across an extreme range of habitats. The basic question to examine here is: To what extent do people in all cultures share the same psychology and to what extent does our psychology differ along with our distinct cultures?

Cognitive neuroscience is the study of the functional architecture of the brain. While cognitive science has traditionally restricted itself to describing human and animal behavior at the functional level, neuroscience has focused on the understanding of biological processes and neuroanatomical substrates. As the brain is such a complex organ, cognitive neuroscience is inherently multi-disciplinary. Therefore, the course works towards an integrated understanding of information theory, cognition, neurobiology, and anatomy. This course provides in-depth coverage of two main research areas in cognitive neuroscience: perception and higher cognition. The course examines the neurobiological aspects of human behavior by focusing on neurological patients, non-invasive brain imaging techniques, and animal models where the underlying neurobiology is better understood than in humans.

The course provides knowledge on theory and research in key topics in personality and individual differences. General issues in theory and research in personality are explored, as well as the difference between personality and individual differences. A brief history of personality and individual differences is provided. Students are equipped with methods of evaluating theories in personality. Then, key topics in personality and individual differences are reviewed including both attending to theory and to research. Where topics relate to one another, there is a comparison between topics with the aim of increasing the integrative understanding of personality.

This course focuses on the psychology behind athletic performance, as well as on physical (in)activity levels in the general population. Sport and exercise are often considered a largely physical endeavor (strength, speed, stamina, flexibility etc.). However, it is widely acknowledged that sport performances and physical activity behavior are also influenced by psychological factors. Therefore, the course attends to the biology of sport performances and physical exercise, primarily on their behavioral determinants, motivations, pressure and stress, and ultimately looks at possible venues for behavior change.