Psychology

This course explores the fascinating new field of digital mental health, which combines theories and methodologies from psychology and human-computer interaction science. The course starts with a general introduction to how technology has and can be used in the prevention, treatment, and support of common mental health problems (e.g., depression and anxiety). The comprehensive problem-based learning approach allows students to develop a basic understanding of the causes and symptoms of common mental health problems, and explore the active ingredients of traditional (e.g., cognitive behavior therapy) and digital interventions.  Different methods used across the two disciplines to design, develop, and evaluate digital mental health interventions and programs are examined. There are many opportunities to practice and get hands-on experience in applying cross-disciplinary methods. Students take part in co-design workshops, introductory sessions on systematic literature reviews, and develop and pitch their own (non-digital) prototypes and intervention ideas. Towards the end of the course, students are encouraged to think critically about current challenges in the field, including the ethical and moral implications of digital applications, and the future of digital mental health.

This version of the Medical Ethics course includes an Independent Study Project (ISP) done under the direction of the instructor. The ISP is 10-12 pages and counts for 1/3 of the overall grade for the course. This course provides insights into the main concepts of social psychology, human behavior, and health. Our thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and actions have an effect on our health, well-being, and the choices we make concerning our health. Social psychology looks at how our thinking and actions are influenced by other people and social norms. In this course, students learn how the principles of social psychology are relevant to our health. Can social psychology explain why there are health disparities among people with different socioeconomic backgrounds? How can social psychological principles help to change someone’s attitude or behavior? Is our health behavior influenced by social pressure? Do you start or quit smoking because your friends tell you so? These and other questions are discussed and answered during the current course using scientific literature in the field of social psychology and health. To understand the role and application of social psychology, the course looks at specific examples within the field of health promotion, health education, disease prevention, and work-related health issues. In addition, students learn about relevant research methods within the field of social psychology and how to apply them.

This course explores foundational and methodological questions about psychology and cognitive science, exploiting the tools of philosophy to equip students to reflect critically on assumptions, concepts, and methods used. In the first half of the term, students apply this distinctive approach to five specific topics: change blindness and inattentional blindness; experimental evidence about conscious choice and free will; unconscious bias and implicit attitudes; the concept of mental disorder; social cognition, and mirror neurons. In the second half of the term, students investigate more general questions about aims, methods, and assumptions in psychology, focusing on these topics: the nature of psychological explanation and its relationship with neuroscience; the analogy between minds and computers; mental representation, the ‘Language of Thought’ and cognitive maps; and the use of neuroimaging to ascribe mental states.

The technological and physical basics of Brain-Computer Interfacing will be elaborated. It covers the path from the (electrical) activity of single neurons and networks via the volume conduction of the human head. At the end of the class, students will know the essential physical background of Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI). They will understand the pathway from the activity of single neurons to the signal of the electroencephalogram (EEG) They will be capable of programming simulations of the electrical properties of the human head as well as simple neural and neural network models.

This course presents the various methods and techniques of psychological evaluation.

This course provides insights into the main concepts of social psychology, human behavior, and health. Our thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and actions have an effect on our health, well-being, and the choices we make concerning our health. Social psychology looks at how our thinking and actions are influenced by other people and social norms. In this course, students learn how the principles of social psychology are relevant to our health. Can social psychology explain why there are health disparities among people with different socioeconomic backgrounds? How can social psychological principles help to change someone’s attitude or behavior? Is our health behavior influenced by social pressure? Do you start or quit smoking because your friends tell you so? These and other questions are discussed and answered during the current course using scientific literature in the field of social psychology and health. To understand the role and application of social psychology, the course looks at specific examples within the field of health promotion, health education, disease prevention, and work-related health issues. In addition, students learn about relevant research methods within the field of social psychology and how to apply them.

The course is broken into three parts. The first part focuses on the science of vision, covering early theories and anatomical observations, the eyes’ dark adaptation functions, visual organization (size, shape, orientation, and spatial frequency shown with illusions and clinical testing of the limits of vision), and vision impacting memory. The second part focuses on a linguistic aspect showcasing auditory anatomy and vocal anatomy. It describes the science behind how sound is measured and differentiated and how language is produced and understood; and observes language by breaking down the elements of sound and signing into primitives diving into phonemes, phonology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics. There are also demonstrations of early cognitive development showing how plastic young brains are compared to their adult counterparts. The last part of the course is about language and memory. It focuses on comprehending text and writing and covers theories of how humans developed and started using written language as it is a relatively young invention in the history of the earth and humanity. The course reviews the role of comprehending knowledge and discusses the biological systems that make up and help our understanding of language.

In this course, students investigate how the brain is organized to produce actions that serve particular purposes, focusing primarily on voluntary actions. Such actions involve a motivational component, but also cognitive considerations, attention choices, and motor options. For each of these components, decisions must be made. Students explore the different parts of the brain involved in these decisions, in close collaboration with subcortical structures such as basal ganglia. The corresponding practical for this course is Group decisions, where students experience the challenges and hindrances of decision making when members have diverse information and must scientifically investigate factors that contribute towards successful group decision making. The practical consists of two parts: 1) a group decision-making exercise and 2) a short report including analyses of the data gathered during these exercises.

This course explores the psychology behind entrepreneurship and innovation. The topics include the personality of entrepreneurs and exploring whether entrepreneurs are born or made; how entrepreneurs make decisions about risk and manage uncertainty; what drives entrepreneurs and what "returns" they can expect (in terms of income and well-being); what success means to entrepreneurs and what the ingredients are of an ‘entrepreneurial culture’. The course also reflects on how each one of us can act in an entrepreneurial manner and adopt an entrepreneurial leadership style. The course examines the psychological underpinnings of the entrepreneurial process and innovative behaviors within established business. 

This course is essentially a course in what is known as cultural (or cross-cultural) psychology. Cultural psychology is a subfield of psychology that emerged in the late 20th century as a response to the historic dominance of the Western--primarily, American--perspective in psychology. Of note, Japanese researchers played and continue to play a critical role in this field, as strong Japan-America ("Nichi-Bei") academic cooperation allows for easy comparisons and collaborations. But cultural psychology is much bigger than any two particular countries or cultures. Each and every society, and the societies within those societies, all contain powerful cultures that affect the very fabric of our thoughts, emotions, behaviors. In other words, we will look at the cultural roots of our beautiful and indispensable human diversity--the whole world over.

In addition to the topics mentioned in the basic description of the curriculum (perceptual and cognitive processes, human development, language, gender, social behavior, intercultural relations, and applied cultural psychology), we will examine the nature of culture itself. Throughout the course, we try to keep in mind big questions such as "What really is culture?" and "Why do human beings even have culture in the first place?" For more information on the kind of topics we will cover, please see the course textbook, "Cultural Psychology" by Steven Heine. Note, however, that topics will be organically updated to reflect current cultural issues and student interests.