Psychology

It is commonly known that the experiences of pain help both humans and animals to avoid potentially harmful situations. In recent two decades, progress in research techniques substantially helps researchers to investigate the neural mechanisms of pain. The perception and expression of pain engages the whole neural axis from the peripheral to central nervous system, and an interdisciplinary approach is needed to elucidate the whole picture of pain. How animals and humans process pain and what the influence of emotions and cognitions on pain remain largely unknown. As for the aspect of investigation, how researchers approach pain in animals and humans is a critical issue. What is even more challenging is the neural basis for chronic pain, which results from the aberrant interactions among the bottom-up pain transmission, descending pain inhibition and top-down emotional and cognitive modulations. In this course, we will discuss the neural mechanisms responsible for both physiological and pathological pain and discuss future research ideas, which would provide a promising direction for conquering pain in the future.

This class is predicated on the neuropsychology of auditory phenomena. Processes of human response to aspects of daily life such as conversation and music are explored via the reading of detailed research papers and in-class discussion of relevant topics.

In this course, students explore theoretical perspectives that examine child and adolescent development including the bio-psycho-social basis of development and developmental neuroscience, intersubjectivity, the social self in childhood and adolescence, gender development, impact of formal education, and topical issues in child and adolescent psychology.

This course introduces mindfulness as a psychological construct, presenting and discussing ways to understand and describe the concept. It presents theoretical perspectives that seek to illuminate the origin, development, potential, and limitations of mindfulness. The course examines clinical and cognitive empirical studies that demonstrate various operationalizations and effects of mindfulness interventions. It also contains a smaller practical part where select mindfulness exercises are exemplified to provide a practice-based understanding of the concept of mindfulness. Assessment is based on an individual or group written assignment of 12-18 pages. 

This course builds upon the foundations of previous study in the field of psychology. It focuses on human development and the factors that shape behavior at different stages of development from birth to old age, paying particular attention to diversity issues such as gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and religion.