Psychology

This course examines cultural psychology and focuses on how it is relevant in an increasingly globalized world. It covers colonialism and how it shaped our psychological understanding of ourselves and others; how racism and stereotyping are psychological phenomena that interfere with successful globalization today; and how cultures’ different set of moral values often conflict with one another.

This course analyzes group dynamics, teamwork, conflict management, and strategies for negotiation and integration in small and large groups. It examines the current psycho-social perspective used to study groups. 

The aim of the course is to provide a general introduction to major fields of psychology, i.e. the methodology and the basis of psychological reasoning, classical concepts and theories as well as the latest research findings and new progresses made in psychology to promote the understanding and changes in individuals, families and societies. Particularly, the course highlights the cultural perspective amGAO JUNong other major approaches in modern psychology.

Positive psychology was introduced by Martin Seligman around 2000 and can be viewed as a supplementary approach to clinical psychology. The positive psychological movement formulated three aims: (1) to focus on well-being and happiness instead of abnormal behavior and psychopathology, (2) to be concerned with building positive qualities and strengths instead of repairing damage, and (3) to prevent future problems instead of correcting past and present problems. This course starts with a general introduction to the field of positive psychology. The main concepts are introduced and clarified, and an overview of the results of happiness studies is presented. In subsequent meetings, various topics are discussed in lectures and group discussions including mindfulness, positive emotions, resilience, self-determination theory, self-compassion, and research in the field. There is ample room to gain hands-on experience with positive psychological techniques ranging from simple journaling exercises to mindfulness meditation. The course provides participants with the tools to be able to evaluate and design research in the area of positive psychology, but also with the skills to apply some important intervention techniques. Final assessment is by means of an individual paper on a topic of choice within the field of positive psychology. The course includes a field trip.

This course introduces the basic concepts and disciplines of current developmental (child) psychology. Through the integration of situational materials, it places emphasis on cross-cultural research, and more practical applications.

Before taking this course, students should have a foundation in general psychology and experimental psychology.

The course focuses on the main theoretical accounts of Psychology, of the most important cognitive processes, of the main experimental methods of cognitive psychology and their applications in the field of ergonomics. The first part of the course covers the general aspects of Cognitive Psychology. Special attention is placed on the historical aspects of the most important psychological schools and about the main cognitive processes studied in Psychology. The second part covers cognitive processes in greater detail and focuses in particular on the main experimental methods employed in research. The course includes lectures and power point presentations. Regular attendance is advisable since details from the lectures can be part of the final exam. Assessment is based on a final written exam with multiple-choice questions. Students are strongly encouraged to collaborate on a laboratory research project in order to increase their experience with different research models.

The first part of the course deals with the general aspects of the main cognitive processes such as perception, attention, memory, thought, and reasoning, with particular reference to the theoretical models used in psychology. In the second part of the course, more applicative themes are discussed in relation to experimentation and application in an ergonomic context of some general principles of cognitive psychology. Particular attention is given to the experimental paradigms used in laboratory psychology and some of the best known experiments of cognitive psychology are analyzed. Required reading includes PSICOLOGIA by Rumiati Nicoletti and L'USABILITÀ. MODELLI E PROGETTAZIONEby Roberto Nicoletti and Claudio Vandi. Assessment is based on a final written exam.