Psychology and the Scientific Method
Mind, Brain and Behavior
Conditioning and Learning
Memory and Forgetting
Alertness, Consciousness and Attention
Social Behavior
Emotion
Intelligence and Problem Solving
Language
Decision Making
There are no textbooks adopted. Notwithstanding that, the use of a recent handbook is strongly recommended. Among the others, the following can be suggested:
- Psychology: the Science of Mind and Behaviour by Holt et al.
McGraw-Hill publisher
- Psychology by Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner
Worth publisher
- Introduction to Psychology by Coon & Mitterer 12 th edition
Cencage publisher
Learning Objectives
KNOWLEDGE: The course provides students with a general overview of the field of General Psychology. A particular emphasis is put on the convergence of neuropsychological (e.g. patient case studies) and neuroscientific evidence as a crucial aspect of the study of higher mental functions.
SKILLS: The function of the course is to develop critical understanding, as well as to prepare the student to evaluate his/her later reading in the field of psychological research.
Prerequisites
Not required
Teaching Methods
Lectures
Type of Assessment
Final examination includes a written and oral examination. Written examination will consist into 3 open questions; it will last 1 h and books are not allowed. It will follow an oral examination
Course program
The goals of Psychology
Scientific principles in Psychology
Methods of Research: qualitative and quantitative research
Analysing and interpreting data
The brain and behaviour
The relationship between brain and mind
Hemispheric specialization
Consciousness
Level of Consciousness
Sleep and dreaming
Attention and arousal
Focused attention and divided attention
Learning and Conditioning
Classic conditioning
Operant conditioning
Memory: the case H.M.
The three stage model of Memory
Remembering and Forgetting
Motivation: theories of motivation
Emotion: theories of emotion
Intelligence: how many ?
The measurement of Intelligence
Genes, environment and intelligence
Cognitive development
Language and Thinking
Neural basis of Language: the role of the two hemispheres
Development of language
Problem Solving: logical thinking and Insight
Einstellung
Decision making
Economic decision: satisficers vs maximizers
Moral Dilemmas