Teaching code

4S00798

Teacher

Roberto Burro

Coordinator

Roberto Burro

Credits

9

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

M-PSI/01 - GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Period

Sem. 1A, Sem. 1B

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

GENERAL LEARNING OBJECTIVES. *To know and understand the psychological theories which describe and explain the processes underlying individuals and groups' behaviours, and the processes of adjustment to the material and social environment, for example the perceptual, cognitive, communicative-linguistic, social-relational, affective-emotional, and learning processes. *To apply the psychological theories to the functioning of individuals, groups, and organisation in order to observe and analyse behaviours, and in particular phenomena concerning learning and personal and social changes.
SPECIFIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES. *To know the historical path that psychology has followed to identify itself as an experimental discipline, delving into the most important themes involved in cognitive processes. The first of the aspects studied will be methodological and epistemological, to understand the relationship between psychology as an experimental discipline and the other humanistic disciplines that contribute to the study of human thought. *To delve into classic themes of psychology such as the study of perceptual experience, psychophysics, theories, models and research on consciousness, attention, memory, thought, intelligence, learning, motivation, emotions, communication. *To understand topics such as the nature and treatment of mental disorders, personality development across the lifespan, and behavioural biology, that contribute to the organisation of human cognitive architecture.

Prerequisites and basic notions

No prior knowledge is required

Program

The Science of Psychology
- The Nature of Psychology
- The Field of Psychology and its Levels of Analysis
- Psychology Today

Studying Behavior Scientifically
- Scientific Principles in Psychology
- Ethical Principles in Research
- Research Methods
- Threats to Research Validity
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data
- Critical Thinking in Science and Everyday Life

Genes, Environment, and Behavior
- Effects of Genetics on Behavior
- Adapting to the Environment: The Role of Learning
- Behavioral Genetics, Intelligence, and Personality
- Gene-Environment Interactions
- Genetic Manipulation
- Evolution and Behavior: Legacies of the Distant Past

Brain and Behavior
- Neurons
- How Neurons Communicate: Synaptic Transmission
- The Nervous System
- The Hierarchical Brain: Structures and Behavioral Functions
- Hemispheric Lateralization: The Right Hemisphere and the Left Hemisphere
- Brain Plasticity: The Role of Experience and Functional Recovery
- The Nervous System Interacts with the Endocrine and Immune Systems

Sensation and Perception
- Sensory Processes
- Sensory Systems
- Color Vision
- Analysis and Construction of Visual Scenes
- Perception: The Creation of Experience
- Depth, Distance, and Motion Perception
- Illusions: False Perceptual Hypotheses
- Specific Recognition Processes
- Synesthesia
- Experience, Critical Periods, and Perceptual Development

Attention and Consciousness
- The Enigma of Consciousness
- Attention
- Circadian Rhythms: Our Daily Biological Clocks
- Sleep and Dreams
- Hypnosis

Learning: The Role of Experience
- Adapting to the Environment
- Habituation and Sensitization
- Classical Conditioning: Associating One Stimulus with Another
- Operant Conditioning: Learning from Consequences
- Objections to Behaviorism
- Observational Learning: When Others Show the Way
- The Adaptive Brain

Memory
- Memory as Information Processing
- Encoding: Acquiring Information
- Storage: Retaining Information
- Retrieval: Accessing Information
- Forgetting
- Memory as a Construction Process
- Memory and the Brain

Language
- Adaptive Functions of Language
- Properties of Languages
- Structure of Languages
- Understanding and Producing Speech
- First Language Acquisition
- Bilingualism
- Language and Thought

Thinking
- Thinking, Brain, and Mind
- Mental Representations
- Concepts and Propositions
- Mental Images
- Psychology of Thinking
- Problem Solving
- Reasoning
- Decision Making and the Framing Effect
- Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom

Intelligence
- Intelligence in Historical Perspective
- Nature of Intelligence
- Measurement of Intelligence
- Heredity, Environment, and Intelligence
- Group Differences in Intelligence
- Extreme Intelligence

Motivation
- Perspectives on Motivation
- Hunger and Weight Regulation
- Sexual Motivation
- Social Motivation
- Achievement Motivation

Emotions
- Studying Emotions
- Nature of Emotions
- Theories of Emotions
- Happiness
- A New Perspective: Affective and Social Neuroscience

From Infant to Adult: Physical, Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Development
- Themes and Methods of Developmental Psychology
- Physical and Cognitive Development in Infancy and Childhood
- Adolescence, Adulthood, and Old Age
- Social and Emotional Development in Infancy and Childhood

Mind and Social Behavior
- Forming First Impressions
- Interpersonal Relationships
- Prosocial Behavior: Helping Others
- Aggression
- The Social Nature of Knowledge

Personality
- What is Personality?
- The Psychodynamic Perspective
- The Phenomenological-Humanistic Perspective
- Mapping the Structure of Personality
- Biological Foundations of Personality
- Behavioral and Socio-Cognitive Theories
- Culture, Gender, and Personality
- Personality Assessment

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Face-to-face lectures

Learning assessment procedures

The examination taken during an official session will consist of a written test with thirty multiple-choice questions to be completed in 30 minutes (3 answer options, of which only one is correct).

Evaluation criteria

For the purpose of the final grade expressed on a scale of thirty, a correct answer has a value of 1 point, an incorrect answer has a value of 0 points, and an unanswered question has a value of 0 points.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

For the purpose of the final grade expressed on a scale of thirty, a correct answer has a value of 1 point, an incorrect answer has a value of 0 points, and an unanswered question has a value of 0 points.

Exam language

Italian