Dynamic Psychology (2020/2021)

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding 1. To introduce students to the study of motivation and emotions as psychological functions regulating human behaviour and improving participation. 2. To develop in the student the knowledge and understanding of those factors that facilitate or hinder the empathic process in terms of the foundation of relationships that promote motivation and well-being. Applying knowledge and understanding 1. To develop in the student the ability to identify the motivational factors that elicit individual behavior and choices, taking into account the context (relational, group, organizational) in which the motivations and behaviours are developed. 2. To develop in the student the skill to identify potential strategies for promoting and sustaining motivation in various contexts (learning and not learning contexts). 3. To develop in the student the skill to identify the different forms of empathy, those factors that are related to empathy and that improve relationships, those that inhibit the process or that can hinder the relationship.

Course topics:
Dynamic Psychology and human motivation
Personality and motivational systems
Biological and cultural aspects of motivation.
The classification of motivation
Needs and the theories of needs.
Goals, the perceptions of competence, making decisions and choices.
Extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation and the degrees of autonomy in motivation.
Emotions and motivation as interdependent concepts.
Affects and affective phenomena
Emotional expressions and their communicative function
Basic concepts related to emotion regulation processes
Empathy: multi-dimensionality of the construct and the various forms of empathy

Texts:
1. Gambini P., Introduzione alla Psicologia dinamica. Volume primo: I processi dinamici (Seconda Edizione), F. Angeli, Milano, 2006 (chapters 2, 3, 7).
2. Moè A., La motivazione. Teorie e processi - Nuova edizione, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2020.
3. Meneghini A.M. (2010). Sentire e condividere. Componenti psicologiche e correlati biologici dell’empatia, Firenze: SEID (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Oral exam. The aim of the questions is to assess the students’ knowledge of the subjects described in the books/chapters listed in the syllabus. The final mark will be expressed in thirtieths. The assessment methods and criteria will be the same for attending and non-attending students.