Learning objectives

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.

Prerequisites and basic notions

No prior knowledge is required

Program

The course has the following specific educational objectives:
1) Develop students' knowledge and understanding of motivation theories and the affective motivational system, as functions that regulate human behavior, with particular attention to caregiving behaviors.
2) Develop students' ability to identify the motivational factors that guide individual behavior, taking into account the relational context in which motivations develop and behaviors are enacted.
3) Help students outline possible strategies for promoting well-being and motivation in various caregiving contexts.
Topics covered during the lessons will be:
Dynamic psychology and human motivation;
Personality and motivational systems;
Motivation between biology and culture;
The classification of motivations;
Needs and need theories;
Goals, perceptions of competence, decisions, and choices.
Extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, and autonomy of motivation
Motivations and emotions as interdependent concepts
Emotions and their regulation
Empathy: multidimensionality of the construct and forms of empathy
Tests for the exam for attending and non-attending students:
1. Gambini P. (2006). Introduzione alla Psicologia. Volume primo: I processi dinamici (Second Edition), F. Angeli, Milan (chapters 2, 3, 4, paragraphs 1 to 9 inclusive of chapter 5, chapter 7).
2. Moè A. (2020). La motivazione. Teorie e processi - New edition, Il Mulino, Bologna.
3. Meneghini AM (2020). Strategie di regolazione del distress e caregiving. In L. Napolitano Valditara (ed.), Curare le emozioni, curare con le emozioni (pp. 235-267). Mimesis Editore.
4. Bonino S. (2006). Contagio, empatia e comportamento prosociale. In Caprara GV & Bonino S. (Eds.), Il comportamento prosociale, pp. 23–44. Erickson Editore.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Frontal lessons

Learning assessment procedures

Written exam lasting approximately two hours with three open-ended questions. The exam format is the same for both attending and non-attending students. There are no midterm tests.

Evaluation criteria

The exam questions are designed to assess knowledge of the topics covered in the texts (or parts of them) in the program and the ability to organize this knowledge discursively.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The grade, expressed in thirtieths, will be the average of the scores for the individual questions.

Exam language

italiano

Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs

This initiative contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Agenda 2030. More information on sustainability