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 aims: 1. knowing and understanding the psychological theories that can explain the fundamental processes for individuals to function in, and adaptat to, their material and social environments; 2. knowing and understanding the pedagogical theories subsumed to learning processes and techniques for the training and development of individuals and of different working communities, and which take into account also to the processes of social and cultural inclusion; 3. applying pedagogical methodologies and techniques to the analysis of learning processes in vocational training and in the development of communities of practices; 4. choosing among, and applying, teaching methods and strategies that are suitable to response to personal and social needs, in diverse and complex training contexts. 5. Using legal, sociological, ethical and anthropological knowledge to the reading and understanding of diversity and migratory phenomena in order to favor and support processes of social and cultural inclusion. SPECIFIC TRAINING OBJECTIVES Starting from the analysis of the historical path done by Psychology to define itself as an experimental discipline, the most important topics dealing with cognitive processes will be discussed. The first one will deal with methodological and epistemological aspects, in order to understand the relationship between psychology as an experimental discipline and the other humanistic disciplines contributing to the study of human thought. The other topics which will be discussed will be the classical ones dealing with the study of perceptual experience, psychophysics, the theories, models and research about consciousness, attention, memory, thinking, intelligence, learning, motivation, emotions, communication. Such topics as the nature and the treatment of mental desease, the development of personality in the lifetime and the biology of beahaviour will be also touched, as they contribute to the organization of the cognitive architecture of people.

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

Italiano

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