02207 - General Psychology (L-Z)

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Single cycle degree programme (LMCU) in Medicine and Surgery (cod. 8415)

Learning outcomes

Students should learn: - general knowledge of cognitive processes (perception, attention, learning, memory, thinking), emotional and motivational (emotions, primary and secondary motivations, stress, frustration and aggression) at the base of behavior individual - essential knowledge of the processes of verbal and nonverbal communication, the structure and functioning of groups (leadership, communication networks, systems of values and opinions), the processes of social influence in face-to-face interactions and group (the decision-making, consolidating and changing attitudes); - skills for the recognition and regulation of processes associated with emotional reactions to stress and pain in adults.

Course contents

OBJECTS AND METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY-GENERAL: Paradigms and experimental study of cognitive, behavioral, psychophysiological (EEG and ERPs, neuroimaging techniques) measures. LEARNING AND MEMORY: classical conditioning and operant conditioning . Sensory registers, short-term memory, long-term memory. The organization of information in memory. Episodic and semantic memory, declarative and procedural memories. Strategies for storage. Neuropsychological bases of memory and amnesia. EMOTION AND MOTIVATION: Physiological basis of emotion. Subcomponents of emotional responses. Primary emotions (basic) and secondary. Characteristics of basic emotions. Expression and emotion recognition. Primary and secondary motives (affiliation, achievement, etc..), With particular attention to the motivation to work. INTELLIGENCE AND PERSONALITY ': Different approaches to the study of personality. Taxonomic models of basic personality traits. The personality inventories. The assessment of cognitive abilities. Contemporary theories of intelligence. IQ and specific abilities. The intelligence tests.

STRESS AND COPING: Stressors: definition and characteristics. Acute and chronic stress. Physiological reactions to stress. Psychological reactions to stress. Coping strategies. Burn-out syndrome. Stress and work motivation. Stress and conflict in the workplace.

Readings/Bibliography

Textbook: Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner (2010). General Psychology. Zanichelli.
In addition, students will use the handouts provided by the teacher (which correspond to the slides of the lectures) that summarize the information in the textbook and provide some supplementary information that can be evaluated in the exam.

Teaching methods

Lectures and illustration of psychological testing materials.

Assessment methods

Assessment methods

Achievement Test with forced choice and oral examination.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint slides, softwares to illustrate the experimental tasks, exercises in psychological testing.

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Maria Russo