28583 - General Psychology (1) (2nd cycle)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student knows the basic concepts of general psychology and the main methods of studying behaviour; the student acquires knowledge on basic cognitive processes (attention, language, communication, intelligence, motivation, emotion).

Course contents

 

The course aims to provide an overview of the fundamentals of psychological knowledge from the birth of scientific psychology to the most recent developments in the study of cognitive processes and contributions from neuroscience

Lectures will have the following outline:

Historical introduction to scientific psychology with emphasis on Gestalt psychology, the behaviorist school and cognitivism. An overview of recent developments in neuroscience with special reference to the mind-brain problem will also be offered.

Cognitive Processes. This section will address the study of cognitive processes: perception, learning, memory, language, and thinking.

Specific aspects of behavior: the study of emotions



The course takes place in semester I (September to December 2025)

Readings/Bibliography

Occhionero M. (ed.). Introduction to general psychology. Rome: Carocci 2018. (The textbook should be studied all but chapter 2 (Methods) and chapter 4 (Attention).

During the lectures on the basis of students' interests the lecturer will provide bibliographic suggestions for in-depth studies on specific topics and/or general problems of the discipline.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures

Additional resources for preparation will be provided through supplementary materials uploaded to the Virtual platform. Indications for accessing these resources will be provided in class and on the Virtual platform

Assessment methods

Registration for the tests will always be done through the Alma Exams application.


The examination is aimed at verifying the achievement of the learning objectives and the student's ability to use the knowledge acquired during the course. To this end, an oral test consisting of three questions through which the student's ability to expound the contents of the required topic within the historical frame of reference is investigated. A critical treatment of the topics will be particularly appreciated.
The test grade will be awarded according to the following criteria:

30 cum laude: excellent formal and argumentative quality of content, high critical analysis skills, linking skills and a sure mastery of specific terminology.

29-30: excellent formal and argumentative quality of content, high critical analysis and linking skills and a sure command of specific terminology.

27-28: more than good formal and argumentative quality of content, good analytical skills and secure command of specific terminology.

24-26: fair formal and argumentative quality of content, fair analytical and in-depth skills, and fairly good command of specific terminology.

20-23: more than sufficient formal and argumentative quality of content, more than sufficient ability to analyze and explore in depth, and more than sufficient mastery of specific terminology.

18-19: sufficient formal and argumentative quality of content, sufficient ability to analyze and explore, and sufficient mastery of specific terminology.

For non-native speakers of Italian, the course assumes an excellent knowledge of the Italian language.

Based on the number of students enrolled, students will be divided into shifts with time slots that the system will immediately provide following the order of enrollment.


Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

During the lectures, slides will be projected and discussed. The slides will be available to students on the University's web platform Virtuale (specific directions will be given during class and also made available by email).

Office hours

See the website of Miranda Occhionero