02207 - General Psychology

Learning outcomes

Students will have specific knowledge of main cognitive functions (i.e. attention, memory, learning, thinking, language) and emotional processes involved in human information processing and behavior.
Moreover, students will know 1. the main features of stressful events and the psychophysiological reactions to the stressors; 2. The different types of social influence: 3. Prevention and empowerment strategies.

Course contents

LEARNING AND MEMORY: Associative learning (classical/pavlovian and instrumental/operant conditioning). Rewards and punishments. Motivation and learning. Non-associative learning. Sensory registers, short-term memory, long-term memory. The organization of information in memory. Episodic and semantic memory, declarative and procedural memories.

INTELLIGENCE: Contemporary theories of intelligence. The assessment of cognitive abilities. The intelligence tests. IQ and specific abilities. Mental retardation.

ATTENTION: Attentional systems: arousal and sustained attention; selective attention; executive functions.

EMOTION: Biological basis of emotion. Theories of emotion. Subcomponents of emotional responses. Primary emotions (basic) and secondary. Characteristics of basic emotions. Expression and emotion recognition.

STRESS : The stress response. Acute and chronic stress; physiological and psychological reactions to stress; coping strategies.

HEALTH COMMUNICATION: risk factors and prevention in the individual and collective health; The different types of social influence: verbal and non-verbal communication; Prevention and empowerment strategies.

 

Readings/Bibliography

A pdf of the powerpoint presentation will be available on "Insegnamenti Online" after each lecture. Pdfs of the powerpoint presentations of the lectures will be the material to be reviewed for the written exam.

 

The following readings are recommended if you want to explore further the topics covered in class but they will not be part of the written exam.

Feldman R.S. (2008), PSICOLOGIA GENERALE. McGraw-Hill

Benedetti, F (2013). Placebo and the new physiology of the doctor-patient relationship. Physiol Rev, 93:1207-46 (alternatively: Benedetti, F (2012). L’effetto Placebo. Breve viaggio tra mente e corpo. Carocci Editore)

Teaching methods

Lectures with slides. At the end of each lecture a pdf with the powerpoint presentation will be distributed to students. Pdfs with the powerpoint presentations of the lectures will be the material to be reviewed for the written exam at the end of the course. Several examples of the concepts covered during the lectures will be shown.

Assessment methods

Assessment consists of a short written exam 4-5 questions on the topics covered during the lectures. Students should demonstrate that they acquired knowledge on the main issues covered in class, and the answers should be clear and well-articulate.

Teaching tools

The handouts of lectures slides will be provided by the teacher on the online platform (iol.unibo).

Office hours

See the website of Maria Ida Gobbini