- Docente: Maria Paola Zamagni
- Credits: 2
- SSD: M-PSI/01
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Dental Hygiene (cod. 8481)
Learning outcomes
The course is devoted to the study of human behavior and mental processes with specific reference to the following:
- cognitive processes, emotions, motivations;
- communication dynamics in verbal and non-verbal language;
- social influences;
- recognition and regulation of emotions associated with stress and pain in adult patients.Course contents
LEARNING - Classical conditioning. The basic procedure involved in classical conditioning. Extinction - Generalisation - Discrimination - Spontaneous recovery. Operant conditioning. Law of effect. Positive and negative reinforcement. Shaping. Schedules of reinforcement. Escape and avoidance learning.Similarities and differences between classical and operant conditioning. Clinical application of learning methods.
MEMORY - Memory as information processing (registration; storage; retrieval). The nature of memory: sensory memory (iconic and echoic memory), short-term memory, long-term memory. Models of memory and neural components. Serial position effect. Declarative and procedural memory. Retroactive and proactive interference. Memory and emotions.
ATTENTION AND STATES OF VIGILANCE - Circadian rhythms. Selective attention and divided attention. Psychophysiology of sleep. REM sleep and NREM sleep: functions of dreaming.
THOUGUT- Categorization and formation of concepts. Types of thoughts. Mental set, problem solving and insight. Divergent/Convergent thinking. Inductive/deductive reasoning.
INTELLIGENCE - Theories of cognitive development: Piaget's genetic epistemology. Interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Measurement of intelligence: IQ tests. Theory of multiple intelligences: emotional intelligence.
LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION - Stages in language
development. Relationship between language and
thought. Localization and lateralisation of
language. Cortical areas, language and language
disorders. Verbal/Non-verbal language. Communication
skills. Communication and interpersonal dynamics in clinical
context
EMOTION - Theories of emotion: activation, expression
and recognition of emotions. Cerebral hemispheres, specific
brain structures in emotional experience. Facial expression of
emotion. Emotions and social influences.
MOTIVATION - Human behaviour: biologically-based
motives, sensation-seeking motives, complex psychosocial
motives. Homeostatic drive theory and drive reduction
theory. Theories of the attachment process: early social
development. Imprinting and maternal deprivation.
CONFLICT AND STRESS - Types of conflict. Effects
of conflict on behaviour. Psychophysiological responses to
stress. Stress and illness: acute and chronic stressors and
the immune system. Problem-focused coping strategies and
emotion-focused coping strategies.
FRUSTRATION AND AGGRESSION - Causes of frustration. Responses to frustration. Frustration-aggression hypothesis. Theories of aggression: psychoanalytic approach, ethological approach, social learning. Reduction and control of aggressive behavior.
Readings/Bibliography
- Schacter D.L., Gilbert D.T., Wegner
D.M., Pychology, Worth Publishers, New York and
Basingstoke, 2010.
or, in alternative,
- Gerrig R.J., Zimbardo P.G., Psychology and Life, 19th edition, Pearson Education. Inc., 2010.
Teaching methods
Lectures.
Assessment methods
The
exame of Generlal Psychology consists in a multiple choice test.
The test lasts for 20 minutes and contains 20 multiple choice
questions.
To pass the exame, students must
answer at least 12 questions correctly. The final risult of the
Integrated course is determined by the arithmetic mean of the
single marks gained in the exames composing the Integrated
course.
Teaching tools
Slides; readings. Further information relative to the course,
as well as any supplemental course material (lecture slides, etc),
will be available online at
http://campus.unibo.it/
.
Office hours
See the website of Maria Paola Zamagni