Psycology and Health

The main goal of this course is to introduce students to the principal theories, concepts, and research methods relevant to Social Psychology. During this course the students will learn about classical and current researches in Social Psychology. This course will help students to discover ways in which to apply social psychological theories and research to the experiences and situations we encounter in everyday life, and to better understand themselves and others. The course aims in particular to highlight some of the main responses that Social Psychology has provided with respect to the following questions: - How do people form a judgment about social phenomena? (automatic processes, schemes, attitudes); - How do people form the impressions about others and explain their behaviors? (social perception, causal attribution, stereotypes); - How do we form an image of ourselves? (self-concept, self-esteem and self-efficacy); - How do people represent themselves and others as part of categories and social groups? (social identity); - How do opinions and judgments change? (persuasion, social influence, polarization); - How does behavior change in the presence of others? (group processes, intergroup relations, conflict and cooperation, prejudice, pro-social and anti-social behavior); - How can we understand some of the classical and contemporary social phenomena, such as migration, deviance, terrorism, and conflicts? - Knowledge and understanding The first objective of the course is to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the main theories and methods of research of this discipline in order to arrive at an adequate understanding the dynamics (individual, interpersonal and intergroup) of social behaviour, considered in its complexity and articulation. At the end of the course, students are expected to have acquired with mastery the principal concepts and theories of the discipline as well as the main methodological approaches underlying both, theoretical and applied psychosocial research. - Applying knowledge and understanding The course also aims to encourage students to apply the concepts acquired to the real life situations. Students will be able to analyse social issues, identifying the mechanisms as well as psychological and social factors underlying these. Moreover, they will be able to design quantitative and qualitative research, choosing and constructing the appropriate tools, and consulting the scientific literature. Finally, students could prefigure some intervention scenarios after having deepened their knowledge of specific situations by using the tools of psychosocial research, acting in the light of a clearly identified scientific perspective. - Making judgements The course encourages an acquisition of knowledge that goes beyond simple mnemonic learning, rather promoting the ability to reflect critically about the causes of social behaviours, and about social phenomena and problems. In addition, the course aims to develop the ability to analyse scientific research in Social Psychology proposed in the scientific literature and other sources (e.g. video), reasoning in critical way about the tools used, the design followed, about the results obtained and respect for ethics. - Communication A further objective is to develop the student's ability to describe, explain and comment the theories learned and the results of experimental and correlational research reported in the relevant literature not only during the exam but throughout the whole course and in front of the class. - Lifelong learning skills Last but not least, the course aims to develop the student's ability to search autonomously the basic theoretical models of social psychology, to find relevant literature, to read scientific articles, and to apply the research methodology appropriately for measuring, analysing and interpreting the processes underlying social behaviour and phenomena.