PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHO-BIOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2019/2020
- Teacher
- LAILA CRAIGHERO
- Credits
- 12
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
Training objectives
- PSYCHOBIOLOGY
At the end of the course the student will be able to:
- illustrate the relationship between sensation and perception, using experimental examples that show that perception does not depend exclusively on physiological activation and that it is always the result of multisensory integration
- describe the main electrophysiological techniques
- recognize and describe the main cognitive functions and illustrate the role of the motor system in their origin and in their development
- describe the organization of the motor system in general and of goal-directed actions in particular
- design training and motor rehabilitation programs that take into consideration the relationship between cognitive functions and the motor system
SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
At the end of the course the student will be able to:
- master the typical themes of psychology applied to sport and physical activity
- know the possible emotional responses generated by the sporting activity
- describe and recognize the dynamics that support motivational processes in the athlete
- illustrate the main dynamics for group management
- design training and motor rehabilitation programs aimed at promoting an improvement in health and quality of life
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
At the end of the course the student will be able to:
- illustrate the essential characteristics of developmental psychology
- describe the fundamental methods used to acquire and analyse data about developmental trajectories
- present the main theoretical approaches to development and psychological change
- illustrate the basic steps of neonatal and infant motor development
- illustrate the definition of the term "bullying", the roles and dynamics associated with it, its relationship with school wellbeing and the intervention strategies present in literature. Prerequisites
- Knowledge of the physiology and anatomy of the nervous system.
Course programme
- PSYCHOBIOLOGY
The course includes 40 hours of frontal teaching during which the teacher will bring practical examples of the application of theoretical knowledge thanks to the simulation of experiments and the presentation of videos.
Specifically, the following topics will be covered:
- Overview of the history of psychology, of the history of the study of the brain and of the birth of neuroscience.
- The relationship between brain and behavior (fundamental principles of sensory processes; eloquent and non-eloquent cortical areas; multisensory integration)
- Psychophysics and perception
- Techniques to identify the relationships between cognitive functions and neural substrate
- Language, learning, memory, attention, emotions
- The motor systems and the motor control, goal-directed actions and their appearance in ontogenesis, the basal ganglia and the cerebellum
- The kinematics
- The parietofrontal circuits (peripersonal and extrapersonal space coding; actions towards the objects; the recognition of others’ actions)
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY
The Sports Psychology module provides 16 hours of frontal teaching.
Specifically, the following topics will be covered:
- Scientific foundations of Sport Psychology
- Emotions and sports
- Motivation and personality
- Improve performance
- Sport, physical activity and wellness
- Group and sport dynamics
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
The developmental psychology module foresees 40 hours of frontal teaching during which the lecturer will address theoretical issues, methodological aspects and practical applications. During the lessons, the teacher will introduce various readings, encouraging students to take an active role, both in the discussion and in the search for bibliographic material.
Specifically, the following topics will be covered:
- Historical notes on the study of change and introduction to developmental psychology
- Basic methodological aspects: elements of psychometry, transversal and longitudinal research designs
- Neonatal and infant motor development: from primary reflexes to fine motor skills.
- Wellbeing, bullying and cyberbullying: definitions, state of the art and intervention strategies Didactic methods
- Frontal teaching
Learning assessment procedures
- At the end of the three modules of the integrated course the student will have to demonstrate that s/he has achieved the educational objectives positively overcoming a single written test lasting 90 minutes, composed of 12 true / false questions (1 point per question), 12 questions of multiple choice (1 point per question) and 3 short open questions (max 2 points per question: 0 - the answer is absent or not inherent to the question; 1 - the answer is correct but the topic and its implications are not framed in the theoretical context, 2 - the answer is correct and the argument and its implications are framed in the theoretical context). The praise can reward those who in the answers to the open questions show particular ability in describing the links between the different topics.
Reference texts
- PSYCHOBIOLOGY
Slides presented during the lessons
Specific topics can be explored in the following volumes:
- D. Purves, E.M. Brannon, R. Cabeza, S.A. Huettel, K.S. LaBar, M.L. Platt, M.G. Woldorff, Neuroscienze cognitive, Zanichelli, Edizione II, 2014.
- L. Craighero, Neuroni specchio, Il Mulino 2017.
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY
Laura Mandolesi, Manuale di psicologia generale dello sport, Il Mulino 2017
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Butterworth, G., & Harris, M. (2012). Fondamenti di psicologia dello sviluppo. Taylor & Francis Ltd.
