Psychology Syllabus First Year General Neuropsychology Workload: 128 hs (64 per semester) Lectures / Laboratory practical classes The course will focus on neurobiology, also known as neuroscience, with emphasis on the hierarchical organization of the nervous system and behavior. Normal functions are described as the foundation to understanding the underlying neuropsychological bases basis of perception, movement, emotion, language and cognition. Furthermore, this knowledge of the nervous system will allow them to strengthen their knowledge of human thought, emotions and behavior. Psychology of Human Development I Workload: 128 hs (64 per semester) During this course students will comprehend human development across the life span, ranging from prnatal to pre- puberty. This course will provide a broad overview of human growth and development ranging from a pre- natal state to pre- puberty. Changes in biological, cognitive, emotional, moral, psychosexual and social domains will be discussed providing a broad multidisciplinary and integrative view. Recent research across domains will be provided for discussion. History of Philosophical Theories Workload: 128 hs (64 per semester) Lectures This course will be structured in two different parts, a systematical and a historical one, aiming to provide a schematic introduction of the main philosophical theories. Esthetics, ethics and grief will be thoroughly discussed in the systematical area whilst the historical area will focus on the most significant theorists in western culture. History of Psychology Time Schedule: 48 hs Lectures 1
Historical backgrounds of current psychological theories and systems (i.e. Structuralism, Functionalism, Behaviorism, Gestalt, Psychoanalytic, Humanism and Cognitivism) with reference to significant individuals, classic studies and major trends in the field are explored in order to set the basis from which to develop during the following years of study. Special focus is placed on the development of Psychology as a science. The ways in which psychology has been both influenced by society and has altered society will also be discussed. Sociology This course introduces students to major concepts and theories of this very rich and diverse discipline, and its relation to human behavior. As a complementary course towards the major, it will offer students alternative views of social reality which should be taken into account in the study of human psyche and psychosocial interaction. General Psychology Lectures An introduction to the science of humans from a cultural, social and biological perspective. It aims to offer a broad view of intra- and inter- subjective processes of individuals, as well as basic psychological processes, from different theoretical views. Students will be granted foundational knowledge of the context surrounding primary current psychological debates as well as a comprehensive approach to these. This course also surveys the methods and major findings of the various fields of psychology and provides students with the necessary skills for scientific research. Theology I Workload: 32 hs Lectures This course will provide scientific and accurate knowledge of the challenges presented by the present belief in the Catholic faith. Religiosity is essential to human beings as it is rationality and in human relations. Believing is as proper to mankind as is thinking or establishing bonds. The course provides the basic context of the Catholic faith against the current challenges of disbelief and religious indifference. The contents of faith will be taught by reviewing the critical analysis thereof. Believing is not a reckless or childish act of intelligence but an attitude that involves the whole person, making it more human. 2
Descriptive Statistics This course explores the different aspects involved in the concept of science. The programme expects students to engage in consideration of sampling theory, the design of experiments, and the analysis and presentation of data with emphasis on correlation, t- test, chi square, the analysis of variance, etc. Philosophical Anthropology This course reviews the philosophical foundation of psychology and contributions to scientific development. The consciousness of the philosophical foundation of a discipline helps provide breadth and capacity for dialogue with the diverse because the depth gives unity to knowledge. In turn, the dialogue of philosophy with psychology enriches and transforms the philosophical knowledge, away from generalizations and simplifications that are exposed by virtue of their level of abstraction. Thus, psychological science and philosophical science are enriched in a mutual dialogue whose borders are not always clear. Second year Psychology of Human Development II Workload: 128 hs (64 per semester) In this course students will analyze tendencies, principles and developmental processes across the human lifespan, from school age to elderly stages, focussing on biological, sociological and psychological aspects that influence it. A broad integrative view from an anthropological perspective is offered. Psychological Theories I Sigmund Freud s foundational work will be discussed. This course initiates readings of psychoanalytical texts with the first Freudian discoveries and acquires a chronological study of his life s work from a historic and developmental perspective. This course is meant to articulate with 3
Psychological Theories II, where students will be able to see the impact these early ideas had on the following theorists. This course will focus on a metapsychological perspective, analyzing his dynamic, topographical and economical views of human psyche. In a more practical approach, we will explain the unconscious dynamics of desire as motor, origin and psychic conflict in human life. Social Psychology The course surveys the major topics and theories of social psychology, of human behavior as a consequence of its psychosocial context. This approach allows students to tackle the individual and characterize human subjectivity in all its complexity. It is intended to provide a framework for the psychologist to analyze the social dimension of human psychology. Inferential Statistics Principles relating to the planning, implementation and ethics of psychological research will be examined and emphasis will be placed upon the understanding of primary concepts and basic intent of inferential statistics. Concepts such as regression, analysis of variance, factor analysis, discriminant analysis, and appropriate tests of significance will be explained. Research Methods I This course is a hands- on approach to foundational theories behind psychology research and data collection as it aims to enhance critical thinking skills regarding empirical research. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with current research in psychology with a scientific attitude, working towards making contributions to Psychology s growth as a valid and scientific discipline. Students are expected to conduct their own scientific research. Philosophical Anthropology II A significant debate has been maintained over the past decades regarding philosophical and scientific concepts. This course will continue working with Anthropology I s ideas (human abilities, notion of individual, soul, intelligence, truth, etc.) to introduce students to the comprehension and 4
analysis of these debates in order to develop new ideas to enrich their academic training as future psychologists. Psychological Theories II Psychoanalysis, created by Freud as a speech, a research method and a clinical treatment has evolved since its early days, and various new schools have emerged. These schools provide their own ideas, enriching Freud s vision of human psychology. This course will analyze some of the primary post- Freudian authors: M. Klein, Fairbain, Winnicott, Bowlby. Personality I This course will engage in a discussion of the major approaches to personality, from the psychodynamic approach of Freud to Allport and Filloux amongst others, and the way they perceived the development of personality both in health and in pathology. In order to do this, the concepts of disease or pathology and health will be examined as well as the historical evolution these theories have considered. The concept that students have of what makes a human being will define their position as psycho- therapists towards their clients/patients and their technique so it is considered a major topic of discussion. Psychometry This course will undertake major concepts in psychometry and its fields of work. It will also provide students with a broad overview of the theories of psychological measurement. It will promote the application of inferential statistical analysis in psychological research and construction, critical analysis and evaluation of measuring instruments. Psychological Research Methods I This course will introduce students to qualitative research as a specific approach to the social environment. Students will be presented with a wide range of concepts and instruments for the 5
development of hypothesis and research techniques, including data recollection, analysis and conclusion writing skills for social sciences from a qualitative methodologic perspective. Cultural Anthropology In this course students are offered basic conceptual and methodological tools for reading and critical understanding of the socio- historical, cultural and political context in which they develop their current and future practices. They are also expected to acquire a reflexive attitude towards cultural influences on the constitution of the person as well as society. Third Year General Psychopathology This course s goal is to introduce students to a new area, the clinical area, with its very own epistemological, theoretical and methodological difficulties. Mental pathology has accompanied mankind since its origins, and considerations regarding its importance and characteristics has also changed through history, depending on how mankind regarded its own race and relations with others. The course aims for students to develop the ability and sensitivity to identify the various psychopathological phenomena, ways of building relationships, types of communication and transference that unfold in the consultation. Family Cycles Workload: 32 hs This course will facilitate students understanding and application of the family systems, it will focus on the concepts and theoretical models underlying key relations within the system. Communication processes will be considered as a core tool for personality development and problem resolution within family the family s lifespan. Psychological Testing I 6
Psychological testing is an essential task in a psychologist s role in most areas of practice: clinical, educational, occupational, forensic, community health and research, granting it much interaction with most other courses. This course focuses on an analysis of the construction, interpretation, and application of various psychological tests and measurement tools. Intelligence and aptitude tests will be evaluated. Educational Psychology Contributions from both psychology and education will be involved, creating an organized and coherent set of knowledge. It will be necessary to revise contributions offered by psychology to the educational field through history. Students will then be introduced to quantitative and qualitative scientific research methodology used as a research model to approach the teacher- student- school- culture link. Personality II Systemic, existential and humanistic theories and their therapeutic applications will be thoroughly analyzed in their relation to personality. The aim of this course is for the student to explore how these different approaches try to comprehend the human being but none of them by itself manages to explain human reality entirely, we understand them as mere approaches to its comprehension. Theology II Workload: 32 hs Lectures This course analyzes the moral foundations of Christianity, explaining the relation between moral theology, anthropology and ethics. Philosophy and Knowledge Epistemology Lectures This course is divided into three main sections. The first one will engage essential interpretation of human knowledge. The second one will engage with the general concept of science, its definition, 7
classification and methodology, from a systematic approach. The third one will describe major theories of science from a historical approach. Adult Psychopathology A nosological analysis of psychopathology will be studied on a road from individual phenomena to structure. Neuroses, psychoses and perversions are understood from the intertwining of various axes that enable the formulation of structural diagnostics. The main contribution of this course to the professional training of psychologists lies in the preparation it provides for the exercise of diagnostics. Child Psychopathology This course provides the student with knowledge and introductory experience in the clinical assessment of children and adolescents. Students will learn the most frequent reason for consultation that are specific to children and adolescents from a psychodynamic perspective, as well as evaluation of the etiology, symptoms, and treatment of behavior disorders within the broad areas of childhood/developmental disorders and medical/organically- induced abnormal behavior. Children s psyche and subjectivity are analyzed from an attachment perspective, as well as risk factors for general development and attachment processes. A multifactorial view is regarded to understand symptoms which are specific to each individual and its family. Disorders will be considered in relation to clinical theories, research, and practice. An observational and practical involvement is prioritized, in which playing, drawing and words are elements that come together for a further understanding of the child, as well as family and school guidance work. Psychological Testing II An analysis of the construction, interpretation and application of various psychological projective techniques and measurement tools will be provided, placing the Rorschach test as a main character in the course. Adult projective tests such as Phillipson s Objects Relations Technique 8
(ORT) and Children s Aperception Test (CAT) for children assessment, as well as other projective techniques, will be evaluated. Organizational Psychology This course reviews psychology as a discipline, and the ways in which it helps understand human behavior in a work environment. Topics in personnel psychology, job motivation, and job satisfaction are examined along with topics on corporate culture and group processes from the area of organization behavior. Students are expected to take a hands on role in the development of skills to partake in organizational situations. Psychology of Learning The course will offer a review of major theories of human learning, (such as behaviorism, cognitivism and humanism) with emphasis on individual and environmental factors affecting learning and in various contexts. Critical assessment to identify strengths and weaknesses of these theories will be expected from students. Fourth Year Legal Psychology Contributions made by Psychology as a discipline will be reviewed as significant tools to understanding human behavior in a judicial environment. Through this course, students will recognize and analyze different aspects involved in different judicial areas in our country experienced by people and institutions, as well as develop strategies to manage these situations. Vocational Guidance Process 9
Students are provided with theoretic foundations and are expected to engage in a hand on manner in order to acquire various strategies and a toolset to guide the vocational orientation and professional reorientation processes with groups as well as with individuals. Adult Psycho- diagnosis and Assessment Building on previous knowledge from Psychological Research Techniques, General Abnormal Psychology, Adult Abnormal Psychology and Personality, it is expected for students to be able to get involved in the adult psychological assessment process itself. It is intended for students to acquire the knowledge of how the different psychopathological structures and styles of adult personality are clinically manifested through indicators in various psychological tests. Child Psycho- diagnosis and Assessment This course expects students to integrate and deepen their knowledge on the use of various tools in the process of psychological diagnosis and on existing diagnostic classifications in the broad child/adolescent range. It is further desired that students acquire the knowledge of the different psychopathological structures and personality styles along with their clinical manifestations through indicators in various psychological tests. Biological Foundations of Therapy Workload: 32 hs This course expects to bring students to the neuroscience of mental phenomena and disorders, from this knowledge the student will be able to understand the mechanisms that are at the basis of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatment. The course provides knowledge on the biological principles of action of these therapies, but does not train students in prescribing drugs or driving psychotherapeutic processes. Ethics 10
Workload: 32 hs The course addresses the philosophical principles related to human behavior. By analyzing them, it will reflect on the moral experience of man, based on a comprehension of the most important elements of moral action in classical philosophy s tradition. Clinical Psychology: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy The course aims to introduce students to the basic concepts, techniques and models of psychotherapy from a wide cognitive behavioral perspective. Through this course, students will learn how cognitive behavioral therapy works, in addition to its various technical tools and basic theoretical foundations. Clinical Psychology: Systemic Therapy The course aims to familiarize students with the basic concepts, techniques and specific models of Systemic psychotherapy. Through this course, students will learn how this type of psychotherapy works, in addition to the various technical tools and basic theoretical foundations it offers. Clinical Psychology: Psychodynamic therapy The course aims to familiarize students with the basic concepts, techniques and specific models of Psychodynamic therapy. Through this course, students will learn how psychotherapy works, in addition to the various technical tools and basic theoretical foundations it offers. Clinical Neuropsychology 11
The course aims to familiarize the student with cognitive, emotional and behavioral disorders, as well as personality disorders caused by lesions to the brain and the most common neuropsychological syndromes. This will provide the student with a better understanding of individuals for the diagnostic and intervention courses. 12