Psychology

2018/2019

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

4

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Big Data and Information Retrieval School

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

1 year, 2, 3 module

Instructor

Klimov, Alexey

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Course “Psychology” is structured in two blocks: 1) basic psychology and 2) social psychology. The first part makes an introduction to the scientific psychology field, build an overview of empirical and theoretical methods of current psychology. The second part of the course is developed as practically oriented. Students will work on realistic contextualized tasks with the aim of developing communication/interaction strategies or “soft skills” necessary to meet the academic and entry-level professional requirements.

Learning Objectives

• Help the students develop competency in interpretation (in domains of real-world problems, individual or group behavior using data gathered e.g. during personal conversation as well in a scientific article);
• Help the students develop competency in communication (as one of core “soft skills”, including communication in complex situations, multicultural settings, etc.);
• Help the students develop competency in uncertainty management (dealing with lack of information, reduce or increase the uncertainty through irritation or interpretation).

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Students understand and apply knowledge of individual differences and personality type differences in the communication process and during interaction with other people in learning/working context
• Students learn how to apply the principles and knowledge of effective time-, stress-, conflict management in learning/working situations
• Students have developed or improved skills for working effectively in a team, including negotiating and setting goals, meeting deadlines and giving and receiving feedback

Course Contents

• Introduction to Psychology and course description
• Methods of psychological research. Experimental design, analysis of experimental data
• Main concepts of psychology. Main problems: mind-body problem, nature vs nurture, interpretation of social behavior
• Personality. Main classical psychological schools (behaviorism, functionalism, psychoanalytic, gestalt, humanistic)
• Motivational theories. Self-regulation, motivation of others, social attribution
• Cognitive psychology
  p.1. Human attention and memory p.2. Application to visual communication, visualization, design, and ergonomics p.3. Decision making
• Social psychology, social entities, different approaches to group
• Group processes, group dynamics
• Handling and managing conflicts
• Leadership: multiple ways
• Organizational Psychology: a multilevel approach
• Working at Multicultural Environment

Assessment Elements

• Attendance
• Online tasks in learning management system
• Homework 1. Interview
• Homework 2. Team project
• Final exam

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (3 module)
  0.156 * Attendance + 0.4 * Final exam + 0.18 * Homework 1. Interview + 0.162 * Homework 2. Team project + 0.102 * Online tasks in learning management system

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Social psychology and human nature (3rd edition). (2014). Belmont. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsnar&AN=edsnar.oai.research.vu.nl.publications.34b6ff96.24ca.40a4.bd9e.af8ff97bc3ca

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Haslam, S. A. (2004). Psychology in Organizations (Vol. 2nd ed). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=251439