Unit GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY I FORM

Code	GP003497
CFU	6
Teacher	Stefano Federici
Learning activities	Caratterizzante
Area	Discipline scientifiche demoetnoantropologiche, pedagogiche, psicologiche e economiche
Academic discipline	M-PSI/01
Type of study-unit	Opzionale (Optional)

Cognomi A-C

CFU

6

Teacher

Stefano Federici

Teachers

• Stefano Federici

Hours

• 36 ore - Stefano Federici

Language of instruction

Italian

Contents

1. The matter of the psychology study.
2. The nervous representation of the mental processes.

Reference texts

Compulsory texts: The study of these texts is mandatory for all students – attending, non-attending students and workers; it is recommended to bring a copy of them during the oral examination, during which their consultation might be requested or by the student or by the examiner teacher.
1. Anolli, L., & Legrenzi, P. (2012). Psicologia generale (5a ed.). Il Mulino. (Tutti i capitoli). Oppure in lingua inglese: Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B., Loftus, G. R., & Lutz, C. (2014). Atkinson & Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology (16th ed.). Cengage Learning.
2. Foschi, R. (2020). Storia della psicologia e della mente. Mondadori. (Tutti i capitoli).
3. Buss, D. M. (2020). Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind (6th ed.). Pearson. (Chapters: 1-5) Trad. it.: (2020). Psicologia evoluzionistica. Pearson. (Chapters: 1-5).
4. Federici, S. (2022). Slides del corso di Psicologia generale, available online on UNISTUDIUM or on https://www.cognitivelab.it.

Recommended readings: It is suggested to read one or more of the following texts; during the oral exam, students will be invited to describe their contents, and final evaluation examination will also take account of this preparation which remains nevertheless optional.
1. Blackmore, S. J., & Troscianko, E. (2018). Consciousness: An introduction (3rd ed.). Abingdon, OX: Routledge.
2. Bloom, P. (2010, May 9). The Moral Life of Babies. The New York Time, 44. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/magazine/09babies-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all.
3. Camperio Ciani, A., Corna, F., & Capiluppi, C. (2004). Evidence for maternally inherited factors favouring male homosexuality and promoting female fecundity.Proceeding of the royal Society B, 271(1554), 2217-2221 doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2872.
4. Diamond, J. (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co. Trad. it.: (2006). Armi, acciaio e malattie. Breve storia del mondo negli ultimi tredicimila anni. Torino: Einaudi.
5. Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. (1989). Human Ethology. Aldine de Gruyter: New York, NY, USA. Trad. it.: (2001). Etologia umana. Le basi biologiche del comportamento. Torino: Bollati Boringhieri.
6. Federici, S. (2009). Perché siamo portati a credere in Dio? In L. Proietti (a cura), Il mestiere dello storico: Tra ricerca e impegno civile. Scritti in memoria di Maria Grazia Giuntella (pp. 323-344). Roma: Aracne.
7. Federici, S., Stella, A., Dennis, J., & Hünefeldt, T. (2011). West vs. West like East vs. West? A comparison between Italian and US American context sensitivity and Fear of Isolation. Cognitive Processing. Cognitive Processing, 12(2), 203-208. doi:10.1007/s10339-010-0374-8.
8. Gazzaniga, M. S. (1998). The Mind’s Past. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Trad. it.: (1999). La mente inventata. Le basi biologiche dell’identità e della coscienza. Milano: Guerini.
9. Gazzaniga, M. S. (2013). Shifting Gears: Seeking New Approaches for Mind/Brain Mechanisms. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 1–20. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143817.
10. Gazzaniga, M. S. (2008). Human: The Science Behind What Makes Your Brain Unique. New York, NY: Harper Collins. Trad. it.: (2009). Human: Quel che ci rende unici. Roma: Raffaello Cortina.
11. Gazzaniga, M. S. (2012). Who’s in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain. London, UK: Constable & Robinson.
12. Gazzaniga, M. S., Ivry, R. B., & Mangun, G. R. (2009). Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of The Mind. New York, NY: W.W. Norton. Trad. it.: (2015). Neuroscienze cognitive. Bologna. IT: Zanichelli.
13. Harris (1998) The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do. Washington, DC: Free Press. Trad. it.: (1999). Non è colpa dei genitori. Milano: Mondadori.
14. Holyoak, K. J. (1999). Introduction: Psychology. In R. A. Wilson & F. C. Keil (Eds.), The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (pp. xxxix-xlix). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
15. Kandel, E. R. (2000). The Brain and Behavior. In E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz & T. M. Jessell (Eds.), Principles of Neural Science (4th ed., pp. 5-18). New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill. Trad. it.: (2003). Cervello e comportamento. In E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz & T. M. Jessell (Eds.), Principi di neuroscienze (3a ed., pp. 5-19). Milano: CEA.
16. Kandel, E. R. (2000). From Nerve Cells to Cognition: The Internal Cellular Representation Required for Perception and Action. In E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz & T. M. Jessell (Eds.), Principles of Neural Science (4th ed., pp. 381-403). New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill. Trad. it.: (2003). Dalle cellule nervose ai processi cognitivi: la rappresentazione interna a livello cellulare necessaria per la percezione e per l’azione. In E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz & T. M. Jessell (Eds.), Principi di neuroscienze (3a ed., pp. 377-399). Milano: CEA.
17. Newberg, A. B., d’Aquili, E. G., & Rause, V. (2001). Why God won’t go away: brain science and the biology of belief. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. Trad. it.: (2001). Dio nel cervello. La prova biologica della fede. Milano: Mondadori.
18. Pinker, S. (2002). The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Trad. it.: (2006). Tabula rasa. Perché non è vero che gli uomini nascono tutti uguali. Milano: Mondadori.
19. Plotkin, H. (1997). Evolution in mind: An introduction to evolutionary psychology. London, UK: Allen Lane & Penguin. Trad. it.: (2002). Introduzione alla psicologia evoluzionistica. Roma: Astrolabio.
20. Premack, D. (2007). Human and animal cognition: Continuity and discontinuity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(35), 13861–13867. doi:10.1073/pnas.0706147104.
21. Ramachandran, V. S. (2011). The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Quest for What Makes Us Human. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. Trad. it.: (2012). L’uomo che credeva di essere morto. Milano, IT: Mondadori.

Educational objectives

At the end of the course the student should be able to know how to define the nature, biological basis and evolutionary origins of psychology and critically describe the cognitive functions. It must also be able to critically discuss the most recent assumptions in cognitive neuroscience.

Prerequisites

Knowledge of the Italian language, level B2. Good receptive and productive language skills and competences. Critical thinking skills. Ability to summarize and process content. Analytical comprehension and reasoning skills. Good general culture.

Teaching methods

Face-to-face

Other information

Students¿ with disabilities or with SLD will be able to make use of assistive and compensatory tools according to ministerial and university regulations. It is recommended, therefore, to book for a student reception to verbally define the appropriate modalities.
For further information on the conduct of the examinations or to test the functioning of the online platform or to be able to make use of auxiliary material, please consult the FAQs on the www.cognitivelab.it website. The cognitivelab.it website is not an official university website, and its consultation is not indispensable, although strongly recommended, for taking and successfully passing the exam.

Learning verification modality

The examination is oral and includes a written pre-selection test. On the Friday (unless otherwise indicated) before the date of the oral exam, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., a questionnaire with 30 multiple-choice questions (+1 = correct answer // -0.50 = wrong answer // -0.25 = no answer) taken from the contents of the compulsory exam materials (see: "Compulsory texts") will be administered on UNISTUDIUM to those who have booked on SOL at least 10 days before the exam date. The questionnaire can be completed online via a PC, tablet or smartphone connected to the Internet wherever the student wishes, by logging on to the course page on UNISTUDIUM.
In order to take the pre-selection test, those who have booked for the written pre-selection test on the SOL will be sent to institutional email (@studenti.unipg.it), no later than 48 hours before the pre-selection test, the Internet address and the access code for their online questionnaire. The code will be valid for one access only and will expire at 8 p.m. on the Friday (unless otherwise indicated) preceding the date of the oral test. The time for the pre-selection written test is 30 minutes. Those who have passed the pre-selection test (obtaining at least 18 points) will subsequently (on the date immediately following the Friday of the online written test) take the oral test on the entire examination programme.
Those who have passed the online pre-selection test must immediately proceed with booking the oral test on the SOL.
Those who, despite having passed the pre-selection test, will not take the oral test on the date immediately following the pre-selection written test will have to repeat the pre-selection written test even if they obtained a positive score.
Those who, despite having passed the written test, do not pass the oral test will also have to repeat the pre-selection written test.
Those who did not pass the online pre-selection test or the oral test may re-sit on any other examination date (also immediately following). It is possible to take both the pre-selection written test (online or in the presence of a pen and paper) and the oral test at all appeals.
For further information on the conduct of the examinations or in order to test the functioning of the online platform or to be able to make use of auxiliary material, please consult the FAQs on the www.cognitivelab.it website. The cognitivelab.it website is not an official university website and its consultation is not indispensable, although strongly recommended, for taking and successfully passing the exam.

Extended program

1. The matter of the psychology study. The historical development and the dominant theoretical perspectives.
2. The nervous representation of the mental processes.

Cognomi D-L

CFU

6

Teacher

John Lawrence Dennis

Teachers

• John Lawrence Dennis

Hours

• 36 ore - John Lawrence Dennis

Cognomi M-P

CFU

6

Teacher

John Lawrence Dennis

Teachers

• John Lawrence Dennis

Hours

• 36 ore - John Lawrence Dennis

Cognomi Q-Z

CFU

6

Teacher

Alessandro Lepri

Teachers

• Alessandro Lepri

Hours

• 36 ore - Alessandro Lepri

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY II FORM

Code	GP003498
CFU	6
Teacher	Stefano Federici
Learning activities	Caratterizzante
Area	Discipline scientifiche demoetnoantropologiche, pedagogiche, psicologiche e economiche
Academic discipline	M-PSI/01
Type of study-unit	Opzionale (Optional)

Cognomi A-C

CFU

6

Teacher

Stefano Federici

Teachers

• Stefano Federici

Hours

• 36 ore - Stefano Federici

Language of instruction

Italian

Contents

3. The mind as an evolutionary product.
4. The mental functions.

Reference texts

Compulsory texts: The study of these texts is mandatory for all students – attending, non-attending students and workers; it is recommended to bring a copy of them during the oral examination, during which their consultation might be requested or by the student or by the examiner teacher.
1. Anolli, L., & Legrenzi, P. (2012). Psicologia generale (5a ed.). Il Mulino. (Tutti i capitoli). Oppure in lingua inglese: Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B., Loftus, G. R., & Lutz, C. (2014). Atkinson & Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology (16th ed.). Cengage Learning.
2. Foschi, R. (2020). Storia della psicologia e della mente. Mondadori. (Tutti i capitoli).
3. Buss, D. M. (2020). Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind (6th ed.). Pearson. (Chapters: 1-5) Trad. it.: (2020). Psicologia evoluzionistica. Pearson. (Chapters: 1-5).
4. Federici, S. (2022). Slides del corso di Psicologia generale, available online on UNISTUDIUM or on https://www.cognitivelab.it.

Recommended readings: It is suggested to read one or more of the following texts; during the oral exam, students will be invited to describe their contents, and final evaluation examination will also take account of this preparation which remains nevertheless optional.
1. Blackmore, S. J., & Troscianko, E. (2018). Consciousness: An introduction (3rd ed.). Abingdon, OX: Routledge.
2. Bloom, P. (2010, May 9). The Moral Life of Babies. The New York Time, 44. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/magazine/09babies-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all.
3. Camperio Ciani, A., Corna, F., & Capiluppi, C. (2004). Evidence for maternally inherited factors favouring male homosexuality and promoting female fecundity.Proceeding of the royal Society B, 271(1554), 2217-2221 doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2872.
4. Diamond, J. (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co. Trad. it.: (2006). Armi, acciaio e malattie. Breve storia del mondo negli ultimi tredicimila anni. Torino: Einaudi.
5. Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. (1989). Human Ethology. Aldine de Gruyter: New York, NY, USA. Trad. it.: (2001). Etologia umana. Le basi biologiche del comportamento. Torino: Bollati Boringhieri.
6. Federici, S. (2009). Perché siamo portati a credere in Dio? In L. Proietti (a cura), Il mestiere dello storico: Tra ricerca e impegno civile. Scritti in memoria di Maria Grazia Giuntella (pp. 323-344). Roma: Aracne.
7. Federici, S., Stella, A., Dennis, J., & Hünefeldt, T. (2011). West vs. West like East vs. West? A comparison between Italian and US American context sensitivity and Fear of Isolation. Cognitive Processing. Cognitive Processing, 12(2), 203-208. doi:10.1007/s10339-010-0374-8.
8. Gazzaniga, M. S. (1998). The Mind’s Past. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Trad. it.: (1999). La mente inventata. Le basi biologiche dell’identità e della coscienza. Milano: Guerini.
9. Gazzaniga, M. S. (2013). Shifting Gears: Seeking New Approaches for Mind/Brain Mechanisms. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 1–20. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143817.
10. Gazzaniga, M. S. (2008). Human: The Science Behind What Makes Your Brain Unique. New York, NY: Harper Collins. Trad. it.: (2009). Human: Quel che ci rende unici. Roma: Raffaello Cortina.
11. Gazzaniga, M. S. (2012). Who’s in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain. London, UK: Constable & Robinson.
12. Gazzaniga, M. S., Ivry, R. B., & Mangun, G. R. (2009). Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of The Mind. New York, NY: W.W. Norton. Trad. it.: (2015). Neuroscienze cognitive. Bologna. IT: Zanichelli.
13. Harris (1998) The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do. Washington, DC: Free Press. Trad. it.: (1999). Non è colpa dei genitori. Milano: Mondadori.
14. Holyoak, K. J. (1999). Introduction: Psychology. In R. A. Wilson & F. C. Keil (Eds.), The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (pp. xxxix-xlix). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
15. Kandel, E. R. (2000). The Brain and Behavior. In E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz & T. M. Jessell (Eds.), Principles of Neural Science (4th ed., pp. 5-18). New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill. Trad. it.: (2003). Cervello e comportamento. In E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz & T. M. Jessell (Eds.), Principi di neuroscienze (3a ed., pp. 5-19). Milano: CEA.
16. Kandel, E. R. (2000). From Nerve Cells to Cognition: The Internal Cellular Representation Required for Perception and Action. In E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz & T. M. Jessell (Eds.), Principles of Neural Science (4th ed., pp. 381-403). New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill. Trad. it.: (2003). Dalle cellule nervose ai processi cognitivi: la rappresentazione interna a livello cellulare necessaria per la percezione e per l’azione. In E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz & T. M. Jessell (Eds.), Principi di neuroscienze (3a ed., pp. 377-399). Milano: CEA.
17. Newberg, A. B., d’Aquili, E. G., & Rause, V. (2001). Why God won’t go away: brain science and the biology of belief. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. Trad. it.: (2001). Dio nel cervello. La prova biologica della fede. Milano: Mondadori.
18. Pinker, S. (2002). The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Trad. it.: (2006). Tabula rasa. Perché non è vero che gli uomini nascono tutti uguali. Milano: Mondadori.
19. Plotkin, H. (1997). Evolution in mind: An introduction to evolutionary psychology. London, UK: Allen Lane & Penguin. Trad. it.: (2002). Introduzione alla psicologia evoluzionistica. Roma: Astrolabio.
20. Premack, D. (2007). Human and animal cognition: Continuity and discontinuity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(35), 13861–13867. doi:10.1073/pnas.0706147104.
21. Ramachandran, V. S. (2011). The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Quest for What Makes Us Human. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. Trad. it.: (2012). L’uomo che credeva di essere morto. Milano, IT: Mondadori.

Educational objectives

At the end of the course the student should be able to know how to define the nature, biological basis and evolutionary origins of psychology and critically describe the cognitive functions. It must also be able to critically discuss the most recent assumptions in cognitive neuroscience.

Prerequisites

Knowledge of the contents of the first General Psychology module. Knowledge of the Italian language, level B2. Good receptive and productive language skills and competences. Critical thinking skills. Ability to summarize and process content. Analytical comprehension and reasoning skills. Good general culture.

Teaching methods

Face-to-face

Other information

Students¿ with disabilities or with SLD will be able to make use of assistive and compensatory tools according to ministerial and university regulations. It is recommended, therefore, to book for a student reception to verbally define the appropriate modalities.
For further information on the conduct of the examinations or to test the functioning of the online platform or to be able to make use of auxiliary material, please consult the FAQs on the www.cognitivelab.it website. The cognitivelab.it website is not an official university website, and its consultation is not indispensable, although strongly recommended, for taking and successfully passing the exam.

Learning verification modality

The examination is oral and includes a written pre-selection test. On the Friday (unless otherwise indicated) before the date of the oral exam, between 6 and 8 p.m., a questionnaire with 30 multiple-choice questions (+1 = correct answer // -0.50 = wrong answer // -0.25 = no answer) taken from the contents of the compulsory exam materials (see: "Compulsory texts") will be administered on UNISTUDIUM to those who have booked on SOL at least 10 days before the exam date. The questionnaire can be completed online via a PC, tablet or smartphone connected to the Internet wherever the student wishes, by logging on to the course page on UNISTUDIUM.
In order to take the pre-selection test, those who have booked for the written pre-selection test on the SOL will be sent to institutional email (@studenti.unipg.it), no later than 48 hours before the pre-selection test, the Internet address and the access code for their online questionnaire. The code will be valid for one access only and will expire at 8 p.m. on the Friday (unless otherwise indicated) preceding the date of the oral test. The time for the pre-selection written test is 30 minutes. Those who have passed the pre-selection test (obtaining at least 18 points) will subsequently (on the date immediately following the Friday of the online written test) take the oral test on the entire examination programme.
Those who have passed the online pre-selection test must immediately proceed with booking the oral test on the SOL.
Those who, despite having passed the pre-selection test, will not take the oral test on the date immediately following the pre-selection written test will have to repeat the pre-selection written test even if they obtained a positive score.
Those who, despite having passed the written test, do not pass the oral test will also have to repeat the pre-selection written test.
Those who did not pass the online pre-selection test or the oral test may re-sit on any other examination date (also immediately following). It is possible to take both the pre-selection written test (online or in the presence of a pen and paper) and the oral test at all appeals.
For further information on the conduct of the examinations or in order to test the functioning of the online platform or to be able to make use of auxiliary material, please consult the FAQs on the www.cognitivelab.it website. The cognitivelab.it website is not an official university website and its consultation is not indispensable, although strongly recommended, for taking and successfully passing the exam.

Extended program

3. Introduction to evolutionary psychology: How the mind works; Evidence of innate mechanisms and specific knowledge of the evolution of mind; Milestones in the history of evolutionary thought; Strategies in male and female mate choice. [See text required: 3 and 4; Recommended: 2-5, 8, 10-13, 17-19]
4. The functions of the mind: Sensorial processes and perception; Consciousness; Learning and Conditioning; Memory: processes, models and amnesia; The thought and language; Motivation; Emotions; Intelligence [View required texts: 1 and 4; recommended: 5-13, 18, 19-21]

Cognomi D-L

CFU

6

Teacher

John Lawrence Dennis

Teachers

• John Lawrence Dennis

Hours

• 36 ore - John Lawrence Dennis

Cognomi M-P

CFU

6

Teacher

John Lawrence Dennis

Teachers

• John Lawrence Dennis

Hours

• 36 ore - John Lawrence Dennis

Cognomi Q-Z

CFU

6

Teacher

Alessandro Lepri

Teachers

• Alessandro Lepri

Hours

• 36 ore - Alessandro Lepri