Face-to-face , second term, 45 hours of theory.

Second term
Monday from 09:00 to 12:00 at 43 Botanique 5

French

This course deals with the most important schools of thought in psychology and their different fields of application. It seeks to provide an overview of the discipline of pyschology, but also to focus in more depth on some important sub-fields: language and communication based approaches; clinical psychology, especially the fundamental areas of abnormal pyschology & personality structure; and social psychology.

At the end of the course, students are expected to:

1. be able to give an account of the main aspects of the different schools of thought in psychology.
2. have gained a comparative understanding of the different theories in psychology.
3. be able to exploit the main concepts in psychology in a professional way.
4. be able to understand and apply different language and communication based approaches in psychology, in order to be able to analyse a variety of individual, interpersonal and social situations.
5. Understand and apply a number of specific lessons from abnormal psychology and the theory of personality structure.
6. See how Psychology can help us to understand social phenomena.

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Course outline

Part One: General Psychology (22.5 hrs.)

1. Definitions of Psychology with reference to epistemological conflicts within the Human Sciences
2. The main theoretical models in Psychology:
2.1. Behaviorism
2.2. Cognitivism
2.3. Psychanalysis
2.4. Systemic Psychology
3. A brief overview of fields in Psychology
3.1. Developmental Psychology
3.2. Educational and school psychology
3.3. Industrial and organisational psychology
3.4. Experimental Psychology
3.5. Clinical Psychology
4. Communication and language
4.1 The development of language and thought according to classical cognitive psychology
4.2 Information theory versus pragmatics in communication: the systemic
Experience, interpersonal perception and Group Psychology
4.3 The function of speech and language in psychoanalysis
4.4 Communication, language and culture

Proxemics
Social representations
Cultural representations and subjectivity
5. Elements of Psychopathology and Personality Psychology
5.1 Is psychological suffering a group of "problems", of "symptoms", or does it have structural causes?
5.2 The structural perspective
Neuroses: hysteria, phobia, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Psychoses: schizophrenia, paranoia, mood disorders
Psychopathy: sexual perversions, social psychopathy
Borderline behaviour
6. Controversial problems: youth violence
6.1 The social bond and transformations of contemporary subjectivity
6.2 Youth violence: data and some insights to help understand the phenomenon

Part Two: Social Psychology (22.5 hrs)

1. What is social psychology?
1.1. Definition of social psychology
1.2. Situationism
1.3. The basic social motivations
1.4. Social psychology research
2. Social perceptions
2.1. Self-perception
2.2. Perceptions of others
3. Attitudes and social influence
3.1. Attitudes
3.2. Changes in attitude
3.3. Social influence
4. Interpersonal relations
4.1. Affiliation and attraction
4.2. Agression
4.3. Prosocial behaviour
5. Groups and inter group relations
5.1. Behaviour in groups
5.2. Stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination

Ex cathedra presentations

Assessment takes the form of a written examination.
For Part I of the course, the examination focuses on the material covered in class and specified on the course syllabus, including the abridged bibliography in the appendix. This examination involves three structured dissertations.

Part II involves 20 multiple-choice questions related to material studied in class (each correct answer is awarded 1 mark, with an error incurring the deduction of half a point; abstentions are not penalised).

Compulsory Bibliography for Part I, "General Psychology" » (included with the readings file)


Freud, Sigmund  :
- (1910) «  D'un type particulier de choix d'objet chez l'homme  », dans  : Œuvres Complètes, vol. X, Paris  : PUF, 1993, pp. 191-200.
- (1921) «  Psychologie des masses et analyse du moi  », dans  : Œuvres Complètes, vol. XVI, Paris  : PUF, 1991, pp. 5-72.

Garcìa, Mauricio  : «  La perte et le deuil déguisés en possession  : considérations ethno-psychanalytiques sur la maladie du susto au Chili  », dans  : Mélancolie  : entre souffrance et culture, Presses universitaires de Strasbourg, 2000, pp. 141-166.

Garcìa Mauricio  : «  La violence des jeunes et le drame de la reconnaissance  », dans  : La revue nouvelle, n°12, Décembre 2008, pp. 40-49.

Laing, Ronald  : La politique de l'expérience, Paris, Stock+Plus, 1980. (Chap1 et 4).

Lipovetsky, Gilles  : «  Narcisse ou la stratégie du vide  », dans  : L'ére du vide. Essais sur l'individualisme contemporain, Paris, Gallimard, 1983, pp. 70-113.

Skinner, B. F.  : Pour une science du comportement  : le behaviorisme. Neuchâtel - Paris  : Delachaux et Niestlé, 1979, pp. 171-209.

Watzlawick, P., Hemick Beavin, J. & Jackson, D.  : Une logique de la communication, Paris  : Seuil, 1972, pp. 45-116.


Bibliography for Part II, "Social Psychology",

Students can download course slides from eSaintLouis.

A full course programme can be downloaded from eSaintLouis and a copy can be obtained from the reprographic service.

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