Psychology and Today’s Challenges: Psychology for Study and Life

About

"Our summer school is proudly celebrating its 10th anniversary this year! Over the past decade, we've welcomed more than 1,000 students from around the world to dozens of enriching summer courses. Become a part of our vibrant Alumni community!"

This course will provide you with an introductory overview of major fields and key concepts and methods of psychology with particular focus on development of your skills to apply them in daily life and/or help you get prepared for study of psychology.

You will gain insights into historical roots of psychology. You will learn about research methodology and have opportunity to practice critical evaluation of classic experiments, contemporary studies, and ethical considerations.

While focusing on personality characteristics and their measurement, intelligence, decision making, managing emotions and stress, motivation, effective communication and presentation skills, you will have opportunity to discuss the topics in class, and to practically develop your skills to apply them in real life. You will be supported to identify your personal values, motivation and developmental goals. Attention will be given to contemporary challenges in psychology, e.g. the role of AI and ethical requirements in psychology, strengthening mental health to manage stress and anxiety in the modern digital world, to control influence of social media, etc.

Teaching Methods: Lectures, presentations, in-class group discussions, role plays and exercises, feedback, examinations, article reviews, analysis of cases, homework readings and assignments, team project, etc.

Course leader

Ivana Schmidtova is an experienced manager, HR expert, psychologist and teacher. She earned both her Pharmacy Doctor degree and MA degree in Psychology at the Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.

Target group

Young professionals and university students with an intermediate level of English.

Course aim

Acquired skills:

Understand basic psychological concepts related to the practical application in real life
Understand the role of psychological experiments and research, including ethical issues
Comprehend the biological basis of human behavior
Understand human emotions and their role in motivation and communication
Understand the unique character of personality and tools to identify and measure different personality types
Improve interpersonal skills based on understanding and application of relevant concepts of intelligence, abilities, emotions, motivation, communication, decision making, and creativity
Understand and differentiate common mental disorders and their treatment
Understand the psychological challenges of the digital age with a focus on impact of social media and AI
Obtain knowledge and skills for potential study of psychology

Schedule:

Day 1
Introduction to course and discussion on class expectations, Syllabus review, Introduction to psychology – definitions and overview

Day 2
Basic concepts of general psychology, Six main psychological perspectives

Day 3
Psychology as science, Research methods in social sciences, Key psychological experiments, Ethical aspects of psychological research

Day 4Biological basis of human behavior, Cognitive abilities, Intelligence and learning, Decision making and creativity

Day 5
Emotions and moods in human behavior, Emotional intelligence, Stress management and conflict resolution

Day 6
Personality I: key concepts, Unique character and determinants of personality, Personality traits and types

Day 7
Personality II: tools to identify and measure different personality types, Impact of personality on people interactions, Examples of personality tests and their usage

Day 8
Motivation: key concepts and their application, Motivation at work: job satisfaction, employee engagement, Motivation in personal development and growth

Day 9
Common mental disorders and their treatment • Contemporary challenges in psychology (role of AI, social media, ethical issues…) • Final project

Day 10
Psychological counseling and coaching, Catch-up and/or reinforcement of previous topics, Final group exercise and recapitulation

Literature
Spielman, R.M., et al. (2014). Psychology. Houston, Texas : OpenStax College, Rice University.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B., & Loftus, G.R. (2009). Atkinson & Hilgard's Introduction to Psychology (15. ed.). Andover : Cengage Learning.
Huffman, K. (2012). Psychology in Action (10. ed.). Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley.
Compilation of relevant textbooks chapters, professional journals, and empirical research.

Fee info

Early bird fee 850 EUR until 31.12.2024.