22910725 - Laboratory Psychology of Emotion

The course aims to provide the basic scientific-disciplinary skills, concerning the study of the main affective processes (emotional regulation and comprehension, motivation, emotional intelligence) that modulate social cognition and behavior. Specifically, the course will illustrate the main theories of emotion from a physiological, neurological and cognitive point of view. Moreover, the course will show strategies to develop emotional intelligence skills through an approach based on experiential learning and translational research.


By the study of Psychology of Emotion the student will be able to achieve the following training objectives.
Knowledge and understanding:
- Understand the main theoretical approaches and methods for the study of emotion, motivation and emotional intelligence;
- Understand emotion functioning and regulation in the framework of cognitive neuroscience;
- Understand how emotion influences social cognition and behavior;
- Understand strategies to develop emotional intelligence skills in educational and social settings;


Applying knowledge and understanding:
- Apply knowledge on emotion functioning in educational settings;
- Use theoretical knowledge about emotion functioning to support the development of educational interventions and promote wellbeing;

Making judgements:
- Develop a critical thinking and make comparisons between the different approaches for educational scopes;
- Develop a critical thinking about educative interventions targeted to promote wellbeing and emotion regulation skills;

Communication skills:
- Being aware of emotion functioning in learning process;
- Read and understand a scientific article;
- Disseminate research data to expert (colleagues, professionals, clinicians, stakeholder) and non-expert (e.g., parents) audiences;

Learning skills:
- Promote the use of strategies to develop emotional intelligence in educational settings;
- Encouraging the use of international literature to promote scientific interests and inquiry.
scheda docente | materiale didattico

Programma

The course will address the cognitive and affective mechanisms that underpin the social relationships. The covered topics will focus on the dynamic sinergy between the mind-body union, by proposing a redefinition of the relationships between emotions and other mental domains according to the perspective of modern cognitive science. Ample space will be given to new theories according to which the mind, conceived in its cognitive and emotional aspects, is one with the corporeality and is aimed at the action and the surrounding social environment. In particular, the following topics will be covered: 1) embodied simulation and rejection of the brain metaphor as a "computer"; 2) reward mechanisms and somatic marker theory; 3) the sensorimotor bases of intersubjectivity; 4) Language as action; 5) emotion and embodied cognition; 6) Mirror neurons and the social dimension of emotions; 7) motor contagion and empathy

Testi Adottati

Required readings

1) Salovey Mayer, 1990 - Emotional intelligence
2) Gross, 1998 - Emotion regulation
3) Juslin Vastfjall, 2008 - Emotional responses to music
4) Ekman 1970 - Universal facial expressions of emotions
5) Mastandrea et al., Front Psychol 2019 - Art and psychological well-being

All the articles are freely availables on the Formonline platform

Bibliografia Di Riferimento

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Modalità Erogazione

The course is articulated in 18 hours of lectures (9 meeting of 2h each). Class attendance is optional but highly recommended. Attending and non-attending students can register on the dedicated page of the Laboratory in the "Formonline" platform to obtaining course material (i.e., the slides presented during the lessons, required bibliography, etc.), participating in discussion forums and performing practical exercises proposed in the classroom. The course is held in English.

Modalità Valutazione

The final exam will consist of an oral test The online exam registration is mandatory by the due deadline for each exam. The exam registration is due online on the Student Portal. Students with disabilities must contact the teacher a few days before the exam to define exam arrangement.

scheda docente | materiale didattico

Programma

The course deals with the cognitive and affective mechanisms that mediate social relationships among individuals. By adopting the perspective of modern Cognitive Science, we will emphasize the mind-body unity, proposing a redefinition of the relationship between emotions and other mental processes. Large space will be given to the new theories according to which the mind, conceived in its cognitive and emotional aspects, needs to be considered as a whole with the body, and is directed towards action and the surrounding social environment, according to the perspective of Embodied Cognition. In particular, the following topics will be addressed: 1) embodied simulation and rejection of the brain-computer metaphor; 2) reward mechanisms and somatic marker theory; 3) sensori-motor bases of inter-subjectivity; 4) Language as action; 5) emotion and embodied cognition; 6) Mirror neurons and the social dimension of emotions; 7) motor contagion and empathy

Testi Adottati

to be defined

Modalità Erogazione

The course is articulated in 18 hours of lectures (9 meetings of 2 h each). Class attendance is optional, but highly recommended. Both attending and non-attending students will be able to register on the dedicated page of the Laboratory in the "Formonline" platform to access course materials (i.e., the slides presented during lectures, references to prepare the exam, etc.), participating in discussion forums, and performing practical exercises proposed during the course. The course is held in English. In case of extension of COVID-19 health emergency, the course will be held online via Microsoft Teams environment.

Modalità Valutazione

The final exam will consist in an oral test. Online exam registration is mandatory by the specific deadline set for each exam date. The exam registration is due online on the Student Portal. Students with disabilities must contact the teacher a few days before the exam in order to define the exam arrangement.