Psychology

Period 2: Introduction to Psychology

Language: English

Dates: 8 – 20 August 2021


Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a perspective on how psychology studies topics concerning human behavior, cognition, and emotions. Through the course you will get to know different sub-fields of psychology including developmental, social, cognitive and clinical psychology.

At the end of this course, you will have a sense of how psychology deals with different types of questions and how some basic psychological processes occur and affect human behavior. We will discuss topics related to learning, memory, emotions and perception, social relations and psychological disorders.

Faculty
Gamze Turunç Lecturer Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities

Gamze Turunç is a doctoral candidate in Developmental Psychology at Koç University Graduate School of Social Sciences. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Master of Science in Developmental Psychology at Middle East Technical University (METU). She’s currently a research assistant and part-time lecturer at Koç University. Her research interests include well-being and socio-cognitive development of pre-school children, and determinants of parental involvement and quality. Currently, she is investigating parenting in post-conflict and high adversity populations such as Syrian refugee fathers living in Türkiye. She hopes that the results of her research will contribute to policy and practice, by identifying protective and risk factors associated with involved parenting in developing countries and vulnerable populations.

Course Outline

Week 1

09-Aug 10-Aug 11-Aug 12-Aug 13-Aug
10:00-10:50 The science of psychology Extracurricular Activities Stoy of our life: Life span development Extracurricular Activities Extracurricular Activities
10:50-11:10 Break Break
11:10-12:00 Biological basis of behavior Story of our life: Lifespan development Infancy
12:00-13:00 Break Break
13:00-13:50 Would You be a good eyewitness to a crime? – Memory How does the mind work? – Cognition Story of our life: Lifespan development: Early & Middle Childhood The development of self
13:50-14:10 Break Break Break Break
14:10-15:00 How to train a brain? – Learning How does the mind work? – Cognition Story of our life: Lifespan development: Adolescence & early adulthood What does it mean to love someone? – Our relationships
15:00-16:00 Break Break Break Break
16:00-17:00 Extracurricular Activities Extracurricular Activities Extracurricular Activities Extracurricular Activities

Week 2

16-Aug 17-Aug 18-Aug 19-Aug 20-Aug
10:00-10:50 Social cognition Extracurricular Activities In the pursuit of happiness & well-being Extracurricular Activities Extracurricular Activities
10:50-11:10 Break Break
11:10-12:00  Thinking of you – Empathy & perspective taking In the pursuit of happiness & well-being
12:00-13:00 Break Break
13:00-13:50 Attitudes towards others Are we good? – Our social behaviors Psychological Disorders General discussion
13:50-14:10 Break Break Break Break
14:10-15:00 Thinking critical: Social media and behavior Can we get better? – Our social behaviors Psychological Disorders General discussion
15:00-16:00 Break Break Break Break
16:00-17:00 Extracurricular Activities Extracurricular Activities Extracurricular Activities Extracurricular Activities

Please note that this schedule is subject to changes.