Essentials of General Psychology
Niveau
Master
Learning outcomes of the courses/module
The participants:
• understand fundamental concepts and theories of general psychology.
• analyze human experience and behavior from cognitive, emotional, and social perspectives.
• recognize individual differences and their relevance for business psychology questions.
• apply basic psychological principles to contexts such as work, consumption, and organizations.
• interpret simple empirical studies and understand key methodological foundations.
• reflect on the relationships between biological, psychological, and social influencing factors.
• use this knowledge as a foundation for advanced modules in business psychology.
• understand fundamental concepts and theories of general psychology.
• analyze human experience and behavior from cognitive, emotional, and social perspectives.
• recognize individual differences and their relevance for business psychology questions.
• apply basic psychological principles to contexts such as work, consumption, and organizations.
• interpret simple empirical studies and understand key methodological foundations.
• reflect on the relationships between biological, psychological, and social influencing factors.
• use this knowledge as a foundation for advanced modules in business psychology.
Prerequisites for the course
None
Course content
• Fundamentals of Psychology (subject matter, subdisciplines; scientific thinking; key paradigms)
• Cognitive processes (perception; attention; memory; learning; problem-solving and decision-making; structure and capacity limits of working memory; cognitive biases and heuristics in decision-making processes)
• Emotion & motivation (foundations of emotional processes; motivation models; influence on behavior and performance; emotions as constructive and context-dependent processes)
• Social-psychological foundations (social perception; norms; conformity; interaction and social influence; the impact of cognitive and emotional processes on social judgments and behavior)
• Differential psychology (personality; abilities; individual differences in behavior; differences in cognitive processing and decision-making strategies)
• Developmental Psychology (lifespan perspective; development of cognition, emotion, and behavior)
• Biological & neuroscientific foundations (brain, behavior, and mental processes—overview; conscious and unconscious information processing; the brain as a predictive system for reducing uncertainty)
• Health & clinical perspectives (health and illness; stress; basic models of disorders; the relationship between cognitive load, emotion, and stress)
• Psychological Assessment (basics of measurement; testing methods; quality criteria)
• Research methods (empirical research process; quantitative foundations; interpretation of results; the importance of meta-analyses and theory-driven model testing)
• Cognitive processes (perception; attention; memory; learning; problem-solving and decision-making; structure and capacity limits of working memory; cognitive biases and heuristics in decision-making processes)
• Emotion & motivation (foundations of emotional processes; motivation models; influence on behavior and performance; emotions as constructive and context-dependent processes)
• Social-psychological foundations (social perception; norms; conformity; interaction and social influence; the impact of cognitive and emotional processes on social judgments and behavior)
• Differential psychology (personality; abilities; individual differences in behavior; differences in cognitive processing and decision-making strategies)
• Developmental Psychology (lifespan perspective; development of cognition, emotion, and behavior)
• Biological & neuroscientific foundations (brain, behavior, and mental processes—overview; conscious and unconscious information processing; the brain as a predictive system for reducing uncertainty)
• Health & clinical perspectives (health and illness; stress; basic models of disorders; the relationship between cognitive load, emotion, and stress)
• Psychological Assessment (basics of measurement; testing methods; quality criteria)
• Research methods (empirical research process; quantitative foundations; interpretation of results; the importance of meta-analyses and theory-driven model testing)
Recommended specialist literature
• Alexandraowicz, R. W., Gablonski, T.-C., & Glück, J. (2023) (Hrsg.). Psychologie kompakt: Grundlagen und Forschungsperspektiven. Wien: Facultas.
• Gerring, R. J. (2018). Psychologie. München: Pearson.
• Maderthaner, R. (2021). Psychologie. Wien: Facultas.
• Myers, D. G., & DeWall, N. C. (2023). Psychologie. Berlin: Springer.
• Schütz, A., Brand, M., & Steins-Loeber, S. (2022) (Hrsg.). Psychologie: Eine Einführung in die Grundlagen und Anwendungsfächer. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
• Gerring, R. J. (2018). Psychologie. München: Pearson.
• Maderthaner, R. (2021). Psychologie. Wien: Facultas.
• Myers, D. G., & DeWall, N. C. (2023). Psychologie. Berlin: Springer.
• Schütz, A., Brand, M., & Steins-Loeber, S. (2022) (Hrsg.). Psychologie: Eine Einführung in die Grundlagen und Anwendungsfächer. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
Assessment methods and criteria
Exam
Language
German
Number of ECTS credits awarded
6
Semester hours per week
Planned teaching and learning method
The course is based on an e-learning concept that incorporates a didactically aligned combination of online and in-person phases. During the online phases, an inductive learning approach is applied, fostering the independent acquisition of knowledge and the completion of tasks. The in-person phases follow a deductive approach, in which learning processes are guided and deepened, and content is systematically delivered through lectures as well as practical examples.
Semester/trimester in which the course/module is offered
1