LF:BVSC021p Sociol. and soc.psychol.-lect - Course Information

BVSC021p Sociology and social psychology-lecture

Extent and Intensity

2/0/0. 2 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: k (colloquium). Other types of completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Bc. Zdeňka Barešová (lecturer)
PhDr. Pavel Humpolíček, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Tatiana Malatincová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Alena Slezáčková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Pavel Strašák (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Miroslav Světlák, Ph.D. (lecturer)
MUDr. Rastislav Šumec, Ph.D. (lecturer)
MUDr. Monika Lekárová (assistant)
Blanka Suchá (assistant)

Guaranteed by

doc. PhDr. Miroslav Světlák, Ph.D.
Department of Medical Psychology and Psychosomatics – Theoretical Departments – Faculty of Medicine
Contact Person: Blanka Suchá
Supplier department: Department of Medical Psychology and Psychosomatics – Theoretical Departments – Faculty of Medicine

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

• Nutritive therapist (programme LF, B-SZ) (2)
• Dietitian (programme LF, B-NUT)

Course objectives

The course provides an overview of selected key topics covered by social psychology and health psychology and borderline topics between social psychology and sociology, which can be applied in personal as well as professional life. Namely:
- How to motivate oneself and others;
- How to promote one's self-regulation and achieve personal growth;
- How to recognize and shape one's beliefs about oneself, others and the world that might have a negative or positive impact on one's attitudes, decisions, and/or performance;
- How to recognize biases and fallacies in thinking and develop better critical thinking skills;
- How to recognize instances of unconscious social influences on one's behaviour and prevent situations that affect one's decision-making and behaviour in undesirable ways;
- How to promote and maintain positive communication with one's patients and within the work environment in general;
- How to manage stress and challenging experiences effectively and promote one's mental health and well-being using the principles of positive psychology, psychology of mindfulness, and other evidence-based approaches;
- How to develop a healthy lifestyle (work-life balance; healthy sleep patterns; helpful physical exercises...) to maintain mental and physical wellbeing and optimal performance.

Learning outcomes

Students will gain an overview of current issues in social psychology, health psychology and sociology, which they will be able to apply in their personal lives and future profession.

Syllabus

• 1. Self-regulation: basic principles and applications in behavioural change and increasing efficiency of goal pursuit
• 2. Identity, self-concept and self-beliefs
• 3. Stereotypes and discrimination
• 4. Attitudes and attitude change
• 5. Group dynamics; types of desirable and undesirable social influence
• 6. Critical thinking, scientific and pseudo-scietific thinking; common fallacies and biases in judgment and decision-making
• 7. Principles of effective and positive communication
• 8. Effective strategies of stress management
• 9. Resilience; personal strengths
• 10. Principles of positive psychology for the promotion of well-being
• 11. Mindfulness practice for promotion of mental health and effective functioning
• 12. Elements of a healthy lifestyle (work-life balance; sleep; physical exercise, etc.)
• 13. Psychological first aid

Literature

recommended literature
• The handbook of social psychology. Edited by Gardner Lindzey - Elliot Aronson. 2nd ed. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1969, xiv, 786. info
• Principles of Social Psychology (Orig.) : Základy sociální psychologie [Hayes, 1998] : Základy sociální psychologie [Hayes, 2003]. info
• NOLEN-HOEKSEMA, Susan, Barbara FREDRICKSON, Geoffrey R. LOFTUS and W. A. WAGENAAR. Psychologie Atkinsonové a Hilgarda. Translated by Hana Antonínová. Vydání třetí, přepracov. Praha: Portál, 2012, 884 stran. ISBN 9788026200833. info

Teaching methods

Explanation and study of theory and practical approaches; group discussion.

Assessment methods

Colloquium. To pass the course, the student must achieve a predetermined number of points for course attendance, homework and final electronic test. Homework assignments involve submitting brief responses to simple topic-related questions before each lesson during the semester. More specific information for each semester is available in the interactive syllabus of the course.

Language of instruction

Czech

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 30.

Teacher's information

The course is supplemented by an interactive syllabus in the IS, which contains study materials and links provided by the teachers.

• Enrolment Statistics (spring 2025, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/med/spring2025/BVSC021p