Panagiotopoulou Penny

Social Psychologist

Graduated from the National Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Bachelors in Greek Literature and Psychology, PhD in Psycology, Social and Cross-cultural Psychology

Member of International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology and the Hellenic Psychological Society

Invited lecturer at Post-graduate Program at School of Medicine, and School of Pholosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

1991: Bachelor in Greek Literature, Major in Psychology, Department of Philosophy Education and Psychology, School of Philosophy, National Kapodistrian University of Athens

2000: Bachelor in Psychology, Program of Psychology, Department of Philosophy Education and Psychology, School of Philosophy, National Kapodistrian University of Athens

2000: Phd in Psychology, Department of Philosophy Education and Psychology, School of Philosophy, National Kapodistrian University of Athens

Assistant Professor

Social cross-cultural psychology

Social Psychology and Cross-cultural psychology: values, social axioms, self concept, subjective well-being, structure and function of family, ethnic identity

Teaching experience at the Departments of Psychology at the School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens at the undergraduate level: Social Psycholgoy, Cross-cultural psychology, Applied Social Psychology, Economic Psychology, Psychology of the Consumer.

Teaching experience at the Departments of Psychology at the University of Crete at the undergraduate level: Social Psychology

Teaching experience at the Department of Educational Sciences and Social Work at postgraduate level: Experimental Psychology

Quantitative research on values, social axioms in Greece and cross-culturally

Ethnic identity

Qualitative research on social cognition of primary education students

Course Title:Social Psychology: The individual as member of a group

Year of Study: 3^rd (third)

Semester: V (fifth)

Course Objectives (Expected outcomes):By the end of this course, students are expected to understand the social psychological approach to human behavior, the fundamental domains of social psychology, and the basic theoretical and methodological approaches used by social psychologists and to recognize the extent to which social behaviors are influenced by situational and interpretive factors.

Pre-requisites:

The prerequisite for this course is knowledge on Research Methodology in Social Sciences which offers a better understanding on how psychological research is conducted as well as knowledge on Cognitive Psychology and Developmental Psychology which has provided the student with a basic understanding of the scope of psychology.

Syllabus:

This course is designed to provide the student with a thorough overview of social psychological principles, theories, constructs, and methodologies. Humans are social animals; the fundamental assumption of social psychology is that human behavior is a function of the social environment. In other words, social psychology is concerned with how the social environment both impacts and is impacted by individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This perspective has proven invaluable in explaining much human behavior. Studying social psychology can be very appealing because it is readily applicable to and observable in the individual’s everyday experiences as a social animal. Although social psychological principles may at times seem intuitive and self-explanatory, this course will reveal to the inquisitive mind a complicated and fascinating glimpse into the human psyche. Specific topics covered include: person perception, social cognition, conformity, prejudice, attitudes, persuasion, aggression, prosocial behavior, and interpersonal relationships.

Recommended bibliography:

Hogg, M., & Vaughan, G. (2008). Social Psychology. Pearson Education Limited.

Baumeister, R.F. & Bushman, B.J. (2008). Social psychology and human nature. Thomson Wadsworth.

Kenrick, D.T., Neuberg, S.L., & Cialdini, R.B. (2007). Social psychology: Goals in interaction. Pearson Education, Inc., Allyn and Bacon.

Myers, D.G. (2012). Social Psychology. NY: McGraw Hill.

Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D. & Sommers, S.R. (2015). Social psychology. Pearson.

CourseTitle :Cross Cultural Psychology: The individual as world member

Year of study: 3^rd (third)

Semester: VI (sixth)

Course Objectives (Expected outcomes):

The course will attempt to increase students’ understanding and appreciation for the culture-related diversity in ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that is found among humans and to examine the extent to which the theories, principles, and knowledge of the modern discipline of psychology are universally applicable to humans.

Pre-requisites:

The prerequisite for this course is knowledge on Research Methodology in Social Sciences which offers a better understanding on how psychological research is conducted as well as knowledge on Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology which has provided the student with a basic understanding of the scope of psychology.

Syllabus:

The study of the psychological importance of cultural differences has increased recently. This course examines the psychological implications of cultural differences and of contact among members of different cultures. It considers the role which

psychological research and theory as deriving from the most extended pool of findings can play in advancing cross cultural understanding. Attention will be paid on how the study of culture is impacting psychology as a discipline, on core issues in cross cultural psychology and we will focus on specific topics, including cross cultural research methods, culture and self, social behavior, cross-cultural communication, culture and cognition, and cultural integration. Different perspectives addressing immigration, acculturation and diversity management will be discussed.

Special emphasis will be given to the psychological acculturation processes prevailing during the acculturation adjustment of students to the new cultural environment: cultural maintenance, and contact-participation.

Recommended bibliography:

Smith, P. B. & Bond, M.H. (1997). Social Psychology across cultures. Pearson Education Ltd.

Shiraev, E. B. and Levy, D. A. (2012). Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and contemporary applications. Allyn & Bacon.

Goldstein, S. (2008). Cross-cultural explorations: Activities in culture and psychology. Allyn & Bacon.

Smith, P.B., Bond, M.H., & Kagitcibasi, C. (2006). Understanding social psychology across cultures: Living and working in a changing world. Sage.

Matsumoto, D., & Juang, L. (2013). Culture and psychology. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Berry, J.W., Poortinga, Y.P., Breugelmans, S.M., Chasiotis, A. & Sam, D.L. (2011). Cross-cultural Psychology: Reasearch and Applications. Cambridge University Press.

CourseTitle:Effective communication in interpersonal relationships

Year of study: 4^rd (fourth)

Semester: VII (seventh)

Course Objectives (Expected outcomes):

This course will help students familiarize with specific topics of applied social psychology concerning interpersonal communication processes in different settings and stages of life and become more effective and confident communicators.

Pre-requisites:

The prerequisite for this course is knowledge on Research Methodology in Social Sciences which offers a better understanding on how psychological research is conducted as well as knowledge on Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Social Psychology which has provided the student with a basic understanding of the scope of psychology.

Syllabus:

This course using film scene material explores the dynamics of interpersonal communication, looks at the principal tools and skills of interpersonal communication, focuses on the
core of interpersonal communication, namely, self and others and addresses more complex
dynamics of interpersonal communication such as intimacy, communication climates,
and interpersonal conflict communication as it is evinced in personal, social, and workplace relationships. Some key questions for successful interpersonal relationships in life include: In what ways do we communicate and build relationships with others? Why do you communicate the way you do? Do others communicate in the ways you do? Are there models of communication? Do relationships change over time and in what way? How social roles are formulated and differentiated in different social settings and stages of life? The course intends to provide a broad survey of the interpersonal relationship literature for undergraduates students, with an emphasis on conceptual and methodological problems in the study of relationships. A subsidiary objective is to enable students to understand the factors that influence their own relationships and to critically evaluate information about relationship processes, social identity and inter-group relations.

Recommended bibliography:

Knapp, M.L, Vangelisti, A.L. & Caughlin, J.P. (2014). Interpersonal communication and human relationships. Pearson.

Miell, D. & Dallos, R. (1996). Social interaction and personal relationships. Sage Publications of London.

Wetherell, M.. (2005). Identities, groups, and social issues. Sage Publications of London.

Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Sage.

Van Wormer, K., Besthom, F.H., & Keefe, T. (2007). Human behavior and social environment: Macro level – Groups, communities, and organizations. Oxford University Press.

Course Title:Cognition and emotion: The basis of human behavior

Year of study: 4^th (fourth)

Semester: VIII (eighth)

Course Objectives (Expected outcaomes):

The course Cognition and emotion: The basis of human behavior

will examine recent theoretical and empirical advances in the study of human behavior resulted by the triplex, brain, cognition and human emotion viewed functionally as adaptations within cultural contexts.

Pre-requisites:

The prerequisite for this course is knowledge on Research Methodology in Social Sciences which offers a better understanding on how psychological research is conducted as well as knowledge on Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology which has provided the student with a basic understanding of the scope of psychology.

Syllabus:

The course Social Interaction and Human Behavior seeks to explain social and emotional behavior at three levels of analysis: (1) Social, which includes descriptions of experience, behavior, and context; (2) Cognitive, which specifies information processing mechanisms; and (3) Neural, which specifies neural systems or substrates that instantiate the cognitive processes and the related social and emotional responses. The focus will be largely on social emotions that may function to (1) mentally represent key ‘fitness affordances’ in the social environment (i.e. threats and opportunities relevant to survival and reproduction), and (2) guide adaptive decision-making and motivate action with respect to those fitness affordances. In contrast to the traditional view that emotions are opposed to rationality, we cover ways of interacting with the world that demand higher-level functioning, such as physical actions and motor control, decision-making processes, and language. Topics will include emotion, consciousness and hemispheric differences in the brain that affect states of consciousness. Human conceptual knowledge arises from an interaction of mind, brain, and culture. To understand the nature of conceptual knowledge, we will be examining a variety of findings from psychology (mind), neuroscience (brain),

and psychology (culture). We will examine how conceptual knowledge is organized in the human mind, whether some kinds of knowledge might be innate and some kinds of knowledge might learned, how conceptual knowledge might be acquired from the world around us, and how knowledge is acquired by children.

Recommended bibliography:

Keltner, D. (2013). Understanding emotions. Wiley.

Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence. Daniel Goleman.

Harmon-Jones, E., & Winkielman, P. (2007). Social Neuroscience: Integrating biological and psychological explanations of social behavior. The Guilford Press.

Gallagher, S. (2005). How the body shapes the mind. Oxford Univeristy Press.

Wexler, B. E. (2008). Brain and culture: Neurobiology, ideology, and social change. MIT Press.

Malle, B.F. (2004). How the mind explains behavior: Folk explanations, meaning, and social interaction. MIT Press.