Doctoral Programme in Psychogerontology: Life Cycle Perspective
Carrying out complementary training will be required for those students accessing from different profiles to the appropriate one who can not justify, according to the Academic Committee, enough prior training in both research methodology and in basic contents of Psychology of Aging. The Programme Academic Committee will regulate the convenience of studying in each case all the additional training entirely or only partially. The further training proposed will consist of 8 ECTS credits in Psychology of Aging and
6 ECTS credits of methodological content. All of them are subjects from the Master’s degree in Psychogerontology as specified below:
Credits from Psychology of Aging divided into the following modules of the Master’s degree in Psychogerontology.
Conceptual bases of aging (2 credits)
Contents and assessment:
- Aging as a development process. - Delimitation of key concepts. - Theoretical perspectives in the study of aging. -Repercusions of the persepective on the description, analysis, explanation and intervention in the ageing process. Assessment: Exam or project (85%) Participation in class (15%)
Specific competencies
- Learning to differentiate between the different approaches on the disciplinary study of ageing. -Familiarizing the student with current developing approaches on the ageing and in contexts close to the application areas as psychogerontology professionals.-Knowing the different theoretical psychological perspectives on the study of normal ageing. -Learning to critically value the implications in research and in the application of the theoretical approaches in the professional scope.
Cognitive changes in ageing
Contents and assessment:
-Changes in the processes of attention and learning. -Memory and ageing. -Intelligence and changes with age: psychometric perspective and post formal thinking. -Assessment of cognitive processes. -Knowledge and development of ageing. Assessment: Exam or project (85%) Participation in class (15%)
Specific competencies
-Detecting possible changes in the cognitive processes. -Knowing how to select and manage screening assays of evaluation. -Applying guidelines for intervention in the maintenance and improvement of cognitive processes. -Knowing how to use different documentation sources and showing control on the strategies necessary to access information.
Personal and emotional development in ageing (2 credits)
Contents and assessment:
-Change and personal stability in ageing. -Personality levels of analysis in ageing. Personality traits. Goals. Tasks and motivation Vital history. Adaptive processes
and psychological welfare. Interaction dynamics between context and personality. -Emotions and ageing: developmental tendencies and explicative models. -Moral development and spirituality in ageing. -Death and mourning. Assessment: Exam or theoretical project (70%), Work placement report (20%) Participation in class (10%).
Specific competencies
-Knowing and interpreting phenomena related to personality development in ageing
according to the different theoretical perspectives. -Identifying general factors and mechanisms for personal and emotional development which favour functional adaptation of an elderly person. -Identifying <and analysing the main dimensions which influence the dynamics of change and stability in personality during old ages. -Knowing hoe to assess
developmental dimensions and basic personality traits which shall be considered in the design of optimising interventions or researches with elderly people.
Ageing and society (2 credits)
Contents and assessment:
-Ageing sociodemography. -Social image of old ages and elderly people. Stereotypes and attitude when facing age. -Cultural and historical perspective on ageing. -Family and social networks. -Work and retirement. Assessment: Exam or theoretical project (50%), Work placement report (40%) Participation in class (10%).
Specific competencies
-Knowing population’s ageing processes and sociodemographic characteristics of the elderly in Spain presenting gender differences. -Knowing the main myths and attitudes which prevail in society about elderly people and old ages. -Knowing and valuing the main social networks for the elder and family’s role in ageing. -Analysing gender differences in society’s ageing processes.
Credits of methodological contetn divided into the following modules of the Master’s degree in Psychogerontology.
Competencies in scientific research: thesis design and research report writing (2 credits)
Contents and assessment:
-Different data bases: common and specific characteristics. -The common denominator in searching strategies. -Selection of the most relevant things on a topic. -Advantages and disadvantages in some quality indexes. -Relative importance of form in project development. APA rules - good scientific
substantiation in professional and research works. Assessment: Attendance to tutorials (10%), presentation via PowerPoint of the results of a bibliographical search on a previously selected topic, along with a written project (75%). Participation in class (15%).
Specific competencies
-Knowing and using in a flexible and efficient way the information searching procedures and techniques with researching objectives or professional application - Acquisition of practical knowledge, which is essential to start research or scientifically justify professional work in the scopes related to the study of ageing.
Qualitative methodology in Psychogerontology (2 Credits)
Contents and assessment:
-Theoretical-epistemological substantiation of qualitative methodology. -Qualitative techniques * Participant
observation. *Interview. *Discussion groups. *Life stories *Other techniques. -Qualitative data analysis. -Content and discourse analysis. -Resources in qualitative research: documentation, software and web resources. Assessment: Individual work report (40%), Group work report (30%) Participation in class (10%), Attendance to tutorials (20%).
Specific competencies
-Acquiring the capacity to design and carry out researching studies supported on qualitative techniques. -Acquiring the capacity to analyse and interpret data proceeding from qualitative researches. -Knowing the available software for qualitative data analysis.
Quantitative techniques and methods for analysis (2 créditos)
Contents and assessment:
-General characteristics of the main research strategies in psychogerontology. -Research designs in psychogerontology. -Data analysis and treatment with SPPSS: *Basic aspects of the SPSS programme* Data analysis examples applied to research in psychogerontology. -General principles of quantitative and meta-analysis revisions. Assessment: Individual work report (40%) Group work report (30%) Participation in class (10%) Attendance to tutorials (20%).
Specific competencies
-Capacity to choose when facing a research question among multiple research and assessment methods. -Knowing the main research designs. -Acquiring the ability to develop the processes of information collecting and analysis with a quantitative nature.
