Doctoral School / UAM

This program consists of three fundamental areas of research that involve different Departments of the Faculty of Psychology of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Departments of: Social Psychology and Methodology, Basic Psychology, and Psychology and Education), which, at the same time, are subdivided in more specific research lines, where the student can start working on research projects that can lead into their PhD.

Research lines

---

Line 1. ‘Psychological processes’.

This line researches on mechanisms, functioning and alterations of basic psychological processes (perception, attention, memory, language, thought, metacognition or creativity). We also work on processes of motivation, evaluation and self-regulation. This line also includes research on conceptions, strategies and practices of learning, teaching and assessment, as well as studies on learning and instruction processes in different formal and informal educational contexts, reading processes, learning and instruction processes in different domains of knowledge (mathematics, social sciences, history, art, language, music, science, sport) are also investigated in this line. To this end, its members participate in different research projects that cover the analysis of the most basic processes of cognitive processing (both in people who have a normal development, and in those who present a differential psychological development) in various fields such as education, health, working life, advertising, culture and art, and ICTs, among others. This line promotes the development of transfer actions from basic research to applied research in the improvement of people's health and quality of life.

Line 2. ‘Social Psychology: Development of basic knowledge and contexts of application’.

This line develops topics related to both basic research in Social Psychology and the necessary research linked to the multiple applications that have been developed from this field of knowledge. The main objective of this line is linked to the development of basic knowledge in the explanation of social behaviour, as well as research into social behaviour in terms of the diversity of situations and social contexts in which people are immersed. In this sense, it is especially intended to offer the opportunity to continue consolidated and emerging lines of research that contribute to the explanation of the processes linked to social interaction. Thus, this line includes the most basic work on social behaviour, attitudes and processes of social cognition, interaction and emotional life, complemented by the presentation of applied developments in different social contexts and fields (community, organisation, environment, etc.). The proposal of this doctoral programme, therefore, aims to be an integrated and complete offer, carried out with a complex and multiple vision of the conceptual, methodological and applied developments of Social Psychology.

Line 3. ’Psychological processes and contexts in Development, Learning and Education’.

One of the fundamental concerns of society is to facilitate through formal and informal education the development and learning of the members of the new generations in order to ensure that they become integrated into society as autonomous, balanced, competent individuals with a cooperative, constructive and creative attitude. This broad aim requires the provision of appropriate formal and informal educational environments, which cannot be done without an understanding of the processes that facilitate such integration and the personal and contextual factors that influence it. Consequently, the aim of this line of research is to respond to this need. The line is supported fundamentally (although not exclusively) by the Interfaculty Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, which is made up of two Sections: one in the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education and the other in the Faculty of Psychology. In addition to being involved in the development of quality teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate studies, it actively collaborates in other initiatives of different types related to the defence of the rights of children at risk of educational and social exclusion from an early age, the improvement of the quality of the non-university education system, gender equality or the ongoing training of professionals in their fields of specialisation, as well as in the development of a new educational system.

Line 4. ‘Assessment and Intervention in Clinical and Health Psychology’.

This is the line that needs the least justification due to the socially shared knowledge that exists of it and which is summarised in promoting innovation, knowledge and technical development on the principles and techniques to assess, diagnose, explain, treat, modify and prevent mental disorders, health disorders or any other behaviour relevant to the processes of health and illness, in the different and varied contexts in which these may take place, as well as in the different phases of the life cycle (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age). This line includes studies aimed at analysing the role of contextual (e.g. gender roles), psychological (e.g. personality, coping strategies) or biological variables in health and illness processes, as well as research aimed at developing and analysing the usefulness and effectiveness of procedures for the assessment, prevention and treatment of mental disorders and behaviours affecting health. Of the lines proposed for tackling health-related aspects in the programme, this line is the one with the greatest social applicability and the one that generates a substantial transfer of knowledge.

Line 5. ‘Neuroscience of cognition and emotion’.

The study of neuroscience, which describes the organisation and functioning of the nervous system, particularly the human brain, from the different disciplines that study it - biology, genetics, chemistry, pharmacology, computer science and psychology - has opened up a fascinating potential for understanding human behaviour. From the psychological perspective, cognitive and affective neuroscience by analysing the biological mechanisms underlying cognition and emotion is beginning to provide answers about how emotional and cognitive functions are produced in the neural circuitry and how they affect an individual's behaviour, which is ultimately translating into improvements in people's health. In addition to the neuroscience and neuropsychology of emotions, this line includes research on a variety of subjects: neuroscience of attention and other cognitive processes, such as executive functions, language, memory or reading, neuroimaging studies, brain and cognitive plasticity, primate psychobiology or the cognitive neuroscience of ageing and neurodegenerative disorders.

Line 6 ‘Emotion, health and behaviour’.

The analysis of the relationship between emotion, behaviour and health is a field of research that, although classic in psychology, has gained significant momentum in recent decades. It is solid scientific evidence that negative emotions constitute a risk to physical and mental health, distort the behaviour of individuals, and that the chronification of negative emotional states can affect the maintenance of health habits and, therefore, health itself. The health-protective and adaptation-enhancing role of positive emotions is also becoming increasingly evident in the light of research. Different sub-disciplines in the field of Clinical and Health Psychology such as Psychoneuroimmunology and, in general, cognitive and affective neurosciences have made progress in understanding the neurobiological basis of emotion processing. Further research is needed to clarify the role of the processes involved in the identification and experience of feelings and affects, as well as in the development of linguistic and, in general, symbolic schemes that represent emotions, which are essential both for the individual assessment of states of emotional activation and for the search for resources to attenuate and modulate the negative effects of adaptive processes capable of generating negative emotional states. In this line, alterations of emotional states, such as anxiety or depression, are the main element of the most frequent psychopathological disorders in the population, the latter being the main cause of disability in the world according to the WHO. Undoubtedly, the analysis of the factors that shape psychological well-being, the experience of emotions and their regulation (and dysregulation) in different areas of human life (e.g. work), as well as their implications in terms of behaviour and health, is a major health priority, not only because of the human suffering that accompanies the most common mental disorders, but also because of their economic cost.

Line 7. ‘Models and Applications in Statistics and Psychometrics’.

Underlying this generalist line are three sub-areas of research: (1) research designs, (2) data analysis and (3) psychometrics. Research in these three areas of knowledge is a key underpinning for the advancement and improvement of psychology in all its domains. Research designs are concerned with how data collection should be carried out in order to draw reliable conclusions from it. Research in this field serves, among other things, to design better scenarios for the evaluation of social and psychological interventions, which is a major need. Data analysis is concerned with drawing conclusions from data. Research in this area serves, on the one hand, to select appropriate strategies to study the relationship between variables and the effect of interventions and, on the other hand, to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of these strategies.

 

       Members of the Academic Committee