Addiction: An Introduction
Syllabus, Master's level, 2PS109
- Code
- 2PS109
- Education cycle
- Second cycle
- Main field(s) of study and in-depth level
- Psychology A1N
- Grading system
- Fail (F), Sufficient (E), Satisfactory (D), Good (C), Very good (B), Excellent (A)
- Finalised by
- The Department Board, 9 December 2022
- Responsible department
- Department of Psychology
Entry requirements
A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university. Also required is 90 credits in psychology with at least 7.5 credits in methods and statistics. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student should be able to:
Knowledge:
- Describe the view on addiction from a historical perspective.
- Explain psychological, biological and epidemiological models for the emergence and maintenance of addiction.
- Describe the state of knowledge regarding prevention and treatment of addiction.
Comprehension:
- Assess how the historical perspective relates to current research on addiction.
- Compare biological, psychological and epidemiological explanatory models for the emergence and maintenance of addiction.
- Discuss prevention and treatment regarding addiction.
Application:
- Reflect on the implications of different types of addiction and the boundaries around what constitutes addiction.
- Reflect on limitations regarding prevention and treatment for addiction.
Content
This course aims to provide an introduction to the field of addiction. The course provides a historical overview of the field, presents psychological, epidemiological, and neurobiological explanatory models for the emergence and maintenance of addiction, as well as evidence-based public health, psychological and pharmacological prevention. In addition to lectures, the course offers seminars to discuss more broadly different aspects of addiction.
The course is divided into four parts:
- Alcohol. The content of this module includes basic knowledge of alcohol, its epidemiology, psychology, and neurobiology as well as prevention and treatment (2 credits).
- Drugs and tobacco. The content of this module includes basic knowledge about drugs and tobacco, their epidemiology, psychology, and neurobiology as well as prevention and treatment (2 credits).
- Behavioral addictions. The content of this module includes basic knowledge of "behavioral addictions" (e.g. gambling for money, shopping, internet, etc.), their epidemiology, psychology, and neurobiology as well as prevention and treatment (2 credits).
- Overarching perspective. The content of this part includes obtaining an overarching understanding of different forms of addiction as well as what unites and separates them (1.5 credits).
Instruction
Teaching is given in the form of lectures, seminars, and group presentations.
Assessment
Assessment is in the form of active participation in seminars, group presentations and active participation in subsequent discussions as well as through a written homework assignment.
If there are special reasons, the examiner may make exceptions to the specified examination method and allow a student to be examined in a different way. Special reasons can be, for example, notification of special pedagogical support from the university's coordinator.