The Department of Psychology

Welcome to the Department of Psychology website.

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Psychology is one of the youngest departments in the Faculty of Arts. Despite its short history, research and teaching activities in the field of Psychology in Maribor nevertheless boast a long tradition. Over the past few decades, the Department has made a key contribution to the studies of mental processes, behaviour and personality in Slovenia and abroad, and has diligently educated generations of teachers, psychologists and researchers.

Prior to 2007

Prior to the formal establishment of the Department, activities relating to the field were carried out within the framework of the Academy of Pedagogy, and later the Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Didactics and Special Didactics at the Faculty of Education. Teaching work focused on the education of teachers in various fields of study. It is interesting that teacher training in Maribor had the highest proportion of pedagogical-psychological subjects across the whole of Slovenia, with developmental and educational psychology playing a key role. Researchers have focused mainly on studying the factors of learning. In the 1990s, the first electroencephalography (EEG) studies were carried out at the Department. During this time, Dr Norbert Jaušovec began systematically studying the electrophysiological basis of intelligence. Three young researchers and doctoral students also worked at the Department under his supervision, and were subsequently employed at the Department: Dr Zlatka Cugmas focused on the parents’ role in the development of children’s competences and later on attachment, Dr Karin Bakračevič studied the development of thinking and problem solving in adolescence and adulthood, and Dr Katarina Habe’s dissertation examined the impact of music on cognitive functioning.

The First Decade of the Department

With the increase in the volume, quality and visibility of the scientific research work of teachers and colleagues, as well as the call for the study of psychology at the newly established Faculty of Arts, there was also a need to establish a new, independent department. In 2007, the Senate of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor unanimously decided to establish the Department of Psychology at its 8th regular session. A year later, the Bologna Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Psychology was introduced under the auspices of the Department, which was the first psychology degree programme of its kind in Slovenia. The next landmark year was 2011, when the Master’s Programme was added. Both study programmes are internationally comparable and aligned with the guidelines of the Europsy Certificate in Psychology, which provides uniform standards for the qualifications of psychologists in Europe. During the first 10 years of the Department, neuropsychological research and the study of cognition and social processes flourished. Dr Bojan Musil joined the Department when it was first founded, establishing the Department’s research of values, self-esteem and other social-psychological topics from a cross-cultural perspective. During this period, Dr Katja Košir joined the Department research and teaching team, adding the study of social determinants of learning success to her research activities. A few years after its establishment, Dr Sara Tement was hired by the Department. She transferred the systematic study of work processes and occupational health to the Department.

Today and the Future

Under the auspices of the Department of Psychology, more than 100 students completed their studies at both levels of education across the first 10 years. They now work in education, health and social services, or in companies and other organisations providing HR services. Some are also pursuing doctoral studies and research either in Slovenia or abroad. Graduates of the Department of Psychology possess ethical awareness, good practical skills, knowledge of psychological methodology and knowledge of scientifically-based approaches and methods of work. In the future, the Department aims to strengthen its research activities in three areas (1. work, stress and health; 2. cognition, personality and learning; and 3. social processes, community and media), as well as to systematically train students at all levels of education for professional, pedagogical and research work in these areas. The Department also aims to strengthen collaboration with research institutions both abroad and in Slovenia that are researching or training in basic psychological topics.

Contact:
psihologija@um.si

MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT

STUDY PROGRAMMES

EVENTS

Ni dogodkov.

Past Departmental Events

PROJECTS AND PROGRAMME GROUPS

Current Projects

Ni projektov.

Past Departmental Events

The large number of people involved in research activities and their motivations to take part are crucial for generating relevant and valid scientific knowledge in psychology. We therefore invite students, their families, employees and individuals with a psychological curiosity to come and join in. If you would like to participate in ongoing or future research projects, please send an e-mail to psihologija@um.si.

Students who wish to participate in research work in the abovementioned fields are also invited to participate as demonstrators in data collection and analysis, to attend lectures and meetings, and to work independently on research questions in their Bachelor’s theses, Master’s theses and Doctoral dissertations. For the final theses, students can propose their own research questions within our research focuses or choose from a range of suggested topics.

Work environments are becoming more and more unpredictable, uncertain and stressful, with work tasks increasingly crossing the boundaries into our private lives, hindering relaxation and rest, and reducing the quality of time we spend with our families. However, work environments can also have many positive aspects, such as a high degree of freedom to work, a variety of work, good interpersonal relations and social support. As part of our research focus, researchers at the Department of Psychology are looking at the working conditions under which employees remain healthy, satisfied and efficient. We also want to learn more about the role of employees’ private lives and how such individuals reconcile work and family responsibilities. We’re also interested in personal characteristics that can add to or help employees to cope with the stressful aspects of their work. We also intend to look at the effects that stressful work can have on an individual’s physical health (e.g., high blood pressure) and mental health (e.g., burnout, depression) in more detail.

Contact: izr. prof. dr. Sara Tement

Learning for life and lifelong learning are two of Slovenia’s key strategic priorities for achieving a better quality of life. The long-term pursuit of this strategy is not possible without a deeper understanding of the processes of learning and the factors that contribute to knowledge acquisition and retention. Understanding learning broadly involves understanding individual differences in intelligence, including emotional/social differences, creativity, working and short-term memory as well as attention. It also includes personality and motivational processes, as well as the ability to control and regulate one’s own behaviour, mental processes and emotions. Lifelong learning questions also concern the age of individuals and the question of whether positive changes in learning-related thought processes (memory, attention) are possible even at older ages. This research focuses on the cognitive, personal, motivational and emotional characteristics of individuals that influence the method and success of their learning process in order to improve it. The study of these concepts is based on both correlational (e.g., finding links between self-regulation of learning and age) and experimental methods (e.g., testing the effects of intelligence and memory training on actual achievement).

Contact: red. prof. Karin Bakračevič

With the increasing popularity of social networks such as Facebook, there is also growing concern and fear surrounding their harmful effects. The main criticism is that such networks ‘exploit’ and reinforce our fundamental need for social validation. From a research perspective, while it is interesting to study the validity of such criticisms, it is also relevant to observe to what extent the contribution of social networks can also be positive. What also remains unclear is the question of what contributes to the popularity of networks such as Facebook, as well as the characteristics of the users and of the site’s use itself. Within this broader research focus, we aim to study what drives and determines behaviour in a particular social context, such as in the context of social networks or in a school context. Amongst the various factors, we are particularly interested in the characteristics of the social context as well as individual characteristics (e.g., time perspective – focusing on the present, past and future ‒ values, narcissism).

Contact: izr. prof. dr. Bojan Musil

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

Members of the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor collaborate with several universities and institutes abroad in our research and pedagogical work. In the field of teaching, we are involved in various inbound and outbound mobility programmes for teaching staff, while in the field of research we collaborate with several foreign universities through joint projects (e.g., Erasmus+, Horizon 2020 and ARRS bilateral projects). We also hold positions on editorial boards and participate in conferences, symposia, and summer schools, etc.

We are actively involved in applying for various mobility programmes (e.g., Erasmus+, Ceepus, Fulbright, etc.) and encourage mobility for students and staff. In particular, within the Erasmus international mobility programme, we have several agreements with European universities where students have the opportunity to carry out part of their studies abroad, as well as practical training activities.

STUDENT AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

The Department of Psychology supports and is actively involved in a wide range of student activities. It supports the career development of students through various activities and keeps in touch with them after they conclude their studies.

RESEARCH CENTRES

The Department of Psychology collaborates with both the economic and non-economic communities, organising various activities together. For this purpose, the Department has established The Centre for Research and Professional Psychological Activities (CePSI).

CePSI Group

Useful Links

Facebook – Department of the Psychology CePSI Center Slovenian Psychologists’ Association The Chamber of Clinical Psychologists of Slovenia E-learning Psychology Students' Association Maribor European Federation of Psychologists' Associations EuroPsy | European Certificate in Psychology
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