Bachelor courses AUW
The professorship is responsible for the BPsy4.2 module in the Bachelor's degree programme in Psychology, consisting of a lecture in the winter semester and a seminar, which can be taken in either the summer or winter semester. We also offer a project course in the winter semester.
Lecture on work and organisational psychology (winter semester, module BPsy4.2)
The lecture builds on the basic training of the first four semesters and provides a broad overview of the field of work and organisational psychology. In particular, this includes the entire process of personnel recruitment in accordance with DIN 33430 and the topics of job and requirements analysis, personnel marketing & recruiting, assessment, selection & onboarding, personnel development, leadership and teamwork, workplace design, motivation & job satisfaction, health and well-being, organisational diagnosis & organisational development. In connection with this, we will provide insights into labour market perspectives and fields of activity, and there will also be at least one guest lecture from the field. In one session, we will also deal with the area of human factors and user experience as an innovative professional and research field in the area of human-technology interaction. In cooperation with the German Psychology Academy, interested students are given the opportunity to acquire the personal licence E according to DIN 33430 (see https://aupsy.uni-wuppertal.de/de/lehre/zertifikate/) on a voluntary basis.
The lecture is part of the BPsy4.2 module and is offered in the winter semester.
Seminar on the lecture Work and Organisational Psychology (winter or summer semester, module BPsy4.2)
The aim of the seminar is to link theory and practice based on the knowledge acquired in the lecture on work and organisational psychology. The focus is on the acquisition of concrete skills based on central findings and principles of action of work and organisational psychology ("evidence-based human resource management"). Basic diagnostic and intervention techniques are taught, practised and critically discussed on the basis of selected content and research findings. In addition, experience-based learning and knowledge transfer are supported by concrete case scenarios and many practical exercises. The seminar concept pursues several objectives: Session-related basic texts are used to consolidate specific knowledge and create the basis for in-depth discussion. The transfer of central research results into application situations is practised extensively. We collect important findings in a toolbox during the course. Information transfer and important future practical requirements are practised with short but concise presentation concepts and individual session parts in English. Overall, the high proportion of exercises in this seminar allows the training of important skills, a broad transfer of knowledge and opens up perspectives on how the competences practised are useful for a wide range of professional areas in psychology. In cooperation with the German Psychology Academy, interested students are also able to acquire the E personal licence in accordance with DIN 33430 (see https://aupsy.uni-wuppertal.de/de/lehre/zertifikate/) on a voluntary basis.
Two different specialisations are offered in order to enable students to set their own specialisation as early as the Bachelor's degree:
- Group 1: Focus on recruiting and personnel recruitment
- Group 2 & 3: Focus on personnel and organisational development
The content of the seminar focussing on recruiting and personnel recruitment includes, among other things
- Presentation techniques, in particular business presentations
- Empirical work & requirements analysis
- Personnel marketing & recruiting
- Digital methods in recruiting
- Personnel selection with interview methods, in particular multimodal interviews (MMI)
- Standardised personnel selection, testing & assessment centres
- Conducting observation training and an assessment centre simulation
The content of the seminar with a focus on II) Personnel and organisational development includes, among other things
- Integration of new employees: Onboarding
- Training needs analysis & training development
- Goal setting & participation
- Support for self-efficacy & self-regulation
- Leadership & teamwork
- Presentation techniques, especially business presentations
- Simulation of training units for personnel development
The specialisation is part of the BPsy4.2 module and is offered in the winter and summer semesters with both focus options.
Project studies in occupational and environmental psychology (winter semester, module BPsy6.3)
Background: Our main areas of research are described at https://aupsy.uni-wuppertal.de/de/forschung/. As part of the project studies, we provide insight into all fields, but focus in particular on the topics of labour and civil security: Our environment and the security situation have changed significantly in recent years. The consequences of climate change and armed conflicts as well as the associated migration movements are increasingly challenging society and security authorities. In addition, there are still "classic" dangers such as fire incidents (around 200,000 in Germany every year) or accidents resulting in personal injury (around 300,000 per year in Germany in road traffic alone). Such events require rapid and appropriate responses at all levels, from those affected and citizens to local organisations and companies to higher-level authorities with security responsibilities, politics and society. Certain organisations (e.g. fire brigades, THW, aid organisations) and certain areas (e.g. critical infrastructures, protection of cultural assets) are particularly challenged. Using the example of the fire brigade, participants will learn more about the special features of these work contexts: whether traffic accidents, fires or technical assistance - the activities of the fire brigade are characterised by high demands and sometimes extreme conditions with a lack of transparency, suboptimal information supply, stress and a high level of personal risk. In a joint project with the NRW Fire Service Institute (IdF NRW), we at the Chair of Occupational and Environmental Psychology are conducting research into leadership in these high-risk environments.
In most cases, however, the very first people on the scene of an incident are laypeople - who, in the best case, have at least basic preparation and training for possible emergencies from their respective organisations. How this can be optimised, how trust in warning systems can be built up and how resilience in society can be promoted as a result will be a further component of this project study.
Organisation: The event will first provide a brief insight into the content of our research topics in general and the topic of work and leadership in high-risk environments in particular. This will be followed by sessions on scientific work and writing, requirements for final theses at our department as well as specific methods and exemplary research results. Building on this, the third part of the course involves the creation of your own research concept, which will be transformed into an exposé following appropriate feedback. As a rule, the course should take place in 3-hour blocks and therefore not quite weekly, as individual dates are set aside for preparation work. We will discuss this together at the first meeting.
Requirements: Participants should be interested in our outlined areas of application and research as well as in new methodological approaches. In addition, regular and active participation in the course is of course expected. The course will conclude with a project report in the form of an exposé. The exposé should comprise five to a maximum of eight pages (without bibliography) = a maximum of 2,500 words.
Learning objectives: The project course is intended to prepare students for writing their Bachelor's thesis. On completion of the seminar, participants will have acquired specific methodological skills, particularly in the area of qualitative methods (e.g. critical incident interview), in addition to content knowledge in the area of application. They will also have familiarised themselves in depth with typical steps and aspects of the research process.
Framework conditions for the Bachelor's thesis: General information and our supervision concept can be found online at https://aupsy.uni-wuppertal.de/de/lehre/abschlussarbeiten/. Students can outline their own initiative ideas for theses that fall within our area of research and expertise as part of the project study programme. In order to be able to use the feedback from the project studies effectively, it is usually possible to work directly on the Bachelor's thesis idea in the following semester. Bachelor's theses can be supervised by all members of our working group who are authorised to take examinations.
The project study is part of the BPsy6.3 module and is offered in the winter semester.
