Research & Department

Department Profile

Research Areas

    • Department Profile

    The Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University is a research-intensive, internationally connected academic workplace that combines strong scientific traditions with innovative teaching. Our staff include experts in clinical and health psychology, cognitive and neuropsychology, developmental and educational psychology, work and organizational psychology, social and evolutionary psychology, psychometrics, and methodology.

    Teaching in the Bachelor’s program is closely linked to ongoing research projects, ranging from brain-aging and neurodegenerative diseases, perinatal and child development, language acquisition and cognition, to workplace well-being, family functioning, and sexual behavior. Many academics also work as practicing psychologists, psychotherapists, neuropsychologists, or consultants, ensuring that students meet psychology not only as a science, but also as a profession.

    The department maintains active collaborations with hospitals, clinical centers, the Czech Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Mental Health, and other partners in the Czech Republic and abroad. This environment gives students access to real research, real data, and real psychological practice from the very beginning of their studies.

    Research Areas

    Researchers at the department study cognitive functions across the lifespan, from basic processes such as perception, attention, time perception, and memory to their changes in neurological and psychiatric conditions. Topics include REM sleep behavior disorder and Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, schizophrenia, pediatric epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders, biomarkers of neurodegeneration, and EEG-based neurofeedback.

    Clinical and health psychologists investigate mental health across different stages of life, focusing on assessment, early detection of difficulties, and evaluation of psychotherapeutic interventions. Research spans cognitive assessment in psychiatric patients, effectiveness of psychotherapy (including emotion-focused therapy), perinatal mental health, prenatal stress and its biological mediators, as well as long-term outcomes for mothers and children after childbirth interventions.

    Developmental and educational research examines children’s cognitive, language, and metacognitive development from preschool age onward, early precursors of reading literacy, and self-directed learning in innovative educational environments. Other projects focus on school readiness and diagnostics, STEM skills in early childhood, teacher competences, and the experiences of children and adults in blended and “patchwork” families.

    Work and organizational psychologists study how working conditions, personal resources, and organizational culture shape well-being, stress, burnout, engagement, and performance. Research addresses mental health in universities and schools, occupational health of teachers, organizational resilience in the public sector, as well as mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), and positive psychological interventions aimed at improving quality of work life.

    Social and evolutionary psychology at the department explores interpersonal relationships, mate selection, sociosexual behavior, homogamy in couples, and mental health in the context of close relationships. Comparative and behavioral research focuses on social behavior, communication, and emotion in animals, linking ethology with psychological concepts. Sexological research maps sexual behavior and paraphilias in the population and evaluates therapeutic approaches.

    Psycholinguistic research investigates how people learn and use language, with a special focus on prediction and prediction errors in language acquisition and links between early morphology, phonology, and grammar. Other projects explore how we perceive and interpret visual information and statistical graphics—crucial skills in a data-rich world.

    Several academics specialize in psychometrics, quantitative and qualitative methodology, and computational approaches to testing. Their work includes developing and validating psychological and educational tests, online diagnostic tools, neuropsychological test batteries for children, graph and data visualization research, and mixed-method designs. This expertise underpins the department’s strong emphasis on evidence-based practice and rigorous research training for students.