Modules | Psychology BSc (Hons)

Following a comprehensive introduction to the brain, neural structures and neurons, we will investigate the history of biological psychology and consider key questions, such as whether parts of our brains serve specialised functions and if there are individual differences in brain structure, associated with handedness for example.  We will also investigate how our understanding of brain function informs our understanding of selected areas of cognition and behaviour.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the relationships between physiological systems and behaviour
• Demonstrate an awareness of the underlying principles of biological psychology/neuroscience.

Topics covered may include:

• What is biological psychology?
• The nervous system, neurons and neuronal conduction
• Neurotransmission
• Neurotransmitters and behaviour
• Neuropsychology
• Recording neural activity
• Conceptual and historical issues in biological psychology
• Biological Psychology and everyday life.

You will be introduced to cognitive psychology as a science, providing you with a sound understanding of research into human cognition including areas such as perception, attention, language, memory and thinking. You will also explore everyday applications of cognitive research and develop an understanding of debates in cognitive psychology.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of theory and research into human cognition;
• demonstrate the ability to communicate an academic argument in a clear and concise manner 
• show an understanding of the debates surrounding key research areas in cognitive psychology.

Topics covered may include:

• What makes cognitive psychology a science?
• Theories, research methods and debates relating to core topics of human cognition
• Topic areas which are considered include: perception, attention, memory, thinking, language, applications of Cognitive Psychology.

The module aims to develop students’ critical understanding of psychological concepts, theories, and methods relevant to the study of child development. You will be introduced to methods, debates and theories of development. These themes will be related to topics in cognitive and social development. The module will provide you with an understanding of the range of research conducted in developmental psychology.         

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of concepts, theories and methods in developmental psychology
• demonstrate an ability to describe and discuss key issues in developmental psychology.

Topics covered may include:

• Understanding of concepts and theories in developmental psychology
• Understanding of the key issues in developmental psychology
• Understanding of research methods related to developmental psychology

In this module, you will be introduced to some of the key concepts included in the study of Social Psychology. You will explore a range of basic social psychological theories that have been developed to explain our engagement with others such as how attitudes develop; how aggressive or altruistic behaviour can be explained; and how our identities influence the ways we view, and are viewed by others. You will be required to apply these conceptual issues to examples taken from everyday life.  

On completion of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of a range of social psychological theories
• demonstrate an understanding of the methodologies and methods used in social psychology.

Topics covered may include:

• Introduction to Social Psychology
• Research methods in Social Psychology
• People in groups
• Social Psychology and Cognition
• Pro-social behaviour
• Cultural context of Social Psychology.

This module aims to develop your academic understanding of the discipline of psychology from a historical perspective in order to instil an appreciation of the development of psychological traditions that underpin modern psychology training and practice. It will provide you with a structured opportunity to develop the range of skills you need to successfully engage in your programme of study.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the development of psychology as a discipline
• Demonstrate the ability to work effectively in a group to communicate psychological knowledge
• Demonstrate competences in a range of study skills and learning strategies appropriate to the discipline of psychology.

Topics covered may include:

• Origins of psychology and the historical development of the discipline
• Different perspectives within psychology and their links to theoretical positions and methodological approaches
• Distinctions between academic and professional areas of psychology
• General and discipline specific study skills
• Locating, reading and reviewing psychological literature
• Planning and managing academic work
• Individual and group approaches to learning
• Discipline specific academic writing styles
• Alternative dissemination strategies, including oral presentations.

This module will introduce you to the key principles underlying research methods in psychology. You will be taught the need of systematic research methods and will explore the relationship between theory and data in both quantitative and qualitative research. You will learn key principles in research design and will engage in the practical aspects of generating quantitative and qualitative data and how to report the findings of simple psychological studies in a standardised format. In addition, you will engage with Personal Development Planning (PDP) to identify your personal development needs and opportunities for addressing these needs within the module and across your student journey in general.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the purpose and principles of psychological research
• demonstrate the ability to design, conduct and report simple psychological studies
• demonstrate the ability to analyse, interpret and report qualitative and quantitative data
• identify and access appropriate opportunities to meet the students own established personal developmental needs.

Topics covered may include:

• Research design
• Measurement
• Descriptive statistics
• Inferential testing
• Conducting qualitative research
• Presenting research and research findings.

You’ll develop a critical understanding of the main forms of mental illness from a psychological perspective. You will come to understand the key features of a variety of disorders and examine the contribution psychological approaches make to the theories, research, diagnosis and treatment of abnormal behaviour.

Areas covered may include:

• What is abnormal psychology? Defining ‘illness’, ‘health’  and ‘abnormality’; conceptual and historical issues in abnormal psychology; classification and diagnostic categories; and models of abnormality.
• The biology and psychology of psychological disorders: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders, eating disorders, problems of ageing.
• Debates in abnormal psychology: gender, ethnicity and mental illness, the nature of abnormality, the anti-psychiatry movement, the effectiveness of interventions.

This module has two components:  Biological Psychology and Developmental Psychology.

The Biological component aims to provide you with a critical understanding of the relationship between brain functioning and behaviour. You will examine the biological bases of a range of behaviours and will consider how research in biological psychology can contribute to the understanding of psychological function. This module component is delivered through a mix of lectures, seminars, workshops/online materials and activities, and discussion. It is assessed by a two hour exam / timed online assessment.

The Developmental component aims to further develop your understanding of psychological concepts, theories and methods relevant to the study of lifespan developmental psychology. During this, you will explore a range of research relating to cognitive and social development throughout the lifespan and develop the skills needed to evaluate existing research. This component is delivered through a mix of lectures, seminars, workshops/online materials and activities, and discussion. The assessment is coursework based.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of selected psychological phenomena and associated underlying physiological processes
• Demonstrate an understanding of, and evaluate, key issues, concepts and theories in lifespan developmental psychology.

Biological Psychology Component

This component will cover core concepts in biological psychology, as well as biological explanations of key behaviours. The kinds of topics you may cover will include:

• Conceptual & Historical Issues in Biopsychology
• Research Methods in Biological Psychology
• Genes, Evolution & Behaviour
• Psychopharmacology
• Stress & Emotion
• Learning & Memory
• Sleep
• New developments in Neuroscience.

Developmental Psychology Component

This component will cover concepts, theories, issues and methods in relation to social and cognitive development across the lifespan.  The kinds of topics you may cover will include:

• Prenatal Development
• Perceptual Development
• Theory of Mind
• Language Development
• Intelligence
• Gender Development
• Identity
• Turmoil during Adolescence
• Mate Selection.

This module will address key debates in cognitive and social psychology. You will consider how we perceive and process information, how our cognitions help us make sense of our surroundings, how we interact with others and how those interactions are understood and managed.

Teaching on the module will move from a consideration of psychology at an individual level with the focus on cognitive processes, through social cognition (the interplay of cognitive and social psychology), to social psychology in which the role of psychology and social contexts is considered.

In the social psychology sessions we will introduce you to a range of theories relating to social processes and explore social life as it is enacted in contemporary, everyday contexts. Within both cognitive and social psychology we will explore a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives and will demonstrate some of the contrasts and connections between these two approaches to psychology.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Design, conduct and report an empirical study of human cognition
• Understand and evaluate theory and research in human cognition
• Understand key social psychological concepts, models and theoretical orientations which underpin contemporary social psychology research
• Critically apply a social psychological topic to a chosen real life situation.

This module will critically explore contemporary theories, research and debates relating to both social psychology and higher cognitive processes. Topics covered include:  

• Perception
• Attention
• Human memory
• Thinking
• Language

• Social cognition
• Group processes
• Identity

• Attribution theory
• Attitudes
• Close relationship.

This module will explore a number of phenomena that are not part of mainstream psychology teaching but are of interest to psychologists. The main focus of such phenomena is that they do not fit in with everyday definitions and explanations of ‘normality’ but by the same token are not typically characteristic of a mental disorder on the part of the person experiencing the phenomenon. The module will look at trying to define these anomalous phenomena that should rightly be included under this umbrella term.

It will explore how an understanding of these phenomena requires an understanding of some central philosophical debates about mind and nature and investigate the history of research into this area, particularly focussing upon parapsychological research. Another key consideration is the efforts that have been made to invent an investigative methodology that guards against fraudulent accounts. Other sessions provide a critical analysis of the some of the main areas of anomalistic psychology and parapsychological research, including, extrasensory perception (ESP), precognition, psychokinesis (PK), altered experiences and apparitional experiences.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand the principle areas and issues studied under parapsychology
• Appreciate the need for methodological rigour when conducting or assessing research into parapsychology
• Be able to appreciate the empirical nature of this academic discipline.

The module will cover a definition of anomalistic psychology and parapsychology, methodological and statistical considerations, belief in paranormal phenomena, philosophical issues, extrasensory perception, precognition, psychokinesis, altered experiences, near death experiences, poltergeists, mediumship and apparitional experiences. Throughout the module there will be an emphasis upon how psychological theories and research can inform our understanding of such experiences and experimental findings.

Cyberpsychology can be defined as the study of behaviour in the context of the relationship between humans and technology. This module focuses on the impact of the internet on the psychology of individuals and groups. The topics of video gaming, social networking, the use of technology for learning and teaching will also be covered. This module will examine online internet behaviour, identity on the internet, social networking site use and the psychology of the internet in general.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Apply psychological theory, methods and research findings to cyberpsychology
• Evaluate current problems, debates, and insights in cyberpsychology.

Topics covered may include:

• Computer-Mediated Communication
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Social Psychology of the Internet
• Consumer Cyberpsychology
• Internet Research Methods
• Psychology of Virtual Worlds
• Applied Cyberpsychology
• Psychology of Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence
• Research Project.

This module will provide you with a detailed exploration of the key contemporary theoretical and methodological issues involved in the study of eating behaviours. You will discuss ‘normal’ eating patterns, which attempts to explain why a given food is accepted or rejected, how we chose what quantity of food is eaten over a period of time or in a single meal episode, and whether we ‘mindlessly’ eat or make conscious decisions. This will also be compared to non-clinical disordered eating (e.g. restricted eating, emotional eating, selective eaters).

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate an ability to review and reflect upon the different perspectives taken in the study of eating behaviours
• Demonstrate an understanding of the key theoretical and methodological issues involved in the study of eating behaviours in children and adults
• Demonstrate the ability to review research literature and to identify suitable research questions.

Topics covered may include:

• Eating behaviours adults and children
• Food neophobia across lifespan
• Picky / fussy eating and prolonged fussy eating
• Psychological and biological factors involved in ingestive behaviour
• Portion-size selection
• Restricted, emotional, external eating
• Healthy vs. unhealthy eating.

This module explores aspects of our gendered lives. Does the gender we are assigned at birth inform our later identity development? How closely is our biological sex connected to our gendered roles in society? What aspects of life are enabled or constrained by the gendered identities we identify with? As well as reviewing some of the traditional psychological theories that have informed our knowledge of our gendered lives we will consider more recent gender research including feminist and critical approaches. We will explore the influence that society has on issues surrounding gendered identities including areas such as age, health, relationships, crime, education, culture and so on.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of epistemological considerations in terms of gender
• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of methodological considerations in terms of gender
• Effectively communicate their in-depth understanding of a particular aspect of gender.

Topics covered may include:

• The development and critical analysis of sex differences research
• Methods of research in considering gender
• The social construction of femininities and masculinities research
• Gender and language
• The development of gendered identities
• Gender and body image, appearance, eating behaviours and so on
• Gendered aspects of health and illness.

The module builds on and develops knowledge gained through the study of core psychology at levels 4 and its application to the study of health and illness. Health psychology is one of the fastest growing disciplines in psychology. This module will explore the key theoretical concepts that underpin the discipline and introduce you to the main models and theories that health psychologists use to explain the experience of health and illness and their links to other areas of psychology.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand the core health psychology concepts, models and theories that underpin contemporary health psychology research
• Evaluate the application of health psychology theory to the maintenance of health
• Evaluate the role of health psychology research in understanding the experience of illness. 

Topics covered may include:

• Health psychology in context
• Core health Psychology theory
• Models of health behaviour
• Health promotion
• Psychological aspects of healthcare
• The health-illness link
• Chronic illness.

IMPORTANT
This module is mandatory (core) in order to obtain Gradute Basis for Chartership (GBC), together with a Psychological Research project. If you are unable to attend the residential week or do not require GBC, you will need to select one of the Stage 2 optional modules instead of Psychology in Practice, you will then graduate with a BSc (Hons) Psychological Studies.  

The Psychology in Practice module aims to develop your skills in researching psychological topics by providing practical, laboratory based experience in conducting psychological investigations and by introducing a range of qualitatively based techniques for generating data. The module includes a one week residential school, during which you'll have the opportunity to use specialist equipment, and discuss research and analysis issues.

(NB: The cost of accommodation, travel and sustenance is NOT included as part of the module cost. You are responsible for arranging your own accommodation and travel to attend the residential week).

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to: 

• Demonstrate an understanding of the variety of ways in which psychological phenomena can be investigated
• Demonstrate competence in using the appropriate resources when carrying out psychological investigations
• Demonstrate the ability to report the findings from psychological enquiry according to APA conventions.

Topics covered may include:

• Strategic Literature Searching (e.g. key articles, manuscript citations, date of publication etc.)
• Rationale writing (Writing Scientifically, Understanding & Structuring Content)
• Writing a research proposal (Identifying a research question, Selecting appropriate methodology & physical resources, Considering appropriate analyses)
• Laboratory Experience (Use of Video equipment, Use of psychophysiological equipment, Laboratory techniques for quantitative methodologies);
• Qualitative methodologies (Focus groups, Interviewing skills).         
• Presenting and interpreting results (Understanding analyses, relating results to research question/rationale).

This module advances the concepts of quantitative research methods that were introduced to you at Level 4 using the study of individual differences. You will be introduced to traditional areas and prominent thinkers in the areas of personality and intelligence theory, before moving onto more specific areas of psychology where the differences between individuals has been researched. Alongside this, you will learn how to design and conduct appropriate experimental and quasi-experimental investigations of a range of individual differences variables. You will also be introduced to elementary scale development for the testing of individual differences within psychology.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to design, conduct and report psychological research using quantitative methods.
• Demonstrate an appreciation of the complexity of measuring individual differences.
• Demonstrate the appropriate use of quantitative analysis techniques in the study of individual differences

This module will examine how individual differences have been researched in psychology, and focus upon the quantitative research methods appropriate to examining this in order to help students to achieve the module learning outcomes. 

Topics covered may include: 

• Areas of individual differences: Personality (e.g., Psychodynamic Approaches, State/Trait Theories, etc.), Intelligence (e.g., Two-Factor Theory, Sternberg, Gardner, etc), Cognitive Style, Biological Differences, Emotion, Mood, Belief, etc.
• Quantitative analysis methods: One-Way Independent ANOVA, Factorial Independent Measures ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis Test, One-way Repeated Measures ANOVA, Factorial Repeated Measures ANOVA, Friedman’s ANOVA, Factorial Mixed ANOVA, Linear Regression, Multiple Regression. 
• Basic scale development: Methods of systematic review and how this relates to scale development, measures of reliability and validity, wording and item creation, data reduction, reliability analyses (e.g., Cronbach’s Alpha).

This module introduces a range of qualitative methods used within contemporary psychology and explores the different insights these approaches bring to the area of individual differences. The module will be divided into sections which each introduce a different qualitative method. In addition, the underlying assumptions which inform psychological research into individual differences such as gender, identity, health and so on are examined. The range of philosophical orientations and methodological approaches covered in the module enables you to consider the ways in which the individual and their engagement with the social world can be explored from a qualitative perspective.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Evaluate one area of individual differences and demonstrate the insights a qualitative research methodology brings to this area
• Clearly communicate an in-depth understanding of one qualitative research methodology and its application to researching individuals’ lives
• Identify a future graduate career route and reflect on the skill set which needs to be developed to embark on this career.

This module will examine how individual differences have been traditionally researched in psychology and explore the challenges and different insights a range of qualitative methods offer in this area.

Topics covered may include:

• Philosophical orientations
• Generating/collecting data
• Analytic techniques
• Writing qualitative research
• Individual differences.