Undergraduate Psychology 2015-2016

PS1009 introduces you to major concepts and theories in psychology to provide you with a strong understanding of the human mind and behaviour. You will attend lectures on perception, social, and biological psychology and participate in workshops where you will work as part of a team and debate topics related to the lecture materials such as “should teenagers be held responsible for the crimes they commit?” Studying psychology is beneficial to a range of careers including management, finance and counselling, to name but a few. Psychology regularly tops employers’ lists of producing the most employable graduates.

PS1011 is a perfect combination of subject-specific knowledge and transferable skills. In weekly lectures and hands-on practicals, you will learn how various research methods are applied across a range of Psychology sub-fields. In addition, you will learn how to read scientific articles and begin to critique them. You will also be encouraged to develop skills such as giving presentations and writing literature reviews. Apart from acquiring these skills, the course will give you insight into the ‘human factor’ that all sciences necessarily have in common, and as such it will be a valuable addition to any degree. 

PS1509 introduces you to major concepts and theories in psychology to provide you with a strong understanding of human mind and behaviour. You will attend lectures on evolution & emotion, cognitive, and developmental psychology and participate in workshops where you work in a team and debate topics related to the material covered in your lectures such as “should teenagers be held responsible for the crimes they commit?”. Studying psychology is beneficial to a range of careers such as management, finance and counselling, to name but a few. Psychology regularly tops employers’ lists of producing the most employable graduates.

PS1511 builds on PS1011. You will learn more about research methods in Psychology through lectures, practicals, and taking part in experiment-demonstrations.  You will also learn how to set up and conduct a Psychology experiment yourself. Part of the lectures will focus on statistics, to equip you with the skills to analyze and interpret your own data, culminating in a written research report, in which your critical thinking skills will be encouraged. You will also learn about the role of ethics in research. This course will enable you to spot the difference between ‘pop-science’ and genuine science.

The course builds on the material covered in the 1st-year courses expanding on psychology’s concepts and theories. The course covers three core areas of psychology Neuroscience, Organisational and Cognitive Psychology.  The Lectures on Developmental Psychology covers both cognitive and emotional development across the lifespan. Social Psychology will cover topics such as leadership and group processes.  The third strand within this course is focused on Neuroscience, and will cover topics such as localisation of brain function and the neuroscience of emotion.

This course aims to introduce students to a broad range of methods used in psychological research. Lectures cover methods used to collect physiological data (e.g. brain imaging techniques), behavioural data (e.g. measures of task performance) and self-report data (e.g. survey, questionnaire and interview techniques).   Practical classes involve students working in small groups to design studies, collect and analyse data, and write reports. Practical sessions are also used to teach students to use a statistical software package (SPSS) to analyse data collected in psychological studies.

This course builds on the material that is covered in the 1st-year courses expanding on psychology’s concepts and theories. The course covers four core areas of psychology, Cognitive, Organisational, Clinical and Perception. The lectures on Organisational Psychology cover organizational culture, occupational stress, motivation, leadership and team work. Cognitive psychology is focused on Memory, and Language. The clinical psychology section of the course will give you grounding in the key ideas within current Clinical Psychology practice and is taught by a practicing Clinical Psychology. The Perception part of the course will examine the visual and intentional systems.

This course builds on the material covered in the first semester course PS2018. Lectures focus primarily on statistical methods and data analysis, with associated practical classes where students work in small groups to design and run their own studies and write reports. In addition, there are lectures and small-group sessions addressing broader topics, including ethical issues in psychological research and how the knowledge and skills that are developed in studying psychology methods can enhance students’ employability.

Psychological assessment is used by chartered psychologists in a number of areas, including clinical, occupational and forensic applications.  The aim of this course is to introduce students to psychometric theory, real life applications of psychological assessment and the legal and ethical issues surrounding test administration.

Topics covered on this lecture based course include: IQ and mood assessment; clinical neuropsychological tests of cognitive dysfunction and memory; assessment of dementia and forensic aspects of assessment (legal malingering).

An ideal course for students intending to secure a career in applied psychology.

Interaction with the world around us involves perceptual processing using our three main senses : visual (seeing), auditory (hearing) and haptic (touch).  The aim of this course is to consider a range of approaches to human perception, from historical beginnings to recent innovative research.   

Topics covered include: colour perception; face recognition; perception of pain and age related changes in perception.  Students will also engage in guided debate with their peers regarding media portrayal of recent research findings.

This course is produced by academics that specialise in this field, ensuring the most up-to-date and relevant lecture material.

This course aims to provide students with a good understanding of the biological basis of behaviour and cognition.  The course is split into two sections, each featuring 6 lectures. Section 1 focuses on psychopharmacology, which is the investigation of the effect of medication on normal and abnormal brain function.  Section 2 examines brain function and memory, with a specific focus on the application of this knowledge within the criminal justice system.

Specific topics that will be covered include: neurotransmitters; drug effects; Alzheimer’s disease; memory and psychedelic drugs.

The main aim of this course is to help students prepare, evaluate and run their own Psychological research.  As such this is a ‘hands-on’ course, where students will have the opportunity to conduct a small research project and practice using SPSS for a variety of statistical analyses.  The course also provides a thorough grounding in qualitative and quantitative research methods through a lecture series.
Specific topics covered in this course include: verification and falsification of results; ANOVA and qualitative research strategies.
 

What does it mean to be human?  This course takes a developmental approach to that question, covering a range of psychological attributes that change with age.  The course aims to introduce students to theories of perceptual, language, social and emotional development along with encouraging debate on some key conceptual issues (e.g. nature versus nurture). 

Specific topics covered within this course include: Awareness of mental states; information processing theory; face perception and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The broad range of developmental topics make this an ideal course for anyone with an interest in working with children.

The memory component of this course aims to introduce students to the main theoretical components of memory (working and autobiographical memory).  Psychological theories of forgetting and eyewitness memory will also be discussed.

The second component of the course, language, will introduce students to the key issues in psycholinguistics.  This will include assessment of sentence processing, analysis of the processes underlying language production and factors that influence communication in different settings.

The assessment of multiple approaches within both research areas will provide all students with a good basis for developing critical thinking skills.

Social Psychologists explore the psychological factors that influence individual behaviours within social situations.  As such, the aim of this course is to provide students with an introduction to the range of topics within experimental social psychology, with a defined focus on social cognition.

Topics covered within this lecture based course include: Stereotypes; social perception and action; self-control; consciousness and mimicry.

This course provides a scientific explanation for social phenomena, making it ideal for students with an interest in individual and group behaviour.

This course builds on the skills already developed through participation in Methodology A. Similar to that course the aim is to help students prepare, evaluate and run their own Psychological research. As such this is a ‘hands-on’ course, where students will have a second opportunity to conduct a small research project and practice using SPSS for a variety of statistical analyses. The course also builds on the thorough grounding in qualitative and quantitative research methods provided in Methodology A through a second lecture course.  This course also features workshops on employability, providing students with information on career planning, networking etc. 

This course constitutes the final year thesis for the single honours Psychology degree. The thesis is an empirical based one, where the student collects and analyse a body of data in answer to a research question. The thesis itself begins in September and the final draft of the thesis is handed in for assessment the end of the second term. The Schools has an International Level research culture and the final year projects offer the students an opportunity to be involved in that culture. A number of the student projects have contributed towards research publications.

This course aims to provide students with a good understanding of the biological basis of behaviour and cognition.  The course is split into two sections. Section 1 focuses on psychopharmacology, which is the investigation of the effect of medication on normal and abnormal brain function.  Section 2 examines brain function and memory, with a specific focus on the application of this knowledge within the criminal justice system.

Specific topics that will be covered include: neurotransmitters; drug effects; Alzheimer’s disease; memory and psychedelic drugs.

This course is intended for students completing joint honours degrees in Behavioural Studies or Psychology. 

This course constitutes the final year thesis for the single honours Behavioural Studies degree.  The project within the Behavioural Studies programme is a Library based one. Students perform a literature search focused on a topic or question agreed with their supervisor. Students produce under supervision a literature review in answer to a research question. For single honours students the thesis itself begins in September and the final draft of the thesis is handed in for assessment in the beginning of May.

This Level 4 course has two elements; the lecture course options and the critical review. In the second term Level 4 theory course you can pick two courses from the selection which include Cultural Evolution, Vision and Action, Advanced Topics in Language, Abnormal Psychology and Human Factors.  In addition to your choice of courses you will complete a Critical Review of an area of research literature under the supervision of a member of academic staff.  The course allows you to specialise in the areas of psychology at advanced Level and is open only to Behavioural studies/Psychology students

Interaction with the world around us involves perceptual processing using our three main senses: visual (seeing), auditory (hearing) and haptic (touch).  The aim of this course is to consider a range of approaches to human perception, from historical beginnings to recent innovative research.  

Topics covered include: colour perception; face recognition; perception of pain and age related changes in perception.  Students will also engage in guided debate with their peers regarding media portrayal of recent research findings.

This course is intended for students completing joint honours degrees in Behavioural Studies or Psychology. 

This course constitutes the final year thesis for any joint honours Psychology degree. The thesis is an empirical based one, where the student collects and analyse a body of data in answer to a research question. The thesis itself begins in January and the final draft of the thesis is handed in for assessment the end of the second term. The Schools has an International Level research culture and the final year projects offer the students an opportunity to be involved in that culture. A number of the student projects have contributed towards research publications.

This course constitutes final year thesis for any joint honours Behavioural Studies degree.  The project within the Behavioural Studies programme is a Library based one. Students perform a literature search focused on a topic or question agreed with their supervisor. Students produce under supervision a literature review in answer to a research question. For joint honours students the thesis itself begins in January and the final draft of the thesis is handed in for assessment at the end of the second term.

The memory component of this course aims to introduce students to the main theoretical components of memory (working and autobiographical memory).  Psychological theories of forgetting and eyewitness memory will also be discussed.

The second component of the course, language, will introduce students to the key issues in psycholinguistics.  This will include assessment of sentence processing, analysis of the processes underlying language production and factors that influence communication in different settings.

This course is intended for students completing joint honours degrees in Behavioural Studies or Psychology. 

This Level 4 course has two elements; the lecture course options and the critical review. In the second term Level 4 theory course you can pick two courses from the selection which include Brain and Body, Forensic Psychology, Neuroscience of Music, Applied Psychology in the NHS and Social Dynamics.  In addition to your choice of courses you will complete a Critical Review of an area of research literature under the supervision of a member of academic staff.  The course allows you to specialise in the areas of psychology at advanced Level and is open only to Behavioural studies/Psychology honours students.