Psychology BSc

An introduction to the core topics in social psychology, which is concerned with trying to understand the social behaviour of individuals in terms of both internal characteristics of the person (e.g. cognitive mental processes) and external influences (the social environment).

Lectures will cover topics including how we define the self, attitudes, attribution, obedience, aggression, pro-social behaviour and formation of friendships.

You will have a one-hour lecture weekly.

You will address several different psychological topics using a range of investigative procedures, primarily based on the experimental method.

The module will enable you to critically assess previous research and to design, as well as conduct, analyse, and report on your own studies.

You will learn how to program and use computer software for research and will have the opportunity to be a participant in another person’s study.

You will have a three-hour practical class every other week, plus a two-hour seminar weekly.

An introduction to the fascinating world of the developing child.

Lectures consider different theoretical, applied, and experimental approaches to cognitive, linguistic, and social development from early to late childhood.

Topics include the development of thinking, perception, drawing, understanding the mind, intelligence, attachment, language, and moral development.

You will have a one-hour lecture weekly.

This full-year module introduces you to basic aspects of research design, and to the statistical representation and analysis of data.

You will be trained in statistical analysis, using software such as the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).

You will gain an understanding of the issues underlying experimental and correlational research designs.

You will have a one-hour lecture weekly.

Cognitive psychology is the study of mental processes, and this module will provide an introduction to the methods used by cognitive psychologists in their investigations of mental processes in humans.

A wide range of topics will be discussed, with some introductory discussion of how they limit human performance in applied contexts. The mental processes to be covered include those that support attention, perception, language, memory, and thinking.

You will have two one-hour lectures per week for this module.

An introduction to the neural and biological bases of cognition and behaviour. You will learn about the structure and evolution of the brain and the main functions of the different parts.

You will examine how the brain receives, transmits, and processes information at the neural level, as well as its visual pathways. The main scientific methods for investigating brain and behaviour will also be covered.

You will have two hours of lectures weekly.

You will have four small group sessions per semester. Two of these will be related to topics covered in core lecture modules, and two will be based on more general transferrable skills such as essay writing, making presentations, studying for exams, critiquing research papers, and careers. In addition to these scheduled seminars, you will be assigned a personal advisor with whom you will have individual meetings every semester.

You’ll learn about the scientific, historical, and philosophical underpinnings of psychology as a discipline, which will demonstrate the inherent variability and diversity in the theoretical approaches to psychology.

By the end of the module, you will have a good knowledge and critical understanding of the influences of history on psychological theories.

Examine theories and experimental studies of social processes and human development.

Topics relating to social processes will include:

• social cognition and social thinking
• conformity and obedience
• intergroup behaviour
• theories of attraction and relationships
• prosocial behaviour and intrinsic motivation
• self-determination

Human development topics are also explored in depth such as the:

• development of phonology
• importance of social referencing in early language acquisition
• atypical socio-cognitive development in people with autism

This module will cover issues in neuroscience and behaviour that are particularly relevant to understanding the biological bases of psychological functions.

Among the topics to be covered are psychopharmacology, psychobiological explanations of mental disorders, dementia, sexual development and behaviour, and methods of studying neuropsychological processes.

You will also examine the effects of brain damage on mental functioning including amnesias, agnosias, and aphasias, among other topics.

You will examine in greater depth - perception, language, human memory, thinking, and problem-solving.

For each topic, you will explore existing theories and contemporary issues to enable you to take an interdisciplinary perspective.

You will explore psychological explanations of personality and individual differences. In particular, the major personality theories are considered in detail and the application of these theories to areas such as abnormal psychology, criminal behaviour, and health are discussed. IQ is also covered and the evolutionary bases of traits. Complementary and alternatives to trait approaches are discussed.

This full-year practical module is designed to give you hands-on experience with designing, running, analysing, and reporting scientific experiments. These practical skills complement the theoretical concepts taught in the statistical courses.

You will gain the ability to conduct and evaluate scientific studies within a small group. You will learn how to interpret statistical output such as SPSS printouts, and understand the implications of the results of statistical tests.

You will have a two-hour practical session per week.

This module will cover the basic concepts and assumptions with respect to univariate and multivariate statistics, as well as issues relating to field studies, ethics, the reliability and validity issues as well as basic qualitative techniques.

The module will cover ANOVA, post-hoc tests, power, multiple linear regression, factor analysis, the nature of causality and field designs (both experimental and quasi-experimental), ethics, the reliability and validity of measures and field designs, as well as exploring some basic issues in questionnaire design and qualitative methods. 

You will have four small group sessions per semester. Two of these will be related to topics covered in core lecture modules, and two will be based on more general transferrable skills such as essay writing, making presentations, studying for exams, critiquing research papers, and careers. In addition to these scheduled seminars, you will be assigned a personal advisor with whom you will have individual meetings every semester.

This module will give you the chance to carry out an extended piece of research based on your interests.

A member of academic staff will supervise you in designing, carrying out, analysing, and writing up your project.

The work will be either empirical or computational in nature to test a hypothesis which can be original, or you can extend or replicate an existing study.

You will cover modern version of nativist and empiricist theories of cognitive development.

This module will also give you an overview of current theories which have been proposed to explain Autism Spectrum Disorder. It will provide an evaluation of these theories using behavioural, clinical and neurophysiological evidence from a range of domains including drawing and musical skills (savant skills), scientific knowledge, maths, social learning (trust and imitation) and social motivation.

You will have two hours of lectures per week for this module.

You will receive an introduction to this growing area of psychology, with a focus on criminality. The module will concentrate on offending behaviours, typical categorisation of those who commit crimes or harm themselves, standard interventions for offenders, and the neuroscience of offending.

The module will also cover the current research on specific offending behaviours, and examine the role of the criminal justice system and health service in dealing with individuals who offend.

You’ll have two hours of lectures per week for this module.

An introduction to the concepts of clinical psychology and the application of psychology in clinical settings.

The module illustrates how psychological models are developed and how they are applied in developing interventions. You will examine theory and evaluation of interventions for a number of disorders/clinical issues.

During this module you will have two hours of lectures weekly. 

You will cover theories and models of altruism, cooperation, and helping from the perspective of psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology.

The module will consider why people sometimes don’t help and actively try to benefit at others' expense (e.g. free-riding) and apply these models to anti-social behaviour, and how we cooperate to inflict injury on other groups. You will also examine models of helping, and consider why people ask for help. You will look at how charities implement some of these principles and whether they are successful.

You will have two hours per week of lectures for this module. 

Examine the psychological and neural basis for the planning and control of human action. Students will be introduced to scientific research, through their guided exploration of the neuropsychological bases for human action.

During the module, you will experience the multi-disciplinary nature of research into human behaviour, and by the end of the course, you will understand how a single issue can be addressed from multiple perspectives including:

• experimental psychology
• neurophysiology
• neuroanatomy
• neuropsychology
• functional brain-imaging

An introduction to the contexts in which educational psychologists operate by examining the historical development of the profession within a set of major legislative and policy contexts, such as the drive to increase social inclusion.

The module will concentrate on assessment and intervention work with specific populations such as young people who display challenging behaviour in schools, vulnerable adolescents, and bilingual learners.

You will also examine psychological approaches to group work with teachers and pupils as well as the application of system theory in helping transform aspects of schools and other organisations.

There will be two hours of lectures per week.

You will examine the deficits seen in individuals who have suffered brain damage. You will learn about the impairments to language, memory, perception, attention, motor control, executive control, and emotion.

This module evaluates both the clinical and theoretical aspects of these syndromes. In particular, you will evaluate the implications regarding how the healthy brain functions.

Supported by lectures, seminars and tutorials, this module aims to provide you with an understanding of the mechanisms of learning and memory in human and non-human animals, and an analysis of pathological conditions involving these systems.

You’ll study topics that include:

• perceptual learning
• the contextual and attentional modulation of learning and behaviour
• neuroscience-focused topics such as the role of the hippocampus in memory

Clinical topics include:

• the acquisition of phobias
• memory discords
• the psychological side effects of cancer treatment
• depression

You will have four small group sessions per semester. Two of these will be related to topics covered in core lecture modules, and two will be based on more general transferrable skills such as essay writing, making presentations, studying for exams, critiquing research papers, and careers. In addition to these scheduled seminars, you will be assigned a personal advisor with whom you will have individual meetings every semester.