| UNIT CATALOGUE |
PSYC0001: Psychology 1 Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 1 Assessment: CW100 Requisites: Co PSYC0002, Co PSYC0003 Aims & Learning Objectives: To introduce students to basic concepts and current themes and debates in psychology. To introduce the major methods used in psychological research. To familiarise students with some classic psychological studies. After completing the unit, students will: * Have knowledge of some key studies that have shaped psychology. * Appreciate how psychologists approach research questions concerning the individual in relation to society. * Appreciate the importance of social processes and social group membership in individual mental functioning. Content: Lectures will be broadly based on the question "Who am I" and will focus on society and the individual, conformity and deviance, gender and social identity, the self, language and social life, thinking and reasoning, personality, life span development, and concepts of normality. |
PSYC0002: Mind, brain & behaviour Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 1 Assessment: EX100 Requisites: Co PSYC0001 Aims & Learning Objectives: To develop students' competence in the design, conduct, analysis and reporting of experimental and practical work in psychology. After completing the unit students will: * Understand how experiments in psychology are designed. * Understand the principles for analysing data from experiments. * Be able to plan, execute and analyse an experimental exercise involving data collection. * Be able to write a laboratory report. Content: Skills of experimental psychology will be developed through practical exercises involving data collection and analysis, using appropriate equipment and techniques. Assessment is through the reporting of these exercises. |
PSYC0003: Psychology laboratory 1 Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 1 Assessment: PR100 Requisites: Co PSYC0001 Aims & Learning Objectives: To provide students with the basic skills required for conducting experimental and practical work in psychology. After completing the unit students will: * Understand how to plan and conduct a psychology experiment. * Be familiar with how key classical studies in psychology were conducted. * Be able to write a laboratory report. Content: Students will participate in supervised practical work using appropriate equipment and techniques. They will conduct and analyse experimental and practical studies on a range of psychological topics. They will be assessed on the report of these practical studies. |
PSYC0004: Psychology laboratory 2 Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 1 Assessment: PR100 Requisites: Pre PSYC0001, Pre PSYC0003 Aims & Learning Objectives: To develop students' competence in design, conduct, analysis and reporting of experimental and practical work in psychology. After completing the unit students will: * Understand how experiments in psychology are designed. * Understand the principles for analysing data from experiments. * Be able to plan, execute and analyse an experimental exercise involving data collection. * Be able to write a laboratory report. Content: Skills of experimental psychology will be developed through practical exercises involving data collection and analysis, using appropriate equipment and techniques. Assessment is through the reporting of these exercises. |
PSYC0005: Psychology research project 1 Semester 1 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: PR100 Requisites: Pre PSYC0001, Pre PSYC0003, Pre PSYC0004 Aims & Learning Objectives: To develop students' understanding of, and competence in, the design, conduct, analysis and interpretation of a group research project. After completing the unit students will: * Be able to design and conduct a research project. * Be able to analyse data and interpret it. * Be able to report a research project. * Appreciate the ethical issues around their research. * Be able to appreciate the teamwork involved in group research activity. Content: Each student will conduct a small project in collaboration with a small group, over two semesters. The choice of project topic will derive from staff research interests, as presented in introductory lectures in the first semester. Under supervision, students will develop their project design, obtain ethical approval, carry out data collection, analyse and report it. They will keep a diary of their work and group experience which will be included in summary in the report. Assessment of PSYC0005 in Semester 1 will normally be the write-up of the rationale, design and methodology. Assessment of PSYC0006 in Semester 2 will normally be the write-up of data collection, analysis and discussion. |
PSYC0006: Psychology research project 2 Semester 2 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: PR100 Requisites: Pre PSYC0005 Aims & Learning Objectives: To develop students' understanding of, and competence in, the design, conduct, analysis and interpretation of a group research project. After completing the unit students will: * Be able to design and conduct a research project. * Be able to analyse data and interpret it. * Be able to report a research project. * Appreciate the ethical issues around their research. * Be able to appreciate the teamwork involved in group research activity. Content: Each student will conduct a small project in collaboration with a small group, over two semesters. The choice of project topic will derive from staff research interests, as presented in introductory lectures in the first semester. Under supervision, students will develop their project design, obtain ethical approval, carry out data collection, analyse and report it. They will keep a diary of their work and group experience which will be included in summary in the report. Assessment of PSYC0005 in Semester 1 will normally be the write-up of the rationale, design and methodology. Assessment of PSYC0006 in Semester 2 will normally be the write-up of data collection, analysis and discussion. |
PSYC0007: Developmental psychology Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: EX100 Requisites: Pre PSYC0001, Pre PSYC0057 or PSYC0058 Aims & Learning Objectives: To introduce students to human development from birth to old age. To equip students with knowledge of the major theories and debates in developmental psychology. To familiarise students with the methodologies of developmental psychology. After completing the unit students will: * Understand how psychologists conduct research on human development. * Be familiar with the main theories of human development. * Be aware of major debates and controversies in human development theory and research. * Be able to utilise their knowledge to discuss issues in human development. Content: Key issues in theory of human development. How the 'well-equipped stranger' becomes the competent adult. Stages and developmental shifts. The development of language. The role of culture in human development. The development of self. Life crises and transitions. |
PSYC0008: Cognitive psychology Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: EX100 Requisites: Pre PSYC0002, Pre PSYC0058 Aims & Learning Objectives: To familiarise students with current methodological and theoretical issues in cognitive psychology. To equip students with an understanding of the principles of cognitive processes. To familiarise students with methodological issues in the study of cognition. After completing the unit students will: * Be familiar with the main theories and debates in cognitive psychology. * Be aware of the methods used in research in cognition. * Be able to utilise concepts and research findings in discussion of cognitive processes. Content: Information processing, problem-solving, reasoning, perception and the representation of knowledge. Consciousness, monitoring and attention. How we use tools and their relationship to thinking. Models of mind-brain relations. Problems of logic and rationality. Individual and social factors in tasks and problems. Experts and novices. Decision making. |
PSYC0009: Social psychology Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: CW100 Requisites: Pre PSYC0057 Aims & Learning Objectives: To enable students to understand the relationship between individual, social and cultural psychological processes. To familiarise students with research on the individual in the social context. To provide understanding of the major theoretical debates and recent developments in social psychology. After completing the unit students will: * Be aware of key studies in social psychology. * Be familiar with how psychologists approach the student of communication and the social construction of meaning. * Understand the main theoretical debates about the relationship between the individual and the social and cultural context. Content: Language as dialogue and social negotiation. Rhetoric and discourse: how we persuade, argue, negotiate and interpret. Construction of meaning. The role of metaphor and narrative. Communication processes. Effective and ineffective communication. The relationships between individual schemas, representations and lay theories, and social and cultural repertoires. |
PSYC0010: Clinical psychology Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: CW100 Requisites: Pre PSYC0001, Pre PSYC0002 Aims & Learning Objectives: To introduce the work of clinical psychologists in the main areas of Adult Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and work with older adults. After completing the unit students will: * Have knowledge of key psychotherapeutic techniques. * Understand the role of the clinical psychologist. * Be able to set the work of the clinical psychologist in the context of NHS organisation. * Be able to contrast a psychological approach with other approaches such as psychiatry. Content: The basis of psychiatric diagnosis. Introduction to counselling and psychotherapy. Depression; anxiety; schizophrenia. Loss and bereavement. Learning disabilities. Eating disorders. Older adults and mental health. The context of work and the evaluation of interventions. |
PSYC0011: Psychology dissertation 1 Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: OR100 Requisites: Aims & Learning Objectives: To plan, execute and report a piece of original empirical research in psychology After completing the units the student will: * Be able to conduct an individual piece of psychological research * Be able to reflect on the strengths and limitations of the work and skills involved * Be able to analyse data and to recognise the strengths and limitations of the methods used. * Be able to write a 12,000 word dissertation * Be able to present effectively an oral report of ongoing research. Content: The dissertation is conducted over two semesters. At the end of semester 1, the assessment is an oral presentation of work to date. At the end of semester 2, the assessed work is the complete 12,000 word report. Students are required to design the project, carry out data collection and analysis, and write a critical discussion. |
PSYC0012: Psychology dissertation 2 Semester 2 Credits: 12 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: DS100 Requisites: Pre PSYC0011 Aims & Learning Objectives: To plan, execute and report a piece of original empirical research in psychology After completing the units the student will: * Be able to conduct an individual piece of psychological research * Be able to reflect on the strengths and limitations of the work and skills involved * Be able to analyse data and to recognise the strengths and limitations of the methods used. * Be able to write a 12,000 word dissertation * Be able to present effectively an oral report of ongoing research. Content: The dissertation is conducted over two semesters. At the end of semester 1, the assessment is an oral presentation of work to date. At the end of semester 2, the assessed work is the complete 12,000 word report. Students are required to design the project, carry out data collection and analysis, and write a critical discussion. |
PSYC0013: Models of counselling & psychotherapy Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: EX50 ES50 Requisites: Pre PSYC0010 Aims & Learning Objectives: To introduce the main models of counselling and psychotherapy used in clinical practice. After completing the unit students will: * Be able to formulate a clinical case * Be familiar with the kind of clinical problems that patients present to a therapist * Be able to set models of counselling and psychotherapy in the context of issues and dilemmas involved in working psychotherapeutically Content: The context in which psychotherapists and counsellors work; the main models of psychotherapy - psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, systemic, humanistic and group. Evaluating interventions - outcome and process research. A postmodernist approach to counselling and psychotherapy. |
PSYC0014: History of psychology Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: EX50 ES50 Requisites: Pre PSYC0001, Pre PSYC0002 and 2 units from PSYC0007, PSYC0008, PSYC0009 and PSYC0010. Aims & Learning Objectives: To equip the student with an understanding of the History of Psychology and the relationship between a historical perspective and how a field is conceptualised. After completing the unit students will: * Understand the development of theory. * Understand the development of methodology. * Be familiar with the development of critiques. * Be aware of the relationship between the development of psychology and related fields. * Be aware of the role of social and historical context in historical accounts and in the acceptance of new ideas. Content: The function that historical perspective plays in how we think about a field. Key ideas in the history of psychology; their context and roots. How and why such ideas waxed and waned. The predominant and recurrent themes in the history of psychology. Key individuals in psychology, and how their intellectual lives illuminate how ideas are embedded in cultural and historical context. |
PSYC0015: Economic & political psychology Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: EX50 ES50 Requisites: Pre PSYC0009, Pre PSYC0008 or PSYC0007 Aims & Learning Objectives: To introduce students to the psychological organisation of social, political, economic and ethical beliefs. After completing the unit the students will: * Be familiar with the theoretical models around the organisation of beliefs. * Be aware of models of development and aetiology of beliefs. * Understand how implicit models of psychological processes underpin commonsense conceptions of rationality and ethics. * Be aware of the tensions between 'discourse' and 'ideology' models of explanation. * Appreciate the problematic nature of links between beliefs and action. Content: Psychological models of ideology in the organisation of beliefs. Mainstream and emergent political-social beliefs -feminism, Green politics. Lay beliefs, e.g., about unemployment, poverty, ethics. Concepts of fairness and equity. Moral development. Elite beliefs - what constitutes 'legitimation'? Political propaganda and rhetoric. Social movements, social change and intergroup relations. |
PSYC0016: Health psychology Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: EX50 ES50 Requisites: Pre PSYC0008, Pre PSYC0009 Aims & Learning Objectives: To introduce students to concepts, theory, methods and applications of health psychology, using the concepts of social psychology and psychobiology. After completing the unit students will: * Understand how concepts in health can be assessed. * Understand the concepts around what it means to be healthy, well and have good quality of life. * Know about the range of methods appropriate to measuring and evaluating outcomes in health psychology. * Appreciate some of the key interventions designed by health psychologists for use in clinical and non-clinical settings, in chronic disease. * Be able to set the psychology of health within a broad multidisciplinary context in the health an social sciences. * Be able to appraise the dynamics of organising psychological care within the health care system. Contents: Health psychology interventions for major chronic diseases e.g. cardiovascular, pain. An appraisal of the process of health reporting and health care from the detection of symptoms, decision to consult, through the consultation to adherence to treatment. An appreciation of key concepts; stress, uncertainty, social support. The impact of care. Health promotion and education practices covering smoking, sex, disability, exercise, diet, etc. |
PSYC0017: Controversies in cognition Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: EX50 ES50 Requisites: Pre PSYC0008 Aims & Learning Objectives: To equip the student with an understanding of current issues and controversies in psychology After completing the unit students will: * Understand what is meant by 'controversy' * Be familiar with current debates and their implications for the development of theory and methodology. * Be able to present a critical perspective on the issues. * Be able to evaluate the relevant perspectives in the controversies. Content: Current debates for example in: problems of consciousness, the interface between cognitive psychology, philosophy and neuroscience, connectionist theory and its implications, the rise of evolutionary psychology, the role of culture in human development. |
PSYC0018: Mind & social being Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: EX50 CW50 Requisites: Pre PSYC0008, Pre PSYC0009 Aims & Learning Objectives: To introduce students to the social construction of knowledge in relation to psychological theory and research. After completing the unit students will: * Be able to outline key theories on the nature of the self as a social being. * Be able to analytically apply this understanding to central issues of psychological research: * Be reflexive about their learning and the processes of group work. Contents: 'Discursive psychology'. The importance, in particular, placed on discourse (language, argument); and the social construction of reality (identity, being and becoming). Consciousness, self, gender, identity, the body and emotion in relation to discursive theory. The unit will begin with introductory lectures, and will be followed by student-led presentations and seminars on selected topics. |
PSYC0019: Artificial minds: Minds, machines & persons Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: ES60 CW20 PR20 Requisites: Undergraduates must have taken either PSYC0025 or PSYC0008. Postgraduates must have taken PSYC0036. Aims & Learning Objectives: To introduce the field of computer-based modelling and simulation of human activities which require the intelligent use of knowledge - otherwise known as Artificial Intelligence. After completing the unit students will: * Understand how to approach the question, could human intelligence be simulated, equalled or even exceeded by machines. * Understand how to approach the question; can the machine-metaphor help us to understand human cognitive and social processes? * Be able to apply research in AI to questions concerning the nature of intelligence * Understand the relevance of AI to scientific approaches to the replication of complex human attributes such as problem-solving and language use * Be familiar with key authors and texts * Be able to evaluate claims about computer programs relating to: their power, intelligence and other capabilities; * their influence on theory; * their continuing role in psychological and social research; * their influence on notions of expertise, intelligence, creativity and humanity. Content: Machine-metaphors for human thinking and reasoning and their relationship to evolutionary biology and neurology. The historical background to AI research. Main areas of debate; criticisms made by AI researchers about rival approaches, and arguments from philosophy, sociology and psychology about the attempt to simulate intelligence. |
PSYC0020: Artificial lives: Simulation, modelling & visualisation of complex systems Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: PR60 ES40 Requisites: Pre PSYC0019 Aims & Learning Objectives: To develop students' understanding of applications of computer modelling and simulation techniques to cognitive and social processes After completing the unit students will: * Understand the application of current research in AI and simulation, to the explanation of consciousness. * Understand the application of current research in AI to the exploration of the dynamics of group processes. * Demonstrate basic familiarity with simulation software. * Understand the applications of computer simulation in the natural and social sciences * Demonstrate their understanding of the methods of major research projects. * Be aware of the implications of computer simulation for psychological theories of communication, social interaction, cognition, brain function and consciousness. * Present their work as a research report. Content: The application of biological models in AI and to social processes; complex systems and emergence; the methods used in research in AI, and AI life. Students will undertake practical projects in the form of experiments with computer models and simulation programs, and the evaluation of such programs. |
PSYC0022: Quantitative methods Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: CW50 EX50 Requisites: Aims & Learning Objectives: To develop students' understanding of and competence in, quantitative methods in psychology. The student will develop an understanding of a range of quantitative techniques together with an understanding of their application and use in research methods, and will establish competence in conducting data analysis using appropriate techniques and software. Content: Descriptive and inferential statistics, correlation, regression, analysis of variance, factor analysis, multivariate analysis, the use of specialised statistical software packages. |
PSYC0024: About science 1: history, philosophy & sociology of science Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: CW100 Requisites: Aims & Learning Objectives: About Science aims to familiarise students with changing views of science, technology and medicine and their interaction with society and of the nature of scientific method, and also to develop students' communication skills. To enable students to examine the nature and variety of the sciences by considering a range of investigations and the problems each encounters, particularly in the application of technical knowledge to medical, environmental and other problems. Students will engage both with philosophical and historical studies and with science writers. |
PSYC0025: About science 2: discovery, dissemination & status of scientific knowledge Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: EX80 CW20 Requisites: Pre PSYC0024 or PSYC0001 Aims & Learning Objectives: To present principal views of the nature of scientific knowledge and the methods that produce it, together with critical appraisals of these views derived from case studies of scientific discoveries and controversies. Students will acquire an understanding of specific views of science and of the contested nature of these views, and will develop an analytical and critical approach to ideas and opinions about science. All students have the opportunity to present and defend their own views in an assessed seminar presentation. |
PSYC0026: Public knowledge 3a: history, philosophy & sociology of science Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: ES80 CW20 Requisites: Pre PSYC0025 Aims & Learning Objectives: The course aims to enable students to develop and informed and critical view of the nature of all aspects of scientific activity and the problems arising from the differences between scientific and other approaches to a problem. Students will be able to develop their views about the nature of science and the problems of public understanding of science, on the basis of studies of the interactions of science and technology with political, religious, economic aspects of culture, and will develop an informed understanding by researching and presenting a case study. |
PSYC0028: Psychology placement Academic Year Credits: 60 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: RT100 Requisites: Successful completion of requirements for level 2. Aims & Learning Objectives: To provide the experience of work in a professional psychology context, to facilitate the acquisition and practice of transferable professional research skills. Students will develop planning skills, communication skills, problem-solving skills, experience group work and response to leadership, learn how to make appropriate decisions. They will have the opportunity to apply psychological knowledge acquired in the first two years of the programme. They will normally have the opportunity to undertake an independent research study under supervision, which will form the basis of their dissertation work in the final year. Content: Students will spend 30 weeks attached to an approved supervisor ina professional psychology field. The placement is a pass/ fail assessment based on completion of: 1. A 1500 word report of progress due after 10 weeks - 15% 2. A description of the placement for the file - 15% 3. A research proposal and ethical statement - 20% 4. A final report of 2500 words - 50%. |
PSYC0029: Health, disease, illness & sickness Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: EX Requisites: |
PSYC0030: Health cognitions & health emotions Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: EX Requisites: |
PSYC0031: Treatment, communication and context Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: EX Requisites: |
PSYC0032: Coping with ill health Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: EX Requisites: |
PSYC0033: Advanced research design in health Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0034: Health promotion, disease prevention & health psychology interventions Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: EX Requisites: |
PSYC0035: Measurement & meaning in the natural & social sciences Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0036: History, philosophy & psychology of science Semester 1 Credits: 0 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0040: Communication 2 Semester 2 Credits: 0 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0041: Media workshop 1 Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0042: Media workshop 2 Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0043: Dissertation 1: Design, pilot project & evaluation Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: DS90 OR10 Requisites: Aims & Learning Objectives: (i) to establish a topic and research plan for the dissertation, (ii) to evaluate the feasibility of the planned research on the basis of a pilot study and an evaluation conference, (iii) provide an opportunity for students to present and defend the proposal in a peer seminar. Content: Requires students to apply knowledge and skills acquired on the 色中色 Methods Units to the planning and design of a thesis project, and to prepare and conduct a pilot study. Seminar participation during a project evaluation conference is required. |
PSYC0043: Dissertation 1: Design, pilot project & evaluation Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: DS90 OR10 Requisites: Aims & Learning Objectives: (i) to establish a topic and research plan for the dissertation, (ii) to evaluate the feasibility of the planned research on the basis of a pilot study and an evaluation conference, (iii) provide an opportunity for students to present and defend the proposal in a peer seminar. Content: Requires students to apply knowledge and skills acquired on the 色中色 Methods Units to the planning and design of a thesis project, and to prepare and conduct a pilot study. Seminar participation during a project evaluation conference is required. |
PSYC0044: Dissertation - research & write up 1 Semester 2 Credits: 12 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0045: Dissertation - research & write up 2 (MSc) Semester 1 Credits: 0 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0045: Dissertation - research & write up 2 (MSc) Semester 2 Credits: 24 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: DS100 Requisites: |
PSYC0046: The cultures of belief Semester 2 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: ES70 PR30 Requisites: Co PSYC0047, Ex PSYC0059 Aims & Learning Objectives: This unit provides an historical exposition of the changing relationship between major religious traditions and western science, and a critical discussion of theses about the ways in which religion and science interact.Students will be expected to demonstrate, through written assignments and seminar discussion, that they have mastered the arguments of at least two main authors or schools and can make a critical appraisal of these arguments. Additionally, postgraduate degree students will understand and be able to explain the relevance of these positions and arguments to contemporary issues in the public understanding of science, particularly the popularisation of scientific theories. Content: Attention will be given to historical and philosophical views of the nature of religion and of science, theses about their interaction (e.g., conflict, independence, interdependence); each of the main theses will be examined in the light of recent historical and critical studies. The application by popular science writers of core scientific theories to religious and metaphysical themes is also explored. |
PSYC0047: Science and religion Semester 2 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: ES80 OR20 Requisites: Co PSYC0046, Ex PSYC0060 Aims & Learning Objectives: This unit examines the roles of religious and scientific traditions in western culture with particular reference to Christian theology, traditions and religious practices, in order to provide (1) an deeper understanding of the cultural context of the ways in which Christianity and western science interact and (2) an analytical basis to evaluate claims about the implications of religious beliefs and practices for science and of scientific developments for Christianity.Students will be expected to demonstrate, through written assignments and seminar discussion, that they have mastered the arguments of at least two main authors or schools and can make a critical appraisal of these arguments. Postgraduate degree students will understand and be able to explain the relevance of the interaction of western science and religious traditions to contemporary issues in the public understanding of science, particularly the popularisation of scientific theories as presented in popular books and films. Content: Studies of the cultural context of historical and philosophical views of the nature of religion and of science; critical analysis of theses about their interaction; examination and appraisal of historical and contemporary claims about the implications of science for religions and of religion for science; implications for Public Understanding of Science, esp. the place of science in post-modern culture. Students will be expected to demonstrate through seminar discussion, an assessed oral presentation and an extended essay that they have mastered the arguments of the main authors or protagonists and can make a critical appraisal of their arguments. |
PSYC0048: Social research method workshop A Semester 2 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0049: Social research method workshop B Semester 2 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0050: Social research method workshop Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0051: Placement Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0052: Economic & environmental psychology Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: EX Requisites: |
PSYC0053: Morals, markets & politics Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: EX100 Requisites: Aims & learning objectives To examine the role of moral considerations, values and notions of fairness in citizenship and the operation of commercial markets. Contents Profit, loss, fairness and expectations; ethical investing; consumer boycotts and shareholder action; charitable giving and public expenditure; self interest and social welfare; the development of societal competence and citizenship. |
PSYC0054: 色中色 proposal (& oral presentation) Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0055: Dissertation Semester 2 Credits: 36 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: DS100 Requisites: Aims & Learning Objectives: To provide students with the opportunity to carry out an independent research project by putting into practice some of the methods, theories and skills that they have learned. Content: The student will carry out a substantial research project of their own design, in health psychology, under the joint supervision of a practising health psychologist and an academic supervisor. |
PSYC0057: Becoming a social person Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 1 Assessment: EX50 ES50 Requisites: Pre PSYC0001 Aims & Learning Objectives: To equip the student with an understanding of how we become 'social beings'. Students will understand the core questions of social psychology and the development of social processes. They will be acquainted with classic studies in social and developmental psychology and the ways in which psychologists have approached the social nature of the human. Content: The unit will use 'classic' studies in social and developmental psychology to address the following: How do we form early relationship and attachment? How do we make friends? How do we form impressions of others? How do we behave in groups? How do groups affect our identity? What is the basis of prejudice, discrimination and inter-group relations? How do we develop and change our beliefs and attitudes? |
PSYC0058: Intelligence & mental processes Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 1 Assessment: EX100 Requisites: Pre PSYC0001 Aims & Learning Objectives: To provide a foundation understanding of cognitive processes. The student will understand the basic questions that psychologists have addressed regarding learning, memory and reasoning. They will have been introduced to the methods and theories by which research has been conducted in general psychology. Content: This unit will introduce some of the classic studies which address the questions: How do we learn? How do we remember? How do we reason and solve problems? How have psychologists thought about learning, remembering and reasoning? How have psychologists thought about intelligence and how has it been measured? How does intelligence develop? What is the role of emotion in our understanding of the world? What can we learn from the errors we make? The unit will highlight different approaches in psychology and where they contrast. |
PSYC0059: The cultures of belief Semester 2 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: ES70 PR30 Requisites: Co PSYC0060, Ex PSYC0046 Aims & Learning Objectives: This unit provides an historical exposition of the changing relationship between major religious traditions and western science, and a critical discussion of theses about the ways in which religion and science interact. Students will be expected to demonstrate, through written assignments and seminar discussion, that they have mastered the arguments of at least two main authors or schools and can make a critical appraisal of these arguments. Content: Attention will be given to historical and philosophical views of the nature of religion and of science, theses about their interaction (e.g., conflict, independence, interdependence); each of the main theses will be examined in the light of recent historical and critical studies. The application by popular science writers of core scientific theories to religious and metaphysical themes is also explored. This unit shares teaching with the postgraduate unit The cultures of belief (PSYC0046). |
PSYC0060: Science & religion Semester 2 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: ES70 OR30 Requisites: Co PSYC0059, Ex PSYC0047 Aims & Learning Objectives: This unit examines the roles of religious and scientific traditions in western culture with particular reference to Christian theology, traditions and religious practices, in order to provide (1) an deeper understanding of the cultural context of the ways in which Christianity and western science interact and (2) an analytical basis to evaluate claims about the implications of religious beliefs and practices for science and of scientific developments for Christianity. Students will be expected to demonstrate, through written assignments and seminar discussion, that they have mastered the arguments of at least two main authors or schools and can make a critical appraisal of these arguments. Content: Studies of the cultural context of historical and philosophical views of the nature of religion and of science; critical analysis of theses about their interaction; examination and appraisal of historical and contemporary claims about the implications of science for religions and of religion for science; implications for Public Understanding of Science, esp. the place of science in post-modern culture. Students will be expected to demonstrate through seminar discussion, an assessed oral presentation and an essay that they have mastered the arguments of the main authors or protagonists and can make a critical appraisal of their arguments. This unit shares teaching with the postgraduate unit Science & religion (PSYC0047). |
PSYC0061: Artificial minds: Minds, machines & persons Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: ES30 RT30 PR20 OR20 Requisites: Pre PSYC0036, Ex PSYC0019 Aims & Learning Objectives: This course introduces some recent research in the field of computer-based modeling and simulation of human activities which require the intelligent use of knowledge, otherwise known as Artificial Intelligence. We will approach machine intelligence through two complementary questions: could human intelligence be simulated, equalled or even exceeded by machines? Can the machine-metaphor still help us understand human cognitive and social processes? Students will understand the relevance of research in A. I. To larger questions concerning the nature of intelligence and of scientific approaches to the replication of complex attributes such as intelligence. MSc/Diploma students will additionally be expected to relate their understanding to issues addressed in MSc core units, specifically the significance of boundary issues (human, animal and machine) and the debates on public understanding of scientific research on AI and robotics. Content: Machine-metaphors for human thinking and reasoning now compete with evolutionary biology and neurology for influence in both psychological and sociological approaches to human behaviour. The course will provide historical background, will introduce some of the main approaches and research projects in the field, and will set out two main areas of debate: criticisms made by AI researchers about rival approaches, and arguments of philosophers, sociologists and psychologists about the attempt to simulate intelligence. Students will become familiar with key authors and texts, and will learn to evaluate claims about computer programs relating to: * their power, intelligence or other capabilities * their influence upon psychological and social theory * their continuing role in psychological and social research * their influence on our notions of expertise, intelligence, creativity and humanity. MSc/Diploma students will undertake research for an additional essay on the impact of AI research on human/machine boundaries. This unit shares teaching with the undergraduate unit of the same title PSYC0019. |
PSYC0062: Artificial lives: Simulation, modelling & visualisation of complex systems Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: PR60 ES40 Requisites: Ex PSYC0020 Aims & Learning Objectives: This unit allows students to develop their understanding of recent applications of computer modeling and simulation techniques to cognitive and social processes. Students will be required to examine the literature relating to two influential developments simulation techniques. No prior programming or modeling experience is necessary, but practical work with simulation software will be expected. Students will understand the application of current research techniques in AI and simulation to the explanation of consciousness and to the exploration of the dynamics of group processes, and demonstrate basic familiarity with simulation software and the evaluation of its use. MSc/Diploma candidates will be expected to demonstrate a wider understanding of the development, significance and evaluation of simulation techniques in the natural and social sciences. Content: This course explores the application of biological models in AI and to social processes. Students will be expected to understand the applications of computer simulation in the natural and social sciences, the methods of two major research projects(in cognitive psychology or a social science), and the implications of computer simulation for psychological theories of communication, social interaction, cognition, brain function and consciousness. Students will undertake practical projects in the form of experiments with computer models and simulation programs, and the evaluation of such programs, which will be written up as a project report. Postgraduate students will undertake an extended project which extends their competence in the use of a particular simulation and in the evaluation of simulation methods. This unit shares teaching with the undergradate unit of the same title PSYC0020. |
PSYC0063: Controversies in cognition Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: EX50 ES50 Requisites: Pre PSYC0036, Ex PSYC0017 Aims & Learning Objectives: To equip the student with an understanding of current issues and controversies in psychology. Additionally, MSc/Diploma students will be expected to relate their understanding to issues addressed in MSc core units, specifically the significance of controversiality in science and the debates on public understanding of science. Content: The course will address key issues in contemporary psychology relating to cognition, language and models of mind. These will include: problems of consciousness and the interface of neuroscience, cognitive science and philosophy; connectionist theory and its implications; the rise of evolutionary psychology; debates about culture and human development. An additional requirement for MSc students is to discuss the development of one of the above debates in relation to contemporary public understanding of the significance of psychological research. This unit shares teaching with the undergraduate unit PSYC0017 of the same title. |
PSYC0064: Placement Semester 2 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: Requisites: |
PSYC0065: Multivariate statistics for use in health contexts 1 Semester 1 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: CW100 Requisites: Co PSYC0066 Aims & Learning Objectives: To equip students with the skills to use and interpret multivariate statistics using SPSS and an appreciation of the applications of multivariate analysis in health. Content: Refresher session in univariate parametric and non-parametric statistics using SPSS: advanced correlations & factor analysis, discriminant analysis, ANOVA & ANCOVA. |
PSYC0066: Multivariate statistics for use in health contexts 2 Semester 1 Credits: 3 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: CW100 Requisites: Co PSYC0065 Aims & Learning Objectives: To equip students with the skills to use and interpret multivariate statistics using SPSS and an appreciation of the applications of multivariate analysis in health. Content: Multiple regression (simple, stepwise and hierarchical), Path analysis, MANOVA & MANCOVA. |
PSYC0067: Communication theory Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: EX50 ES50 Requisites: Aims & Learning Objectives: To enable students to understand the psychological principles of communication. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of how meaning, discourse and rhetoric are constructed and interpreted. Content: The unit will cover the analysis of meaning, and on problems of interpretation and construction of meaning. through looking at rhetoric, semiotics, 'common ground', discourse, narrative and metaphor. There will be material on the psychology of intra and inter group communication, and on general theories of communication; medium and message issues, and formal and informal channels of communication. Culture and context, both macro and micro, will be explored. Core Reading; A A Berger Cultural Criticism, Sage 1998 A A Berger Media 色中色 Techniques Sage 1998 M Billig Arguing and Thinking Cambridge 1995 R Harr� & G Gillett The Discursive Mind Sage 1995 A Mattelart and M Mattelart Theories of Communication, Sage, 1998 S Turkle Life on the Screen; identity in the age of the Internet, Simon & Schuster 1995 |
PSYC0069: 色中色 methods & design Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 2 Assessment: CW50 ES50 Requisites: Pre PSYC0003, Pre PSYC0004 Aims & Learning Objectives: This purpose of this course is to provide students with in-depth understanding and competence in quantitative and qualitative methods in terms of the range of approaches to knowledge, research designs, techniques, applications, procedures and analysis of data. Students will be able to (1) explain, design and critically evaluate key quantitative and qualitative research procedures used in psychological research. (2) Assess the practical issues of research such as reliability, validity, research design and the interpretation of research data. (3) Conduct an interview and focus group and apply a form of qualitative analysis on the derived data. Content: Overview of research methods, sampling, 'real world' issues, reliability, validity, questionnaire design and validation, Q-Methodology, interviewing, observation, focus groups, analysis of discourse and text. |
PSYC0070: Science & communication I Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Level 3 Assessment: CW50 EX50 Requisites: Aims & Learning Objectives: To equip students with an appreciation of the main debates in the relationship between science and public understanding, and with knowledge of communication theory and methods of analysis. Students will understand the theoretical and methodological issues involved in science communication. They will be familiar with the role of language discourse, rhetoric and metaphor in written, visual and virtual media. They will be acquainted with major controversies around science and 'anti-science' and in areas of scientific debate. They will be familiar with issues relating to efforts to increase public understanding of science, and the relationship between science and culture. Content: The 'Two Cultures' debate and its heirs; Public understanding of science: the history of recent agendas; What constitutes 'science'?; Scientific literacy criticised: how to study (measure, analyse) what people understand and don't understand about science and what we can learn from this - examples from understanding the immune system; Science fiction and representations of science; the role of metaphor; Mechanisms of rhetoric; Discourse and narrative; the relationship between politics, activism and science; Epistemic cultures: how knowledge is held and transmitted. |
PSYC0071: Science & communication I Semester 1 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: CW25 EX25 OT50 Requisites: This unit is a postgraduate version of the undergraduate unit PSYC0070 Aims & Learning Objectives: To equip students with an appreciation of the main debates in the relationship between science and public understanding, and with knowledge of communication theory and methods of analysis. Students will understand the theoretical and methodological issues involved in science communication. They will be familiar with the role of language discourse, rhetoric and metaphor in written, visual and virtual media. They will be acquainted with major controversies around science and 'anti-science' and in areas of scientific debate. They will be familiar with issues relating to efforts to increase public understanding of science, and the relationship between science and culture. Content: The 'Two Cultures' debate and its heirs; Public understanding of science: the history of recent agendas; What constitutes 'science'?; Scientific literacy criticised: how to study (measure, analyse) what people understand and don't understand about science and what we can learn from this - examples from understanding the immune system; Science fiction and representations of science; the role of metaphor; Mechanisms of rhetoric; Discourse and narrative; the relationship between politics, activism and science; Epistemic cultures: how knowledge is held and transmitted. |
PSYC0072: Science & communication II Semester 2 Credits: 6 Contact: Level: Postgraduate Assessment: CW40 EX40 OR20 Requisites: Pre PSYC0071 Aims & Learning Objectives: To provide students with the skills to analyse and interpret science communication and the relationship between science and culture, building on Science and Communication 1 Students will be able to use interpretative methods for analysing film, video, written and virtual media material relating to science communication. They will be able to present such analyses using a range of media techniques. Content: Brain science and science fiction brains; changing cultural conceptions of mind/brain and mental health; the metaphor of 'connections' in portrayal of the brain and its development - dangers to the brain, and the dangerous brain; Analysis of film/drama; video documentary; written text; the Internet. |