Psychology

Core modules

Psychological Research in Context

Explore the history and context of contemporary research in psychology. You will ask questions such as: What is psychology and how has it evolved? What are the debates that influence contemporary psychology? What are the multiple perspectives on psychology?

Cognitive and Biological Psychology (one)

Study the cognitive and biological aspects of psychology with particular emphasis on human experimental psychology and neuroscience. You will be introduced to: the structure and function of the brain and allied structures; the main approaches taken in behavioural neuroscience, such as functional neuroanatomy and neurophysiology; the language of biological psychology; the study of cognitive processes in a range of domains, such as perception, attention, memory, language, and thinking; the methods of investigating "hidden" mental processes; and understanding how empirical evidence can inform theory about how these processes are organised.

Social and Developmental Psychology (one)

Examine the fundamental aspects of social psychology, such as social attitudes and attribution, and developmental psychology, such as social, cognitive and emotional development during childhood. You will begin to consider the significance of social context for development, and develop a critical awareness of social and developmental psychological research.

Research Methods (one)

An introduction to a variety of research methods used in psychology. You have the opportunity to develop and practice report-writing skills, understand experimentation and self-report methods, and gain practical experience. You will run and report upon your study in groups. You will be required to formulate hypotheses, search for and review any relevant literature in the library, prepare necessary materials or instruments, select a sample, collect and analyse data using appropriate statistical techniques, interpret the findings, and produce an individual written report of the work undertaken.

Statistics (one)

Study the fundamental concepts and practices of statistical data analysis in psychology. By the end of the module, you should be able to design research studies in psychology, and be familiar with a range of descriptive, nonparametric, and parametric statistics. The module is assessed by one examination at the end of the module. Continuous feedback throughout the year will help you progress, help you develop your skills, and act as resource to draw upon when conducting research.

Core modules

Critical Thinking in Psychology

You will consider some of the key debates in contemporary psychology and discuss how these inform current research and practice.

Cognitive and Biological Psychology (two)

Building upon the module in Year One, you will explore in depth – and critically evaluate from a cognitive and biological perspective – concepts and research methodologies in topics such as memory, attention, sensation, and perception. You will also understand of how the evidence from investigations can inform theory about how these processes are organised and how to become a critical reader of research literature.

Social and Developmental Psychology (two)

You will complete a comprehensive study on areas in social psychology, including prejudice and social identity, intergroup contact and conflict, and altruism. From developmental psychology you will study development within social and cultural contexts, the role of families and peers in development, and sociocultural perspectives on schooling.

Research Methods and Statistics (two)

An integrated module studying advanced experimental, psychometric and qualitative research techniques in laboratory practicals. Supporting this are a series of lectures and workshops designed to help you develop your statistical knowledge and skills. Laboratory work will involve one experimental study, one regression-based study, and a qualitative study. All studies will be on an area relevant to psychology. You will be organised into small groups, and each group will have to run and report upon their study. You will also be required to formulate hypotheses, search for and review relevant literature, prepare or select necessary stimuli or scales, select a sample, collect and analyse data appropriately, interpret findings, and produce individual reports of the work undertaken. The module will also build upon the content of Statistics (one). Particular emphasis will be placed on factorial ANOVA and the concept of interaction. You will also consider the theory and statistical techniques associated primarily with non-experimental research. These include multiple regression, Cronbach’s alpha, multiple correlations, and exploratory factor analysis.

Individual Differences and Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology

Examine several key topics aligned to individual differences in psychology – including personality, intelligence, motivation, mood, and mental health – placing this material in context from a historical and cultural perspective. Topics covered will include: the theories and approaches to understanding and investigating personality and intelligence; historical evolution of approaches to studying individual differences; real-world applications of individual differences for assessment, and intervention into emotional experiences, stress and coping, and health and illness; therapeutic implications of approaches to personality and personality growth; and applying concepts and theories in individual differences to society, e.g. in the workplace, education or training.

Specialist routes in Psychology

Taking the BSc (Hons) Psychology course enables you to apply to specialise in a particular area. These specialisms start in Year Two. The routes you could specialise in and the bespoke modules you may study include:

Cognition and Neuroscience

Critical Thinking in Cognition and Neuroscience

You’ll consider some of the key debates in cognition and neuroscience and discuss how these inform current research and practice.

Social and Cultural Psychology

Critical Thinking in Social and Cultural Psychology

You’ll consider some of the key debates in social and cultural psychology and discuss how these inform current research and practice.

You will also have the option to apply to specialise in Mental Health, Forensic Psychology and Educational and Developmental Psychology from Year Two onwards.

Core modules

Professional Practice in Psychology

Addressing aspects of professional psychology, you will work on a problem from a set of professional scenarios and form a project team to address the problem. The first half of the module addresses a single area of professional practice; theory and application of occupational and organisational psychology. The second half of the module uses problem-based learning methods to give you an experience of professional project work across a broader range of applied areas of interest. Students select a problem from a set of professional scenarios and form a project team to address the problem. The project team work as a group to produce a consultancy report of their findings and each student writes an essay reflecting on their experiences.

Psychology Research Project

A major piece of work whereby you will carry out independent research, the topic and design of which is decided upon in consultation with a supervisor. The project will demonstrate that you can conduct an extended research report, as well as an understanding of the methodological skills and presentational techniques developed throughout the course.

Optional modules

If you are studying on the BSc (Hons) Psychology course without a specialist pathway you will choose one module from each set. Choice is more restricted on the specialist pathways so that the focus is on modules relating to the pathway.

Optional modules currently include:

Set A

Cyberpsychology

Study the impact of the Internet and new technologies on our social relationships and the ways we relate to each other, as well as more technical aspects of cyberpsychology and philosophical issues relating to how we do, might, or should interact within virtual environments.

Contesting Mental Illness: The Psychology of Distress 

This modules focuses on critiquing key assumptions behind mainstream psychiatry and exploring psychological and service-user led alternatives. Through taking this approach, you'll develop a psychological foundation for understanding mental health difficulties, along with developing important employability skills relevant to a career in clinical psychology and the helping professions.

Gender, Identity and Body Image

A social constructionist stance allows you to challenge the taken for granted â€کobviousness’ of our assumptions about a number of issues relating to gender, identity and body image.

Health Psychology of Chronic Illness

Health psychology is an interdisciplinary field, concerned with the application of psychological knowledge to health, illness and healthcare. Its primary purpose is to understand and improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. This module will introduce students to some of the core areas within the field, exploring key concepts used in the study of both healthy and ill populations. The module will cover contemporary psychological theories of health and illness from a number of perspectives, and will draw upon research that has used a variety of methodological approaches.

Psychopathology: Phenomenology, Assessment, Treatment and Current Issues

It has been estimated that mental illness accounts for a third of all illnesses in the UK, and a quarter of the population will be affected at some point in the lifespan. The overarching aim of this module is to develop students’ knowledge of mental disorders and topics relevant to clinical psychology. Specifically, this module aims to: provide students with comprehensive knowledge of psychological disorders in adults and psychological and developmental disorders in children; provide awareness about current clinical practice such as commonly adopted classification (DSM-V) and recommended treatments (NICE guidelines); develop students’ understanding of theory, research and current issues around clinical psychology and consider their impact; critically evaluate recent psychological research and scrutinise its application to contemporary clinical practice; and encourage consideration of multiple viewpoints and critically examine different approaches in the field.

Trauma in Children and Adolescents: The Impact on Health and the Role of Resilience

The aim of the module is to provide theoretical understanding of the impact of childhood trauma on children and adolescents, and to provide an understanding of the role and roots of resilience. The module seeks to provide students with knowledge about the signs and symptoms, behavioural patterns, and underlying psychological and biological changes associated with psychopathology after childhood and adolescent trauma.

Psychology of Religion

Why does religion exist? What function does it serve in society? What’s the difference between a cult and a religion? What is the difference between a psychotic hallucination and a religious vision? What is the role of religion and spirituality in everyday life? How might it contribute to our wellbeing? How might religious practices have something to offer society (e.g. mindfulness practice of Buddhism). These are the sorts of questions that will be explored in this module. Lectures will typically include: the historical and cultural background to religion and spirituality; the evolutionary, biological, social and cognitive explanations for religion; understanding cults and why people join them; the psychology of religious and spiritual experiences and practices.

Occupational Psychology

Occupational Psychology is concerned with the application of psychological knowledge for the understanding of individual behaviour in organisations and workplaces.

Mind Reading and Mind Control

Psychologists are often asked if they know what people are thinking. This module will explore the extent to which current methods in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience allow us to read people’s minds, and even control what they are thinking. It will provide you with a critical and practical understanding of the modern developments that enable us to determine the inner workings of the mind.

Personality, Personality Disorder and Violence

This module aims to provide students with an understanding of personality by discussing the most prominent personality models such as the Five Factor Model, and more specific maladaptive trait models, such as the Dark Triad.

Psychology in the Criminal Justice System

The module will develop students' knowledge of the utilisation of psychology within the criminal justice system and investigative procedures.

Psychology of Criminal Behaviour

The module will develop students' knowledge of the utilisation of psychology to explain a range of criminal behaviours.

Black and Cultural Psychology

Qualitative II: Applied and Creative Approaches to Qualitative Research

Set B

Biological Perspectives on Psychiatric Disorders

This module examines biological accounts of psychiatric disorders, concentrating particularly on how biology links to cognitive deficits that are symptomatic of a disorder.

Community, Health and Applied Social Psychology

This module aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of how to apply social psychological theory and research to marginalised and / or disempowered communities and â€کreal world’ social issues. You will be prompted to use a community psychology approach to understanding health and well-being so that they do not solely focus on the individual or on society in general, but will seek to understand the relationship between the two. Students will be equipped with the skills to work with  individuals, cohesive community groups, and marginalised / disempowered sections within society and will work together to explore methods of how to promote health and well-being within these groups. Topics covered may include: social determinants of health; tackling health inequalities; stress, coping and mental health; social identity and mental health recovery; identity development over the life-span; dealing with prejudice and cultivating an inclusive approach to addressing social problems.

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology examines to what extent human behaviour can be explained by our evolutionary past and covers topics ranging from cooperation, cheating, comparative psychology and the evolution of the social brain.

Psychology, Educational Needs and Inclusion

Develop your own specialist understanding of a particular area of educational support needs, while encouraging critical reflection on the role that psychology can and does play in that particular area.

Statistics (three): Advanced Statistics for Research

Study advanced methods of statistical data analysis the kind necessary to study complex real-world data set. You will be introduced to sophisticated methods of statistical computing and deal with real world data.

Psychology of the Paranormal

The aim of this module is to introduce and provide a background to a variety of existential experiences, variously termed 'psychical’, 'spiritual', â€کparanormal’, 'anomalous', or â€کexceptional’ experiences, or 'aberrant perceptions or beliefs' by the research and health professionals active in this field. You will define the experiences and explore the psychological models and methods that have been postulated to explain them, critically appraise the various approaches and perspectives as applied to a core set of contemporary topics that distinguish this field of work.

Psychology of the Family

The aim of this module is to explore the psychology of the family, including their composition and context. The module will consider the various ways in which psychologists study families, including a critical evaluation of the methods used. The module curriculum will take a student-led approach, using your previous knowledge and understanding to design the content within the parameters set by the teaching team. This approach will encourage you, as a group, to be responsible and directive about your own learning. The focus of this module is on the family as a unit, it is not a developmental psychology module.

Person Perception

Human faces, voices and bodies are information rich, biologically and socially significant objects. The primary aim of this module is to explore how we detect, process and perceive them, or how we fail to do so. The module will consider how we represent and process human faces, voices and bodies on their own and together, drawing on real world (e.g. CCTV, Passport control) and laboratory based research and applications. The module will draw on elements of cognitive and biological psychology, social and developmental psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary psychology.

The Psychology of Sleep

This modules seeks to provide a comprehensive treatment of sleep, from its underpinning physiological science to the practice of how sleep might be improved. You'll gain a critical and practical understanding of key issues in the psychology of sleep through: providing a comprehensive exploration of the phenomenon of sleep. Developing students understanding of the major areas and issues in the field, with a specific focus on the biological basis of sleep, effects of sleep loss, susceptibility to the effects of sleep loss, sleep problems and disorders and their amelioration. Providing students with the opportunity to see how sleep knowledge can be critically integrated into other areas of psychological expertise. Along with the chance to understand your own sleep better.

The Psychology of Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease

The module will focus on the challenges faced by individuals and society as a result of healthy ageing and as a result of neurodegenerative diseases (with an emphasis on age-related disease such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease).The module covers degeneration-based changes in individuals from a cognitive and social perspective. These include: Healthy Ageing, Dementia and the impact of other neurodegenerative diseases not directly associated to ageing on cognitive function and social functioning.

Motivation in Education

Politics, Ideology and Moral Psychology

The Psychology of Mindfulness

Set C

Language and Literacy Development in Children

Explore the cognitive basis of children's early language and literacy skills, and debates the causes of developmental language disorders.

Clinical Neuropsychology

The aim of the module is to equip you with techniques for developing and performing neuropsychological assessments. Lectures will cover topics in traumatic brain injury, neuroscience (including neuroimaging) of specific cognitive functions, and diagnostic assessments. During workshops, you will engage in role-play performance of neuropsychological assessments and diagnostic interviews using standardized batteries, such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. You will become familiar with a range of neuropsychological tests used to measure cognitive abilities, and will devise a neuropsychological assessment to test a specific brain abnormality. You will also critically evaluate neuropsychological assessment of brain abnormality as it applies to the understanding of normal brain and cognitive functioning.

Psychology of Trauma

Examine a range of psychopathology and trauma related issues such as the origins and history of psychotic illness, psychopharmacology and psychosocial therapy, childhood trauma and psychosis, as well as outcomes of trauma, namely dissociation, substance use and deliberate self-harm.

Addictive Behaviours

The module examines a range of issues associated with addictive behaviours. The lectures will identify issues with definitions of addictive behaviour and the critical evaluation of different types of addiction (i.e. in depth examination of alcoholism, drug addictions, pathological gambling, video game addiction, internet addiction, exercise addiction, sex addiction and paraphilias). This will provide a basis for you to develop a critical understanding of the identification and treatment of addictive behaviours. Topics covered may include: problems of definition of addiction; commonalities and models of addiction; theories of addiction; conceptual crises in the field of addictive behaviour; addictive personality; types of addiction; treatments of addictive behaviour.

Psychopathology and Offending Behaviour

Understand how personality disorders, brain injuries, intellectual disabilities, substance misuse and major mental illnesses influence behaviour and how these conditions are associated with criminal offending.

Social Development in Children and Adolescents

The module aims to enable you to develop a detailed and critical understanding of children’s and adolescents’ development in the social world. In particular, through focusing on current research and theories, the module will examine the role of peers, the family, and the outside influences on children’s and adolescents’ social development. You will be encouraged to critically evaluate the short-term and long-term consequences of social relationships during childhood and adolescence. Topics covered may include: attachment; child care and upbringing (e.g., the family, parenting and siblings); the importance of peer relationships: peer acceptance and peer rejection; the role of friendships; social withdrawal and shyness; bullying and peer victimisation; and school adjustment.

The Psychology of Sex Offending

The module will develop your knowledge of the psychology of sexual offending, including the investigation, risk assessment, and treatment of sexual offenders, and theories that underpin and help to explain sexual crime. Different sexual crimes will be examined, and the profile of offenders examined. Following an introduction to the area of sexual offending and the work of forensic psychologists with the perpetrators of sexual crime, you will learn about the theories underpinning sexual offending, the risk assessments, management and interventions available for sexual offenders. The module will also consider important issues for forensic psychologists in the pre and post-conviction setting such as denial, social exclusion and cognitive distortions of offenders.

Sport and Exercise Psychology

The Social Brain

Please note:

The number of places available on some optional modules may be limited. These will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Students who are unable to select their first choice will be offered an alternative from the remaining optional modules.

Specialist routes in Psychology

Taking the BSc (Hons) Psychology course enables you to apply to specialise in a particular area. These specialisms start in Year Two. The routes you could specialise in and the bespoke modules you may study include:

Cognition and Neuroscience

Research Project in Cognition and NeuroscienceYou’ll design, conduct, and interpret findings from a psychological research study on a topic within the psychology of cognition and neuroscience.

Professional Practice in Psychology
Addressing aspects of professional psychology, you’ll work on a problem from a set of professional scenarios provided by a range of partner organisations and form a project team to address the relevant issues. This application of psychological theories and research to a real-world setting provides experience of work-based problem-solving.

You’ll also take two route-specific modules and one optional module from Set C.

Social and Cultural Psychology

Research Project in Social and Cultural Psychology
You’ll design, conduct, and interpret findings from a psychological research study on a topic within social and cultural psychology.

Professional Practice in Psychology
Addressing aspects of professional psychology, you’ll work on a problem from a set of professional scenarios provided by a range of partner organisations and form a project team to address the relevant issues. This application of psychological theories and research to a real-world setting provides experience of work-based problem-solving.

You’ll also take two route-specific modules and one optional module from Set C.

You will also have the option to apply to specialise in Mental Health, Forensic Psychology and Educational and Developmental Psychology from Year Two onwards.