BSc (Hons) Psychology

Concepts, theories and methods from developmental psychology, personality and social psychology.

Topics include some or all of the following:

• methods and measures
• social and cognitive aspects of development
• methods of studying individual differences including ability and personality
• evaluating psychometric measures
• test administration
• stability and change in behaviour
• the roles of inheritance and environment
• attitudes and attitude measurement
• person perception
• social influences
• crowd behaviour
• group processes

This module will include explorations into:

• theoretical, ethological and comparative perspectives
• basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology
• relationships between brain and behaviour and modes of investigating them
• chemical communication in the brain and in the body
• genes, chromosomes and the inheritance of behaviour
• the nature of evolutionary influences on behaviour

This module is designed as a general conceptual overview of cognitive psychology and an introduction to topics that are central to the study of human cognition. Emphasis is placed on the methods and theoretical models used by cognitive psychologists to study human perception and thinking.

Topics include:

• visual perception
• models of attention and short-term memory
• encoding and retrieval of information from long-term memory, classical and operant conditioning
• connectionist models of learning
• higher cognition in animals.

This module provides an introduction to experimental research in psychology. The lecture component covers experimental design and statistics. The laboratory component focuses on designing and running experiments, applying statistical analyses to data generated, and reporting experimental findings. Lectures and labs are linked so that designs and analyses introduced in lectures are implemented in labs.

Topics include experimental design, research ethics, and statistical analysis of experimental data up to and including the analysis of designs with one independent variable and more than two experimental conditions.

You will be allocated to a lab class which you will attend on a weekly basis during terms 1 and 2. Your allocation will be posted on the first-year notice-board. In addition, you must attend a weekly lecture for your whole year group.

This module acquaints you with the main areas of research in the Department of Psychology, fosters an understanding of practical issues involved in the planning and conduct of research, and develops your ability to critically evaluate research conducted by others.

An extended essay, relating to topics taught on PS51005A, PS51006A or PS51007A, on a subject agreed with a supervisor in the department. It will involve some tutorial contact with supervisors, but mainly requires you to use library and bibliographic resources to search for relevant material.

This module has been designed to develop the practical skills associated with the study of psychology, with a particular emphasis on enhancing your ability to study, research and gain employment in the field of psychology. An important part of this module is to promote personal development and enhance employability by linking in with Goldsmiths’ 3D graduate scheme.

The module covers six major areas of biological psychology:

1. hormones, sexual motivation and sex differences
2. sleep and arousal
3. eating and body weight regulation
4. sexual selection and mate choice
5. brain evolution and development
6. and emotions and stress

These topics are considered in terms of neurological, neurophysiological, physiological, biochemical and genetic substrates.

This module covers:

• identification and measurement of individual differences in temperament
• biological and environmental contributions to individual differences
• causal theories of personality
• the relationship between psychopathology and personality
• background to methods of description and classification in psychopathology
• genetic, constitutional and environmental aspects of disorders of personality and behaviour
• rationale of therapeutic techniques

This module covers concepts, theories and empirical research related to:

• human aggression
• attitudes and attitude change
• attribution and social judgement
• environment and social behaviour
• non-verbal communication
• interpersonal attraction
• intergroup processes

This module covers:

• concepts, models and theories of development
• the module of development from infancy to old age
• cognitive and social aspects of behaviour in childhood
• language development
• adolescence as a developmental period
• mid-life, and the effects of ageing

Covering: analysis of variance techniques non-parametric methods, correlation and regression; further experimental design and strategy.

This module covers major topics in the area of cognitive psychology including:

• attention
• visual object recognition
• written language processing
• working memory: long-term memory and acquired memory problems
• everyday memory
• representation of knowledge.

Covering research methodology including laboratory and field observation, questionnaire, survey methods and interviewing; experimenter effects and demands characteristics; conceptual, historical and ethical issues in psychological research and science more generally; evaluation of research strategies.

This module examines major forms of psychopathology including depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorder and eating disorders. These conditions will be considered in depth, addressing diagnostic issues and the development of current theoretical explanations. The principles and evaluation of psychological interventions will also be considered.

The purpose of the project is for you to gain direct experience of:

• formulating a theoretical question
• translating this into testable hypotheses
• designing an original study which adequately tests the hypotheses
• implementing the research procedures
• analysing the data using appropriate statistics
• interpreting the results in light of both conceptual and practical considerations
• communicating this information clearly in the form of a written report

You will also gain experience of oral presentation of your work during the spring term or early in the summer term, to a small group of your peers and your supervisor.

The project is a piece of original empirical research, conducted under the supervision of one of the academic members of the Department. Pure theorising, a literature review, or an exact replication study are not acceptable.

There are four stages:

1. formulation of hypotheses and an ethical and feasible research design
2. recruitment of participants/collection of data
3. analysis and interpretation of data
4. writing the report

Each week a two-hour lecture covers the major statistical analysis techniques used by psychologists, building on the knowledge covered in the first two years of the module. Each lecture is followed by a 1.5-hour session in which the student carries out analyses in SPSS related to the material covered in that week's lecture. The topics include:

• data screening and cleaning
• factor analysis
• psychometrics
• linear multiple regression
• extensive coverage of statistical analyses based on the general linear model including ANOVA, MANOVA, ANCOVA, plus executing specific contrasts

There are five screencast lectures, and accompanying SPSS worksheet exercises, that provide a "crash-course" revision of basic statistics and introduce students to the style of the module. Students may wish to take these in their own time before the start of reading week in term 1. The module proper starts after reading week in term 1. The module ends at reading week in term 2.

This module will provide detailed study of the scientific investigation of attention, a highly topical aspect of human cognition that plays a fundamental role in our experience of the world. Students will be introduced to current theories of attention and their application to other fields of psychological enquiry including cross-cultural psychology, social psychology, individual differences, and emotion.

This module includes consideration of the relationship between psychology and parapsychology. This involves discussion of the distinction between science and pseudoscience. The module also involves critical evaluation of various claims, many of which would, if valid, have profound implications for mainstream psychology (including claims derived from astrology, psychoanalysis and alternative therapies). Various psychological processes, which underlie belief in such claims, will be discussed and non-paranormal accounts of ostensibly paranormal experiences, (for example, precognitive dreams, sightings of UFO’s, out-of-body experiences) will be evaluated.

This module will explore a range of issues fundamental to understanding neuropsychology, including underlying theories, research methods, clinical manifestations and application of this expertise related to diagnosis.

Specific topics will include:

• causes and psychological sequelae of brain injury
• dementia
• dysfunctions of memory, perception, attention, consciousness, language and executive processes

The module will provide the opportunity for advanced study of psychological science applied to the investigation of crime and the process of criminal law. Research will be primarily, but not exclusively, drawn from applied cognitive psychology. The syllabus will cover current issues in psychology and law, for example: interviewing suspects and witnesses, confessions, detection of deception, eyewitness testimony, eyewitness identification, offender profiling, and CCTV. Material from case studies will be used throughout.

The module will be of interest to students considering postgraduate study in forensic psychology.

This module explores issues relating to diagnosis, ethics and research methods in relation to a broad range of neurodevelopmental disorders, for example, autism, dyslexia, specific language impairment, developmental coordination disorder, sensory impairments, ADHD and Williams syndrome. Consideration will also be given to the implications of theories of neurodevelopmental disorders for understanding normal cognitive functions.

This module will provide a systematic introduction to behavioural genetics. Areas covered include: behavioural genetic techniques; behavioural genetic research into a range of different topics (e.g. psychopathology, cognitive abilities and disabilities); associations between genetic and environmental influences; and ethical issues in respect of behavioural genetic research.

A study of recent developments in evolutionary theory applied to social behaviour and cognition. Topics include: an introduction to the Machiavellian (or Social) Intelligence Hypothesis, Homo Sapiens’ place in nature, the evolution of deception, cultural learning, joint attention, altruism and co-operation, self-recognition, Theory of mind and the social organisation of human hunter-gatherers.

This module aims to provide an introduction to the study of music psychology. Lectures will focus on the perception, cognition and neural basis of musical understanding, the perception of musical structure and emotions and theories about music’s evolutionary roots. The scientific methods used in research will be explored in a lab-based class. Student evaluation will be made on the basis of a written assignment selected from a pool of questions.

This module is offered in collaboration with the Department of Psychology.

This module will examine self-processes in interpersonal settings, drawing primarily on recent research from social psychology and personality. The module will introduce how interpersonal relationships affect self-concept, identity, self-regulation, and subjective well-being, as well as discuss how self-processes, including individual differences, in turn affect the dynamics of self-other interaction and relational processes.

The module will seek to bridge the current literature in social psychology and personality between self and interpersonal processes among adults. The module will promote an understanding of how self-concept and identity continue to be shaped by our interpersonal interactions and how other people affect motivation, self-regulation, and well-being. The module will also explore how self-processes and individual differences, in turn, affect interpersonal relationships and promote our scientific understanding of the dynamic nature of this mutual influence.

This module aims to give an overview of the contribution that psychology can make to education. This will include subjects of direct relevance to the classroom, including learning styles, development or mathematical and reading abilities, as well as challenges in the classroom (for example dyslexia, behavioural problems, gifted and talented pupils).

This module will also cover more broad contributions of psychology to education, including how brain development across childhood and adolescence might inform education practice and a critical view of education intervention programmes.

Policy-relevant topics like inclusion for special educational needs, gender differences and antisocial behaviour will also be covered. This module will develop your applied skills and will be relevant for those interested in a career in educational or clinical psychology.

tbc

This module covers the current state of knowledge in the field of cognitive neuroscience. It covers lower-level, fundamental cognitive processes, such as perception, attention, action, vision, audition, and motor control, as well as higher functions such as memory, speech, language, executive functions and cognitive control.

Tutor: Dr. Maria Herrojo Ruiz

Magicians have developed powerful methods of manipulating our conscious experience. This module will examine a range of these techniques and relate them to psychological phenomena, such as misdirection attention and awareness, illusions, hypnosis, magical thinking, memory illusions and other confabulations.

This module will allow you to engage with social psychological approaches to understanding major social problems of contemporary society.

You will learn how to apply social psychology to analyse and solve social problems in intergroup contexts. You will gain experience in applying social psychological knowledge to understand and explain such issues as social inequality, tyranny, revolution and collective action, conflict escalation and resolution, genocide, terrorism and war.

This module aims to provide students with an introduction to the psychology of art appreciation, beauty and human preference, both from a basic science and an applied psychology perspective.

The lectures will focus on a wide range of topics, including aesthetic perception across the senses, including visual and auditory aesthetics, as well as the attractiveness of human faces and bodies. We will approach these topics from a wide range of theoretical and methodological angles, including neuroscience, cross-cultural and evolutionary perspectives. We will also focus on applications of aesthetic science in the real world, as in advertising and marketing.

The module will be structured to cover:

• Psychological theories of aesthetic appreciation
• Aesthetics across the senses: vision, audition, taste/smell and touch
• Attractiveness of faces and bodies
• The role of expertise, personality and cross-cultural differences in aesthetic perception

This module will provide detailed study of the scientific investigation of attention, a highly topical aspect of human cognition that plays a fundamental role in our awareness of the world and our engagement with it. Theories of attention will be introduced and cross-cultural and individual differences in attention and awareness considered in the light of these theories. Finally, the relevance of attention research to educational practice will be discussed.

Lecture sessions will often contain periods of guided discussion (focused on key readings reviewed in the lecture). They will be supplemented by an overview or revision lecture (focused on the exam) and two, one-hour tutorials (focused on the coursework). 

Topics covered will include background and models of attention, attention and culture, attention and emotion, attention and social psychology, attention and individual differences, and attention and modern media.

You will also be welcome to attend an additional more advanced lecture on the neurophysiological underpinnings of attention in clinical populations.