BSc (Hons) Psychology

Foundations in Biological and Cognitive Psychology is a mandatory module for all students taking a psychology degree route. Together with the “Foundations in Social and Developmental Psychology” module, level 4 students will attain a holistic underpinning to the major approaches in psychology. The module will cover conceptual and historical issues of behavioural, biological and cognitive approaches to psychology.

This module is designed to provide students with two essential aspects of further psychological study. Firstly, an introduction to psychological research methods; including a consideration of methodology and data analysis for both quantitative and qualitative data.  Secondly, this module will also equip students with the essential academic study skills required for their degrees.

Introduction to Criminology aims to introduce students to the history of criminological thought, combining biographical fact with historical and cultural context. Students will develop an understanding of how crime is defined and measured and examine theoretical perspectives that seek to explain causes of criminal behaviour. 

This module will introduce the major aspects of social change that have led to and developed within modern societies. The emphasis will be upon structural changes in Britain and Europe, but will give room for students to explore social change in rapidly changing middle income countries as well. 

Biological psychology (biopsychology) looks at psychological processes from a biological perspective, dealing with issues such as behaviour genetics, endocrinology and physiological psychology. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed by the brain and sense organs. It is concerned with issues of how people perceive, understand, make decisions about and remember information. 

This module provides students with the skills to carry out quantitative research of sufficient quality and rigour to complete their own independent studies.  Students will attain a holistic underpinning to the major research skills utilized within psychology.

The internet has arguably become an essential part of 21st century living.  It is not therefore surprising that there is growing interest in examining our online behaviour, our online presence and the impact this can have on our lives in terms of careers, friendships, relationships and wellbeing. This module will apply psychological research and theory to provide an explanation for our online behaviour.

The Psychological Aspects of Health and Wellbeing module will introduce the background to health psychology. This module will introduce students to some of the core perspectives and models in health psychology.  This module will provide students with an understanding of how psychological theory and research contribute to our conceptualisation of health and wellbeing.  

This module will guide students through the psychological knowledge that underpins a variety of practitioners work in educational settings. A key focus of the module will be how this psychological knowledge has informed and shaped educational practice in classroom settings. The module explores challenges such as learning difficulties, social and emotional problems, issues around disability as well as more complex developmental disorders. As such, this module introduces students to key theories and approaches in psychology of education.

Abnormal Psychology seeks to explain unusual or maladaptive behaviour through the examination of rigorous, research-based subject matter. The concept of ‘abnormal’ can be problematic given negative connotations with ‘not normal’ and this will be a key area of debate: the essence of normality and the appropriateness of labels which may have important ramifications for how people suffering psychopathology are in some way perceived as ‘not normal’ or as inferior members of society.

Research is an important and integral part of your degree, and the Research Dissertation gives students the opportunity to expand learning and develop interests in a particular topic. Students will critique research by others and will reflect on their own work, moving students from a theoretical knowledge of research toward a more informed level of skill and application. 

The internet has arguably become an essential part of 21st century living.  It is not therefore surprising that there is growing interest in examining our online behaviour, our online presence and the impact this can have on our lives in terms of careers, friendships, relationships and wellbeing. This module will apply psychological research and theory to provide an explanation for our online behaviour.

Psychologists conduct experiments to examine cognitive processes such as perception, attention, memory, language, intelligence, and emotion.  But how do the brain and body interact and affect these cognitive processes? Where in the brain do these processes occur? How are these processes represented in the human brain? Psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists aim to understand the relationship between our brain and behaviour, and this contemporary module investigates the brain mechanisms underlying a number of cognitive processes.

This module will help students review and critically evaluate some of the most germinal research within the field of LGBTQ+ psychology. The intersection between LGBTQ+ psychology and relevant topics such as social and developmental psychology, health, education, discrimination, and class will also be discussed.