Overview

You will learn about the development of psychology as its own independent discipline, following the philosophical and medical history that lead us to become an independent field. From there you will explore several historical approaches to psychology that attempted to define the way that we view the mind and brain, and learn about some of the problems associated with them. Following from these approaches you will then look at some of the newer approaches that are still with us to this day.

You will explore the origins of anti-social behaviour, and whether these are learned from our environment, or are something we are born with. You will also explore several different classifications of memory that we have, and discuss whether our memory is as good as we think it is, especially when we are faced with stressful situations! You will learn about some of the biological components of the brain in an attempt to learn about some of the basic functions that we can point to, and what might happen when those areas are damaged. Finally you will look into two popular theories of development of our cognitive abilities - how do we learn from our environment?

Students are introduced to the historical approaches in Psychology: - Structuralism - Functionalism - Gestalt - Behaviourism - Psychodynamic / Freudian - Humanistic

Alongside modern approaches: - Cognitive - Social - Biological - Evolutionary - Developmental - Clinical - Forensic

Social Psychology: the main focus is on anti-social behaviour, especially aggression. - Social Learning Theory - Relative deprivation - Environmental stressors - Media influences being the most thorough review

Cognitive Psychology: the main focus is on human memory - Nature and structure of memory - Memory capacity, duration and encoding - Short and Long Term memory - Multi-Store Model - Working Memory Model, - Conscious (episodic/semantic) and unconscious (priming/procedural) Memory - Reconstructive memory and eye witness testimony.

Biological Psychology: the main focus is on learning structures: - Lobes - Lateralization - Neurons - Language Processing (Wernicke & Broca's Areas) - Language Deficits (Aphasia)

Developmental Psychology: the main focus is on Cognitive Development: - Piaget - Vygotsky

Students consider methods commonly used in undertaking research in Psychology and the ethical questions these raise.

Assessment Strategy

Threshold (40-49% / D- to D+): Student has made sufficient progress in the study of this module to achieve the lowest level of pass allowing for progression onto an undergraduate degree.

Satisfactory (50 – 59% / C- to C+): Student demonstrates reasonably comprehensive coverage of learning outcomes, indicating generally accurate understanding, based on lecture material and some core readings. Some gaps in knowledge and/or understanding evident.

Good (60-69% / B- to B+): Student has displayed a sound basic knowledge and understanding of much of the material studied in this module and achieved a high enough grade to indicate a clear ability to cope with the demands of an undergraduate level degree.

Excellent (70% + / A- to A*): Student has engaged consistently well with all aspects of the module and strong achievement in assessments indicates the ability to perform effectively at undergraduate degree level.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate appropriate use of specialised language, terminology, and concepts of the subject.

• Demonstrate knowledge of the main theoretical approaches to the study of Psychology and of the subject’s development over time

• Discuss theories relevant to the modern field of psychology such as Social, Cognitive, and Developmental Psychology

• Explain how studies within Psychology can be applied to the resolution of problems for individuals or society