This module builds on the 2nd year module Developmental Psychology in order to provide a greater understanding of the relation between brain development and the development of skills in infants and children, and will provide insights into applied developmental psychology. The topics range from typical and atypical development to how neuroscience can inform educational practices, and may include: prenatal brain development, the development of the sense of self and self control, infant and children attachment and social skills, neurodevelopmental disorders and applied neuroscience.
The aim of this module is to provide final year undergraduate students with a deep understanding of the connections between brain development and child behaviour and skills, and how neuroscience can inform educational practices
The aim of this module is to provide final year undergraduate students with a deep understanding of the connections between brain development and child behaviour and skills, and how neuroscience can inform educational practices
Should you save for the future or live life in the moment? Should you travel the world or settle in a secure job? The decisions we make shape our lives. While people have an amazing ability to make good decisions, and to do so quickly and intuitively often on gut feeling, they are also prey to cognitive biases and limits to mental capacity that cause them to make the wrong decisions. Are you an intuitive decision-maker who relies on “gut feeling” or do you think critically and carefully about every decision you make? This module will reveal how the human mind is capable of both good and bad judgements and decisions and will explore who makes the best decisions and how decisions making can be improved.
Aims
The module aims to develop in students an understanding of the psychological processes underpinning human judgement and decision-making. Students will also develop a strong command of the ways in which insights into how people decide can be leveraged and applied to improve the decisions people make in their own lives and for tackling some of the major current challenges faced by society such as climate change or antimicrobial resistance.
Learning Outcomes
1. Develop a good command of the major theories and models of judgement, decision-making, and reasoning.
2. Critically analyse the empirical research on judgement and decision-making quality (e.g., biases, heuristics).
3. Acquire the ability to leverage basic behavioural science theories to alleviate current societal challenges in a range of context (environmental, medical, and social).
Aims
The module aims to develop in students an understanding of the psychological processes underpinning human judgement and decision-making. Students will also develop a strong command of the ways in which insights into how people decide can be leveraged and applied to improve the decisions people make in their own lives and for tackling some of the major current challenges faced by society such as climate change or antimicrobial resistance.
Learning Outcomes
1. Develop a good command of the major theories and models of judgement, decision-making, and reasoning.
2. Critically analyse the empirical research on judgement and decision-making quality (e.g., biases, heuristics).
3. Acquire the ability to leverage basic behavioural science theories to alleviate current societal challenges in a range of context (environmental, medical, and social).
Module Description
This module we will provide an integrative overview of the field of psychopathology. The first lecture will introduce the module and the last lecture will pick up on points made in the first, discussing the classification of mental disorders. Subsequent lectures will focus on different psychopathologies including anxiety disorders, mood disorders, stress- and trauma-related disorders, dissociative disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders, neurodevelopmental and eating disorders.
Aims
This module aims to provide significant understanding of the potential interplay between biological, psychological, social and environmental factors in explaining psychopathology. This will include providing knowledge about features of different psychopathologies, and their classification.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Show knowledge and understanding of the basis of the study of psychopathology.
- Critically evaluate the relative strengths of a range of theories and techniques used in the study of individual differences and psychopathology.
- Compare and contrast different psychological disorders at different levels (e.g., genetic, neuroscientific, behavioural and social);
The module is assessed through an end of term exam held in January, which will assess all three learning outcomes. The exam is in-person, open-book, which means that you can take your study notes into the exam with you. Questions aim to cover the breadth of the module.
The module covers three major themes in the psychology of ageing; mind, brain, and behaviour. The mind theme introduces cognitive, social, and emotional aspects of ageing. We consider decision making in older age, how older adults interact with their social environment, and how emotional processing changes with age. The brain theme introduces neurological changes that occur with age and how these affect memory and attention and other aspects of cognition and emotion. Dementia and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, are also explored. The behaviour theme focuses on the physiology of ageing and introduces students to applied topics.
This module will introduce how the human brain and body interact in order to shape our minds and our behaviour. Several different aspects of brain-body-behavioural interactions are covered by different experts in the field. These topics range from basic bodily functions to high-order existential concerns and include: recreational drugs; lifestyle, diet and well-being; how the microbes in our guts affect behaviour; the role of the immune system; how our environment affects how our genes work; how we taste and smell; how our senses interact to shape perception; the experience of physical and social pain; existential neuroscience.
The aim of this module is to provide Year 3 students with a deep understanding of the way the brain and body interact to control behaviour. At the end of the module students should be able to:
1. Understand the psychophysiological processes and consequences of various lifestyle choices (e.g. diet, exercise, recreational drugs); how embodiment affects brain and behaviour (via the enteric nervous system, the immune system, and gene-environment interactions)
2. Understand how the senses interact to provide the experience of perception.
3. Develop knowledge into the new neuroscientific findings that are providing insight into areas of deep philosophical intrigue (such as the putative link between physical and social pain, and how an awareness of death can influence cognition and behaviour).
4. Know how to pass on their new knowledge to others in an educationally useful way.
The aim of this module is to provide Year 3 students with a deep understanding of the way the brain and body interact to control behaviour. At the end of the module students should be able to:
1. Understand the psychophysiological processes and consequences of various lifestyle choices (e.g. diet, exercise, recreational drugs); how embodiment affects brain and behaviour (via the enteric nervous system, the immune system, and gene-environment interactions)
2. Understand how the senses interact to provide the experience of perception.
3. Develop knowledge into the new neuroscientific findings that are providing insight into areas of deep philosophical intrigue (such as the putative link between physical and social pain, and how an awareness of death can influence cognition and behaviour).
4. Know how to pass on their new knowledge to others in an educationally useful way.
This module is concerned with the study of emotional behaviour and experience from a scientific point of view. The emphasis throughout the module is on how emotions arise and are manifest as patterns of bodily response and mental activity. Theories of emotion from psychodynamic, introspective, and constructionist positions will not form a major component of the module, although some of the important insights which these approaches have offered will be considered. We will examine theories of both normal and abnormal emotion. The former will receive the lion's share of our attention, but the case studies on particular emotions (e.g. sadness) include discussion of their pathological extensions (depression).
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an appreciation of how biology and cognition interact in the experience and expression of emotion.
2. Demonstrate how emotions can be profitably viewed as adaptive, that they more often help than hinder.
3. Adopt a critical approach to the study of emotion.
4. Evaluate and understand the different theoretical approaches to emotion.
5. Summarise and condense scientific information using concise wording.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an appreciation of how biology and cognition interact in the experience and expression of emotion.
2. Demonstrate how emotions can be profitably viewed as adaptive, that they more often help than hinder.
3. Adopt a critical approach to the study of emotion.
4. Evaluate and understand the different theoretical approaches to emotion.
5. Summarise and condense scientific information using concise wording.
The module is co-ordinated by Prof Chris Barry, to whom queries should be addressed.
This module will provide an introduction to one of the major areas of research activity in the Department of Psychology at Essex. It will investigate ways in which our ability to read words, or to recognise and name objects and faces, can break down as a consequence of brain injury (stroke, closed head injury, dementia, etc.). For example, we will examine the reading performance of patients with acquired dyslexia who have impaired reading following brain injury, and patients with prosopagnosia who are unable to recognize familiar faces following brain injury. We will also look at Capgras delusion where a patient believes that a loved-one has been replaced by an imposter. The emphasis will be on the functional nature of the cognitive impairments. Consequently, we will try to understand the pattern of impaired performance in terms of models taken from Cognitive Psychology.
Cognitive Neuropsychology (PS481) aims to:
a) Examine a variety of different types of impairment to the cognitive processes involved in processing words, objects and faces from a functional perspective.
b) Investigate the contrasts between different types of neuropsychological disorder.
c) Explain the impairments in terms of models of cognitive processing.
At the end of the module, students should be able to:
a) Describe a broad range of impairments to the processes involved in reading, spelling, and repeating words.
b) Describe a broad range of impairments to the processes involved in recognising and naming objects and identifying faces.
c) Compare and contrast different forms of neuropsychological disorder.
d) Discuss interpretations of these disorders in terms of current models of cognitive processing.
This module will provide an introduction to one of the major areas of research activity in the Department of Psychology at Essex. It will investigate ways in which our ability to read words, or to recognise and name objects and faces, can break down as a consequence of brain injury (stroke, closed head injury, dementia, etc.). For example, we will examine the reading performance of patients with acquired dyslexia who have impaired reading following brain injury, and patients with prosopagnosia who are unable to recognize familiar faces following brain injury. We will also look at Capgras delusion where a patient believes that a loved-one has been replaced by an imposter. The emphasis will be on the functional nature of the cognitive impairments. Consequently, we will try to understand the pattern of impaired performance in terms of models taken from Cognitive Psychology.
Cognitive Neuropsychology (PS481) aims to:
a) Examine a variety of different types of impairment to the cognitive processes involved in processing words, objects and faces from a functional perspective.
b) Investigate the contrasts between different types of neuropsychological disorder.
c) Explain the impairments in terms of models of cognitive processing.
At the end of the module, students should be able to:
a) Describe a broad range of impairments to the processes involved in reading, spelling, and repeating words.
b) Describe a broad range of impairments to the processes involved in recognising and naming objects and identifying faces.
c) Compare and contrast different forms of neuropsychological disorder.
d) Discuss interpretations of these disorders in terms of current models of cognitive processing.
The module is co-ordinated by Dr Tracy Robinson, to whom queries should be addressed.
The aim of the module is to give a detailed review of personality, intelligence and individual differences. It is intended to provide a parsimonious account of theories and approaches to personality and individual differences. A number of areas of Psychology will be covered including cognitive, trait theories and biological. It will also cover influential topics in individual differences that are contemporary and exciting. This module will give students a theoretical and research-based knowledge of the sources of individual differences in behaviour.
By the end of the module, students will have investigated:
(1) Theories of personality, i.e. to what extent do differences in temperament influence people's behaviour.
(2) Theories of intelligence, i.e. how and why people differ in their problem solving and inference skills.
(3) Further contemporary debates and applications in individual differences, i.e. how do individual differences explain a wealth of human behaviours, feelings and thinking.
The aim of the module is to give a detailed review of personality, intelligence and individual differences. It is intended to provide a parsimonious account of theories and approaches to personality and individual differences. A number of areas of Psychology will be covered including cognitive, trait theories and biological. It will also cover influential topics in individual differences that are contemporary and exciting. This module will give students a theoretical and research-based knowledge of the sources of individual differences in behaviour.
By the end of the module, students will have investigated:
(1) Theories of personality, i.e. to what extent do differences in temperament influence people's behaviour.
(2) Theories of intelligence, i.e. how and why people differ in their problem solving and inference skills.
(3) Further contemporary debates and applications in individual differences, i.e. how do individual differences explain a wealth of human behaviours, feelings and thinking.
The module is co-ordinated by Dr Helge Gillmeister, to whom queries should be addressed.
The aim of the module is to provide an appreciation of the physiological mechanisms that underlie human behaviour. The brain is an extremely complex organ, and many areas of interest to psychologists are as yet, beyond the reductionist approach adopted here. However, it is hoped that the module will at least establish the possibility that even our deepest thoughts and feelings arise from a combination of electrical and chemical interactions.
The lectures will be taught by Dr Steffan Kennett, Dr Helge Gillmeister & Dr Elia Valentini. PS411 will be supported by additional tutorial classes, which will introduce the use of Powerpoint Presentations and provide information about the other two courseworks.
PS411 is assessed by an oral PowerPoint presentation (worth 10%), an Information Flyer (worth 20%) and an Information Pamphlet (worth 70%). We have designed these pieces of coursework to be interesting, fun and useful. For each, we want you to choose aspects of this module that really
These students have different assessments and must check with the department what the requirements are.
The aim of the module is to provide an appreciation of the physiological mechanisms that underlie human behaviour. The brain is an extremely complex organ, and many areas of interest to psychologists are as yet, beyond the reductionist approach adopted here. However, it is hoped that the module will at least establish the possibility that even our deepest thoughts and feelings arise from a combination of electrical and chemical interactions.
The lectures will be taught by Dr Steffan Kennett, Dr Helge Gillmeister & Dr Elia Valentini. PS411 will be supported by additional tutorial classes, which will introduce the use of Powerpoint Presentations and provide information about the other two courseworks.
PS411 is assessed by an oral PowerPoint presentation (worth 10%), an Information Flyer (worth 20%) and an Information Pamphlet (worth 70%). We have designed these pieces of coursework to be interesting, fun and useful. For each, we want you to choose aspects of this module that really
interests you and turn them into educationally useful products. This is a real chance to let your ideas shine and to show us what you find fascinating!
Socrates and International students:These students have different assessments and must check with the department what the requirements are.
The module aims to provide students with an overview of research on some of the main topics in Developmental Psychology. This starts with Piaget's theory, and topics that may be covered include prenatal development, early sensorimotor development, childhood cognitive development and social development, as well as developmental disorders. Classical and contemporary theoretical views of child development will be contrasted, highlighting key issues and current controversies for each topic. The module will also examine methods of research and the research designs employed in Developmental Psychology. There are 10 lectures which will be led by Dr Maria Laura Filippetti, Dr Andrew Simpson and Dr Silvia Rigato. PS406 is assessed by a compulsory piece of coursework (25%) relating to research in Developmental Psychology, and a Multiple Choice Question examination, during Christmas vacation, before the start of the Spring term (75%).
The module is co-ordinated by Dr Paul Hanel, to whom queries should be addressed.
PS212 Psychology Research builds upon your statistics classes in the first year, and combines statistics lectures and computer workshops using statistical software.
This is a full-year course, delivered as two components:
(1) Lectures will cover data analysis skills, along with their underlying principles, which will equip you for most of the laboratory class and project work that you will encounter in the rest of your psychology degree.
(2) Computer workshops will give you a supervised opportunity to solve exercises using statistical software, and the chance to ask questions about any aspects of the topics covered in the lectures.
PS212 is assessed by five computer-based assignments (the first four are worth 8% each; the fifth is worth 15%), research participation (3%), and a final end-of-year summer examination (50%).
PS212 Psychology Research builds upon your statistics classes in the first year, and combines statistics lectures and computer workshops using statistical software.
This is a full-year course, delivered as two components:
(1) Lectures will cover data analysis skills, along with their underlying principles, which will equip you for most of the laboratory class and project work that you will encounter in the rest of your psychology degree.
(2) Computer workshops will give you a supervised opportunity to solve exercises using statistical software, and the chance to ask questions about any aspects of the topics covered in the lectures.
PS212 is assessed by five computer-based assignments (the first four are worth 8% each; the fifth is worth 15%), research participation (3%), and a final end-of-year summer examination (50%).
This module aims to provide an introduction to cognitive psychology. It will run throughout the first term. The module covers major areas of cognitive psychology as defined by the British Psychological Society, such as visual and auditory perception, and visual cognition. The module consists of 10 lectures, and a set of laboratory classes.
The module is co-ordinated by Dr Anna Hughes to whom all enquires should be made.
Please see PS300 the project outline for further guidelines, details, and deadlines.
The PS300 Research Project is an original piece of empirical psychological research assessed via a poster and a written report. The project provides an opportunity to apply, in an original piece of research, the statistical and the research methodology learned during the first two years of the psychology degree.
Queries should be addressed to the Module Co-ordinator.
Aims: The aim of this module is to study a range of theory and research concerned with our thinking and behaviour in a social world. The Social Psychology module addresses core theories of social behaviour and social information processing. At the end of the module you should have a clear understanding of the topics social psychologists are interested in and their approach to their study. Each of the topics will be covered in sufficient depth for you to be able to appreciate classical social psychological theories and findings as the foundation of this empirical discipline.
A full outline will be provided at the first lecture.
To understand the present, we must understand the past. To understand modern-day behaviour of humans, we must understand how evolution is likely to have shaped our species, the mechanisms that do this and the unique challenges that humans have faced. In this module, you’ll be introduced to key concepts of evolutionary theory as pertaining to human psychology, and will engage with current literature, including recent findings and theory within evolutionary psychology. We will look at how natural selection and reproductive success may have driven fundamentals of the human experience.