All psychologists share basic skills in understanding, designing, reporting and communicating research and this module aims to give students a grounding in these skills. As a science, Psychology is driven by the empirical analysis of human behaviour. To do so, we start with a question of interest, formulate hypotheses to test, design, and implement a study to collect data to be analysed. If numerical data from human participants is collected and used to draw conclusions as to how and why people think and behave, we need to understand how to apply statistical analyses to data in order to draw valid and reliable inferences. In the first half of this module, students will be introduced to the principles that guide research methodology to understand human behaviours and psychological phenomena. Topics covered will include assessing published literature, the formulation of research questions and hypotheses, foundations of study design and experimental control, the development of research protocols and procedures, sampling and participant selection and ethical considerations in research. In the second half of this module, students will be provided with a step-by-step introduction to the principles and application of psychological data analysis. The module will introduce students to the theory behind statistical analysis, the best ways to describe data and a variety of statistical tests that can be used to analyse and draw conclusions from the data. Students will get first-hand experience in conducting a variety of statistical analyses, in-class and on their own, and have an opportunity to put these skills into practice by reporting a psychological experiment.
View the full module definitionHere you will be introduced to social psychology, developmental psychology and individual differences. You will discover cover topics in social cognition, attribution and group processes, the foundations that make up social psychology and also how language and cognitive and emotional development affect developmental psychology. You will focus on how to apply your learning to the real world, allowing you to observe how social groups form and function, as well as applying psychological theories to real issues and global challenges using a problem-based learning approach.
View the full module definitionThis module provides specialists and non-specialists in psychology with a psychological perspective on various issues of everyday life. During the module, we look at a number of topical issues in order to demonstrate how psychology can provide insight into people's behaviour, and how we benefit from a scientific psychological approach. You'll be encouraged to question 'common sense' views of the world and use evidence to draw conclusions about questions of human behaviour. The module will enable you to develop skills in the management and organisation of information and the use of library and internet resources, as well as the opportunity to develop your written communication skills.
View the full module definitionHere you will gain an overview of the theoretical, philosophical and historical foundations that underpin the discipline of psychology, You will then learn and analyse the current model used to understand mind and behaviour, specifically cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. You will start by exploring the history of psychology and the theoretical foundations of psychology by looking at a number of key areas: Behaviourism: focus on behaviour; Psychoanalysis: focus on the unconscious; Humanistic psychology: focus on the person; Biological Psychology: focus on the physical. You will then focus on the final key area: cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Our experience of the world is an interpretation based on many cognitive processes being carried out by the brain. Because these processes are so automatic, and their outcome so convincing, people are often not aware that what they are experiencing is merely an interpretation, and as such can be inaccurate. This section of the module will challenge you to think more clearly about this, and consider the ways in which the brain constructs its interpretation of the world, and the ways in which this interpretation can be misleading You will also be introduced to the fundamentals of neuroscience and how this informs our understanding of cognitive psychology.
View the full module definitionHere you will be introduced to clinical and health psychology. You will examine the way in which these disciplines apply psychological knowledge to an understanding of health and illness, and the interventions which can be used to improve health or relieve the symptoms of illness. You will also examine how concepts of health have changed over time, how we define and classify mental ill-health, and the different models that psychologists have used to understand the causes of mental ill-health. You will also examine specific health problems, both physical and mental, including eating disorders, stress, trauma, and sexual disorders. You will also review the different methods that can be used by clinical and health psychologists to enhance people's physical and mental health, both individual, family and population based. This module will be of real interest to those who would like to pursue a career in clinical or health psychology, or related areas, such as forensic psychology.
View the full module definitionEntering higher education is exciting; but it can also be a daunting experience. At ARU, we want all our students to make the most of the opportunities higher education provides, reach your potential, become lifelong learners and find fulfilling careers. However, we appreciate that the shift from secondary education, or a return to formal education is, in itself, quite a journey. This module is designed to ease that transition. You'll be enrolled on it as soon as you receive an offer from ARU so you can begin to learn about university life before your course starts. Through Into ARU, you'll explore a virtual land modelled around ARU values: Courage, Innovation, Community, Integrity, Responsibility, and Ambition. This innovative module is designed as a game, where you collect knowledge and complete mini tasks. You'll proceed at your own pace, though we you to have completed your Into ARU exploration by week 6. If for any reason you're unable to complete by that date, we'll signpost to existing services so that we can be confident that you are supported.
Develop your statistical thinking to give you the ability to approach research questions with skill and understanding. You will develop a critical understanding of the principles of data collection and analysis in psychology, and consider the theoretical bases, merits and limitations of various quantitative methods. In lectures, you will focus on theoretical and conceptual ideas underpinning statistics and research design, with an emphasis on understanding the logic behind theses techniques, and he choices that researchers make. This will enable students to know when it is appropriate to use a particular approach, and how to interpret its output. Concepts covered in lectures are brought to life in associated practical sessions, helping you to gain experience using the statistical techniques covered in lectures, using practical and computer-based examples. Designing research, analysing results an interpreting the data are essential skills for a psychologist, and highly valued by employers.
View the full module definitionBuilding on your knowledge from 'Self and Society' you will explore the deeper content of this subject, looking at how certain behaviours are shaped through our individual development and through different social contexts. This will challenge you to think across these different subject areas and will present a coherent view of a person, where our social and developmental changes are related to the actual, imagined or implied presence of others. You will learn by focusing on an issue (eg attraction, relationships) and consider each topic issue from an individual, social and developmental view. You will also develop transferable skills through group work and problem-based learning in the practical classes.
View the full module definitionRuskin Modules are designed to prepare our students for a complex, challenging and changing future. These interdisciplinary modules provide the opportunity to further broaden your perspectives, develop your intellectual flexibility and creativity. You will work with others from different disciplines to enable you to reflect critically on the limitations of a single discipline to solve wider societal concerns. You will be supported to create meaningful connections across disciplines to apply new knowledge to tackle complex problems and key challenges. Ruskin Modules are designed to grow your confidence, seek and maximise opportunities to realise your potential to give you a distinctive edge and enhance your success in the workplace.
This module will include the teaching of qualitative methods in psychology. It will examine the design, collection and analysis of qualitative data. The module will also outline key aspects of a qualitative approach such as reflexivity and epistemology. There will be specific sessions that are dedicated to particular approaches in qualitative methods including: thematic analysis, grounded theory and discourse analysis. Students will analyse qualitative data as part this module and utilise this data to formulate research questions. As part of this, students will develop an awareness of the ethical and practical implications of conducting professional research. This will include the application of professional codes of conduct and ethics in research and practice. Students will also consider research design and formulate a research proposal in the form of a 'call for funding' application. Students will be asked to pay particular attention to the ethical issues and concerns when proposing research.
View the full module definitionBrain, Body and Mind draws heavily on psychology, neuroscience, individual differences and evolutionary approaches to provide a critical understanding of mind and behaviour. You will explore a range of topics that are critical to understanding the biological and evolutionary theory which supports human and animal behaviour before examining cognitive and individual difference models of the mind and behaviour. You will be challenged to analyse areas of human psychology from the multiple perspectives examined and to show an understanding of the area. module is largely topic based and students will address a key areas of psychology from a variety of perspectives: Current cognitive theory, the biological underpinnings, evolutionary and genetic perspectives, individual differences and clinical issues. Topics will include areas such as: perception, learning, memory, language, problem solving & decision making and consciousness and meta-cognition, intelligence and social cognition.
View the full module definitionHere you’ll be introduced to diagnosis and formulation in mental health as well as a variety of mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorders. You’ll focus on developing your knowledge of the diagnostic criteria for mental health problems, looking at the diagnostic classification systems, and also establishing an understanding of current the view of mental health problems through formulation. You will also be introduced to key theories believed to underpin and maintain mental health problems, including biological, psychological and social factors. You’ll be taught the importance of understanding the individual beyond diagnosis, enabling them to understand formulation through applying theories to case studies.
View the full module definitionYour major project gives you the opportunity to develop your own research project, from initial planning through to conducting and collecting your data and then analysing the results. You will evaluate your research, carry out an in-depth literature review of that area, formulate hypotheses based on that review and design a study to test these, whilst at all times making sure that you maintain an ethical approach. This project also gives you the opportunity to explore a topic that you really enjoy in psychology at a much deeper level.
View the full module definitionThis module offers you the opportunity to begin to engage with the evidence, literature, and debate surrounding the application of clinical psychology, and will offer an introduction to the varied core competencies within the profession of clinical psychology. Over the course of the module, you'll be introduced to some of the core skills (assessment, formulation, intervention, evaluation, communication, research and reflection) used in applied clinical psychology, and you will be encouraged to critically evaluate their application of these skills across a range of settings and with a variety of client groups. The broader meta-competencies seen in clinical psychology (leadership, consultancy, research, audit and multi-disciplinary team working) will also be discussed. You'll explore some of the opportunities and privileges of working with individuals and communities who experienced psychological distress and mental health problems, and will have the opportunity to consider some of the challenges that come with working with complexity. Over the course of the module, you will be encouraged to think critically, and will be provided with opportunities to engage in debate and discussion around a selection of topics that are often faced by clinicians working in applied settings.
View the full module definitionPsychological Assessment is a core competency for practising psychologists and is widely applicable in a range of employment areas, including human resources, legal settings, marketing research, and forensics. This module has an applied focus and where applicable, teaching is delivered by practising professionals. The syllabus begins with an introduction to interviewing and observation skills, with the opportunity to practise these skills in seminar settings. You will then learn the requirements for constructing and evaluating psychometric tests. The module also helps you gain an understanding of cognitive assessment such as IQ tests, diagnostic assessment and personality assessment. You will then learn how to apply psychological assessment skills in a range of professional settings. Consideration of cross-cultural factors is included in all lectures. The module concludes by teaching you about psychological report-writing, which will hone skills in composing, structuring and presenting the outcome of psychological assessments.
View the full module definitionWe will introduce a variety of developmental disorders including Downs' Syndrome, Williams' Syndrome, dyslexia and autism, and analyse the biological, cognitive and social profiles of each. You will gain an insight in to the main symptoms of each clinical condition and the prognosis for people with these disorders. We will do this by discussing published literature and studying symptoms of children and adults with these disorders in video demonstrations. We will also cover the effects of early brain injury, and problems in the assessment and diagnosis of developmental disorders. You will also consider ethical issues and working with clinical populations. You will learn to critically evaluate contemporary issues in neurodevelopmental psychology supported by a range of academic literature. This module will be particularly useful for you if you are considering a career related to development, educational or clinical psychology or a career working with typically developing children or children with special needs.
View the full module definitionThis module provides an introduction to some of the main methods of psychological interventions used by clinical, counselling and health psychologists in therapeutically helping people. These interventions are used to assist people in strengthening their capacity to manage and cope with their lives, and help work through some emotional difficulties. The module will cover some of the core theoretical principles and techniques used in various psychological interventions, when working with individuals (both children and adults) as well as with families and groups. The module will also show that the therapeutic relationship is central to a variety of psychological interventions. The different interventions used also aim to assist clients and patients to make meaning of their distress.
View the full module definitionThis module will provide an overview of current approaches in cognitive neuroscience, including neuroimaging, electrophysiology, cortical stimulation and lesion-deficit techniques and their application for solving important theoretical debates in the literature. Key areas covered include executive function and the frontal lobes, visual object processing and conceptual knowledge, memory and forgetting, and distributed vs modular models of cognition. Common conditions such as aphasia, amnesia, agnosia and dementia will be discussed. To advance our knowledge about the neural bases of cognition, rigorous methodological control, well developed theory with testable predictions, and inferences drawn on the basis of a range of methods are required. Students will learn about the underlying principles in functional imaging, including the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal used in fMRI, stages of image processing and statistical analysis, and the extent to which findings derived from these methods can advance theoretical understanding in psychology. Students will explore the brain using software available in the department, and carry out basic structural and functional MRI analyses on existing data. Since the module familiarises students with the most widely employed methods in cognitive neuroscience, common neuropsychological syndromes, key theoretical debates and standard assessment procedures in clinical neuropsychology, students who want to pursue postgraduate study and/or a career in cognitive or clinical neuroscience may benefit from successful completion of this course.
View the full module definitionThis module enables students to develop a critical awareness of issues and debates surrounding health, illness, treatment, and disability. Standard clinical and medical models are seen as only one of several competing ways of making sense of health, illness and disability in contemporary society. This module presents a range of broadly social, critical perspectives on our understanding of health and illness. These include how illnesses and disabilities are commonly represented in contemporary society, and how this may influence individuals' experience of illness and disability; the social model of disability; the social determinants of physical and mental health; the embodied nature of health and illness; and the experience of treatment and health care services. Critical consideration is given to how poverty, class, culture, gender and sexuality are factors to consider in health psychology. The module, while primarily a critical health psychology module, draws on material from a broad range of disciplines including clinical psychology, psychiatry, social psychology, sociology, and public health. The module will also be of interest for students considering further study or a career in health, counselling or clinical psychology. The module will also provide opportunities to develop relevant transferable skills including group working, information management and autonomy.
View the full module definitionEducational psychology is concerned with children and young people in educational settings. The role of the Educational Psychologist is to support teachers, parents, and children with a range of issues, from developmental disorders to social and emotional problems. In this module, we examine cutting-edge scientific research that supports our understanding of the cognitive and well-being issues that affect children’s learning and well-being in education setting. We discuss how the application of learning theories in a classroom setting from the teachers’ and students’ perspectives, providing concrete examples. We also simulate such applications in class to involve students in experiential learning experiences and allowing them to reflect on their learning in relation to the discussed theories. We enter the nascent science of educational neuroscience, where you'll discover how the findings from neuroscience now allow us more in-depth knowledge of brain development than ever before and be challenged to consider how useful such findings are in the classroom. We zoom out to consider the impact of socio-emotional learning practices on students’ wellbeing and success in school and beyond. We also discuss how play and music could be used as interventions to support students’ behaviours and support neurodiverse learners. We take a practical focus, with lectures and seminars explicitly considering direct applications, career pathways, and the opportunity for students to talk to practitioners directly. The module will be taught by experts in educational psychology, teacher training, and in music and drama/play therapy, and lectures will include coverage of their own research findings and practice. Through the assessments, you'll reflect on your learning journey in relation to learning theories and gain experience in communicating to a non-specialist audience and psychological report-writing.
View the full module definitionApply the knowledge and training that you have accrued through your degree to a work-place setting by using the principles of organisational psychology. In undertaking this module, students will be introduced to theories and research of organisational psychology and explore the central aspects of how psychological theory and skills are applicable in real-life employment settings. In doing so you will be required to complete 35 hours of either voluntary or paid work experience in a role where you can apply psychological knowledge and other degree-related skills (research, report writing, data entry and analysis). This could be 1 week of full-time work or several weeks of part-time work; work, and can even be completed over the summer period prior to the module, however it must be no later than the first five weeks of this module. You will have a series of six campus-based lectures and five campus- based seminars that you will need to attend in amongst your 35 hours (minimum) hours of relevant voluntary work placement, which you are required to organise. Lectures will cover the workplace experience element and an introduction to occupational/ organisational psychology. Whilst in your seminars you will learn about relevant psychological concepts, participate in discussions with other students about their workplace experiences, and receive help and advice from the module leader in completing your coursework assessment. The staff in the placement organisation will provide the usual level of guidance for volunteer workers and will confirm in writing that the student completed the recommended number of hours.
View the full module definitionThis module introduces students to a range of social psychological approaches to the study of inter-group conflict, hatred and oppression. It covers both individual and social factors which promote and sustain hostile relations, negative attitudes, and/or violence between ethnic, national, religious or cultural groups. The module draws on research using a range of methods, including experimental work, case studies, and discourse analysis. Topics covered include stereotypes, racism, intractable violent conflict (eg the Middle East conflict), terrorism, propaganda and genocide. Particular attention is paid to the Holocaust. Students will learn practical transferable skills such as how to manage information, communicate effectively in written format, and apply social psychological ideas to political situations.
View the full module definitionThe Internet is an essential part of 21st century living. This module will look at psychological explanations of being online and will approach questions such as do we behave differently online? And, how is the Internet used to initiate and maintain relationships? This will include theoretical explanations of how people communicate online, including research that looks at positive attributes of Internet use (e.g. developing relationships) and negative outcomes of Internet use (eg 'addiction' or ‘trolling’). This module will explore the role of social network sites (Facebook, LinkedIn) in our everyday lives, with particular reference to self, identity, social influence, relationships and group dynamics. As part of this module, students will be required to actively engage with the development of Internet-based technologies and will be taught how to build basic mobile applications (‘apps’). On completion of this module students will have gained skills in relations to psychological knowledge of the Internet use and will have gained practical skills in relation to app construction and development.
View the full module definitionThis module will explore the latest psychological and neuroscientific research that addresses the question: How does the brain create your sense of self? Students will learn about recent ground-breaking research demonstrating how links between the body and the brain provide the fundamental underpinnings of self. Experiments involving multisensory body illusions that disturb the sense of self will be described in lectures and demonstrated in seminars. Lectures will describe how virtual reality, multisensory stimulation, brain imaging and the measurement of physiological signals can be used in experiments to investigate self- consciousness. Students will discover evidence for the surprising flexibility of the bodily self in healthy participants, and how body ownership, self-face recognition, and the experience of where the self is located can be shifted using simple body illusions and virtual reality. The module will also explore how research on patients with bizarre neurological and psychiatric disorders of self, such as ‘out of body experiences’, depersonalisation disorder, phantom limbs and xenomelia has influenced the latest scientific thinking on the brain bases of self-consciousness. Students will learn how experiments in healthy participants and case studies of patients with disorders of self provide converging support for the theory that the foundation for our sense of self is the brain’s integration of multisensory signals from the external and internal body. Finally, lectures will also delve into very recent research on how basic, ‘low-level’ aspects of self provide the underpinnings for ‘higher’, conceptual levels of self by examining links between autobiographical memory, the bodily self and personal identity. The module will be led and taught by staff with research expertise in these topics, and lectures will include coverage of their own research findings. Through the assessments, students will gain experience in how to convey scientific/medical information to a non-specialist audience and experience in giving oral presentations.
View the full module definitionThe human lifespan varies in how it develops, depending on the experiences a person goes through, for example how childhood experiences affect later development. Here you'll discuss and explore the different approached to human development, comparing and applying these to different case studies. You will look at approaches like Erikson's psychosocial theory, theories of ageing and biopsychosocial, along with different domains of human development like cognitive, social, emotional, and moral development.
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