To give students a general introduction to psychology.

The course will provide a broad overview of psychology and its methods of research. The course is divided into four sections, taught by different lecturers. The order of presentation of these sections may vary.

Section 1 is an introduction to abnormal psychology from relatively mild psychological disorders like panic attacks and compulsive cleaning, through to schizophrenia.

Section 2 is an introduction to the psychology of growth and change across the lifespan.

Section 3 is an introduction to the scientific methodologies used by psychology. How do psychologists develop and test psychological theories?

Section 4 is an introduction to social psychology and psychological explanations of socially important phenomena such as a racial prejudice.

This module will give students a general introduction to psychology and a broad overview of its methods of research. The module will include lectures on abnormal, developmental and social psychology. It will cover both mild psychological disorders like panic attacks and compulsive cleaning, and more severe conditions such as depression and schizophrenia. It will explore the development of humans across their lifespan from birth, through childhood and adolescence into adulthood, as well as the cognitive and perceptual effects of old age. It will also introduce psychological explanations of socially important phenomena such as a racial prejudice and

group co-operative behaviour.

Knowledge and Understanding:

Students should be able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of:-

• The history of interpretations of psychiatric disorder.
• Symptomology, aetiology and treatment of anxiety disorders including phobias, panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive disorders; depression, including the distinction between uni-polar vs. bipolar disorder; schizophrenia; eating disorders.
• The contribution of genetics and experience across the lifespan.
• The role of continuities and discontinuities in psychological development.
• The main theories and concepts in contemporary approaches to interpersonal attraction; attribution theory; bystander intervention; prejudice and the minimal-group effect.
• Issues in the design of within- and between-subjects experiments and the appropriate use of counterbalancing.

22 x 1 hour lectures

Students should acquire the following skills:

• To search the literature for papers relevant to scientific questions.
• To navigate through a scientific paper.
• To assess an experimental design for confounding variables.
• To appreciate the implications of a correlation.
• To consider appropriate ethical issues in experimental design.

Learning outcomes 1-6 will be assessed summatively through multiple-choice examination and an assessed essay. Learning outcomes 7-11 will be summatively assessed through multiple-choice examination.  The assessments will evaluate the students’ understanding of different approaches to solving problems related to psychology, and their ability to communicate this knowledge accurately and coherently.  The MCQ examination and assessed essay will evaluate the literacy and numeracy skills required for personal and academic development.     

Abnormal Psychology.

• History of approaches to abnormality.
• Anxiety Disorders.
• Schizophrenia.
• Eating Disorders.
• Depression (unipolar and bipolar).

 Developmental Psychology.

• Genetics and experience.
• Infancy.
• Childhood.
• Teenagers.
• Adults.

 Research Methods.

• The scientific process.
• Reading and writing scientific reports.
• Experimental and correlational methods.
• Research pitfalls.
• Ethics.

 Social Psychology.

• Interpersonal attraction.
• Attribution theory.
• Bystander intervention.
• Social cognition and prejudice.

Core Texts:

Sternberg, R. J.  (2001). In Search of the Human Mind  (3^rd Edition).  Fort Worth, TX:  Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

Seifert KL, Hoffnung RJ, Hoffnung M. 2nd edition (2000) Lifespan Development.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Cozby, P. C.  (1997). Methods in Behavioral Research.  (6^th Edition) Palo Alto, CA:  Mayfield.

Taylor, S. E., Peplau, L. A., & Sears, D. O. (2006). Social Psychology.  (12^th Edition) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.