Foundations of Psychology Course Descriptor

Course Overview

Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-fields of scientific studies. These subfields lay the foundation for understanding of the main approaches in Psychology – the so-called perspectives/ approaches to explain human behaviour and cognition. This course examines the philosophical and scientific antecedents of modern psychology, the classic and recent work in the history of psychology. By providing a general introduction to the schools of thought within Psychology, the course highlights important figures and critical ideas that have shaped historical movements of the understanding of the modern science of mind and behaviour. Students will be introduced to conceptual and historical issues in Psychology. They will learn about the key concepts and theories of Psychology and their application to real life situations such as business, forensic settings and health/healthcare and learn important issues relevant for psychological research, linking present day research with the underlying historical debates. Students will also be introduced to ethical theories and frameworks, which will support the development of ethical reasoning in Psychology.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

The scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course are:

Lectures/seminars/labs/studios/workshops

40 scheduled hours – typically including induction, consolidation or revision, and assessment activity hours.

• Version 1: all sessions in the same sized group

OR

• Version 2: most of the sessions in larger groups; some of the sessions in smaller groups

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups.

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 150

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessment are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within office hours, interactive teaching sessions, and/or the VLE. Summative grades are typically provided through the VLE.

Summative Assessments

The written assignments will be  a reflective piece of work that applies ethical theories to moral dilemmas and personal positions and a critical evaluation of the evolution of ideas and concepts in Psychology employing ethical reasoning techniques..

Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments or through email or the VLE) and oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).    

Feedback on summative examinations is typically provided through generic internal examiners’ reports which are made available on the VLE. Feedback on all summative assessments is made available to the student through the VLE or another appropriate method. 

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is used as part of the approval/modification process only.

• A History of Modern Psychology by Schultz and Schultz, 2015, Cengage Learning
• Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology, B Piekkola, 2016, SAGE publication
• Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology: Psychology Express, BM Hughes, 2011, Pearson Education

Indicative Topics

Note: Comprehensive and current topics for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative topics provided below are used as part of the approval/modification process only.

• Overview of major areas of contemporary scientific psychology
• Key experiments of the 20^th century