Module code: PSY7030-C
In this module you will gain a comprehensive and critical understanding of the biological bases of behaviour, contemporary cognitive psychology, and neuroscientific perspectives. These key topics are a crucial part of the MSc psychology programme and are a requirement of the British Psychological Society. Through cognitive psychology you will find out how people reason, think, and perceive, and how we use language to communicate with others. You will explore the functional nature of brain structure and how we learn and remember. You will gain an understanding of human consciousness and the interaction between emotion and cognition. This module will give you an appreciation of the techniques used to investigate cognitive psychology, such as neuroimaging. Neuropsychology deals with the problems that can affect cognitive functioning. You will gain a comprehensive and critical understanding of consequences of several neuropsychological conditions and learn what this knowledge tells us about the normally functioning brain. With psychobiology you will investigate psychological processes from a biological perspective, and consider behavioural genetics and evolutionary psychology, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, and comparative approaches to animal and human behaviour. You will explore the biological bases of several different pathologies such as eating disorders, anxiety, schizophrenia, and substance abuse as well as neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. You will discover how our knowledge of the structure and function of the nervous system has given rise to current biological/pharmacological treatments of psychiatric and degenerative pathologies. Additionally, you will learn the psychobiological control of functions such, locomotion, emotion, pain, eating, and sleep. You will develop a critical awareness of the broad range of research methods used in cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology, and neuropsychology and consider the ethical implications of such research. You will evaluate how the combined contribution of cognitive psychology, psychobiology, and neuroscience helps our understanding of cognitive functioning. You will be encouraged to consider diverse and alternative perspectives towards the areas of cognition and neuropsychology as well as explore recent developments in research and technology.
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