Psychology

Course summary

Psychology is the science of mind, brain and behaviour. As we grow up we all become experts in human behaviour. Isn’t Psychology all just common sense? Well yes and no: psychological understanding begins by formulating theories and looking for evidence to support or challenge them. Common sense can be found to both support and contradict what we find. As most students are new to psychology the course aims to develop an appreciation of the variety of possible explanations. Aggressive behaviour for instance: do we learn it or is it in our genes? Is it caused by abnormal brain chemicals, playing violent computer games or our upbringing? How can we investigate these questions? Psychology uses a range of methods including laboratory experiments, natural observation in the field, surveys or interviews and case studies. Learning about these methods and their strengths and limitations is an important part of the course. You also learn about the different fields of Psychology in the 21st century, including social, cognitive, developmental, biological and abnormal psychology.