Psychology

Course summary

The Psychology course aims to provide a holistic and integrated approach to understanding mental processes and behaviour as a complex, dynamic phenomenon, allowing students to appreciate the diversity as well as the commonality between their own behaviour and that of others. The course enables students to develop an understanding of the biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors affecting mental processes and behaviour and apply that understanding. They should understand diverse methods of inquiry and the importance of ethical practice in psychological research in general. Furthermore, they will develop an awareness of how psychological research can be applied to address real-world problems and promote positive change. The Psychology course is an introduction to three different approaches to understanding behaviour: the biological, cognitive and sociocultural approaches. These approaches will be studied through areas of applied psychology: abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, health psychology, and the psychology of relationships. Students will be required to employ a range of research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, to test their observations and hypotheses. They will consider the various approaches to research and be expected to critically reflect on the evidence. Students will design, implement, analyse and evaluate their own investigations.