PSY5042 - Biological and Social Psychology

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module students will be able to:

(1) Demonstrate knowledge of a range of both classic and current research in Biological and Social Psychology.
(2) Assess the strengths and weaknesses of various methodological and theoretical approaches within Biological and Social Psychology.
(3) Demonstrate a critical awareness of issues in Biological and Social Psychology.
(4) practical examples of research in both areas.

Content:

Biological Psychology<\b>
Building on PSY4262 (Introduction to Biological Psychology), this module will wuickly recap the previous year - including Basic Neuroanatomy - before moving onto the topic of Comparative Psychology. it will then cover neurodevelopment in the womb and several neurological disorders (eg Alzheimer's Disease, Epilepsy and Strokes) before discussing Internal Regulation (i.e. eating and drinking). Sexual differences and the biological basis of sexual orientation will follow, as will further discussion of the biological aspects of emotion (fear and anger). Finally, it will consider psychological disorders (i.e. Schizophrenia and Depression), critcally considering the Dopamine Hypothesis and basic psychopharmacology (i.e.biological mechanism of certain antidepressants).

Social Psychology<\b>
Social Cognition including: schemas, attitudes, social representations. Close relationships include: interpersonal attraction, relationships. Inter-Group processes including: prejudice, inter-group conflict, social identification, crowd behaviour, deindividuation. Small Group processes including: nroms, leadership, decision-making. Social influence including: confirmity and obedience, majority and minority influence, the bystander effect. Social Constructionism including: indentity making, discursive psychology.