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Catalogue of psychology courses 2012-2013 for visiting students

by Steve Draper, School of Psychology.

This is my attempt at a fully up to date version of what should be in the Psychology section of the University of Glasgow's course catalogue for "Study Abroad": i.e. for students visiting the university for a year or less. I shall try to keep it up to date, especially with respect to courses that may not be running in the current year, and a useful reference source for everyone. If you think you see anything wrong on this page, please immediately contact me (Steve Draper).

This is at best accurate for September 2012 - June 2013 only.

Where an entry says "Semester 1&2" this means students must attend for BOTH semesters 1 and 2.
Where an entry for a level 4 course says "Semester1.2" it indicates that it runs in semester 1, in the second half, while "1.1" would mean the first half of semester 1.

Psychology courses with codes beginning '3' e.g. 'psych-3005' are not offered to visiting students. In many cases there is a directly corresponding version with a '4' code e.g. 'psych-4003', which you may enrol on.

All courses are subject to numbers limits. Currently we are turning away students from the full level 3 course, but not from the main modules within it. However Critical Reviews and mini Projects are not normally offered to visiting students due to numbers. Some level 4 courses may be a problem in future, but not this year.

For more details of each course, see the handbooks (available on the web), which have much more detail on each course, often lecture by lecture learning objectives.
(Course codes are also listed here.)

Contents (click to jump to a section)

Psychology level 1

Semester 1     Level1     20 credits     psych-1001
Semester 2     Level1     20 credits     psych-1002
The course provides an introduction to the main areas and concepts of Psychology. The course also teaches practical skills involved with experiments on human subjects. Communication skills are also encouraged by means of tutorials. These courses are subject to numbers limits, but currently there are places available. Visiting students may take the second course without having taken the first.

Psychology 2 (higher)

Semester 1     Level2     30 credits     psych-2010
Semester 2     Level2     30 credits     psych-2011
These courses are subject to numbers limits, but currently there are plenty of places.

The same broad areas are covered as in level 1, but to a markedly deeper level. The topics in the labs are much more varied than in level 1.

It builds on the foundations laid in Psychology 1 to broaden and, especially, to deepen your knowledge of the subject area so that by the end of the course you will be able to summarise and discuss the theories and findings of psychologists who have conducted research in such areas as Abnormal, Cognitive, Developmental, Psychobiological and Social Psychology, the Psychology of Personality and of Perception and Applied Psychology. Through the practicals and tutorials it develops such transferable skills as the design of experiments in the behavioural sciences, the writing of research reports and the discussion of results presented in such reports. It aims to increase your awareness of the many different ways in which the methods and results of Psychology are applied in the world outside the laboratory.

See the course handbook for details, and the breakdown of topics between the semesters.

Level (year) 3 modules

Current issues in psychology

Semester1.     Level 3 (Non Honours)     30 credits     psych-3003

This course is not offered to visiting students.

Group Research Project_Psych Studies

Semester1,2.     Level 3 (Non Honours)     30 credits     psych-3004

This course is not normally offered to visiting students.

Critical Review

Semester1 or semester 2.     Level3     7.5 credits each     pscyh-4056
This course is subject to numbers limits, and currently we are not normally offering them to visiting students.

Cognitive psychology level 3

Semester1     Level3     10 credits     psych-4002
In this module we will cover important issues within the topics of memory, language and decision making.

Conceptual and historical issues in psychology

Semester2     Level3     10 credits     psych-4003
This honours core course aims to introduce students to those aspects of the philosophy of science relevant for psychological research. It then reviews the recent history of Psychology in the 19th and 20th centuries and to explore this in the context of major schools of thought in Psychology. Students will learn to link present day research with the underlying historical debates. They will also be introduced to the varying systems and theories which still inform modern Psychology.

Human development level 3

Semester1     Level3     10 credits     psych-4006
This module provides a review of the developmental changes particularly in the womb and early childhood, and presents the most relevant research and theories in this field. In particular it deals with face perception, theory of mind, early neuro development, and prematurity.

Individual differences

Semester2     Level3     10 credits     psych-4039
To build on the study of theories of personality covered at Level 2 by elaborating on some of these and introducing a series of specialist topics within the area of personality studies. To inform the students on current statistical thinking in psychometrics and individual differences. To familiarise the student with the concepts of biological variation and explain tests of neurological function.

Perception and visual cognition level 3

Semester1     Level3     10 credits     psych-4008
This module describes the processes involved in human visual processing, provides a theoretical background of important issues in perception and relates the theoretical issues to our practical experience of how we perceive the world.

Physiological psychology level 3

Semester2     Level3     10 credits     psych-4009
Part 1: This module will cover the development of the nervous system. In addition it will discuss the role of genetics and the emergence of behaviour. Part 2: To provide a basic understanding of methods used, in the study of human autonomic, endocrine and skeletal muscular psychophysiology and a critical appreciation of theoretical and practical problems and applications to the study of specific psychological phenomena.

Professional skills level 3

Semester1     Level3     10 credits     psych-4011
Through lectures, workshops, tutorials and practical exercises, to develop awareness of and raise the level of those skills required when working within the broad framework of psychology and when seeking entry to the profession or to an alternative career.

Social psychology level 3

Semester2     Level3     10 credits     psych-4036
This module provides a broad-based understanding of classic and contemporary psychological theory and research in the Social Psychology of Attitudes. Following the course, students will be able to select and apply in research contexts the main methods of attitude assessment - to criticise the major theoretical models of attitude development, organisation and change - and to apply their knowledge of theory to experimental and 'real-life' problems in the area of attitudes.

Statistics level 3

Semester1     Level3     10 credits     psych-4037
To provide an understanding of the inferential statistics appropriate to the analysis of psychological data through the framework of the General Linear Model. In addition, students will gain practical experience with the statistical programming platform "R".

Level (year) 4 modules

Adolescent Brain Development

Semester2.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4013
This course aims: 1) To present the most recent discoveries regarding the developmental changes in brain morphology during the teenage years and how this relates (or not) to behavioural changes, especially in the executive and social domains. 2) To trigger reflection about the methodological issues as well as the social impact of developmental cognitive neuroscience.

Advanced Qualitative Methods

Semester2.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4050
The aims of this course are to introduce and equip students with research ready skills in advanced qualitative methods and analysis. The course aims to support students to acquire a critical understanding of core issues in qualitative methods and analysis inclusive of; the role of epistemology, design, data collection techniques, process of analysis, write up considerations and awareness of rigour and quality.

Atypical Development

Semester1.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4051
This course aims to provide an analysis of the nature, origins, developmental course and provision for atypical development. It will examine the origins and identification of different forms of atypical development and investigate the psychological and social impact for children. It will critically evaluate theories and research related to the psychological development of children with physical disabilities, developmental psychopathologies and gifted development.

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Semester2.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4014
This course aims To introduce students to the broad range of current research on autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). By the end of this programme students will:

Basics of Joint Attention

Semester1.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4015
The aims of this module are threefold: Firstly students will learn how humans and non-human primates establish a "shared view of the world" with their conspecifics. Secondly students will engage with recent findings in cognitive neuroscience research related to this topic and will learn how to critically evaluate different neuroimaging paradigms. Thirdly, students will improve their verbal presentation skills by presenting a research article to their peers

Brain Oscillations in Action

Semester2     Level4     10 credits     86JD
This course will not run in 2012-13 due to staff changes.

Child Abuse

Semester1     Level4     10 credits     86JU
This course will not run in 2012-13 due to staff changes.

Cognitive Neuroscience Insights into brain plasticity

Semester1.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4018
This course will survey recent advances in understanding the brain-behaviour relationship through non-invasive transcranial brain stimulation, complemented by classical neuropsychological and modern neuroimaging approaches. Rather than focusing mainly on functional deficits, the course will highlight paradoxical (sometimes productive) effects of stimulation/lesions in healthy participants/patients and use these observations as windows to introduce some of the key aspects of brain organization.

Cognitive Neuroscience of Ageing

Semester1.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4019
This course provides an introduction to the field of cognitive ageing, with a particular emphasis on age-related neuronal changes. Examples from the literature will be discussed, showing how the structural and functional alterations of neuronal networks affect cognitive performance in healthy and pathological ageing.

Colour

Semester2     Level4     10 credits     86JZ
This course will not run in 2012-13 due to staff changes.

Concepts and Empirical Results in Education

Semester2.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4022
This course introduces some of the biggest published effects in teaching methods in higher education, such as Mazur who increased the amount learned on his level one course by a factor of nearly 3 times. It then introduces several important educational concepts from the literature applying to higher education (HE): Laurillard's model, deep and shallow learning, Perry's model. It requires students to apply these to specific course designs, and use them to critique those designs; but equally, to critique the theories by identifying concerns and issues not covered by the theories.

fMRI in Biopsychology

Semester2.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4023
Functional brain imaging has become an essential tool in Biopsychology and Neuroscience that has changed the way we think about the brain today. This course aims to give an in-depth introduction to the basics of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The course will cover physical and physiological basics of the fMRI-signal, experimental strategies, and analysis principles.

Forensic Psychology

Semester2.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4024
This module looks at ways that psychology can contribute to the legal system, informing the evidence process, witnessing and the courts. By the end of this course students will be able to :

Hearing by eye

Semester2     Level4     10 credits     86JG
This course will not run in 2012-13 due to staff changes.

Human Motion Perception

Semester2     Level4     10 credits     86KB
This course will not run in 2012-13 due to staff changes.

Interaction and Communication

Semester2.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4027
The course will explore recent research on linguistic communication and interaction. It will consider both one-way communication and two-way communication. It will also explore non-linguistic forms of communication, such as graphical communication and communication with manual gestures. The course will provide a thorough foundation enabling the student to understand specific processes of human communication.

Language and Meaning

Semester1.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4028
The aim of this course is to develop students understanding of language processing and theories of meaning. Different methodological techniques will be explained and we will consider the different empirical questions these techniques afford. The neurophysiology of language will be discussed and we will consider current explanations of language related components, e.g. N400 and P600. We will also discuss our understanding of shallow processing, pragmatics and framing effects in language comprehension.

Leadership

Semester1.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4029
These lectures explore aspects of research and theory in the area of Leadership with an emphasis on how research can be applied. By the end of this course students will be able to:

Networks of Attention and Working Memory

Semester2.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4030
The aims of this module are threefold. Firstly students will learn how processes of attention and working memory are implemented in the human brain. Secondly students will engage with recent research articles in cognitive neuroscience related to this topic and will learn how to critically evaluate different neuroimaging paradigms. Thirdly, students will improve their verbal presentation skills by presenting a research article to their peers.

Neuropsychological Deficits

Semester1.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4031
This course will not run in 2012-13 due to staff changes.

Positive Psychology

Semester2.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4032
This course aims to introduce the field of positive psychology. To focus on the cases where practical exercises for individuals have been shown empirically to increase well-being. To develop critical thinking by addressing the nexus of self-help and empirical psychological science.

Overall outline:
This course introduces the relatively new field of positive psychology. It will focus on the cases where practical exercises for individuals have been shown empirically to increase well-being, and develop critical thinking by addressing the nexus of self-help and empirical psychological science. In fact many of the practical interventions are susceptible to more interpretations than the one given by their originators, and conversely, some themes reappear in different ways. For instance, there is work showing that writing about traumatic events can improve well-being; that writing about positive events can do so; and perhaps that just reflective writing is what improves well-being. Topics will include gratitude, both counting your blessings, and writing gratitude letters to others; exercises to counteract our tendency to leap from an event to a single (often the worst case) interpretation and prediction of its effects: both actively counter-reasoning, and accepting feelings without taking them as valid inferences about the world; the way happiness depends not only on pleasure but also on meaningfulness; and the way it depends on time affluence not material riches.

Psychological Interventions

Semester1.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4033
This course aims to develop students' knowledge in the theoretical underpinnings and practical application of psychologically bases therapeutic interventions for a range of disorders; To develop students' knowledge of the origins, models and methods of art therapy as an intervention with a wide variety of client groups; To equip them with the skills relevant to assessing the effectiveness of present and new psychological interventions.

Psychology of Abnormality

Semester2.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4034
The course will examine and evaluate different approaches to understanding and treating common psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia and depression. In addition to psychological theories and treatment options, the emphasis in the course will be on the accompanying biological changes to provide an integrated overview on mental disorders.

Psychology of Will

Semester1.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4035
The aim of this module is to provide an overview of theoretical and experimental work on the psychology of will. The emphasis is on very recent results from cognitive psychology and cognitive sciences more broadly. Recent developments will be related to their historical context. The course provides an opportunity to discuss will in relation to practical problems in the real world.

Sleep and Circadian timing

Semester1.2     Level4     10 credits     psych-4040
To introduce students to current issues in sleep and circadian rhythms. To expose students to the variety of subjective and objective methods used to study sleep and timing. To enable students to critically evaluate case studies of disorders of the sleep and circadian timing systems. This option will be taught jointly with clinical staff.

Social cognition

Semester1.1     Level4     10 credits     psych-4012
The aims are: To introduce students to key topics in the broad area of social cognition; To demonstrate the social cognitive processes involved in aspects of health psychology; To evaluate the social cognitive features of human attraction; To examine how social cognition varies with culture; To show how social cognitive processes affect internal thought monitoring.

Syntactic Processing in Language Comprehension and Production

Semester1     Level4     10 credits     86JS
This course will not run in 2012-13 due to staff changes.

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