You explore the breadth of the discipline and develop a clear understanding of the core areas that underpin more advanced study.

You explore human development across the lifespan, examining how biological, cognitive, social, and emotional processes interact to shape growth and change.

The module aims to provide a foundation in psychological research methods and analysis required to create new knowledge and deliver innovation. Module content will include key concepts and terminology used in psychological research methods such as ethical principles, sampling, qualitative, an overview of quantitative and mixed methods designs, simple non-experimental and experimental designs, reliability and validity, probability, hypothesis testing, and developing a rationale for a study. By the end of this module students should be able to identify the appropriate method needed to tackle a range of research questions and know how to develop a rationale for a study.

The module explores genetic, endocrinological, neurological and evolutionary explanations for a series of psychological topics. The module will also develop students’ psychological research skills by introducing students to simple non-experimental and experimental designs, simple non-parametric and parametric statistical analysis and, psychological research report writing.

This module provides students with an understanding of a range of current cognitive psychological theories and their application, as well as experimental designs in the context of the study of cognitive psychology. Students will develop new skills in the use of different experimental designs and will also continue to enhance their skills in the critical analysis of research evidence and develop further statistical skills.

You explore how and why individuals differ from one another, focusing on two central domains within psychology: intelligence and personality. Drawing on both historical foundations and contemporary research, you will examine the major theoretical approaches used to understand individual differences. As a core BPS area, individual differences is studied in depth, with particular attention to theory development, empirical research and practical application.

You explore social psychology and qualitative research, examining how social contexts shape thoughts, emotions and behaviour.
You engage with social explanations for a range of psychological topics, while developing an understanding of the scientific approaches used to study social behaviour.

You study the concept of ecopsychology, the study of the relationship between human beings and the natural world and its implications for mental health and wellbeing.

You explore how digital technologies shape human behaviour and psychological processes in both online and offline contexts. You examine how internet use influences physical and psychological health, cognition and decision-making.

You explore the role of psychology in the progression, treatment and management of illness across the lifespan. You evaluate how different theoretical models explain health behaviour, with a focus on tension between the traditional biomedical model and the emerging biopsychosocial approach to understanding health and disease.

You are introduced to the theoretical foundations and empirical research underpinning positive psychology and explore how they are applied across clinical, educational, occupational, and personal contexts. You gain insight into the psychological publication process and the standards required for preparing work suitable for submission to an academic journal.

You explore neurodiversity from biological, cognitive, developmental, behavioural and environmental perspectives. You examine a range of neurodevelopmental conditions, including Autism spectrum condition, ADHD, Dyslexia, Specific language impairment, Williams syndrome, Dyscalculia, Fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome.

You undertake an independent, self-initiated empirical research project. Grounded in the principles of evidence-based practice, you develop your advanced research competence, project management skills and professional-level academic writing. You design, conduct, analyse, and disseminate an original psychological research study. Working closely with your allocated supervisor, you define your research focus and take ownership of the entire research process, from proposal development and ethical approval through to data collection, analysis and publication-style write-up.