Psychology with Foundation Year

We use key sociological concepts – such as identity, power and social institutions – to explore a range of topics that shape our society including education, the family and healthcare.

Crime is a feature of everyday modern life. We are surrounded by incidents and accounts of crime and the threat of it shapes our own efforts to keep safe.

But what makes an act criminal? Why do people commit crime? What are the consequences of this behaviour and how do societies respond?

In this module, we seek to answer these questions by exploring key elements of crime and justice from a social perspective. Because it is not just the police and courts that deal with crime, we also examine the involvement of a range of agencies, such as health care providers, education, and the voluntary sector, in dealing with criminals, maintaining social control, and protecting people.

This module invites you to examine and question the ways in which online social media; television; newspapers, and other media sources communicate and represent contemporary topics and issues in the social world.

This module will introduce you to the methods used by social scientists to carry out research. You will learn about examples of research from different disciplines within the social sciences, such as psychology, sociology and medicine.

This module will introduce the topic of mental health and will explore the different psychological approaches – such as biological, psychological and social – which psychologists use to understand positive and negative aspects of mental health

In this module you will focus on your professional practice through personal development planning.  

This will enable you to consider a range of tools and techniques that will help structure what is meant by professional development planning over the short, medium, and long term.  This approach will encourage you to maximise the opportunities of your course with the aim of ensuring you achieve your goals in your future studies and chosen career.  

You will focus on different communication techniques, self-assessment and build on a series of techniques to consider personal and professional development, and what that means for us, the professional bodies (where relevant), and research underpinnings that shape our studies and future careers. 

In our day-to-day lives we tend to make judgements about human behaviour in a subjective manner using anecdotal evidence.

In this module, you will be introduced to qualitative and quantitative research approaches used in psychology to study human behaviour in an objective and systematic way. This will enable you to make informed decisions as to people’s actions and motivations.

What are some of the key questions that psychologists try to address in modern psychology? What approaches do they use? You will develop a critical understanding of a range of perspectives and approaches in contemporary psychology.

You will be introduced to research in psychology, learning about newly emerging studies with practical implications for the community. Understanding this will help you to see how, even if you do not pursue a career in psychology, an understanding of psychology can be great for thinking about anything and everything.

By knowing more about the research process that is used to study psychology and the basic steps that are used, you can better understand the process researchers go through to arrive at conclusions about human behaviour. This module will develop and enhance your skills in conducting data analysis from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective.

In this module you will be introduced to major perspectives which exist within psychology, for example psychodynamic, behaviourist, cognitive and biological perspectives. This will enable you to establish an  understanding of the origins and history of research within psychology, and gain an awareness of the fundamental assumptions that each perspective holds,

After taking this module, you will be able to see the continuity and development  of psychology as a scientific disciple over time, and understand the places of differing perspectives in psychology today.

As part of this module, you will learn about and be able to apply insight from a variety of perspectives to begin to understand research through these differing lenses. This module will also introduce to key study skills within psychology, including the fundamentals of university writing, citations and referencing particularly using APA formatting.

Individuals, groups, organisations, governments are facing challenging issues and psychology can bring solutions to many current social issues (e.g., climate change, social justice and wellbeing).

You will gain an understanding of Community Psychology perspectives for working with communities to improve their wellbeing with a focus on Community Psychology methods for working with marginalised groups.

This module explores human development from neonatal stages through to end of life. It covers the progression of developmental processes throughout the lifespan, identifying both typical and atypical trajectories and the factors that influence these developments, such as genetics, environment, and societal factors.

Central to this module is the exploration of ‘mind’ and ‘behaviour’ from a developmental perspective. This involves studying how cognitive functions, emotional responses, and behavioural patterns emerge and transform as individuals grow and age. You will explore key developmental stages, including infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age, with each characterised by unique psychological and physiological changes.

With more awareness of mental health issues there is an increasing focus on how to support wellbeing. Positive psychology focuses on optimal human functioning and what makes life fulfilling. Although the positive side of human functioning is often neglected within psychology this is not so for developmental psychologists who typically focus on adaptability and positive functioning. This module explores how taking a developmental perspective can aid our understanding of how to live well at every stage of life.

The aim of this module is to develop your psychological literacy, the ability to apply what you know from studying developmental psychology in L4 to understanding how positive psychology can improve wellbeing.  You will explore how positive psychology techniques can help people flourish throughout the lifespan, and how you too can lead a flourishing life.

You will gain an overview of brain anatomy and how processes are localised to different areas or structures. You’ll also learn about the way that our nervous system is structured to help us interact with the outside world or respond to internal sensations such as pain.

We look at different cognitive functions such as memory, attention and thinking, using case studies to explain what happens when the brain is not functioning correctly, and consider a variety of research methods, from brain imaging to problem solving and exploring how drugs affect behaviour.

Community psychologists try to understand and engage with social injustice; working with communities on a more collaborative and participatory approach is key to challenging social injustice and marginalisation.

You will explore how social and environmental factors are associated with personal behaviour as well as with behaviour in local communities and organisations. You will discover the role of psychology to socio-political problems such as homelessness, health promotion, and cuts to welfare as some examples.

You will navigate the different ways in which social psychologists make sense of the human mind and behaviour and how psychological research can help us addresses real-life issues.

How much influence does personality have on the actions we take and the ambitions we hold? How do other people’s actions impact our behaviour?

Social psychologists seek to understand human behaviour and how others influence our thoughts feelings and behaviour, and applicability to our daily social interactions and decision making.

In this module you will cover some more research techniques and you will be given a little more freedom to select and design your own mini-project. By the end of this module you will have all the skills necessary to begin designing your dissertation next year. You will also have had experience at designing your own study and how to overcome issues associated with taking a project from the idea stage to successful completion.

You will learn the final batch of analytical methods in the Methods-based element and you will be able to identify and progress through the various stages that are involved in designing, conducting and analysis your own study in the Report- based element.

This will enable you to approach your dissertation with an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches you might take. On this module you’ll learn the final batch of analytical methods in the Methods-based element and you’ll be able to identify and progress through the various stages in the Report- based element.

This module further develops your understanding of theoretical and practical issues concerned with psychological research and will enable you to advance the skills required for the conduct of investigations and the presentation of findings.

You will acquire knowledge of investigation design and methodology with associated essential techniques (such as a variety of statistical and/or qualitative techniques) that are applied in empirical research.

Is there an area of psychology that really interests you? Is there a psychological study that you’d like to replicate? Is there a psychological topic that you think is under researched that you’d like to investigate? If so, then this is the module for you!

This module allows you to independently research an area of psychology that really interests you and gives you the opportunity to enhance and showcase the psychological knowledge you’ve acquired and the research skills and ethical understanding you’ve developed throughout your degree course. This module allows you to independently conduct and write up a piece of psychological research. This will require you to research an area of psychology of your own choosing.

This module will help you to continue your development as a reflective practitioner by identifying and reflecting on your skill development over the course of your degree and in a short work placement. This will give enable you to further develop your professional skills such as: ethical competence; cultural competence; and evidence-based practice.

You will gain knowledge of the work of a Practitioner Psychologist and related roles and will explore some examples of the type of work a practitioner psychologist would do. You will reflect on your work experience, skills, and areas for development which will contribute to a development plan for when you graduate.

Changing behaviour is central to many of the key problems our societies face. This module looks at behaviour change theory and research and applies these to real world issues. This module aims to equip students with theoretical and practical knowledge required to enable students to effectively identify, analyse and apply the principles of behaviour change in practice.

The focus will be on understanding and implementing behaviour changes in applied settings, and students will be encouraged to apply their skills and knowledge to their own areas of interest.

As technology becomes ever more sophisticated, our lives become more entwined and shaped by the technology which we build. The online world is seen by many as a separate yet wholly real world to live in and mange. Despite this, our understanding of the impact technology is having on psychological functions is lacking.

Media focus on the role of technology is usually negative, discussing issues such as the online addiction, Instagram promoting self-harm, and video games increasing aggression and explicit violent behaviour. Research has shown technology has positive impacts as well such as being able to remain connected to loved ones and family members, access essential health interventions such as e-therapy, and evidence that video games can improve rather than hinder cognitive function.

Mindful living has been linked to good mental health, good physical health, and improved wellbeing. Mindfulness now underpins several therapeutic-approaches. Having an embodied personal practice enables you to develop your own understanding of mindfulness and to authentically teach mindfulness to clients and service users.

This personal understanding will change the way in which you engage with the evidence-base for mindfulness-based approaches.