BA (Hons)
Psychology
Degree Programme

YEAR 1

Courses

• PSY 3100 Foundations in Psychology

  Introduces students to the major areas within the psychology discipline, through current empirical research and theoretical debate. Topics include: scientific methodology; brain functioning; sensation and perception; evolutionary theory; consciousness; development; personality; social psychology; psychopathology; language; and learning. Students discover how psychological research is conducted and how research findings can be applied to understanding human behaviour.

• PSY 3101 Psychological Debates and Controversies

  ‘Psychological Debates & Controversies’ introduces students to foundational, core and contemporary debates in psychology and how these big questions impact psychological research and scientific progress. Students will learn about theoretical debates such as the Nature-vs-Nurture, Idiographic-vs-Nomothetic, Reductionism-vs-Holism and Determinism-vs-Free Will; additionally, modern controversies such as Essentialism and Social Constructionism; also, the arguments around how psychology is used regarding the economic impact of psychology research and Applied-vs-Theoretical psychology; and the unexpected prevalence of Race, Culture, Sex & Gender bias in Psychology. The course will also teach students how to articulate psychological arguments based on primary research and the basics of APA-style and referencing.

• PSY 3102 Scientific Reasoning in Psychology

  Scientific reasoning underpins the vast majority of contemporary research in psychology. This course introduces students to scientific concepts, their development and impact on the field of psychology. Students will engage with critical reading and analysis of psychological scholarly work, and develop a working knowledge of the application of design principles and statistical reasoning within psychological research.

• GEP 3105 Tools for Change

  In this course, students will discuss and respond to social issues in the local area through group work, reflecting on how they can become both collaborative and independent learners. They will research the context of and plan for service learning in the local area. They will learn to use a range of digital platforms for individual and group project work, focussing strongly on effective communication, including oral presentation and written reports using a range of relevant primary and secondary sources.

• GEP 3180 Research & Writing I

  This core course concentrates on developing the students’ ability to read and think critically, and to read, understand and analyse texts from a range of genres. How do you successfully negotiate a path through a sea of information and then write it up? Using essential information literacy skills to help with guided research, this course develops the ability to produce effective and appropriate academic writing across the curriculum. This is the first course in the Richmond academic research and writing sequence.

Plus one of the following:

• GEP 3150 Visual Thinking

  In this course, students will discuss and respond to social issues in the local area through group work, reflecting on how they can become both collaborative and independent learners. They will research the context of and plan for service learning in the local area. They will learn to use a range of digital platforms for individual and group project work, focussing strongly on effective communication, including oral presentation and written reports using a range of relevant primary and secondary sources.

• GEP 3170 Narratives of Change

  This course considers a landscape of global ideas through the lens of contemporary literature. Students will be introduced to pivotal moments of recent thought surrounding gender, race, environment and technology, exploring how literature both shapes and responds to our changing world. Students will analyse literary, political, and theoretical texts from a variety of cultures, exploring the relationship between written form, content and context particularly the ways in which social change might play out in literature. There will be the opportunity to produce both critical analysis in essay form and creative writing that responds to the texts studied.

YEAR 2

Courses

• PSY 4200 Beginning Human Science Research

  Beginning Human Science Research introduces students to the study and interpretation of lived experience. The course covers a range of qualitative models that govern human science research, with a special emphasis on the common features that distinguish them from natural science and quantitative research frameworks. One of the special features of the course is its practical emphasis, whereby students are encouraged to generate human science research questions, to carry out interviews and to complete a series of writing exercises that stimulate their capacity to interpret lived experience. The course also covers the relationship between writing and reflection, the value of narrative approaches, and research ethics in qualitative research. Students will be expected to reflect deeply about the experiential workshops, and to demonstrate their understanding by means of descriptive interpretations and thematic analyses on key topics.

• PSY 4205 Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology

  This course engages students in an overview of the main philosophical, scientific and social ideas that formulated psychology as we know it today. We will cover conceptual and methodological positions underlying different paradigms and research trends in the study of human behaviour. We will examine the following questions: what is science and to what extend is psychology permeated by the characteristics of science; what is the extent of social and cultural construction in psychology; is or can psychology be morally or politically neutral; what can we learn from the history of psychology so far? In addition this course will address the issues involved in acquiring knowledge through various scientific methodologies, the critique of traditional methods in psychology, the relationship between facts and values and the significance of the standpoint from which values are understood. Finally, we will discuss ethical issues in psychology, their origins, the moral underpinnings of theory, research and practice and how psychologists construct ethically responsible practices within a social environment.

• PSY 4210 Developmental Psychology

  Developmental Psychology explores the child's developing experience of the world. Major theories and issues in development from conception to adolescence are examined with a particular emphasis on the nature-nurture issue and cross-cultural studies. Topics covered include: fetal development, physical development, cognitive development, social development and personality development. Students are encouraged to actively participate in class discussion and use their own experiences to help understand theoretical issues.

• PSY 4215 Biological Basis of Human Behaviour

  Exposes students to the relationship between biology and behavior. Students are expected to assess critically the extent to which biological explanations can be used to understand or explain human behavior. Topics covered are: motivational behavior; social behavior; sleep; perception; learning; and memory. Special discussion topics include: sexual behavior; eating disorders; emotions; and consciousness. In addition, the course also looks at perceptual and memory disorders. Prerequisite: PSY 3100 Foundations in Psychology and at least one other lower-division psychology course

• GEP 4180 Research and Writing II

  How do you train your critical research and writing skills to be effective in the academic and professional arenas? How do you design and structure an argument that is convincing? This core course focuses on the principles of good scholarship and academic practice that will be required throughout the students’ studies and in the workplace. These skills are developed throughout the course so that students may, with increasing confidence, produce well-researched writing that demonstrates critical engagement with a self-selected academic topic. This is the second course in the Richmond academic research and writing sequence.

• GEP 4105 Social Change in Practice

  This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to analyse London-based social and environmental needs. Students will discuss key texts related to service learning and apply a range of planning and research techniques to deliver a community-based project related to a chosen social or environmental issue. Students will use local resources when available including registered not-for-profit and community-based organizations and reflect critically on their ability to create a positive contribution to society. Students will engage in community-based service learning, with guided academic tasks and reflection.

• MTH 4120 Probability and Statistics 1

  An introductory course in probability primarily designed for business economics and psychology majors. The course coverage will include: descriptive statistics, elementary probability theory, random variables and expectations, discrete probability distributions (Binomial and Poisson distributions), continuous probability distribution (Normal distribution), linear regression analysis and correlations, elementary hypothesis testing and Chi-square tests, non-parametric methods and SPSS lab sessions targeting applications of statistical concepts to business, economics and psychology and interpretations of hardcopies. All practical work will be produced using SPSS statistical software.

YEAR 3

Courses

• PSY 5100 Human Development

  This course is designed to explore in detail the way in which socio-cultural contexts influence the development of the self in infancy and childhood. Special emphasis will be given to the development of the self-concept and self-esteem, interpersonal processes and the application of psychoanalytic ideas to human development; including the work of Erik Erikson, Anna Freud and D. W. Winnicott. The course will also focus on the role of family processes on socialization, the effects of trauma in childhood, peer group dynamics and children's friendships; as well as a wide variety of theoretical perspectives on adolescence, and contemporary theories of the relationship between insecure attachment and psychopathology. Students will have the opportunity to engage in independent research projects examining a variety of topics, including the effects of parenting styles on the developing child, the long-term effects of solitude, and the effects of inter-parental conflict on the child’s sense of security.

• PSY 5215 Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence

  The purpose of this course is to increase students’ awareness of the variety of theoretical viewpoints that exist regarding the nature of human individual differences and the factors that influence human behaviour. We will examine the different theoretical viewpoints about intelligence, personality structure and its development, emotion, motivation, cognitive styles, the development of psychopathology, and clinical applications for personality change. Students will evaluate prominent theoretical perspectives critically and consider cultural variations in individual differences.

• PSY 5220 Social Psychology

  Social psychological processes influence how we perceive, judge, remember, and behave toward people. These processes shape, and are shaped by, our social expectations, social roles, social goals, and social interactions. This course is designed to illustrate the relationship between the individual and society and to demonstrate the multiple ways that social psychology can be applied to the individual - society interface in specific topic areas. Students are encouraged to critically reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of various social psychology theories, to consider their research methods and their applications to real life situations.

• PSY 5205 Quantitative Methods in Psychology

  This course is designed to introduce students to the various stages of quantitative research within the Psychology discipline. Students will gain experience doing research and deriving topic questions. In addition, students will learn to formally critique empirical work. The course is designed as a laboratory course; extensive student participation is required. Upon completion of this course, students will have mastered the basic steps for conducting independent research, with ethical and laboratory constraints following APA guidelines.

• PSY 5210 Experimental Methods in Psychology

  This course covers experimental design and testing methodology in the study of human behaviour. The course will elaborate on the content covered in PSY 5205 Quantitative Methods in Psychology. More advanced statistical analysis will be covered alongside the theoretical base for using different research methods and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each. Also we will discuss in depth ethical issues in psychological research and the way we report and present studies in psychology. Students are expected to be deliver their experimental work with limited direction building on what they learned in PSY 5205 in terms of designing, conducting and reporting an experiment according to APA standards.

Plus one of the following:

• PSY 5101 Human Sexuality and Biodiversity

  “Human Sexuality & Biodiversity” offers students the opportunity to learn about the sexological approach to sex and gender, inclusive of classic psychodynamic, psychological, evolutionary and biological approaches to sex and gender. The focus of the course is to emphasise biodiversity, and teach students a broad spectrum of sex and gender theories that explain for different sexualities such as heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer; and different genders like masculinity, femininity, androgyny, intersex, trans and non-binary genders. Moreover, the course content is critically evaluated through a “queer” lens, discussing the debates and arguments critical queer theory makes against the empirical study of sex and gender, and the psychological response to these arguments psychologists have made in reply. Finally the course ends on discussing intersectional identities and how sex and gender may differ based on intersections with culture, race and class.

• PSY 5400 Mind and Language

  This is an interdisciplinary course that introduces students to current research and debates in the areas of language and communication. Whereas similar courses have focused on the relationship between language and mind, this course aims to address a relatively neglected aspect of psychology: the relationship between language and self. Beginning with an overview of the biological basis of language and a review of the developmental research on language acquisition, the course will also examine the relation between gesture and language. Clinical models of communication will be covered, focusing on pathological forms of communication such as schizophrenia and autism. The second part of the course will examine structuralist and poststructuralist approaches to language, linguistic interpretations of psychoanalytic theory, narrative communication and narrative identity, as well as theories of reading and writing.

• PSY 5415 Psychology and Cinema

  This course examines psychological approaches to understanding films. Beginning with classical psychoanalytic interpretations of contemporary films, the course will evaluate the relevance of Freud’s work on the uncanny, voyeurism, repetition compulsion and trauma. Students will also be introduced to Barthes’ influential semiotic work on narrative codes and their use in the film industry, as well as Laura Mulvey’s seminal feminist critique of Hollywood. Of special interest is the cinema’s potential, as an art form, to capture contemporary psychological processes such as individuation, the fear of fragmentation and the search for a narrative identity. There is a special emphasis on Jungian approaches to film, the Symbolic cinema, critical analyses of narrative structures, and the application of existential-phenomenological categories of thought to reading films. The course is run as a seminar, so students are expected to read widely and participate with interest.

• PSY 5425 Health Psychology

  Although nowadays people live longer and are currently ‘healthier’ than in the past not everyone has a sense of improved health or wellbeing. Health Psychology analyses the biopsychosocial factors which contribute to, and, maintain illness/disease in contemporary society. Health Psychology aims to improve wellbeing by applying psychological theories, methods and research to the promotion of health; prevention and treatment of illness and disability; analysis and improvement of the health care system and; health policy formation.

• MGT 5400 Organisational Behaviour

  This course explores the structure and nature of organisations and the contribution that communication and human behaviour makes to organisational performance. The course will address not only macro level issues relating to the environment and context within which organisations operate, but also the micro level influences of people as individuals and groups, their motivations and operating styles. The management of people for successful organisational performance will be emphasised by considering work environmental factors that facilitate or impede organisational success.

Plus one of the following:

• GEP 5101 Service Learning: Digital Collaboration

  This Digital Collaboration Service-Learning course is a student community engagement course that aims to provide students from all disciplines and majors with the intellectual, professional, and personal skills that will enable them to build professional links and function well in culturally diverse communities both locally and globally, in a digital capacity. In addition to the hours of field work (typically 30 hours*), the student will also produce a critical reflective progress report of their experience (a learning log), a ‘community action’ portfolio (analytical essay), and a final oral presentation, based on their own creative project. These assessments have been designed to help the student reflect on the application of their specialist knowledge, the skills they are learning, and the benefits gained from the service-learning experience. During this service-learning course, the faculty supervisor work closely with each student to ensure that the community engagement is a successful one.This course enables students engage with organizations and communities outside of the university. Over two semesters, students will devise, plan and construct their own digital project for Charities, NGO’s and non-profit organisations via digital engagement and media networks. This course expands theories from digital global service learning, across different employment sectors, and aspects of society. It equips students to identify the ranges of opportunities for innovation and employment that digital skills offer, using digital resource and community building for physical and mental health. The course examines decolonial theories of global digital community. It is highly recommended that students have access to the use of a laptop and a smartphone for the duration of the course.

• GEP 5102 Service Learning: Leadership in a Changing World

  This is a Service Learning course that focuses on emerging forms of leadership. It aims to introduce students from all majors to the professional, intellectual and personal skills to enable them to understand different approaches to leadership and function well in culturally diverse communities globally. In addition to the hours of field work (typically 30 hours* depending on the organisation), the student will also produce a critical reflective progress report of their experience (a project log), and a portfolio of their work (potentially as an analytical essay, or a video or a Report or an oral presentation). These assessments have been designed to help the student reflect on the application of their specialist knowledge, the leadership skills they are learning, and the benefits gained from the critical experiential service-learning. It will also help them determine if their current career goals are the correct fit for them.This course enables students to engage with organizations and communities outside of the university. During the semester, students will consider topics such as negotiation and behavioral influence. They will devise, plan and carry out their own engagement project for Charities, NGO’s and non-profit organisations. This course combines design thinking and behavioural design theories with global service learning theory, across different employment sectors and aspects of society. It equips students to identify opportunities for influence, leadership and employment both in and adjacent to their field. The course is underpinned by JEDI approaches to justice, equality, diversity and inclusion across the global community.

• GEP 5103 Service Learning: Environment and Society

  This Environmental Service Learning course is a student community engagement course that aims to provide students from all disciplines and majors with the intellectual, professional, and personal skills that will enable them to build professional links and function well in culturally diverse communities globally and within an Environmental perspective. In addition to the hours of field work (typically 30 hours* depending on the organisation), the student will also produce a critical reflective progress report of their experience (a learning log), a ‘community action’ portfolio (analytical essay), and a final oral presentation. These assessments have been designed to help the student reflect on the application of their specialist knowledge, the skills they are learning, and the benefits gained from the service-learning experience. It will also to help them determine if their current career goals are the correct fit for them. During this service-learning course, the faculty supervisor will work closely with each student to ensure that the community engagement is a successful one.

• GEP 5104 Service Learning: Global Citizenship and Migration

  This course examines the theoretical, political and sociological conceptions of citizenship and their limitations. It looks at both the theoretical constructs and the concrete policies that have shaped the experience of the citizen and of the migrant. The course therefore considers the development of the nation state and the establishment of legal and social citizenship. It also examines the border as a mechanism of control and security. The course further addresses the intersection of experiences of citizenship across economic, racial and gender differences in the context of international governance as well as the globalization of economies and environmental issues. This is a Service-Learning student community engagement course that aims to provide students with the analytical and inter-personal skills to support key non-governmental and policy-making actors around the broad theme of citizenship and migration as well as to build an understanding of the needs and challenges faced by key stakeholders and local communities globally. Through consultation with key stakeholders, students will produce analytical written assessments on key questions around the theme of global citizenship and migration, they will also produce a range of work introducing them to a range of key employability skills in a range of key sectors related to citizenship, these might include: the local and global charity sector, local and national policy-making, as well as regional or international organisations. Students will be required to maintain a progress report that tracks learning and can act as a reference point for problem solving in the future.

YEAR 4

Courses

• PSY 6101 Theories and Systems in Psychology

  The course looks at the history and epistemology of psychological theories with a view to making critical comparisons of four of the main schools of thought: Behaviorism, Cognitive Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Phenomenology. Seminar topics and discussion include: the mind-body debate, the free-will vs. determinism debate, artificial intelligence, the integration of Western and Eastern psychological theories, cultural assumptions in psychology, etc. Students are expected to have a thorough grounding in basic psychological theories and concepts before taking this course. This course should only be taken by graduating seniors, preferably in their final semester.

• PSY 6102 Developmental Psychopathology

  The course examines the psychological forces that divert development from its typical channels and either sustain the deviation or foster a return to typical development. Using a comparative developmental framework, the psychopathologies to be covered will be arranged in chronological order from infancy to childhood and adolescence. Thus autism, insecure attachment and oppositional-defiant disorder will be examined in relation to typical development in infancy and early childhood, while ADHD and learning disabilities will be studied in the context of the preschool years. Other topics include anxiety disorders in middle childhood, child, and adolescent suicide, conduct and eating disorders, as well as the risks incurred by brain damage, child maltreatment and social victimization. The course will also cover alternative models of child psychopathology, assessment procedures and approaches to intervention and prevention. Students will have the opportunity to do in-depth research on a topic of their choice and to think critically about case material.

• PSY 6103 Brain and Cognition

  The course examines the development of psychoanalytic theory and practice from its early beginnings in turn-of-the-century Vienna to contemporary practices. Beginning with Freud’s early studies in hysteria, the course reviews Freud’s seminal ideas on the unconscious, sexuality and the transference; as well as Klein’s contributions to child analysis and psychoanalytic theory. The work of the Neo-Freudians is also covered. In particular, the course examines Horney’s pioneering model of the structure of the neuroses and Sullivan’s interpersonal critique of classical psychoanalysis. Finally, the course considers the work of Fairbairn on the schizoid personality and his unique reformulations of psychoanalytic theory and method. Students will have the opportunity to do in-depth research on a psychoanalytic model of their choice and to think critically about case material. Students will also have the opportunity to apply psychoanalytic concepts to the interpretation of films.

• PSY 6393 Senior Project in Psychology I: Quantitative Methods

  This is a course for graduating psychology majors, providing students with the opportunity to conduct an extended piece of empirical research in an area and topic of their choice. Students independently research, design, conduct, analyze and report their research with guidance from the course tutor. The emphasis is upon quantitative methods, psychological statistics and experimental research designs.

• PSY 6394 Senior Project in Psychology II: Qualitative Methods

  This is a course for graduating majors, providing students with the opportunity to conduct an extended piece of qualitative research in a specialized area of psychology. Students independently research, design, conduct, analyze, and report their research with guidance from the course tutor. The focus will be on qualitative methods such as grounded theory, thematic and content analysis.

Plus one of the following:

• PSY 6104 Psychoanalysis

  The course examines the development of psychoanalytic theory and practice from its early beginnings in turn-of-the-century Vienna to contemporary practices. Beginning with Freud’s early studies in hysteria, the course reviews Freud’s seminal ideas on the unconscious, sexuality and the transference; as well as Klein’s contributions to child analysis and psychoanalytic theory. The work of the Neo-Freudians is also covered. In particular, the course examines Horney’s pioneering model of the structure of the neuroses and Sullivan’s interpersonal critique of classical psychoanalysis. Finally, the course considers the work of Fairbairn on the schizoid personality and his unique reformulations of psychoanalytic theory and method. Students will have the opportunity to do in-depth research on a psychoanalytic model of their choice and to think critically about case material. Students will also have the opportunity to apply psychoanalytic concepts to the interpretation of films.

• PSY 6105 Existential Psychology

  This course is an introduction to phenomenology and existential psychology, focusing on the works of Merleau-Ponty, Jaspers, Sartre, Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir. Beginning with Kierkegaard’s psychology of anxiety and despair, the course covers: the structure of human experience, the psychology of limit situations, embodiment and sexuality, the ontology of human relationships. Sartre’s theory of human conflict will be contrasted with Simone de Beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity. Of special interest is Merleau-Ponty’s account of human freedom and the structure of life choices, as well as Heidegger’s existential analysis of temporality and death. The course also examines the literature of the absurd Camus’ existential analysis of suicide and authenticity. The application of the phenomenological method to literature and films is explored and students will be given the opportunity to apply their phenomenological ideas to their ‘reading’ of a selected short film. There is an emphasis on active forms of learning, so that students are expected to read widely, think deeply, and participate in class discussions.

• PSY 6106 Psychology of Happiness and Wellbeing

  Positive psychologists argue that traditional psychology has tended to focus on dysfunction and unhappiness and that balance needs to be restored by research into what makes life go well. This course focuses on the science of happiness and wellbeing, integrating findings from Positive Psychology studies and theories. During this course, students will critically evaluate the teaching of Positive Psychology as a means of enhancing happiness and understand the difference between weaknesses and strengths, and how positive psychology emphasises the latter in contrast to traditional psychology’s emphasis on the former. Students will appreciate some of the factors that lead to happiness and learn how to capitalise on these factors in order to achieve lasting happiness, especially by getting to know their own strengths; students will also understand and use a variety of techniques and interventions designed to enhance happiness and wellbeing.

• PSY 6107 Clinical Psychology

  Combines lectures, case studies, and audiovisual sessions to introduce students to the field of clinical psychology, psychiatry, and mental health work. An examination of the symptoms and treatment options for a range of mental and emotional disorders, including anxiety, depression, mania, and the schizophrenias, raising a number of important issues for discussion. These include cultural variations in the definition and diagnosis of disordered states; the social psychological problems of the move from asylums to community care; and criticisms of the medical model of abnormality. This course will explore how modern Clinical Psychology implements evidence-based treatments to improve psychologically based distress or dysfunction and promote subjective and behavioural well-being and personal development.

Integrated Internship

• PSY 6901 World Internship in Psychology

  The World internship is a student work placement carried out abroad that aims to provide students from all disciplines and majors with the intellectual, professional, and personal skills that will enable them to function well in a culturally diverse working environment in all key job sectors. Internship assessments have been designed to help the student reflect on the skills they are learning and the benefits gained from the internship experience, and also to help them determine if their current career goals are the correct fit for them. All internships are supervised by faculty, who grade students’ coursework and who work closely with each student to ensure that the internship experience is successful.

• PSY 6902 Internship in Psychology

  The internship is a student work placement carried out abroad that aims to provide students from all disciplines and majors with the intellectual, professional, and personal skills that will enable them to function well in a culturally diverse working environment in all key job sectors. Internship assessments have been designed to help the student reflect on the skills they are learning and the benefits gained from the internship experience, and also to help them determine if their current career goals are the correct fit for them. All internships are supervised by faculty, who grade students’ coursework and who work closely with each student to ensure that the internship experience is successful.