Psychology at Queen's
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SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY AT QUEEN’S A UNIQUE STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCE Semester one Semester two Level 1 classes 1006 Using Psychology in Everyday Life 1: Using Psychology in Everyday Life 2: The module will cover aspects of everyday life seen The module will cover how psychology may improve from a psychological point of view. This should individual performance and provide interventions to offer fresh insights into familiar phenomena and overcome individual problems in everyday behaviours. encourage students to question some common The module will outline the role psychology has sense beliefs. Students will also be given the in designing and implementing interventions to opportunity to undertake an experiment to gain influence individual performance and behaviour. experience of research in psychology in a practical The module will explore the psychology behind the setting. Lectures will discuss real-world and behaviour(s) and how effective programmes are in everyday situations and explore how psychology influencing and changing behaviour. The module contributes to our understanding of them and will offer fresh insights into the causes of and how it is applied in everyday life. The topics are solutions to everyday psychological and behavioural presented by members of the course team who have issues experienced by the individual. The topics are a specific interest and knowledge of their topic. presented by members of the course team who have a specific interest and knowledge of their topic. Semester one Semester two Level 2 classes 2065 Social Psychology & Individual Differences: 2065 Conceptual Issues in Psychology & Perception: This module develops the topics of social This module develops the topics of conceptual psychology and individual differences. and historical issues in psychology and the perception element of cognitive psychology. The School of Psychology at Queen’s provides • Perception Action Movement 2066 Cognitive Psychology & Psychobiology: 2066 Developmental Psychology and excellent training in Psychology and currently • Development, Cognition and Adversity Employability/Career decision making: offers a variety of undergraduate, postgraduate • Social Psychology This module develops the topics of cognitive taught and postgraduate research degrees. • Animal Behaviour and Welfare psychology and psychobiology which were This module develops the topic of developmental • Health Clinical Educational introduced in level 1. Cognitive topics include psychology which was introduced in level 1. It also We have world-class facilities including a memory, executive function, problem solving aims to develop students’ ability to apply their movement Innovation Lab which contains This encourages cross-disciplinary and and reasoning. Psychobiology lectures will psychological knowledge and to examine areas state-of-the-art technology. This includes inter-institutional research collaborations address themes such as evolutionary psychology, of employment in which psychology is pertinent. 22 Motion Capture cameras for movement which respond to societal needs neurophysiological structures and drug treatments. This includes applied specialisms of psychology. analysis, AMTI force platforms for analysis of nationally and internationally. gait and posture and virtual reality systems for studying decision-making and testing products. The School of Psychology is truly world-leading Our Child Development Lab includes one-way in both teaching and research output. mirrors, built-in video cameras and playback system, sound recording and EEG testing. Psychology at Queen’s is rated 9th out of 82 in the UK for research intensity and tied 18th Our research collaborations across themes, for research impact. (REF assessment 2014) different Schools within the University, and colleagues from other Universities produce WHAT CAN YOU STUDY? ground-breaking research that furthers Study Abroad students at Queen’s normally take psychological knowledge and engenders a spirit three modules (classes) per semester. Modules of enquiry into Psychology from the most junior are usually worth 20 credits each and students undergraduate to the most senior professor. require 60 credits per semester. This equates Our research is organised around five areas into 15-18 US credits or 30 ECTS credits. that reflect the expertise and interests of The following modules were offered in the current staff and contemporary themes 2017/18 academic year. Please note these in Psychology. These groups are: may be subject to change for 2018/19 v Semester two Semester one Semester two 2068 Advanced Group Research Project*: 3104 The Visual Brain: 3080 Psychology of Serial Killers: This module will give students experience in The module will provide an overview of the brain This module will cover the psychology of serial undertaking a psychological research project under systems supporting visual perception. It will investigate killers in an attempt to address the question `why the supervision of academic supervisor. The project the evidence for specialised pathways in the visual do individuals become serial killers? It will explore will be defined and have been granted ethical approval system, drawing on research evidence from several the definitions and typologies of serial killers, what in advance of the module start date. Students will disciplines; such as psychophysics, infant studies, distinguishes these from other types of murder(ers) work as a lab-group, comprising weekly meetings neuropsychology, brain anatomy and physiology. and the problems and pitfalls with these descriptions. with the research supervisor. These meetings will The course will consider sex murders and the concept introduce the theoretical background to the study of the psychopath. Possible explanations of why and its hypotheses, outline the methods and data individuals become serial killers will be critically analyses required to evaluate the hypotheses, and appraised. Profiling techniques, including crime scene teach how to write a psychological research paper. analysis and investigative psychology will be reviewed Students will start the module by formulating a data and whether these advance our understanding of collection strategy and implement this to collect the the motivation of the serial killers considered. The data within an agreed period of time. They will then course will also consider the anti-hero status of some perform the appropriate analyses on the data and types of serial killers and public fascination with such write up the results as a psychological research paper. crimes. Case studies of serial killers will be presented throughout. It should be noted the course will cover The title of the research project being offered in some potentially disturbing factual material. 2018/19 is: ’Stress induced when people look over your shoulder: Effects of social evaluative threat 3110 Applied Animal Psychology: 3088 Psychopharmacology: on balance control’. This project will assess the way in which stress, induced using social threat, The module will introduce students to the area This module will consider the development affects postural control. Participants will be asked of animal psychology, focusing in particular on and application of drugs for the treatment of to perform mathematics calculations while sitting, the applied aspect of this field. Lectures will psychological/psychiatric illnesses, and of commonly standing, under time pressure and under social cover topics of animal welfare, animal ethics, abused drugs. The module will provide students with threat. Social threat in this case will be induced by environmental enrichment, pet behaviour therapy knowledge of the general principles of drug action, telling participants that their performance isn’t and companion animals and human health. principles of psychopharmacology, and of the types good enough. The project will assess how stress A three-hour trip to Belfast Zoo will help to of psychoactive drugs currently in use. Areas covered induced by these methods affects performance translate lecture-based theory into application. in the module will include distribution of drugs in in a mathematics task and in balance control. living systems, the blood/brain barrier, dose and route of administration, and drug receptors. With Semester one Semester two respect to psychotherapeutic drugs the module will Level 3 classes* consider the classification of these drugs, and the clinical effects of anxiolytic drugs, antidepressant 3115 Sport and Exercise Psychology: 3106 Psychological Approached to Distress: drugs, antipsychotic drugs, and stimulants. The central focus of the module will be the effects of drugs on The module will introduce students to a variety of This module introduces the applied topics of behavior and neurochemical mechanisms of action. topics examining human behaviour in sport and clinical psychology and draws on information from exercise contexts. The content will begin with several key areas of psychology (social, cognitive, 3096 Typical & Atypical Literacy Development: 3108 Exploring Psychological Issues in Cancer: understanding the major developments in the history developmental, psychobiology, research methods). of sport and exercise psychology before progressing The module examines behaviours related to This module will examine current and historical This module will introduce some of the issues to exploring specific aspects such as motivation, psychological distress. It also demonstrates how perspectives of typical and atypical