| Unit name | Cognitive Psychology (Conversion) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PSYCM0089 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Chris Kent |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Psychological Science |
| Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
Why this unit is important?
This unit provides the core knowledge for cognitive psychology as required by the BPS standards. The unit covers the fundamental approaches to cognitive psychology and how cognitive psychology is relevant to other fields of psychology. The unit covers historical and contemporary theories of cognitive psychology and critically discusses methodologies used and the current state of the field. The unit will cover the major findings in cognition, including perception, attention, decision making, memory and other core cognitive functions, how cognitive psychology can inform current practice in clinical and other applied areas of psychology.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Alongside the other core topic areas (Biological Psychology, Lifespan Psychology, Self & Society) this unit delivers the core subject knowledge for psychology required by the BPS standards. The unit interlinks closely with these areas as cognitive processes are underpinned by biological processes, and underpin, social and individual differences, and develop over the lifespan. Research methods will further help you develop the tools to critically evaluate the evidence and theories in cognitive psychology.
An overview of content
This unit will cover cognitive psychology, covering the core processes in cognition and methods used in cognitive psychology. There is a focus on critically evaluating theories and the evidence and the methods used to evaluate theories. Example topics that may be covered include perception, attention, memory, reasoning and decision making, and language.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will know about the historical roots and contemporary theories in cognitive psychology. They will understand the core functions and the evidence surrounding contemporary debates in cognitive psychology. Students will be able to think about designing and conducting experiments in cognitive psychology, as well as being able to critically evaluate theories and evidence in cognitive psychology.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the session/course/programme a successful student will be able to:
Lectures will be used to deliver guidance on the core material, which will be supplemented with self-directed learning (guided by reading lists). These are effective ways of conveying core knowledge and will allow you to understand the scope of the material, while then working at your own pace through key readings and resources to deepen and consolidate the content. Seminars will help you engage and think more deeply about current topics. Learning will also take place in small groups, promoting team working. Feedback from peers and instructor will help guide your further development. Teamwork, presentations, and preparing an essay will help you develop key skills for the programme and for future careers. The sprint challenge will help scaffold key skills around planning and selecting relevant evidence and theory and applying this in real-world situations. This exercise is an authentic team-based problem-focussed situation, which will help prepare you for working in many different careers.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks
In small groups you will work on a sprint challenge relating to a real-world issue. This task requires you to use a variety of skills learnt throughout the programme and apply psychological theory to the real-world working in a team. You will present your work to the rest of the group. The presentation can be in one of several formats, teaching you how to present complex scientific ideas to different audiences. The feedback from peers and the instructors will help you develop your presentation skills further. Peer feedback will be key, and you will be expected to provide feedback to other students on their presentations. These tasks will be completed in the first half of the unit.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark
Based on your presentation and the feedback you received, you will write an essay on how cognitive psychology can impact applications in the real-world. This essay will encourage you to think critically about existing literature and theories in cognitive psychology and how psychological theories and evidence can be used in applied settings. The unit will finish with an exam comprising a combination of short and long answer questions testing your breadth of knowledge as required by the BPS standards. This will ensure you have a good overall grounding in the historic and contemporary theories of cognitive psychology, the evidence for and against these theories, as well as key findings in the field and the pros and cons of the methods used to discover this knowledge. The essay will be submitted towards the end of the unit and contributes 50% of the unit mark, and the exam will take place in the second assessment period and contributes 50% of the unit mark.
When assessment does not go to plan
Reassessments will usually take a similar form as the original assessment (an essay and an examination).
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PSYCM0089).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
