Psychology has historically focused on what we call ‘a deficit approach’ to understanding human behaviour. This means that we tend to focus on what is going wrong and try to fix that problem. This approach, however, ignores a vast wealth of positive experiences. New thinking in the field has triggered a shift in focus towards developing a greater understanding of what works. In this module you will explore positive psychological phenomena such as resilience, growth, flow and how those relate to personal wellbeing and performance.

This module is designed to offer an insight into how people construct a notion of who they are – their ‘self’, and how that self operates in a social world. You will critically explore classic studies in light of ethical and methodological issues with a view to understanding how observations, interpretations and reactions to social situations influence self-development and on-going behaviour. By exploring the roles that attitudes and conformity play in determining which feature of the self is present in different situations, you will learn to understand why some parts of the self are consistent across all situations.

Applying critical thinking, this module will also assess the role of persuasion and conformity in modern behaviour, for example through the lens of fake news, through an examination of the self in group situations such as teams, cults and sports groups or through an examination of the self in times of negative interactions (e.g., divorce). A common thread across all these explorations will be to adopt innovative assessment and current theories as a means of understanding applied behaviour, whilst considering more traditional approaches and qualitative analyses to understand human social interaction.

The module will equip you with knowledge and critical thinking skills that are adaptable to many different human exchanges and interactions. Developing both a breadth and depth of understanding, you will be able to apply your knowledge to your own self-identity, personal branding and relationship with others.

What makes us tick? Have you ever noticed that you approach some things in your life differently to other people? Have you ever watched a celebrity and wondered why they do the things they do or keep making the same mistakes? By taking a critical look at issues such as personality, our preferred ways of looking at and approaching the world, intelligence, emotions, and persuasion this module will consider what has changed since the study of this extensive field began and delve into ideas about what makes us unique and what unites us as human beings. Through examining issues like contemporary approaches to measuring intelligence and personality, you will gain a critical understanding of the ways in which humans are likely to behave in certain situations. You will also gain an understanding of contemporary issues in behavioural change and understand how we might go about getting someone to change their behaviour (and if that is even possible)

This module will take you on a journey through historical approaches to learning through to how learning occurs in contemporary settings across the lifespan. You will discover a range of approaches to learning and educational psychology, evaluating their evidence base in light of the diverse needs and approaches of the learners themselves. You will explore a range of culturally and socially diverse educational settings and interventions from the vantage point of both learners and educators, and critically consider the evidence base for educational interventions.

Have you ever wondered what psychological features play a role in all of your relationships? This module will help you unpick all of the different types of relationships humans hold – those between two, a few, and a large group of people. You will explore what role individual characteristics play in who you choose as a life partner, a friend of even a ‘frenemy’. You will use historical and modern theories to explore the differences between friendships, romantic relationships and group dynamics as well as exploring how humans move these relationships between online and offline spaces. Looking at modern applied social interaction theories, you will consider the human need to belong across all types of relationships in general. You will also learn how to apply theories to more specific types of relationships such as those within a sports team. Exploring inter-relational facets of human relationships alongside dilemmas such as loneliness and social isolation, on completion of this module, you will have gained a critical understanding of how relationships are made, maintained and dissolved.

What is different about virtual teamwork and leadership? Many of us have recently experienced a situation novel to us when having to interact with our teams and managers in a virtual environment, but businesses have utilised distance leadership and virtual teams for decades, with varying degrees of success. There are many reasons why an organisation may need to operate with geographically dispersed teams, with many historical practices being driven more by organisational needs and resources than a sound evidence base. The global Covid-19 pandemic has thrown telecommuting, technological advances and personal and psychological challenges into the limelight. This module will critically examine the evidence base for distance leadership practices as well as working in virtual teams and ask what organisations can do to enhance distance leadership and virtual team working.

Often, psychologists have been referred to as ivory tower thinkers who are busy coming up with theories that are very focused on specific human behaviours. In this module, you will learn to use those theories to consider a range of human behaviours in a very applied and combined psychological approach. You will apply a critical theoretical approach to individually driven behaviours such as addictions, dieting, eating, and exercising, but will also explore behaviours such as aggression and violence. Using cognitive, biological and neuropsychological approaches, questions of why some people are more pre-disposed to the psychological experiences of stress and anxiety than others, and if there are social constructs that drive them will be considered. Students will further explore the applicability of this integrated approach in understanding less focused and more generalised everyday behaviours such as pet ownership and shopping. This will give you an insight into the transferability of ‘ivory tower thinking’ in explaining a range of everyday human activities and develop in you the lateral and design thinking skills, essential for the future job market.

Using the internet for all types of human behaviour, from school to work, to gaming and social interactions, has never been more prevalent than in a current post-pandemic modern world. Cyberpsychology is arguably the newest subject area within psychology to emerge to make sense of humans’ increasing use of, interaction with, and reliance on, all forms of psychology. This module explores different approaches to explaining people’s digital behaviours, the influences of people on technology and vice versa. You will explore why we need a wide and varied psychological approach to understanding the different things people do online by learning about both the more well-known online behaviours such as social networking, social media, and online relationships, and by developing your knowledge of why digital behaviour can vary hugely from offline behaviour. You will analyse how online interactions can facilitate a wide range of favourable relationships and social interactions, but also the whys and wherefores of the nefarious intentions and the motivations that drive more negative activities associated with cybercrime. Given the diversity of the skills needed to understand online behaviour, you will also gain an insight into the psychology related to software development and keeping people safe online.

Across the lifespan, people face several changes to their thinking style and reasoning, from infancy and early childhood, right through to adulthood and old age. It is natural to be curious about how these changes differ between cultures and groups, and how our individual circumstances shape how we approach the world. This module not only presents psychological theories of typical and atypical development across the lifespan, but also how circumstances such as adversity, culture and sexual orientation can shape our experiences throughout our lives as we develop and age.

This module will equip you with knowledge and training to be able to conduct psychology research ethically and responsibly. It introduces the use of research skills, critical thinking to develop independent research and study design that can be used to inform your self-directed dissertation project. You will learn how to statistically analyse human behaviour through research and will gain transferable skills that will be useful to a wide range of professions.

You will conduct your own piece of psychological research, investigating a phenomenon of psychological interest that is developed into an answerable research project question. Working with a supervisor to design and conduct research of the highest ethical standards, you will learn how to critically evaluate an existing evidence base, gather data and apply comprehensive analysis techniques to establish your findings, resulting in a report of your research ready for dissemination.