BSc Psychology

This course introduces students to the basic tools and concepts of economics. Students will be exposed to the core principles of economics: the role of incentives; the idea of scarcity; how to measure the cost of a choice; what is a market; and the purpose of prices. Students will be introduced to the toolkit of methods used by economists. At the end of this course students should be able to engage the core principles of the methodology of economics in everyday use.

Assessment:

Coursework - 60%, Final Exam - 40% (face-to-face)

Political Science students are asked to take this course in semester 2.

The  summer offering will depend on the students’ registration number.

This is a cross-disciplinary course. It is designed to provide a firm base for Communication courses and for courses in English for Special Purposes linked with specific disciplines. It helps students to achieve the level of competence in written language that is required of the university student in undergraduate programmes. Course content includes Language in the Caribbean, Summarizing, the Formal Essay and Methods of Organising Information.

This course is designed to develop an awareness of the main process of cultural development in Caribbean societies, highlighting the factors, the problematic and the creative output that have fed the emergence of Caribbean identities. It also develops a perception of the Caribbean as wider than island nations or linguistic blocs and stimulates students’ interest in, and commitment to Caribbean civilization and to further their self-determination.

Assessment:

Coursework - 25%

Final Exam -75% (face-to-face)

This course will introduce students to classical social theory through an understanding of the work of writers such as Auguste Comte, Max Weber, Karl Marx and George H. Mead. The main focus of this studying is to understand the central ideas of these writers and to reflect on the usefulness of their theory in contemporary Caribbean societies. This reflection will support students’ further investigations of the explanations given for issues on the front line of Caribbean societies’ development agendas. At the same time, students will learn about the central ideas and perspectives of writers such as Edward Kamau Brathwaite, M.G. Smith and George Beckford. The combination of classical and Caribbean schools of social inquiry will set the tone for a synthesizing of perspectives on race, class, gender, ethnicity and the family in society. This process will assist students with developing their theoretical base in social theory, as well as independent thought on happenings in Caribbean society.

This course addresses those general philosophical questions which form a necessary grounding to the understanding of these techniques and procedures which follow. It will not be dealing with those methodological issues featured in faculty introductory courses. Some of the topics include: epistemological issues and theories of knowledge, Weberian and other perspectives, causality and association, social sciences as a science, induction and deduction, the distinction between a social problem and what is socially problematic.

Exempted if completed ASc. In Social Work

This is the first of three core YDEW courses which focus specifically on developing effective and reflective practitioners. It is followed by YDEW2000 in Year 2 and YDEW3000 in Year 3. This course introduces students to the foundations of the profession by exploring the theoretical principles which underpin the concept of youth and youth development work through an exploration of the history of youth development work with special reference to the evolution of practice in the Caribbean. The course will examine definitions and labels attributed to youth including child, youth, juvenile, adolescent and young person and will highlight issues affecting special categories of youth. By engaging in study on the contemporary status of Caribbean YDW, students will understand the significance of professionalisation and competencies, the roles and responsibilities of the youth worker, the dynamics of working with youth individually and in groups, special ethical issues and current institutional values and organisational structures for YDW in the Caribbean. It will introduce students to the rights-based approach to youth development.  Students will begin a Learning and Professional Development Journal outlining their professional goals and objectives, which they will use and update as they progress through their programme.

Competencies:

YDWCYP0343: Promote equality of opportunity, participation and responsibility

YDWCYP0493: Work as an effective and reflective practitioner

Assessment: 100% Continuous Assessment.

This course provides a solid grounding in cognitive psychology, extending on the material presented in the Introduction to Psychology Course in Level 1. It highlights major areas in cognitive psychology including attention, intelligence, judgment and decision-making, learning and memory. Cognitive Psychology is one of the core pillars of general content in the discipline of psychology. The core pillars include Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, Social & Personality Psychology, and Mental & Physical Health. Students will also be introduced to the methods used in biological psychology and the neurosciences. Biological Psychology is one of the core pillars of general content in the discipline of psychology. The core pillars include Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, Social & Personality Psychology, and Mental & Physical Health.

This course provides a solid grounding in modern biological psychology, extending on the material presented in the Introduction to Psychology Course in Level 1. It highlights the relationship between cognition, emotion, sensation and perception, and brain structure and function. Students will also be introduced to the methods used in biological psychology and the neurosciences. Biological Psychology is one of the core pillars of general content in the discipline of psychology. The core pillars include Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, Social & Personality Psychology, and Mental & Physical Health.

This course provides a solid grounding in classic and current Social & Personality Psychology, extending on the material presented in the Introduction to Psychology Course in Level 1. It highlights the social aspects of psychology including social development and relationships, theory of mind, social cognition, persuasion, attraction, conformity and obedience.  Social & Personality Psychology is one of the core pillars of general content in the discipline of psychology. The core pillars include Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, Social & Personality Psychology, and Mental & Physical Health.

This course provides a solid grounding in Mental & Physical Health, extending on the material presented in the Introduction to Psychology Course in Level 1. It highlights abnormal psychology and psychiatric disorders including the behavioural disorders in children, autism, mood and anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, personality disorders, psychopathy, the schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and various therapeutic orientations. It concludes by introducing some controversies in psychiatry and highlights the important role clinical psychology will need to play in treating mental disorders in the future.  Mental & Physical Health is one of the core pillars of general content in the discipline of psychology. The core pillars include Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, Social & Personality Psychology, and Mental & Physical Health.

This course is premised on the rationale that ethics can be learned. Ethical literacy is a critical priority in a world where some of the greatest challenges graduates will face will not be matters of fact but rather matters of value and judgement. Knowledge of the ethical rules associated with the Behavioural Sciences will equip students with the necessary tools to engage the moral self with professional rules of ethics. Included in the concept of a psychologically literate citizen, for instance, is an expectation that undergraduates will learn to behave ethically and humanely at work and in other everyday contexts. The same holds true for other Behavioural Science areas. Learners will therefore be given the opportunity to relate practical solutions to ethical dilemmas. Students will be able to distinguish ethics from ethical literacy, apply ethical skills to current situations and issues, use ethical actions to resolve conflict.

This course extends on the introductory and intermediate courses completed in Levels 1 and 2, respectively. It is the first course presented as a specialization in the Psychology programme. This course covers the design of experiments in psychology and appropriate statistical methods to analyse the data. This course will include training in analysis of variance, regression analysis, factor analysis and more advanced statistical methods employed in psychology such as path modelling.

There will be two distinct parts of the course. In Part I, Community Psychology will be highlighted. Under this theme the principles of community work will provide the framework for discussing quality of life issues and social problems arising out of the relationship between the individual and his or her community and the society.  In part II the focus will shift to Environmental Psychology.  A review of psychological concepts and principles will provide the background for discussing the transaction between the individual and the natural and built environment.

This course provides an introduction to the field of industrial/organisational psychology. It involves the application of psychological principles, theories, research methods and findings and intervention strategies to the study of people within the workplace context. It will draw from various fields of psychology as well as other 147 theoretical fields including management, human resource development and sociology. A variety of topic areas will be explored. The course should appeal a wide range of students with varying academic interests but it is specifically designed for students who intend to pursue careers in the broad area of Organisational Development.

This course will examine ideas of influential philosophers and schools of thought, and highlight the foundations on which the broad discipline of contemporary psychology is based. To expose students to the history of psychology and its relationship to psychiatry, providing an important foundation on which to understand contemporary psychology.

Students will be introduced to an eclectic mix of topics including ‘the upside of being down’ and ‘the psychology of eating animals’. The course highlights the integrative nature of contemporary psychology and introduces students to different ways in which psychological theory can be applied in the real world. This course also adopts a more ‘hands-on’, student-centred approach to teaching psychology by focusing group-based activities around recently published research in the Current Directions in Psychological Science journal.

This course provides an overview of the history of positive psychology and the contributions that positive psychology has made to several traditional research areas in psychology. The course will define and unpack the complex concept of happiness, and examine the mechanisms that cause and maintain it. Topics will be connected to their implications for increasing well-being throughout the course. Training in psychology typically focuses on ‘weakness’, rather than on ‘strengths’. This course addresses a need for programmes in psychology to build on personal strengths, something that can immediately affect students’ lives.

Psychological literacy is the major outcome of a major in psychology. It involves acquisition of specialized knowledge, grounding in scientific thinking, capacity to think critically, acting ethically, competency in using and evaluating information, effective communication, respect for diversity and being reflective about one’s own and others’ behaviour. The psychologically literate citizen is able to draw upon this knowledge of psychology and apply it to a broad range of situations. The time for the psychologically literate citizen is overdue. As indicated by U.S. President Barack Obama at Arizona State University in May 2009.

Topics include time management skills, presenting work at conferences and in journals, career options and pathways, preparing job application materials including cover letters and resume, preparing applications to for postgraduate study (including developing vita and statement of intent), planning a research program, preparing grant proposals, work-life balance, and recognizing obstacles in career development. This course will provide students with a better understanding of what they can do professionally on completion of their 3-year undergraduate course in Psychology and what options they have for future study.