PS933-7-SP-CO:
Special Topics in Psychology

The details
2023/24
Psychology
Colchester Campus
Spring
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Monday 15 January 2024
Friday 22 March 2024
15
06 November 2023

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

(none)

Key module for

(none)

Module description

This module is an advanced survey of major topics in contemporary experimental psychology. Topics that can be covered can include field developments in themes such as motivation, emotion, perception, educational psychology, cognition, self and identity, intergroup bias, social justice, evolutionary psychology or health.


For each topic, critical analysis of relevant theory and research will form the basis of written and oral work in the module. It is important to note that the exact topics covered from year to year will rotate depending on the expertise of the available teaching staff.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:



  • To become familiar and conversant with the psychological perspective on human behaviour.

  • Develop, at an advanced level, critical knowledge and understanding of major areas of research in contemporary experimental psychology.

  • Develop critical knowledge and understanding of critical issues in contemporary psychology.

  • Achieve familiarity with advanced methodological issues in experimental psychology.

  • Develop oral and written skills in the communication of psychological concepts.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:



  1. Demonstrate familiarity, and be conversant with, the psychological perspective on human behaviour.

  2. Demonstrate, at an advanced level, critical knowledge and understanding of major areas of research in contemporary experimental psychology.

  3. Demonstrate critical knowledge and understanding of core theoretical and methodological issues in contemporary psychology.

  4. Demonstrate advanced oral and written skills in the communication of psychological concepts.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be delivered via:

  • Student led teaching.

Each week 1-2 students will lead the seminar. They will make a presentation to the class based upon their reading of the relevant chapter in the course text as well as a relevant empirical article. All students will prepare a thought piece based upon the text and are expected to participate in class discussion.

Bibliography

  • Eirich, R. et al. (2022) ‘Association of Screen Time With Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Children 12 Years or Younger’, JAMA Psychiatry, 79(5). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.0155.
  • Neville, R.D. et al. (2021) ‘Bidirectional associations between screen time and children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 62(12), pp. 1475–1484. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13425.
  • Rattaz, V. et al. (2022) ‘Associations between parent–infant interactions, cortisol and vagal regulation in infants, and socioemotional outcomes: A systematic review’, Infant Behavior and Development, 67. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2022.101687.
  • Perone, S. and Gartstein, M.A. (2019) ‘Relations between dynamics of parent-infant interactions and baseline EEG functional connectivity’, Infant Behavior and Development, 57. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.101344.
  • Bahrick, L.E. et al. (2016) ‘Enhanced attention to speaking faces versus other event types emerges gradually across infancy.’, Developmental Psychology, 52(11), pp. 1705–1720. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000157.
  • Reynolds, G.D. and Roth, K.C. (2018) ‘The Development of Attentional Biases for Faces in Infancy: A Developmental Systems Perspective’, Frontiers in Psychology, 9. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00222.
  • Xia, T. et al. (2023) ‘Targeted memory reactivation during sleep influences social bias as a function of slow-oscillation phase and delta power’, Psychophysiology, 60(5). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14224.
  • Paller, K.A., Creery, J.D. and Schechtman, E. (2021) ‘Memory and Sleep: How Sleep Cognition Can Change the Waking Mind for the Better’, Annual Review of Psychology, 72(1), pp. 123–150. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050815.
  • Wang, S., Lilienfeld, S.O. and Rochat, P. (2015) ‘The Uncanny Valley: Existence and Explanations’, Review of General Psychology, 19(4), pp. 393–407. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000056.
  • Tu, Y.-C., Chien, S.-E. and Yeh, S.-L. (2020) ‘Age-Related Differences in the Uncanny Valley Effect’, Gerontology, 66(4), pp. 382–392. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1159/000507812.
  • Hadders-Algra, M. (2018) ‘Early human motor development: From variation to the ability to vary and adapt’, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 90, pp. 411–427. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.05.009.
  • Hospodar, C.M. et al. (2021) ‘Practice and proficiency: Factors that facilitate infant walking skill’, Developmental Psychobiology, 63(7). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22187.
  • Lord, C. et al. (2022) ‘The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism’, The Lancet, 399(10321), pp. 271–334. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01541-5.
  • Nyström, P. et al. (2019) ‘Joint Attention in Infancy and the Emergence of Autism’, Biological Psychiatry, 86(8), pp. 631–638. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.05.006.
  • Risko, E.F. and Gilbert, S.J. (2016) ‘Cognitive Offloading’, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20(9), pp. 676–688. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.07.002.
  • Meyerhoff, H.S. et al. (2021) ‘Individual differences in cognitive offloading: a comparison of intention offloading, pattern copy, and short-term memory capacity’, Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 6(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-021-00298-x.
  • Wamsley, E.J. and Stickgold, R. (2019) ‘Dreaming of a learning task is associated with enhanced memory consolidation: Replication in an overnight sleep study’, Journal of Sleep Research, 28(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12749.
  • Picard-Deland, C. et al. (2023) ‘Memory reactivations during sleep: a neural basis of dream experiences?’, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27(6), pp. 568–582. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.02.006.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   Thought Pieces    70% 
Practical   Presentation    25% 
Practical   Seminar participation    5% 

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Ayten Bilgin, email: a.bilgin@essex.ac.uk.
Ayten Bilgin, Marie Juanchich, Sheina Orbell
a.bilgin@essex.ac.uk

 

Availability
Yes
Yes
Yes

External examiner

Dr Alexander Jones
Middlesex University
Senior lecturer
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

 

Further information
Psychology

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