Fall term courses

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY



Affiliate Student Information (Fall Term Only)
2007-2008

Introductory Psychology Courses


PSYC1101A INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY ½ CU
Convenor: Dr John Wattam-Bell
Email: j.wattam-bell@ucl.ac.uk

Description: Students will be introduced to some key issues and significant findings in scientific psychology, and the kinds of empirical evidence on which these findings are based. Students will be encouraged to think critically and evaluate their own understanding through quizzes and class discussion. A scientific approach will be developed through an appreciation of how empirical data can be used to test competing theories. The course will have six over-arching themes which reflect the current diversity of the discipline. The themes are (1) science of mind and behaviour, including conscious and unconscious mental processes (2) development, including interplay of nature and nurture (3) cognition, including memory, perception, language (4) the brain, including the effects of psychoactive drugs and mental illnesses (5) individual differences, including personality, intelligence and sexuality and (6) social and emotional behaviour, including aggression and relationships.



PSYC1102A METHODS AND APPROACHES IN PSYCHOLOGY ½ CU
Convenor: Dr Keith Langley
Email: k.langley@psychol.ucl.ac.uk

Description: This course aims to introduce students to the ways in which psychological questions can be investigated. Examples of the methods of investigation used in cognitive, abnormal, biological, and social psychology are presented as a foundation for using these methods in laboratory and project work later in the course. Students should appreciate how the concurrent practical laboratory exercises in course 1103 relate to the wider topic area to which they belong. The course consists of a series of modules, each containing 3-5 lectures or classes. Each laboratory class in course 1103 is linked to one of these modules, and each module also contains demonstration and workshop material. Modules will include: Analysing cognitive subsystems; Experiments with children (including class with live and/or video demonstrations of infant behaviour; Observational analysis of human interactions; Individual differences; Analysing psychological disorder; Measuring brain and behaviour (including class with interactive neuroanatomy software); Qualitative analysis of content.


PSYC2206A HEALTH AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY ½ CU
Convenors: Prof Valerie Curran, Prof Susan Michie
Emails: v.curran@ucl.ac.uk, s.michie@ucl.ac.uk

Description: The first part of this course aims to introduce the major theories of the aetiology of psychological and psychiatric disorders, and review research on the treatment of these disorders. The second part examines the major theoretical perspectives and empirical research on the role of psychological and social factors in the aetiology of disease.

The course begins with two introductory lectures, one examining medical models and treatments of 'mental illness', the other examining psychological and social models of psychiatric disorders. The course includes a series of lectures on anxiety disorders, depression and schizophrenia. Individual lectures focus on eating disorders, PTSD, personality disorder, psychopathology which has no medical explanation and drug use/abuse. Themes running through most of the course include both theories and treatments of disorders from biological, cognitive-behavioural, social and psychoanalytic viewpoints.

Two overview lectures - one of psychological and social aspects of health, the other on beliefs and behaviour in health and illness - begin the second half of the course. Ten lectures address core topics in health psychology, including those relating to the causes and prevention of cancer and coronary heart disease. The course covers the role of psychological, social and behavioural factors in the onset and maintenance of disease. Individual lectures focus on pain, psychological responses to serious illness, the experience of hospitalisation, smoking and health, and psychological aspects of genetics.



PSYC2207A PERCEPTION, ATTENTION AND ACTION ½ CU
Convenor: Prof Alan Johnston
Email: a.johnston@ucl.ac.uk

Description: This course aims to provide a basic understanding of core theoretical issues and experimental findings in the study of a) information processing in the visual and auditory sensory systems, b) the control of complex motor behaviour and c) how attentional processes can mediate between perception and action. The course will cover the basic structure and function of the visual and auditory sensory pathways in the brain. This will include a description of the neural processing in the retino-striate pathway involved in the perception of colour and spatial pattern and a description of the anatomy of the peripheral auditory system in relation to the perception of pitch. The role of visual illusions in understanding visual processing will be examined as will the value of Gibson's ecological perspective on vision. The course will also examine how we perceive depth and distance and how we recognise objects. The role of attention in the perception of visual and auditory information will be examined. In particular, can we ignore irrelevant visual and auditory distractors? What are the effects of attention on mental representation of objects and space and what is the nature of attentional deficits following brain lesions? The course takes an information processing approach to the coordination and regulation of skilled movement covering the control of reaching and grasping, the representations used in the planning of motor behaviour and the role of sensory information in movement control. Speech perception and production will be examined as independent but related topics. Lectures will focus on speech as skilled behaviour and consider speech production problems leading to stuttering and other dysfluencies.


PSYC2301A COMPUTING FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS ½ CU
Convenor: Dr Keith Langley
Email: k.langley@psychol.ucl.ac.uk

Description: This course provides an introduction to computer programming with a bias towards psychological experimentation and research design. The aim is to provide students with a thorough grounding in the principles of programming, and to enable them to design and run psychological experiments on computer systems. Topics covered are: Rudiments of Visual Basic; Input/Output; Programming structures; File Handling; Basic Graphics; Modularity‑ Problem Solving Algorithms; Search Techniques, Random Number Generation, Real Time Control Data Analysis.








Advanced Psychology Courses

PSYC3106A TOPICS IN PERSONALITY AND INTELLIGENCE ½ CU
Convenor: Prof Adrian Furnham
Email: a.furnham@ucl.ac.uk

Aims:
The study of individual differences has a long and illustrious history dating back to Charles Darwin and, especially, Sir Francis Galton. Some of the greatest psychologists of all time have worked or are currently working in research areas that fall, partly or entirely, within the realm of individual differences. This course will offer an examination of fundamental issues in personality and intelligence theory from a psychometric perspective (London School tradition).

Objectives:
The lectures provide detailed coverage of all the basic issues in individual differences research, spanning a wide range of methodological and substantive areas, but also include specialist topics linked to the lecturer’s research programmes. Whilst there will be some review of earlier theories, most lectures will concentrate on issues and current research in the two fundamental pillars of differential psychology, namely personality traits and intelligence.

Summary of Course:
This course will cover around 10 topics in detail attempting to provide a current picture of research in the area.

PSYC3108A ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY ½ CU
Convenor: Prof Adrian Furnham
Email: a.furnham@ucl.ac.uk

Aims:
The aim of this course is to give a critical, up to date overview of the theorising and research in organisational psychology. This course intends to introduce the student to the theories, techniques and current questions in the field of Organisational Psychology. The aim is to familiarise students with the literature on all aspects of behaviour in the work-place.

Objectives:
1. Provide an historical framework to understand what and why current questions are asked.
2. Introduce some of the major theories in the area and evaluate them independently.
3. Evaluate the old and new methodology for studying behaviour in the work place.
4. Consider, in detail, important recent studies and meta-analyses in some of the areas that are at the heart of organisational psychology like selection, motivation, leadership etc.

Summary of Course:
This course will cover in some detail theories and research on issues currently topical in Organisational Psychology from job motivation, leadership and stress to the future of work.


PSYC3111A: HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION ½ CU
Convenor: Dr Anna Cox
Email: anna.cox@ucl.ac.uk

Aims:
To discuss a range of contemporary issues in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).

Objectives:
There are three major objectives for this course.

The first objective is to familiarise students with some of the basic human and machine related factors that influence the design and development of interactive computing systems. Successful students will be aware of the implications of psychological research for improving the design and evaluation of computer systems and be able to explain the importance of interface design

A second objective is to familiarize students with current theory and research on the psychological factors to be considered in designing interactive computing systems.

The third objective for the course is to explore the interrelationships between psychological processes and the characteristics of computing systems being designed for human use, and, in so doing, to develop an appreciation for the ways in which theory and research can guide design and in which design experience can contribute to the development of theory and research. Successful students will be aware of the social and organizational impact of new technologies and be able to consider how new technologies such as virtual environments, WWW, internet, teleworking, impact on people and society.

Summary of Course Content:
HCI is the study of people, computer technology and the ways these influence each other. We study HCI to understand how we can make technology more usable by people.

This applied course is both a survey of HCI research and an introduction to the psychological and other behavioral science knowledge and techniques useful in the design of computing systems for human use. Particular emphasis is placed on developing knowledge of the basic psychological phenomena of human cognition, memory, problem solving and language, and on how those processes relate to and condition the interaction between humans and interactive computing systems.

Recommended reading:
The psychology of everyday things / Donald A. Norman (1998)
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PSYC3203A LANGUAGE & COGNITION ½ CU
Convenor: Dr David Green
Email: d.w.green@ucl.ac.uk

Aims:To discuss current psychological issues and controversies in the area of language and cognition. Objectives:To help students think about the role of language in thinking both at an individual and a group level by illustrating key concepts and approaches. Students should be able to grasp and to apply fundamental representational and control concepts to questions about how humans make sense of their world and express that sense. Summary of Course:The coordination between speaker and hearer in word and gesture is used to illustrate the nature and dynamics of mental representation and mental control in social agents. Key to the coordination of action is informal argument as it provides a bridge between the world of individual thinking and the thinking of groups. We explore it in different contexts: writing an essay, forming an opinion, reaching a verdict, in scientific groups and in understanding consumer advertisements. In the second part of the course we examine the nature of individual and cultural differences in cognition. We examine the effects of social practices on thinking, the relationship between psychopathology and creativity, and the cognitive and affective aspects of bilingualism.

PSYC3205A SPEECH ½ CU
Convenor: Prof Peter Howell
Email: p.howell@ucl.ac.uk



Aims:
To understand the processes of speech production and perception as they operate normally and pathologically.

Objectives:
Students are taught the way the lungs, larynx and vocal tract operate to produce speech. The physical representation of speech and the way that this is represented in spectrograms is given. These are used as a basis for investigating models of speech production. The ways that speech production is affected in pathological cases is given. It is shown how speech synthesizers mimic the form of speech seen on spectrograms. The use of synthesis techniques in studying speech perception in humans and animals are given as well as theories that attempt to explain speech perception. It is shown how hearing impairment affects the perception of speech.

Summary:
Terminology from Phonetics. Pulmonary and laryngeal systems. Acoustic characteristics of phonation signal. Frequency response of vocal tract. Spectrographic representation of speech. Application to speech production: Levelt’s model of speech control and critique. The EXPLAN model of speech control Production: Speech timing –cerebellum, Wing-Kristofferson, STI, Parkinson’s speech. Coarticulation-phenomena and theories. Speaker differences. Dialogue interaction Ethics of experimental work on production. DSM-IV and classification of speech disorders Effects of hearing problems on speech control (otitis media and cochlear implants). Agrammatic aphasia speech.Stuttering its diagnosis and treatment. Speech perception; phenomena and theories. Categorical perception. Perception of accented speech. Auditory scene analysis and applications to speech perception. Motor theory of speech perception and mirror neurons.
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PSYC3207A: HUMAN LEARNING AND MEMORY
Convenor: Prof David Shanks
Email: d.shanks@ucl.ac.uk

Aims:
To provide an extensive overview of current understanding of learning and memory from behavioural, cognitive, and neural perspectives, with a particular emphasis on theoretical ideas about the ways in which different memory processes can be isolated and identified.

Objectives:
Students are introduced to the idea of a processing stream from initial encoding and storage in short-term memory to subsequent consolidation in long-term memory and retrieval. The elements of this stream are not independent but are linked via interactions among component processes occurring at different points in the stream (transfer-appropriate processing). A key objective of the course is to equip students with the ability to evaluate evidence for the existence of distinct memory processes in this stream. Detailed understanding of aspects of the neural basis and neuropsychology of memory are relevant to this objective, hence the characteristics of amnesia are discussed in depth. Students also learn about the multiple ways in which influences of memory can manifest themselves in behaviour. Applied topics such as aging and eyewitness memory are included in the course.

Summary of Course:
Short-term memory and encoding processes. Consolidation. Implicit learning. Reliability of long-term memory. Forgetting and retrieval. Aging and dementia. Direct and indirect memory tests. Transfer-appropriate processing. Memory systems and neuroscience of memory.


PSYC3301A MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY ½ CU
Convenor: Prof Chris McManus
Email: i.mcmanus@ucl.ac.uk

It is recommended that you should only consider doing this course if you have done the equivalent of A-Level Maths and have also taken and enjoyed 1st and 2nd year level statistics courses at home. If you don’t meet these conditions, but still wish to take this course, please discuss this with the convenor.


Aims:
To understand a range of modern techniques used in the statistical analysis of multivariate data in psychology.
Objectives:

By the end of the course you should:

· Understand the principles of basic matrix algebra, including the concepts of an eigenvalue and a determinant, be able to manipulate simple matrix equations, recognise the applications of matrix algebra to multivariate statistics, and be able to carry out matrix calculations using MINITAB for Windows.

· Understand the basics of multiple regression, including its matrix formulation, the problems of multicollinearity, suppressor variables and missing values, the use of dummy variables, polynomial terms, interaction terms, the relationship to ANOVA, and the differences between forward and backwards stepwise models, and hierarchical models.

· Be able to use MINITAB for Windows to carry out multiple regression analyses, including the use of macros, and to be able to carry out a Monte Carlo analysis by using MINITAB for Windows to generate random variables of known distributions.

· Understand the basics of exploratory factor analysis, including its matrix representation, the use of principle component analysis for data reduction, the advantages and disadvantages of the eigenvalue>l and scree-slope criteria for the numbers of factors, and the nature of rotation, including Varimax and oblique rotations.

· Understand the difference between confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis and the advantages of each, the application of path analysis to understanding simple problems of test-retest correlations, etc., and the relationship of path analysis to matrix representations.

· Understand how factor scores can be used for reducing a complex set of dependent variables to orthogonal measures which can be used as dependent variables in regression or ANOVA, and how multiple regression can be generalised to multiple dependent variables as canonical correlation and similarly ANOVA can be generalised as MANOVA.

· Understand the basic form of structural equation modelling in the specific form of the LISREL model, and be able to describe the purposes of the various matrices in the formulation.

· Be able to use SPSS for Windows to carry out multiple regression, factor analysis, canonical correlation and MANOVA. Be able to interpret the various forms of output and to recognise the common options available for the various programs.

· Be able to use LISREL for Windows to carry out a simple confirmatory factor analysis, and recognise the various parts of the output from the program.



Summary of Course:
Most psychological datasets are inherently multivariate, and proper analysis requires that the subtleties of the interrelationships between multiple measures are taken into account. The advent of cheap computing power and sophisticated computer packages in the past couple of decades has transformed psychological statistics, and this course introduces a range of techniques which once were only for specialists and now are increasingly expected of all psychologists. The first half of the course concentrates on multiple regression, and the problems that can arise in what is effectively a paradigmatic case for all multivariate analysis, and the second half extends the analysis into properly multivariate techniques such as factor analysis, MANOVA, canonical correlation and path analysis. The examples classes are an integral part of the course, not only providing practical experience, but also supporting the lecture material.

PSYC3303A: TOPICS IN NEUROBIOLOGY ½ CU
Convenor: Dr Kate Jeffery
Email: k.jeffery@ucl.ac.uk

Aims:
To explore some of the biological bases of behaviour.

Objectives:
Students should be able to describe aspects of selected behaviours using multiple levels of description, ranging from molecules to behaviour.

Summary of course content:
The course is oriented around learning and memory, mainly using spatial and episodic memory as a model system with which to explore issues such as how neurons represent information, and how this representation is modified by experience. The course is divided into modules of 3-4 lectures each, each module dealing with a different aspect of learning and memory. We will use multiple levels of description ranging from the genes contained within the neurons, through the proteins they make, the dynamical functions carried out by neurons (e.g., synaptic transmission, modification of connections etc.), the interactions of groups of neurons in circuits to form cognitive representations, and all the way up to the animal's macroscopic behaviour and how this interacts with the environment. By the end of the course students should have an understanding of how (relatively!) simple low-level processes create and interact with high level processes to produce the complex behaviours exhibited by animals and humans.


PSYC9001A: ONE-TERM PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH PROJECT ½ CU
Assessment: Project Report (2500-3500 words)

Students are required to produce an empirical, experimental piece of work on a psychological topic. Students will be responsible for conducting research under the supervision of a member of faculty. Students will meet with their supervisor to discuss the project at least once per week. This research project should culminate in a written report akin to a manuscript prepared for submission to a psychological journal. Please note that students can only take this course if they are able to find a member of faculty to supervise them.
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PSYC9002A: PSYCHOLOGY READINGS ½ CU
Assessment: Review Paper (approx 5000 words)

The Psychology Readings is designed to give students an opportunity to earn credit for reading articles and books in a specified area of psychology. The readings course will be supervised by a member of the psychology faculty who will meet with the student a minimum of once per week to discuss progress. The readings can be used to explore an area of psychology not offered in other courses by the department. Or, it can be used to allow the student to learn more about a previously taught topic in greater depth. The readings must culminate in the production of a written review paper. Please note that students can only take this course if they are able to find a member of faculty to supervise them.

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