PSY-10020 - Natural, unnatural, supernatural: the psychology of unusual phenomena

Coordinator: David Walker Tel: +44 1782 7 34265

Lecture Time: See Timetable...

Level: Level 4

Credits: 15

Study Hours: 150

School Office: 01782 733736

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Yes

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2020/21

This module gives you the opportunity to find out about unusual aspects of human behaviour, covering topics that apply to us all. Previous yearsż sessions include attention, memory, change blindness and eyewitness testimony; cults and religion, earworms, musical hallucinations and amusia; psychological approaches to reducing pain; hypnosis and psychological healing, and the supernatural (e.g. vampires, werewolves and other monsters; superstition; the supernatural, mediums and fortune telling).
All these unusual aspects of human behaviour will be explained through psychological approaches. This module is presented using an innovative range of blended modes of learning, with face-to-face lectures supported by video clips, interviews with famous psychologists, online study activities, and discussion boards, and the module is assessed by a series of short written individual discussion topics. The module does not assume any prior knowledge of psychology or the brain.

Aims

To introduce students to selected concepts that illustrate unusual aspects of human behaviour; to provide engaging content, teaching styles and assessment strategies through the use of innovative blended learning and assessment approaches.

Talis Aspire Reading List
Any reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.
http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/psy-10020/lists

Intended Learning Outcomes

describe and discuss different psychological approaches to studying human behaviour: 1
use relevant source material to develop arguments about psychological approaches to unusual elements of human behaviour: 1
select key information and summarise key concepts in unusual elements of human behaviour: 1
communicate ideas about unusual elements of human behaviour clearly: 1

Study hours

20 hours engagement with presentation of units (blended learning - some face-to-face lectures, some podcasts, some online activities)
130 hours independent study to include work on formative assessment, blog writing for assessment, reading and lecture preparation/follow up.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Online Tasks weighted 100%
Individual 'blogs'
Individual blogs. Students will engage with discussion topics raised in the units of the module, selecting one from several topics to write about to produce a total of 3 x 500 word blogs. The function of this assessment is to stimulate and encourage continued student engagement with the module. A clear structure will be provided for the discussion topics, allowing a blog-like writing style, with discussion topics being raised in advance by the tutors responsible for the units.

PSY-10020 - Module Specification School of Psychology Faculty of Natural Sciences

PSY-10020 - Module Specification
School of Psychology
Faculty of Natural Sciences