The Induction Module aims to equip students with the tools, knowledge and skills they need to successfully complete their programme of studies.

This module will introduce students to contemporary areas of psychology including ethics, health, work, forensic and positive psychology and equip them with selected academic skills necessary for successful engagement with the Psychology MSc programme. There will be a focus on thinking critically about key issues in psychology including e.g. ethics in a digital age, understanding the practice and application of psychological research and comparing and contrasting different theoretical perspectives on e.g. health and work psychology.

The module will explore psychological theory, as it relates to health and health care. It will examine some of the major threats to public health, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Students will study the historical and philosophical origins of health psychology and key theoretical models and research methods in health psychology. Students will examine, in depth, biopsychosocial factors involved in the enhancement of health and prevention of illness, e.g. perception of risk, illness perceptions. Additionally content will consider specific health problems and their impact on the individual, significant others, and society.

The module is designed to provide a clear introduction to work psychology by covering contemporary research material to enable students to develop a critical understanding of some of the key themes in work psychology. Content will cover: the role of work attitudes and their relation to work performance; critical evaluation of theories of group and team working and effectiveness; approaches to leadership in the workplace; an introduction to the processes of organisational development and change; and consideration of the extent to social, cognitive and organisational factors relate to work design, and to work outcomes such as performance and stress

Positive Psychology developed with the aim of providing an additional psychological perspective that is less concerned with human disabilities, diseases or dysfunctions but rather focuses on the 'positive' side of psychological functioning, considering what factors may contribute to human resilience, flourishing and thriving. This module takes a broad perspective drawing on data from areas such as Social Psychology, Neuroscience, Personality and Individual Differences as well as Economics. To relate to the strong applied perspective of Positive Psychology in areas such as Positive Coaching, Positive Leadership and also Positive Clinical Psychology.

This module aims to allow students to critically evaluate and apply psychological theories and knowledge in relation to real-world forensic problems, i.e. issues relating to law and the legal system. This module takes an individual differences approach to explanations of criminal behaviour. Students will consider factors such as personality, gender, mental health, mood, motivation and developmental issues and their relation to criminal behaviour.

This module aims to develop students’ knowledge of the variety and limitations of methodologies used in psychology as well as their practical skills in relation to data acquisition, validation, coding, analysis, interpretation and presentation of analysis in different formats. The emphasis of the module will be on: 1) developing students understanding of the appropriate management of both qualitative and quantitative data (e.g. data verification, classification of themes, coding methods, treatment of missing data etc.); 2) providing an overview of, and familiarisation with the use of mainstream computer packages used in the analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data (e.g. SPSS, NVivo); and 3) developing students ability to conduct appropriate statistical tests and interpret the results obtained from complex, multivariate analyses within the context of the limitations of statistical methods and research design.

This module aims to equip students with the research skills necessary to conduct and critically evaluate psychology research, including the systematic review and synthesis of research literature, and prepare them to conduct their own secondary research project. In this module, students will gain practical 'hands on' experience of supervised research in relation to a psychological topic of their own choosing. Students should gain a deeper understanding of the conceptual, methodological and logistical problems that may be encountered when conducting research independently under supervision. Students will have a supervisor for guidance throughout the process of research from developing a research idea, to sourcing and analysing data, and writing up the findings.