Psychology and Management BA Hons - 2020 Entry

Course Structure

Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and others which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism. We divide academic study into two sections - Part 1 (Year 1) and Part 2 (Year 2, 3 and sometimes 4). For most programmes Part 1 requires you to study 120 credits spread over at least three modules which, depending upon your programme, will be drawn from one, two or three different academic subjects. A higher degree of specialisation then develops in subsequent years. For more information about our teaching methods at Lancaster please visit our Teaching and Learning section.

The following courses do not offer modules outside of the subject area due to the structured nature of the programmes: Architecture, Law, Physics, Engineering, Medicine, Sports and Exercise Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedicine and Biomedical Science.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research.

Year 1

Core

• Essential skills for psychologists

  Developing transferable study and employability skills are both important aspects for studying a degree, and securing employment. This module is tailored to the psychology discipline and provides students with an essential foundation to successfully build their degree, as well as equipping students with practical employability skills.

  This 100% coursework module allows students to develop key transferable study skills to increase their employability to work in a range of industries. Key topics of study include understanding assessment and feedback, critical thinking, forming an academic argument, personal resilience and success, writing CVs and cover letters, and effective methods of communication. These skills are combined with developing knowledge of finding and securing voluntary and paid work experience, placements and jobs.

  Students who complete this module will be equipped with skills to; write essays and lab reports, critically appraise information from a range of resources, produce a CV and cover letter for a prospective employer, present psychological information with confidence and clarity, and be able to find psychology-related opportunities, placements, and jobs, with an understanding of how to secure them.

• Introduction to cognitive psychology

  Cognition is the mental process of acquiring and using knowledge; it underpins our ability to perceive the world around us. This module will equip students with a strong foundation of the conceptual knowledge and terminologies used in cognitive psychology.

  Students will be introduced to key topics in cognitive psychology, such as attention, perception, categorisation, language, memory, problem solving, and decision-making. These core topics will be explored using key theories, classic paradigms, and experimental approaches, looking into both past and current research.

  Once the module is complete, students will be able to describe key theories, processes, illustrate classic paradigms, and experimental approaches used in cognitive psychology. This will provide a foundation for those continuing with psychological studies in Part II.

• Introduction to developmental psychology

  Developmental psychology is a scientific discipline that explains how humans develop across the lifespan.

  Students will study topics including Piagetian and Vygotskian theoretical frameworks, the nature vs nurture debate, and children’s development of crucial abilities to engage in the social world. Students will develop a strong understanding of the relationships between psychological theory and experimental evidence, drawing upon classic and state-of-the-art scientific literature, including current cutting-edge investigative research going on in our Psychology Department.

  Gaining an understanding of psychology as a discipline, and how the field is informed by research, students will be able to discuss important developmental topics in an informed and critical manner using theory, literature and research frameworks. This will equip students with an excellent foundation of knowledge to continue studying developmental psychology in Part II.

• Introduction to neuroscience

  Neuroscience gives us an insight into the brain, which underpins human behaviour; neuroscience helps us to understand the essence of being human.

  This module provides students with an introduction to neural mechanisms that are central to human behaviour. Students will understand the anatomy of the nervous system, the main structures of the brain, the functions of neurons, which are specialised cells that receive, send and process information in the nervous system.

  Once key neural mechanisms are understood, students will look at the effects of drugs on neural mechanisms including the brain, vision, hearing, control of movement, sleep and dreaming, learning and memory.

  On successful completion of the module, students will understand brain anatomy, neural processes and mechanisms, identify areas of the brain that control movement, discuss the role of sleeping and dreaming, and understand the relation between neural function and learning and memory. Students will also be able to critically evaluate psychological research and express their understanding of such topics through discussions and assessments.

• Management and Organisation in Context

  The aim of this course is to introduce students to the fascinating world of management and organisation(s) via a series of lectures and seminars and reading groups.

  Over a period of ten weeks, we will attempt to familiarise ourselves with some of the main themes and issues that make up our ‘organised’ world. Our main objective will be to map out the ways in which we understand ourselves in relation to work, management and organisations. In order to so, we will attempt to trace how the meaning we give to these important themes has developed historically. To do so, we will analyse the thought of some of their main critics and contributors.

  The course begins by providing a perspective on capitalism (as the social order in which the forms of managing and organising we are interested in takes place), before moving on to look at management more concretely and ends with a focus on people (both managers and workers) in contemporary organisations and society.

• Management, Organisations and Work: Key Issues and Debates

  This module aims to provide you with a broad introduction to management covering a wide range of topics that are relevant to work, business and organisations. The module begins by locating organizations, work and technology in a broad historical context. It considers the meaning of work and different debates regarding alienation and technology. It then introduces different metaphors through which we can understand and analyse organisations. Finally, it considers the changing nature of employment relations by considering the shift from industrial relations to Human Resource Management (HRM). The module is constructed to encourage you to think critically and to reflect upon taken-for-granted assumptions about the world of work and management’s role in relation to it. As a means to achieve this, the second part of the course explores the contemporary issue of human resource management and development which fundamentally contributes to the development of employee-engaged and productive organisations. The final part of the module continues the theme of encouraging critical reflection and explores key issues and debates related to gig employment, globalization, sustainability and business ethics that are intimately related to management. Many of these debates and issues will be explored in greater depth in subsequent OWT modules (e.g. OWT.223 Human Resource Management, OWT.226 Management and Information Technology, and OWT.229 Business Ethics).

• Personality and individual differences

  This module introduces students to key topics and debates within psychological research relating to personality and individual differences.

  Through the exploration of topics including personality, intelligence and psychometric testing, students will gain key skills to examine and evaluate the impact of individual differences on cognition, behaviour and social relationships.

  Completing this module provides students with an understanding of biological, environmental and cultural influences on personality, intelligence and other traits, methods of psychometric testing and their role in psychological research, the ability to critically evaluate key theories and to assess the impact on real-world issues.

• Research Integrity and Open Science I

  Psychologists engage in the scientific process of developing and testing theories that explain and understand human psychology and behaviour. This module introduces students to the scientific processes and practices surrounding the development and testing of psychological and behavioural theories.

  Students will understand the importance of transparent psychological research to assess the openness and reproducibility of current studies. Practical skills will be at the heart of students’ learning, as they are equipped with practical skills to conduct their own research using a ‘reproducibility toolkit’, helping students study the relationship between theory, method, statistics and research.

  Students will gain an understanding of how their research has an impact on psychological knowledge, as well as learning how to avoid problematic practices in the future. They will gain a well-rounded understanding of the research process, be aware of the importance of reproducibility, and knowledge of how to critically engage with theoretical and empirical research.

  Key transferable skills are also learnt on this module including data collection, evaluation of primary and secondary sources, assessing the quality of other studies, and knowledge of the relationship between theories, concepts and research methods.

• Research Integrity and Open Science II

  How do we determine what is true in science? How do we know which theories are well supported by evidence, and which ones are not? This module focuses on the research process, particularly drawing upon how to identify and avoid questionable practices, in favour of those that are open, transparent and reproducible.

  Students will build upon their knowledge of the research process learnt in Research Integrity and Open Science 1. Looking at some of the problems faced by researchers, and how research findings are assessed in light of these issues, students will develop tools to help overcome and prevent future issues.

  Topics of study includes the problem of false-positive findings, questionable research practices, researcher degrees of freedom, fraud, detecting errors and meta-analysis. These topics will allow students to understand how to embed open, transparent and reproducible research methods into their own practices, supporting students’ ability to plan a research study and provide clear, accurate descriptions of proposed methods and planned analyses.

  Once students complete this module, they will have a deeper understanding of the research process, from concept, design, to post-publication. Students will have advanced knowledge of the reproducibility crisis, equipped with skills critically evaluate psychological theory and research in order to identify and avoid questionable research practices, and to ensure their own practices are open, transparent and reproducible.

• Social Psychology in the Digital Age

  Whether we want to understand more about ourselves, or the world around us, social psychology can offer valuable insights into psychology that is relevant to our everyday lives. This module equips students with key knowledge of the novel application of our everyday technology that governs most of our social and occupational organisation.

  Students are introduced to core topics including attraction, attribution and leadership, and learning how the digital age continues to affect our social world through the exploration of social interaction in digital contexts. The module also provides an excellent basis for students to understand different research approaches by learning how theory guides the collection and interpretation of empirical data, including research paradigms, methods and measurement techniques.

  The module will equip students with an understanding of core theories and methodologies to explain the significance of key research papers in social psychology, allowing students to understand how to tackle real-world issues.

• Statistics for Psychologists 1

  Psychology is an evidence-based discipline, and understanding how to carry out psychological enquiry through statistical analysis of data plays a key part in research. This module is designed to equip students with a strong understanding of how data is used to inform decisions about the validity of psychological theories.

  Students will learn theoretical principals behind introductory statistical analysis techniques in psychological research, developing an understanding of scientific research methods to perform their own statistical analysis using numerical data collected in laboratories.

  By the end of this module, students will understand how to implement methods of research, make evidence-based inferences on psychological concepts, and develop skills to competently handle numerical data in order to calculate statistical analyses.

• Statistics for Psychologists 2

  Psychology is an evidence-based discipline, and understanding how to carry out psychological enquiry through statistical analysis of data plays a key part in research. This module builds on students’ knowledge acquired in Part I, allowing them to broaden their skills and develop a deeper understanding of statistical analysis techniques in psychological research.

  This module equips students with a core understanding of statistical concepts and specialist knowledge of applying a range of statistical methods. Students will expand their knowledge of statistical tests and continue to practice the implementation of these with data relating to psychological theories.

  Students will take their statistical analysis skills to the next level, with their ability to calculate a range of statistics including correlation, chi-square and ANOVA, perform statistical analyses using software packages, and develop confidence in identifying the right statistical test required for a given design.

Year 2

Core

• Cognitive Psychology

  Taught by internationally recognised researchers, this module concerns the study of mental processes; how people perceive, think, talk and behave. Students will explore the current issues, debates and approaches in the key areas of cognitive psychology: human memory, attention, language and perception under the guidance of lecturers who are experts and innovators in this field. Up to date theoretical debates and their evaluation in terms of conceptual coherence and empirical support will also be examined.

  By the end of the module, students will show a critical appreciation of research methods, approaches and outcomes in cognitive psychology; and will have written about a topic in cognitive psychology in an informed and reflective way.

• Developmental Psychology

  This module will explore cutting-edge topics in developmental psychology, including the latest development in foetal research, new theories of communication and learning in infants and children, social cognition, face perception, perception of elementary physic and the theory of the mind. The presented empirical research in the lectures, spanning from foetal research to toddlers, will provide students with an invaluable insight on how to conduct research into issues concerning developmental psychology.

• Organisational Psychology

  This course is concerned with major theories in social psychology and related social sciences that have guided the organisation and design of work.

  In this module students should develop an understanding of the importance of the role of psychology in the development of people management techniques and practices. They will also develop an understanding of the historical development of psychology, with specific reference to the relevance of psychological expertise to the effective management of organisations.

• Research Methods I: Experimental Methods in Psychology

  Whilst aiming to expand on students’ knowledge and skills on research methods acquired in the Part I modules, this module aims to develop knowledge and skills on experimental research methods employed across the different topics in psychology, such as social, developmental, cognitive and neuroscience approaches. This will involve learning about how to plan, conduct and report research and how to evaluate research studies. Students will be accustomed to research methods and APA style. They will also look at the effects of sleep on learning as well as addressing the complexities and confounds in experimental studies.

  This module will develop the ability to be clear, accurate, complete and concise in writing up research. There is also a strong emphasis on collaborative work. Students will develop the ability to generate and explore hypotheses and research questions, and will carry out empirical studies drawing on a variety of psychological methods. Additionally, students are required to plan, conduct and report empirical research including defining a research problem, formulating testable predictions, choosing appropriate methods, planning and conducting data gathering, demonstrate evaluation of data and producing a professional report. Students will employ evidence-based reasoning when presenting, interpreting and evaluating psychological research, and will use some psychological tools such as experimental software and computer packages including at least one statistical package.

• Research Methods II: Asking questions, analysing responses

  This module provides students with an introduction to non-experimental methods by which psychological research is conducted, data collected and analysed, whilst also addressing the ethical issues relevant to a range of experimental and non-experimental methods. Students will undertake blocks of exercises in which they design, report and evaluate different forms of psychological research through questionnaires and surveys, in addition to interviewing and qualitative analysis.

  Working in small groups, students will design and implement research projects on a given topic, followed by independent analyses and interpretation of the results, which are then written up in the research reports. Students will also engage with the various ethical issues affecting psychological research on human participants and the strategies for addressing those issues in ethical psychological research. The module will support further development of the ability to be clear, accurate, complete and concise in writing up research. Students will also develop the ability to use appropriate software and online resources in the generation and analysis of data.

• Social Psychology

  Expanding on the knowledge gained in Part I, students will further develop their knowledge of theory and research in a number of core areas in this field. Starting with the history of social psychology, they will explore topics such as social beliefs and judgements, intergroup relations, and applying social psychology to everyday life.

  Lectures will cover contemporary and empirical developments in the key areas, and the accompanying seminar programme will help develop a range of academic skills in relation to social psychological subject matter including: use of technical language, integrating knowledge, analytic skills, argument construction and presentation.

• Statistics

  Students will gain the knowledge and skills to understand how psychological research findings reported in journals and textbooks have been obtained; carry out their own analysis of data collected during practical classes and report the results; and analyse and report the results of their own research project.

  Students will come to identify the appropriate form of analysis for different data types, and will use the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) to conduct the analysis of variance (ANOVA) appropriate for standard research designs.

  The module will teach pupils how to evaluate the reliability and generalisability of research reported in the media, and how to apply the analysis skills to research in other areas beyond psychology.

Year 3

Core

• Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience

  The fundamental neural principles of brain and behaviour relationships will be introduced, with particular emphasis on the perceptual and cognitive functions that underpin many psychological processes. Students will explore in more depth neural transmissions both within the neuron and at synapses, and gain a basic knowledge of the anatomy, physiology and functions of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

  They will also learn about a range of theories and research methods in cognitive neuroscience, and demonstrate how knowledge of the psychological processes can aid an understanding of a wide scope of human behaviour.

• Organisational Change

  The aim of this course is to provide students with a critical understanding of organisations and the management of change. Management gurus and media commentators have heralded a break with earlier ways of organizing and managing and yet change is often more difficult than they suggest.

  This course introduces different ways in which to understand change. It pays particular attention to management gurus and asks why their prescriptions are so popular? Overall, the course examines some of the problems and obstacles that companies face when attempting to introduce a variety of new change initiatives including teamwork and knowledge management and it draws on case study material to enable students to explore change in different organisational settings.

• Personality and Individual Differences

  This module introduces the key topics and debates relating to personality and individual differences. It blends learning the important theoretical questions with discussion of the research implications for practice at work and across society as a whole. Current views will be explored and placed within their historical context. Notions such as trait and type on psychological accounts of human behaviour will be critically evaluated.

  The theoretical and practical insights into psychometric testing and other methods for capturing individual differences in behaviour and performance will also be explored. The module further examines the impact of individual differences in particular areas, including cognition, thinking and development.

• Project

  The project is a piece of empirical work that will be completed under the guidance of a member of the lecturing staff. Exploring a topic of their choice, students will gain significant knowledge and understanding of how to develop and conduct psychological research, and will learn how to operationalise a manageable research problem.

  In collaboration with a supervisor, they will develop the ability to formulate specific research hypotheses and carry out and write up an independent piece of research. This will equip students with in depth and specialised expertise in a specific area of psychological inquiry.

• Psychological Approaches to Managing Change

  Organisational change is widely accepted as a defining feature of contemporary life. Most of the topics covered in management courses, for example, structure; technology; people; power; culture; strategy; leadership and learning, to name a few, assume the need for changes of one kind or another. This course of lectures and the associated seminar programme review some key ideas associated with approaches to change. Seminal approaches to the field that can be said to conceptualise change management are introduced and compared, particularly those at the micro - that is the individual and group level.

  Material included in the course will help you understand your own and other peoples' reactions to changes. It will help you develop informed opinions about theories of change and will help you to understand how changes might be managed effectively. Expressed more formally, the course will

  • introduce you to some key management and social, and behavioural science contributions in the field;

  • help you to compare different orientations and to appreciate their relative strengths and weaknesses;

  • help you to relate such ideas to actual events in organisations; and,

  • help you to understand and evaluate your own approaches to the management of change and to evaluate management practices in this area.

Optional

• Organising in the Digital Age: Power, Technology and Society

  Technology is widely regarded as an unstoppable engine of change that is driving the advance or progress of the modern world. It would seem that no corner of the planet is left untouched by the transformative power of technology: from computers and telecommunications technology to biotechnology, from genetic engineering to the production of designer drugs to control and reshape human behaviour, the technological (re)ordering of the world would appear to have no limits. Against this background utopian or dystopian depending on your viewpoint OWT.326 aims to explore the (inter)relationship between technology and organisation.

  The lectures place a strong emphasis on the examination of accounts and representations, visions of technology, technologically mediated change in organisations and society (including issues of identity, power and surveillance), and the ethical dimensions of technology.

  No prior knowledge of technology is assumed.

• Technology and Organisation: Society and Risk

  Technology is widely regarded as an unstoppable engine of change that is driving the advance or progress of the modern world. It would seem that no corner of the planet is left untouched by the transformative power of technology: from computers and telecommunications technology to biotechnology, from genetic engineering to the production of designer drugs to control and reshape human behaviour, the technological (re)ordering of the world would appear to have no limits. Against this background – utopian or dystopian depending on your viewpoint – the module aims to explore the (inter)relationship between technology and organisation.

  In the Michaelmas term the lectures place a strong emphasis on the examination of accounts and representations, visions of technology, technologically mediated change in organisations and society (including issues of identity, power and surveillance), and the ethical dimensions of technology.

  In the Lent term, students will also address the literature on the social construction of technology. Not only is technological development managed and subjected to processes of organising but it also has to be understood in relation to the influences of politics, culture and gender, risk and the management of risk in the context of technology, together with an exploration of future technological developments, are also key themes of of the module.