Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
This module aims to build students’ knowledge and understanding of how and why individuals vary in their cognitive ability, personality, motivation and interests. Over the course of the module we will introduce students to what is currently known about biological bases of behaviour, such as the brain and the genome, and discuss the relevance of behavioural genetics and neuroscience to psychology and education, exploring recent studies and debates in these fields.
Students will also engage with the differential psychology literature and will be supported in developing their knowledge and understanding of psychological constructs such as intelligence and personality. They will be exposed to, and engage with, the many debates that exist around the definition and measurement of such constructs. The knowledge acquired during this module will be used as a base for exploring the importance of individual differences in educational contexts.
Subject content
By the end of this module students will have developed:
Academic and graduate skills
Students will learn how to:
There will be one on-campus lecture each week. After an introductory lecture, weeks 2-6 will focus on individual differences topics including personality, intelligence, and positive psychology. Lectures in weeks 7-11 will focus on biological psychology in educational contexts, including neuroscience, neuroimaging, the adolescent brain and an introduction to the genome and behavioural genetics. In the final few weeks there will be additional small group sessions, to enable some laboratory practical work. The module also includes a self-study pack on neuromyths, introduced in week 1. On-campus lectures will be complemented by weekly additional reading and other activities, accessed through the VLE.
Task | % of module mark |
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Open Examination | 100 |
None
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Open Examination | 100 |
Individual written feedback reports with follow-up tutor discussion if necessary. The feedback is returned to students in line with university policy. Please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2016). Personality and individual differences. John Wiley & Sons.
Blakemore, S.J. & Frith, U. (2005). The Learning Brain: Lessons for Education. Wiley-Blackwell.
Mareschal, D., Butterworth, B., & Tolmie, A. (Eds.). (2013). Educational neuroscience. John Wiley & Sons.
Maltby, J., Day, L., & Macaskill, A. (2010). Personality, individual differences and intelligence. Pearson Education.
Asbury, K. & Plomin, R. (2013). G is for Genes: The Impact of Genetics on Education. Wiley-Blackwell.