Studying at York
Body Representations - PSY00065M
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Module aims
We all have a body - it not only helps us to manipulate and move around in our environment, but is also instrumental for social interaction as well as being an integral part of our sense of self. Most of us take feelings of ownership and control over our body for granted. However, in some clinical conditions experience of the body is distorted, which can have devastating consequences. In this module, we will discuss experimental paradigms and concepts that relate to the human body representation, how information about our body is processed in the brain, and how bodily experience is disrupted in certain psychological and neurological disorders.
Students enrolling on this module should demonstrate a good understanding of core knowledge in cognitive psychology, as well as intermediate skills in quantitative statistical analyses.
Module learning outcomes
- Give an account of the key concepts, and methods in body representation research
- Critically evaluate evidence relating to our understanding of the importance of body representations in health and disease.
- Comment on the key experiments and findings in each of the topics covered.
- Discuss implications for broadening our understanding of human body representations.
Module content
- Multisensory body illusions
- Visual perspective of the body
- Disowning the body
- The body in action
- The body in pain
- Body image
- Pregnant bodies
- Social cognition
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
The marks on all assessed work will be provided on e-vision.
Indicative reading
Sample Reading:
- Ehrsson H. H. (2012). The concept of body ownership and its relation to multisensory integration in The new handbook of multisensory processes (ed Stein B. E.) Ch. 43, 775–792 (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA,).
- Botvinick M. & Cohen J. (1998). Rubber hands ‘feel’ touch that eyes see. Nature 391, 756
- Tsakiris, M., Schütz-Bosbach, S., & Gallagher, S. (2007). On agency and body-ownership: Phenomenological and neurocognitive reflections. Consciousness and cognition, 16(3), 645-660.
- Kilteni, K., Maselli, A., Kording, K. P., & Slater, M. (2015). Over my fake body: body ownership illusions for studying the multisensory basis of own-body perception. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 9.
- Boesch, E., Bellan, V., Moseley, G. L., & Stanton, T. R. (2015). The effect of bodily illusions on clinical pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain.