Unit name | The Psychology of Individual Differences. |
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Unit code | EDUCM5410 |
Credit points | 10 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
Unit director | Dr. Meadows |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites | - EDUCM5411 - Developmental Psychology. |
School/department | School of Education |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The unit enables students to examine research on the psychology of individual differences. Topics include:
The main approaches to emotion, motivation, the self and normal and abnormal personality development, including: psychoanalytic, behavioural, cultural, social learning, social cognitive, radical behaviourist, humanistic-existential-phenomenological, lexical-trait, neo Darwinist, biological and behavioural genetic. The critical psychological view of subject and subjectivity. Influence of genetic, environmental, development and cultural factors on individual differences. Temporal and situational consistency of individual differences. Influence of personality on other behaviours. The nature of intelligence, contemporary approaches to intelligence and their implications for educational and social policy. Individual differences and inclusion and exclusion.
Students will demonstrate that they:
The course will be delivered through whole group lectures and discussion led by research-active members of the Graduate School.
The needs of a wide range of students, including those with disabilities, international students and those from ethnic minority backgrounds have been considered. It is not anticipated that the teaching and assessment methods used will cause disadvantage to any person taking the unit. The Graduate School of Education is happy to address individual support requests as necessary
An essay of 2000 words, or a research report. In negotiation with tutors, students will be expected to analyse relevant texts and synthesise concepts from the psychology of individual differences, make links/connections and recognise associations/relationships between these concepts, and draw upon current understanding of the psychology of individual differences. They will be expected to develop balanced arguments that reflect a multidisciplinary awareness and an ability to contextualise concepts, and draw appropriately upon a wide range of psychological evidence.