Course descriptions:
HP 101 Introduction to Psychology
This course is an introductory overview of fundamental areas in the contemporary study of psychology. Topics include the biological bases of behaviour, sensation and perception, memory, thought and language, social behaviour, intelligence, motivation, learning, personality, and development.
HP 102 Fundamentals of Social Science Research
This is an introductory course to the research methods and basic statistical techniques commonly used in psychological research. Students will be introduced to the process of scientific inquiry in psychology, both in terms of empirical research methodology and statistical analysis. Research methods covered will mainly focus on experiments and survey research. Statistical techniques introduced will include correlation, simple linear regression, t-test, and analysis of variance for simple experimental design. Learning is through lectures and hands-on practices during tutorials.
All courses below require HP101 and HP102 as prerequisites unless otherwise stated.
HP200 Research Design and Data Analysis in Psychology (AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101 and HP102)
Building upon on the basic statistics concepts introduced in HP 102, this course will discuss analysis of experimental data from simple and factorial designs using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Elementary concepts of multiple regression and test of association in categorical data will also be introduced. The course is divided into lectures and tutorials. In the lectures, we will focus on conceptual issues and cover the content materials that you need to understand in order to work with empirical data. In the tutorials, you will get hands-on experience with data analysis using SPSS.
HP201 Biological Psychology (AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101 and HP102)
Biological psychology assumes that all behaviour can be explained by neural processes occurring within the brain and its interaction with the environment. This course will first examine the general architecture, subcomponents, and inter-cellular communication in the human brain. Next, we will examine the neural substrates of complex behaviours including perception, attention, memory, language, sleep, hunger, and addiction. In summary, students will learn how behavior is instantiated in the brain.
HP 202 Developmental Psychology
Human beings develop cognition, personality, social relations and emotions in fundamental ways. This course introduces students to the major milestones in the human lifespan, from infancy through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Special emphasis is placed on the role of socialization and environmental factors in human development.
HP 203 Social Psychology
An individual's behaviour, thoughts and feelings are influenced by other people and by the social environment. This course examines topics such as interpersonal attraction, attitudes, social influences, social cognition, perception of the self, others and groups, altruism, aggression, conformity, and antisocial behaviour.
HP 204 Personality and Individual Differences
The study of human personality is central to psychology. This course surveys the major approaches, covering classical and contemporary themes such as psychodynamic theories, behavioural models, humanistic theories, trait theories, social learning theories as well as personality perspectives indigenous to cultures in the Asian region.
HP 206 Cognitive Psychology
The representation, processing and retention of information are basic psychological processes. In understanding these processes, this course covers topics such as attention, vigilance, pattern recognition, memory, language and reasoning, concept formation, artificial intelligence, and problem solving.
HP 207 Abnormal Psychology (Prerequisite: HP101; HP102 is not required)
This course aims to build a broad foundation for the study of psychopathology by covering a whole range of abnormality described in the DSM-IV. The main aim is to acquaint students with the etiology and treatment of psychological disorders through the major paradigms of abnormal behaviour. Students learn to appreciate the multifarious factors that lead to mental illnesses. Case studies are used consistently to reflect the clinical approach adopted by the field in understanding mental illnesses.
HP 305 Applied Statistical Methods for Psychological Research (Prerequisites: HP101, HP102 and HP200)
This is an intermediate level course in statistics for psychology research. The general focus of the course will be on advanced topics in analysis of variance (higher-order between-subjects design, repeated-measures design, split-plot design, Latin-square design, cross-over design, etc.) and regression analysis (multiple regression, polynomial regression, regression with categorical explanatory variables, moderation-mediation analysis and residual analysis). If time allows, topics such as non-parametric statistics, and/or path analysis may also be discussed.
HP 307 Psychological Adjustment and Mental Health (Prerequisite: HP101; HP102 is not required)
Everyday, we are faced with numerous events that challenge our adaptability. Some people adjust to these challenges well, and some less so. What causes these differences? Concepts and theories of stress-and-coping, mental health, normality and abnormality of psychology are discussed in this course.
HP 308 Psychology in the Workplace
Psychology has practical applications to the workplace at the individual and organisational level. In illustrating this, the course covers organisational culture and development, employee motivation and leadership, team dynamics, work satisfaction, organisational influences on work behaviour. Special emphasis is placed upon organisational behaviour in contemporary Asian societies.
HP 309 Cultural Psychology
Culture, sub-culture and ethnic group membership affect behaviour in a variety of ways. This course introduces students to theories of, and research in, the influence of culture upon basic psychological processes such as cognition, the conceptualization of self, as well as developmental processes.
HP310 Positive Psychology (AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101 and HP102)
Positive psychology redirects the attention of psychologists to the positive aspect of the adaptive and the pro-growth aspect of human psychology. The topic includes such psychological processes as positive emotions and cognitions, resilience and subjective wellbeing. The present course provide a review of recent research in positive psychology, critical analysis of issues and methodology involved in positive psychology and its potential application in applied work.
HP311 Evolutionary Psychology (Prerequisite: HP101; HP102 is not required)
The course will provide students with a basic background of evolutionary theory and how it may apply to the field of psychology. Training on evolutionary theory will address common misunderstandings and provide students with the necessary information so that they can think critically and independently about its relevance to understanding human behavior. During the course, we will see how evolutionary theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding basic survival strategies, sex and mating strategies, parenting and kinship, development, language, emotion, cooperation, conflict, aggression, warfare, social dominance, psychopathology, and other aspects of human behavior. The course will culminate in an effort to demonstrate how evolutionary theory can apply to all branches of psychology and to address the advantages and disadvantages that the evolutionary approach provides for advancing our understanding of mind and behavior.
HP 313A Selected Topics in Social and Personality Psychology: The Social Psychology of Human Communication (Prerequisites: HP101, HP102 and HP203)
This course will cover the following topies: The cognitive and interpersonal processes involved in message formulation and comprehension; the communicative functions of nonverbal behaviors such as filled pauses and hand gestures; the cognitive consequences of language use and social cognitive models of persuasive communication.
HP314A: Issues and Concerns in Adolescence (Prerequisites: HP101, HP102 and HP202)
This module introduces students to the issues and concerns in adolescence. Research on adolescent maladjustment such as aggression, juvenile delinquency, depression and suicidal ideation among others will be studied. In addition, critical issues surrounding the period of adolescence such as adolescent identity, adolescent and his/her relationships with parents, peers and significant others will also be explored.
HP314B Topic in Applied Psychological Science-Personnel Psychology
AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101, HP102
This course exams the application of psychological principles to assessment, personnel selection, training, performance appraisal, and separation - the complete work cycle. In doing so, the course builds on basic principles of psychology, research methods, and testing of individual differences. The topics will be examined from individual, organizational, and cultural aspects. The goal is for students to understand the fundamentals of the personnel process from both a theoretical perspective and from an applied perspective in an increasingly complex, diverse world.
HP 320 Learning and Behavioural Analysis (Prerequisite: HP101; HP102 is not required)
Major theories of learning have developed from psychological research. This course covers ideas from classical and operant conditioning, including reinforcement, punishment, habituation, shaping, desensitization, spontaneous recovery and extinction. The course also considers contemporary learning models such as cognitive learning including cognitive maps, discovery and insight.
HP324 Human Motivation
This course looks at the question of why people are motivated to think and act in the ways that they do. In order to answer this question, we will study human motivation using a combination of various perspectives, such as biological, social, personality, developmental, and cognitive areas of psychology. The course is discussion and writing intensive and will be conducted in a format that promotes analysis and in-depth review of classical and current motivation research.
HP326 Cognitive Development
The course focuses on the development of brain, motor function, perception and attention, memory, language, representation of physical and mental world, problem-solving, and reasoning. In addition, the course surveys major theories of cognitive development, including socio-cultural perspective, Piaget, Neo-Piaget, information-processing approach, and neuropsychological perspective.
HP327 Introduction to Clinical Neuropsychology
AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101, HP102, HP201, HP207
This is an introductory course to clinical neuropsychology. This course will provide the foundation for students interested to pursue graduate studies in clinical neuropsychology. We will briefly cover the history and development of neuropsychology, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology as related to brain function and behavior, and survey clinical disorders involved. Consideration of the contributions of neurology, experimental and clinical neuropsychology to the understanding of normal cognitive and affective functioning and of disturbances resulting from brain damage in selected areas will also be presented.
HP 328 Psychological Testing
This course is an introduction to the principles underlying educational and psychological measurement and testing. The general goals of this course are to explore the nature, problems, challenges and potential of psychology testing. The first half of the course is devoted to the foundations of psychological testing in various contexts. As part of this we examine topics such as the historical roots of psychological testing, uses of psychological tests, ethical considerations, and technical and methodological principles involved in developing and evaluating test materials. The second section of the course surveys major types of psychological tests, such as intellectual ability, educational aptitude, personality and assessment in the workplace. By the end of the course students are expected to understand the basics of test theory and test construction, and be able to critically evaluate the tests that we consider in the course which are drawn from tests commonly used in the field of psychological testing.
HP 329 Psychology in the Asian Context
Basic, applied, and theoretical research in the context of Asian cultures have developed in contemporary psychology. This course explores the cognition, personality, emotions, motivations, group and interpersonal relationships, adaptive and maladaptive behaviour of individuals in the context of their environment.
HP340 Engineering Psychology
AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101, HP102, HP206
Engineering Psychology aims to understand the capabilities and limitations of the human and use the knowledge to inform engineering design. It spans psychophysics, cognitive psychology, ergonomics, human-computer interaction, and engineering design. This course teaches students core concepts in engineering psychology and the use of these concepts to solve real-world problems.
HP348 Managing Organisational Behavior
AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101, HP102
The course explores the three determinants of behavior in organizations: individuals, groups, and structure. Using recent research to explore practical questions relevant to managing successful organizations, students will learn about individual issues including attitudes, personality, motivation, and emotion; group factors such as teamwork, communication, leadership, power, and negotiation; and organizational structure and culture.
HP402 Laboratory in Developmental Psychology
AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101, HP102, HP200, HP202
In this laboratory course, students will be introduced to some common research paradigms and methods used in Developmental Psychology. The course will have a specific applied focus in which students will gain hands-on practical experience in working with actual data sets, analyzing the data using appropriate statistical techniques and writing up a research paper. Data from different populations such as children and adolescents will be examined. Students will learn the basics of scale development with reference to a child/adolescent population, using factor analysis. In addition, students will also be introduced to methods and issues in the area of child/adolescent developmental psychopathology and related intervention work.
HP 403 Laboratory in Social Psychology (Prerequisites: HP101, HP102, HP200, and HP203)
This laboratory course introduces students to the techniques used in conducting social psychological research. Readings and discussions will focus on both qualitative and quantitative methodology commonly used in empirical enquiries in social psychology. Examples of qualitative methods are naturalistic observation, structured interview, and content analysis. Quantitative methods will include implicit and explicit measures of attitudes, priming, response latency measures, and other behavioral manipulation in laboratory experiments. Students will gain hands-on experience in the various techniques that they have learned through conducting their own research projects.
HP 405 Laboratory in Cultural Psychology (Prerequisites: HP101, HP102 , and HP 204)
Human behaviours take place within an eco-socio-cultural context of the everyday life of the individual. Therefore, the conceptualization and manifestation of the same psychological process would be intimately informed and shaped by the eco-socio-cultural context of the people. This laboratory aims at introducing the approach and the procedure engaged by psychologist and anthropologist that is a multistage, multimethods approach that combines naturalistic observation, qualitative interviews with quantitative test construction and/or laboratory experiments to investigate the basic human psychological process in the cultural context.
HP406 Lab in Cognitive Psychology
In this laboratory course, students will be introduced to common research paradigms and methods used in Cognitive Psychology. The course will have a specific applied focus in which students will gain hands-on practical experience in gathering data using classical paradigms, analyzing the data using appropriate statistical technique, writing up, and presenting a research paper. In addition, students will also be introduced to research methods and analyses in the key cognitive psychology areas of perception, attention, memory, and reasoning.
HP406B Laboratory in Human Factors (Prerequisites: HP101, HP102 , and HP 206)
This course will focus on the practical use of concepts, methodologies, and tools needed in evaluating and designing human-computer interaction. We will cover topics in Human Factors Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction, including human performance issues, tools for conducting human factors studies, and human-machine interface design and evaluation methods.
HP 409A Laboratory in Selected Topics: Data Analysis using ANOVA (Prerequisites: HP101, HP102 and HP200)
This laboratory course focuses on the data analysis and interpretation part of the research process. It aims to provide students with hands-on experience in carrying out preliminary data-screening and analysis of experimental data using ANOVA. Students will learn to perform higher-order analysis for three-way designs, repeated measures designs, and simple effect analysis in ANOVA using SPSS. Emphasis will be placed on understanding interaction effects, estimating effect size, and carrying out multiple comparisons.
HP 409B Applied Multivariate Methods for Psychological Research (Prerequisites: HP101, HP102, HP200, and either HP303 or HP409A)
Multivariate methods are a set of tools for analyzing multiple variables (obtained from multiple time points, multiple measures and/or multiple samples) in an integrated and powerful manner. It can enrich our understanding of the interrelatedness between and within sets of variables and provide greater assurance that we come to some conclusions with more validity than if we were to analyze these variables in isolation. The focus of this course is the analysis, interpretation, and reporting multivariate statistical analyses frequently used in psychological studies. It prepares students with advanced quantitative skills for conducting independent research and their final year project. Conceptual understanding, including appropriate circumstances for use of each technique, the development of practical "how-to" skills, and an understanding of the trade-offs made in technique choice will be emphasized. Topics covered in this course include factor analysis, MANOVA, logistic regression and discriminant analysis, multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, etc.
HP 411 Clinical Psychology (Prerequisites: HP101, HP102 and HP207)
This course aims to teach students the roles and responsibilities of a clinical psychologist. They will be adept at conducting an initial interview using appropriate counseling skills and be able to prepare a case formulation that reflects holistic care for their client. They will also become familiar with ethical issues related to the professional practice of a clinical psychologist.
HP 415 Trauma Psychology, Crisis Intervention & Management (AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101, HP102 and HP207)
The course covers concepts of emergency behaviour and psychological trauma arising from disasters and crises. Due emphasis will be given to the development of psychological resilience and coping strategies. A fair proportion of the course will be devoted to practical learning of crisis intervention and management skills to address the mental health issues and traumatic effects of victims of crises
HP 416 The Forensic Psychology of Crime, Terrorism and Disasters ( AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101 and HP102)
This module covers an introduction to the psychology of crime, terrorism and disasters. A large part of it covers criminological psychology, applying psychological theory to criminal investigations, the psychology of disasters and accidents and in general the application of psychology in criminal, security and safety contexts. This course will benefit those who have an interest in working with the police, prisons, civil defence, child custody areas, as well as counselling, clinical and forensic settings.
HP429A: Seminar in Selected Topics: Interpersonal relations and family studies
There is an increasing awareness that the individual's behavior takes place in the context of others. Individual behaviors develop within the context of interpersonal relationships and human organizations such as the family. Family and Human Relationships introduces the student to the major theories and empirical studies in the structure and processes of the family and interpersonal relationships. Students are expected to read the theories, significant empirical findings and the emerging theoretical and methodological perspectives in family and relationships studies.
HP429B: Seminar in Selected Topics: Primate Psychology (AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101, HP102, HP201 and HP311)
Psychology is the study of mind and behavior and using a comparative approach we can study the lives of other organisms to help understand psychology. Non-human primates share similar traits with human beings and therefore studies on them have provided useful comparison for understanding the basis of human behavior. In this course, we will be reviewing primate research that has advanced our understanding of psychological phenomena. We will focus on social behavior and cognition, and will explore how biology-environment interactions influence aggression, conflict resolution, parenting, sexuality, emotion, personality, communication, and social cognition. This course will provide an understanding on the basic components of a social mind and how we use primates as models for understanding behavior.
HP429C Seminar in Selected Topics: Cognitive Neuroplasticity
AUs: 4, Prerequisites: HP101, HP102, HP201, HP206
Recent discoveries have overturned longstanding beliefs that the neurophysiology of the brain remains relatively fixed after childhood. We will discuss new research that compares and contrasts both adult and child neural cognitive neuroplasticity. This class will review behaviors that can lead to increased neurogenesis and changes in neural connectivity. At the end of course, students will have a clear understanding how specific experiences are linked with specific changes within the brain.