Prospectus

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Biopsychology and Neuropsychology

Course
2020-2021

Important Note

  • All Semester II bachelor and master psychology courses and examinations (2020-2021) will be offered in an on-line format.

  • If it is safe and possible to do so, supplementary course meetings may be planned on-campus. However, attendance at these meetings will not be required to successfully complete Semester II courses.

  • All obligatory work groups and examinations will be offered on-line during Central European Time, which is local time in the Netherlands.

  • Information on the mode of instruction and the assessment method per course will be offered in Brightspace, considering the possibilities that are available at that moment. The information in Brightspace is leading during the Corona crisis, even if this does not match the information in the Prospectus.

Entry requirements

None

Description

Biopsychology and Neuropsychology studies how cognition and behaviour are controlled by the nervous system and the hormonal system. In addition, the methods by which cognition and behaviour can be assessed in people with psychological and/or neurological disorders are considered. Knowledge acquired in this course is of great importance for many disciplines within and outside the field of psychology, such as clinical psychology, clinical neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, (behavioural) neurology and psychiatry.

Course objectives

  1. Learn how different components of the human nervous system communicate, how they develop and how they relate to different aspects of human behavior.
  2. Develop the basic skills to assess cognition, emotion and behavior through neuropsychological research.
  3. To formulate and present findings from neuropsychological assessment and scientific research.

Timetable

For the timetables of your lectures, workgroups, and exams, select your study programme. Psychology timetables

Registration

Course

First year psychology students are automatically enrolled for courses, but do need to register themselves for the exam.

Other students do not only need to register for exams themselves, but also for lectures and work group sessions. For information on registration periods consult the bachelor course registration

Examination

Students are not automatically enrolled for an examination. They can register via uSis from 100 to 10 calendar days before the date; students who are not registered will not be permitted to take the examination.

Registering for exams

Mode of instruction

8 lectures of 2 hours and 4 mandatory work group sessions of 2 hours.
Weblectures are available.

Assessment method

The examination consists of multiple-choice questions on both the text book and the lectures. In addition, 2 assignments have to be completed which are made available on Blackboard during the course. Students are graded for each assignment (2 in total) with a maximum of 10 points. A compound grade is calculated, based on these points. Students can receive a maximum of 20 points, which corresponds to a ‘10’. The other grades are calculated pro rata.

The final grade is based on the exam (70%; minimum grade ‘5’) and the compound grade for the two assignments (30%; minimum grade ‘5’). You need a sufficient grade for the exam (minimum grade ‘5’) + sufficient attendance to the work group sessions + a sufficient compound grade for the assignments (minimum grade ‘5’). Also, the weighted average of the exam and assignments should be 5.5 or higher. uSis uses the grades for the units of assessment, rounded to one decimal place, to calculate the final grade (70% written examination; 30% second unit of assessment). The final grade is rounded to whole and half grades, unless this would result in a final grade of 5.5. The current rule for a final grade between 5 and 6 remains in force: a final grade of 5.5 or higher will be rounded up to 6.0.

The Institute of Psychology uses fixed rules for grade calculation and compulsory attendance. It also follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of these three policies.

Reading list

Kalat, J.W. (2019). Biological Psychology (13th edition, Cengage technology edition). Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. ISBN13: 9781337408202/ ISBN10: 1337408204

Contact information

Dr. Judith Schomaker Biopsy@fsw.leidenuniv.nl