Students of the Dutch bachelor’s programme, see Bio- en Neuropsychologie
Entry requirements
None
Description
Biopsychology and Neuropsychology studies how cognition and behaviour are controlled by the nervous and 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
At the end of this course, students can:
1. Describe the building blocks of the human nervous system.
2. Explain how different components of the human nervous system communicate and develop.
3. Link different components of the human nervous system to different aspects of human behaviour.
4. Assess cognition, emotion, and behaviour on basis of neuropsychological assessment and research.
5. Formulate and present findings from neuropsychological assessment and scientific research.
Timetable
For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
Registration
Education
Students must register themselves for all course components (lectures, tutorials and practicals) they wish to follow. You can register up to 5 days prior to the start of the course. The exception here is that first-year bachelor students are assigned and registered for all components in the first semester or academic year by the administration of their bachelor programme. The programme will communicate to these students for which course components and for which period the registration applies.
Exams
You must register for each exam in My Studymap at least 10 days before the exam date. Don’t forget! For more information, see the enrolment procedure.
You cannot take an exam without a valid registration in My Studymap.
Carefully read all information about the procedures and deadlines for registering for courses and exams.
Students who take this course as part of a LDE minor or a premaster programme, exchange students and external guest students will be informed by the education administration about the current registration procedure.
Mode of instruction
8 lectures of 2 hours and 4 mandatory work group sessions of 2 hours.
Weblectures will be made available.
Assessment method
The examination consists of multiple-choice questions on the text book. In addition, 2 assignments have to be completed which are made available on Brightspace 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 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 (minimum of 3 out of 4 work groups) + 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 ≥ 4.75 and < 5.50 will be rounded to a 5.0, and a 5.50 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. All students are required to take and pass the Scientific Integrity Test with a score of 100% in order to learn about the practice of integrity in scientific writing. Students are given access to the quiz via a module on Brightspace. 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. (2023). Biological Psychology (14th edition, Cengage technology edition). Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. ISBN13: 9780357798126/ ISBN10: 0357798120
Contact information
Dr. Judith Schomaker Biopsy@fsw.leidenuniv.nl