Psychobiology (C8003)

15 credits, Level 4

Spring teaching

On this module, you'll explore the biological and evolutionary perspectives that shape human and non-human animal behaviour. You'll study:

• the biopsychological mechanisms that generate behaviour suited to specific situations
• a biology primer introducing key concepts for those without a biology background
• the structure and function of the human nervous system and its cells
• how the brain integrates sensory information with past experiences to produce behaviour
• an evolutionary perspective on behaviour, including how adaptation and selection influence human actions.

The module includes field studies on the foundations of animal behaviour to deepen your understanding of these concepts.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 28 hours of contact time and about 122 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.