Unit information: Consciousness and Psychology in 2015/16

Unit name	Consciousness and Psychology
Unit code	PSYC31050
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2C (weeks 13 - 18)
Unit director	Professor. Kit Pleydell-Pearce
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	Level 5 Psychology
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Psychological Science
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

This unit provides an introduction to the problem of consciousness as viewed from psychological, physiological, computational and philosophical perspectives. Extensive prior knowledge of physiology and philosophy is neither necessary nor assumed. A central question is whether contemporary theory can lead to an understanding of consciousness within a scientific framework (e.g. Searle, 1998). Opposing views hold that conscious experience transcends contemporary scientific method, and may remain forever ineffable, at least without a fundamental revision in our understanding of the physical world (e.g. Nagel, 1993; Chalmers, 1996). The unit includes extensive consideration of brain mechanisms of consciousness. This includes coverage of brain systems associated with sleep and wakefulness and also extensive coverage of disorders of consciousness. A significant learning outcome is that students will develop a deeper understanding of brain function. The impact of brain injury and disease are also considered and this includes split brain, blindsight, neglect and related topics. A second considerable component of the unit examines whether the human brain can be considered to be a computational device and this introduces students to the position known as functionalism. Finally, the unit introduces students to a wide range of different theoretical accounts of consciousness.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, students will be able to have:

• A deeper understanding of the structure and function of the human brain with particular emphasis on subcortical structures and their roles in attention, arousal, consciousness and integrative function;

• A capacity to think independently and generate novel theoretical positions

• An appreciation of the relations between science and philosophy (with particular emphasis upon functionalist theories of brain function);

• An understanding of mechanisms underlying clinical disorders of consciousness.

Teaching Information

This unit comprises 18 x 1 hour lectures and 4 x 1 hour tutorials.

Assessment Information

Coursework: 1x 1600 word essay

Examination: 1 x 2 hour written exam

Final Grade: Based on 30% coursework and 70% exam

Reading and References

• Velmans, M. (2000). Understanding consciousness. Philadelphia: Routledge. BF311 VEL
• Rose, D. (2006). Consciousness: Philosophical, psychological and neural theories. OUP

This unit is primarily based upon peer reviewed scientific papers rather than any specific textbook.