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Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Tripos

 

Please be advised that the PBS course structure will be changing. The information below is for current students and those admitted to the course up to and including for the 2023-24 academic year. Students admitted to the course for the 2024-25 academic year and onwards will undertake their studies through the new course structure, as outlined in the online prospectus.

 

In the second year, students take four papers. This year provides a foundation for the research-led teaching of the final year while also allowing students to begin to specialise in those areas that interest them.

All students take the following paper:

PBS 3: Social and Developmental Psychology

This paper aims to provide representative coverage of classic and contemporary theory and research in social and developmental psychology. Students will  study the key processes involved in the developmental transformation of social, emotional, and cognitive behaviour across the life span, including the role of language in development. Students will also learn key meta-theories in social psychology in a series of introductory lectures, and then will examine specific core topics of the field in subsequent lectures, including social norms and influence, person environment interactions and morality and culture.
PBS 4: Cognitive Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology 

This course covers the foundations of psychological study, including the mathematical and biological knowledge and skills required to engage with the research literature. The material on this course provides a foundation for all later study of psychology, providing students with the intellectual tools required to evaluate psychological material in later years. Teaching includes a range of techniques, including lectures and practicals.

Students also will need to take two optional papers.
 

Optional Papers

The list of optional papers may vary from year to year but will typically include papers in:

  • Biological anthropology
  • Education
  • History and Philosophy of Science
  • Neurobiology
  • Sociology
  • Philosophy