This module draws on classic and contemporary theory and research in psychology and applies them to a broad range of contexts. You'll learn how psychologists have studied both practical and theoretical issues, such as nationalism or sexuality, with a particular emphasis on understanding and solving problems that directly affect people's lives. You'll explore core academic areas of psychology as set out by the British Psychological Society (e.g. social, cognitive, developmental) and applied aspects of professional practice (e.g. clinical, forensic, counselling). You'll also develop your understanding of psychological research methods, along with other useful academic and employability skills.
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | DD210 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
This module approaches psychology as a fundamentally applied discipline, firmly grounded in the real world.
Each study week takes a specific real-world topic and leads you through some of the ways that psychologists have explored it, outlining key theories, findings, practical issues, and research methods. Some of the real-world contexts explored in this module may involve issues that are sensitive to you personally. The issues to be covered will be outlined before the topic is presented, together with suggested ways in which you might engage with it if it is personally relevant to you.
The module is structured into five blocks, with four topics in each.
Block 1 explores the theme of 'understanding minds'. In this block, you'll learn how people are able to understand each other's thoughts and feelings, whether this ability is shared by other animals, what happens when people have difficulty understanding each other, and whether it might be possible to build an artificial 'mind' that would think and feel like a human mind.
Block 2 moves on from the individual focus of the first block to consider how people relate to others as social beings. In this block, you'll learn about the importance of self-esteem and the effect that other people can have on it, how issues of nationality and migration can affect people's identities, how conflict, aggression and violence can be explained and understood using the example of terrorism, and finally how wellbeing can be shaped by people's sense of and shared experience of community.
Block 3 shifts the focus from the social worlds people inhabit to covering topics of sex and relationships. you'll learn about how psychologists study the role people's experience of sex in their lives. You'll also study the occurrence of conflict in close relationships and how people relate to each other digitally using the internet as the platform for social relationships. Finally, you'll learn about the topic of sexual harassment through a psychological lens.
Block 4 considers how people make sense of the world around them. You'll learn how people develop an understanding of the information provided by their physical senses and how that understanding can be both highly efficient and often wrong. You'll also learn why many people believe in things that seem extraordinary, such as astrological predictions, psychic readings and conspiracy theories.
Block 5 focuses on interaction and collaboration using four important, and contemporary, issues that psychologists have explored and the problems that they have tried to help solve. You'll learn about people's interaction with nature, interactions between humans and technology, including in high-risk working environments, working collaboratively with others in creative pursuits and interactions in the context of judgement and decision-making within the legal context of the jury process.
Throughout the module, you'll learn about a wide variety of research methods that have been used by psychologists to explore these issues. The methods covered include surveys, interviews, experiments, clinical assessments, and case studies.
The module is built around a two-volume textbook Living Psychology: From the Everyday to the Extraordinary and an extensive module website built around an online study guide. The website contains further teaching to support the chapters in the textbook, as well as additional topics taught entirely online. The teaching on the website includes video and audio interviews with key psychologists featured in the material, behind the scenes insights into the research process, and a variety of interactive activities to help develop and consolidate your knowledge. You'll also spend some of your study time using online resources from The Open University library.
You will learn about:
You will develop skills in:
This is an OU level 2 module, and you need to have the study skills needed for both higher education and distance learning, obtained either through OU level 1 study or by doing equivalent work at another university. You are not expected to have any special knowledge of psychology.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.
You'll be supplied with module textbooks and have access to a module website, which includes:
You'll need broadband internet access and a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date version of Windows (10 or 11) or macOS Monterey or higher.
Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.
To join in spoken conversations in tutorials, we recommend a wired headset (headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone).
Our module websites comply with web standards, and any modern browser is suitable for most activities.
Our OU Study mobile app will operate on all current, supported versions of Android and iOS. It's not available on Kindle.
It's also possible to access some module materials on a mobile phone, tablet device or Chromebook. However, as you may be asked to install additional software or use certain applications, you'll also require a desktop or laptop, as described above.
You'll have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. We aim to provide online tutorials with several iterations of each one, so there should be one that is at a time that's convenient for you to attend. One of each set of tutorials will be recorded and available to view at a time that suits you. Although not compulsory, attendance at tutorials will help you consolidate your learning, and you are strongly encouraged to participate.
Contact us if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
The assessment for this module can be found in the facts box.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone. The Accessibility Statement below outlines what studying this module involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
All of this module's study materials are available online. Online materials are composed of pages of text with images, short audio/video clips (all with transcripts/subtitles), diagrams, interactive media, animations, multiple choice self-assessed quizzes. Online materials also include links to external resources, online forums and online tutorial rooms.
This module provides online tutorials. The University policy is that they will be recorded by default. Although not compulsory, attendance at tutorials will help you consolidate your learning.
We recommend you take part in discussions in forums as part of the normal week by week discussions of learning activities in forums, as well as participate in tutorials. This includes looking at, and commenting on, others' posts in a forum. You may also be asked in tutorials to share in an activity with others. This is not assessed and these activities are not compulsory.
Some reference may be made to basic statistical tests such as correlation and percentages, and this forms a part of the assessment in one tutor-marked assignment. Guidance is given for this and explanations of the concepts provided.
The study materials contain some diagrams, graphs and photographs. Reading and interpreting these may occasionally be required for aiding your learning and understanding of some parts of the teaching material. Explanations of figures and diagrams are provided. Questions regarding figures and other diagrams can also be raised with a tutor or in the forum.
You may be required to search for, and make use of, third party material online and to include this in your assessments. Guidance on how to do this is given via links to library information literacy resources. While not an absolute requirement to pass, it helps you develop skills of independently researching topics.
You will receive feedback from your tutor on your submitted Tutor-Marked Assignments (TMAs). This will help you to reflect on your TMA performance. You should refer to it to help you prepare for your next assignment.
All University modules are structured according to a set timetable and you will need time-management skills to keep your studies on track. You will be supported in developing these skills.
The module includes material on ethics governing psychological research as set out by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Taking the module does not on its own qualify a student as competent to practice as a psychologist.
Living psychology: from the everyday to the extraordinary starts once a year – in October. This page describes the module that will start in October 2024. We expect it to start for the last time in October 2025.
October 2025 is the final start date for this course. For more information, see Future availability.