SOCIAL CHANGE AND INFLUENCE - 2020/1

Module Overview

This module provides students with an advanced understanding of current theories and conceptualisations of social change and influence, including facilitators of and constraints on change. It offers a critical engagement with these theories and an application of them to a range of specific, current social change contexts, including family systems and romantic dyads, community health interventions, social and structural stigma, and the promotion of pro-environmental behaviours. The applied aspect includes a consideration of the value of psychological conceptualisations of social change and influence for policy making and public health.

Module provider

Psychology

Module Leader

JONES Christopher (Psychology)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

BSc Psychology Levels 4 and 5 or equivalent.

Module content

Indicative content may include:

• Social norms and social influence


• Persuasion


• The individual in the group: How social change impacts on the individual (and vice versa)


• Relational systems of social influence in families and romantic dyads


• Environmental constraints on and facilitators of social change


• Social conformity, obedience to authority, and minority influence


• The relationship between personality and social structure


• Social stigma and its impact on the socially stigmatized


• Social policy and social influence


• Building bridges between social and environmental psychology and public health

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Resubmission of Social Influence Essay and/or Research/Intervention Proposal. Students must achieve an aggregate mark of 50%.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

1. The ability to critically assess current theories (and corresponding empirical evidence) from social and environmental psychology in their attempts to explain the origins, mechanisms, and outcomes of social change and influence. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate this ability in the Social Influence Essay (Assignment 1).  


2. The ability to apply frameworks and translate evidence from social and environmental psychology in order to better understand and/or attempt to ameliorate specific current social problems. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate this ability in the Research/Intervention Proposal (Assignment 2).

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Social Influence Essay (maximum 2000 words, 50%) for assessing skills of written presentation, critical thinking, and evaluation of the state of knowledge in the field.


• Research/Intervention Proposal (maximum 2000 words, 50%) for assessing skills of written presentation, application of theories and methods to research/interventions, and evaluation of the state of knowledge in the field.

 

Formative assessment and feedback

Students will receive regular verbal feedback from the instructors and from peers during seminars, including (1) commentary on ideas/suggestions raised during regular small group discussions (and an informal group presentation) about key topic areas; and (2) discussion following informal 'pop quizzes' designed to check understanding and consolidate learning from previous seminar sessions.

Module aims

• To provide students with an advanced understanding of current theories and conceptualisations of social change and influence in social and environmental psychology and related domains, including facilitators of and constraints on change
• To provide students with an advanced understanding of the historical and philosophical background of social psychological theories and understandings of social change and influence
• To equip students with the theoretical tools needed to conceptualise and analyse a variety of social change issues, including 'socially desirable' and 'socially undesirable' change
• To enable students to contribute to the practical application of social psychological theories by formulating social responses to social problems that are relevant to policy and practice
• To provide students with the skills to evaluate possible interventions in a variety of social domains

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

Lectures

Group exercises

Case Studies

Reflection & self-assessment

Reading

Written reports

SurreyLearn (e.g., News feed and Discussion forum)

 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: PSYM013

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.