FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY WITH RESEARCH METHODS - 2020/1

Module Overview

This course is intended to cover the core BPS curriculum in social psychology and as such is a broad coverage module dealing with a range of topics in the sub-discipline.

 

 

Module provider

Psychology

Module Leader

FASOLI Fabio (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

None.

Module content

Lectures

1

Lecture 1. Recent History of Social Psychology.

Lecture 2: Developments in cognitive dissonance.

Lecture 3. Social memory.

Lecture 4: Embodied cognition.

Lecture 5. Language and language biases.

Lecture 6. Altruism and aggression.

Lecture 7. Modern Prejudice.

Lecture 8. Dehumanization.

Lecture 9. Collective protest and social change.

Lecture 10. Cultural psychology.

Lecture 11. Future Directions in Social Psychology and Exam Preparation.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A A mark of 50% is required to pass each unit of assessment in the module.

Assessment Strategy

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

• their familiarity with the thinking and writing of major social psychological theorists, their social psychological literacy


• a capacity to explain how research questions form and change in social psychology


• capacity to explain how social psychological research can inform practical matters of policy in a range of domains.


• an ability to critically evaluate the appropriateness of different methodological approaches to social psychological problems


• their appreciation of the stages of the social psychological research process.

 

Outcomes 1-4 will be assessed by essay-based examination.

Outcomes 5 will be assessed by the social research methods essay.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• One 90 minute unseen essay format examination + MCQs (50%) (in formal semester exam period)


• One social research methods 2,000 essay (50%)

Formative assessment and feedback

• Feedback on their research methods essay


• Verbal feedback in tutorials


• Verbal feedback in lectures

Module aims

• That behaviour is a product of the person and the situation
• That the roles of situational factors are systematically underestimated
• That this underestimation is itself an effect of culture
• That social psychological research represents an advance on “common sense” knowledge of the social world.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The eleven lectures will be of two hours' duration and the two tutorials, conducted in groups of approximately 30, will be in two-hour blocks.

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Give students first-hand familiarity with the thinking and writing of foundational social psychologists,


• Give them an enhanced literacy (including methodological and statistical literacy) of the current research in the field. 


• Develop the capacity to explain and to narrate how research questions form and change in social psychology


• Develop a critical understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the major research methods used in psychology

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

 

• Lectures or 2hrs duration for 11 weeks


• Two tutorials of 2 hours duration

All lecture and workshop notes, the reading lists, and additional learning materials are uploaded on SurreyLearn. There will be also SurreyLearn discussion board facilities for the MSc students which will help them to exchange learning experiences.

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: PSYM093

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.