HISTORY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY - 2020/1
Module code: PSYM111
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in a departure from previous academic years and previously published information, the University has had to change the delivery (and in some cases the content) of its programmes, together with certain University services and facilities for the academic year 2020/21.
These changes include the implementation of a hybrid teaching approach during 2020/21. Detailed information on all changes is available at: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/coronavirus/course-changes. This webpage sets out information relating to general University changes, and will also direct you to consider additional specific information relating to your chosen programme.
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Module Overview
The module introduces students to diverse perspectives on the tension between social psychologists’ search for generalizable laws of social behaviour and historians’ emphasis on the particular nature of social change. The module will prepare students to engage the problems and possibilities created by this interdisciplinary tension by (1) developing an understanding of the history of the tension between history and social psychology, (2) conducting critical historical analysis of concepts in social psychology and (3) developing empirical projects to address historical change and continuity in the past and present.
Module provider
Psychology
Module Leader
HEGARTY Peter (Psychology)
Number of Credits: 15
ECTS Credits: 7.5
Framework: FHEQ Level 7
JACs code: C880
Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A
Module Availability
Semester 2
Prerequisites / Co-requisites
None
Module content
The module will consist of 2-hour sessions divided between lecture and seminar formats which will focus on the following topics:
The Crisis in Social Psychology and the Problem of History.
Genealogy and Ethics.
Making People Measurable: The History of Attitudes and Personality Traits
Defining “Difference” and “Similarity”: The History of Statistical Significance Testing in Social Psychology.
Race and Racism: The History of Applying Social Psychology to Real Social Issues
The History of Being Well-Adjusted
The History of Culture in Social Psychology
Studying Lives in Changing Historical Times
Rechoning with the Past in Contemporary Intergroup Relations
The Empirical Study of Historical Memory
Using Records of Language use: Digital History and Social Behavior
Assessment pattern
Assessment type | Unit of assessment | Weighting |
---|---|---|
Coursework | A 2000 WORD GENEALOGICAL ANALYSIS OF A SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPT | 50 |
Coursework | A 2000 WORD RESEARCH PROPOSAL | 50 |
Alternative Assessment
N/A
Assessment Strategy
Assessment 1
Genealogical Analysis (2000 words, 50%)
Students will write a genealogical essay that describes historical discontinuities in the definition and understanding of a social psychological concept. Students will examine three pivotal theoretical or empirical papers that have defined or employed the concept that have been published in different decades. Drawing on the critical examination of concepts in weeks 1-7 of the module, students will critical analyse the historical change in the concept and critically evaluate its relevance for the present.
Learning Outcomes Assessed:
Subject Knowledge
The intellectual history of social psychology
Cognitive/Analytical Skills
Critical thinking skills
Skills of interdisciplinary thinking, argumentation, and analysis
Transferable Skills
Communication skills
Critical analysis of concepts and historical processes
Professional/ Practical skills
Skills of interdisciplinary thinking, argumentation, and analysis
Familiarity with contemporary information science resources.
Assessment 2
Research proposal (2000 words, 50%, submission deadline in Week 12)
Students will propose an original feasible study that examines a process of historical change as its object. Students will draw on some of the materials and methods showcased in weeks 8-11 to propose an original study that asks an original research question. The research proposal will be supported by an account of relevant literature that evidences the originality of the proposal, a detailed account of the study’s methodology, and a description of the theoretical significance of its possible results.
Learning Outcomes Assessed:
Subject Knowledge
Contemporary social psychological research on historical processes
Cognitive/Analytical Skills
Critical thinking skills
Skills of interdisciplinary thinking, argumentation, and analysis
Research development skills
Transferable Skills
Communication skills
Statistical and analytical skills
Critical analysis of concepts and historical processes
Professional/ Practical skills
Skills of interdisciplinary thinking, argumentation, and analysis
Familiarity with contemporary information science resources.
Formative assessment
Formative assessment will be provided to students during each workshop through discussion focussed on students’ understanding of the essential reading.
Feedback
Students will be invited to submit 1-page proposals of both assignments for formative feedback 2-3 weeks in advance of the assignment deadline.
Module aims
- To equip students to engage with historical and social psychological scholarship, and to understand and appreciate the differences and overlaps between them.
- To develop students' capacity to research and to think critically about the historicity of the social psychological constructs that they employ and research.
- To develop students' capacity to develop original research proposals about historical change and continuity.
- To develop students' capacity for independent research on social psychology and history.
Learning outcomes
Attributes Developed | ||
---|---|---|
1 | The intellectual history of social psychology | K |
2 | Contemporary social psychological research on historical processes | K |
3 | Critical thinking skills | C |
4 | Skills of interdisciplinary thinking, argumentation, and analysis | C |
5 | Research development skills | C |
6 | Communication skills | T |
7 | Statistical and analytical skills | T |
8 | Critical analysis of concepts and historical processes | T |
9 | Skills of interdisciplinary thinking, argumentation, and analysis | P |
10 | Familiarity with contemporary information science resources. | P |
Attributes Developed
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Overall student workload
Independent Study Hours: 128
Lecture Hours: 22
Methods of Teaching / Learning
The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:
- Develop an understanding of the differences in conceptual understanding of key concepts in social psychology over the historical life of the field.
- Acquire knowledge about the history of social psychology
- Enhance students’ capacity to engage in interdisciplinary debate
- Develop verbal and written skills of analysis, critique and argumentation.
- Sharpen students’ appreciation of the nature of social psychological research and problem formation.
- Expand students’ capacity to use historical material in their research in regard to historical processes.
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: PSYM111
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.