Module PSYC3081: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Department: Psychology

PSYC3081: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Prerequisites

• Social and Developmental Psychology (PSYC2021) OR 100 credits from Level 2 Applied Psychology (C810)

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to new theoretical and methodological approaches in social psychology
• In one term, recent work on social cognitive neuroscience will be introduced
• In the other term, the main focus will be on recent developments research related to social learning

Content

• The section on social cognitive neuroscience will focus on the way in which humans and other animals use social cognition to guide their actions, with particular emphasis on the neural substrates of these mechanisms
• Introduction to the cognitive neuroscience of social behaviour
• Neural substrates of social behaviour and cognition in humans and animals
• Theory of mind in non-human species
• Neural substrates of disorders of social behaviour and cognition
• The section on experimental and critical social psychology examines recent work in social learning
• Introduction to experimental and critical approaches to social learning
• Experimental approaches to measuring social learning and culture
• What is culture, and how do we acquire it?
• Social learning strategies
• Do animals have culture?
• The role of language on culture
• What is cultural evolution and how does it happen?
• The module will also cover related conceptual and historical issues in psychology

Learning Outcomes

• Detailed knowledge of the major approaches used in social cognitive neuroscience and in experimental and critical social psychology

• Ability to review critically and consolidate understanding of a coherent body of psychological knowledge and apply it appropriately

• Good written communication skills
• Good IT skills in word processing, data manipulation and data presentation
• Abilities to work independently in scholarship and research within broad guidelines

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students' acquisition of detailed knowledge will be facilitated by lectures, group discussions, audio-visual materials and detailed reading lists
• These modes of teaching provide students with detailed knowledge of the key theories and the skills needed to evaluate different theoretical positions in light of current evidence
• The summative essay and examination will assess students' detailed subject knowledge
• Student-led discussions and small group work develop students' abilities to work independently in locating and evaluating research
• Students' skills in independently undertaking a literature search and reviewing recent material will be assessed by the summative essay (no reading list set)
• An assessment of the range, recency and appropriateness of sources will be included in the overall assessment of the essay
• The use of group discussions and small group work will ensure that students are exposed to a range of different theoretical positions, and encouraged to understand their inter-relations
• Lectures, student-led discussion and small group work will also give students the opportunity to interpret and evaluate the significance of empirical work
• The summative essay and written examination will effectively assess students' critical and analytical skills
• The use of a summative essay and written examination will ensure that students' written communication skills are assessed
• Feedback on the summative essays will be available to allow students to benefit from feedback on this aspect of their work

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University