PS400     
Contemporary Social and Cultural Psychology

This information is for the 2013/14 session.

Teacher responsible

Prof Sandra Jovchelovitch STC. S310

Availability

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Social and Cultural Psychology. This course is available on the MSc in Social and Public Communication. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Course content

Selected topics in cultural and modern social psychology. The relationship between mind, society and culture; the relationship between the individual and society; social and cultural psychology in historical perspective; epistemological issues in social and cultural psychology; self, society and social identities; consciousness; language and communication; attribution theory; psychoanalytic approaches to culture and society, social representations, beliefs and attitudes; the relations between culture and psychology; cognition and culture, applied aspects of social and cultural psychology.

Teaching

40 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the MT.

Formative coursework

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay and 1 other piece of coursework in the MT.

1) An individual book review and 2) a written assignment.

Indicative reading

J Israel & H Tajfel, The Context of Social Psychology, Academic Press, 1972; M Billig, Arguing and Thinking: A Rhetorical Approach to Social Psychology, CUP, 1987; M. Cole, Cultural Psychology: A once and future discipline. Harvard University Press, 1996; K Deaux & G Philogene, Representations of the Social, Blackwell, 2001; R M Farr, The Roots of Modern Social Psychology, Blackwell, 1996; U. Flick, The Psychology of the Social. Cambridge University Press, 1998; C Fraser & G Gaskell, The Social Psychological Study of Widespread Beliefs, Clarendon Press, 1990S; Moscovici, Social Representations: Explorations in Social Psychology. Polity Press, 2000; S. Jovchelovitch, Knowledge in Context: Representations, community and culture. Routledge, 2007; G. Semin & G. Echterhoff, Grounding Sociality: Neurons, Mind and Culture; H Tajfel, Human Groups and Social Categories; Studies in Social Psychology, CUP, 1981; M. Tomasello, The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition. Harvard University Press, 1999; L. Vygotsky Mind in Society, Harvard University Press, 1978.; J. Wertsch (ed.) Culture, Communication and Cognition. Cambridge University Press, 1985. In addition, reading lists on specific topics will be distributed during the course.

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period.

Student performance results

(2009/10 - 2011/12 combined)

Classification % of students
Distinction 14.8
Merit 73.9
Pass 9.1
Fail 2.3

Key facts

Department: Social Psychology

Total students 2012/13: 34

Average class size 2012/13: 17

Value: One Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Leadership
  • Self-management
  • Team working
  • Problem solving
  • Communication
  • Specialist skills

Course survey results

(2010/11 - 2012/13 combined)

1 = "best" score, 5 = "worst" score

The scores below are average responses.

Response rate: 87.5%

Question

Average
response

Reading list (Q2.1)

2.1

Materials (Q2.3)

1.9

Course satisfied (Q2.4)

2.1

Lectures (Q2.5)

2

Integration (Q2.6)

2.2

Contact (Q2.7)

2.3

Feedback (Q2.8)

2.5

Recommend (Q2.9)

Yes

62.2%

Maybe

31.7%

No

6.1%