PB204      Half Unit
Social Psychology: Individuals, Groups and Culture

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

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This course builds core knowledge of Social Psychology, studying the way our thinking and behaviour is influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other people. It aims to understand how thinking and behaviour depends on the connections between individuals, the groups of which they are members and the cultural settings of both. These are all understood in evolutionary context. The lectures and classes will discuss a range of social psychology topics, such as social cognition, self and identity, prejudice, group membership, crowds and collective behaviour, and social exclusion. Each topic will highlight the relations between real world problems, social psychological theory and empirical data, and draw connections to behavioural science. This course will foster a critical evaluation of social psychological science and its relation to other areas of psychological and behavioural science.

By the end of the course you should:

• Be able to present core theories and phenomena in social psychology.
• Be able to demonstrate that social psychology should be understood as both a social science and a natural science.
• Be able to draw connections between social psychology and real-world policy.

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the Autumn Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.

Students will complete a number of pieces of formative work to cement learning and prepare for summative assessments:

• Group presentation on the topic of the week and its application to social issues.
• Plan for policy proposal.
• Practice executive summary.

• Gilovich, T., Keltner, D., Chen, S., & Nisbett, R.E. (2023) Social Psychology (6th ed.) New York, NY: Norton
• Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W., Jonas, K. (2020).  An Introduction to Social Psychology (7th ed.). Chichester: BPS Wiley.
• Hogg, M.A., & Vaughan, G.M. (2021). Social Psychology (9th ed.). Harlow: Pearson.
• Steg, L., Keizer, K.,  Buunk, A.& Rottengatter, T. (2017) Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and managing social problems (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Van Lange, P.A.M., Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E.T., (Eds.) (2012) Handbook of theories of social psychology: Volume 1. London: Sage.
• Van Lange, P.A.M., Kruglanski, A. W., & Higgins, E.T., (Eds.) (2012) Handbook of theories of social psychology: Volume 2. London: Sage.

Multiple choice quiz (40%)

Proposal (50%, 3000 words)

Essay (10%, 3300 words)