Social Psychology
Why do we act in particular ways in different settings? Why do we stereotype? What is prejudice, ‘prosocial’ behaviour and the ‘bystander effect’?
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Description
Come and learn why we act in particular ways in different settings. We'll also look at stereotypes, prejudice, ‘prosocial’ behaviour and the ‘bystander effect’.
Social psychology explores several important questions that people face. How do we construct and make sense of our social self? How do we relate to other people? What are the principles behind social influence? Social psychology affects how people act in various contexts, from the effects of advertising on consumers’ behaviour to how we interact at a party. This area of psychology helps us to understand the concepts we often have questions and talk about. For example, what factors explain helping behaviour? Why do people behave differently when being observed versus being on their own? Why are people attracted to certain personalities and not others?
The course will provide an overview of the theories and concepts in Social Psychology (e.g., bystander effect, stereotypes, prejudice, group processes, prosocial behaviour etc.). Social psychology is a fascinating field and students could relate to most concepts and learn about their own and other's behaviour.
Expected learning outcomes
- Learn how to critically evaluate a variety of theories about the self and group
- Students will be able to apply their knowledge to explain their behaviour in different social situations
- Understand how different social and cultural factors affect people
- Learn about different approaches to analyse the self
Course outline
- Introduction to Social Psychology (e.g., What is social psychology? Brief history and key ideas)
- The self (e.g., self-concept, self-esteem, self-serving bias, and perceived self-control)
- Attitudes and behaviour (e.g., how do attitudes predict our behaviour? Why do our behaviours affect attitudes?)
- Conformity and obedience (e.g., what is conformity? What predicts conformity and why do people conform?)
- Attraction and love (e.g., what is love? What enables close relationships? How do relationships end?)
- Helping and Applied Social Psychology (e.g., why do we help? Social psychology in the workplace? Teamwork and group decisions)
