BA (Hons)

Social Psychology

Teaching & Learning

The tabs below detail what and how you will study in each year of your course. The balance of assessments and overall workload will be informed by your core modules and the option modules you choose to study; the information provided is an indication of what you can expect and may be subject to change. The option modules listed are also an indication of what will be available to you. Their availability is subject to demand and you will be advised which option modules you can choose at the beginning of each year of study.

What you'll learn

Examine scientific psychology while highlighting the narrowness of its assumptions by considering a range of alternative psychological approaches.
Get involved in a broad and interdisciplinary Psychology that requires you to engage with theory and appropriately reflect on varied life and learning experiences.
Explore concepts, theories and approaches to human consciousness; ranging from biological/cognitive phenomena to experiential noumena.
Learn ideas, concepts and theories associated with psychological development across life and cultures. Consider development from before birth to old age, within a social context.
Gain an understanding of both epistemological and methodological aspects of research process. The first part of the module introduces you to fundamental epistemological questions for the social and socio-psychological sciences. You will specifically look at a number of problematic distinctions within research process, such as: scientific versus ordinary knowledge; and theory versus empirical data. The question of the precise relationship between quantitative measurement and the scientific method will be explicitly investigated. In addition to this, you will address practical issues related to different stages of research project design. Then, you will focus on discussing key methods and techniques used in social scientific research, such as ethnographic method, semiotic and discourse analyses, and causal analysis.
Focus on how psychologists investigate culture, and on how it shapes (and is shaped by) mind, self and consciousness. You will also draw on approaches from related disciplines - sociology, philosophy, comparative theology, and anthropology. You will explore themes including; myths and legends, ritual and tradition, collective memory, sacred spaces, 'virtual worlds', and language, signs and symbols. You will also be introduced to a number of techniques used to investigate culture and its meanings, including participant observation, interpretation, reflexivity and 'auto-ethnography'.
Examine scientific psychology while highlighting the narrowness of its assumptions by considering a range of alternative psychological approaches.
Get involved in a broad and interdisciplinary Psychology that requires you to engage with theory and appropriately reflect on varied life and learning experiences.
Explore concepts, theories and approaches to human consciousness; ranging from biological/cognitive phenomena to experiential noumena.
Learn ideas, concepts and theories associated with psychological development across life and cultures. Consider development from before birth to old age, within a social context.
Gain an understanding of both epistemological and methodological aspects of research process. The first part of the module introduces you to fundamental epistemological questions for the social and socio-psychological sciences. You will specifically look at a number of problematic distinctions within research process, such as: scientific versus ordinary knowledge; and theory versus empirical data. The question of the precise relationship between quantitative measurement and the scientific method will be explicitly investigated. In addition to this, you will address practical issues related to different stages of research project design. Then, you will focus on discussing key methods and techniques used in social scientific research, such as ethnographic method, semiotic and discourse analyses, and causal analysis.
Focus on how psychologists investigate culture, and on how it shapes (and is shaped by) mind, self and consciousness. You will also draw on approaches from related disciplines - sociology, philosophy, comparative theology, and anthropology. You will explore themes including; myths and legends, ritual and tradition, collective memory, sacred spaces, 'virtual worlds', and language, signs and symbols. You will also be introduced to a number of techniques used to investigate culture and its meanings, including participant observation, interpretation, reflexivity and 'auto-ethnography'.

What you'll learn

Gain an awareness and appreciation of how environments shape human consciousness and behaviour, and how individuals and groups produce and are produced by their environments.
Gain a comprehensive understanding of Freud and his invention, psychoanalysis. You will be introduced to Freudian concepts such as the unconscious, sexuality, transference and dream interpretation and reflect on their importance for understanding the self, others, and the societies in which they interact. You will also explore developments and critiques of Freud from advocates such as Lacan and Klein and dissenters such as Jung and the psychoanalytic feminists.
Delve into the enduring human fascination with phenomena such as Extra Sensory Perception, Psychokinesis and near-death/out of body experiences.
Study the mutual interaction between the psychological individual and the personal, political, cultural and historical forces and relations that define your social context.
Critically evaluate the arguments and findings of existing research. Identify approaches to problem definition and formulate research questions and objectives into a research framework.
Gain an awareness and appreciation of how environments shape human consciousness and behaviour, and how individuals and groups produce and are produced by their environments.
Gain a comprehensive understanding of Freud and his invention, psychoanalysis. You will be introduced to Freudian concepts such as the unconscious, sexuality, transference and dream interpretation and reflect on their importance for understanding the self, others, and the societies in which they interact. You will also explore developments and critiques of Freud from advocates such as Lacan and Klein and dissenters such as Jung and the psychoanalytic feminists.
Delve into the enduring human fascination with phenomena such as Extra Sensory Perception, Psychokinesis and near-death/out of body experiences.
Study the mutual interaction between the psychological individual and the personal, political, cultural and historical forces and relations that define your social context.
Critically evaluate the arguments and findings of existing research. Identify approaches to problem definition and formulate research questions and objectives into a research framework.

Option modules may include

Become familiar with the various dynamics and mechanisms of persuasion within society and become a more effective and persuasive communicator.
Explore the developing field of Positive Psychology and its origins, leading theorists and researchers, in regards the exploration and cultivation of positive states of mind.
Become familiar with the various dynamics and mechanisms of persuasion within society and become a more effective and persuasive communicator.
Explore the developing field of Positive Psychology and its origins, leading theorists and researchers, in regards the exploration and cultivation of positive states of mind.

What you'll learn

Demonstrates the ability to search and evaluate relevant academic literature and data, and apply the necessary research skills for the production of an empirical document.
Examine the dominance of scientific approaches in current thinking about how the psychological individual is constructed and theorised.
Study the various and integral roles music plays in constructing social, cultural and individual identities.
Study consciousness (including the unconscious) and altered states of consciousness (ASCs), and come to the realisation that to study consciousness is to transform it.
Demonstrates the ability to search and evaluate relevant academic literature and data, and apply the necessary research skills for the production of an empirical document.
Examine the dominance of scientific approaches in current thinking about how the psychological individual is constructed and theorised.
Study the various and integral roles music plays in constructing social, cultural and individual identities.
Study consciousness (including the unconscious) and altered states of consciousness (ASCs), and come to the realisation that to study consciousness is to transform it.

Option modules may include

Reflect on the idea of madness, looking at psychiatric explanation as the dominant model in the construction and treatment of insanity, plus appropriateness and consequences.
Investigate and understand the variety of roles Psychologists may take in promoting Peace, and analyse and interpret current conflicts, informed by psychological theory.
Engage with the practice of either sociology or social psychology in a 'real world' setting and gain practical experience of a professional work area related to your study.
Reflect on the idea of madness, looking at psychiatric explanation as the dominant model in the construction and treatment of insanity, plus appropriateness and consequences.
Investigate and understand the variety of roles Psychologists may take in promoting Peace, and analyse and interpret current conflicts, informed by psychological theory.
Engage with the practice of either sociology or social psychology in a 'real world' setting and gain practical experience of a professional work area related to your study.