PSY4442 - Psychology of Social Issues 1

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of social psychology as an evidential discipline;
Engage with theoretical and methodological debates and controversies in psychology;
Understand the different theoretical perspectives in social psychology;
Collaborate in the collection, collation and employment of appropriate evidence to build and present an effective argument;
Demonstrate knowledge and application of quantitative and qualitative methods and relevant ethical codes of conduct in relation to social psychology.

Content:

Introduction to social psychology, its evolution as a discipline within psychology and its use in everyday life. Indicative content includes; history of social psychology, including the contributions of early philosophers through to key 19th and 20th century thinkers, social thinking, social beliefs & judgements, attitudes & behaviours, research methods and the ethical issues related to conducting psychological research and applying social psychology to social issues (both in the past and in the present) including international and cultural perspectives. Throughout the module the relationship between the individual and society will be highlighted.

Learning and Teaching Information:

A key aim of this module is to offer students at Level 4 the opportunity to develop their research and argument skills within the context of dynamic teamwork exercises.

This module will be taught using a mixture of interactive lectures and workshops, some of which will be student-led. Students will be expected to prepare for the sessions by reading set texts and completion of tasks set in class or via the VLE and will be expected to take part in a wide range of learning activities. Students will develop discussion and teamwork skills.

Lectures
Hours: 9
Intended Group size: Cohort

Workshops
Hours: 27
Intended Group size: 50

Independent guided study
Hours: 164

Further details relating to assessment
Directed activities: these consist of weekly tasks that must be completed and submitted for inspection at timetabled sessions each week. The assessment will be assessed on a pass/fail basis with a pass requiring at least 75% of all weekly tasks to be completed successfully. A pass will lead to the full award of 10% towards the final module mark. A fail in directed activities will contribute 0% to the final mark.

Formative assessment will happen a weekly basis via feedback on group work and activities in the workshops.

Assessment:

001 Directed activities; throughout semester 2 10%
002 Individual Poster; 1,000 Words; end of semester 2 50%
003 Group Oral Defence; 10 Minutes; end of semester 2 40%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Miriam Park
Level - 4
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 4S2