Social Psychology (PSYC401)

Social Psychology (PSYC401)

Course Description:

This course offers an up-to-date introduction to social psychology: the scientific study of how we as humans interact with and influence each other. It explores deeper sides of our everyday reality such as how individuals’ seemingly private attitudes and free choices may often be shaped by the social environment, what circumstances might “push our buttons” and get us to discriminate against our fellow human beings, what lead us to decide that someone is attractive or to offer help to them, and how relationships we have could determine whether we would be healthy or sick in the long run. We will critically examine a wide and interesting range of research perspectives for their applicability in our social experiences.

 

Learning Outcomes:

Learning Outcomes
The learning will:
Assessment Criteria
The learner can:
1. Understand how knowledge is gained in social psychology through systematic investigations of creative ideas and real-world data. 1.1 Demonstrate the scientific mindset of generating research hypotheses, measures, and methods of testing the hypotheses
2. Be able to appreciate major theories in social psychology. 2.1 Explain basic assumptions and research findings regarding social perception, influence, and relations.

2.2 Explain applications and their limitations of social psychology theories in promoting business productivity as well as physical and mental health.

3. Discover manifestations of social psychology concepts and principles in daily life. 3.1 Apply well-reasoned methods to detect and analyse patterns of social phenomena for day- to-day situations (e.g., those in work and interpersonal interactions).

 

Delivery and Study Plan

24 hours of lecture-cum-discussions over 9 weeks.

This module requires a mixture of lecture and self-study activities to assimilate the information covered. As per most institutes offering tertiary education, students should engage in an appropriate amount of self-study each week involving critical reflections.

 

Assessment summary

Form of assessments include Class Participation, Quizzes, Term Paper, Group Presentation and Examination.

 

Course Schedule

Topics
  • What Is Social Psychology?
  • Doing Social Psychology Research
  • The Social Self
  • Perceiving Persons
  • Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
  • Attitudes
  • Conformity
  • Group Processes
  • Attraction and Close Relationships
  • Helping Others
  • Aggression
  • Law
  • Business
  • Group Presentations
  • Examination

 

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