APPLYING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY (PSH2000)
Aims
and Learning Outcomes
What
is Social Psychology and what are its applications? This course is designed to
help you answer these questions by considering a range of theories, topics and
paradigms in social psychology. Modern social psychology is characterised
by its diversity, and by competing schools of thought, paradigms and
methods. These various perspectives often provide very different ways of
understanding and explaining real world social phenomena. The course is
designed to illustrate this diversity and to demonstrate the multiple ways that
social psychology can be applied to the individual - society interface in
specific topic areas. Students are encouraged to reflect on the strengths
and weaknesses of these various forms of social psychology, to consider their
research methods and to compare theories and research findings with their own experience and opinions.
The
course has two basic aims:
a)
building on the pre-requisite course, to examine
advanced areas of application of social psychology.
b)
to offer a critical metaperspective of the different
approaches within the field.
The
lecture structure is such that theoretical issues are linked to contemporary
applications to real-world issues.
On
successful completion of this module students will be able to:-
1.
Evaluate critically, the major theoretical frameworks in which social
psychologists have described and explained human behaviour in a social context.
2. Demonstrate a critical awareness of the relationship between
theoretical perspectives and research methodologies.
3. Identify and evaluate key issues, philosophical debates and
controversies within social psychology
4. Demonstrate the ability to apply aspects of social psychology to a ‘real-life’ setting.
5. Identify and critically evaluate ways in which theories and issues
central to social psychology have emerged from, and been applied to, various ‘real-life’ settings.
Module
Outline
The
first two lectures cover broad issues to do with the history of social
psychology, its areas of application and its research methods. Following
this, the next four lectures (lectures 3 to 6) explore topics within
"Social Cognition". This paradigm has been one of the most
influential in modern social psychology, especially in America. Lectures 7 and 8 look at interpersonal social psychology, with a
focus on close personal relationships. Lectures 9 to 12 consider
other more "sociological" forms of social psychology that counter the
limitations of social cognition. We review social psychological theories
that look at how we construct ourselves, and how we come to understand our
social worlds through language, shared cultural beliefs and social interaction.
In the next four lectures (lectures 13 to 16), we
focus on 'real world issues' in which social psychology can make a
contribution. This allows us to compare the strengths and weaknesses of
the various theories and paradigms in social psychology that we have
encountered in the course. The final two lectures provide an opportunity
to consider the social role and value of social psychology, and to review
themes in the course.
An
effort has been made to select key theoretical areas in social psychology that
have important applications for peoples' everyday lives. For example,
attribution theory which is introduced in week 4 is followed by a lecture on
application of attribution theory in understanding depression, marital
relationships and education. Similarly, the topics of aggression, racism and
organisational behaviour are used in lectures towards the end of the course as
ways of illustrating the practical topics that various social psychological
theories and perspectives can address.
Expectations
for Lectures, Seminars, Self-guided learning activities and Private Study
Lectures
Believe it or not, lecturers generally like being asked questions about their
lectures, even if it is only to correct misunderstandings. They also like
students to debate and question issues raised in the lectures, so do not be
afraid to do so. For points of clarification and general questions it is best
to ask questions during the lectures (don’t be afraid to do so even if this
means that you have to interrupt). If you wish to raise more general points it
is best to do this in the seminars.
Seminars
Seminars are designed with three aims in mind:
1. To supplement and clarify the information
given in lectures.
2. To deepen your understanding of the way in which social psychologists
go about their work. The aim is to help you think constructively and critically
about the material we cover. This is a key skill expected for Level H study.
3. To help you develop a variety of academic skills. Each seminar is
associated not only with a particular topic (relating to the lecture course)
but also with a specific exercise, task or academic skill (eg researching a
topic, reading and evaluating a research paper, giving an oral presentation,
putting forward a position in a debate, and so on).
Seminar
Preparation
Seminars will usually involve some work assigned to individuals or a group of
students the week before. In some weeks there may be a task will be given to
the whole class. In other weeks a group of students will be assigned to prepare
some material. We will try to ensure that the work-load assigned to
individuals is roughly equal over the semester. Remember that all the
preparatory work you do will help you to deepen your understanding of
course-related issues.
Self-guided
learning activities
These replace seminars in some weeks are designed to
encourage to you to develop independence in your learning. Students will
be required to hand in written answers to the activities to seminar leaders in
the following week. There will also be time allocated for feedback at the
beginning of the next seminar.
Course
Material and Private Study
Each lecture is accompanied by a list of key references. Many of these are
optional reading material, but you are expected to consult at least some of
these for private weekly study, and when writing your essay and preparing for
the exam. Appropriate recommendations will be made throughout the course.
As this is both a Level H course and a 20 credit module, there is an
expectation that students supplement lectures and seminars with their own
reading. It is unlikely that you will be able to obtain good marks by
relying on lecture notes alone. Readings will include original journal articles
and relevant book chapters. A list of generally relevant texts and
journals that are available in the library can be found in section 4 below.
Remember,
independent learning (private study and self-guided learning activities) are
just as important as attending lectures and seminars for this module.
2.4
Lecture and Seminar Outlines
KK
= Kostas Kafetsios; NM = Nicola Morant
Week
1
Lecture
1: Introduction - The History of Social Psychology and its Applications - KK
This lecture introduces the course by considering the nature of social
psychology. Modern social psychology is characterised by diversity. This
reflects the two-way interaction between the person and the society within
which s/he lives. Models of the discipline as a natural or a social science are
compared. The history of social psychology is characterised by shifts in
perspectives and directions. Social psychology both responds to and is shaped
by the concerns and values of society.
Readings:
? Doise, W. (1997). Organizing social-psychological
explanations. In McGarty and Haslam, (eds.) The
message of social psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
? Gergen, K. (1973) Social Psychology as History. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 26 (2), 309-320.
? Graumann, C.F. (1996). Introduction to a history of social
psychology. In Hewstone et al. (1996).
Seminar:
Introduction to the module; Applications of social psychology
This is a chance to go through information included in this module guide and
get a clear picture of what the course is about, how it is organised and what
is expected of students. As a lead into the course, there will be an
exercise on the uses of social psychology and how we think social psychology
can be applied to real world topics. Students will be asked to
begin a "dairy" on the real world applications of social psychology
that they will add to during the semester and review at the end of the module.
Week
2
Lecture
2: Doing Research in Social Psychology - KK
Social psychology is characterised by methodological pluralism. This
reflects the various “levels of analysis” (Doise, 1986) on which social
psychology can operate, and also the competing paradigms that exist in the
discipline. The role of experimentation and theory-driven research are
discussed. We consider the various strengths and weaknesses of the
experimental method, and review some of the social psychological processes that
can operate in the experimental or research setting. The relative advantages
and disadvantages of other methodological strategies are considered.
Readings:
? Hewstone, M. (1997). Three lessons from social
psychology: Multiple levels of analysis, methodological pluralism and
statistical sophistication. In McGarty and Haslam (eds.) The
message of social psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
? Gergen, K. J. (1978) Experimentation in social psychology: A
reappraisal. European Journal of Social Psychology, 8,
507-27. Also reprinted in Hewstone et al (1997)
The Blackwell Reader in Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
? Manstead, A. & Semin G. (1996) Methodology in social psychology: Putting
ideas to the test. In Hewstone et al. Introduction to
Social Psychology (2nd edition). Oxford: Blackwell.
? Orne, M. (1962) On the social psychology of the
psychological experiment: with particular reference to demand characteristics
and their implications. American Psychologist, 17,
776-83.
Self-guided
learning activity: Finding answers to research questions
Students often become used to being given information ‘on a plate’. Handouts and reading lists will
often tell you exactly where to look for information. If you rely on these too
much, you forfeit the opportunity to acquire one of the most important academic
skills that you can learn at University: that of knowing how to find
information yourself. There will be a worksheet circulated in Week 1 with
questions in the form of a quiz. The self-guided learning activity will be to
find the relevant information. Answers to the questions and most importantly
the way the information was found should be handed in to the seminar leader in
Week 3.
Week
3
Lecture
3: Social cognition and information processing - KK
Social cognition focuses on how we process information about our social
world. The lecture begins by reviewing research evidence that suggests we
are active processors of external information and as such we participate in the
construction of our social world. Social cognition uses a rationalistic,
information processing analogy, and assumes that we use various “short-cuts” to reduce uncertainty and help us
make sense of our social world. These include anchoring and availability
heuristics, and the use of social context in interpreting social information.
We process new information on the basis of pre-existing mental models (schemas,
scripts, prototypes etc).
Readings:
? Augoustinos, M. & Walker, I. (1995) Social Cognition: An integrated
introduction. London: Sage. Introduction and Chapter 3 on social schemas
? Higgins, E.T., (1997). Biases in social cognition.
In McGarty and Haslam The Message of Social
Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
? Fiske, S. and Taylor, S. (1984). Social Cognition.
NY: Random House.
? Leyens, J-P. & Dardenne, B.
(1996) Basic concepts and approaches in social cognition. In Hewstone et al. (2nd edition) Introduction to Social Psychology.
Oxford: Blackwell.
Lecture
4: Social Cognition in Action
The main focus of this lecture is on the impact of self-fulfilling or behaviour
confirming beliefs in various social contexts. This will include
discussion of placebo and experimenter effects. We will also look at
research on the effect of prior beliefs in educational settings and in
interpersonal interaction.
Readings:
? Darley, J.M. and Gross, P.H. (1983). A hypothesis-confirming bias in labelling effects. JPSP, 44, 997-33. Also reprinted in
Hewstone et al (1997) The Blackwell Reader in Social Psychology.
Oxford: Blackwell.
? Hilton, J.L. and Darley, J.M. (1985). Constructing other persons: A limit on the effect. Journal
of Experimental Social Psychology, 21, 1-18.
? Jussim, L. (1986). Self-fulfilling prophecies: A theoretical and integrative
review. Psychological Review, 93, 429-445.
? Jussim, L. (1989). Teacher expectations: Self-fulfilling prophecies,
perceptual biases, and accuracy. JPSP, 57, 3, 469-480.
Seminar:
Biases in social cognition.
The seminar will involve practical exercises and discussion designed to
illustrate some specific biases that occur in social cognition: the
availability heuristic; impression formation; scripts; and stereotypes.
We will also discuss and evaluate the basic assumptions and model of the person
on which social cognition is based.
Preparation: Information on preparatory reading will be provided in Week 1
Week
4
Lecture
5: Attribution theory - KK
How do we explain our own and others’ behaviour? The processes
involved when people make causal attributions of social actions has been
one of the key topics of interest for social psychologists. This lecture review the principle theories of attribution:
Correspondence inference theory (Jones & Davis, 1965) and Covariance theory
(Kelley, 1973). Following this we look at errors and biases in
attribution: the “fundamental
attribution error”,
actor-observer differences and self-serving biases.
Readings:
? Hewstone, M. (1989). Causal Attribution: From
cognitive processes to collective beliefs. Oxford: Blackwell.
? Hewstone, M. and Fincham, F. (1996). Attribution
theory and research: Basic issues and applications. In
Hewstone et al. Introduction to social psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
? Jones, E. E. & Nisbett, R. E. (1972) The actor
and the observer: divergent perceptions of the causes of behaviour. In E.
E. Jones et al (eds) Attribution: Perceiving the
causes of behaviour. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
? Storms, M. D. (1973) Videotape and the attribution process: Reversing actors’ and observers’ points of view. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 27: 165-75. Also
reprinted in Hewstone et al (1997) The Blackwell Reader in Social Psychology.
Oxford: Blackwell.
Lecture
6: Applications of Attribution Theory - KK
There are numerous “real “world” applications of theories of causal attribution.
This lecture reviews some of these applications in educational, clinical and
close relationship settings. We look at the link between attributions of
success and failure and motivation. There are individual differences in
attributional styles, some of which have been linked to “learned helplessness” and depression. A substantial body of research has focused on attributions in close
relationships and the link with marital satisfaction. Cross-cultural
differences in attributions have also been detected and we consider some of the
reasons for these.
Readings:
? Hewstone, M. (1989). Causal Attribution: From
cognitive processes to collective beliefs. Oxford: Blackwell.
? Holtzworth-Munroe, A., Jacobson, N.S. (1985). Causal
Attributions of Married Couples: When do they Search for Causes
? What do They Conclude When They Do?. JPSP,
48, 6, 1398-1412.
? Bradbury, T.N. and Fincham, F.D. (1992). Attributions and behaviour in marital interaction. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 613-628. Also
reprinted in Hewstone et al (1997) The Blackwell Reader in Social Psychology.
Oxford: Blackwell.
? Weary, G., Stanley M. A. & Harvey J. H. (1989)
Attribution. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Seminar:
Testing attribution theory at the APU
Preparation:
Groups will be composed to briefly test the fundamental attribution error and
factors that might reduce it. Groups should compile a causally ambiguous piece
of text (say about a ‘youth’ being involved in a car accident). People on campus
should read and then attribute cause for the accident to internal and external
factors (the youth, the car, the road etc.). Half the subjects could be
instructed simply to read the text carefully, while the other half could be
instructed to pay special attention to information dealing with road conditions
and the mechanical condition of the car.
In the seminar we will discuss the results of this informal research
study. In addition there will a worksheet of questions about attribution
theories.
Week
5
Lecture
7: Personal Relationships - KK
This lecture reviews and evaluates the various ways that social psychologists
have approached the study of personal relationships (attachment theory, social
exchange theory, equity and reinforcement
theories). Recent research on personal relationships is also presented.
Readings:
? Hazan, C. and Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love
conceptualised as an attachment process. Journal of
personality and social psychology, 52, 3, 511-524. Also
reprinted in Hewstone et al (1997) The Blackwell Reader in Social Psychology.
Oxford: Blackwell.
? Hogg, M.A. & Vaughan, G.M. (1995) (2nd edition) Social Psychology: An Introduction.
Prentice Hall: Hemel Hempstead. Chapter 12.
? Rusbult, C. E. (1980) Commitment and satisfaction in romantic associations: A
test of the investment model. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,
16: 172-86. Also reprinted in Hewstone et al (1997) The
Blackwell Reader in Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
Lecture
8: The Social Psychology of Adult Attachment - KK
Researchers are becoming increasingly explicit in describing the self as an
organisation of thoughts, affect and behaviour elements, all interacting in a
social context (eg. Aronoff, Stollak & Woike, 1994).
Consistent with this, attachment working models are considered as dynamic
interpersonal constructs linking cognition, affect and behaviour in a single
schema or set of schemata. In this sense, the shift of paradigm, from infant
attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969; Ainsworth et al. 1978) to attachment patterns
in adult relationships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987) is beneficial for social
psychology. Social psychology has long been in search of a framework that
could link expectational structures with behavioural patterns in interpersonal
interactions. In support of these arguments, this lecture will present
recent published and unpublished research that demonstrates some of the effects
that attachment working models have on aspects of interpersonal interaction in
close relationships.
Readings:
? Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss: Attachment (Vol.1.). N.Y: Basic
Books.
? Fonagy, P., Steele, H. and Steele, M. (1991).
Maternal representations of attachment during pregnancy predict the
organization of infant-mother attachment at one year of age'. Child Development,62, 891-905.
? Grossman, K. E. and Grossman K. (1991). Attachment
quality as an organizer of emotional and behavioural responses in a
longitudinal perspective . In C. M.
Parkes, J. S. Hinde and P. Marris (Eds),
Attachment Across the Life Cycle. (pp. 93-114). London: Tavistock/
Routledge.
? Hazan, C. and Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love
conceptualised as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 52, 3, 511-524. Also reprinted in Hewstone et al
(1997) The Blackwell Reader in Social Psychology. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Seminar:
Communication in Relationships
Video-taping 'real' interactions between people in close personal relationships
allows social psychologists to study the complexities of communication in close
relationships. Video material collected as part of recent research forms
the basis of this seminar.
Week
6
Lecture
9: The Self and the Social World - NM
This lecture covers what is known as “symbolic interactionism” a school of thought that originates
in sociology (but is central to social psychology) that claims that the
interactions we have with others in our social world are central to our
development of self and construction of social identities. The works of two key
writers - George Herbert Mead and Ervin Goffman form the basis of this
lecture. Mead is principally concerned with the development of self
as a social being. Goffman’s work is on impression management
and the roles we play in various social situations.
Readings:
? Goffman, E. (1959) The Presentation of Self in
Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday Anchor. Also
reprinted in paperback by Penguin.
? Mead, G.H., (1934). Mind, self and society. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
? Miell, D. (1989). The self and the social world. In I.Roth (Ed.), Introduction to Psychology (vol.2, pp30-78).
Hove: LEA/OUP
Lecture
10: Social Constructionism - NM
Social constructionism is a broad meta-theoretical perspective that has
developed across the social sciences. It rejects realism and takes a
critical perspective on knowledge, especially as it is conceived in
science. Instead, social constructionists regard all knowledge
(scientific and social) as historically and culturally specific and constructed
through social processes. The impact of social constructionism on modern
social psychology is reviewed.
Readings:
? Burr, V. (1995) An Introduction to Social
Constructionism. London: Routledge. Especially Introduction
"What is social constructionism?"
? Gergen, K. J. (1985) The social constructionist
movement in modern psychology. American Psychologist, 40: 266-75.
? Gergen, K.J. (1997). Social psychology as social construction: The emerging
vision. In McGarty and Haslam (eds.)The message of
social psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
Self-guided learning activity: Formative Assessment I
A worksheet consisting of a series of short answer questions that is designed
to help you review and refresh your knowledge of material covered in the course
so far. Written
answers should be handed in to seminar leaders in Week 7.
Week
7
Lecture
11: Social Representations Theory - NM
Modern European social psychology has taken up social constructionism in the
form of new theories in which language, communication and shared
representations are central. This lecture reviews one of the most
significant of these theoretical developments and its associated research. The
theory of social representations (Moscovici, 1984) provides a framework for
studying the shared beliefs and taken-for-granted knowledge and practices that
exist in contemporary society.
Readings:
? Augoustinos, M. & Walker, I. (1995) Social Cognition: An integrated introduction.
London: Sage. Chapter 6.
? Moscovici, S. (1981) On social
representations. In J. P. Forgas (ed) Social
Cognition: Perspectives on everyday understanding. London: Academic
Press.
? Potter, J. (1996) Attitudes, social representations and discursive
psychology. In Wetherell, M. (Ed) (1996)
Identities, Groups and Social Issues. Sage in
association with the Open University.
Seminar:
Ethics in Social Psychology
Ethics in behavioural research is an area that psychology students need to consider.
But how important are ethical considerations for research in social psychology?
It could be argued that social psychologists need not be too concerned with
ethics because the research methods used involve relatively harmless
interventions (interviews or questionnaires). Some academics would argue that
science is ethically neutral and that scientists have a right or a duty to
research topics relevant to social welfare in the ways they see fit. On
the other hand, should we consider the after-effects of even apparently
'harmless' research methods? Arguably, any research intervention involves
differential power relations between researcher and
researched, and this situation is potentially open to abuse.
Preparation: The seminar will take the form of a debate. Two groups of students
will be asked to prepare cases for and against a proposition that ethics
guidelines are of little relevance to social psychological research.
Week
8
Lecture
12: Discursive Psychology - NM
Discursive psychology has been one of the fastest developing theoretical areas
in British social psychology in the last decade. The basic premise of
discursive psychology is that language use is much more central to social
interaction and social life than much of mainstream (American) social
psychology would suggest. Based on radical critiques of social cognitive
constructs such as attitude theories, discursive psychology challenges the
cognitive base of social psychology, and instead suggests that people are what
they do and what they say. Discourse analysis is an associated method
that allows analysis of talk in everyday life to provide empirical support
these theoretical ideas.
Readings:
? Billig, M. (1997). Discursive,
rhetorical, and ideological messages. In McGarty and
Haslam The message of social psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
? Potter, J. (1996) Attitudes, social representations and
discursive psychology. In Wetherell, M. (Ed)
(1996) Identities, Groups and Social Issues. Sage
in association with the Open University.
Lecture
13: The Social Psychology of Groups - NM
Social identity theory was touched on briefly in Introduction to Social
Psychology. This lecture returns to this major theory in social
psychology, and considers what it can tell us about how behaviour, cognition
and feelings can be shaped by group membership. This applies to both
intra-group (between members of the same group) and inter-group (between
members of different groups) interactions. The lecture also reviews other
perspectives on groups that have influenced social psychology, particularly
work on group dynamics.
Readings:
? Brown, H. (1996) Themes in experimental research on groups
from the 1930s to the 1990s. Chapter 1 in Wetherell M (ed) Identities, Groups and Social Issues. Sage in association with The Open University.
? Brown, R. (1988/2000) Group processes: dynamics within and between groups.
Blackwell.
? Eysenck, M. (ed) (1999) Psychology: An integrated
introduction. Longman: Harlow. Chapter 12: Social Psychology 2.
? Hogg M A & Vaughan G M (1998) Social Psychology
(2nd edition). Prentice Hall: London. Chapter 7: Basic Group
Processes; parts of Chapter 8: Leadership and group decision-making.
Seminar:
Evaluating social constructionist theories and research
The basic ideas and assumptions behind social
constructionist forms of social psychology are very different from those in
mainstream “scientific” psychology and students often find
these difficult to grasp. The first aim of this seminar is to work on making
sense of these basic assumptions. A second aim is to review some key
studies using social representations theory and discursive psychology and
evaluate the contributions of these two theoretical frameworks.
Preparation for the seminar: You will be asked to read and critically evaluate
(by answering a series of questions) one of the following articles:
? Edley & Wetherell (1999) Imagined futures: young men’s talk about fatherhood and domestic
life. Brit J Social Psychology38 (2): 181-194.
? Joffe (1996) AIDS research and prevention: a social
representations approach. Brit J Medical Psychology,
69, 169-90.
Week
9
Lecture
14: Aggression - NM
Social psychologists have explained aggressive behaviour in terms of biological
drives, social learning and inter-group relations. This lecture reviews these
various perspectives and encourages students to critically evaluate their
relative strengths and weaknesses.
Readings:
? Baron, R. A. & Richardson, D. R. (1994) Human
Aggression. (2nd edition) New York: Plenum.
? Berkowitz, L. & LePage, A. (1967) Weapons as
aggression-eliciting stimuli. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 7, 202-7. Also
reprinted in Hewstone, M., Manstead, A.S.R. and Stroebe, W. (1997) The
Blackwell Reader in Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
? Mummendey, A. (1996) Aggressive behaviour. In
Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W., and Stephenson, G.M.. (1996) (2nd edition) Introduction to Social Psychology.
Oxford: Blackwell.
Seminar:
Perspectives on violence: Video and discussion
We will watch and discuss a video on violence. The programme aims to show
the many different forms that violence can take and the complexities of the
different factors that underlie violence, and illustrates the value of using
multiple perspectives in making sense of violence. Following this, students
work in groups to complete a work-sheet that compares theories of aggression
operating at different levels of analysis in terms of their explanatory
frameworks, suggestions for interventions, and conceptual strengths and
weaknesses.
Week
10
Lecture
15: Perspectives on Racism - NM
As a serious and enduring social problem, racism has been a perennial topic for
social psychologists. This lecture reviews the various theoretical
perspectives that can inform our understanding of racism. Psychodynamic,
social cognitive, inter-group and discursive theories have been used to make
sense of racism. These various perspectives illustrate the range of social
psychology that operates at levels of analysis from the intrapsychic to the
inter-group and cultural levels.
Readings:
? Hall, S. (1992) The west and the rest: discourse and
power. In S. Hall & B. Gieben (eds)
Formations of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
? Hogg, M. & Vaughan, G. M. (1998) Social Psychology.
Prentice Hall Europe: London. Chapter 9: Prejudice.
? Murphy, J., John, M. & Brown, H. (1984) Debates and
Dialogues in Social Psychology. Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates. Chapter 2: The perilous path: From social research to
social intervention.
? Wetherell, M. (ed) (1996) Identities, Groups and
Social Issues. Sage in association with The Open University:
London. Chapter 4: Group conflict and the social psychology of racism.
Lecture
16: Social Psychology in Organisational Settings - NM
Social psychological ideas and theories have found a
fertile ground of application in work organisations. From decision making to
reorganisation and management to group dynamics, social psychology has much to
offer. This lecture will examine distinct theories as well as specific
techniques that can be used in organisational settings. The lecture
critically evaluates conceptualisations of occupational stress, the measurement
of stress, theories of stress processes, and stress management interventions that
derive from these.
Readings:
? Furnham, A. (1997) The Psychology of Behaviour at
Work. Guildford: Psychology Press.
? LaRocco, House and French (1980) Social support,
occupational stress and health. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour,
21, 202-218.
? House, J.S. (1981) Work Stress and Social Support.
London: Addison-Wesley.
? Warr, P.B. (1987). Work, Unemployment and Mental Health.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Seminar
This seminar relates to Lecture 16 and aims to
consolidate students understanding of the application of social psychological
theories and methods to the topic of occupational stress. Working in small
groups, students are asked to respond to a series of practical scenarios in
organisational settings that represent issues that a social psychologist might
be asked to consult on.
Week
11
Lecture
17: Social Psychology and Society - NM
This lecture returns to the basic question of the course: how can social
psychology be used and applied? What has the social role and social impact of
social psychology been to date? What is its personal relevance? And what
could or should be the role of social psychology in society? Issues of power
and social control in relation to the application of social psychology are
considered.
Readings:
? Murphy, J. (1998) Using social psychology. In Sapsford, R. (Ed) Issues in Social Psychology. Sage.
? Murphy, J., John, M. & Brown, H. (1984) Dialogues and Debates in Social
Psychology. Hove, East Sussex: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates in association with The Open University.
? Sapsford, R. & Dallos, R. (1998) Resisting social psychology. In Sapsford, R. (Ed) Issues in Social Psychology. Sage.
? Stephenson, G. (1996) Applied social psychology. In
Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W., and Stephenson, G.M. (2nd edition) Introduction to
Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
Seminar:
Discussion based on readings
Preparation: You will need to bring along your responses to the exercise on the
uses and applications of social psychology in seminar 1 and the
"dairy" of applied topics that you have been compiling throughout the
semester.
Using extracts from George Miller's 1969 APA presidential address of the same
title as a starting point, this seminar aims to encourage you to consider and
debate your own views on the contributions that social psychology does, could
or should make to society. We will review the seminar exercise from Week
1 and your "applications dairies" and consider whether your views of
the application and uses of social psychology have changed in the light of the
course.
Week
12
Lecture 18: Course Review - NM
The content, theories and themes of the course are reviewed. Any area
that students would like to revisit or clarify can be included in this lecture.
Seminar: Formative Assessment
In preparation for the exam, a short multiple choice assessment will be given,
covering themes from throughout the course. Answers
will also be provided.