Vår 2025

PSY-1705 Social Psychology - 10 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for psykologi

Type of course

The course is mandatory in the Professional Studies in Psychology. Not available as a singlular course

Course contents

Social psychology aims to "understand and explain how the thought, feeling and behavior of individuals is influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others" (Allport, 1954). The course covers important areas in social cognition; among others: automatic thought processes, attitudes, stereotypes and prejudice, social norms, intergroup emotions and relations, mood, the self-concept, and cultural influences. The lectures introduce theoretical and methodological principles in basic social psychology. Further, social psychology will be presented as an applied discipline that allows to design interventions that change behavior and contribute to solving issues in close relations, communities, organizations, and in society.

Obligatory prerequisites

PSY-1512 Methods and statistics II, PSY-1604 How to be a psychologist II, PSY-1701 Personality psychology, PSY-2553 Cognitive Psychology and dissemination of science

Objective of the course

After the course the student should be able to:

Knowledge:

Explain individuals' thought, feeling, and behavior as the result of social factors such as group membership and social norms;
Explain the roles of conscious and unconscious thought processes in social perception and behavior;
Explain how various methods such as for example persuasive communication can be used to change individuals' and groups' thought and behavior.

Skills:

Identify and apply appropriate social psychological theories and methods for the measurement of attitudes and beliefs at the group level;
Identify and apply appropriate social psychological theories and methods for prevention and intervention at the group level.

General competences:

Develop a simple social psychological intervention or campaign, completely from the initial problem description to the subsequent evaluation of the intervention's effectiveness.

Language of instruction

English

Teaching methods

24 lecture hours. The lectures introduce theoretical and methodological principles in basic and applied social psychology through published research. In short classroom exercises the students practice the principles and apply them to real-world social issues.