London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Modules

79
Elements of Social and Applied Psychology

Approaches to understanding social behaviour: The development and scope of social psychology; factors which influence social behaviour; theoretical perspectives and the role of theory in research; research methods in social psychology; ethical issues in research; applying the knowledge and principles of social psychology to practical problems, especially in organisations and workplace settings.

Social perception and cognition: Perception of self and others; self presentation and impression formation; the role of non-verbal cues. Attribution theory; sources of error and bias. Cognitive strategies: heuristics, biases and fallacies; the impact of schemata and stereotypes. Attitudes: their nature and formation; the role of learning and agents of socialisation; cognitive consistency and dissonance; the relation between attitudes and behaviour.

Social influence: Groups: roles, norms and cohesiveness. Group influence: task performance; problem solving; decision making. Conformity, compliance and obedience. Attitude change. Persuasive communication, with special reference to the role of the media and advertising.

Social relations: Social exchange: competition and co-operation; conflict and its resolution. Prejudice: the role of competition, social categorisation, social learning and social cognition. Diversity and discrimination, with special reference to gender. The work setting, organisational behaviour, job satisfaction, interpersonal behaviour at work.