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SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY - BPS205

Duration (approx) 100 hours
Qualification
Statement of Attainment

Why Study Social Psychology?

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people behave, feel and think when other people are present, and how the presence of other people affects the way we think and behave.  It explores topics such as prejudice, group dynamics, institutions and groups.

Social psychology and sociology are similar but are definitely not the same as social psychology focuses on the feelings, thoughts and behaviours of the individual, whereas sociology looks at societies and institutions as a whole.

The study of social psychology provides us with a greater understanding of group dynamics, social interactions and the way that humans behave. It is a fascinating area of psychology that increases our understanding of human behaviour and how it can change in social situations.

Understanding social psychology can often help you understand important aspects of what is going on when people when people become anti-social, insular, and depressed; and with that understanding, make better decisions about how to respond to situations and help.

Understanding this can be useful for career development or for your personal interest or growth.

 

 

 

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Who Is This Course Suitable For?

Anyone who works with people is going to be concerned with their well-being - from fitness leaders and counsellors to teachers and welfare officers. For example -

  • law enforcement
  • teaching
  • social work
  • foster carers
  • counsellors
  • voluntary workers
  • youth workers
  • teachers
  • sporting careers
  • anyone interested in learning how society works.

This course is suitable for career/professional development, CPD or personal interest.

What Will You Learn in This Course?

Study Social Psychology - understand more about how and why humans behave the way they do.

Learn about

  • Social cognition, understand schemas and social perception.
  • Conformity, compliance, attribution, cultural influences and much more.
  • How people behave when they are in crowds.
  • Why people do not always help in emergency situations.
  • Attraction.
  • Perception.
  • Prejudice.
  • Aggression.
  • Changing attitudes.

COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

Course Duration: 100 hours.

Start Date: Start at any time with full tutor support for the duration of your studies.

Lessons: The course comprises 10 lessons as detailed, below.

Lesson 1. Social Cognition

  • Introduction to social psychology.
  • What is social psychology.
  • Impression formation.
  • Behaviour.
  • Appearance.
  • Expectations.
  • The primacy effect.
  • Attribution.
  • Schemas and social perception.
  • Central traits.
  • Stereotypes.
  • Social inference and decision making.
  • Case Study: social psychology and law.

Lesson 2. The Self

  • Introduction.
  • Self-concept.
  • Present and ideal selves.
  • Cognitive dissonance.
  • Experiments into cognitive dissonance.
  • Reducing cognitive dissonance.
  • Self-efficacy.
  • How does the self-develop?
  • Self and social feedback.
  • Socialisation.
  • Types of socialisation.
  • How are we socialised.

Lesson 3. Attribution and Perception of Others

  • Attribution theory.
  • Attribution and Consensus, consistency, distinctiveness.
  • Attribution errors.
  • Culture and attributional style.
  • Criticisms of the theory.
  • Practical uses of attribution theory.

Lesson 4. Attitudes and Attitude Change

  • Defining attitude.
  • Characteristics of attitudes.
  • ABC of attitudes.
  • Affective elements of attitude.
  • Behavioural elements of attitude.
  • Self-attribution.
  • Specificity.
  • Constraints.
  • Cognitive elements of attitude.
  • Attitude formation.
  • Factors affecting attitude change.

Lesson 5. Prejudice, Discrimination and Stereotypes

  • Introduction.
  • What is prejudice.
  • Functions of prejudice.
  • How we measure prejudice.
  • In groups and out groups.
  • Reducing prejudice.
  • Stereotypes.
  • Functions of stereotypes.
  • Dangers of using stereotypes.
  • Changing stereotypes.
  • Discrimination.

Lesson 6. Interpersonal Attraction

  • Introduction.
  • Theories of attraction.
  • The social exchange theory.
  • The reinforcement affect model.
  • Factors affecting interpersonal attraction.
  • Physical appearance.
  • Biological underpinnings.
  • Similarity.
  • Familiarity.
  • Positive regard.
  • Misattribution of emotions.
  • Proximity.
  • Attachment styles.
  • Cultural similarities.
  • An evolutionary perspective.
  • The cost of sex.

Lesson 7. Helping Behaviour

  • Bystander intervention.
  • Diffusion of responsibility.
  • Social facilitation.
  • Compliance.
  • Obedience.
  • Conformity.
  • Why do people conform.
  • Factors affecting conformity.
  • Desire for affiliation.
  • Reinforcement and punishment.
  • Obedience to authority.
  • Why does social influence work?

Lesson 8. Aggression

  • Introduction.
  • Types of aggression.
  • Theoretical approaches to aggression: Freudian, Drive theories, Social learning theories, Biological and evolutionary theories.
  • Aggression against outsiders.
  • Aggression in a species.
  • Aggression in humans.
  • Environmental influences on human aggression.
  • Imitation or modelling.
  • Familiarity.
  • Reinforcement.
  • Aggression and Culture.
  • Other factors.

Lesson 9. Groups

  • What is a group.
  • Kinds of groups; recreational, social, work, family, sporting features of groups.
  • Factors relating to groups: productivity, social loafing, insufficient coordination, social facilitation.
  • Group decision making: group think, group polarisation, minority influence.
  • Deindividualisation.

Lesson 10. Cultural Influences 

  • Defining culture.
  • Culture and social exchange.
  • Individualistic vs reciprocal societies.
  • Cross-cultural psychology vs cultural psychology.
  • Culture bound syndromes.
  • Trance and possession disorder.

What Are the Advantages of Studying Psychology with ACS Distance Education?

  • You can start at any time to suit you.
  • The courses are self-paced.
  • You can study when and where suits you. They are flexible to fit in around you and your lifestyle.
  • It is not just a course, it is a package of learning that includes – course notes, tutor feedback, self-assessment tests, research tasks and assignments.
  • Our tutors are all experts in their field, with years of experience in psychology and counselling.
  • They are also keen and enthusiastic about their subject and enjoy working with students to improve their knowledge and skills.
  • Courses are also updated regularly to meet the demands of the changing needs for knowledge and to keep our courses up to date.

What Next?

Studying Social Psychology will provide a broad basis of valuable knowledge which is useful in many professions.

Understanding theories and elements of Social Psychology is important for anyone who works with people. People are social. They live best in groups or societies, with an order to the interrelationships that exist between the different individuals in that group. When people are not socialised and do not fit in, their psychological health and well-being can be susceptible to problems. Socialisation is a process by which those relationships establish and evolve. Agents of socialisation, which affect those changes, are groups and people such as families, peer groups, media and schools. These agents influence our behaviour, emotions, attitudes and self-concept.

Socialisation then, is the process by which an individual learns how to live and function in a society. This usually encompasses the primary socialisation provided by parents and schools as individuals grow up, and the developmental socialisation provided by new experiences and relationships. Socialisation is used by social psychologists, sociologists and in education to refer to the process of learning our individual culture and how to live within our own culture. An individual learns through socialisation how to act and participate within their society. The society is able to educate all individual members into the attitudes, values, motives, morals, social roles, language and symbols that are the means by which societies and cultures attain continuity.

It is claimed that socialisation was first discussed by Plato and Rousseau, however, it was brought into the wider knowledge by the work of American sociologists Giddings and Ross in the 1890s. In the 1920s, the idea of socialisation was also taken up by American sociologists, such as Burgess, Cooley, Thomas and Mead. The idea of socialisation was then incorporated into some branches of sociology and anthropology.

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Courses can be started anytime from anywhere in the world!

Meet some of our academics

Tracey Jones (psychology)B.Sc. (Hons) (Psychology), M.Soc.Sc (social work), DipSW (social work), PGCE (Education), PGD (Learning Disability Studies) Tracey began studying psychology in 1990. She has a wide range of experience within the psychology and social work field, particularly working with people with learning disabilities. She is also qualified as a teacher and now teaches psychology and social work related subjects. She has been a book reviewer for the British Journal of Social Work and has also written many textbooks, blogs, articles and ebooks on psychology, writing, sociology, child development and more. She has had also several short stories published.
Jacinda Cole B.Sc.,M.Psych.Psychologist, Educator, Author, Psychotherapist. B.Sc., Psych.Cert., M. Psych. Cert.Garden Design, MACA. Jacinda has over 25 years of experience in psychology, in both Australia and England. She has co-authored several psychology text books and many courses including diploma and degree level courses in psychology and counselling. Jacinda joined ACS in 2001.
Jade SciasciaBiologist, Business Coordinator, Government Environmental Dept, Secondary School teacher (Biology); Recruitment Consultant, Senior Supervisor in Youth Welfare, Horse Riding Instructor (part-completed) and Boarding Kennel Manager. Jade has a B.Sc.Biol, Dip.Professional Education, Cert IV TESOL, Cert Food Hygiene.


Check out our eBooks

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How Children ThinkAnyone who has ever tried to make a child do anything (clean up their mess, desist from throwing mud, stop drawing on the walls) knows that children think differently to adults. This book attempts to provide the skills and knowledge to develop a greater understanding of children.
How to be a Life CoachLife coaching is a relatively new profession - although coaches have been around for a long time in the guise of trainers, instructors, managers and tutors for various professions and disciplines. Life coaching is not easily defined, but it is a type of mentoring which focuses on helping individuals to achieve what they would like to achieve and thereby to lead more fulfilling lives. Unlike other forms of coaching, it takes place outside of the workplace and is concerned with all aspects of a person’s life.