PSY4005 Social Psychology 1: Module Handbook 2014

Lecturer: Mr Sotiris Dedeloudis

Aims
This module aims to:
1.
Introduce the classic theories and studies in social psychology
2.
Develop students understanding of the application of social psychology research to
the real world
3.
Critically analyse experimental social psychology research
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module you should be able to:
1.
Find, describe and evaluate classic and recent research in social psychology
2.
Identify strengths and weaknesses in key investigations
3.
Apply research outcomes to everyday situations
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical issues in social psychological research
Assessment
You need to complete and pass two pieces of assessment for this module.
1. One piece of coursework during the autumn term (1500 words).
2. One essay exam in the summer exam period (2 hours).
The coursework and exam assessments are equally weighted; each contributing 50% of the
marks for this module.
Required Reading
The core textbooks for this course are:
Hewstone, M., Stroebe, Jonas, K. (Eds) (2012) An Introduction to Social Psychology, Fifth
Edition. BPS Blackwell and John Wiley & Sons: Chichester.
Mercer, J. & Clayton, D. (2012) Social Psychology, Prentice Hall: London
Required Study
You will receive 42 hours of face to face tuition on this module, plus additional support in your
personal tutorials. This is a 20 credit module and as such requires approximately 200 hours
worth of studying. So you should expect to dedicate an additional 158 hours of study for this
module, this equates to 5 hours per week if you only study in term time.

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Recommended Reading
You should supplement your reading of the core texts by reading relevant journal articles and
other social psychology texts. Look out for further reading given in lectures.
Cialdini, R.B., Demaine, L.J., Sagarin, B.J., Barrett, D.W., Rhoads, K. & Winter, P.L. (2006) Managing
social norms for persuasive impact. Social Influence, 1, 3-15.
Coats, E.J. and Feldman, R.S. (eds) (2001) Classic and Contemporary Readings in Social Psychology,
(3rd Ed.). Prentice Hall: New Jersey.
Crano, W.D., & Prislin, R. (2006) Attitudes and persuasion. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, pp 345374.
Fazio, F.H. & Petty, R.E. (Eds.) (2007) Attitudes: Their Structure, Function and Consequences. New
York: Psychology Press
Haslam, S. A. & Reicher, S. D. (2006). Debating the Psychology of Tyranny: Fundamental Issues of
Theory, Perspective and Science. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45, 5563.
Malle, B.F. (2006) The actor-observer asymmetry in attribution: A (surprising) meta-analysis.
Psychological Bulletin, 132 (6), pp. 895-919.
OSullivan, M (2003) The fundamental attribution error in detecting deception: The boy who cried wolf
effect. Personality and social Psychology Bulletin, Vol.29, No.10 1316-1327
Schaller, M, Simpson, J. & Kenrick, D. (2006). Evolution and Social Psychology. Psychology Press, New
York & Hove.
Sedikides, C. (2005) Close Relationships Whats in it for us? The Psychologist, 18, 8, pp. 490-493
Thomas, S.L., Skitka, L.J., Christen, S. & Jurgena, M. (2002) Social Facilitation and Impression
Formation. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 24(1), 67-70.
Wright, S.C. & Taylor, D.M. (2003) The Social Psychology of Cultural Diversity: Social Stereotyping,
Prejudice and Discrimination. In M.A. Hogg & J. Cooper (Eds), The Sage Handbook of Social
Psychology (pp. 432-57). Sage, London.

Ebooks
There are a number of useful social psychology resources available as electronic books to read
instantly from your computer. Search for these via Summon, follow the link from the student
portal ask in the library or try this link:
https://tsr.cardiffmet.ac.uk/Learning/Library/eleclib/Pages/default.aspx
Type social psychology and select books and available as full text online for a list of ebooks
available through Cardiff Met library.
Journals
There are a number of journals that are relevant to social psychology. The following are
available either as paper based or electronic journals in the library:
British Journal of Social Psychology
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Current Research in Social Psychology

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Journal of Social Psychology
Social Psychology
The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology

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