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SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY - BPS205

Duration (approx) 100 hours
Qualification To obtain formal documentation the optional exam(s) must be completed which will incur an additional fee of £30. Alternatively, a letter of completion may be requested.

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

  • Learn about social cognition, understand schemas and social perception.
  • Study topics include conformity, compliance, attribution, cultural influences and much more.
  • A 100 hour course written and taught by professionals with real-world experience.

 

 

 

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Study this Social Psychology course and learn about stereotypes, prejudice, interpersonal attraction, aggression, attitude change and much more.

Gain a fascinating insight into how people behave in social settings and why their behaviour can change. In this course, you will learn more about -

  • 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 primary affect.
  • 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.

 

HOW THE COURSE WORKS

You can start the course at any time.

It is studied by distance learning, so you can study in the comfort of your own home. But this doesn't mean you are all alone in your studies.  Our highly qualified and friendly tutors are there to help you every step of the way.  If you have any questions at all, they are always happy to help.

Each lesson includes set tasks, and is completed with an assignment which the student submits to their course tutor.  The tutor will mark the assignment and return this to the student with comments and suggestions for further reading.

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.

WHY ACS?

  • Our courses are written and taught by experienced professionals, so you know you can expect a high quality of teaching and support.
  • You can start the course at any time and study at your own pace. 
  • Fit your studies around your own busy lifestyle - we provide full tutor support for all the time you are studying.
  • Study where you want to - online studies offer the flexibility for you to determine where and when you study.

 

WHY SHOULD YOU STUDY THIS COURSE? 

Social Psychology is a fascinating area of psychology.

Studying social psychology will increase your knowledge of how human behaviour can change in a social situation and why.

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

 

WHO IS THIS COURSE SUITABLE FOR?

This course can be useful in a range of careers, such as -

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

 

ANY QUESTIONS?

Our Psychology tutors are more than happy to answer any questions on the course, please click on the link below to contact them.

FREE COURSE COUNSELLING SERVICE.

If you are ready to enrol, please click on the "Enrol Now" button on the right hand side of the page to start your journey into the fascinating world of social psychology.

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