This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

PSY3150 - Contemporary social psychology

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Organisational Unit

School of Psychological Sciences

Coordinator(s)

TBA

Offered

Not offered in 2016

Synopsis

This unit presents contemporary theories and methods in social psychology. A social cognitive perspective is used to examine issues such as evolutionary social psychology, self-concepts, attitudes, counterfactual thinking, self-deception and group behaviour. Particular emphasis is placed upon the application of social psychological theories to issues such as psychological health, social problems such as racism, political processes, advertising and health promotion.

Outcomes

On the completion of this unit students will:

understand recent theoretical advances in social cognition research, and how these might contribute to addressing social problems;
develop skills in the critical evaluation of social psychological theories, and the types of research designs that can be used to test social psychological hypothesis; and
be able to apply these skills in developing an individual research topic.

Assessment

Multiple choice exam (2 hours) (60%)
Critical appraisal of current theoretical and research literature (2,000 words) (40%)

Hurdle: Students must pass the examination to achieve a pass for this unit.

Workload requirements

Two 1 hour lectures per week and one 2 hour tutorial per fortnight.

Attendance at tutorials is required in order to successfully complete in-class activities and related assessment tasks.