An introduction to social psychology

Within the realm of psychology, social psychology is concerned with how the behaviour and thoughts of an individual are influenced by the social contexts that they are in, ie other people and groups around them. This course explores a number of differing contexts (small groups and crowds) and examines whether anything that humans do is free of 'the social'.

Course details

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Start Date

13 Jul 2025

Duration

5 Sessions over one week

End Date

19 Jul 2025

Application Deadline

29 Jun 2025

Location

International Summer Programme

Code

W15Am34

Tutors

Dr John Lawson

Director of Studies at Girton College; Research Alumni Associate at the Autism Research Centre with the Department of Psychiatry; Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Oxford Brookes University

Aims

This course aims you to:

• gain an understanding of what social psychology is and how it is distinct from other forms
of psychology

• become aware of the many different forms of social context that are examined in social psychology

• appreciate the extent to which individual behaviour and thought are influenced by these social contexts

Content

This course is designed as a general introduction to social psychology and focuses on how differing kinds of social contexts influence human thought and behaviour. The contexts to be considered reflect the wide range of ways in which ‘the social’ can manifest in our daily lives. We begin by exploring how being in a crowd influences the individual before refocussing onto small group interactions. The focus then shifts onto the use of non-verbal communication in, typically, dyadic interactions. The final topic will examine how these different kinds of context actually shape and influence who we are. The specific topics have been chosen to give a broad ‘taste’ of the wide range of issues that social psychologists study. Aside from examining specific topics within the discipline, the course will also explore how social psychology has developed in methodological and historical terms over the last century.

Presentation of the course

The five sessions will involve lecture presentation of material but will involve a high degree of group discussion and debate.

Course sessions

1. What is social psychology?

2.    Crowd psychology

3.    Small group dynamics

4.    Non-verbal communication

5. The social ‘self’

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course.

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• to gain an understanding of what social psychology is and how it is distinct from other forms
of psychology

• to become aware of the many different forms of social context that are examined in
social psychology

• to appreciate the extent to which individual behaviour and thought are influenced by these social contexts