Rationale
This module provides an introduction to key theories and approaches in Social and Developmental Psychology.
Social Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of human social behaviour, experience and thought. Developmental Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of systematic changes in human psychology across an individual’s lifespan, particularly cognitive, perceptual, social and emotional development in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. This module describes the biological, psychological, social and cognitive processes through which behaviour, thought and feelings are acquired and developed.
This module provides the foundations for Social and Developmental Psychology at Level 5. In order to do so, this module will introduce the historical evolution of Social and Development Psychology in terms of the shifting paradigms of wider psychological research, including Psychoanalysis, Gestalt, Behavioural, Evolutionary, Cognitive and Symbolic Interactionist psychology. This will serve to give students an awareness of the multiple perspectives from which social and developmental research emanates and the wider variety of settings in which it is applied.