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Dr Cathryn Nicholson

This course is available on the MSc in Behavioural Science, MSc in Organisational and Social Psychology, MSc in Psychology of Economic Life, MSc in Social and Cultural Psychology and MSc in Social and Public Communication. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

The course looks at how psychology shapes political thinking and behaviour, as to  how sociopolitical contexts shape psychology. It introduces students to political psychology through three lenses, focusing on individual interpretations of their social reality,  intergroup dynamics, and ideological discourses. It then applies these lenses to the understanding of contemporary issues concerning intergroup inequality. We shall  explore the psychosocial processes underpinning racism and prejudice, and will ask why some conflicts are so intractable that make group boundary crossing so challenging.  We will consider political participation in its conventional and non-conventional forms, asking why people vote the way they do, and when they might  turn to the streets to protest. We will also apply a political psychology lens to examine contemporary challenges of societal inequality such as cultural diversity, the power of the past on the present, intergroup conflict and populism.  Students will be equipped with the conceptual tools to consider the psychological antecedents and consequences of inequality in its various forms to understand why intergroup hierarchy is so persistent, and how it might change.

Lectures aim to achieve a balance between theoretical and applied issues, critically investigating the ways in which psychology can enhance our understanding of intergroup relations and inequality, and also contribute to broader social and political debates. Through integrating  cognitive, social, ideological, and societal perspectives, we will be in a position to take stock of the field of political psychology and where it might be leading.

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the LT.

One short response paper (500-1000 words), that can be developed into an essay plan or blog post.

Augoustinos, M. & Reynolds, K. (2001). Understanding Prejudice, Racism and Social Conflict. London: Sage.

Bar-Tal, D. (2011). Intergroup conflicts and their resolution: A Social Psychological Perspective. Hove: Psychology Press.

Barlow, F. K., & Sibley, C. G. (Eds.). (2018). The Cambridge Handbook of the Psychology of Prejudice: Concise Student Edition. Cambridge University Press.

Billig, M. (1995). Banal Nationalism. London: Sage

Dixon, J., Levine, M., Reicher, S., & Durrheim, K. (2012). Beyond prejudice: Are negative evaluations the problem and is getting us to like one another more the solution?. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(6), 411-425.

Guinote, A. E., & Vescio, T. K. (2010). The social psychology of power. Guilford Press.

Hammack. P. (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Social Psychology and Social Justice. Oxford Library of Psychology.