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Dr Ilka Gleibs CON.4.13 and Prof Bradley Franks CON.3.07

This course is convened by Prof. Bradley Franks who has oversight of the classes and assessment. Lectures will be delivered by Dr Ilka Gleibs. Classes with be led by a Graduate Teaching Assistant with expertise in this area.

This course is available on the BSc in Psychological and Behavioural Science. This course is not available as an outside option nor to General Course students.

In any society and, in particular any successful organisation, understanding group dynamics, identity processes, and interpersonal skills are an essential element and often provide a competitive advantage in managing organisations of all sorts. Thus, the dynamics within and between groups directly informs the ability of individuals to think, learn, and innovate together. This course provides students with a critical understanding of the different theories and practices associated with identity and group dynamics in organisational settings and beyond. The objectives of the course are two-fold:

1. To introduce past and present theories of identity and group dynamics by introducing concepts used by social and organisational psychologists to understand and improve social and organisational behaviour.
2. To apply and critically evaluate how identity and group dynamics theory help us to explain and predict real-life experiences in social and organisational settings.

The course aims at highlighting how a better understanding of key social and organisational psychological concepts can contribute to understanding and managing the effectiveness of groups.

Examples of topics that will be covered include: Why group dynamics?; influence and power; identity and inclusion; collective behaviour; importance of groups on mental and physical health; performance and decision-making; diversity management; organisational change; group dynamics and the internet.

15 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the LT.

Lectures will be delivered jointly with PB425, an MSc level course in the department. Classes will be specific for BSc students.

In response to the current situation, it likely that lectures will be delivered online, either live or via pre-recorded short videos. Classes are likely to take place in person on campus. You will receive the same amount of teaching whether you are on campus or online.

There is a reading week in Week 6 of Lent term.

Students will be expected to produce 1 other piece of coursework and 1 other piece of coursework in the LT.

For each major and minor assessment option there is an equivalent piece of formative coursework. These are designed to help students to prepare for the summative assessments.

Formative coursework to support minor assessment

• Draft script for 10 minute presentation
• Draft script for 10 minute podcast
• Proposal for poster
• Proposal for visual media

Formative coursework to support major assessment

• Draft proposal for policy case study (500 words)
• Outline of essay (500 words)
• Draft parliamentary POSTnote (250 words) and annotated biblography (200 words)
• Draft blog post (250 words) and Draft OpEd (250 words)

• Brown, R. & Peherson, S. (2019). Group processes: Dynamics within and between groups. Oxford: Blackwell
• Forsyth, D. R. (2019). Group dynamics. 7th Ed.  Belmont CA: Cengage Learning
• Haslam, S.A., (2004). Psychology in Organisations. A Social Identity Approach. London: Sage
• Levi, D. (2013). Group dynamics for teams. Los Angeles: Sage

Assignment (30%) in the LT.
Assignment (70%) in the ST.

Students will choose ONE minor and ONE major assessment from the lists below:

Minor Assessment (30%, due at the end of Lent Term)

• 10 minute recorded presentation
• 10 minute podcast
• A1 poster
• A5 visual media

Major Assessment (70%, due at the start of Summer Term)

• 3000 word Policy Case Study comprised of Executive Summary (250 words) and Proposal (2500 words)
• 3000 word Essay
• 1500 word parliamentary POSTnote with 1000 word annotated bibliography
• 1500 word blog post AND 1500 word OpEd

Students will need to confirm their choice of assessment by the end of LT4.

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.