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Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington

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.

Political psychology is the study both of the workings of psychological processes in contemporary politics, and the impact of political and economic processes on individual and group behaviour. This course introduces the field in the form of a theoretical and empirical toolkit for examining the social psychological underpinnings of contemporary inequality and conflict between groups. We consider three broad approaches to conducting political psychology research, through focusing on individual attitudes, intergroup dynamics, and ideological discourse. We then evaluate how these lenses shed light on contemporary and enduring issues concerning intergroup inequality.

The course will explore the psychosocial processes underpinning prejudice and discrimination, and consider how they manifest in debates around migration, diversity, social mobility, and intergroup conflict. It will consider political participation in its conventional and non-conventional forms, asking why people vote the way they do, and when they will turn to the streets to protest. 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 and seminars 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 evolutionary, cognitive, social, ideological, and societal perspectives, students will be in a position to take stock of the field of political psychology and where it might go.

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.

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

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.

Hogg, M. A., & Abrams, D. (Eds.). (2001). Intergroup relations: Essential readings. Psychology Press.

Huddy, L., Sears, D. O., & Levy, J. S. (Eds.). (2013). The Oxford handbook of political psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Jetten, J., & Peters, K. (Eds.). (2019). The Social Psychology of Inequality. Springer International Publishing.

Moghaddam, F. (2008). Multiculturalism and intergroup relations: psychological implications for democracy in global context. Washington DC: APA.

Nesbitt-Larking, P. & Kinnvall, K. (2014) Handbook of Global Political Psychology. New York. Palgrave.

Payne, K. (2018). The broken ladder: How inequality affects the way we think, live, and die. Penguin.

Üskül, A. K., & Oishi, S. (Eds.). (2018). Socio-economic environment and human psychology: Social, ecological, and cultural perspectives. Oxford University Press.

Essay (100%, 3000 words) in the LT.