Students of the Dutch bachelor’s programme, see Sociale en Organisatiepsychologie
Entry requirements
None
Description
Social psychology studies how others influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviour in personal or work-related situations, and how we in turn affect others.This course introduces students to the main theories and findings in this field. The underlying processes relate to:
Social observation and social cognition (e.g. how do we form an impression of others);
Attitudes ( e.g. how do we form an opinion, and how can it be influenced); and
Behaviour in groups ( e.g. how are joint decisions made).
A good understanding of these processes helps us to gain insight into how people function in work situations such as:
Assessment and selection ( e.g. can we prevent stereotyping from affecting career decisions?);
Motivation and leadership ( e.g. can a manager make people feel committed to their work?); and
Cooperation and team performance ( e.g. can the team perform better than its individual members?).
Course objectives
By the end of this course, the student:
will have knowledge of general theoretical principles in social and organisational psychology
will be able to apply this theoretical knowledge to human behavior in organisations and, more broadly, in social settings
will be able to present a structured written analysis of an everyday phenomenon using theories from social and organisational psychology
will be able to demonstrate concepts and empirical findings from social and organisational psychology to a broad audience.
Timetable
For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
Registration
Education
First-year bachelor students are assigned to and registered for all course components in the first academic year by the education administration of their bachelor programme. The programme will communicate to these students for which course components and for which period the registration applies;
If applicable, minor students, premaster students, exchange students and external guest students will be informed by the education administration about the current registration procedure;
All other students, including resit students, must register themselves for all course components (lectures, werkgroups and/or and practicals) they wish to follow. You can register up to 5 days before the start of the course.
Exams
First-year bachelor students will need to register themselves for resit exams in My Studymap. Registration for resit exams is open from 30 to 10 days before the exam date. Don’t forget! First-year bachelor students are registered for all regular exams (not resits) in the first academic year by the education administration of their bachelor programme. For more information, see the enrolment procedure;
If applicable, minor students, premaster students, exchange students and external guest students will be informed by the education administration about the current registration procedure;
All other students, including resit students, must register themselves for exams and resits. You can register up to 10 days before the exam. Don’t forget! For more information, see the enrolment procedure.
You cannot take an exam without a valid registration in My Studymap.
Mode of instruction
14 2-hour lectures and 4 2-hour work group session
Attendance at the workgroup sessions is mandatory. See Brightspace for more information.
Assessment method
Written examination with multiple-choice questions.
Presentation and writing assignment in work group sessions
The final mark reflects the weighed average of the exam grade (70%) and the average grade for the two work group assignments (30%).
Knowledge and insight are tested through a multiple choice exam. Application of knowledge and insight are tested through the two workgroup assignments involving a presentation and a written analysis. If the grade average of these two assignments is insufficient (i.e. if the workgroup grade is below a 5.50) students can again hand in the written analysis as a retake. Because all students have already received both plenary and individual feedback on this writing assignment, the maximum for this retake assignment is a sufficient grade (6.00).
You will be informed about the method of inspection and feedback of the examination via Brightspace in due course.
The Institute of Psychology uses fixed rules for grade calculation. It also follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. All students are required to take and pass the Scientific Integrity Test with a score of 100% in order to learn about the practice of integrity in scientific writing. Students are given access to the quiz via a module on Brightspace. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of these two policies.
Reading list
To be announced before November 2025
Contact information
Dr. Hester Ruigendijk (coördinator) h.a.h.ruigendijk@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Teacher: Dr. H.A.H. Ruigendijk (Dr. E.A.C. van Leeuwen will teach the Dutch version of this course)