Entry requirements
Only open to master’s students in Psychology with specialisation Economic and Consumer Psychology.
Description
This course offers a psychological perspective on communication in an economic and consumer psychology setting—such as health, sustainability, or prosocial behaviour. We will cover insights from (economic and consumer) psychology and communication science using a blended learning approach: In lectures, students will learn psychological principles of influence, effective communication strategies, and media effects. In workgroups, students will use this knowledge to develop an evidence-based persuasive message (e.g., poster, video, app) and communication strategy (e.g., what to communicate to whom, when, where). At the end of the course, students hand in a report with the evidence-based reasoning for their persuasive message and communication strategy, including a plan to measure its effectiveness. In addition, there will be an exam testing the knowledge about basic principles of the psychology of media and communication.
Course objectives
On completion of the course, the students:
Have knowledge about the basic principles of the psychology of influence, effective communication strategies, and media effects;
Know how to apply this knowledge to predict the effectiveness of concrete messages;
Know how to apply this knowledge to create an evidence-based communication strategy for an economic and consumer psychology case; and
Can give expert advice to companies and/or institutions regarding the psychology of influence and the development of evidence-based communication strategies.
Timetable
For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
Registration
NOTE As of the academic year 2021-2022, you must register for all courses in uSis.
You do this twice a year: once for the courses you want to take in semester 1 and once for the courses you want to take in semester 2.
Registration for courses in the first semester is possible from early August. Registration for courses in the first semester is possible from December. The exact date on which the registration starts will be published on the website of the Student Service Center (SSC)
By registering for a course you are also automatically registered for the Brightspace module. Anyone who is not registered for a course therefore does not have access to the Brightspace module and cannot participate in the first sit of the exam of that course.
Also read the complete registration procedure
Mode of instruction
Four 2-hour lectures and five 2-hour work group sessions:
Lectures: to cover the relevant literature on the psychology of influence.
Work group sessions: to work on the persuasive message and the media and communication strategy.
Attendance to all meetings (workgroups and lectures) is mandatory.
Assessment method
The final grade is based an exam (50% of final grade) and a report (50% of final grade):
The exam assesses knowledge about the psychology of effective communication and media effects.
The report describes an evidence-based persuasive message and communication strategy.
Please note:Final grade should be at least a 6.0: The grade for the exam should be 5.5 or higher and the grade for the report should be a 6.0 or higher.
The exam covers Van de Pligt & Vliek (2016) and the lectures.
The Institute of Psychology follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of this fraud policy.
Reading list
In the work groups, we will use:
Buunk, A.P. & Van Vugt, M. (2013). Applying Social Psychology: From problems to solutions. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
In the lectures, we will cover:Van der Pligt, J., & Vliek, M. L. W. (2016). The psychology of Influence: Theory, research and application. London: Psychology Press (Routledge).
Reading before the start of the course:
- Cialdini, R.B. (2007). Influence. The Psychology of Persuasion. New York: Collins.
Contact information
Dr. Marret Noordewier m.k.noordewier@fsw.leidenuniv.nl