Dr Thomas Reader

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Organisational and Social Psychology. This course is not available as an outside option.

PB402 teaches on core theory, research, and practice from the field of organisational and social psychology. It aims to have students reflect on organisations in their entirety, and then analyse how the psychological processes within them determine individual, group, and institutional outcomes. The course has a particular focus on the social psychological processes that occur in organisations (e.g., culture, group dynamics, building identity), and provides multidisciplinary coverage of the organisational contexts in which psychologists work. A basic familiarity with psychological methods is assumed, but their application within organisational processes and contexts will be examined in detail within the course. Issues and techniques in organisational analysis, discourse, identity, culture, groups, decision-making, leadership, and change management are covered.

Lectures will present core material for major concepts and theories in organisational and social psychology, and seminars will provide an interactive space to explore their meaning, significance, and application. The main themes covered will include: 1) Introduction to organisational and social psychology: for example, on culture and decision-making; 2) Groups in organisations: for example on identity and leadership; and 3) Organisational life: for example on well-being and change. The course will draw on core academic theory in organisational and social psychology, and also examples of research and practice by the teachers.

20 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars

Additionally, 10 hours of Bridging Theory and Practice in Organisational and Social Psychology seminars/workshops across AT/WT/ST.

Students will be expected to produce two pieces of written work in AT, which will form the base for their written summative coursework.

Reading lists on specific topics will be distributed during the course. Texts which are recommended for general use throughout the course are:



S Clegg & C Handy, Studying Organisations: Theory and Method, Sage, 1998;

E Schein, Organizational Psychology Then and Now: Some Observations, Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior , 2015 2:1, 1-19

G Morgan, Images of Organisation (2nd edn), Sage, 1997; A Bryman (Ed), Doing Research in Organisations, Routledge, 1988;

A Furnham, The Psychology of Behaviour at Work: The Individual in the Organisation, Psychology Press, 2005.

S Haslam, Psychology in Organisations: The Social Identity Approach, Sage, 2004.

P Spector, Industrial and Organisational Psychology: Research and Practice, John Wiley & Sons, 2012.

• 1 x 3500 word written assessment (e.g., case study, report, 75%), submitted in AT

• 1 x 1500  word written assessment (based on two empirical articles, 25%), submitted in AT