Applied Research in Social Psychology (PSY405)

PSY405 Applied Research in Social Psychology is an advanced course that emphasises the real- world applications of social psychology. The course will discuss the relevance of applied social psychology for understanding and addressing real-world issues such as inequality, education, social behaviours, interpersonal relationships, public health, politics, and so on. The course will also provide hands-on experience in designing, conducting, analysing, and presenting applied research projects that address important issues in social psychology. Through this course, students will gain an appreciation of social psychology’s real-world applications and will also gain quantitative research experience. Basic knowledge of research methods (e.g., from PSY391) prior to taking this course is required.

• Theories in social psychology
• Controversies in social psychology
• Advancing social psychology
• Applied social psychology in the real world
• Social psychological interventions
• Conducting a literature review
• Designing social psychological studies
• Moderators and mediators
• Measurement issues in social psychology
• Making sense of quantitative data
• Presenting research findings
• The future of social psychology

• Examine how different theories and findings in social psychology can be applied in the real world
• Assess the strengths and limitations of different methodological approaches in applied social psychological research
• Formulate research questions based on gaps identified in previous research
• Design research studies to investigate key questions of interest in the field of social psychology
• Analyse and interpret quantitative data to address research questions in applied social psychology
• Propose plausible solutions and research directions on major issues in social psychology based on empirical evidence
• Critique research projects in applied social psychology