Entry requirements
Only open to MSc Psychology (research) students
Description
Inter-group conflict is to an important extent rooted in the way people perceive the social world: Stereotypes and group-cues color judgements about in-group and out-group members. Thus, a logical way to improve inter-group relations is to change inter-group perceptions.
In the current course we discuss state-of-the-art cognitive and neuroscientific research on social categorisation, inter-group bias, stereotypes, and prejudice, and evaluate how this work can provide a starting points for designing interventions for inter-group conflict.
More specifically, the course has two aspects. For the first we discuss basic research on social perception. Students present research and learn to write professional reviews of research articles. For the second we discuss different intervention methods, based on for example inter-group contact or altering social categorisation. Students learn to apply these insights to problems in the context of inter-group relations. The final paper combines the two goals of first critically reviewing and synthesising basic research findings to alaye a problem and then applying these in developing an intervention strategy.
Course objectives
Upon completion of the course, students will have:
1. Learned about the psychology of bias in inter-group perceptions, and ways to reduce these
2. Learned to look critically at research, and practiced with writing professional review reports
3. Learned to apply theory and research and practiced with designing interventions for inter-group conflict
Together, the current course prepares for both a career-path within as well as outside academia (e.g. in social policy).
Timetable
For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
Registration
Education
Students must register themselves for all course components (lectures, tutorials and practicals) they wish to follow. You can register up to 5 days prior to the start of the course.
Exams
You must register for each exam in My Studymap at least 10 days before the exam date. You cannot take an exam without a valid registration in My Studymap. Carefully read all information about the procedures and deadlines for registering for courses and exams.
Exchange students and external guest students will be informed by the education administration about the current registration procedure.
Mode of instruction
7 2-hour work group sessions.
Attendance at the work group sessions is mandatory. See Brightspace for more information.
Assessment method
The final grade is based on:
organisation of a seminar (30%; objective 1, 2)
two review reports and two policy-recommendation reports (30%, objective 1, 2, 3)
a final paper in the form of an extensive policy recommendation report (40%, objective 1, 2, 3)
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. 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 this fraud policy.
Readings list
Selection of scientific articles, e.g.,
Cikara, M., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2014). The neuroscience of intergroup relations an integrative review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 245–274.
Dovidio, J. F., Gaertner, S. L., & Saguy, T. (2009). Commonality and the complexity of "we": Social attitudes and social change. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 13, 3-20.
Kawakami, K., Amodio, D. M., & Hugenberg, K. (2017). Intergroup perception and cognition: An integrative framework for understanding the causes and consequences of social categorization. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 55, 1-80.
Paluck, E. L., Porat, R., Clark, C. S., & Green, D. P. (2021). Prejudice Reduction: Progress and Challenges. Annual Review of Psychology, 72, 533-560.
Contact information
Prof. Dr. Daan Scheepers scheepersdt@fsw.leidenuniv.nl