Last modified: 25 Jun 2025 12:16
This course investigates issues at the intersection of politics, psychology, and climate change. It aims to develop the knowledge and skills of student to apply a political psychological analysis to global climate politics. It considers factors such as how personality, beliefs, perceptions, emotions, and identity impacts environmental issues.
| Study Type | Postgraduate | Level | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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Mitigating and adapting to global warming is a massive challenge confronting a wide range of political actors, including global organisations’ officials, state leaders, social movements, cities, local and regional communities, indigenous groups, and beyond. Major structural changes, creative policies, and innovations will be necessary to tackle climate change and its impacts. While climate scientists have been ringing the alarm about climate change for a long time, power dynamics are central to whether and how humans act on it. Their willingness to address climate change depends on how they feel, how they perceive the issues, and what they believe. In this course, we will study how personality, beliefs, perceptions, identities, emotions, and other psychological dynamics shape these political actors’ engagement with climate issues. We will also consider how information about climate change affects the minds of citizens around the world. A political and psychological lense suggests a new perspective on many political issues related to climate change, such as issues of justice, cooperation, leadership, collective action, and social identity. The combination of these two disciplines will offer powerful tools to students who can then use their skills to analyse, and maybe someday influence, global environmental politics.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | 19 | ||
| Feedback |
Students will be asked to participate actively in the weekly seminar and to make a 10-minute presentation to summarise one of the readings to the group. Students will receive feedback after their presentation, and will receive their marks in Week 19 when all seminars are over. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Analyse | Analyse how their political interests and psychology of actors are involved in their decisions and behaviour regarding global climate politics. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Assess processes of climate change politics from a political and psychological perspective, appraising the importance of relevant factors. |
| Procedural | Understand | Understand the role of politics and psychology in analysing issues related to climate change. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 19 | Feedback Weeks | 22 | |
| Feedback |
4,000-word Research Essay on a question of the students' choice. The question will be related to a topic connected to the course that they want to learn more about. The course coordinator will approve the question. Students will have the entire term to work on this assessment. They will be expected to submit their essay in the final week, and will receive feedback and their mark three weeks after submitting their essay. |
Word Count | 4000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Analyse | Analyse how their political interests and psychology of actors are involved in their decisions and behaviour regarding global climate politics. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Assess processes of climate change politics from a political and psychological perspective, appraising the importance of relevant factors. |
| Procedural | Understand | Understand the role of politics and psychology in analysing issues related to climate change. |
| Reflection | Create | Design research to investigate questions of climate politics from a political and psychological perspective. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Just like the main assessment, students will need to summarise a paper and present it in a 10-minute presentation, but for the resit they will be asked to record their presentation using Panopto and send it to the course coordinator instead of doing it in front of the class. Students will receive feedback three weeks after submission. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Resubmission of failed essay. The mark for the presentation will be carried forward, if passed. Students will receive feedback and their mark three weeks after submitting their essay. |
Word Count | 4000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Understand | Understand the role of politics and psychology in analysing issues related to climate change. |
| Procedural | Analyse | Analyse how their political interests and psychology of actors are involved in their decisions and behaviour regarding global climate politics. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Assess processes of climate change politics from a political and psychological perspective, appraising the importance of relevant factors. |
| Reflection | Create | Design research to investigate questions of climate politics from a political and psychological perspective. |
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