production
Skip to Content

PI4086: INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY (2022-2023)

Last modified: 31 Jul 2023 11:19


Course Overview

This course investigates issues at the intersection of psychology and international politics, studying both the psychological causes and consequences of international relations. In addition to familiarising students with core concepts and methods of international political psychology, it develops their skills in analysing factors such as personality, beliefs, perception, emotions, trust, empathy, status, reputation, and social identity.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Session First Sub Session Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Philippe Beauregard

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Either Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • Any Undergraduate Programme
  • Either International Relations (IR) or Politics (PI)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

  • PI4586 International Political Psychology (Passed)

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

Nearly all aspects of international politics depend on how people think and feel, including the decisions that leaders and their teams make and the impact of that they have on multiple communities, how social movements and political parties seek to shape the political agenda, how diplomats negotiate agreements over complex problems, and how responses to world events fuel powerful emotions in the public and elites. Bringing to light and clarifying the psychological dimensions of international theories can help improve them and better define their scope. It suggests novel hypotheses to some of the most puzzling aspects of international politics, such as the reason that war occurs, the breakout of ethnic violence, the intractable nature of protracted conflicts, enduring and even increasing inequalities, the persistence of colonial, racist and sexist injustices, the difficulty of cooperating over issues like pandemics and the climate crisis, and the apparent irrationality of some leaders. International Relations and Political Psychology are two subfields that already mobilise insight from several disciplines and fields of research. Their combination offers powerful tools to better understand and analyse international politics, and in doing so, we can reconsider our own patterns of thinking, feeling, and engaging with the world. In lectures that will guide students’ research, seminars for in-depth discussions, and writing tasks to develop their analytical skills, students will further their understanding of topics such as personality, beliefs, perception, emotions, trust, empathy, status, reputation, and social identity.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

Research Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks 12,13,14,15,16,17,18 Feedback Weeks 16,17,18,19,20

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Written feedback will be provided via MyAberdeen with specific criteria that will be provided to the students early in the session.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ProceduralAnalyseAnalyse the specific ways the psychology of actors is involved in their decisions, behaviour, and responses regarding international politics.
ProceduralEvaluateAssess processes of international politics from a psychological perspective and appraise the impact and relative importance of relevant factors.
ProceduralUnderstandUnderstand the critical role of human psychology in contemporary international relations, including recognising key concepts and theories.
ReflectionCreateDesign research to investigate questions of international politics with a psychological perspective.

Seminar Presentations

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 30
Assessment Weeks 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18 Feedback Weeks 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Best practice on how to engage in the seminar will be discussed. Written feedback will be provided after each short presentation. The final grade will be based on effort in participating in the seminar and on improvement through the course of the session.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ProceduralAnalyseAnalyse the specific ways the psychology of actors is involved in their decisions, behaviour, and responses regarding international politics.
ProceduralEvaluateAssess processes of international politics from a psychological perspective and appraise the impact and relative importance of relevant factors.
ProceduralUnderstandUnderstand the critical role of human psychology in contemporary international relations, including recognising key concepts and theories.
ReflectionCreateDesign research to investigate questions of international politics with a psychological perspective.

Book Review Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 30
Assessment Weeks 8,9,10,11,12 Feedback Weeks 11,12,13,14,15

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Best practice will be discussed during the seminar, and feedback will be provided via e-mail.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ProceduralAnalyseAnalyse the specific ways the psychology of actors is involved in their decisions, behaviour, and responses regarding international politics.
ProceduralEvaluateAssess processes of international politics from a psychological perspective and appraise the impact and relative importance of relevant factors.
ProceduralUnderstandUnderstand the critical role of human psychology in contemporary international relations, including recognising key concepts and theories.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ReflectionCreateDesign research to investigate questions of international politics with a psychological perspective.
ProceduralAnalyseAnalyse the specific ways the psychology of actors is involved in their decisions, behaviour, and responses regarding international politics.
ProceduralUnderstandUnderstand the critical role of human psychology in contemporary international relations, including recognising key concepts and theories.
ProceduralEvaluateAssess processes of international politics from a psychological perspective and appraise the impact and relative importance of relevant factors.

Compatibility Mode

We have detected that you are have compatibility mode enabled or are using an old version of Internet Explorer. You either need to switch off compatibility mode for this site or upgrade your browser.