Last modified: 4 Days, 20 Hours, 34 Minutes ago
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.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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One or more of these courses have a limited number of places. Priority access will be given to students for whom this course is compulsory. Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions for more details on this process.
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.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 12,13,14,15,16,17,18 | Feedback Weeks | 16,17,18,19,20 | |
| Feedback |
4,000-word Essay. Students choose their own research question based on a topic related to the course. Students will receive feedback from the lecturer on Turnitin within three weeks after the deadline to submit. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Analyse | Analyse the specific ways the psychology of actors is involved in their decisions, behaviour, and responses regarding international politics. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Assess processes of international politics from a psychological perspective and appraise the impact and relative importance of relevant factors. |
| Procedural | Understand | Understand the critical role of human psychology in contemporary international relations, including recognising key concepts and theories. |
| Reflection | Create | Design research to investigate questions of international politics with a psychological perspective. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18 | Feedback Weeks | 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18 | |
| Feedback |
Students will participate in a weekly seminar on topics related to the course. They will also read a book and present a summary of the book that they have read to their peers in the seminar. Students will receive feedback from the lecturer via email shortly (within 3 days) after their presentation. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Analyse | Analyse the specific ways the psychology of actors is involved in their decisions, behaviour, and responses regarding international politics. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Assess processes of international politics from a psychological perspective and appraise the impact and relative importance of relevant factors. |
| Procedural | Understand | Understand the critical role of human psychology in contemporary international relations, including recognising key concepts and theories. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
For students who have failed the seminar participation and presentation, they will instead write a 1,500-word essay on a different book than the one they selected for the presentation assessment. They will need to summarise the book and criticise it. Students will receive feedback from the lecturer on Turnitin within three weeks after the deadline to submit. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Re-submission of failed Research Essay. |
Word Count | 4000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Understand | Understand the critical role of human psychology in contemporary international relations, including recognising key concepts and theories. |
| Reflection | Create | Design research to investigate questions of international politics with a psychological perspective. |
| Procedural | Analyse | Analyse the specific ways the psychology of actors is involved in their decisions, behaviour, and responses regarding international politics. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Assess processes of international politics from a psychological perspective and appraise the impact and relative importance of relevant factors. |
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