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 Academic Year: | 2018/9 | |
| Owning Department/School: | Department of Psychology | |
| Credits: | 6 [equivalent to 12 CATS credits] | |
| Notional Study Hours: | 120 | |
| Level: | Honours (FHEQ level 6) | |
| Period: |
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| Assessment Summary: | CW 80%, OR 20% | |
| Assessment Detail: |
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| Supplementary Assessment: |
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| Requisites: | Before taking this module you must take PS10105 AND ( take 2 MODULES FROM {PS20104, PS20109} OR take PS20168 ) | |
| Description:
| Aims: The intention of this unit is: * To introduce the students to the centrality of morality in almost all aspects of social life * To introduce the students to a diverse, interdisciplinary, range of accounts of the nature and role of morality - spanning social, cognitive, developmental, philosophical, legal and biological perspectives. * To interrogate the implications of a moral analysis for rational-economic models of human action * To help the students explore the role of morality in processes of change at the personal, interpersonal, societal and global level in a range of domains such as health, the environment, public spending and taxation, military intervention and gender/racial equality. Learning Outcomes: In completing this unit students would be expected to: * Critically evaluate the various theoretical accounts of morality both within and beyond psychology * Critically examine the different levels of analysis at which the role of morality can be conceptualised * Assess and evaluate the empirical evidence for the utility of a moral account of human behaviour * Compare and contrast moral accounts of human behaviour with those of the rational (utility-maximising) actor * Critically examine the ways in which morality is constructed through various kinds of interpersonal, political and media discourse * Assess and evaluate the role of morality in processes of individual and social change Skills: * Comprehensive and scholarly written communication (e.g. essays) * Concise, time-bound and effective oral communication (e.g. oral presentations, group discussions) * Ability to select, summarise and synthesis written information from multiple sources * Ability to develop rigorous arguments through precise use of concepts and models * Ability to apply theory into practice * Ability to select and use appropriate ideas to produce a coherent response to a pre-set question * Ability to produce work to agreed specifications and deadlines * Ability to work independently, without close supervision of guidance * Ability to synthesize literature and ideas both within and beyond the discipline of psychology Content: The unit will explore a series of key questions, including: * What is morality and how can we study it? * What are the social, cognitive, developmental, philosophical, legal and biological perspectives on morality? * How can we be moral if we are supposedly inherently selfish? * How do we decide what is right and wrong (i.e. morally reason)? * In what ways is morality potentially crucial to public/political life? What role does the media potentially play? * Can shifts in morality drive individuals and collectives to fundamentally change how they think, talk and act? What might produce such shifts? * How might an understanding of moral psychology help us to approach a range of important real-world problems such as public health, climate change, shortages of public money (leading to cuts to public services), global terrorism and gender/racial inequality? | Before taking this module you are advised to take PS10105 AND take PS20104 AND take PS20109 |
| Programme availability: |
PS30165 is Optional on the following programmes:Department of Psychology
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Notes:
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