Undergraduate Course: Moral Psychology in the Real World (PSYL10177)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines how we can use moral psychology to address real world problems. Throughout the course we will take several global issues and examine the psychological theory and findings that can impact our understanding of these issues, as well as possible ways to address them. |
| Course description |
This course examines how we can apply moral psychology to global problems. Throughout the course we will address a number of problems, for example global poverty, factory farming, and climate change. For each, we will examine the psychological literature that informs our understanding of these problems including (a) barriers to solving these problems and (b) mechanisms to overcome these barriers.
The goals of the course are to:
(a) Understand the scope and impact of world problems
(b) Learn about theory and findings in the scientific literature that inform our understanding of world problems
(c) Identify limitations in available knowledge and propose research questions/programs to address these limitations
(d) Apply knowledge of literature and limitations to propose methods to address these problems
The course will develop students' critical analysis and writing and offer transferable skills (applying scientific literature to real-world problems).
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should be studying Psychology as their degree major, and have completed at least 3 Psychology courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission.
**Please note that upper level Psychology courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.** These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 4,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Info
Midterm: Recorded poster 30%
Final: Essay 70% 2000 words
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| Feedback |
Formative feedback provided on first assessment to support development of second assessment. All feedback will be written/verbal. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of large-scale global problems and their effects.
- Critically examine scientific literature to identify relevant research that may help us to understand psychological barriers to addressing real-world problems.
- Critically evaluate the literature to identify areas that require more knowledge/data to inform and address real-world problems.
- Apply knowledge of literature and problems to propose an intervention to address a real-world problem.
- Critically evaluate the intervention to identify limitations, strengths etc.
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Reading List
Indicative reading might include:
Caviola, L., Everett, J. A. C., & Faber, N. S. (2019). The moral standing of animals: Towards a psychology of speciesism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116(6), 1011-1029. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000182
Crimston, D., Bain, P. G., Hornsey, M. J., & Bastian, B. (2016). Moral expansiveness: Examining variability in the extension of the moral world. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111(4), 636-653. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000086
Karlan, D., & Wood, D. H. (2014). The Effect of Effectiveness: Donor Response to Aid Effectiveness in a Direct Mail Fundraising Experiment. https://doi.org/10.3386/w20047
Kogut, T., & Ritov, I. (2005). The "identified victim" effect: An identified group, or just a single individual? Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 18(3), 157-167. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.492
Lewis, J., & Small, D. (2019). Ineffective Altruism: Giving Less When Donations Do More Good. Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3399121
Schubert, S., Caviola, L., & Faber, N. S. (2019). The Psychology of Existential Risk: Moral Judgments about Human Extinction. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50145-9
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course will develop students' skills in research and enquiry in evaluating and understanding scientific literature, thinking creatively, applying knowledge to new domains, and communicating research and research ideas. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Matti Wilks
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Susan Scobie
Tel: (0131 6)51 5505
Email: |
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