BA (Hons) Social Sciences

This module provides you with an introduction to Social Sciences, starting with the historical origins of key disciplines in the nineteenth century. You will be introduced to key topics, debates and theories across three strands: Psychology, Sociology and Criminology.

You will develop an understanding of the key theoretical psychological approaches, such as behaviourism, psychodynamic theory, humanism and cognitive psychology. You will also be supported to identify the strengths and limitations of these approaches, as well as how they can be applied to a range of current topics of psychological enquiry.

You will explore a full range of topics of sociological interest up to the twenty-first century, such as the media, globalisation, the environment and digitalisation, considering how these social forces shape and are shaped in turn by the individual. You will also examine key debates, such as conflict vs consensus models of society and structure vs agency. You will be introduced to key topics and debates from criminology, such as behavioural, psychological and social models of crime, crime prevention, the criminal justice system, corporate crime, environmental crime, victimology and the potential reframing of crime as social harm through the lens of zemiology.

This module provides you with an introduction to Social Psychology, its historical origins, and present-day practical applications in education, social movements, politics, healthcare, and the environment. You will gain an overview of how your thoughts, feelings and behaviours can be shaped by other people, different social contexts, and the groups you feel you belong to. The module addresses major themes in Social Psychology such as the self in a social context, attitudes and persuasion, prosocial behaviour, stereotypes and prejudice, conformity and obedience, and aggression.

The focus will be on both theory and practice: you will be introduced to key theories that attempt to explain human behaviour in relation to other people, and you will also take part in a small-scale, student-led practical research task. The module will help you develop skills that can be applied in a range of contexts involving groups and social interaction.

This module provides you with an in-depth introduction to the physical, cognitive, emotional, moral and social development of individuals across the human lifespan, from infancy to late adulthood.

Drawing on key models and contemporary theories, you will develop an awareness of developmental norms, and of how environmental, social and cultural factors interact to shape human growth and behaviour across the lifespan. You will also examine key principles of development such as nature and nurture. You will explore major developmental stages, including early childhood, adolescence and ageing, and consider how social institutions such as family, health and education could influence development.

Practical application will be a focus throughout the module: you will examine how developmental psychology informs the work of professionals in education, social care and criminal justice.

This module will explore the interconnected concepts of inclusion, diversity and equality, and their implications for individuals, society, organisations, communities, families and policy makers. You will draw on a range of theoretical and professional perspectives to develop an understanding of what equality and diversity mean in society.

You will be guided to make links between theory, practice and policy, including the legal and legislative context surrounding equality, diversity and inclusion. You will also examine the fundamental principles of ethical decision-making and ethical conduct, and their application within society and professional contexts.

By exploring the challenges and barriers to equality in society, you will develop knowledge of strategies for promoting inclusion and diversity. You will also be equipped with the skills to review and critically assess current practices in professional settings.

The purpose of this module is to enable you to demonstrate academic understanding of the topic, while also developing transferable skills that directly relate to employment in a range of vocational areas.

This module spans a wide range of applied psychological research, theory and practice relating to the promotion of physical and mental health and the treatment of illness. The core themes include health psychology, behavioural medicine and mental illness. In addition to mental and physical health, you will explore key concepts concerning the origin, presentation and treatment of common and prevalent mental health concerns. You will also be introduced to the social and cultural issues surrounding mental health, including stigma and diagnosis.

Throughout the lectures, the continuity between research and applied intervention will be emphasised, and you will examine examples of modern advances in these areas.

This module will introduce you to the concept of social divisions and provide you with an in-depth exploration of several key examples relevant to twenty-first century society, including class, gender, race, age, LGBT+, physical and mental health, disabilities and global divisions. You will consider key moments in the historical, social, cultural and political trajectories of these divisions, as well as the patterns and trends impacting members across a variety of social institutions, such as the family, education, health, housing, politics, employment and the media. You will also examine whether or not patterned inequalities are necessarily a negative aspect of a functioning society.

The module builds on themes related to conflict vs consensus views on society introduced in Introduction to Social Sciences (Level 4). It also develops the key terms and legislation covered in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (Level 4), widening the lens from individuals and workplaces to explore inequalities across society. In addition, this module will prepare you for arguments and trends explored in more detail in Race, Racism and Cultural Identity (Level 6) and Global Challenges and Conflicts (Level 6).

This module will introduce you to a range of key sociological theories surrounding crime and deviance, including how these differ from biological or psychological explanations, from Merton’s strain theory to cultural criminology. You will then focus on the media and explore its relationship with crime and deviance, including the extent to which the media marginalises or amplifies sociological explanations over others. This relationship will be investigated through case studies relating to a range of social forces and social variables, such as law-breaking linked to civil disobedience or rebellion, eco-crimes and crimes involving digital technology. You will also investigate and critique trends and patterns in media portrayals and their potential impacts on public understanding.

The module will also consider global crimes such as people trafficking, which will provide a foundation for some of the topics explored further in Global Challenges and Conflicts (Level 6). You will be encouraged to critically examine the multifaceted relationship between media and crime, exploring media representations as integral to ongoing narratives and considering digital media as a potential context for criminal activity.

This module explores the diversity of individual differences in a range of contexts. You will examine classic and contemporary research on personality and intelligence, including the ways these factors influence thought and behaviour in different settings. You will also consider how individual characteristics interact with social and environmental factors to shape behaviour in a variety of contexts relevant to the Social Sciences.

You will gain an understanding of approaches to and determinants of individual differences, including type and trait approaches to personality, theories and measurement of intelligence, and the role of heritability, the environment and social interaction. You will be encouraged to critically evaluate and debate different tools and methods used for measuring individual differences, such as personality traits and intelligence.

You will also will develop an understanding of additional needs and disabilities as a key aspect of individual difference across the lifespan. In addition, raising awareness of the needs of children in care, refugees, English for Speakers of Other Languages will be included. You will consider the importance of social inclusion within society and its institutions. The module emphasises the importance of recognising and supporting individual differences within educational and societal contexts. By examining current research, policies, and practices, students will gain insights into effective strategies for supporting individuals with learning disabilities and highlight the importance of working effectively as part of a multi-agency team, in order to best meet individual needs. 

This module will provide you with core knowledge and understanding of approaches to explaining criminal behaviour and its impact upon individuals and society. Moreover, it will give an account of psychological factors that help explain crime at both a general level and in terms of specific offences. It looks at how crime commission, crime detection and crime reduction are influenced by psychological factors. The possible relationships between psychology and crime have generated a significant amount of public interest in recent years (which is manifested in examples such as the proliferation of films, TV programmes and books on issues such as serial murder). This module will explore some of the ways in which psychological perspectives contribute to the day-to-day operation of criminal justice and our engagements with both perpetrators and victims of crime. 

This module will build from “Social Divisions and Inequalities” (Level 5) by focusing on the topics of race and ethnicity and critically evaluating, across a variety of domains, their ongoing relevance as social forces in the twenty-first century UK. You will consider biological and cultural explanations of race alongside sociological, including in terms of how they feed into historical justifications for explicit racism. You will explore arguments that the racism of the twenty-first century is distinct from the racism of previous centuries and consider evidence of ongoing institutional racism in key UK institutions such as education, housing, employment, health-care, the beauty industry, the criminal justice system and the media, with comparisons made towards other cultural and political contexts where appropriate. Whiteness will be evaluated as a racial construct that seeks to remain invisible, as will arguments that certain white ethnicities are now being weaponized through political discourse and the media. Mixedness will be investigated as a category relatively newly recognized by official forms such as the UK census, producing its own lived experiences. While the focus is concertedly on race, the module will show that one aspect of race’s functioning is its influence on the lived experience of other social variables such as class, gender, mental health, sexuality and trans status.