Psychology and social processes

General objectives The course of Groups’ Social Psychology is the theoretical bridge of social psychology with different other disciplines, including Work of Organizations Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Psychometrics. The general objective of the course is to offer a general overview of the theoretical concepts and the main methodological aspects of social psychology applied to group processes. The lectures will illustrate the theoretical references of the main structural and dynamic aspects of the groups. Practical activities contribute to develop and use the psychological skills of group analysis applied in real contexts. Specific objectives Knowledge and understanding skills. At the end of the course, the student will have a complete knowledge of the main social processes that characterize social groups, including entitativity, social identification, cohesion, socialization, leadership and power. Furthermore, this knowledge will also be developed with respect to some advanced topics such as the intergenerational transmission of group norms also in applied contexts (eg families, work groups), social robotics, interpersonal perception (in intimate relationships or perceived through social networks), or the spread of fake news in social networks. Moreover, this knowledge will be analyzed through the presentation of measurement tools and analysis of specific data on social psychology applied to groups. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. At the end of the course, the student will be able to apply the acquired knowledge in a competent, reflective and autonomous way. Thanks to the integration of practical lessons, exercises and the involvement of three external guests (researchers, professionals or experts), the student will be able to conceive, develop and apply the techniques and methods of Social Psychology to real group contexts. During the course, in fact, various discussions and practical exercises are carried out. Some topics will be deepened thanks to the help of guests who will deepen the theoretical contents proposed in real groups (eg sports groups, military groups, psychotherapy groups). Making judgments. Thanks to the basic theoretical skills of group psychology, the student will be able to autonomously develop reflections on the social behavior of groups and field research by collecting and interpreting data in an autonomous way, including reflection on social, scientific or ethical issues. Communication skills. The student will be asked to be able to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to specialists and non-specialists on the topic of groups’ social psychology. In fact, some themes will be investigated in small groups. Learning skills (learning skills). The student will have a complete overview of the processes, tools and methods of analysis of the groups’ social psychology in order to autonomously develop the analysis of social influence phenomena. During the course will be presented current and past texts of group psychology and in particular will be given indication on how and where to consult the scientific journals of the discipline to continue to update both through online libraries also through the search databases (ie Google Scholar).