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Master
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Psychology: Social Influence (track)

Study programme

Psychology: Social Influence

The Social Influence Master's track is a one-year programme. It trains you to apply social-psychological knowledge and scientifically grounded methods to analyse, empirically investigate, and impact real-world human behaviour, with an emphasis on behaviour with societal implications.
  • Semester 1

    The first semester includes four courses, each carrying 6 ECTS credits, spanning from September to December.

    In September and October, students will study the Fundamentals of Behavioural Change, learn to analyse real-world human behaviour, and will specialize in Emotional Influence in a series of lectures, tutorials and practical assignments.

    In November and December, the curriculum shifts to Applying Research Methods through lectures and tutorials, and the Advanced Social Influence in a Complex World course alongside with a series of tutorials delving into the intricacies of studying and applying behavioural influence in various complex settings.

  • Semester 2

    The second semester starts in January with a Master’s thesis, where you cement your theoretical knowledge and academic skills, followed by the Master’s internship, which you will do in an external organisation, where you learn how to translate your academic knowledge and skills to an applied context.

  • Internship

    You will spend three (or more) months at a company or institution involved in influencing human behaviour, such as an advertising agency, market research agency, municipality, or training and assessment agency. Alternatively, you may opt for a research internship, which involves working on elements of an ongoing research project under the supervision of a researcher. Before and during your internship you will participate in a series of workshops and intervision meetings that will help you to select and pursue an internship that suits your interests.

  • Thesis

    The goal of the master’s thesis is to gain hands-on experience with the generation of the fundamental knowledge on which evidence-based interventions are built, to improve empirical research skills and to specialise in a specific topic. You will conduct an empirical study within the research programme of one of the scientific researchers in the Social Psychology department. During this project, you will complete the entire empirical cycle: formulating a research question, developing the empirical study, collecting data, analysing and reporting data and interpreting, discussing and presenting the results.

     

     

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Behavioural Influence
    6

    In this course the motivational and social-cognitive factors underlying behavioral influence will be thoroughly explored and used towards better understanding of commercial and noncommercial forms of behavioral influence. For example the effectiveness and coherence of different strategies behind advertising campaigns will be examined as well as (non-) governmental information campaigns.

  • Developing Interventions
    6

    The course teaches how to develop, carry-out, and evaluate an effective, evidence-based behavioral change intervention. These interventions are created for different kind of societal issues in which a change in human behavior is (part of) the solution (e.g., alcohol abuse among teenagers, public littering, discrimination in organizations, obesity, etc.). As social psychologists are experts in social behavior, they are often consulted in order to help solve these issues.

  • Master's Internship Social Influence
    18

    You will spend three (or more) months at a company or institution involved in influencing human behaviour, such as an advertising agency, market research agency, municipality, or training and assessment agency. Alternatively, you may opt for a research internship, which involves working on elements of an ongoing research project under the supervision of a researcher.

  • Master's Thesis Social Influence
    18

    You will conduct an empirical study within the research programme of one of the scientific researchers in the Social Psychology department. During this project, you will complete the entire empirical cycle: from formulating a research question, developing the empirical study and collecting data to analysing data and reporting on and presenting results. 

  • Applying Research Methods
    6

    This course will address basic research methods that are common when carrying out social and cultural psychology research, both fundamental and in the field. The topics are (quasi-)experimental research methods, surveys & questionnaire research methods, research across social and cultural contexts, Big Data research, and qualitative research methods.

  • Emotional Influence
    6

    The central question in this course is what role emotional expressions play in social influence, that is, when and how emotional expressions may contribute to a successful influence attempt. Themes that will be covered include (among other things) the social functions and dysfunctions of emotions, emotional contagion, the role of emotions in personal relationships, emotional influence in groups, the role of emotions in conflict and negotiation, the influence of emotional expressions in attitude change, customer service, and consumer behavior, and the role of emotional expressions in leadership and politics.

See more information in the course catalogue
'Unlike other programmes, this track goes beyond behavioural health change, offering a broader perspective on social influence.' Read Nanon's experience