PY0SDP: Social and Developmental Psychology

Module code: PY0SDP

Module provider: Psychology; School of Psych and Clin Lang Sci

Credits: 20

Level: F

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Yue Yue, email: yue.yue@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 April 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The core aims of this module are to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental theories and classic research studies within social and developmental psychology, and to explore the connections between individual human processes and the concept of sustainability.

• Introduce Foundational Knowledge: To enable students to grasp key theories, concepts, and seminal research in both social psychology and developmental psychology. 
• Explore Developmental Connections to Global Sustainability Goals to critically examine how individual developmental processes and psychological phenomena influence, and are influenced by, the wider societal and environmental issues encompassed by the concept of sustainability.
• Cultivate Academic Skills: To develop essential essay-writing skills, including the ability to construct a structured argument, perform analysis and evaluation of psychological research, and correctly apply academic referencing.
• Foster Critical Thinking: To encourage students to use psychological principles to contribute to informed discussions about building a sustainable future.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Outline concepts, research studies, and theories in both social psychology and developmental psychology.
2. Analyse and evaluate classic and contemporary psychological research, considering alternative theoretical perspectives. 
3. Develop academic writing skills, including formulating clear, structured argumentation, presenting ideas logically, supporting arguments with relevant evidence, and applying academic referencing accurately.

Module content

The module starts with introductory sessions: the Module Briefing and Assessment Briefing, designed to clearly outline the course structure, learning objectives, and assessment requirements.

Following the introduction, the lectures dive into the fundamental areas of Social Psychology. This section explores how individuals are shaped by and navigate their social environment, covering key areas below:

• The Social Mind: This topic examines how individuals perceive and interact with the social world, focusing on social cognition.
• Social Influence: This investigates how the behaviour of others affects an individual's thoughts, feelings, and actions, such as conformity.
• Interpersonal Relationships & Attraction: This session explores the psychological factors that drive the formation and maintenance of close relationships.
• Intergroup Relations: This is dedicated to studying the dynamics, conflicts, and cooperation that exist between different social groups.

The second section of the module shifts focus to Human Development Across the Life Span, with interactive sessions that tightly integrate the critical theme of sustainability into the individual growth. This approach is designed to help students explore how various facets of human development both contribute to and are shaped by the global pursuit of a sustainable future. 

• Human Development Across Life Span: This topic provides an overview of the developmental stages of individuals and examines their connections to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the life course.
• Perceptual Development: This session explores how early human perception develops and discusses how sensory cues shape our understanding and awareness of sustainability-related issues.
• Cognitive Development: This lecture introduces key theories of cognitive development, including those by Piaget and Vygotsky, alongside Theory of Mind and the developmental stages of perspective-taking. A guided discussion focuses on leveraging perspective-taking skills to promote sustainable decision-making.
• Social Development & Attachment: This session examines attachment theories and the development of moral and prosocial behaviours. It includes a guided discussion on Cultivating Ethical and Emotional Foundations for Sustainable Societies, exploring the social and emotional roots of ethical conduct.
• Developmental Diversity: This section explores the concept of Neurodiversity and the importance of promoting an inclusive society. It considers the valuable role that diverse ways of thinking play in addressing complex global challenges, which is essential for a Sustainable World.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module is delivered in person through a combination of lectures and interactive seminars. All teaching materials, including lecture and seminar slides, will be posted on Blackboard in advance of each session. Teaching is organised into weekly 2-hour lectures followed by 1-hour seminars. Assessment briefings for both formative and summative tasks will also be available on Blackboard. Students are expected to engage in weekly independent study using the reading list on TALIS, which provides essential materials for each topic.

Study hours

At least 33 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Essay Plan. Dedicated sessions will be provided to guide students through the process of structuring the plan and identifying relevant literature.
Group Feedback on the Essay Plan will be provided. This approach allows students to benefit from seeing common strengths and weaknesses, learn from peers' approaches, and clarify shared misunderstandings about the essay requirements.

Reassessment

Additional costs