THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Psychology

Undergraduate Course: Organisational Psychology (PSYL10165)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will provide an introduction to a number of core topics within the broad field of organisational psychology. We will begin by defining organisational and work psychology, differentiating three levels of study - the individual, the team and the organisation. The majority of the course will focus on the first two of these levels, with the later weeks focused at the broader organisational level. The topics covered will be mapped to the BPS accreditation for Organisational Psychology, to give students an understanding of scope of this professional field.
Course description The first five weeks of the course will focus on the individual and the organisation. We will, approximately, follow the life-cycle of an employee, discussing topics such as vocational interests, selection and assessment, performance and workplace motivation, and organisational health (primarily stress). This material will draw extensively from work in individual differences (personality and cognitive ability) and quantitative methods (psychometrics psychological testing).

Next, we will consider the importance of teams in the workplace. In thinking about teams, we will consider leadership - with a focus on the interaction of leaders with there employees (leader-member exchange). This content will draw on both individual differences and social psychology.

In the final two weeks, we will discuss organisational level topics. Here we will focus on how organisational climate and culture are determined.

The course will be delivered via a mixture of traditional lecture and in class discussion and debate.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Psychology 2A (PSYL08011) AND Psychology 2B (PSYL08012)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting 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.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  0
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 165 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Mid: Group presentation (30%)
Final: Essay (70%)
Feedback There will be weekly discussions where students will be able to gauge their
understanding of the core content of lectures, as well as feedback on the mid-
course presentations.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Describe and critically evaluate how psychological theories inform organisational practice at the level of the individual.
  2. Describe and critically evaluate how psychological theories inform organisational practice at the level of the team.
  3. Describe and critically evaluate how psychological theories inform organisational practice at the level of the organisation.
  4. Understand the interplay between the individual, team and organisation in evaluating organisational phenomena.
  5. Critically evaluate evidence from psychological studies into organisational phenomena.
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Students on this course will develop their skills in problem solving and analytic thinking, independent learning and thinking, planning and time management, team working, influencing, and verbal and written communication skills.

BPS: Differential, Social
KeywordsNot entered
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