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PSY-30160 - Module Specification
School of Psychology
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2024/25 Last Updated: 30 April 2024

PSY-30160 - Psychology of Climate Change
Coordinator: Sara Vestergren Tel: +44 1782 7 33669
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733736

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25


Aims
This module aims to provide students with a broader understanding of the human involvement in climate change, both in relation to the problem and the solution. This module will provide students with tools to critically reflect on individual, collective, societal, and global behaviours and concepts in relation to climate change.

Intended Learning Outcomes

critically appraise and apply relevant literature within specific areas of climate change: 1
critically reflect upon human causes of climate change and short- and long-term sustainability: 1
design and communicate a strategy plan using theory and research to analyse the problem and offer sustainable solutions in the climate change context: 1

Study hours

10h synchronous whole group interactive session
10h PBL style seminar

10h asynchronous material in preparation for PBL seminars
120h independent reading*
*Independent reading:
Students are expected to spend approximately 7.5h per week independently finding and reading literature to address the question they have created that week in their seminar group (approx. 75h).
Students are expected to spend approximately 45h writing up the assessment (approx. 45h; literature and narrative already created in the seminars).

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Report weighted 100%
Strategy document (portfolio style)
Students will submit a 2500 (+/-10%) word strategy document for a climate related issue, outlining the issue, context, and providing sustainable solutions. In the assessment, students will bring together areas they have focused their reading and knowledge on in the PBL seminars to develop a strategy plan for a campaign, area, organisation etc. of their choice (there will be examples provided to help guide students). For the strategy document students will first identity `the issue¿. Students can choose a geographical area, campaign, social movement, organisation etc. where they identify an issue or area of improvement. For example, students might focus on a plan to increase mobilisation to a local environmental group, increase the public's recycling in England, or increase voices from the Global South in the climate change debate. As an introduction in the strategy document, students will outline `the issue¿ and context. To provide sustainable solutions students will choose three areas from their seminars during the module and use relevant theories and research to support their arguments. For example, students might choose topics such as communication, politics, and collective action as their foundation for outlining mobilisation strategies for a grass-root movement, or behaviour change, morality, and collective behaviour to provide a basis for a sustainable recycling programme in England, or politics, collective action, and decolonisation to increase diversity in the climate change debate. As the PBL design of the seminars give students some agency within each topic, they will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge based on their own limitations, their own interests, and relevance for future careers in the assessment. The strategy plan should end in a clear conclusion and where appropriate clear actions points sustainable solution/s. Even though the PBL seminars are group focused, the strategy document (assessment) is developed, written, and submitted as an individual piece of work. It is expected that the main part of the document (1500-2000 words) will be in relation to the three (3) seminar topics outlining the scientific basis and offering sustainable solutions.

Please note that for the 2022/23 Academic Year programmes may be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there may be some changes made to how modules are delivered and assessed. The latest information will be provided to you by your School in module handbooks. We endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes and details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/student-terms-and-conditions/

Last Updated: 30 April 2024