General and Social Psychology

bpols1125  2025-2026  Bruxelles Saint-Louis

General and Social Psychology
5.00 credits
45.0 h
Q2
Teacher(s)
Language
French
Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

At the end of the course, students will be able to
1. Give an account of the main aspects of the different psychological currents.
2. Have a comparative understanding of the different psychological theories.
3. Use the major concepts of psychology in a technical, not just a common sense.
4. To know and apply different approaches to communication and language in psychology, in order to be able to analyse various individual, interpersonal and social situations.
5. To know some elements of psychopathology and structural theory of personality, applying them to the understanding of human behaviour.
6. To visualize the contribution of Psychology to the understanding of social phenomena and to be able to criticize this disciplinary approach from other social and human sciences.
7. To use the major concepts of social psychology in their scientific and not only common sense sense sense.
8. To be familiar with the different methodological approaches used to understand human behaviour in social situations.
 
Content
Part One: General Psychology (22.5 hours)

1. The most important paradigms in psychology and its core themes
1.1 Behaviorism: learning and its models.
1.2 Cognitivism: the construction of thought and language.
1.3 Systemic psychology: family and communication.
1.4 Psychoanalysis: neurosis, dreams, the theory of the unconscious, and social phenomena.

2. Psychopathology: normal and pathological. The question of deviance in the humanities
2.1 Psychosis: descriptive and structural approach
2. 2 Neurosis: descriptive and structural approach
2.3 Perversion: descriptive and structural approach
2.4 Borderline states: descriptive and structural approaches

3. Culture and psychology: contributions from ethnopsychiatry and ethnopsychoanalysis
3.1 Representations of illness and suffering. Analysis of narratives.
3.2 The subject, the psychic, and the social in traditional and contemporary cultures
 
Part Two: Social Psychology (22.5 hours)
1. What is social psychology?
1.1. Definition of social psychology
1.2. Situationism
1.3. Basic social motivations
1.4. Research in social psychology
2. Social perception
2.1. Self-perception
2.2. Perception of others
3. Attitudes and social influence
3.1. Attitudes
3.2. Attitude change
3.3. Social influence
4. Interpersonal relationships
4.1. Affiliation and attraction
4.2. Aggression
4.3. Prosocial behavior
5. Groups and intergroup relations
5.1. Behavior in groups
5.2. Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination 
Evaluation methods
Assessment takes the form of a written examination.
For Part I of the course, the examination focuses on the material covered in class and specified on the course syllabus, including the abridged bibliography in the appendix. This examination involves three structured dissertations.

For Part II of the course, an written exam (for 20 points) on all material seen during the course (slides presented during lectures, videos seen during the lectures and texts exts discussed during the course). More detailed 'Evaluation directions' will be available on Moodle.
The final marks will be an average of the two partial marks.
Other information
None
Bibliography
Les ressources obligatoires pour la partie du cours de psychologie générale sont :
1. Le syllabus cadre
2. Les textes mis à disposition sur moodle

Les ressources obligatoires pour la partie du cours de psychologie sociale sont :

1. Les slides présentés au cours (moodle)
2. Les articles et extraits de livres mis à disposition sur moodle
Teaching materials
  • Syllabus cadre Psychologie Générale
  • Portefeuille de lectures Psychologie Générale: textes disponibles en papier et/ou sur Moodle
Faculty or entity


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Learning outcomes
Bachelor in Information and Communication

Bachelor in Information and Communication (French-English)

Bachelor in Information and Communication (French-Dutch-English)

Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology

Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology (French-English)

Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology (French-Dutch-English)

Bachelor in Political Sciences

Bachelor in Political Sciences (French-English)

Bachelor in Political Sciences (French-Dutch-English)