The study programme is divided into an introduction, five main blocks and a conclusion, with additional weeks for review and revision.
Block 1: Social psychology as sense-making for a contemporary society
Block 1 begins by covering what social psychology is and its origins. Social psychology is the discipline of making sense of people in society as they make sense of self, others and the events affecting them. The block gives a historical overview of social psychology that does not shy away from challenging the standard story of psychology’s steady progress. The block continues with reviewing traditional experimental and more recent ‘critical’ developments before concluding by addressing whether these historically opposing ways of social psychological sense-making traditions can be brought together.
Block 2: Subjectivity
Block 2 explores the core issue of subjectivity, which is the viewpoint of a person trying to make sense of things. A person who makes sense of events is called a subject, and they use different ideas and experiences to understand what happens around them. Social psychologists need to consider that the people they study are also sense-making subjects with their own subjectivity. This requires social psychologists to recognise that, when analysing someone else’s interpretation, they are doing so with their own subjectivity.
Block 3: Relationality
As social psychology is all about relations, this block tackles different aspects of the core concept of relationality. First, you’ll explore the often troubled relationality experienced by minors who have migrated to the UK unaccompanied by guardians. Then, by tackling disgust, you’ll see the emotional basis of some of our core relations to the world. Something of our ‘disgusted’ relationship to rotten food and other noxious substances is carried over into our social relations with those people whose appearance or actions we viscerally reject. Finally, you’ll explore the gendered aspects of relationships mediated by social media.
Block 4: Politics
Block 4 approaches the ways in which micro-level subjectivities and relationalities are organised at the more macro levels through which political power operates and is organised. You’ll examine how everyday citizen relations and practices of citizenship are being transformed in a political world mediated by digital technologies. You’ll also reflect on how the nation serves as a taken-for-granted political setting through which sense-making is framed. Finally, you’ll investigate the motivational basis of political sense-making, such as why people engage in political action.
Block 5: Culture
Culture is central to any understanding of what makes us human. You’ll see how culture is fundamental to each individual's sense-making, and how culture binds people together and establishes differences. You’ll then reflect on how narratives shared within a culture serve as tools for sense-making. Those narratives are related to shared rituals through which people in a given place and time manage life transitions, including those associated with death and illness.
You will learn about:
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You'll be provided with two textbooks and have access to the module website, which includes:
You can study this module on its own or use the credits you gain towards an Open University qualification.
D360 is a compulsory module in our:
D360 is an option module in our:
Social psychology for the 21st century starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2035.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
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If your income is not more than £25,000 or you receive a qualifying benefit, you might be eligible for help with some of these costs after your module has started.
There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.
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