Social Psychology for Foundation Year: Key Ideas for Foundation Courses

Introducing students to topical issues and controversies drawn from specific areas of social psychology, Social Psychology for Foundation Year answers a series of contemporary questions and debates by bringing together current theories and studies from a number of areas within the field.

Aimed primarily at students starting out on their degree journey, this book demonstrates how psychological research can help us understand our social world. Exploring topics from the Obama effect to groupthink, from what makes a good leader to the role of social identity in riots, it demonstrates how theories and studies contribute to our understanding of human behaviour. It embraces both established theories and recent empirical evidence to enable readers to see how research is linked to practical application in psychology and empowers readers to develop a greater understanding of why we do the things we do.

Social Psychology for Foundation Year is a key textbook for both foundation year and introductory psychology courses and will be of interest to anyone wanting to delve into topical issues in contemporary psychology.

Wendy Garnham is Professor of Psychology and Director of Student Experience for the Central Foundation Years, University of Sussex, UK. As co-founder of the Active Learning Network, Wendy has experience of teaching across the educational spectrum from reception to postgraduate level, including leading a further education psychology department to Grade 1 status and leading a sixth form before returning to Higher Education. Wendy has won several awards for innovative teaching including a National Teaching Fellowship in 2020, was part of a Foundation Year team awarded a CATE award in 2019 and a Pearson award for Outstanding Student Support in 2023.

John Drury is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Sussex, UK. His research focuses on collective behaviour, including in emergencies and disasters, riots, protests and social movements, and at ceremonies, music and sports events. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles on these and other topics, He teaches crowd psychology to the UK Fire and Rescue Service and to crowd safety managers around the world. As part of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, he participated in the UK government SAGE behavioural science subgroup SPI-B and is a member of Independent SAGE. He is a former editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology.