This MSc focuses on how individuals construe the social world and the processes that underlie social judgement and behaviour. The programme draws on the research of outstanding academic staff working in the areas of social cognition, social endocrinology, socio-cognitive neuroscience, and judgement and decision-making to provide unique, cutting-edge perspectives on humans as social beings. The programme provides an understanding of how the human emotional, cognitive and neural systems have evolved to sustain social co-ordination and adaptation to the environment. Key topics include: social perception, motivation, attitudes, embodiment, emotion, social judgement and decision-making, and social neuroscience.

On completion of this programme students will have acquired an understanding of the processes involved in the construction of the social reality, in particular how cognitive and affective processes guide social judgement and behaviour, and how these processes are implemented in the brain. The students will have acquired methodological skills to design and carry out socio-cognitive research which will enable them to address real-world social problems and/or pursue an academic career. In addition, they will have acquired knowledge related to theoretical and philosophical issues underlying psychological research.