Department of
Social Psychology
Documentation and Academic Structure of the Department
The Department of Social Psychology examines how the presence, opinion, and behaviour of others shapes an individual’s thought, emotion, and action — conformity, obedience, group identity, persuasion, and collective behaviour, studied through methods whose own history includes some of the discipline’s most ethically fraught research.
Where the Department of Behavioural Studies examines behaviour shaped by reinforcement and environment generally, the Department of Social Psychology examines behaviour shaped specifically by other people — a domain whose classic findings on obedience and conformity make this Department’s own research ethics unusually consequential to get right.
This document establishes the Department’s complete academic and institutional documentation architecture across seven structural layers.
Foundational Framework
Governing Field. Human Formation, examined through the discipline of Social Psychology — the systematic empirical study of conformity, obedience, group identity, persuasion, and collective behaviour as they arise from the presence and influence of other people.
Central Premise. A person’s behaviour in a group setting can diverge sharply from their behaviour alone, not because their character has changed but because social context itself exerts measurable, sometimes dramatic, influence. Understanding that influence is essential to Human Formation — and, given this field’s own history, must be studied and taught with unusual attention to the ethics of studying it.
Foundational Theoretical Anchor. The Department operates under the Principle of Non-Diagnostic Overreach established by the Department of Psychology, and coordinates closely with the Department of Behavioural Studies (Faculty III), the Department of Institutional Studies (Faculty IV), and the Relational Human Formation research programme’s Relational Systems Design, which examines group and institutional dynamics from a formation-focused angle this Department examines empirically.
Programme List
The Department offers a complete academic ladder from foundational study through doctoral research.
Delivery Framework
The Department is delivered online-first, using structured cohort-based study supported by Module Specifications, Study Guides, Teaching Manuals, and Assessment Briefs for every unit, consistent with the Institute’s established production standard.
Curriculum
The BA (Honours) Social Psychology curriculum proceeds across four levels, numbered SP101 through SP111, following the Institute’s core pedagogical standard: scaffolded progression from structured instruction toward fully independent, ethically disciplined social research.
| Level | Focus | Modules |
|---|---|---|
| Level 4 | Foundations of Social Psychology; the influence–autonomy distinction; the ethical history of obedience and conformity research | SP101–SP104 |
| Level 5 | Group identity and intergroup dynamics; persuasion and propaganda; comparative research ethics standards | SP105–SP107 |
| Level 6 | Independent social-psychological research; capstone ethically-reviewed study; specialization electives | SP108–SP109 |
| Level 7 (MA) | Advanced social psychology; group dynamics and institutional formation; research methods; dissertation | SP110–SP111 |
Key Pedagogical Standard. Every module moves the learner from structured instruction toward the independent capacity to design social-psychological research that respects, rather than exploits, participants’ autonomy — no learner exits the programme without direct study of this field’s own historical ethical failures and how current standards prevent their repetition.
Research Fields and Centres
The Department maintains the following primary research fields:
Centre for Social Psychology
The Department’s standing research centre, coordinating cross-domain research with the Department of Psychology, the Department of Behavioural Studies, and the Department of Institutional Studies (Faculty IV).
Assessment and Ethics
Assessment in the Department evaluates a learner’s competence in social-psychological research design and their demonstrated command of this field’s ethical history — every research proposal is assessed on its ethical soundness with the same weight given to its scientific merit, not as a secondary consideration.
Because this field’s classic studies established some of the clearest historical cases of research harming its own participants, the Department applies its ethics standard with particular strictness.
Award Titles
Public-Facing Department Page
The Department of Social Psychology is where the Institute studies how the presence and influence of other people shapes an individual’s thought and action — conformity, obedience, group identity, and persuasion — taught alongside the ethical history of the field’s own most consequential research failures. As a sibling Department of Faculty III, it studies social influence in order to protect people from its misuse.
Learners join a structured academic pathway from Certificate through PhD, moving from guided foundational study toward independent, ethically disciplined social research, supported at every level by the Institute’s full documentation standard: Module Specifications, Study Guides, Teaching Manuals, and Assessment Briefs.
Permanent Department Documentation Order
The permanent documentation order of the Department, restated for reference:
Delivery Framework Detail
Programme Specification I — Certificate in Social Psychology
Programme Specification II — Diploma in Social Psychology
Programme Specification III — BA Social Psychology
Programme Specification IV — BA (Honours) Social Psychology
Programme Specification V — Postgraduate Certificate in Social Psychology
Programme Specification VI — Postgraduate Diploma in Social Psychology
Programme Specification VII — MA Social Psychology
Programme Specification VIII — Specialized Master’s in Social Psychology
Programme Specification IX — MRes Social Psychology
Programme Specification X — MPhil Social Psychology
Programme Specification XI — PhD Social Psychology
Programme Specification XII — Professional Practice Certificate in Group Dynamics Research Support
Summary Programme Table
A consolidated summary of all twelve programmes offered by the Department.
| Award | Abbreviation | Duration | Credits | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate in Social Psychology | CertSP | 6–12 months | 60 credits | ₦450,000 |
| Diploma in Social Psychology | DipSP | 1 year | 120 credits | ₦850,000 |
| BA Social Psychology | BA SP | 3 years | 360 credits | ₦2,400,000 |
| BA (Honours) Social Psychology | BA(Hons) SP | 4 years | 480 credits | ₦3,100,000 |
| Postgraduate Certificate in Social Psychology | PGCert SP | 6 months | 60 credits | ₦900,000 |
| Postgraduate Diploma in Social Psychology | PGDip SP | 9 months | 120 credits | ₦1,600,000 |
| MA Social Psychology | MA SP | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦2,900,000 |
| Specialized Master’s in Social Psychology | MA SP (Spec.) | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦3,200,000 |
| MRes Social Psychology | MRes SP | 1 year (FT) / 2 years (PT) | 180 credits | ₦3,400,000 |
| MPhil Social Psychology | MPhil SP | 2 years (FT) / 3 years (PT) | 240 credits | ₦5,600,000 |
| PhD Social Psychology | PhD SP | 3–4 years (FT) / 5–6 years (PT) | 360 credits | ₦9,100,000+ |
| Professional Practice Certificate in Group Dynamics Research Support | PPC GDRS | 6–9 months | 60 credits (practice-based) | ₦1,100,000 |
Credit Framework
The Department applies the Institute’s standard credit framework: one credit represents approximately 10 notional learning hours, inclusive of guided instruction, independent study, group dynamics research practicum where applicable, and assessment.
| Level | Credits (Full Level) | Notional Learning Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Level 4 (Certificate/Year 1) | 120 | 1,200 |
| Level 5 (Diploma/Year 2) | 120 | 1,200 |
| Level 6 (BA Year 3 / Honours Year) | 120–240 | 1,200–2,400 |
| Level 7 (Postgraduate/MA) | 180 | 1,800 |
| Level 8 (MPhil/PhD, research credit) | 240–360 | 2,400–3,600 |
Social Research Ethics Principle
Because this field’s own history includes some of the most consequential ethical failures in the study of human behaviour, the Department’s ethical commitments govern every module, practicum, and research activity it authorizes without exception.
This principle governs curriculum design, group dynamics research practicum, assessment design, and all research involving human participants across the Department, and stands as the final entry alongside the Principle of Non-Diagnostic Overreach (Department of Psychology), the Principle of Developmental Research Protection (Department of Developmental Psychology), the Principle of Model Humility (Department of Cognitive Science), the Principle of Consented Influence (Department of Behavioural Studies), the Principle of Non-Reductive Typing (Department of Personality Studies), and the Principle of Learner-Centred Application (Department of Learning Psychology) in the ethics chain of Faculty III.
Tuition Principle
Tuition for every programme is published in full above, with no undisclosed fees. Where a learner’s circumstances warrant it, the Department may offer needs-based tuition adjustment, cohort scholarships, or staged payment plans, at the discretion of the Institute’s admissions and finance offices.
Tuition figures reflect the Institute’s standard credit-based tuition model and are reviewed annually.
Final Delivery and Access Declaration
The Department of Social Psychology is delivered online-first to maximize access for learners regardless of geographic location, with structured cohort support, complete documentation for every module, and a clear pathway from Certificate through PhD. No learner shall be required to relocate to access any taught programme offered by this Department.
Final Structural Declaration
The Department of Social Psychology stands as a sibling Department of Faculty III, holding the empirical study of social influence conducted with an unusually strict ethical discipline earned from the field’s own history. Every award, module, and research activity documented above proceeds through the Department’s permanent structural chain:
This chain governs the Department of Social Psychology now and permanently, coordinated with, and answerable to, the Principle of Non-Diagnostic Overreach held by the Department of Psychology.