The Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science is a department in the

London School of Economics and Political Science , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, founded in 1964. Until 2009, it was located within the Department of

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

since it is a centre for the study of the human mind and behaviour in a societal context. More specifically, work undertaken at the Department strives to understand the social processes that emerge at the intersection between the individual and wider societal contexts. This is trying to be achived by analysing theoretical development and doing empirical research. The latter is mainly on topics such as social representations, behaviour, health, community, culture, racism, ethnicity, communications and the media,

organisational psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology), an applied discipline within psychology, is the science of human behavior in the workplace. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational ...

, the social construction of technology, gender, economic psychology, sexuality, social identity, risk and society, or innovation and creativity in organisations and businesses. The Department has an international reputation for its research-led teaching in a variety of fields including the study of organizations,

social representations Social representations are a system of values, ideas, metaphors, beliefs, and practices that serve to establish social order, orient participants and enable communication among the members of groups and communities. Social representation theory is ...

, health and community, and the media. Its research atmosphere benefits from the legacy of Emeritus Professor Rob Farr and the late Professor

Hilde Himmelweit Hildegard Therese Himmelweit (née Litthauer; 1918–1989) was a German social psychologist who had a major influence on the development of the discipline in Britain. Biography Hilde was born in Berlin in 1918. Her father, Dr Siegfried Litthaue ...

, whose work established the LSE as a centre for the study of

societal A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

and sociological forms of social psychology. It has a strong international student component, with more than three-quarters of students coming from outside

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. Addtionally, it offers an undergraduate programme in Psychological and

Behavioural Science Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through naturalistic o ...

(BSc), master's courses in Behavioural Science; Social and Organisational Psychology; Psychology of Economic Life; Social and

Cultural Psychology Cultural psychology is the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members.Heine, S. J. (2011). ''Cultural Psychology. ''New York: W. W. Norton & Company. It is based on the premise that mind and culture are i ...

; Social and Public Communication, as well as

MPhil The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

and

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

studies; and an Executive MSc programme in Behavioural Science. The Department is also home to a number of Research Groups, such as the Science, Technology and the Public Sphere research group, the Health, Community and Development research group
The Organisational Studies Research Group
the Social Psychological Research into Racism and Multiculture group (SPRRaM), and the LSE Social Representations Group.

External links

Department of Psychological and Behavioural ScienceLondon School of EconomicsSPRRaM
*Organisation Studies research grou

{{DEFAULTSORT:Institute of Social Psychology Social science institutes Research institutes in London Research institutes established in 1964 1964 establishments in the United Kingdom