Showing results by author "Andrew Ward" in Health & Wellness

Do you ever wish you better understood why people do what they do? What governs our thoughts and actions? How can we influence others? This course introduces you to the science of human social psychology and offers surprising answers to these questions. Our social situations can lead us to act in unexpected ways. Depending on the context, we can soar with dramatic joy or get lost in frustration and aggression. Sometimes we demonstrate deep compassion toward others, sometimes prejudice.

All societies, in their very different ways, are orderly. The very term 'society' implies the existence of a degree of organisation and predictability to human life. Orderliness, however, is a matter of degree. It is neither total, nor totally absent. In recent times, however, such concerns have largely given way to a greater preoccupation with disorderliness: with significant and disruptive social change; with rising crime and anti-social behaviour; and with a variety of other social problems. But what has really been happening?