Institute of Social Psychology

The Institute of Social Psychology at the London School of Economics, England was founded in 1964, is an independent department within the London School of Economics. Prior to 2009, it used to be located within the Department of Sociology. It has one of the largest concentrations of social psychologists in Europe with 11 members of staff. Work undertaken at the Institute strives to understand, through theoretical development and empirical research, the social processes that emerge at the intersection between the individual and wider societal contexts. Research focuses on social representations, health, community, culture, racism, ethnicity, communications and the media, organisational psychology, the social construction of technology, gender, economic psychology, sexuality, social identity, risk and society, and innovation and creativity in organisations and business.

The Institute of Social Psychology is a prestigious and reputable centre for the study, teaching, and research of Social Psychology, and its students and staff members are often of extremely high ability.

The Institute of Social Psychology is a thriving centre for the study of organisational and social psychology and has an international reputation for its research-led teaching in a variety of fields including the study of organizations, social representations, health and community, and the media. Its research atmosphere benefits from the legacy of Emeritus Professor Rob Farr and the late Professor Hilde Himmelweit, whose work established the LSE as a centre for the study of societal and sociological forms of social psychology. It has a strong international student component, with more than three-quarters of students coming from outside Britain.

The Institute of Social Psychology offers MSc courses in Health, Community and Development; Social and Organisational Psychology; Social and Cultural Psychology; and Social and Public Communication, as well as M.Phil and PhD studies. The Institute 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 research group, the Social Psychological Research into Racism and Multiculture group (SPRRaM), and the LSE Social Representations Group.