Programme Specifications

N/A

September 2023

In any domain of human experience – be it politics, the environment, agriculture, health, education, and still others – and considering the national and global challenges currently faced in each, the importance of understanding why humans behave in the ways that they do has never been more urgent. Behavioural insight (BI) is utilised by practitioners and policy makers in diverse subject areas and professional applications; indeed, BI is at the core of the work of many psychologists, geographers, international relations and business leadership experts, for example, as they seek to influence and optimise human behaviour in niche domains. The programme aims to educate students on the many fundaments of behaviour change and how they can be adapted and applied in “real-World” situations.

The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate Master’s level characteristics (QAA, 2020) – in terms of knowledge and understanding, skills, and other attributes – in the following key areas/ways:

1. Critically review and report findings from the behaviour change literature to demonstrate theoretical, empirical, and methodological understanding.

2. Identify current issues and developments in the field of behaviour change.

3. Design innovative, evidence-based solutions that meet the behaviour change challenges observed in professional contexts.

4. Communicate their ideas to specialist, non-specialist, academic and non-academic audiences.

5. Engage with collaborators and stakeholders in a manner which displays understanding of professional and academic responsibility, integrity, and ethics in behaviour change.

6. Design and conduct a substantial piece of independent research that is novel, ambitious, and advances scholarship in behaviour change.

7. Self-reflect on their progress as a learner, their autonomy and independent learning abilities, as necessary for continued professional development.

• A1 Critically discuss why humans behave as they do, mechanisms of behaviour change which capitalise on this understanding, and corresponding principles of intervention design.

• A2 Identify behaviour change models and frameworks based on different philosophical and disciplinary stances (e.g., psychology, geography, economics, and sociology).

• A3 Recognise the theoretical and philosophical bases of effective collaborative working in academic and professional situations.

• A4 Recognise the importance of transdisciplinary awareness and how it can be acted on in the field of behaviour change.

• A5 Appraise the relative merits of research methods that advance theoretical, empirical, and applied scholarship and understanding of behaviour change, including the principles of ontology, epistemology, research design (including writing research questions and hypotheses), quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and corresponding data analysis techniques, how to judge quality in research, discussion writing, and ethical standards mandated by the British Psychological Society.

• A6 Critically review current issues and developments in the field of behaviour change, from within academia and without.

• A7 Conceptually understand behaviour change as a subject area and profession, informed by a critical awareness of current practice, scholarship and research.

• A8 Appreciate the importance of scientific and professional responsibility, integrity and ethics in behaviour change research and practice.

Learning and Teaching:

Students on the scheme will engage with many methods of teaching and learning that will enable them to develop and demonstrate achievement of the knowledge and understanding learning outcomes (A1-A8).

Interactive, pedagogically innovative lectures and seminars will provide an environment that is conducive to learning. Here students will be introduced to theories, models and frameworks that will underpin their understanding of behaviour change, and be encouraged to take a critical perspective on the content. Dialogue and collaborative working in particular – with fellow students from the same and other disciplines, module tutors, and external stakeholders – will provide a guiding philosophy and structural backbone throughout the core modules; students will continually share their ideas with peers and tutors, learning how to give, receive, and incorporate constructive feedback in a spirit of intellectual and creative development, whilst simultaneously promoting transdisciplinary thinking and modelling the importance of perspective-taking and collaboration. These formative activities will double as confidence-building practice for the various summative oral presentation assessments. Directed independent study tasks will facilitate the group work and provide a means for students to demonstrate that they are taking increasing responsibility for their own learning.

Assessment Strategies and Methods:

In terms of assessment, students will employ their developing study skills to produce outputs that demonstrate knowledge and understanding of behaviour change. For example, students will give oral presentations to internal and external stakeholders; they will document the collaboration and research process that led them to behaviour change interventions; translate science for non-science audiences in a conference poster presentation; write a critical review of literature that exemplifies good versus bad research practices in the behavioural sciences; and more. The students’ dissertation will merge their developing knowledge, understanding, and research skills in the design and execution of a substantial and novel piece of independent work; indeed, completing dissertation research is a primary driver of their expertise in a niche area of knowledge.

10.2.1 Intellectual Skills

Students on the MSc in Behaviour Change will be given the opportunity to develop the following skills (and other attributes):

• B1 Detect opportunities to influence behaviour change in a variety of professional contexts.

• B2 Critically appraise and synthesise empirical evidence on the effectiveness of behaviour change models and frameworks to provide suggestions for applications to practice.

• B3 Demonstrate originality and creativity when applying knowledge to design behaviourally informed interventions.

• B4 Adapt and apply the theoretical and philosophical bases of effective collaborative working to the challenges present in academic and professional situations.

• B5 Align one’s thinking and practice with a critical awareness of current issues and developments in the subject area and profession of behaviour change.

• B6 Act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks to complete required work to the best possible standard.

• B7 Design and conduct a substantial piece of independent research that is novel, ambitious, and advances scholarship in behaviour change (i.e., is underpinned by a critical review of methodologies and findings in the extant literature).

• B8 Evidence literacy in information and communication technology (e.g., accessing relevant databases, literature search, use of statistical analysis and qualitative data analysis software).

Learning and Teaching:

Students will have the opportunity to acquire and/or enhance various skills and other attributes on this course. Via taught content, group discussions, engagement with external stakeholders, and during independent study students will develop their ability to detect opportunities to influence behaviour change in a variety of professional contexts. Originality and creativity in intervention design will be nurtured via a “no bad idea” ethos. Moreover, these activities will provide a testing ground for the application of their developing collaboration skills. They will be guided – and help guide each other – to critically appraise and synthesise empirical evidence on the effectiveness of behaviour change models and frameworks to provide suggestions for applications to practice. However, autonomy will be vital if the student desires to achieve beyond the base level that can be attained in class and when working with peers.

Assessment Strategies and Methods:

Assessments – including the dissertation; all of which will rely on strong ICT skills – will require that students demonstrate their developing mastery of these skills: they will blend independent and collaborative working to creatively design evidence-based interventions that match the needs and opportunities inherent in “real-life” behaviour change contexts. Formative assessments, as well as informal classwork, will help the students to modify their thinking and practice where appropriate, and in accordance with their developing critical awareness of current issues and developments in the subject area and profession of behaviour change.

10.2.2 Professional practical skills / Discipline Specific Skills

Students on the MSc in Behaviour Change will be given the opportunity to develop the following professional practical skills:

• C1 Employ effective collaborative working in academic and professional situations, via practical skills that facilitate open communication (e.g., listening and asking good questions) and knowledge co-creation/co-production.

• C2 Harness an awareness of the importance of transdisciplinary working in professional contexts.

• C3 Critically apply behaviour change theory and research to inform the design of behaviour change solutions in diverse professional contexts, whether those situations are practical/experiential or theoretical/hypothetical.

• C4 Demonstrate knowledge of where to find, access and retrieve information from a range of primary and secondary sources.

• C5 Demonstrate written and oral presentation skills that account for pertinent audience characteristics (i.e., presenting to a specific stakeholder demographic; communicating ideas and conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences).

Learning and Teaching:

Interactive lectures and seminars will model the importance of effective collaborative working in academic and professional situations. Students will learn about the principles of open communication and knowledge co-production but be expected to engage fully in classroom activities in order to apply the principles and enhance their skills. They will work with colleagues from different disciplinary backgrounds to harness an understanding of how to benefit from transdisciplinary problem-solving. Moreover, students will be presented with “real” behaviour change challenges experienced by a diverse range of stakeholders and be expected to critically apply behaviour change theory and research to inform the design of behaviour change solutions. Students will be learn where to find and how to access and retrieve information from a range of relevant primary and secondary sources to aid their work, which itself will enhance their written and oral presentation skills.

Assessment Strategies and Methods:

As above: many of the assessments on the scheme are stakeholder-facing or at least applied, rather than purely knowledge-generating in an academic sense.

10.3 Transferable/key skills

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to:

• D1 Employ theoretically derived, evidence-based techniques in behaviour change, no matter the context of application.

• D2 Demonstrate advanced personal effectiveness: self-management, time management, exercising initiative and personal responsibility, sensitivity to diversity in people and different situations.

• D3 Apply analytical skills, decision-making, and problem solving in complex and unpredictable situations.

• D4 Reflect on one’s processes and progress as an independent learner and make necessary adjustments to improve one’s effectiveness, as required for continuing professional development.

• D5 Work collaboratively within and across disciplines.

• D6 Demonstrate effective use of Information and Communication Technology (e.g., word processing, information databases, the internet, presentation software).

• D7 Communicate ideas and arguments in a logical, coherent, and effective manner.

• D8 Critically interpret information and data from a variety of sources.

Learning and Teaching:

Lectures, seminars, guided group work in and out of class, and independent homework will drive the development of a set of key transferable skills; that is, development of D1-D8 is inherent in the teaching and learning journey that students will embark on and fundamental to the process of achieving the award. Indeed, the content of each teaching contact point, set homework, assessment task, and all corresponding feedback has the aim of developing the students’ skills in the areas denoted by D1-D8. D1 and D3, for example, are a blend of knowledge, understanding, tangible skills, and professional skills that can be applied in a range of situations so as to make them transferable.

Assessment Strategies and Methods:

As above: many of the assessments on the scheme are stakeholder-facing or at least applied, rather than purely knowledge-generating in an academic sense.