The climate crisis poses an existential threat to the natural environment and human societies alike. It is fundamentally a problem of human psychology and...

Psychology of climate change  (PSYC0286)

The climate crisis poses an existential threat to the natural environment and human societies alike. It is fundamentally a problem of human psychology and behaviour, and it also impacts these things, with profound consequences for future wellbeing. It is thus an important topic for psychologists to engage with, and this course aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills with which to do this.

Module content includes: 1) Causes and consequences of climate change, Issues of human wellbeing and social justice: who causes climate change vs. who suffers most from it or even benefits from it, and how these factors can be manipulated 2) How people make sense of climate change cognitively and emotionally: including why some people deny facts about climate change, as well common emotional reactions such as anxiety, grief and hopelessness, or resilience, campaigning and activism 3) How to communicate the facts of climate change to different audiences, and how communications have been subverted by self-interested parties such as the fossil fuel industry 4) Individual factors that enable or impede pro-environmental behaviours, and how an understanding of these change can improve the success of behaviour change initiatives 5) Game theoretic and group dynamics of climate change action, and why it has been so difficult to get national and global action on the issue.

The module may include guest lectures from relevant other disciplines such as climate science, economics and politics, as well as online seminars given by external speakers, for interest.

Mandarin for Medicine Level 4 (LCMB0034)

The course covers additional Chinese characters together with more advanced vocabulary, grammar, morphology, syntax and phonetics, and develops the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) to enable students to communicate in all situations within a Mandarin-speaking environment. Medical related issues/vocabulary will also be included. The course will enhance knowledge and use of linguistic structures (a variety of styles and registers from a range of appropriate authentic material). Various transferable skills will also be further developed.

For full module details please see the CLIE SSC language modules site at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/languages-international-education/study/modules/languages-sscs