Applied Social Psychology

At first, I couldn't really imagine what a social psychologist really does, while it was easier to imagine what a Clinical Psychologist does. However, after asking around, I found out that social psychology also includes Cultural Psychology and that I could focus on women's empowerment. This convinced me to choose social psychology.I focus on Cultural Psychology, so I have learnt about intergroup and group behaviours as well as the effect of culture on people's behaviours. A particularly significant course unit that I followed ('Managing Groups') taught me how to apply my research and theoretical knowledge in the real world. This gave me the confidence that I needed, as I was still unsure about my future career.I enjoy doing different extracurricular activities: I have been head-resident of my student flat building, a member of the board of the African Students Community, a research assistant and a statistics tutor. I also participated in the Honours College during my master's programme. It was very demanding, but I am glad that I did it. I gained many new skills and got to know my strengths and weaknesses better.After my master's, I would like to work in women's and/or refugee empowerment. It would be nice to be a policy advisor on such topics at a governmental organization.

The best part about the programme, in my opinion, is the way it combines theory and practice. The course Designing Interventions is a good example. We started off by learning all the theories involved in intervention design, and then we were each assigned a real, existing situation to solve by designing an intervention of our own. The solutions were all aimed at changing people's behaviour: getting them to engage in car sharing, for example.Other than the courses, the thesis is a major part of the programme. We are free to choose our own topic to research, and if we want to, we can even choose to combine a thesis and an internship. There is a lot of flexibility in that respect. I opted for just the thesis. I know research isn't everyone's favourite part of the study, but personally, I really wanted to use the opportunity to study in-depth a subject of my own choosing.My thesis deals with immigration. Through online questionnaires, I examine tolerance and intolerance in the context of migration issues. Migration is a topic that interests me greatly, so I'm hoping that I can continue to do something related to immigration after I graduate. Perhaps in a research project, but I haven't decided yet.

Apart from their professionalism they are passionate and inspiring. Faculty members are accessible and willing to give students advice about their study related questions and concerns. The Master program is structured in a way that allows students to select the courses that best suit to their interest. Lectures are given in an interactive format, meaning active participation is expected. There is a strong focus on research skills (statistics, writing, presenting), combined with learning how to conduct high-quality research or policy advice. This is a great opportunity to really get to know what scientific research involves. The perfect combination of theory, skills and practice will thoroughly prepare students for a job in the scientific world. The things you learn throughout the program will certainly allow you to successfully pursue a job outside of the academic world.The University also offers extracurricular courses and social events that make the whole experience even more exciting. The extracurricular courses aren’t restricted to the faculty members only, for example, I attended an extracurricular course on social entrepreneurship offered by the faculty of economics and business. If you are enthusiastic and motivated, the University of Groningen is a great match for you!Studying and living in Groningen is a life experience. Alongside a wide range of study programs, Groningen is considered to be one of the youngest cities in the Netherlands. Therefore, this beautiful city offers lots of activities for young people. Starting from the sport activities to the art classes organized by the student associations, you will have a chance to meet up with the diverse mix of students from all around the world.Dutch people are very nice and friendly towards foreigners, almost everybody speaks perfect English and not knowing Dutch is not an issue to communicate but it is always possible and encouraged to take a free course in the Dutch language offered by the University.To conclude, the learning process was even more than I ever expected could be possible. Based on this, I would fully recommend the University of Groningen to anyone who wants to get an outstanding education in a nice atmosphere.Biography
Natia Ubilava is from Georgia and moved to Groningen to study psychology at a master level, at the faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences. Natia has a government scholarship to pursue her degree at RUG. Upon completion of her studies, Natia will return to Georgia to work for the public sector. Natia will also pursue a career in social psychology at the Tbilisi State University at a doctorate level.

We specialize in healthcare registration and administration, and help healthcare institutions to deal with this in an efficient manner. In healthcare, there is a lot of legislation and regulations that institutions need to keep up with. The healthcare landscape is changing rapidly and the complexity of rules increases dramatically. Therefore, it is difficult for healthcare institutions to comply with all of these rules. We advise and assist them how to deal with these changes.I enjoy my job, mostly because it is varied. As we assist different healthcare institutions, I get to know many different organizations. Working with different people gives my job an exciting challenge. Especially because of Social Psychology I know the psychological aspects of change. It is helpful to know how to assist healthcare institutions to comply with the changing regulations.I would advice current students to do an internship and to gain work experience, as it will teach you new skills. Only when I started to work, did I really learn how things worked within a company, which turned out to be quite different from the theory that I learned during my studies.

It is often not clear how much a watt hour exactly is. Therefore, I compared the usage to the amount of kilometres people can drive by car with the same emissions, or the number of trees that are needed to turn the CO2 emissions back into oxygen. This made it less abstract for people. Because I had the freedom to come up with my own research, I very much enjoyed the process of writing my thesis.After my graduation, I got a work experience placement at a firm conducting market research. I did research on advertising campaigns by big companies that wanted to know what their customers thought about those advertisements. It was nice to get to know the working life in this way and it certainly had a connection with my study through research and statistics.After that, I found a job as a manager at a psychology institution specializing in the treatment of traumas and nausea experiences. I take care of many different things, I organize educational activities for psychologists, and I do the marketing and sales of a device used in EMDR therapy. For the psychology institution it was interesting that I had done some marketing courses during my studies. As I believe that Psychology helps you to get a broad general knowledge I believe that the study still helps me during my daily work, just like the analytical thinking I acquired.

I ask students to present and analyze recent developments in intergroup relations from their own cultures based on social psychological theories they learn in class. This year we have analyzed the rhetoric of Donald Trump, after he was elected and discussed the potential psychological consequences for international relations when only focusing on “America first”. Each year we discuss different recent developments in intergroup relations from nations around the world, depending on what the students want to analyze.One of the project I am currently investigating with my students is a project on the psychological impacts of offering micro loans to marginalized people living in the global South. The majority of loans are given to women to empower them and help them to move out of the vicious circle of poverty. Recent research shows that providing loans does not always lead to the envisioned positive outcomes but may also trigger negative side effects such as an increase in domestic violence. As social psychologists, we try to find out why and how these negative side effects could be avoided. From a psychological perspective, the domestic violence is actually not that surprising: Offering small loans to women is intervening in the distribution of power in a household, in this specific case in the gendered power relation between husband and wife. More precisely, women who receive these loans are often living in patriarchal cultures. Men might feel excluded from these programs and might be skeptical about these. To retain their power hey may restrict their wives. I am interested in how microfinance programs could be improved to avoid such negative side effects and empower women. Together with a PhD student, we have investigated whether and how involving both women and their husbands to some training sessions may help to overcome the negative side effects and help to strengthen the position of women. Social psychology can offer important insights to carefully analyze and develop suitable interventions to improve current practice. Offering micro loans to women does not only intervene in the financial situation of women, but also in their social relations at home.I think the RUG is a unique place to study social psychology. In the social psychology program, staff members offer a large range of different topics and do research with different societal actors such as companies, organizations, and governments. Students can design their masters based on their own interest for example by focusing on communication and consumer psychology, health psychology, cultural psychology, or understanding groups and diversity. They can choose an individual master thesis project from a variety of research topics bridging society and academia. Students learn how to analyze human behaviour and apply their theoretical and methodological knowledge, an important preparation for the job market. The classes are small and interaction is intense.

I also teach the course unit Group Dynamics. Here, we look at mass behaviour and the norms and values people want to adopt within a particular group.My area of expertise is human protest behaviour. I use surveys and experimental research to investigate what most motivates people to take to the streets, or to sign a petition – identity, emotion, or morality, for example. Both the various political systems and cultural differences play a role here. Complex but fascinating!At Social Psychology in Groningen we are especially skilled in putting theory and research into practice. For example, the University founded a regional centre for expertise on earthquakes. What impact does the earthquake situation have on people in this region, and how can they best be helped? A perfect example of applied social psychology! Other relevant issues include fostering environmentally friendly and healthy behaviour, the encouragement of protest behaviour, and preventing and combating hooliganism or other undesirable mass behaviour. So during your studies here, you will work with a unique and extensive group of experts involved in important social issues.