Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: AS Level Date: 17/01/2026
Subject: Psychology
Lesson Topic: Social
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe key concepts of the five major social approaches (social cognition, attribution, social identity, social learning, conformity/obedience).
  • Compare the strengths and limitations of each approach, including ecological validity and cultural generalisability.
  • Evaluate ethical considerations in classic social influence experiments.
  • Apply a selected social approach to analyse a real‑world social issue.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen
  • PowerPoint slides summarising each approach
  • Handout with comparison table
  • Short video clips of Asch and Milgram experiments
  • Worksheets for group analysis activity
  • Whiteboard and markers
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick poll: “When you’re in a group, how often do you change your opinion to match others?” Discuss students’ experiences to activate prior knowledge of social influence. Explain that today they will explore five major social approaches and learn criteria for evaluating research.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5’) – Students answer the poll on sticky notes and share responses.
  2. Mini‑lecture (15’) – Overview of the five social approaches with key concepts.
  3. Comparative activity (15’) – In pairs, complete a comparison table (strengths/limitations) using the handout.
  4. Video analysis (10’) – Watch clips of Asch and Milgram; discuss ethical issues.
  5. Application task (10’) – Small groups apply one approach to a contemporary issue (e.g., social media echo chambers) and present a brief rationale.
  6. Check for understanding (5’) – Exit ticket: one sentence summarising the most persuasive approach for explaining group behaviour.
Conclusion:
Summarise how each approach offers a different lens on social behaviour and the importance of evaluating methodology and ethics. Collect exit tickets to gauge understanding. Assign homework: write a 300‑word critique of one classic social influence study, focusing on its ecological validity and cultural generalisability.