School of Arts and Humanities PSYC201 Introduction to Social Psychology 3 Credit Hours 8 Weeks No Prerequisites

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1 School of Arts and Humanities PSYC201 Introduction to Social Psychology 3 Credit Hours 8 Weeks No Prerequisites Instructor Information Course Description Course Scope Course Objectives Course Delivery Method Course Resources Evaluation Procedures Grading Scale Course Outline Policies Academic Services Selected Bibliography Instructor Information Course Description (Catalog) This course introduces students to historical and contemporary theories of social psychology, key theorists contributions to the field of and practical applications of theoretical concepts in the real world of the individual functioning in group settings. The focus of study includes social judgments and decisions, attitudes and perception, social influence, attraction, aggression, altruism and group pressure and their influences on human behavior, cognition and emotion, along with exposure to the methods of social scientists who study group influence on human behavior in the field. Course Scope This 8 week course includes an in depth examination of human attitudes, influence, prejudice and group behavior in social settings and reviews both seminal and modern theories of social psychology.

2 Course Objectives After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: Define the science of social psychology and its key concepts Examine theories undergirding the science of social psychology Explore the constructs of bias, prejudice and stereotypes Describe influences on human aggression and helping behaviors Identify cultural factors impacting the direction of human behavior, cognition, emotions occurring in social settings Review seminal and contemporary research focused on Articulate in course level appropriate writing knowledge of selected and synthesized findings within a body of published works focused on the discipline of social psychology Course Delivery Method This course delivered via distance learning will enable students to complete academic work in a flexible manner, completely online. Course materials and access to an online learning management system will be made available to each student. Most online assignments are due by Sunday evening of the week as noted and include Forum questions (accomplished in groups through a threaded forum), examination, and individual assignments submitted for review by the Faculty Member). Assigned faculty will support the students throughout this eight-week course. Course Materials Required Textbook: Smith, E. & Mackie, D. (2007). Social psychology (3 rd ed). Psychology Press. Evaluation Procedures Course Requirement Pts Possible Percent Discussion Forum assignment x % Essay paper % Weekly quiz x % Final exam % Journal %

3 Total Points % * All written assignments must be submitted in MSWord (.doc, not.wps or.wpd). When students upload their assignments into their student folder, they need to select submit for grading. Weekly Quizzes and Final Exam Six Weekly Quizzes and the Final Exam are to be completed and submitted by Sunday at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time ending the week assigned in the course syllabus outline. Quizzes will cover the week s assigned chapter readings. You may submit your quiz any time during the week that it is due; however, please take quizzes during their assigned week only. Do not submit your quiz more than 1 week early. In comparison to the weekly quizzes, the Final Exam is significantly longer and covers a comprehensive review of all the chapters assigned throughout the course. You will not be able to access your Final Exam until the week that it is due: Week 8. The Quizzes and Final Exam are in multiple-choice format and are auto-scored online with student scores loading into their grade folders upon submission. Weekly quizzes and the Final Exam are not timed, but you can only submit each quiz/final once. DO NOT click on the Begin Assessment tab unless you are planning on completing the quiz/final. Please be fully prepared to complete the quiz/final once you have accessed it. You should not wait until the last half hour before the deadline to complete and/or submit your quizzes/final. Doing so places you at risk of running out of time or getting bumped offline if computer or Internet troubles occur and not being able to complete a successful submission. Test deadlines cannot be customized for different time zones. If you are not in the Eastern Time Zone, plan your quiz/final completion earlier accordingly so you are not past the lockout deadline. *** Please note: Occasionally, a quiz question may cover a previous week s assigned chapter OR a future week s assigned chapter. A few questions on the quiz are intentionally structured in this fashion so that students carefully evaluate each question and answer before making the BEST selection. The quizzes have no time limit to allow students to analyze each question. This format also encourages students to review previous information covered, to preview information in future chapters relevant to the current week s topics, and to integrate information more effectively so that it generalizes to the vast field of social psychology. Essay Paper Assignment

4 The Essay Paper Assignment requires students to summarize and analyze one scholarly peer-reviewed journal article related to group behavior. Peer-reviewed means an article published in a scholarly academic journal. You can utilize the online library to select an appropriate article. Websites, organization trade publications, news articles and popular media cannot be used for this assignment. Samples of peer-reviewed articles found in a scholarly academic journal are located in the Course Resources folder in the classroom, under Web Resources, in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology file. All of the articles in this scholarly academic journal are examples of peer-reviewed articles. Your analysis should provide insight into what YOU think of the article and its results. Make sure you analyze the article from a quality standpoint, not just a review. You need to interpret the findings and the way that it is reviewed via a summary of the article and an analysis of the results. The body of the paper must be a minimum of 1200 words long. APA format and a minimum of 3 references are required. One of your 3 references can be the article that you reviewed, and your other 2 references can be any relevant resources. You don t need to compare them to the article that you write about. Instead, you need to cite some of the information that you learned from them in your assignment as they relate to your article. You may utilize your text as one of these references. Journal Assignment The Journal Assignment requires reflection on the weekly information that students are learning. Each week, for 7 weeks, students will write one paragraph (150 words) that describes new material they found and why they chose it as something that has struck them as important and/or that has piqued their interest. Only one topic may be selected each week. In addition, at least 1 outside reference should be cited each week (your textbook does NOT count as an outside reference). This is a reflective paper not a summary of what was covered. Students perspectives on the value of the models and the theories discussed would be one of the key elements to include in the journal. At the end of the paper students will summarize the journal with two paragraphs (300 words total). One paragraph will note subjects/topics they liked, and the second paragraph will note things they didn't like or thought there could be more depth on and why. This is a subjective paper. Grading components will include synthesis of the material, minimum word requirements, grammar and professional presentation, and APA format. The journal must be uploaded as one paper via an attachment into the student's "assignment" folder, not copied into the student comments box. The paper must

5 be submitted by Sunday at the end of Week 7. Please do not submit your journal earlier than Week 7. Discussion Forums Six Discussion Forum Assignments are an integral part of the online classroom. Forum assignments are a requirement of this course and will be graded. Each week, one "initial response" must be posted to the instructor's questions by Friday. This response must be a minimum of 400 words. Two additional responses must be posted to classmates' replies by Sunday. Each response must be a minimum of 200 words. These posts must be substantive, meaning that they contribute to the conversation/discussion. Students should not simply post that they agree or disagree with their classmate. Posts that do not meet the minimum word requirements will not be accepted for grading. All posts must be made by the posting deadline. Late posts will not be accepted. Repeated late posts may result in the entire assignment receiving a zero. Posting on-time facilitates the flow of the forum. These instructions will apply to all forums for this course. Course Outline Please see the Student Handbook to reference the University s grading scale. Week 1 Topics Introduction to social psychology as well as study of research Course Outline Weekly Learning Objectives 1. Define social psychology 2. Examine research of social psychology Assigned Readings In Social Psychology (Smith and Mackie, 2007) Ch 1 What Is Social Psychology? Ch 2 Asking and Answering Research Questions Assignments Forum Week1 Quiz Week 1 2 In this 1. Define Ch 3 Forum Week 2

6 lesson, you will learn perception and the self. perception 2. Discuss the idea of the self. Perceiving Individuals Ch 4 The Self Quiz Week 2 3 This lesson will cover perception in groups, the identity and changing attitudes. 1. Discuss perception in groups. 2. Examine social identity. 3. Examine attitudes and their changes in modern society. Ch 5 Perceiving Groups Ch 6 Social Identity Ch 7 Attitudes and Attitude Change Forum Week 3 Quiz Week 3 4 No new material will be covered, but please note that there are assignments due by the end of the week 4. Demonstrate knowledge of all material covered to date. Forum Week 4 Essay Paper 5 Study attitudes and behavior and also groups, norms and conformity. 1. Discuss attitudes and their role in behavior. 2. Discuss groups, norms and conforming in groups. Ch 8 Attitudes and Behavior Ch 9 Groups, Norms and Conformity Forum Week 5 Quiz Week 5

7 6 Examine norms, liking and loving and interacting in groups. 1. Define norms and behavior. 2. Discuss the concepts of liking and loving. 3. Examine interacting in groups. Ch 10 Norms and Behavior Ch 11 Liking and Loving Ch 12 Interaction in Groups Forum Week 6 Quiz Week 6 7 Discuss aggression and conflict as well as helping and cooperation. 1. Discuss the role of aggression in conflict. 2. Examine helping and cooperation. Ch 13 Aggression and Conflict Ch 14 Helping and Cooperation Journal Quiz Week 7 8 Final Exam Demonstrate course-based knowledge via completion of the final exam. Final Exam Policies Please see the Student Handbook to reference all University policies. Quick links to frequently asked question about policies are listed below. Drop/Withdrawal Policy Plagiarism Policy Extension Process and Policy Disability Accommodations Writing Expectations

8 My expectation is that you utilize APA guidelines for all assignments (excluding discussion forums) throughout the course. You will need to cite references when utilizing APA format. Thus, you will not be drawing upon your personal knowledge alone; you will be including research in your responses, citing the research, and including a reference page. I do not give credit for APA format when citations and a reference page are not included. The APUS Online Library contains helpful links to assist students in following APA style. The following OWLPurdue website is another excellent resource: Copying and pasting from the Internet or typing content verbatim from any published resources, with the exception of a few, properly source credited quotes accompanying by correct APA formatted source crediting, violates the APUS policy on plagiarism and will result in a zero for the first instance and more severe consequences for repeat offenses. You must paraphrase (restate in your own words) what you read, being sure to do more than merely reorder or change words in a publication s statements or paragraphs, and must properly source credit all paraphrasing. This is because your professor needs to be able to evaluate your writing for what you have learned, what meaning you have made of materials engaged with, not your ability to piece together what published authors have already written. If you wish to quote an author do so very sparingly (a few sentences at most), use quotation marks and giving the author credit by noting his/her last name and the year of publication in the paper proper and attaching a References (not Works Cited that would be a different formatting style than APA) page with the last name, first initial and year of publication in parentheses, followed by the Internet web address, or title of the book chapter and book, journal article and journal, and ending with the publisher and city and state. Paraphrasing also requires citation in the paper proper and the same type of reference sheet. Below are examples of how to source credit in a paper or post body and a Reference page entry for a fictitious author and journal publication (NOTE: These are quick tip samples and do not encompass source crediting needed for all types of sources used you should review the classroom APA tip guides in the classroom Resources folder). Example: In the body of the assignment: According to Honest (2011) or

9 Students sometimes unintentionally plagiarize because they believe copying word-for-word isn t plagiarism as long as the source of the copied content is credited (Honest, 2011). In a References list attached to the end of the assignment Honest, B. (2011). How to avoid plagiarism. The Journal on Student Integrity and Ethical Behavior. Student collaboration, unless instructed for specific assignments, is not allowed. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me by . All written submissions should be submitted in a font and page set-up that is readable and neat. It is recommended that students try to adhere to a consistent format, which is described below. Typewritten in double-spaced format with a readable style and font and submitted inside the electronic classroom (unless classroom access is not possible and other arrangements have been approved by the professor). Arial 11 or 12-point font or Times New Roman styles. Page margins Top, Bottom, Left Side and Right Side = 1 inch, with reasonable accommodation being made for special situations and online submission variances. THE W ICON You should compose all of your work (i.e. assignments, journals, essays, discussion question responses and participation posts, etc.) in a Microsoft WORD and then copy/paste your completed work into the text editor to load into the announcement field. To do this you MUST use the clipboard with W by placing your cursor where you want to start your text in the text editor box, clicking the clipboard with W icon and copy/pasting into it first rather than directly into the editor box. This function translates content transferred from Word or another word publishing program to the Sakai editor. If you don t use it, your work will show the background code embedded in whatever you copy/paste which is very difficult for readers to see. Citation and Reference Style Attention Please: Students will follow the APA Format as the sole citation and reference style used in written work submitted as part of coursework to the University. Assignments completed in a narrative essay or composition format must follow the citation style cited in the APA Format. Late Assignments

10 Students are expected to submit classroom assignments by the posted due date and to complete the course according to the published class schedule. As adults, students, and working professionals, I understand you must manage competing demands on your time. Should you need additional time to complete an assignment, please contact me before the due date so we can discuss the situation and determine an acceptable resolution. Routine submission of late assignments is unacceptable and may result in points deducted from your final course grade. Netiquette Online universities promote the advancement of knowledge through positive and constructive debate both inside and outside the classroom. Forums on the Internet, however, can occasionally degenerate into needless insults and flaming. Such activity and the loss of good manners are not acceptable in a university setting basic academic rules of good behavior and proper Netiquette must persist. Remember that you are in a place for the rewards and excitement of learning which does not include descent to personal attacks or student attempts to stifle the Forum of others. Technology Limitations: While you should feel free to explore the fullrange of creative composition in your formal papers, keep layouts simple. The Sakai classroom may not fully support MIME or HTML encoded messages, which means that bold face, italics, underlining, and a variety of color-coding or other visual effects will not translate in your e- mail messages. Humor Note: Despite the best of intentions, jokes and especially satire can easily get lost or taken seriously. If you feel the need for humor, you may wish to add emoticons to help alert your readers: ;-), : ), Disclaimer Statement Course content may vary from the outline to meet the needs of this particular group. Online Library Table of Contents The Online Library is available to enrolled students and faculty from inside the electronic campus. This is your starting point for access to online books, subscription periodicals, and Web resources that are designed to support your classes and generally not available through search engines on the open Web. In

11 addition, the Online Library provides access to special learning resources, which the University has contracted to assist with your studies. Questions can be directed to Charles Town Library and Inter Library Loan: The University maintains a special library with a limited number of supporting volumes, collection of our professors publication, and services to search and borrow research books and articles from other libraries. Electronic Books: You can use the online library to uncover and download over 50,000 titles, which have been scanned and made available in electronic format. Electronic Journals: The University provides access to over 12,000 journals, which are available in electronic form and only through limited subscription services. Tutor.com: AMU and APU Civilian & Coast Guard students are eligible for 10 free hours of tutoring provided by APUS. Tutor.com connects you with a professional tutor online 24/7 to provide help with assignments, studying, test prep, resume writing, and more. Tutor.com is tutoring the way it was meant to be. You get expert tutoring whenever you need help, and you work one-to-one with your tutor in your online classroom on your specific problem until it is done. Request a Library Guide for your course ( The AMU/APU Library Guides provide access to collections of trusted sites on the Open Web and licensed resources on the Deep Web. The following are specially tailored for academic research at APUS: Program Portals contain topical and methodological resources to help launch general research in the degree program. To locate, search by department name, or navigate by school. Course Lib-Guides narrow the focus to relevant resources for the corresponding course. To locate, search by class code (e.g., SOCI111), or class name. If a guide you need is not available yet, please the APUS Library: librarian@apus.edu. Table of Contents Turnitin.com

12 Assignments are not required to be submitted to Turnitin.com in this course. A Turnitin.com access code has not be established for this class. All submitted course work must be in your own words (text and other materials must be paraphrased). Suspect content will be Turnitin.com scanned to check for copying. Selected Bibliography