Johnson State College External Degree Program. PSY-2040-JY01 Social Psychology Syllabus Spring 2016

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1 Instructor: Dr. Leslie Johnson, Ph.D. Dates: Jan 18 to May 8 (no class Apr 4 to 8) Johnson State College External Degree Program PSY-2040-JY01 Social Psychology Syllabus Spring 2016 Location: Online using Moodle ( ADA Statement: Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact JSC s Learning Specialist in Academic Services, as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations, if needed, are implemented in a timely fashion. Please call or Richard.Simmons@jsc.edu. Academic Honesty: (from JSC Catalog) Students are expected to conform to the highest standards of academic honesty in all of their academic work at Johnson State College. Academic dishonesty in any form is prohibited and unacceptable. Acts of dishonesty for which a student may be disciplined include, but are not limited to, receiving or providing unauthorized assistance on an examination and plagiarizing the work of others in writing assignments. The American Heritage Dictionary defines plagiarism in the following way: To steal or use (the ideas or writings of another) as one s own. Students are responsible for knowing what specific acts constitute plagiarism; if students are uncertain as to whether a particular act constitutes plagiarism, they should consult with their instructors before turning in assigned work. Texts: Texts are available through the JSC bookstore. Call or go to Course Overview Course Description: This course presents a systematic study of how people think about, influence and relate to one another. Course content includes topics such as attitudes, norms, aggression, conformity, attraction, self-justification, prejudice, group processes, interpersonal interaction and communication, altruism, conflict resolution, persuasion and impression formation. There is a broad opportunity for application of these concepts to understanding the self and interpersonal relationships, as well as to social issues of importance, such as war and peace, consumer behavior and political strategy.

2 Course Goals: Students who successfully complete this course will master the following course goals: 1. identify key concepts, theories, and theorists in social psychology 2. understand the role of situational and individual factors as determinants of behavior 3. understand research methodology used by social psychologist to answer empirical questions 4. identify landmark research studies in social psychology and understand their relation to current developments in the discipline 5. apply lessons and findings of empirical work to the real-world outside of academic psychology and learn how to communicate those lessons to the general public Instructor Contact: When questions or concerns come up throughout the semester, please contact me (Dr. Johnson) via at Please send questions directly to this . Questions will be answered within 48 hours. Required Readings/Materials: The required textbook for this course is: Greenberg, J., Schmader, T., Ardnt, J., & Landau, M. (2015). Social Psychology: The Science of Everyday Life. New York: NY: Worth Publishers. ISBN-13: Required assigned reading for each unit can be found on the course calendar. Additional articles will be assigned for some units in the course and electronic copies of these materials can be found under each unit in Moodle. Students must complete the readings assigned for each unit in order to be successful in this course. In addition to readings assigned from the textbook and supplemental sources, a PowerPoint presentation for each unit will also be posted. The presentations are designed to supplement the reading material and to help you focus in on key theories, studies, and ideas. You should carefully review the presentation slides for each unit (available under each unit) and take notes as you do. Required videos, links, and stories from online sources will also be posted for many of the units in this course. As with the PowerPoint presentations, you should watch, read, or listen to these supplemental resources and think about how they add to your understanding of the material presented in the textbook. These supplemental resources will serve as the topic of some of the discussion questions and homework assignments throughout the semester so it is crucial that you read them. Expectations: The primary expectation in this course is one of respect. As your instructor, I will strive to respect each student in this course and his/her/their background. In exchange, I expect that you demonstrate respect to your classmates, their backgrounds, and their ideas. As part of this atmosphere of respect, I ask that you address me as Dr. Johnson, or less formally as Dr. J. In return, I will address you by any name that you ask as long as it is academically appropriate (e.g., I once addressed a student as Tutu for an entire semester because she preferred that nickname).

3 Student Evaluation Required Readings: For each unit, relevant required reading has been assigned from the textbook and through supplemental readings posted on Moodle. Throughout the course, students will be expected to participate in class discussion by posting on the discussion boards (see below). All assigned readings can be found on the course calendar. Discussion Board Postings: For each unit in the course, there will be a discussion question posted on the discussion board for that unit. To access the discussion board, you should navigate to the unit menu and choose the item labeled Discussion Unit X. On the Discussion Board postings, you will be expected to post your reactions to prompts, respond to your classmates ideas, and respond to feedback from Dr. Johnson. You must respond to TWELVE different discussion questions throughout the semester. Your response should be directly to the question posted on the discussion board; some of the discussion postings ask you to respond directly to video clips, articles, or other supplemental materials, be sure to give yourself enough time to review these materials. Your discussion board responses to prompts are due on Wednesday of each week by 10:00PM EST. In addition to your personal reflections, you will be expected to provide your reactions/response at least TWELVE different response threads in at least TWELVE different units posted by your classmates or by Dr. Johnson. This means that you need to participate in at least six unique discussion threads, from six different units. Often a discussion thread might require two or three responses to classmates (remember, it s a discussion! In face-to-face interaction, discussions often go back and forth), in these cases, your entire participation in the thread discussion counts as 1 of your 12 responses. Responses to classmates ideas are due on Friday of each week by 10:00PM EST. Examinations: The exam portion of this course will consist of three examinations. Exams will be opened 24 hours before they are due (Due at 10:00 PM) and will be posted under the last unit covered on the exam (see below). Once you begin the exam, you will have 3 hours to complete the exam before it closes and you are no longer able to modify your responses. The exam will be a combination of multiple choice and short essay questions. The exams are open book/materials, but you should work independently on the exam. If you are identified as working with another student on the exam, you will receive an automatic F in the course. Please see below for the chapters/topics to be covered on each exam: Exam: Units Covered on the Exam: Exam 1 Units 1-5 Exam 2 Units 6-10 Exam 3 Units Syllabus Quiz: In order to ensure that you have read, asked questions about, and understood the syllabus, you will be given a quiz on the syllabus, due on Jan. 22 by 10:00PM EST. The quiz is posted on Moodle under the Unit 1 link and you will be given 1 hour to take the quiz once you begin. The quiz is worth 25 points toward your final grade. No late quizzes will be accepted.

4 APA Style/Format Tutorial & Assignment: All written assignments for this course should be submitted in APA format/style. In order to familiarize you with APA format/style, you will be required to complete a tutorial created by the American Psychological Association (APA) and complete an assignment on APA format/style. The link to the tutorial and the assignment guidelines can be found under the Unit 2 link on Moodle. This assignment is worth 25 points toward your final grade. Article Critiques: A key goal of this course is to help students become informed consumers of social psychological research. To assess your ability to read and understand social psychological research, you will be asked to identify 2 empirical peer-reviewed journal articles on a social psychological topic and write 2-3 page critiques on the articles and their findings. More information and a rubric for the Article Critiques will be posted on Moodle along with due dates. Reflection Papers: During the course, students will be asked to submit two 3-4 page reflection papers. The goal of these papers is to integrate course material by finding commonalities and relationship amongst the topics and apply them to students course of study, jobs outside of academia, and/or real life experiences. More information and a rubric for the Reflection Papers will be posted on Moodle along with due dates. Course Policies Assignment Format & Submission Guidelines: All written assignments (other than discussion board postings) must be submitted electronically through the Assignment function in Moodle. Your assignment must be in MSWord (.doc,.docx) or a MSWord editable format. Assignments not in this format will not be accepted. Assignments should be formatted in APA format (see resources on Moodle under APA format link). Failure to format assignments in APA format will result in loss of credit. When referencing psychological theory or statements of fact, students should provide an academic reference for the information. When referencing sources of information, students should follow APA Guidelines for in text citations and include a reference page at the end of the assignment (not included in the page requirements for the assignment). Resources for APA style can also be found under the APA format link on Moodle. Grades: The grade for this course will be based on the following components, with each component being weighted as indicated below: Points out of 1000: Percent of final grade: Syllabus Quiz APA Style/Format Assignment Discussion Board Question Responses Discussion Board Classmate Responses Reflection Paper Reflection Paper Article Critique Article Critique

5 Exam Exam Exam Final letter grades for the course will be assigned according to the following scale: %; pts = A %; pts = C %; pts = A 73-76%; pts = C 90-93%; pts = A %; pts = C %; pts = B %; pts = D %; pts = B 63-66%; pts = D 80-82%; pts = B %; pts = D- <59%; <594 pts = F Late Assignments: Late assignments will receive 10% deduction from the grade for every 24 hours that they are late up to 48 hours late. Assignments will not be accepted more than 2 days late (20% deduction), including weekends and holidays/breaks. Make-up Exams: Make-up exams will only be scheduled for emergencies and/or college sponsored travel (see make-up exam policies on Moodle). If you miss an exam, please review and follow the policies on Moodle. Grade Disputes: If a student disagrees with a grade received on an assignment, challenges to the grade must be made in writing. Thus, a student who wants to challenge a grade must carefully explain his/her/their reasons(s) in detail on paper, and turn in the original assignment and his/her/their type-written justification within one week of the return of the assignment. Challenges to grades will not be accepted more than one week following the return of the assignment. Challenges will be considered carefully, and students will be provided with a written response for adjusting or not adjusting the grade. Course grades will not be changed after final grades for the semester are submitted except in cases of documented errors in recording grades or in computation of total course points. Academic Honesty: I have a zero tolerance policy for all forms of academic dishonesty. The student academic honesty policy is outlined in the academic catalog and all students should ensure that they are aware of this policy. Students who are identified as committing any form of academic dishonesty in this course will receive a minimum of 0 on the relevant assignment for the first offense and will automatically fail the course if multiple violations are identified.

6 Course Calendar Week/Dates Topics Reading/Assignments & Due Date Week 1 Jan Week 2 Jan Week 3 Feb. 1-7 Week 4 Feb Unit 1: What is Social Psychology? Overview and Historical Roots Unit 2: Research Methods & Ethics in Social Psychology Unit 3: Fundamentals of Social Behavior: Motivational & Cognitive Approaches Unit 4: Person Perception: Memory and Attributions Chapter 1 (pg. 1-14) Syllabus Quiz Due on Jan. 22 by 10PM Chapter 2 (pg ) Supplemental Reading on Moodle Chapters 2 & 3 Chapter 4 Week 5 Feb Week 6 Feb Unit 5: The Self: Origins & Functions Chapter 5 Exam 1 Due on Feb. 19 by 10PM Unit 6: The Self: Motives Chapter 6 Week 7 Feb. 29-Mar. 6 Week 8 Mar Unit 7: Social Influence: Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience Unit 8: Attitudes, Persuasion, & Behavior Chapter 7 Supplemental Reading on Moodle Chapter 8 Week 9 Mar Week 10 Mar Week 11 Mar. 28-Apr. 3 Week 12 Apr Week 13 Apr Week 14 Apr Week 15 Apr. 25-May 1 Unit 9: Group Processes Chapter 9 Unit 10: Stereotyping, Prejudice, & Chapters 10 & 11 Discrimination Exam 2 Due on Mar. 25 by 10PM Unit 11: Interpersonal Aggression Chapter 12 Break-No course work Unit 12: Helping Chapter 13 Unit 13: Attraction Chapter 14 Unit 14: Close Relationships Chapter 15 Week 16 May 2-8 Unit 15: Social Psychology in the Real-World Supplemental Reading on Moodle Exam 3 Due on May 6 by 10PM

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