YALE UNIVERSITY Department of Psychology

Transcription

1 YALE UNIVERSITY Department of Psychology SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY (PSYC S-150) Instructor: Hannah Raila & Michael Vanderlind Location: Kirtland Hall, Room 207 Day/Time: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:00 3:15 pm Office Hours: TBD and/or by appointment COURSE DESCRIPTION Social Psychology is designed to introduce students to the study of different forces in our environment that influence behavior on the individual and/or group level as well as how an individual influences his or her own social world. The course will provide an overview of specific psychological constructs that we understand to be important in the social world that we live in (e.g., social loafing, formation of friendship and romantic partnerships, motivators of health behavior). Aspects of these constructs that will be discussed include background of how they were discovered, considerations of how they manifest on a daily basis, and understanding of how they relate to one another. Results and theoretical contributions from seminal studies in the field will be reviewed. LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this course, you will be able to do the following: Identify the social psychological factors that influence our world on a daily basis e.g. in daily social interactions or in behavior of political groups Cite some of the field s most highly influential studies and their findings Digest and understand social psychological research Evaluate different theoretical explanations for the cause and maintenance of certain behaviors Become more sensitive to why people do what they do TEXTS REQUIRED Gilovich, T., Keltner, D., Chen, S., & Nisbett, R. E. (2012). Social Psychology (3rd Edition). Additional readings provided in class or online. These will primarily include research articles. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Grades will be based on the following assignments. Class Participation (10%): Students are expected to attend and be punctual to class. If a student is unable to attend class, the instructor should be notified (by ) 24 hours in advance. Participation grade will be determined by attendance, contributions to class discussions, and completion of in-class activities. Online Assignment Completion (15%): Throughout the semester, students are expected to participate in a variety of online assignments, which will mostly include online reading

2 quizzes. All such assignments will be graded. In the case of grading for written assignments, they will be graded on punctuality of submission and demonstration of thoughtfulness. Facebook Page Analysis (15%): To practice observing social psychological concepts in the real world, students will analyze someone s Facebook page. The analysis should consist of a brief description of the page s contents. It should then analyze the Facebook page in terms of the psychology of constructing a social self, presenting that self, and managing impressions. Again, keep the description of the page minimal it only needs to provide enough background to discuss its relation to psychological constructs. Finally, it should suggest a possible change to the page and indicate a social psychological reason for this suggestion. There are many potential areas for discussion. Some of them include the likely motives to control or regulate information that the Facebook owner has, the strategies they use to do so (e.g., ingratiation, intimidation, self-handicapping, use of status symbols), and the reinforcers that encourage this self-presentation. Some aspects of this self-presentation may be conscious, while others may be unconscious. Some owners may portray a consistent social self (e.g., their branding may be consistent), while others will have notable inconsistencies. Note that they may apply impression management to certain people (e.g., the self, friends, enemies), as well as objects (e.g., liked consumer products), events (e.g., sorority events), or ideas (e.g., political ideas). The review should be 3-5 pages in length with 12-point Times New Roman font, and double spaced. Due via on or before Friday, July 17 th, at 1:00 p.m. The paper will be graded on thoughtfulness, clear communication of ideas, and ability to thoroughly integrate topics discussed in readings and lectures. Midterm Exam (20%): The midterm exam (administered on Wednesday, Jul 22, 2015) will consist of multiple choice and short-answer questions on relevant course material (including class discussions, lectures, and assigned readings). The midterm exam will cover material from the first half of the course. Final Research Paper (20%): To practice reading, digesting, and analyzing a psychological research paper, students will select, from out of a group of articles that will be posted online, one article to review. The studies posted are typical of scientific research studies in the psychological sciences. Please note that, while these articles are not long, they are generally dense and can contain a lot of technical material; as a result, reading through them in a way that allows you to understand them may take some time. After reading one research article, the review will then consist of a) An introduction paragraph; one that compels the reader to care about the topic and gives a brief overview of what will be discussed, b) A synopsis of the paper including what the investigators did, why they did so, what they found, and what their findings imply. After these parts, the paper should do c) ONE of the following: 1. Critique any flaws in the paper, such as methodological flaws (e.g., not having a diverse sample), flaws in their conclusions (e.g., implying causation from a study that can only conclude correlation), or flaws in how they conceptualized the constructs they examine. Critiques should discuss how the student would design an experiment to better study the topic at hand. OR

3 2. Discuss real life policy changes that should be made, given the findings from this research. Such changes can include public policy changes, changes to an organization (e.g., a business, a university), or other societal changes inspired by the findings of the research article. This section should review the psychological constructs that underlie the proposed change and discuss how it would be implemented, based on the theory and empirical findings from your article. The paper should end with d) A concluding paragraph. The research paper should be 5 7 pages in length with 12-point Times New Roman font, and double spaced. Due via on or before Wednesday, August 5th at 1:00 p.m. Be sure to cite all sources of any findings that you describe. Use APA format for in text parenthetical citations as well as a references section (see or for formatting tips). As always, please do not plagiarize. Let your instructors know if you have any questions about what plagiarizing entails or want to check if something would be considered plagiarism. Ignorance of what plagiarism is will not be considered a valid excuse for doing it. Final Exam (20%): The final exam (administered in class on Friday, Aug 7, 2015) will consist of multiple choice and short- answer questions on relevant course material (including class discussions, lectures, and assigned readings). The final exam will be cumulative, though will be heavily weighted towards material from the second half of the course (approximately 80% of tested material will come from the second half). GRADING AND LATE POLICY All assignments will receive a numbered grade (e.g. 8 out of 10 points). An assignment will lose 20% of its possible grade for each 24 hours that it is late; however, late submission of online activities will not be accepted. In the case of unforeseen emergencies that interfere with timely submission, please notify us as soon as possible. Written documentation may be needed in these instances. > 93.0% = A % = A % = B % = B % = B % = C % = C % = C % = D < 59.9% = F PERSONAL USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM Because personal technology can be distracting both to the user and to other students in the classroom, their use should be minimized. Therefore, use of mobile phones is not permitted during class. Phones should be turned off or silenced (no vibration setting) in preparation for class. Laptops and tablet computers may be permitted only to the extent they are used for class activities (i.e., note taking). However, this policy may be amended if students are found using

4 personal technology in ways that are not productive or relevant to the course (i.e. if students are seen using Facebook or on personal , laptops may cease to be allowed in class). COURSE SCHEDULE Session Topic Readings Notes July 6 Introduction What is social psychology? Chapter 1 July 8 Research Methods Chapter 2 July 10 July 13 The Self Chapter 3 Social Cognition Chapter 4 July 15 Social Attribution Chapter 5 July 17 Attitudes and Change Chapter 7 Facebook Paper due by 1 p.m. July 20 July 22 Social Influence and Persuasion Midterm exam Sections from Chapters 8 and 9 None! July 24 Stereotypes & Prejudice Chapter 11 July 27 Groups & Aggression Sections from Chapters 12 and 13 July 29 Altruism & Cooperation Chapter 14 July 31 Social Psychology and Health See Application Module 1 (pg. 562)

5 Aug 3 Attraction & Relationships Chapter 10 Aug 5 Emotion Chapter 6 Final Paper due by 1 p.m. Aug 7 Final exam None! RULES, REGULATIONS, & IMPORTANT NOTES 1. Remember that Yale University has subscribed to a tradition of honor since its founding. All students pledge their academic integrity on every piece of work submitted. In addition, students pledge not to tolerate violations of academic honor by their peers. 2. All assignments should reflect only the work of the individual student who claims credit for the work. 3. Students are responsible for all assigned readings and all material covered in class, even on days when they may happen to be absent. 4. Students with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations that serve to maximize their potential for acquiring and demonstrating mastery of course material. It is the student s responsibility to document any such disability with the Disabilities Office and to notify each instructor of the situation. CONTACTING US We are committed to making ourselves available to answer questions, discuss concerns, and to provide/accept feedback concerning course content, exams, or anything else. We both check our frequently during business hours and will do our best to respond to your messages within 24 hours. We also encourage you to visit during office hours or to set up alternative meeting times with us. Remember that should you begin to struggle in this course, it is always better to talk to us about it sooner rather than later. The instructor reserves the right to make changes in this outline as needed. Any such changes will be announced in class.