Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 1 PSYC/SOCI 360 A Social Psychology June Session 14/55 June 1 July 25, 2015 Course Description Textbooks Theories, methods and research on the nature and causes of individual behavior in social situations. Cross listed as SOCI 360. Prerequisite: 6 hours of PSYC and/or SOCI classes Proctored Exams: FINAL Aronson, Elliot; Wilson, Timothy D., & Akert, Robin M. Social Psychology, 8th Edition, (2013) Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-205-79662-5 Textbooks for the course may be ordered from MBS Direct. You can order online at http://direct.mbsbooks.com/columbia.htm (be sure to select Online Education rather than your home campus before selecting your class) by phone at 800-325-3252 For additional information about the bookstore, visit http://www.mbsbooks.com. Course Overview This course focuses on the interrelationship between the individual and his/her social environment. We will see how people influence their social environment by their thoughts, which in turn influence their behaviors. We will also focus on how the social environment can encourage or constrain a person's behaviors. This course focuses on the theories and related research that define the nature and causes of individual behavior within social situations.
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 2 Technology Requirements Participation in this course will require the basic technology for all online classes at Columbia College: A computer with reliable Internet access, a web browser, Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office or another word processor such as Open Office. You can find more details about standard technical requirements for our courses on our site. Course Objectives To become acquainted with the discipline of social psychology. To note how the discipline sees all behaviors as a function of the person and the environment across research area. Measurable Learning Outcomes Describe how social psychology differentiates itself from other psychological disciplines. Discuss research and theory describing how individuals come to understand themselves, their beliefs and attitudes, and their own behaviors, as well as the behavior of others. Identify the different ways individuals influence or attempt to influence on another (i.e.; constructions of gender and culture, conformity pressure, persuasive tactics, group dynamics), and be able to identify the specific factors that increase and/or decrease the likelihood of successful influence. Discuss how research and theory explains the origin and dynamics of both positive (i.e.; attraction, helping behavior) and negative (i.e.; prejudice, aggression) social relations. Grading Grading Scale GRADE POINTS PERCENT A 450-500 90-100 B 400-449 80-89 C 350-399 70-79 D 300-349 60-69 F 0-299 0-59 Schedule of Due Dates Grade Weights ASSIGNMENT POINTS PERCENT Discussion 150 30% Quizzes 150 30% Activity Assignment 50 10% Final Exam 150 30% Total 500 100% WEEK ASSIGNMENT POINTS DUE DATE 1 Discussion 1 Part A 10 Thursday Discussion 1 Part B 10 Sunday Quiz 1 20 Sunday 2 Discussion 2 Part A 10 Thursday Discussion 2 Part B 10 Sunday
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 3 Quiz 2 20 Sunday 3 Discussion 3 Part A 20 Thursday Quiz 3 20 Sunday 4 Discussion 4 Part A 10 Thursday Discussion 4 Part B 10 Sunday Quiz 4 20 Sunday 5 Discussion 5 Part A 10 Thursday Discussion 5 Part B 10 Sunday Quiz 5 20 Sunday Activity Assignment 50 Sunday 6 Discussion 6 Part A 10 Thursday Discussion 6 Part B 10 Sunday Quiz 6 20 Sunday 7 Discussion 7 Part A 10 Thursday Discussion 7 Part B 10 Sunday Quiz 7 20 Sunday 8 Discussion 8 Part A 10 Thursday Assignment Overview Quiz 8 10 Saturday Final Examination 150 Saturday TOTAL 500 Discussion: Each week (except Weeks 3 and 8) there will be discussion assignments that are divided into two parts. The first part of the Discussion must be completed by Thursday of the assigned week. The second part of the Discussion will require a response posted by Sunday of the assigned week. Respond to at least two other students responses in each discussion assignment. Activity Paper: The behavioral act of bullying is a form of aggression that has been an epidemic in schools today. In the United States over five million children through the eighth grade have been exposed to bullying. Bullying research has focused on specific types of anti-bullying programs to determine the effectiveness in schools and for the students in lowering the amount of bully reports (Bear & Blank, 2012). Your paper will discuss the current research on five anti-bullying programs created and implemented in schools today. he specific instructions for this assignment will be available to you under the Announcements on Monday of Week 3 at 3 pm. The final paper is due in Week 5. Quiz: The purpose of each quiz is to monitor your comprehension of the information presented in the reading each week. You can access the correct answers to each quiz the following Monday after 3 pm. Final Examination: The final exam will be proctored. It will cover material from all chapters. The exam is worth 150 points. Allow extra time for any scheduling issues between you and the proctor. The exam must be completed between Tuesday and Saturday of Week 8.
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 4 Course Schedule Week 1 Introduction to Social Psychology Readings: Chapters 1-2 Quiz 1 Discussion 1 A - Welcome: During the first week we will take the time to "socialize" and get to know one another. I would like each student to state why you are interested in Social Psychology, what you would like to get out of the course, the trait that you have that is most different from other people, and the trait that you have that is the most similar to other people. Also include what part of the country you are from and how long you have lived there. Please feel free to tell the class about YOU! Discussion 1 B What is social psychology?: In dealing with Social Psychology, one of the most important factors is that we understand our own personalities. Go to www.keirsey.com and complete the Temperament Sorter II, a personality test that will give you code letters, indicating a category that you belong in (Artisan, Guardian, etc). Obtaining this category and these first 2 letters are free. IF YOU CHOOSE, you can pay an amount to obtain more detailed information. However, these 2 letters alone, give you your category, which will help you determine what work environments are best for you, what romantic partners are best, what type of parent you are likely to be, etc. After you determine your category, click on your category listed on the left hand side of the Keirsey webpage and you will be able to compare yourself to celebrities. If you play around with the different links, you can find out all sorts of information about yourself. Report your findings to the class by Sunday night. There will be a quiz posted to the site that will cover the readings in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. The quiz will only be available during Week 1. It will be closed on Sunday evening. Week 2 Social Cognition and Social Perception Readings: Chapters 3-4 Discussion 2 A Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: A Self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when an individual A has a preconceived expectation about another person B. The individual A reacts to the person B accordingly. This in turn causes person B to act in a way consistent with the original expectation. This week's individual on-line conference assignment will be to examine schemas and self-fulfilling prophecies. 1. Define schema in your own words and discuss whether you think schemas influence how events are interpreted? 2. Define self-fulfilling prophecy in your own words and how it might relate to an individual's schema. 3. Give an example. This assignment is expected to cover the three items listed above and should not be more than 3 concise paragraphs in length. Discussion 2 B A Smile is a Just a Frown Turned Upside Down: In this discussion, you will act as an experimenter and perform the simple experiment listed below. You will then post your results to the Thread and provide the required responses to the questions provided. 1. Each student is to intentionally gain eye contact with a stranger and then choose to smile or not smile while passing that stranger. You are to pick the following sample
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 5 Quiz 2 of participants: (You will have a total of 20 responses.) a. Five females and five males to smile at b. Five males and five females to NOT smile at. 2. Code the responses: a. Smile b. No Smile c. Acknowledged without smiling d. Avoidance e. Other 3. Present your statistics from this experiment under the headings Male and Female. Discuss your results. There will be a quiz posted to the site that will cover the readings in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. The quiz will only be available during Week 2. It will be closed on Sunday evening. Week 3 Self-Knowledge and Self-Justification Readings: Chapters 5-6 Discussion 3 Self-Concept: Define self-concept in your own words and discuss whether an individual's self-concept is stable or varies over time and circumstance. Consider whether individuals can change their self-concept by introspection and discuss how the Self- Awareness Theory influenced your overall decision. Provide references from both the text and the articles listed in the references link on your course home page to support your position. If you quote another web site please reference your work by providing the web site address. For this assignment, you are to read the chapter in the text and any articles that interest you that are listed in the references. After reading, it is my expectation that you will present a cogent discussion of the above items. Activity Assignment Quiz 3 Begin work on the Activity Assignment due in Week 5. You have the option of doing this as a team assignment. See additional information in the Content area about the assignment and about forming teams. There will be a quiz posted to the site that will cover the readings in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6. The quiz will only be available during Week 3. It will be closed on Sunday evening. Week 4 Attitudes and Attitude Change and Conformity Readings: Chapters 7-8 Discussion 4 A Attitude: Social Psychology defines an attitude as consisting of three components: Affective, Behavioral, and Cognitive (ABC). Look at the ABCs of ONE of the following attitudes and determine if it has the Affective, Behaviorally and Cognitive component. Also, discuss how you think the attitude was formed. 1. Asian men are very smart. 2. Muscular women who lift weights are lesbians. 3. People on welfare are lazy. 4. Old people are difficult to get along with. 5. Blue collar men are not very smart.
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 6 Quiz 4 6. People who are raised as an only child are spoiled. 7. People who have a lot of pets are not very clean. 8. Women should do all the housework around the house. In your response, also include how you would go about changing an attitude, using both the central and peripheral routes to persuasion. Let me know that you have read and understood the materials. Discussion 4 B Conformity: Obedience to authority can be a powerful social pressure to conform and comply with a request that might be against our intuitive sense of right and wrong. Milgram's study of obedience has contributed to understanding how people can commit inhuman acts under situational constraints. Read about the experiment and put yourself in the participant's situation and explain how you honestly think you would have responded if you were in that experiment. Would you have administered the shocks? There will be a quiz posted to the site that will cover the readings in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8. The quiz will only be available during Week 4. It will be closed on Sunday evening. Week 5 Interpersonal Attraction and Pro-social Behavior Readings: Chapters 10-11 Discussion Assignment Discussion 5 A - Pro-social Behavior: Why do people help? Why is it that people will sometimes perform acts of great self-sacrifice and heroism while other times they act uncaring, heartless, and ignore the desperate pleas of those who need help? Based on the reading in Chapter 11, what are the situational determinants of pro-social behavior in an emergency situation? Discussion 5 B Interpersonal Attraction: Why do people fall in love? Why do some relationships last longer than others? Using the Triangular Theory of Love (see web link in Content section), discuss the pros and cons of three of the forms of love posed in this model. Activity Assignment: Paper due this week Quiz 5 See the Content area for a more complete description of this assignment. There will be a quiz posted to the site that will cover the readings in Chapter 10 and Chapter 11. The quiz will only be available during Week 5. It will be closed on Sunday evening. Week 6 Aggression and Prejudice Readings: Chapters 12-13 Discussion 6 A Realistic Conflict Theory: This theory states that limited resources lead to conflict between groups and result in increased prejudice and discrimination. After reading in Chapter 13 about the experiment carried out at the Boys Camp by Muzafer Sherif, use the Realistic Conflict Theory to explain why the groups fought. In addition, list and discuss the six conditions that the experimenters used to reduce the prejudice and offer your opinion on why you think any or all of these conditions would be effective. Discussion 6 B Portrayal of Aggression on Television: A recent study found that 58% of television programs contained violence, and of those selected, over 78% showed no remorse, criticism of the violence, or penalty for the violent act. For this assignment you will be required to watch one hour of television and count the number of aggressive acts you view
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 7 Quiz 6 and rate each act on intensity and duration. Rate the intensity of each act on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being low and 10 being extreme violence. Rate the duration according to the number of seconds of violence you viewed. Discuss your results and express your views and understanding of at least two of the distinct reactions that explain why exposure to violence may cause aggression as described in your text. There will be a quiz posted to the site that will cover the readings in Chapter 12 and Chapter 13. The quiz will only be available during Week 6. It will be closed on Sunday evening. Course Evaluation Please evaluate the course. You will be able to submit your course evaluation between Sunday of Week 5 and Thursday of Week 7. A link will be sent to your CougarMail that will allow you to access the evaluation. Week 7 Social Psychology in Action Readings: Social Psychology in Action (final section of the text), Chapter Spas 1-3 Quiz 7 Discussion 7 A Stress in Your Life: I have 'stressed' (pardon the pun) the importance of this chapter because it is so crucial to the overall well being of your life and of your academic success. In this discussion thread I would like you to discuss: 1. What is stress and how does it affect our health? 2. What is the long-term effect of a negative life event? 3. Complete the Social Readjustment Scale at http://www.peterfox.com.au/trauma_lifeevents.htm and determine your score. 4. Does perceiving some control in a stressful situation help moderate our overall reaction to the stress? Give an example in your own life experience. 5. What contributes most to job related stress and burnout? 6. Discuss the concepts of Type A and Type B personalities and determine which is better for the individual in the long term. 7. What are the best ways to deal with stress? One method is described at http://us.artofliving.org/content-video-aolf-cnn?center=usa. Discuss your personal experiences. Discussion 7 B Expert Testimony: Explore the resources in the Content area for Week 7, What Jennifer Saw to learn more about how an eye witness could go wrong. You can even complete your own composite sketch. Integrate the information on this site with your readings in the text (Social Psychology and the Law) to explain why you believe an eye witness can be wrong, if that is indeed what you believe. There will be a quiz posted to the site that will cover the readings in Chapter 14, Chapter 15 and Chapter 16. The quiz will only be available during Week 7. It will be closed on Sunday evening. Week 8 Group Process Readings: Chapter 9 Discussion Assignment Discussion 8 Conflict and Cooperation: Do people cooperate or compete? We will examine and analyze cooperation and conflict using an interesting challenge which pits you against the computer. Visit the Prisoner's Dilemma, linked from the Content area for Week 8. You may try to outsmart the computer and win. You may choose to cooperate in the hopes of
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 8 Quiz 8 Final Exam winning. Analyze the actions of the computer and report the results to the class. There will be a quiz posted to the site that will cover the readings in Chapter 9. The quiz will only be available during Week 8. It will be closed on Saturday evening. The final exam consists of 50 multiple choice questions. The Final Examination is proctored and will be completed by Saturday. Course Policies Student Conduct Plagiarism All Columbia College students, whether enrolled in a land-based or online course, are responsible for behaving in a manner consistent with Columbia College's Student Conduct Code and Acceptable Use Policy. Students violating these policies will be referred to the office of Student Affairs and/or the office of Academic Affairs for possible disciplinary action. The Student Code of Conduct and the Computer Use Policy for students can be found in the Columbia College Student Handbook. The Handbook is available online; you can also obtain a copy by calling the Student Affairs office (Campus Life) at 573-875-7400. The teacher maintains the right to manage a positive learning environment, and all students must adhere to the conventions of online etiquette. Your grade will be based in large part on the originality of your ideas and your written presentation of these ideas. Presenting the words, ideas, or expression of another in any form as your own is plagiarism. Students who fail to properly give credit for information contained in their written work (papers, journals, exams, etc.) are violating the intellectual property rights of the original author. For proper citation of the original authors, you should reference the appropriate publication manual for your degree program or course (APA, MLA, etc.). Violations are taken seriously in higher education and may result in a failing grade on the assignment, a grade of "F" for the course, or dismissal from the College. Collaboration conducted between students without prior permission from the instructor is considered plagiarism and will be treated as such. Spouses and roommates taking the same course should be particularly careful. Also, please note that work done in a previous course, in whole or in part, will not be accepted. All required papers may be submitted for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers may be included in the Turnitin.com reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. This service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site. For further understanding, please visit the plagiarism tutorial that can be found in your course content area. Non-Discrimination There will be no discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, political affiliation, veteran status, age, physical handicap, or marital status. Disability Services Students with documented disabilities who may need academic services for this course are required to register with the Coordinator for Disability Services at (573) 875-7626. Until the student has been cleared through the disability services office, accommodations do not have to be granted. If you are a
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 9 student who has a documented disability, it is important for you to read the entire syllabus before enrolling in the course. The structure or the content of the course may make an accommodation not feasible. Online Participation You are expected to read the assigned texts and participate in the discussions and other course activities each week. Assignments should be posted by the due dates stated on the grading schedule in your syllabus. If an emergency arises that prevents you from participating in class, please let your instructor know as soon as possible. Attendance Policy Attendance for a week will be counted as having submitted a course assignment for which points have been earned during that week of the session or if the proctoring information has been submitted or the plagiarism quiz taken if there is no other assignment due that week. A class week is defined as the period of time between Monday and Sunday (except for Week 8, when the week and the course will end on Saturday at midnight). The course and system deadlines are all based on the Central Time Zone. Cougar E-mail All students are provided a CougarMail account when they enroll in classes at Columbia College. You are responsible for monitoring e-mail from that account for important messages from the College and from your instructor. You may forward your Cougar e-mail account to another account; however, the College cannot be held responsible for breaches in security or service interruptions with other e-mail providers. Students should use e-mail for private messages to the instructor and other students. The class discussions are for public messages so the class members can each see what others have to say about any given topic and respond. Late Assignment Policy An online class requires regular participation and a commitment to your instructor and your classmates to regularly engage in the reading, discussion and writing assignments. Although most of the online communication for this course is asynchronous, you must be able to commit to the schedule of work for the class for the next eight weeks. You must keep up with the schedule of reading and writing to successfully complete the class. I will not accept late assignments unless prior arrangements have been made with me. Course Evaluation You will have the opportunity to evaluate the course near the end of the session. Course evaluations will open on Sunday of Week 5 and will remain open until Thursday of Week 7. A link will be sent to your CougarMail that will allow you to access the evaluation. Be assured that the evaluations are anonymous and that your instructor will not be able to see them until after final grades are submitted. Proctor Policy Students taking courses that require proctored exams must submit their completed proctor request forms to their instructors by the end of the second week of the session. Proctors located at Columbia College campuses are automatically approved. The use of ProctorU services is also automatically approved. The instructor of each course will consider any other choice of proctor for approval or denial. Additional proctor choices the instructor will consider include: public librarians, high school or college instructors, high school or college counseling services, commanding officers, education service officers, and other proctoring services. Personal friends, family members, athletic coaches
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 10 and direct supervisors are not acceptable. Additional Resources Orientation for New Students This course is offered online, using course management software provided by Desire2Learn and Columbia College. The Student Manual provides details about taking an online course at Columbia College. You may also want to visit the course demonstration to view a sample course before this one opens. Technical Support If you have problems accessing the course or posting your assignments, contact your instructor, the Columbia College Helpdesk, or the D2L Helpdesk for assistance. Contact information is also available within the online course environment. CCHelpDesk@ccis.edu 800-231-2391 ex. 4357 helpdesk@desire2learn.com 877-325-7778 Online Tutoring Smarthinking is a free online tutoring service available to all Columbia College students. Smarthinking provides real-time online tutoring and homework help for Math, English, and Writing. The Writing Center can be used for writing assistance in any course. Smarthinking also provides access to live tutorials in writing and math, as well as a full range of study resources, including writing manuals, sample problems, and study skills manuals. You can access the service from wherever you have a connection to the Internet. I encourage you to take advantage of this free service provided by the college. Access Smarthinking through CougarTrack under Students->Academics->Academic Resources.