SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Psych 220 - Fall 2004

 

INSTRUCTOR:  G. L. Baril  203 AMH  941-4270     Office Hours: MW 1:00-1:50  TuTh 2:30-3:20

 

TEXT:       Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Akert, R. M. (2005).  Social Psychology (5th ed.).  New York:  Longman.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:  Learning principles and factual knowledge about how the individual is influenced by and in turn influences others.  Along with providing a knowledge of the discipline in general (including how professionals gain new knowledge), this course should also increase students' understanding of their own behavior as well as the behavior of others (implications for self understanding).

 

QUIZZES:  There will be a 12 item, multiple choice quiz the 1st class meeting of each week (except Aug 31, Sept 28, Oct 19, Nov 2, 9, & 23) covering the previous week's material.  There will be 3 quiz grades, each based the sum of 3 quizzes.  Normally a missed quiz will receive the lowest score obtained in the class.  The quizzes will count 22% of the course grade.

 

EXAMS:  There will be 3 mid-term exams consisting of multiple choice items based on both text & lecture material.  If an exam must be missed for good cause, notify the instructor in advance.  Makeup exams may be all short answer essays.  Each exam will count 26% of the course grade.

 

GRADING:  Exam grades are determined by the highest score in the class (or 90% of the maximum possible score, whichever is higher) which receives a grade point value of 4.66.  Half of that score receives a 1.00.  Every other score between these values & below is calculated by interpolation.  The University's grade point system is:  A (4.00), A- (3.67-3.99), B+ (3.33-3.66), B (3.00-3.32), B- (2.67-2.99), C+ (2.33-2.66), C (2.00-2.32), C- (1.67-1.99), D+ (1.33-1.66), D (1.00-1.32), F(0-.99).

 

SHORT PAPER:  To provide greater depth in a specific area & a chance to apply the material, a 4 to 6 page paper (typewritten, double spaced, APA style with 2 reference listings) is required.  It must be based on 2 related journal articles (no books, popular media, or reviews) and a personal incident related to the articles' topic. One journal article must be from the textbook and one must be recent (last 3 yrs), from the library's Psych Info database, and not referenced in the text or the text article.  The paper should contain a (1) 1 page summary of the oldest article, (2) 1 page summary of the other article, (3) description of a related incident, & (4) discussion of how the articles do or don't help explain the incident.  The paper with photocopies of the 2 journal articles is due a week before the test on the topic section.  The 1st article reference from the text is due the week after the first class meeting or the last exam.  Students with last names beginning with A thru I must choose a text article from chapters 3 thru 5 (& related pages), J thru M choose from chapters 6 thru 9, & N to Z from chapters 10-13.  The paper adds between -1.00 & +.33 to the overall course grade point.

 

CUT POLICY:  Missing part of a class without justification will reduce the course GPA by .1

 

HONESTY: "Integrity in intellectual activity is an indispensable prerequisite for membership in any academic community."

 

ONLINE COURSE EVALUATIONS:  This is one of a handful of classes that will be testing a new online course evaluation system for the University.  Since it is critical to identify any problems with this new process, every student in this class is expected to complete these end-of-semester course evaluations.  Further information will be provided in class and via e-mails from the University.

 

WEEKLY TOPICS And ASSIGNMENTS:

 

Aug      31        Overview of Social Psychology & Methodology                                    Ch  1 & 2

Sept       7        Social Cognition                                                                                   Ch  3 & 531-39,543-48

            14        Social Perception                                                                                  Ch  4 & 539-43

            21        Self Knowledge                                                                                    Ch  5

            28        EXAM 1 (Tu);  Cognitive Dissonance & Self-Esteem                           Ch  6

Oct        5        Attitudes & Attitude Change                                                                 Ch  7

            12        Conformity                                                                                           Ch  8

            19(-Tu)Conformity (continued)                                                                         519-24

            26        Group Processes                                                                                  Ch 9 & 549-50

Nov       2        EXAM 2 (Tu);  Interpersonal Attraction                                               Ch 10

              9        Interpersonal Attraction (continued)

            16        Prosocial Behavior                                                                                Ch 11

            23(-Th)Prosocial Behavior (continued)                                                              554-55

            30        Aggression                                                                                           Ch 12, 550-554

Dec        2        Prejudice                                                                                              Ch 13