Social Psychology - Psyc 310-003
Fall 2005
Instructor:
Dr. Rhonda Swickert
Office: 55 Coming, room 101 Phone:
953-5046
E-mail: swickertr@cofc.edu Office Hours: M 9:30 – 11:30 and T 1:00 – 3:00
Text: Social Psychology (5th
Edition) by Aronson, Wilson, & Akert
Course Description:
The study of
social psychology involves applying a scientific approach to understand how our
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of actual,
imagined, or implied others. Examples of
topics reviewed in the course include:
social influence, social learning, person perception, and group
behavior.
Prerequisites:
Introduction to Psychological Science (Psyc
103)
* These
dates are tentative and may be subject to change by the instructor.
August
23/25 Introduction
to Social Psychology 1, 2
30 Social Cognition 3
1/6 Social Cognition (continued)
8 Exam
1
13/15/20 Social Perception 4
22/27/29 Conformity/Obedience 8
October
4/6 Group
Processes 9
11 Exam 2
13 Prejudice 13
18 Fall
Break
20/25 Prejudice
(continued)
27 Prosocial Behavior 11
November
1/3 Prosocial Behavior (continued)
8 Exam 3
10/15 Attraction 10
17 Social
Psychology and Health p. 474-503
22 Thanksgiving
Break – no class
29 Jeopardy
Tournament
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to come to all classes.
However, if a student is absent from class they are still responsible for all content
presented during the missed class period.
Exams
There will be four examinations for this
course. Each exam may be comprised of
multiple choice, matching, and essay items.
Exams 1-3 will be worth 40 points each.
The Final Exam will be comprehensive and will be worth 60 points. The student is strongly encouraged to take
each exam when it is given. If you miss
an exam you will be responsible for making up the exam on the Make-Up Exam Day
which is December 1st.
Make-up exams will be made up exclusively of essay items. Only one exam can be made up.
Group Discussions
Throughout the semester I will assign questions for
group discussion. These questions will
require you to apply your knowledge and understanding of social
psychology. You will be split up into
groups comprised of approximately 3 to 4 people. You will typically have 20 - 30 minutes to
address the questions that you have been given.
The group as a whole will receive a grade for the report and this grade
will then be applied to each individual’s grade. The assignments will vary in the points that
they are worth. The total number of
points available for group discussions is 30 points.
These discussions serve two purposes. First, they allow you to get hands-on
experience with concepts in social psychology.
Second, they reinforce attendance to this class. These assignments often revolved around a
film or study that is presented just prior to the assignment. Therefore, YOU HAVE TO BE IN CLASS TO DO
THE ASSIGNMENT.
Homework Assignments
Throughout the semester homework assignments will
periodically be made. The homework will
usually involve short answer and essay type questions. You will be eligible to do the homework only
if you are in class the day that it is handed out (unless you have a documented excuse). You will be given one week to complete the
homework. Homework may be turned in
during class although it will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on the due date. If this option is selected the homework
should be turned in to Dr. Swickert’s mailbox in the
Psychology Office. Each homework
assignment will be worth 10 points.
You will be quizzed over the reading material on a
regular basis. Quizzes will be made up
of multiple choice and matching items. You
must be present at the beginning of class (9:25 a.m.) to be eligible to take
the quiz. While quizzes cannot be made
up, you may do an outline of the chapter(s) that the quiz covers to make-up the
points. You will be graded on the
comprehensiveness of your outline and the outline must be typed. Quizzes will vary as to the amount of points
that they are worth. The total number of
quiz points possible is 30.
Extra-Credit: Current Event Summaries
The principles that you will learn in this class
have direct applications in understanding events in the world around you. You have the option to apply your knowledge
of social psychology to obtain extra-credit points by writing current event
summaries. These summaries will involve
using social psychological principles to explain current events found in the
larger social arena (the media).
In your summary of the current event you will need
to provide descriptive information about the event, define the psychological
concept(s) or principle(s) you are using to explain the event, and then use the
concept(s) to explain the event. It is
important that you explore all potential social theories in explaining the
event you report on and your grade will reflect the thoroughness of your
coverage. Each event that you discuss
should be independent, therefore, you should not discuss the same event more
than once.
Each summary should be typed and should be
approximately two pages in length.
Include in the summary your source for the current event. If the event comes from a newspaper or
magazine, include the article with your summary. If the event comes from a television program,
cite the program and the date and time it was telecast. You may complete 3 summaries and each summary
is worth 3 points, for a total of 9 points of extra-credit. The summaries must be turned in according to
the following schedule:
Social Psychology Current Event Summary
Schedule
September 15 Summary 1 Due
October 13 Summary
2 Due
November 17 Summary 3
Due
Summaries may be turned in during class although
they will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on the due date. If this option is selected the summary should
be turned in to Dr. Swickert’s mailbox in the
Psychology Office. No summary will be accepted after the due date - No Exceptions.
At the end of the semester I will host a Jeopardy
contest. All members of the class are
expected to contribute to this effort and you will be rewarded for your
participation with 5 points credit toward your grade. You may choose to participate in one of two
ways: 1) You may volunteer to be a Jeopardy contestant, or 2) You may write
answers/questions for use in the tournament.
If you choose to write questions you must submit at least 20 questions
over any of the material covered in this class.
To illustrate, this is what a question might look like:
In Milgram’s original
obedience experiment this percentage of participants obeyed the experimenter
completely and administered a 450-volt shock to the “learner.”
These questions should be typed and are due by November 17th. November 10th is the deadline
for individuals to volunteer for the contestant positions.
Grade Distribution
239
- 265 A
Exam 1-3 120 234
- 238 B+
Final Exam 60 212
- 233 B
Group Discussion 30 207
- 211 C+
Reading Quizzes 30 186
- 206 C
Homework 20 159
- 185 D
Jeopardy Tournament 5 158
and below F
Total
Points 265