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Course Syllabus
SOCL 155: Social Psychology
Spring 2005
Class: MWF
8:00, Beaven 118
Instructor: Royce A. Singleton, Jr.
Office
hours: W 2:15 – 4:15 p.m., TR
Phone: 793‑3474
e‑mail: rsinglet@holycross.edu
Course Web
site: http://www.holycross.edu/departments/socant/rsinglet/socpsych.htm
Description and Objectives
Social psychology is an
interdisciplinary field that bridges sociology and psychology. It is possible to define the field
differently from the perspective of each parent discipline. On the psychological side, social psychology
is concerned with the ways in which others affect people’s thoughts, feelings,
and behavior. On the sociological side,
it is concerned with social outcomes of interaction between people and
interaction within and between groups. In actual practice, however, this
distinction tends to be blurred. Regardless
of the academic department in which social psychologists work, the focus of
their study always includes both the individual and the group or social
context. Their interests tend to cut
across traditional lines between sociology and psychology departments, and most
of them think of themselves, as I do, simply as social psychologists.
The general aim of this course is to
acquaint you with the field of social psychology, including the (1) range of
topics studied, (2) general scientific approach of the discipline, and (3)
concepts, principles, and theories that capture our knowledge of human social
behavior. This course also should
provide many insights into your own and others’ behavior. The topics of social
psychology—attitudes, person perception, interpersonal attraction, conformity,
etc.—are among the most personal but largely unexamined parts of
ourselves. Through readings, lectures,
discussions, and assignments, I hope you will appreciate and experience the personal
relevance of social psychology.
Student Journals
One means of enhancing the course’s
personal relevance is an assignment called a “journal.” For this assignment you are asked to relate
course content to personal experiences and observations. Thus, the journal is an outlet for connecting
concepts and principles from the course to your past and present experiences,
thoughts and self‑reflections, to books or articles read, and to other
courses.
Journals should be typed and double‑spaced. To facilitate grading and handling and to
enable me to review your progress, please submit all entries, graded and ungraded, in a folder or report cover on
each due date. You are required to write
6 journal entries in all; so you should write one entry about every two
weeks. Each entry should combine a brief
description of the experience or observation with the application of a concept
or principle. (Further guidelines and
numerous sample entries from past classes are posted on the Web site for this
course.) Letter grades will be assigned
to each entry. However, final grade on
the journal will be based not only on the sum of the grades on individual
entries but also on the overall clarity, accuracy, and thoroughness of the essays, and on the scope and diversity of the concepts and
principles illustrated. Journals will be
collected six times: Friday, Feb. 4 (entry 1); Monday, Feb. 21 (entry 2);
Friday, March 18 (entry 3); Monday, April 4 (entry 4); Monday, April 18 (entry
5); and Monday, May 2 (hand in complete journal, including entry 6).
Assigned Reading
Texts: David G.
Myers, Social Psychology, 8th ed.,
McGraw‑Hill, 2005.
Robert B.
Cialdini, Social Influence: Science and
Practice, 4th ed., Allyn and Bacon, 2001.
Articles on
reserve:
Anderson,
Craig A. and Brad J. Bushman (2001), “Effects of Violent Video Games on
Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological
Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific
Literature,” Psychological Science 12,
353-359.
Carli, Linda L.,
Roseanne Ganley, and Amy Pierce‑Otay (1991), “Similarity and Satisfaction
in Roommate Relationships,” Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin 17, 419‑26.
Cialdini, Robert B.
(2003), “Crafting Normative Messages to Protect the Environment,” Current Directions in Psychological Science
12, 105-109.
Denis, Alan
R. and Joseph S. Valacich (1993), “Computer Brainstorms: More Heads Are Better
Than One,” Journal of Applied Psychology
78, 531-537.
Elfenbein, Hillary
Anger and Nalini Ambady
(2003), “Universals and Cultural Differences in Recognizing Emotions,” Current Directions in Psychological Science
12, 159-64.
Gilovich, Thomas and Kenneth Savitsky
(1996), “Like Goes with Like: The Role of Representativeness in Erroneous and
Pseudoscientific Beliefs,” The Skeptical
Inquirer 20, 2(March/April),
36-42.
Kanagawa,
Chie, Susan E. Cross, and Hazel Rose Markus (2001), “‘Who Am I?’ The Cultural Psychology of the Conceptual
Self,” Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin 27, 90-103.
Norenzayan, Ara and Richard E. Nisbett
(2000), “Culture and Causal Cognition,” Current
Directions in Psychological Science 9, 132-35.
Rosenthal, Robert (2003), “Covert Communication in Laboratories, Classroom,
and the Truly Read World,” Current
Directions in Psychological Science 12, 151-54.
Sherman,
David K. and Geoffrey L. Cohen (2002), “Accepting Threatening Information:
Self-Affirmation and the Reduction of Defensive Biases,” Current Directions in Psychological Science 11, 119-23.
Steele,
Claude M. (1999), “Thin Ice: ‘Stereotype Threat’ and
Wild, T.
Cameron (2002), “Personal Drinking and Sociocultural
Drinking Norms: A Representative Population Study,” Journal of Studies of Alcohol 63, 469-475.
Course
Outline
Because of the scope of the field, introductory
courses in social psychology vary somewhat in content and organization. In this
course we will focus on the following issues, which I have arranged in three
major sections corresponding to parts 1, 2, and 3 of your text. Some of the issues will be dealt with
primarily in lecture, others primarily in the readings. To get the most out of class lectures and
discussions, you should complete the reading by the assigned dates below.
I. Introduction to the
field and its methods of study; social thinking; social psychology in the
clinic.
·
How do social psychologists study human behavior?
·
How does self‑interest color social judgments and
motivate behavior?
·
How do people perceive others?
·
What are some common errors in social thinking?
·
How do definitions of the situation, or of social
reality, affect behavior?
·
How are attitudes and behavior related to one another?
Jan.
31 ‑ ch. 2; Kanagawa, Cross, and Markus; Cialdini, ch. 2
Feb.
7 ‑ ch. 3; Gilovich and Savitsky; Norenzayan
and Nisbett; Rosenthal
Feb.
14 ‑ ch. 4; Sherman and Cohen; Cialdini, ch. 3
Feb.
21 ‑ module A
II. Cultural and social
influences; social psychology in the court.
·
How are gender differences related to biology and
culture?
·
What are the varieties and determinants of nonverbal
behavior?
·
What factors affect the persuasiveness of
communications?
·
Under what conditions are people obedient to malevolent
authority?
·
What factors affect individuals’ performance in small
groups?
·
How and why do individual and group decisions differ?
March
14 ‑ ch. 7; Cialdini (article); Cialdini, ch. 7
March 21 ‑ ch. 6; Cialdini, chs. 4, 6; Wild
March
30 ‑ ch. 8; Denis and Valacich
April
6 ‑ module B
III. Social relations—prejudice, aggression,
interpersonal attraction, and altruism; social psychology
and the sustainable
future.
·
How is prejudice developed and maintained?
·
Why do people commit acts of aggression?
·
Why are people attracted to
particular others?
·
What factors affect one’s willingness to help others?
·
How do personal standards and interpersonal comparisons
affect people’s evaluations of themselves and others?
April
18 ‑ ch. 10;
April 25 ‑ ch. 11; Carli, Ganley,
and Pierce‑Otay; Cialdini, ch. 5
May
2 ‑ ch. 12; module C; Cialdini, ch. 8
Exams and
Grading
There will be three in‑class
exams—two midterms and a final. The two midterms will cover, respectively,
sections I and II of the course outline.
The final will cover mainly section III, but also will contain one or
two comprehensive essay questions. The
journal will count 25% toward the final course grade, and each exam counts 25%.
The first exam is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 23; the second exam for Friday,
April 8.
A Note on Communication
If, at any time, you have questions
about lectures or reading material, please feel free to stop me and ask a
question. It is inevitable that some
points will not be clear to you (this is inevitable in any process of
communication), but I will not be aware of this unless it is brought to my
attention. Moreover, it is highly
probable that if you don’t understand something, others also are confused. The best time to ask questions is immediately
rather than waiting until after class or during my office hours. However, if you feel intimidated by others in
the class or feel your question is too elementary, write it out on a piece of
paper, and I will try to answer it at the beginning of the next class
period. In any case, your questions are
critical to the success of this class: they are an important source of feedback
for me; they give me the opportunity to clarify ambiguities; and they help
everyone deepen their understanding of the material.