Psychology 3723G-001
Attitudes and Attitude Change
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
This course will describe research and theory in social psychology relating to attitudes. Topics to be covered include dissonance, factors associated with effective persuasion, resistance to persuasion, advertising, religious attitudes, environmental attitudes, prejudice, and propaganda.Antirequisites: Psychology 3710F/G, 3721F/G
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810.
2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. James OlsonOffice: Rm. 6332, Social Science Centre
Phone: (519) 661-2111, Extension 84637
Office Hours: Mondays, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., or by appointment
Email: jolson@uwo.ca
T.A.s: Joel Armstrong Kiersten Dobson
Office: Rm. 6333, Social Science Centre Rm. 6335, Social Science Centre
Office Hours: By appointment By appointment
Email: jarmst53@uwo.ca kdobson8@uwo.ca
Time and location of lectures: Mondays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., UCC 37
Times and locations of tutorials/labs: Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30 p.m. or 4:30-5:30 p.m. Room 2316 Somerville House, or Room 258 Weldon Library
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Maio, G. R., & Haddock, G. (2015). The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change, Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, students should have an understanding of the basic theories, methods, and findings in the literature on attitudes and attitude change. The topics include theories of attitudes (e.g., Dissonance Theory, Elaboration Likelihood Model), mechanisms underlying persuasion, advertising, propaganda, and prejudice.Lectures are intended to complement the textbook. Thus, I will present a lot of material that is not in the book. The powerpoint slides (overheads) presented at lectures will be posted in
advance on the course website in both Powerpoint and PDF forms. If you wish, you can print copies of the slides, bring them to class, and use them as a framework for taking notes, or you can bring your laptop to class and make notes on the electronic copy of the slides.
Discussion during lecture time is encouraged, so please feel free to ask questions at any point and to offer your thoughts about issues raised in the lectures.
Tutorial/laboratory meetings will focus on specific aspects of the week’s topic. Sometimes the lab will involve watching a movie and discussing it afterwards, sometimes the lab will expose students to examples of a research topic, and sometimes the lab will involve discussion of a pertinent topic. Tutorial/lab sections are limited to 25 students per section.
5.0 EVALUATION
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
Please note that I do not make grade adjustments (e.g., applying a bell curve to the distribution of marks on a test or paper). Also, I cannot adjust marks on the basis of need (e.g., because a certain mark is necessary to get into a particular academic program).
There will be four components to the marking scheme: attendance at tutorial sessions (worth 4%, based on 0.5 marks for up to 8 of 9 tutorials), participation at tutorial sessions (worth 6%, based on TA ratings), a Midterm Exam (worth 25%), an essay (worth 25%), and a Final Exam (worth 40%).
EXAMS:
The two exams (Midterm Exam and Final Exam) will be a mix of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. The exams will be 2 hours long. Both text and lecture material will be tested. Chapters 1 to 4 will be tested on the Midterm Exam, as well as all of the lecture notes to that point. Chapters 5 to 10 will be tested on the Final Exam, as well as the lecture notes for classes after the Midterm Exam. The Final Exam is not cumulative—that is, you are not responsible on the final exam for material that was tested on the Midterm Exam.
Make-Up Exams: Tests must be written on the scheduled dates unless you have a legitimate excuse recognized by the university administration. Valid reasons include medical or compassionate reasons, and must be substantiated by proper documentation (e.g., a medical certificate, which will be verified by an Academic Counselor in your Faculty, i.e., Science, Social Science, Arts, etc.). A student who misses a regularly scheduled exam for other reasons, or who cannot justify a claim, will be assigned a 0 for the exam.
ESSAY:
The essay (worth 25%) should be 12 double-spaced pages of text, plus title page, references, and tables (if any) on one of the four topics listed below. Please use Times New Roman font, size 12, with margins of 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all four sides (left, right, top, bottom) and double-space the lines.
The essay is due on April 4 (the date of the last lecture; there is no tutorial session that week). Essays that are late will be penalized 1 mark (out of 25) every 2 days. You must submit both a hard copy and an electronic copy of your paper (which will be submitted to TurnItIn.com). Further instructions regarding electronic submission will be provided.
Your essay should review some of the existing literature on the topic. You must cite at least two articles or chapters in addition to the one provided for the topic, and you should make clear that you have read the articles. For example, do NOT cite a paper in the following way: “Threats to self-esteem sometimes produce self-enhancing judgments (e.g., Jones & Leonard, 2001).” Instead, describe the study in the cited paper and explain how it demonstrated the principle, or summarize the specific arguments presented in the paper to support a theory.
One good way to find articles on the topic is by using PsycINFO at the Weldon library. You can search for articles by topic, author, or title. You can also use Google Scholar by entering a topic or author. Finally, the Social Sciences Citation Index can search for articles that have cited a specific publication (e.g., the article provided for the topic).
Your essay must also provide two examples of the topic in real life. One of the examples must be from your own experiences. This does not mean that you were necessarily involved, but it must be from your life. For example, the event might have involved someone in your family or a friend. The other example must be from the media, such as television, newspapers, or the internet. The event should be verifiable by some source, which should be cited in your paper (e.g., the channel and date of a television broadcast, the newspaper and date, or the internet website).
You must explain how or why your examples illustrate the topic. Relate your examples to your prior review of the literature on the topic. Why are your examples good ones? Do any elements of your examples not fit with the topic?
At the end of the paper, you should list all of the articles and chapters that were cited in the paper. Please use APA style.
Marks will be based on the quality of the writing, the clarity and accuracy of the description of the articles, and the appropriateness and creativity of the chosen examples.
Possible Essay Topics
(1) Post-decisional dissonance: People are motivated to rationalize their decisions.
Chatzisarantis, N. L. D., Hagger, M. S., & Wang, J. C. K. (2008). An experimental test of cognitive dissonance theory in the domain of physical exercise. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20, 97-115.
(2) Mere exposure: Familiarity usually produces more favourable attitudes toward a target
Harmon-Jones, E., & Allen, J. J. B. (2001). The role of affect in the mere exposure effect: Evidence from psychophysiological and individual differences approaches. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 889-898.
(3) Selective exposure: People seek out information that supports their attitudes and avoid information that challenges their attitudes.
Brannon, L. A., Tagler, M. J., & Eagly, A. H. (2007). The moderating role of attitude strength in selective exposure to information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 611-617.
(4) Culture and persuasion: People from different cultures may respond favourably to different kinds of persuasive appeals
Wang, C. L., Bristol, T., Mowen, J. C., & Chakraborty, G. (2000). Alternate modes of self-construal: Dimensions of connectedness-separateness and advertising appeals to the cultural and gender-specific self. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 9, 107-115.
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Attendance (worth 4%) and participation (worth 6%) at tutorials
Monday February 8: Midterm Exam, worth 25%
Monday April 4: Essay due, worth 25%
During exam period (April 9-30): Final exam, worth 40%
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
January 4 Lecture: Introduction to Attitudes: Definitions and Functions
Text reading: None
January 6: [No tutorial session]
January 11 Lecture: Attitude Measurement
Text reading: Chapter 1
January 13: [No tutorial session]
January 18 Lecture: Attitude Structure and Attributes; Personality and Attitudes;
Attitudes Toward the Environment
Text reading: Chapter 2
January 20: Lab/Tutorial topic: An Inconvenient Truth
January 25 Lecture: Attitudes and Information Processing; Religious Attitudes
Text reading: Chapter 3
January 27: Lab/Tutorial topic: Religion
February 1 Lecture: Attitude-Behaviour Consistency; Mass Media Campaigns
Text reading: Chapter 4
February 3: Lab/Tutorial topic: Tobacco Advertising
February 8 MIDTERM EXAM
February 10: [No tutorial session]
February 15 [Study Week]
February 22: Lecture: Cognitive Approaches to Attitudes; Advertising
Text reading: Chapter 5
February 24: Lab/Tutorial topic: Women in Advertising
February 29: Lecture: Affective Approaches to Attitudes
Text reading: Chapter 6
March 2: Lab/Tutorial topic: Scared Straight
March 7 Lecture: Dissonance Theory
Text reading: Chapter 7
March 9: Lab/Tutorial topic: Essay questions and ideas
March 14 Lecture: Illegitimate Social Influence: Propaganda and Cults
Text reading: Chapter 8
March 16: Lab/Tutorial topic: Propaganda
March 21 Lecture: Racial and Ethnic Prejudice
Text reading: Chapter 9
March 23: Lab/Tutorial topic: Reducing prejudice
March 28 Lecture: Resistance to Persuasion; Biological Perspective on Attitudes
Text reading: Chapter 10
March 30: Lab/Tutorial topic: Being an informed consumer
April 4 ESSAY DUE
Lecture: Future Directions in Attitudes Research
Text reading: None
April 6: [No Tutorial session]
TBA FINAL EXAM (During final exam period, April 9-30)
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2015 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
