Psychology 2070A-001
Social Psychology
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
An introduction to the theories, methods, findings, and problems encountered in the study of people as social beings.Antirequisites: Psychology 2720A/B, 2780E and the former Psychology 170
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if this course has an antirequisite that you have previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in this one.
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Rhonda Balzarini (May 16-June 1)Office and Phone Number: SSC 6335
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: rbalzari@uwo.ca
Instructor: Joshua D. Wright (June 8-June 22)
Office and Phone Number: SSC 6325
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: jwrig42@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Lectures: SSC 2024 9:30AM-12:30PM Mondays and Wednesdays
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
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Fehr, B., & Akert, R. M. (2016). Social Psychology (6th Canadian edition). Pearson Education Canada, Inc.4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course provides a broad introduction to theories and findings related to the scientific study of human social behavior. By the end of this course, you should be able to:- Understand ways in which social psychological processes occur in daily life, such as how people perceive themselves and others and how they interact with the surrounding environment
- Examine social psychology from an empirically-based, scholarly perspective, rather than from an intuitive or speculative perspective based solely on personal experience and observations
- Explain the scientific study of social psychology to a non-academic/non-psychologist
- Evaluate social psychological situations and make predictions about behavior
- Think critically about how theories in social psychology can inform policy
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
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Throughout the course you will be given two assignments. The first assignment will involve reading and critically analyzing a research paper on a topic relevant to the first half of the class and the second will involve applying a theory to a social problem relevant to the second half of the class.
In both cases, your analysis should be a maximum of 500 words (excluding references), double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins. Please include your name and student id at the top of the paper and APA formatting should be applied. The exception to APA is that no title page, abstract, or running head should be included. Your name should appear in the top left corner of the header. All other APA formatting applies.
Writing Assignment #1 (10%)
Research Analysis: This assignment will involve reading and critically analyzing a research paper on a topic relevant to the first half of the course.
You will be asked to select one of four articles and provide a thoughtful evaluation of that article. Your analysis should (at minimum) include:
1. A brief description of the goal or purpose of the research.
2. A brief summary of how the researchers completed the research Methodology.
3. A discussion of the results/conclusions of the study.
4. A personal reaction to the research, overall critique, and suggestions for the future.
Select articles and more details will be provided on the course OWL site.
Writing Assignment #2 (10%)
Theory and Application: This assignment requires you to think about how a theory in social psychology can be used to design or inform a solution to a social problem. The selected theory must be from the second half of the course.
1. Select a theory and a problem that interest you.
2. Briefly describe the problem and how it connects to your selected theory.
3. Describe how the theory guides a solution to the problem of interest and how the solution might practically be implemented (be specific).
4. Describe limitations of the selected theory in solving your selected problem.
A brief example will be discussed in class to clarify expectations.
Weekly Quizzes (20%)
To help you keep up with textbook readings and to prepare you for what you can expect on the midterm and final exams, weekly quizzes will be worth 20% of your final grade. There will be six quizzes in total, but only your best five (each worth 4%) will count toward your final course mark.
Quizzes will be completed in class or may be assigned online. This will depend on the instructor and the content selected for each quiz. The specific dates of each quiz are listed on the lecture schedule. Quizzes may take the form of multiple-choice questions or short answer questions. Quizzes will be open book/open note but will require you to think beyond what is presented in the notes or the text. You will be given a maximum of 15 minutes to complete each quiz. Quiz length will vary.
Midterm Test (30%) and Final Exam (30%)
The midterm test is worth 30% of your final grade and will take place in class on Monday, June 2 from 10:30AM-12:30PM in SSC 2024. The midterm will cover Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9; May 16-June 1 lecture material.
The final exam is also worth 30% of your final grade and will take place sometime during the Intersession examination period (Monday, June 23 or Tuesday, June 24). The final is noncumulative and will cover Chapters 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12; June 8-22 lecture material.
The midterm and final exams have the same format. Each exam will last two hours and will be composed of 60 multiple-choice questions. Material from both the textbook readings and the lectures are fair game. Lecture material includes videos, demonstrations, guest lectures and anything else presented or discussed during class.
Both the mid-term test and the final exam will require not only that you learn and understand a good amount of information, but also that you be able to synthesize this information and apply it to novel contexts. Study hard!
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
Course Component and Due Date
Weekly Quiz 1 May 18
Weekly Quiz 2 May 25
Weekly Quiz 3 June 1
Assignment # 1 June 6
Midterm Test June 6 (10:30AM-12:30PM in SSC 2024)
Weekly Quiz 4 June 13
Weekly Quiz 5 June 15
Weekly Quiz 6 June 22
Assignment # 2 June 22
Final Exam TBA (June 23 or June 24)
*Only your best five quizzes will count toward your final course grade.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Week 1:
Monday, May 16: Syllabus and an Introduction to Social Psychology
Reading: Syllabus and Chapter 1
Wednesday, May 18: Methodological Considerations in Social Psychology
Reading: Chapter 2
Quiz 1: Chapter 1 and May 16 lecture material.
Week 2:
Monday, May 23: Victoria Day, No class
Wednesday, May 25: Social Cognition and Social Perception
Reading: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4
Quiz 2: Chapter 2 and May 18 lecture material
Week 3:
Monday, May 30: Self Knowledge
Reading: Chapter 5
Wednesday, June 1: Close Relationships
Reading: Chapter 9
Quiz 3: Chapters 3, 4, & 5 and May 25/30 lecture
Week 4:
Monday, June 6: Midterm Exam (10:30AM-12:30PM in SSC 2024)
Chapters 1-5 & 9 and May 16-June 1 lecture
Wednesday, June 8: Attitudes and Attitude Change
Reading: Chapter 6
Week 5:
Monday, June 13: Conformity and Group Processes
Reading: Chapter 7 & 8
Quiz 4: Chapter 6 and June 8 lecture material
Wednesday, June 15: Prosocial Behavior
Reading: Chapter 10
Quiz 5: Chapter 7 & 8 and June 13 lecture material
Week 6:
Monday, June 20: Aggression
Reading: Chapter 11
Wednesday, June 22: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Reading: Chapter 12
Quiz 6: Chapter 11 and June 20 lecture material
Final Exam Period
June 23rd or June 24th (Details TBA)
Chapters 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 and June 8-22 lecture material
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.
