Note: Changes to the syllabus will be announced in class, and the updated syllabus will be posted on the web site.
There are four sources for the primary
reading assignments. Two are texbooks. Both are available at the bookstore.
1. The first is a short introductory textbook on social psychology. Exploring Social Psychology, 6th Edition, by
David G. Myers. We will cover this
book rather quickly to be sure that everyone has a basic grasp of social
psychology. For most students, most of this will be a review.
2. The second textbook is: M.A. Hogg
& J. Cooper (Eds.), 2007. The Sage Handbook of Social Psychology: Concise Edition.
London: Sage Publications. ISBN: 978-1-4129-4535-6.
3. The third source in the 2010 Handbook of Social Psychology, 5th Edition,
edited by Susan Fiske, Daniel
Gilbert, and Gardner Lindzey. Our library has the complete electronic version; you
can download it for free. The following instructions worked last year:
i. Using the “Quick
Search” box on the Ellis Library e-Library page: enter "Handbook social
psychology"
ii. Then in the pull-down menus underneath – highlight “everything but articles"
iii. And on the furthest pull-down menu – highlight “in the title”
iv. From there, select the book, find the chapters you want, download and print
them.
4. A number of additional articles are
required reading. Links to them are in this syllabus (see below).
Regular class meetings will involve 3 different types of class activities.
1. Summary.
This consists of a brief summary of the assigned reading material, about 10
minutes per chapter or article. I will randomly choose students to present the
summaries at the beginning of each class. The best way to do this is to prepare
outlines of the main points for each reading, and bring them to class with you.
2. Discussion.
We will discuss questions about the material brought in by all class members. Starting with Week 4, each student is
to prepare 2 discussion-type questions for each chapter/article assigned for
that week. These questions may be about something you didn't understand
in the reading, something you disagree with, possible connections to other
phenomena, or something that might lead to interesting speculations. These
questions are to be emailed to me at
least two hours prior to the class meeting, with the subject line
consisting of the course number, meeting date (month and day) and your last
name. For example, if the questions are for the readings to be covered on
September 15 and your last name is Bagadonuts, the
subject line would be “580Sep15Bagadonuts.” You may use your questions to help
with the discussion, or you may choose not to use them. You may share them with
other class members.
3. Update. Beginning with Week 4, two students will review 2 recent (2010-in press) empirical articles (1 per student) related to the topics covered in the reading assignment. The review should include the following parts: (a) Summary of how these studies relate to the assigned reading (e.g., support, contradict, extend...); (b) Detailed description of 1 study (10 minutes, oral) to illustrate how such research is conducted; (c) Outline of the article, each of which is to include full reference, design (IVs, DVs, MVs), brief methods, results & implications. Parts a & c are to be printed and distributed to all class members including instructor (electronic distribution is acceptable if done at least 24 hours prior to the class meeting). Parts a & b are to be presented orally (PowerPoint is optional. If you want to use PowerPoint, bring your laptop or a USB disk-key with a .ppt file.). To sign up for specific date, go to this Doodle page: http://www.doodle.com/zssdb4qkeibq5qhs Note: If sign-ups are not complete by September 6, I will randomly assign those who have not yet picked a date to one of the empty slots.
Monday individual & team meetings will begin in Week 4, September 15. From Week 4 throughout the rest of the semester, I will hold individual and team meetings of about 25 minutes in my office to discuss your research ideas, projects, and papers. You can sign up for your meetings at the following Doodle calendar: http://www.doodle.com/bqdhn9fbkv3fkxxz. Your first meeting will be just the two of us, so that we can discuss your interest in taking this class, your career goals, and how the two may be related. Later meetings will focus on your research paper and may include your research partner (if you choose to do a team research paper with another student in the class, see Research Paper, below). I will be available for additional appointments either during my office hours or by appointment.
Evaluation will be based on five parts. There will be 2 exams composed of short answer and medium length essay questions; each will be worth 20% of your grade. Your term paper will be worth 25%. Your in-class summaries will be worth a total 10%. Your update presentation will be worth 10%. The remaining 15% will be based on your discussion questions and general participation in class activities. (Note that I will not take off points for asking specific questions about the readings; if you don't understand something be sure to ask about it in class and in your written questions. In other words, you need not make every discussion question a major theoretical crisis.)
You should select a research topic and clear it with me by Week 10. To clear your topic, you must present me with a 1 page (double spaced) proposal along with at least 15 references (on a separate page) that you have read and believe will be relevant to your final paper. The final research paper itself should be a research proposal in social psychology (broadly defined). It should include an abstract, a review of the relevant literature, a clear statement of the problem to be addressed, and a concrete proposal designed to test or demonstrate the idea proposed. It may include results from a few pilot participants or hypothetical results. Ideally, the proposed research will actually be carried out at some point in your graduate career. You should feel free to have your classmates or others read and comment on early drafts. I will be happy to comment on an early draft if it is submitted to me by Week 12. The research paper is due at noon on Friday of Week 15.
I dislike giving page limits, but I know that
some idea of what is expected will be useful. I do not think an adequate paper
can be produced in less than 15 pages (including references); I do not want to
read an overly lengthy one (i.e., more than 25 pages). Exceptionally concise
writing and thinking, or exceptionally interesting writing and ideas may, of
course, warrant shorter or longer papers. The paper should be in APA style.
Joint papers with 2 student authors are
acceptable. Such joint papers may be somewhat longer. Each student should
strive to contribute equally to the final product. Joint papers should include
a 1 page summary of what each author contributed to the final product.
Disability accommodations:
If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor or the Course Information Office early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You will need to contact the Disability Resources (DR) office, located on the main floor of the Student Services Building, Room 1076, 515-294-6624 to obtain a Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) that describes the needed accommodations. Students are responsible to make arrangements with the Course Information Office (W004 Lago) before each exam for individual accommodations.
|
Weeks |
Source |
Reading Assignments |
|
Week
1: Aug. 20 |
Myers |
p. 1
through Module 8 |
|
Week
2: Aug.
27 |
Myers |
Modules
9 - 20 |
|
Week
3: Sept. 3 |
Myers |
Modules
21 - 31 |
|
Week
4: Sept. 10 |
Fiske |
Begin Monday
individual/team meetings. Remember to send in Discussion questions by noon each Wednesday for full credit. Chap. 21:
Evolutionary Social Psychology. Neuberg, Kenrick, & Schaller |
|
Week
5: Sept. 17 |
article |
Banich, (2009). Executive Function… |
|
Week
6: Sept.
24 |
Hogg |
Chap. 4:
Stereotyping and Impression Formation… Quinn, Macrae, & Bodenhausen. |
|
Week
7: Oct.
1 |
article |
Leary,
M.R. (2007). Motivational and emotional... |
|
Week
8: Oct.
8 |
|
Exam 1 on
Wednesday |
|
Week 9: Oct.
15 |
article |
Saleem
& Anderson, (2013). Arabs as terrorists… |
|
Week
10: Oct.
22 |
Fiske |
Chap. 9:
Emotion. Keltner & Lerner. |
|
Week
11: Oct.
29 |
Hogg |
Chap. 11:
Altruism and Helping Behavior. C.D. Batson et al. |
|
Week
12: Nov.
5 |
Hogg |
Chap. 10:
Interpersonal Attraction and Intimate Relationships. J. Fitness, G. Fletcher,
& N. Overall. |
|
Week
13: Nov.
12 |
article |
Markon,
K. E., Krueger, R. F., & Watson, D. (2005). Delineating... |
|
Week
14: Nov.
26 |
Hogg |
Chap. 13:
Social Performance. K.D. Williams, S.G. Harkins, & S.J. Karau. |
|
Week
15: Dec.
3 |
Hogg |
Chap. 16:
The Social Psychology of Cultural Diversity… Wright & Taylor. |
|
Finals
week |
|
Exam
2 |