PELLISSIPPI STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE MASTER SYLLABUS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PSYC 2120

Transcription

1 PELLISSIPPI STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE MASTER SYLLABUS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PSYC 2120 Class Hours: 3.0 Credit Hours: 3.0 Laboratory Hours: 0.0 Date Revised: Fall 2016 Catalog Course Description: Theories, methods and findings of research concerning individual behavior in a social context. Prerequisites: None. Corequisites: None. Textbook(s) and Other Course Materials: Myers, David G. (2013). Social Psychology (11 th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN: I. Week/Unit/Topic Basis: Week Topic 1 Introduction to Social Psychology 2 The Self in a Social World 3 Social Beliefs and Judgments 4 Behavior and Attitudes 5 Genes, Culture and Gender 6 Conformity and obedience 7 Persuasion 8 Group Influence 9 Prejudice: Disliking Others 10 Aggression: Hurting Others 11 Attraction and Intimacy: Liking and Loving Others

2 12 Helping 13 Conflict and Peacemaking 14 Applying Social Psychology to Everyday Life 15 Final Exam Period II. Course Goals*: Upon successful completion of the course, the student will A. Identify and explain the major theories, principles and research findings in the field of social psychology. III.3 B. Describe research methods used in social psychology. III.4 C. Apply social psychological theories and principles to real life experiences, both in his/her own life and in a broader social context. III.2, III.5 D. Critically evaluate social psychological theories and research. III.7 E. Thoughtfully and respectfully explain and discuss his/her position on a variety of social psychology issues. III.2, III.6 F. Discuss the impact of cultural influences on social behavior. III.2 * Roman numerals after course goals reference Pellissippi State's general education goals listed at III. Expected Student Learning Outcomes*: Students will: 1. Define social psychology and explain what it does. A 2. Identify and describe the central concepts behind social psychology. A 3. Identify the ways that values penetrate the work of social psychologists. A,D 4. Explore how social psychology s theories provide insight into the human condition. A 5. Examine the methods that make social psychology a science. B,D 6. Describe the spotlight effect and its relation to the illusion of transparency. C 7. Explain how, and how accurately, we know ourselves and what determines our self-concept. C 8. Define self-esteem and its implications for behavior and cognition. C,E 9. Explain self-serving bias and its adaptive and maladaptive aspects. C,F 10. Identify self-presentation and explain how impression management can explain behavior. C,F

3 11. Discuss the extent to which our assumptions and prejudgments guide our perceptions interpretations and recall. C,E 12. Explain how we form social judgments. C,E 13. Recognize how we explain others behavior and discuss the accuracy of these explanations. C,F 14. Discuss the cognitive social psychology view of human nature. A,C 15. State the extent to which, and under what conditions, our inner attitudes drive our outward actions. C,E 16. Summarize empirical evidence that behavior determines attitudes and critique the theories that seek to explain the attitudes-follow-behavior phenomenon. C,D,E 17. Compare two perspectives on human similarities and differences: the evolutionary perspective, emphasizing human kinship, and the cultural perspective, emphasizing human diversity. A,D,F 18. Describe how males and females are alike and how they differ. C,E,F 19. Explain how culture s influence is vividly illustrated by differing gender roles across place and time. C,E,F 20. Explain how biology and culture interact and how our individual personalities interact with our situations. A,F 21. Define conformity; compare compliance, obedience and acceptance. A,C 22. Describe how social psychologists have studied conformity in the laboratory. Explain what their findings reveal about the potency of social forces and the nature of evil. A,D 23. Identify situations that increase and decrease conforming behaviors. A,C 24. Describe the two forms of social influence that explain why people will conform to others. A,C 25. Discuss how conformity varies not only with situations but also with persons. Discuss social contexts in which personality traits shine through. A,C 26. Identify two paths leading to influence. Describe the type of cognitive processing each involves and its effects. A 27. Describe how the factors that comprise persuasion affect the likelihood that we will take either the central or the peripheral route to persuasion. A,C 28. Identify tactics for resisting influence and explain how individuals might prepare others to resist unwanted persuasion. C 29. Describe how we are affected by the mere presence of another person. A,C,F 30. Define deindividuation and identify circumstances that trigger it. A 31. Describe and explain how interaction with like-minded people tends to amplify preexisting attitudes. A,C

4 32. Describe when and why group influences often hinder good decisions. Describe also when groups promote good decisions and how we can lead groups to make optimal decisions. A,F 33. Explain when and how individuals influence their groups. Identify what makes some individuals more effective than others. A,F 34. Describe the nature of prejudice and the differences between prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination. A,C 35. Identify and examine the influences that give rise to and maintain prejudice. A,C,E 36. Identify and examine the motivational sources of prejudice. A,C 37. Describe the different cognitive sources of prejudice. A,C 38. Identify and explain the consequences of prejudice. A,C 39. Define aggression and describe its different forms; evaluate the important theories of aggression. A 40. Identify the influences on aggression and explain how they work. A,C 41. Examine how we might counteract the factors that provoke aggression. C 42. Explain how proximity, physical attractiveness, similarity and feeling liked nurture liking and loving. A,C 43. Describe the varieties and components of love. A 44. Explain how attachment styles, equity and self-disclosure influence the ups and downs of close relationships. A,C 45. Summarize the factors that predict marital dissolution and describe the detachment process. A 46. Explain psychology s theories of what motivates helping and the type of helping each theory seeks to explain. A,C 47. Identify circumstances that prompt people to help, or not help. Explain how and why helping is influenced by the number and behavior of other bystanders, by mood states and by traits and values. A,C 48. Identify traits and values that predict helping. A 49. Suggest how helping might be increased by reversing the factors that inhibit helping, by teaching norms of helping and by socializing people to see themselves as helpers. C,W * Capital letters after Expected Student Learning Outcomes reference the course goals listed above. IV. Evaluation: A. Testing Procedures: 67% of grade (600 points)

5 Five examinations will be given during the semester as follows: Exam 1 (Chapters 1-4) 100 Exam 2 (Chapters 5-8) 100 Exam 3 (Chapters 9-10) 100 Exam 4 (Chapters 11-13) 100 Cumulative Final 200 Exams will include material from all lectures, video presentations and assigned readings. Exam dates are in the Schedule of Instruction. Exams will consist of multiple choice and essay questions and will require the student to recall, recognize, analyze, synthesize and apply course content. No make-up exams will be given. B. Laboratory Expectations: 11% of grade (100 points) Students will read four classics in social psychology and compose four papers that address critical thinking questions provided by the instructor about each reading. Papers must be typed, double-spaced with 1 margins. Grades will be determined on the basis of content, thoroughness, critical thinking and effort. Formatting requirements and a scoring rubric will be provided by the instructor. Up to 25 points may be earned on each paper. C. Field Work: 17% of grade (150 points) Each week, students will apply social psychological concepts to their own lives or to their observations of the lives of others. These applications will be recorded in the form of an online journal. Students will document current incidents they have witnessed (e.g., seen, read or heard) where an individual s thoughts, feelings and/or behaviors were affected by a group. Grades will be based on the criteria for the paper requirement listed above. Up to 10 points may be earned on each journal entry D. Other Evaluation Methods: 5% of grade (50 points) Because of the nature of social psychology, class participation is essential to getting the most out of the course. Class preparation and the quality of students contributions make up 50 points of the total grade. E. Grading Scale: V. Policies: Final Grade Cumulative Points Percentage A %-100% B %-89% B %-84% C %-79% C %-74% D %-69% F Below 540 Below 60% A. Attendance Policy: Pellissippi State expects students to attend all scheduled instructional activities. As a minimum, students in all courses (excluding distance learning courses) must be present for at least 75 percent of their scheduled class and laboratory meetings in order to receive credit for the

6 course. Individual departments/programs/disciplines, with the approval of the vice president of Academic Affairs, may have requirements that are more stringent. In very specific circumstances, an appeal of the policy may be addressed to the head of the department in which the course was taken. If further action is warranted, the appeal may be addressed to the vice president of Academic Affairs. B. Academic Dishonesty: Academic misconduct committed either directly or indirectly by an individual or group is subject to disciplinary action. Prohibited activities include but are not limited to the following practices: Cheating, including but not limited to unauthorized assistance from material, people, or devices when taking a test, quiz, or examination; writing papers or reports; solving problems; or completing academic assignments. Plagiarism, including but not limited to paraphrasing, summarizing, or directly quoting published or unpublished work of another person, including online or computerized services, without proper documentation of the original source. Purchasing or otherwise obtaining prewritten essays, research papers, or materials prepared by another person or agency that sells term papers or other academic materials to be presented as one s own work. Taking an exam for another student. Providing others with information and/or answers regarding exams, quizzes, homework or other classroom assignments unless explicitly authorized by the instructor. Any of the above occurring within the Web or distance learning environment. Please see the Pellissippi State Policies and Procedures Manual, Policy 04:02:00 Academic/Classroom Conduct and Disciplinary Sanctions for the complete policy. C. Accommodations for disabilities: Students that need accommodations because of a disability, have emergency medical information to share, or need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated should inform the instructor immediately, privately after class or in her or his office. Students must present a current accommodation plan from a staff member in Disability Services (DS) in order to receive accommodations in this course. Disability Services ( may be contacted via or by visiting Alexander 130. D. Other Policies: Submission of Assignments: Assignments must be turned in by the due date in order to be considered for full credit.

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