2070B-001
Psychology 2070B-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 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.
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Taylor Kohut, PhD
Office SSC 7430
Office Hours: Friday 9:30 – 11:30 (please make an appointment!)
Email: tkohut@uwo.ca
Phone Number: 519-661-2111 ext. 84627
Teaching Assistants: Anjana Balakrishnan Julia McMenamin
Students: Last names A-K Last names L-Z
Office: SSC 6315 SSC 8404
Office Hours: by appointment by appointment
Email: abalakr2@uwo.ca jmcmenam@uwo.ca
Time of Meetings: 3:30 – 6:30 PM
Location of Classes: HSB-40
Course Website: http://www.owl.uwo.caIf 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
Textbook
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Fehr, B., & Akert, R. M. (2017). Social Psychology, Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: Pearson.
Top Hat – Student Account (required):
Register @ www.tophat.com
Join code: 821132
MyPsychLab – Social Psychology (optional):
Register @ www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com.
Course code: kohut28785
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, students should have an understanding of the basic theories, methods, and findings in various areas of social psychology. The topics include attitudes, conformity, aggression, helping behaviour, social relations, social cognition, and prejudice.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
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, the successful student will be able to:
- Identify several 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,
- Differentiate between an empirically-based, scholarly perspective of social psychology and an intuitive or speculative perspective based solely on personal experience and observations,
- Apply concepts and theories in social psychology to novel examples of behaviours and situations,
- Interpret social psychological situations in order to make predictions about behavior.
5.0 EVALUATION
In Class Participation (10%)
This class is going to use Top Hat to help promote learning and to increase student interaction and engagement in a large classroom setting. I will be using this tool to a) take attendance; b) to illustrate certain research findings; c) to promote dynamic discussions; d) to make it easier for students to ask questions; and e) to make course content (e.g. lecture slides) accessible to students. Your participation grade will reflect your degree of engagement with Top Hat related activities throughout the course. From lectures 2 - 11, 1% of your grade per class will be earned by participating in Top Hat activities. This 1% will be earned if you engage in at least one component during class (excluding attendance). To make use of Top Hat technology, you will need to bring a laptop or mobile device to class. If your electronic device fails during class, you can e-mail evidence of your attempted participation (e.g. the question you were asked along with your answer) directly to your TA by midnight of the same day to receive full credit. It is your responsibility to track your submissions on Top Hat to ensure that your participation is properly recorded immediately after each lecture. If none of your submissions were recorded for a lecture, e-mail your TA before midnight of the same day.
Exams (90%)
You will write two exams: a midterm and a final. The midterm exam is worth 45% of your final grade and will take place during class time on Thursday, February 23 from 3:30PM-5:30PM (locations TBA). The midterm will cover Chapters 1-6 and associated lecture material. The final exam is also worth 45% of your final grade and will take place sometime during the final examination period (April 9-30). The final is noncumulative and will cover Chapters 7-12 and associated lecture material.
Essay Assignment (15%) OPTIONAL
You can choose to write a short assignment, worth 15% of your final course grade. If you decide to write an essay, each exam mark will be reduced to 37.5% of your final course grade.
The essay should be 6-7 pages long and will include a title page, 3-4 double-spaced essay pages, a references page, and an appendix in which you paste the abstracts of articles used in the assignment. The specific details/instructions for the assignment will be available on OWL. Essays are due to Turn-It-In on OWL no later than 11:55PM Sunday, March 12. Late essays will not be accepted.
Feel free to discuss the essay assignment with me or the teaching assistants—we are happy to help!
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
Course Component Date
Midterm Exam Thursday, February 23 (3:30PM-5:30PM, Locations TBA)
Optional Essay Deadline Sunday, March 12
Final Exam During Final Examination Period (April 9-30, Details TBA)
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
|
Class |
Date |
Topic(s) |
Reading(s) |
|
1 |
January 5 |
Introduction to Social Psychology |
Syllabus Chapter 1 |
|
2 |
January 12 |
Methodology |
Chapter 2 |
|
N/A |
January 19 |
No Class (Professor away) |
N/A |
|
3 |
January 26 |
Social Cognition Social Perception |
Chapter 3 Chapter 4 |
|
4 |
February 2 |
The Self |
Chapter 5 |
|
5 |
February 9 |
Attitudes and Attitude Change |
Chapter 6 |
|
N/A |
February 16 |
No Class (Reading week) |
N/A |
|
Midterm Exam (45%): Thursday, February 23 (3:30PM – 5:30PM, Locations TBA) Material: Chapters 1-6 and Associated Lecture Material Format: 60 multiple choice questions Time Allotment: 2 hours (120 mins) |
|||
|
Class |
Date |
Topic(s) |
Reading(s) |
|
6 |
March 2 |
Conformity |
Chapter 7 |
|
7 |
March 9 |
Group Processes |
Chapter 8 |
|
8 |
March 16 |
Interpersonal Attraction |
Chapter 9 |
|
9 |
March 23 |
Prosocial Behavior |
Chapter 10 |
|
10 |
March 30 |
Aggression |
Chapter 11 |
|
11 |
April 6 |
Prejudice |
Chapter 12 |
|
Final Exam (45%): During Final Examination Period (April 9-30, Details TBA) Material: Chapters 1-6 and Associated Lecture Material Format: 60 multiple choice questions Time Allotment: 2 hours (120 mins) |
|||
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
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/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
- 2016 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
