Psychology 2720A-001
Introduction to 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, findings, methods, and problems encountered in the study of people as social beings. Emphasis will be placed on experimental research, conducted both in the laboratory and in the field. Content areas include: attitudes and social cognition, social interaction and influence, group processes and applications of social psychology.
Antirequisites: Psychology 2070A/B, 2712F/G, 2780E, the former 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.
Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 level Psychology course
2 lecture hours, 2 tutorial hours, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol 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: Joel Armstrong
Email: jarmst53@uwo.ca
Office: SSC 6333
Office Hours: By appointment
TA: Kiersten Dobson
Email: kdobson8@uwo.ca
Office: SSC 6335
Office Hours: By appointment
Time and Location of Classes:
Tuesday, 9:30 – 11:30 AM, SEB 2200
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
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.
Lectures are intended to complement the textbook. Thus, I will present some material that is not in the book. Class attendance will significantly increase how much you get out of this course. The powerpoint slides presented at lectures will be posted in advance on the course website (by 6:00 pm on Monday) 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.
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/lab meetings will focus on specific aspects of the week’s topic. Tutorial/lab sections are limited to 25 students per section.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, the successful student should be able to:
- Identify key concepts, principles and overarching themes in social psychology. (Assessed by multiple choice section of exams)
- Interpret and critically evaluate social psychological research (Assessed by exams and in tutorial discussions)
- Apply psychological principles to the understanding of everyday problems (Assessed by multiple choice/short answer exam questions)
- Communicate accurately, clearly and logically, in a way that would be broadly understandable to a non-specialist audience (Assessed by short answer exam questions and in tutorial discussions)
- Recognize the limits of one’s own knowledge and knowledge in the field of psychology and how this might influence the analysis and interpretations of broader issues (Assessed in tutorial discussions)
- Work collaboratively with others to achieve a goal (Assessed in tutorial discussions)
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 10%, based on 1 marks for up to 10 of 11 tutorials), participation at tutorial sessions (worth 10%, based on TA ratings), a Midterm Exam (worth 40%), 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, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 will be tested on the Midterm Exam, as well as all of the lecture notes to that point. Chapters 8 to 13 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 the Office of the Dean). 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.
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Attendance (worth 10%) and participation (worth 10%) at tutorials throughout term
Tuesday October 25: Midterm Exam (in SEB 2200 or TBA), worth 40%
During exam period (December 6-17): Final exam, worth 40%
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
September 13: Introduction to Social Psychology (Chapter 1)
September 14: No tutorial session
September 20: Social Cognition (Chapter 3)
September 21: Tutorial 1
September 27: Social Perception (Chapter 4)
September 28: Tutorial 2
October 4: The Self (Chapter 5)
October 5: Tutorial 3
October 11: Attitudes and Attitude Change (Chapter 6)
October 12: Tutorial 4
October 18 Conformity (Chapter 7)
October 19: Tutorial 5
October 25 MIDTERM EXAM (in SEB 2200 or TBA)
October 26: No tutorial session
November 1: Group Processes (Chapter 8)
November 2: Tutorial 6
November 8: Interpersonal Attraction (Chapter 9)
November 9: Tutorial 7
November 15: Prosocial Behaviour (Chapter 10)
November 16: Tutorial 8
November 22: Aggression (Chapter 11)
November 23: Tutorial 9
November 29: Prejudice (Chapter 12)
November 30: Tutorial 10
December 6: Morality (No reading)
December 7: Tutorial 11
TBA FINAL EXAM (During final exam period, December 10 - 21)
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.
