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
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: Sarah Moroz
Office: SSC 6323
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: smoroz2@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant (Last names A-M): Alexa Clerke
Office: SSC 7335
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: arempel6@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant (Last names N-Z): Joshua Patenaude
Office: SSC 6313
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: jpatena3@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: HSB-40, 7:00-10:00 PM, Thursdays
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.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
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 behaviour
5.0 EVALUATION
Participation (12%)
Students will be required to complete “five minute papers” each week. After each class, one or more questions about that week’s lecture will be uploaded to Owl. You will be asked to respond to these questions to the best of your ability. These papers are not graded, but rather, are intended to get you thinking about the course material and engaging with your learning. Each completed paper will earn you 1% (12 papers x 1% each = 12% total).
Papers may be submitted on OWL until the start of the following week’s lecture (i.e., the assignment portal will close at 6:55 pm the following Thursday).
Midterm (44%)
The midterm is worth 44% of your final grade and will take place on October 26th, 2017 during class time (7-9 PM). This test covers chapters 1-6 and the September 7-October 19 lectures. This test will consist of 60 multiple-choice questions.
Final Exam (44%)
The final exam is worth 44% of your final grade and will take place during the final exam period in December. This exam is non-cumulative and covers chapters 7-12 and the November 2-December 7 lecture material.
Both of the tests 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. 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. Study hard!
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
Midterm October 26
Final Exam TBA (during final exam period December 10-21)
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
|
Class |
Date |
Topic(s) |
|
1 |
September 7 |
Introduction to Social Psychology |
|
2 |
September 14 |
Methodology |
|
3 |
September 21 |
Social Cognition |
|
4 |
September 28 |
Social Perception |
|
5 |
October 5 |
The Self |
|
|
October 12 |
**No class – fall study break** |
|
6 |
October 19 |
Attitudes and Attitude Change |
|
7 |
October 26 |
Midterm 7:00-9:00 PM HSB-40 |
|
8 |
November 2 |
Conformity |
|
9 |
November 9 |
Group Processes |
|
10 |
November 16 |
Close Relationships |
|
11 |
November 23 |
Prosocial Behaviour |
|
12 |
November 30 |
Aggression |
|
13 |
December 7 |
Stereotyping, Prejudice and Discrimination |
|
|
Date TBA (Dec 10-21) |
Final Exam Time TBA Location TBA |
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://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2017/pg954.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
- 2017 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
