Psychology 2070A-650 (online)
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.
0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Taylor Kohut
Office and Phone Number: 7430 SSC: 519-661-2111 ext. 84627
Office Hours: Thursdays 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Email: tkohut@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
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Fehr, B., & Akert, R. M. (2017). Social Psychology, Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: Pearson
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
By 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
Course evaluation will consist of two multiple-choice examinations, each worth 50% of the final grade. There will also be an online multiple choice quiz that will cover the first three units of the course. Students who complete this quiz will have of the option of re-weighting their grade so that both the quiz and the first exam each contribute 25% to the final grade. This quiz can be competed any time before October 5th at 11:55 pm.
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
Online Quiz (Units 1-3) before October 5th at 11:55 pm; online.
Exam 1 (Units 1-5) Saturday October 21st; Health Sciences Building Rm. 40 , 9:00 AM
Exam 2 (Units 6-12) final exam period; date, location, & time TBA.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
|
Unit |
Date |
Topic(s) |
Reading(s) |
|
1 |
September 7 |
Introduction to Social Psychology |
Syllabus Chapter 1 |
|
2 |
September 14 |
Methodology |
Chapter 2 |
|
3 |
September 21 |
Social Cognition / Social Perception |
Chapter 3 & 4 |
|
4 |
September 28 |
The Self |
Chapter 5 |
|
5 |
October 5 |
Attitudes and Attitude Change Online Quiz (Units 1-3) due by 11:55 PM |
Chapter 6 |
|
N/A |
October 12 |
Reading week: Apparently you guys deserve a break! |
- |
|
Midterm Exam (50%): Saturday, October 21st (Time and location: TBA) Material: Chapters 1-6 and associated Online Material Format: 60 multiple choice questions Time Allotment: 2 hours (120 mins) |
|||
|
Unit |
Date |
Topic(s) |
Reading(s) |
|
6 |
October 26 |
Conformity |
Chapter 7 |
|
7 |
November 2 |
Group Processes |
Chapter 8 |
|
8 |
November 9 |
Interpersonal Attraction |
Chapter 9 |
|
9 |
November 16 |
Prosocial Behavior |
Chapter 10 |
|
10 |
November 23 |
Aggression |
Chapter 11 |
|
11 |
November 30 |
Prejudice |
Chapter 12 |
|
N/A |
December 7 |
Let’s just take another break? |
- |
|
Final Exam (50%): During Final Examination Period (December , Details TBA) Material: Chapters 7-12 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://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.
