Psychology 2070B-200 (blended)
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, techniques 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: Erin Heerey
Office: SSC 6322
Phone number: (519) 661-2111 ext. 86917
Office hours: By appointment only
Email: eheerey@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Sarah Babcock
Office: SSC
Office hours: TBA
Email: sbabcoc5@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Alexa Clerke
Office: SSC
Office hours: TBA
Email: Alexa.Clerke@uwo.ca
CLASS WEBSITE
The course website will host all lecture content and is available at: https://owl.uwo.ca/
TIME AND LOCATION OF LECTURES
Lecture: Thursdays, 10:30-12:30, Location: Natural Sciences (NS) 145
CLASS FORMAT
Thursday classes: These classes will consist of a brief lecture on the weekly topic, an exercise associated with the week’s topic to get you thinking about the material and a subsequent reflection on the exercise.
Online content: The bulk of the course material will be delivered online, as online interactive modules.
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
There is no formal text for the course – all content will be available on the OWL site. However, if you would like an alternate perspective and additional information on some of the material we cover, you are welcome to peruse the following open, freely available text:
Principles of Social Psychology (2015). University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. Open Textbook Library. ISBN 13: 9781946135209
- This text is available in multiple formats (PDF, Kindle, E-Pub, .MOBI).
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. They should also be able to use those theories to understand the experienced social world including current events and personal relationships. The topic areas include attitudes, conformity, aggression, helping behaviour, social relations, social cognition, and prejudice.4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the term, students should have developed the following skills:
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge. Identify and illustrate the 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 |
Online modules; Lectures; Supplementary Readings and videos |
Multiple choice exams; In class activities |
|
Examine social psychology from an empirically-based, scholarly perspective, rather than from an intuitive or speculative perspective based solely on personal experience and observations |
Online modules; Mini lectures; Supplementary Readings and videos |
Multiple choice exams; In class activities |
|
Application of Knowledge. Apply concepts and theories in social psychology to novel examples of behaviours and situations to make predictions about social behaviour and outcomes |
Online modules; Supplementary Readings and videos; In class activities |
Multiple choice exams; In class activities; Forum posts/ comments; Video assignment |
|
Debate and reflect upon social psychological concepts and their application to everyday experience
|
In class activities; Forum posts/ comments |
Forum posts/ comments; Video assignment |
|
Application of Methodologies. Explain the scientific study of social psychology to a non-academic/non-psychologist |
In class activities; Forum posts/ comments |
Multiple choice exams; In class activities; Forum posts/ comments; Video assignment |
|
Integrate knowledge gained from the empirical tradition of social psychology with knowledge gained from the “folk” psychological perspective |
Mini lectures; Supplementary Readings and videos; In class activities |
In class activities; Forum posts/ comments; Video assignment |
|
Awareness of Limits of Knowledge. Identify and think critically about weakness in social psychology research methods |
Online modules; Supplementary Readings and videos; Mini lectures; SONA participation |
Multiple choice exams; In class activities; Forum posts/ comments |
5.0 EVALUATION
EXAMS (70%)
Course evaluation will consist of two examinations, worth a total of 70% of the final grade. The midterm is worth 25%. The final exam is worth 45% and is cumulative. Both exams will follow a similar format. They will include multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, select-all-that-apply, and short answer items. Exam items will assess a range of things including general knowledge of course material, application of course material to real-world scenarios, interpretation of and critical thinking about social psychological findings and understanding of social psychology theories. The items will not be directly drawn from any test-bank. To prepare for the exams, please do your best to learn and understand the course content. Anything presented in any of the course materials, including the in-class exercises may be tested on the exams. Your engaged participation during in-class exercises will also help you do well on the exams. The midterm will take place during normal class time. The final will occur during the final exam period in April. Because the final is cumulative, a make-up exam will NOT be offered for the midterm (see below). A make-up exam will be offered for final exam. It will take place after the originally scheduled exam and the exact time/date will be announced once the final exam schedule has been released. Please do not plan your summer travel until after the date of the make-up exam in the event that you need to miss the final for one reason or another.
What to do if you need to miss an exam: You may opt to self-report or otherwise excuse yourself from the midterm. Note, however, that if you decide to do that, the final exam will essentially be worth 70% of the final course grade. That is a lot – so please think very carefully about whether you really need to skip the midterm before you make your decision. In addition, if you do skip the midterm, you will not have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the course material and receive feedback prior to the drop deadline.
To excuse yourself from the registrar-scheduled final exam session, you must seek accommodation with academic counselling by providing the course details, exam date and adequate documentation of your excuse (please do not pass excuse documentation to the course staff). If your accommodation is approved, you and the academic counsellor should contact me via email. If you miss the midterm and have an approved accommodation or self-reported absence, I will assign you a score based on your grade on the final exam questions that cover the same material as the midterm (these will be clearly marked on the final exam).
CLASS PREPARATION (2%)
Before each class period (starting in week 2 but excluding weeks 6, 7 and 13 – see schedule below), you will need to review the week’s material, upon which participation will be based. To incentivize your progress, you will have the chance to complete a short quiz on OWL. The quiz will contain a few questions related to the week’s material. In order to earn the credit for that quiz, you must complete it prior to the start of class (10:30am on the relevant Thursday). OWL will only make this quiz available to you once you have reviewed the week’s course material. Any quiz completed after its due date will count as 0 points in the gradebook. There are a total of nine quizzes. To receive 100% of the preparation mark, you must complete at least seven of these, meaning that you may have two marks of ‘0’ without penalty. This means that if you need to miss a quiz once or twice, you do not need to worry. Because you may skip the preparation component of the class occasionally without penalty and because each missed quiz is worth less than 1% of the total grade, I will not accept any accommodations or excuses for missed quizzes.
SYLLABUS QUIZ (1%)
In order to make sure that you fully understand the course outline and class policies, you must complete a short syllabus quiz. This quiz will be due on Thursday, 23 January 2020 at 10:30am. The quiz is multiple-choice format and will be completed on OWL. To maximize your score please ensure that you read the syllabus fully before you take the quiz. Once you begin the quiz, you will have 30 minutes to complete it (this is approximately twice the time most people will need). You may take it only once. Once you complete a question, you may not go back to it. Because the quiz is due on 23 January, over a week after the late add deadline, and is worth only 1% of the course grade, I will not accept any accommodations or excuses for missing this quiz.
DISCUSSION FORUM PARTICIPATION (7%)
In weeks 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, you will participate in an online forum. During the course of the term, you will complete ONE forum post (I will randomly assign you to a week and you will write on the forum post question for that week). A forum post is a 500-word thought paper in which you respond to the forum question by linking the in-class exercise with the week’s material. The “PostEm” tool in OWL will let you know when your discussion post is due. The grading rubric appears on OWL so please read it before you begin your post. The forum post is worth 5% of the final mark and is due at 10:30am on the Tuesday following the class period to which it relates. You will also comment on the forum posts that other people write. A comment is a 1-2 sentence substantive remark about the forum post you have read. For example, you might pose a question associated with the forum post or make a link between the forum post and another aspect of the course content that relates to the week’s topic. Over the course of the term, you will comment on four of the six possible forum posts (2%), meaning you can skip doing comments in two weeks without penalty. Comments must be posted by 10:30am on the Thursday following the relevant in-class exercise. Because you may forego two comments without penalty and because each missed comment is worth less than 1% of the total grade, I will not accept any accommodations or excuses for missed comments. If you wish to use a self-reported absence to miss your assigned forum post week (or have another accommodation), you will be reassigned to a new week. Please email the instructor to request a forum post extension.
GROUP VIDEO ASSIGNMENT (20%)
This group-based assignment follows the format of a 3-5 minute video production, in which you illustrate some aspect of the course content and/or apply that content to a real-world problem. For example, you might take the role of a news-reporter and explain an issue on campus or a recent Canadian or world-wide phenomenon through the lens of social psychological concept (this is just one example of what you might do – be creative). You will be randomly assigned to a group on OWL (group assignments will be posted after the early drop deadline) and group size will depend on class numbers. The group assignment has three parts.
- The first part is designed to get you thinking about and working on the project early. This first piece is a DRAFT of your storyboard and script (see video and marking rubric), a script for your video, and a rough description of what you are planning to show in your video. Each group will upload ONE copy to OWL by 5pm on Friday 28 February 2020. This draft preview is worth 1% of the course mark (all group members will receive the same grade). This mark is a PASS/FAIL mark. If you have submitted a complete storyboard and script by the deadline, you will pass. If not, you will not receive the 1%. Because this is only worth 1% and you have plenty of time to do the assignment, I will not accept any accommodations or excuses for work that misses this deadline. Please ensure that you identify this work only by your ID numbers and not your names.
- The second part of this assignment will be completed individually. Here, OWL will randomly assign you to review TWO anonymous draft projects and comment on them. The reviews are due Friday, 6 March at 5pm. The quality of your comments will be marked but please note that the group that uploaded the storyboard will receive your comments (so do ensure that you follow politeness conventions) and please also refrain from identifying yourself by name. The comments you write will be graded and together will be worth 6% of the course mark (3% for each review). Please take care with this exercise. Although we fully expect that students will gain great ideas from their peers, plagiarism rules will be strictly enforced (please be aware that OWL does an excellent job of tracking what you view and when you view it).
The remainder of the group video assignment will be the finished product – a fully produced, 3-5 minute video (uploaded to YouTube or a similar video-sharing platform and linked to the OWL site). The uploaded link is due on Monday, 30 March at 5pm. The marking rubric has guidelines for the final presentation. These videos will be screened in class during the final class period (so feel free to bring your popcorn). Although group members will generally receive the same basic grade, grades will be adjusted based on group-member feedback (see the marking rubric for an outline of these rules) so please do your best to participate conscientiously.
Please note that I do not adjust marks on the basis of need (e.g., because a certain mark is necessary to get into a particular academic program).
University regulations permit deadline extensions only for legitimate medical or compassionate reasons.
Extra Credit (OPTIONAL)
Because social psychology is an empirical discipline, participating in research is an excellent way to learn about the types of questions that social psychologists investigate. You may also be able to see some of the theories covered in the class in action in the laboratory. You will therefore have the opportunity to earn some extra credits toward your overall course grade by participating in research studies. These must be completed in the laboratory (online studies are not eligible for extra credit). These are the same studies in which first year students participate as part of Psychology 1000. In order to participate you will be given access to the SONA sign up system and you may choose any laboratory-based studies that you wish. To help make your participation more relevant to social psychology, a list of studies that are specifically within the domain of social psychology will be posted on the class website, however, you may complete any available research studies, as long as they are not online.
You will receive bonus credits added to your overall course grade for each study in which you participate, to a maximum of 2.0 credits. However, the bonus will only be added if you have achieved a passing course grade without any bonus credit – in other words before bonus credits are added you must get at least 50% on the coursework/exams. Laboratory-based studies will earn credits as follows: Studies coded as lasting less than 30 Min=0.25; Studies coded as lasting between 31 and 60 Min=0.5; Studies coded as lasting more than 60 Min=1.0 (NOTE: The maximum number of credits that you may earn from any one study is 1.0. You will not receive more than 1.0 credit for any study regardless of its length. Please also note that the “credits” associated with studies in SONA apply to Psychology 1000 students only; those are not relevant to Psychology 2070B). Note that if you sign up for a study and then fail to attend, you will receive a penalty equal to the study credits.
The SONA system will track the studies and I will be given the information at the end of the term in order to adjust your grade. This is an opportunity to earn extra credits and is not required as part of your normal grade, you will not lose any marks if you do not participate in studies. The maximum number of bonus credits you may earn is 2.0. For each credit you earn, you will receive an additional 1.5% in the gradebook.
The opportunity to earn bonus marks ends at midnight the last day of classes in this term. There will be no exceptions to this rule.
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 Western's 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 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE
- Weekly Quizzes (Online un-proctored; 2%) Must be completed by the Thursday Lecture (10:30am) each week
- Syllabus Quiz (Online un-proctored; 1%) Must be completed by the Thursday 23 January Lecture (10:30am)
- Exam 1 (In class, proctored; 25%): Thursday, 13 Feb 2020 (covers weeks 1 - 4)
Exam 2 (Proctored; standard final examination conditions apply; 45%): Cumulative. Date/Time/Location TBA. You will have two hours to complete this exam.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
|
Week |
DATE |
TOPIC |
ONLINE MODULES |
|
1 |
January 9
|
Introduction |
Lesson 1 (after class) No Lesson 1 Quiz |
|
2 |
January 16
|
Knowledge Acquisition in Social Psychology No Forum Post |
Lesson 2 Lesson 2 Quiz Due |
|
3 |
January 23
|
Social Perception & Social Cognition Syllabus Quiz Due |
Lesson 3 Lesson 3 Quiz Due |
|
4 |
January 30
|
Social Self
|
Lesson 4 Lesson 4 Quiz Due |
|
5 |
February 6
|
Conformity, Obedience & Social Influence |
Lesson 5 Lesson 5 Quiz Due |
|
6 |
February 13
|
Exam 1 (in class) 10:50 to 12:00 in NS145 (Tested Content: Weeks 1-4) |
|
|
7 |
February 20
|
Reading Week (no lecture) |
|
|
8 |
February 27
|
Interpersonal Attraction & Relationships* * Online only – no classroom session, no forum |
Lesson 6 Lesson 6 Quiz Due |
|
9 |
March 5 |
Attitudes
|
Lesson 7 Lesson 7 Quiz Due |
|
10 |
March 12
|
Stereotypes, Prejudice & Discrimination
|
Lesson 8 Lesson 8 Quiz Due |
|
11 |
March 19
|
Group Processes
|
Lesson 9 Lesson 9 Quiz Due |
|
12 |
March 26
|
Pro- & Anti-Social Behaviour * Online only – no classroom session, no forum |
Lesson 10 Lesson 10 Quiz Due |
|
13 |
April 2
|
Video-Screening |
|
|
-- |
TBA (April 6-26)
|
Exam 2 Final Exam Period (Tested content: Weeks 1-12) |
|
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
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
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/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf
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
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
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
- 2019-2020 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
