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.
Prerequisite: A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level
Unless you have either the prerequisites 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.
Antirequisite: Psychology 2070A/B, Psychology 2712F/G, Psychology 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.
2 lecture hours; 2 tutorial hours; 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Rachel Calogero
Office and Phone Number: WH Room 321 (3rd floor) x80403
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: rcaloger@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Hiten Dave
Office: SSC Room 9244
Office Hours: Wednesday 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Email: hdave7@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Yixian Li
Office: SSC Room 6326
Office Hours: Friday 10:00am – 11:00am
Email: yli625@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Samantha Withnell
Office: WH 216
Office Hours: Friday 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Email: swithnel@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Tuesday, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, UCC-56
Time and Location of Tutorials: Please check the tutorial schedule to confirm your section time &
location
Tutorial Section 002: Wednesday, 2:30pm to 3:30 pm, SSC-3018
Tutorial Section 003: Wednesday, 3:30pm to 4:30 pm, SSC-3018
Tutorial Section 004: Wednesday, 11:30pm to 12:30pm, PAB-34
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
Revel Social Psychology, Sixth Canadian Edition, 2017
Elliot Aronson, Timothy Wilson, Beverley Fehr, Robin Akert
Note: REVEL is a fully digital delivery of the textbook content. You will need the REVEL access card
(purchased in the bookstore) and a course invite link (provided by the instructor) to register for and
use REVEL. You may also purchase a package that includes a loose-leaf version of the textbook
along with the REVEL access card.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, students should have an understanding of the basic theories, methods, and findings in key areas of social psychology. Topics include social perception, social cognition, attitudes and attitude change, self-related processes, group-related processes, conformity, aggression, prejudice, and prosocial behavior. Lectures are intended to complement the textbook, which means I will present some information that is not included in the textbook. Class attendance will significantly increase how much you get out of this course. I will aim to post the power point slides presented at lecture in advance on the course website (by 8:00 pm on Monday) unless unforeseen extenuating circumstances prohibit me from posting in advance. Please note the slides posted in advance will represent a framework for taking notes, if you wish, and will omit some material that will only be feasible to present in the actual lecture (e.g., videos).
Constructive and respectful discussion is encouraged in lectures and tutorials. The tutorial/lab meetings will focus on specific aspects of the week’s lecture topic.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. identify key concepts, principles, and
overarching themes in social psychology
lectures; tutorials;
readings
multiple choice exam questions;
weekly quizzes
2. critically evaluate research in social
psychology
lectures; tutorials;
readings
multiple choice exam questions;
tutorial discussion; weekly quizzes
3. apply psychological principles to
understanding everyday social problems
lectures; tutorials;
readings
multiple choice exam questions;
tutorial discussion; weekly quizzes
4. communicate knowledge to non-specialist
audience
lectures; tutorials multiple choice exam questions;
tutorial discussion
5.0 EVALUATION
The course grade is comprised of five components:
1 – Participation in tutorial sessions (10% of final mark; activities, discussion, attendance)
2 – Weekly end of chapter quizzes (10% of final mark; online)
3 – Exam 1 (25% of final mark; multiple choice)
4 – Exam 2 (25% of final mark; multiple choice)
5 – Final Exam (30% of final mark; cumulative, multiple choice)
Each exam will be 2 hours long and comprised of 60 multiple choice questions. Material from the textbook
chapters and the corresponding lectures will be covered on each exam, as designated in the class schedule.
The final exam is cumulative. You are responsible on the final exam for material covered after the second
exam as well as the material covered on the first two exams.
Examinations must be written at the scheduled dates/times unless you have a legitimate excuse recognized
by your academic counselor. 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. Please approach your academic counselor immediately, and directly (rather than contacting me), if you think you might have such an excuse.
** 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 needed to get into a particular academic program).
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
Tutorial Participation: 9 tutorials assessed by TAs throughout the term
Weekly Quizzes: 11 quizzes completed online each week throughout the term
Exam 1: Tuesday, October 8th, 11:30am to 1:30pm, UCC-56
Exam 2: Tuesday, November 12th, 11:30am to 1:30pm, UCC-56
Final Exam: TBA (December 8 - 19)
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
September 10: Introduction to Social Psychology Chapter 1September 11/12: No Tutorial Quiz 1
September 17: Social Cognition Chapter 3
September 18/19: Tutorial 1 Quiz 2
September 24: Social Perception Chapter 4
September 25/26: Tutorial 2 Quiz 3
October 1: The Self Chapter 5
October 2/3: Tutorial 3 Quiz 4
October 8: EXAM 1
October 9/10: No Tutorial
October 15: Attitudes and Attitude Change Chapter 6
October 16/17: Tutorial 4 Quiz 5
October 22: Conformity Chapter 7
October 23/24: Tutorial 5 Quiz 6
October 29: Group Processes Chapter 8
November 1: Tutorial 6 Quiz 7
November 5: Fall Break
November 8: No Tutorial
November 12: EXAM 2
November 13/14: No Tutorial
November 19: Interpersonal Attraction Chapter 9
November 22: Tutorial 7 Quiz 8
November 26: Prosocial Behavior Chapter 10
November 27/28: Tutorial 8 Quiz 9
December 3: Aggression & Prejudice Chapter 11, 12
December 4/5: Tutorial 9 Quiz 10 & 11
(Dec 8-19): FINAL EXAM (CUMULATIVE)
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.
