Psychology 3723G-001 (Online for 2020-21)
Attitudes and Attitude Change
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
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.
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, 1 tutorial hour; 0.5 course.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor:Dr. Corey Isaacs
Office Hours:Fridays 12:00 – 2:00 PM (by appointment)
Email:cisaacs3@uwo.ca
The best way to contact me is by email. Please include “Psych 3723G” in the subject line of any email you send, and send emails only from your Western email account. I will always do my best to respond to your email within 48 hours, but during busy times it may take a little longer.
Teaching Assistant:Mikayla Colthirst-Reid
Email:mcolthir@uwo.ca
Time and Location:We will not be meeting synchronously; instead, all lectures will be posted on OWL each week to be accessed on a weekly basis. Tutorials will consist of asynchronous online interactions with your tutorial group, based on the course readings.
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
Maio, G. R., & Haddock, G. (2019). The Psychology of Attitudes & Attitude Change, 3rd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (print ISBN: 9781526425836; etext ISBN: 9781526454140)
The textbook is available as a hard copy in the UWO Bookstore, or you can purchase the e-text version here: https://www.vitalsource.com/en-ca/products/the-psychology-of-attitudes-and-attitude-change-gregory-r-maio-geoffrey-v9781526454140
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, students should have an understanding of the basic theories, methods, and findings in the literature on attitudes and attitude change. Topics include theories of attitudes (e.g., dissonance theory, elaboration likelihood model), mechanisms underlying persuasion, advertising, propaganda, and prejudice.4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
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Identify and describe the biological, psychological, and social factors that influence people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors |
Lecture, Online discussions, Textbook |
Exams, Online discussions |
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Apply theoretical principles and research findings to examples of attitude formation and change in everyday life |
Lecture, Online discussions, Textbook |
Exams, Online discussions, Essay |
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Critically evaluate theories, research methods, and findings from the study of attitudes and attitude change |
Lecture, Online discussions, Textbook |
Exams, Online discussions, Essay |
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Communicate ideas clearly and concisely, in language accessible to intelligent non-experts (oral and written formats) |
Lecture, Online discussions, Essay |
Exams, Online discussions, Essay |
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Describe and explain the limits of research conclusions in the context of methodological practices within the field |
Lecture, Online discussions, Textbook |
Exams, Online discussions |
5.0 EVALUATION
There will be four components to the marking scheme: a midterm and final exam (each worth 20-25%), participation in weekly online discussions (worth 25%), and an essay (worth 30%). The weights of the midterm and final exams will be based on your exam grades—whichever of your two exam grades is higher will be worth 25%, and the lower exam grade will be worth 20%. If you miss either exam (with accommodations), that exam will be worth 20% and those points will be distributed among your remaining course components.
5.1EXAMS (45% of final mark)
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, and both text and lecture material will be tested. Chapters 1 to 5 and associated lectures will be tested on the midterm exam. Chapters 6 to 10 and associated lectures will be tested on the final exam. The final exam is not cumulative—it will NOT include material that was tested on the midterm exam.
Exams will be administered via OWL and will require attending a Zoom meeting for the duration of the exam. You must have a working webcam installed for each exam session. While the exams are open-book, you are expected to work independently.
Makeup Exams
If you are unable to write an exam at the scheduled time, you must receive permission from your faculty, either by submitting a Self-Reported Absence (midterm exam only) or by submitting documentation to your faculty academic counselling office. A student who misses an exam without permission from their faculty will be assigned a grade of zero for the exam.
If a student misses one exam with approval from their faculty dean’s office, the weight of the missed exam (i.e., 20% of the course grade) will be distributed proportionately among the remaining course components. If a student misses both the midterm and the final exam with approval from their faculty dean’s office, they will be required to write a cumulative makeup final exam, which will be in a different format from the regular exams.
Exam Proctoring
Tests and examinations in this course will be conducted using Zoom. You will be required to keep your camera on for the entire session, hold up your student card for identification purposes, and share your screen with the invigilator if asked to do so at any time during the exam.
More information about the use of Zoom for exam invigilation is available in the Online Proctoring Guidelines at this link: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/onlineproctorguidelines.pdf
Completion of this course will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the system requirements for Zoom. Information about the system requirements are available at the following link: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us. Zoom servers are located outside Canada. If you would prefer to use only your first name or a nickname to login to Zoom, please provide this information to the instructor in advance of the test or examination.
5.2ONLINE DISCUSSIONS (25% of final mark)
There will be an online discussion posted to OWL each week (10 throughout the course), and you will be required to participate in any EIGHT of the discussions throughout the term to earn the Online Discussions component of your course grade. You can choose to participate in more than eight discussions, in which case your best eight (out of nine or ten) discussion grades will be used to calculate your Online Discussions grade. The ‘Introduce Yourself!’ forum in week 1 is NOT graded.
Participation grades will be earned based on the quantity and quality of your contributions to the discussions. A successful student in online education is one who takes an active role in the learning process. You are therefore encouraged to participate actively in the discussions to enhance your learning experience throughout the course.
Discussions will be graded for the quality and content of your contributions. Quality posts may include:
- providing additional information to the discussion
- elaborating on previous comments from others
- presenting explanations of concepts or methods to help fellow students
- presenting reasons for or against a topic in a persuasive fashion
- sharing your own personal experiences that relate to the topic
- providing a URL and explanation for a topic you researched on the Internet
For each discussion in which you participate, you will be assigned a grade out of 4 based on your discussion posts. Grades will be assigned as follows:
0 = Incomplete (no posting, question not answered)
1 = Unsatisfactory (minimal contribution, few if any responses to other students)
2 = Satisfactory (discussion topic addressed, minimal contribution to discussion)
3 = Excellent (posting meets all criteria, provides a valuable contribution to discussion)
4 = Outstanding (posting(s) go beyond basic requirements, present additional information from outside the textbook, and interact well with the other students)
-1 = Penalty for not posting a question prior to the deadline of midnight on Monday. This penalty does not apply if you are not participating in that week’s discussion.
Each discussion will be open for seven days, from 12:05 AM on Sunday until 11:55 PM the following Saturday. For each discussion in which you choose to engage, you will be required to post at least one question to your group (before midnight on Monday) about the previous week's topic, and to engage in at least two of your classmates’ discussions before 11:55 PM on Saturday. Once the discussion closes, no more posts can be made. Please post early in the week to avoid last-minute problems, and always back up your work (screenshots of your forum posts are ideal), as “technical difficulties” is NOT an acceptable excuse for missing a discussion deadline.
5.3ESSAY (30% of final mark)
The essay should be approximately 10-12 double-spaced pages of text (plus title page & references) on one of the four topics listed below. Use Times New Roman 12-point font, with margins of 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all four sides (left, right, top, bottom).
The essay is due on Thursday, April 8th, 2021. There is a 10% per day late penalty, and the absolute latest that it can be submitted is Monday, April 12th, 2021. Note that Thursday, April 8th is the LAST POSSIBLE day on which you can submit the essay without a late penalty, not the day that you should be aiming for. Aim to submit your work at least a week before the deadline, then you will have plenty of flex time should you fall behind your schedule. I will NOT extend your deadline because you didn’t plan accordingly or because you had last-minute problems.
Your essay should review some of the existing literature on the topic. You must cite at least four articles or chapters in addition to the one provided for the topic, and you should make clear that you have read the articles. For example, do NOT cite a paper in the following way: “Threats to self-esteem sometimes produce self-enhancing judgments (e.g., Jones & Leonard, 2001).” Instead, describe the study in the cited paper and explain how it demonstrated the principle, or summarize the specific arguments presented in the paper to support a theory.
One good way to find articles on the topic is by using PsycINFO on the Western library website. You can search for articles by topic, author, or title. You can also use Google Scholar by entering a topic or author. Finally, the Social Sciences Citation Index allows you to search for articles that have cited a specific publication (e.g., articles that cite the article provided for your topic). The library website offers a variety of resources to help you!
Your essay must also provide two examples of the topic in real life. One of the examples must be from your own experiences. This does not mean that you were necessarily involved, but it must be from your life. For example, the event might have involved someone in your family or a friend. The other example must be from the media, such as television, newspapers, or the Internet. The event should be verifiable by some source, which should be cited in your paper (e.g., the channel and date of a television broadcast, the newspaper and date, or the Internet website). You must explain how or why your examples illustrate the topic. Relate your examples to your prior review of the literature on the topic. Why are your examples good ones? Do any elements of your examples not fit with the topic?
At the end of the paper, you should include a References page that lists all published sources that were cited in the paper, using APA style.
Marks will be based on the quality of the writing, the clarity and accuracy of the descriptions of the articles, and the appropriateness and creativity of the chosen examples.
Possible Essay Topics
(1) Post-decisional Dissonance: People are motivated to rationalize their decisions.
Chatzisarantis, N. L. D., Hagger, M. S., & Wang, J. C. K. (2008). An experimental test of cognitive dissonance theory in the domain of physical exercise. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20, 97-115.
(2) Mere Exposure: Familiarity usually produces more favourable attitudes toward a target.
Harmon-Jones, E., & Allen, J. J. B. (2001). The role of affect in the mere exposure effect: Evidence from psychophysiological and individual differences approaches. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 889-898.
(3) Selective Exposure: People seek out information that supports their attitudes and avoid information that challenges their attitudes.
Brannon, L. A., Tagler, M. J., & Eagly, A. H. (2007). The moderating role of attitude strength in selective exposure to information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 611-617.
(4) Targets of Persuasion: People from different groups may respond differently to different kinds of persuasive appeals.
Wang, C. L., Bristol, T., Mowen, J. C., & Chakraborty, G. (2000). Alternate modes of self-construal: Dimensions of connectedness-separateness and advertising appeals to the cultural and gender-specific self. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 9, 107-115.
5.4 IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT GRADES
Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%.
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
Please note that there are no additional options for course credit, and course grades will not be rounded up nor increased on the basis of things like program requirements. Exceptions to the course grading scheme will only be made if academic accommodations have been approved by your Faculty Dean’s Office.
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
Online Discussions Sunday – Saturday each week, starting Jan. 17 (see OWL)
Midterm Exam 2:00 – 4:00 PM on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021
Essay due before midnight on Thursday, April 8, 2021
Final Exam TBA (April 14 – 30, 2021)
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Changes to the class schedule will be announced on the OWL course website. Students are responsible for being aware of announcements made on OWL.
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DATES |
READING |
TOPIC |
|
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Jan. 10 – 16 |
Chapter 1 |
Definition and Measurement of Attitudes |
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Jan. 17 – 23 |
Chapter 2 |
Attitude Content, Structure, and Functions |
|
|
Jan. 24 – 30 |
Chapter 3 |
Attitudes and Information Processing |
|
|
Jan. 31 – Feb. 6 |
Chapter 4 |
Attitudes and Behaviour |
|
|
Feb. 7 – 13 |
Chapter 5 |
Cognitive Approaches to Attitudes |
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|
Feb. 14 - 20 |
READING WEEK – NO CLASSES |
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Feb. 21 – 27 |
MIDTERM EXAM (Chapters 1 – 5): Thursday, Feb. 25th @ 2:00 – 4:00 PM |
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Feb. 28 – March 6 |
Chapter 6 |
Affective Approaches to Attitudes |
|
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March 7 – 13 |
Chapter 7 |
Variations in Sexual Behaviour |
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|
March 14 – 20 |
Chapter 8 |
Behavioural Approaches to Attitudes |
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March 21 – 27 |
Chapter 9 |
Internal Influences on Attitudes |
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March 28 – April 3 |
Chapter 10 |
External Influences on Attitudes |
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April 4 – 10 |
ESSAY DEADLINE: Thursday, April 8th @ 11:55 PM |
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TBD (April Exam Period) |
FINAL EXAM (Chapters 6 – 10) |
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8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offences. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offences because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offence 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 offences. 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 will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
In classes that involve the use of a personal response system (PRS), data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR ILLNESS OR OTHER ABSENCES
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
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 must be submitted before the exam/coursework deadline in order to be valid. It 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 hoursafter 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 Contingency Plan for Return to Lockdown
In the event of a COVID-19 resurgence during the course that necessitates the course delivery moving away from face-to-face interaction, all remaining course content will be delivered entirely online, either synchronously (i.e., at the times indicated in the timetable) or asynchronously (e.g., posted on OWL for students to view at their convenience). The grading scheme will not change. Any remaining assessments will also be conducted online as determined by the course instructor.
11.0 STATEMENTS CONCERNING ONLINE ETIQUETTE
In courses involving online interactions, the Psychology Department expects students to honour the following rules of etiquette:
- please “arrive” to class on time
- please use your computer and/or laptop if possible (as opposed to a cell phone or tablet)
- please ensure that you are in a private location to protect the confidentiality of discussions in the event that a class discussion deals with sensitive or personal material
- to minimize background noise, kindly mute your microphone for the entire class until you are invited to speak, unless directed otherwise
- In classes larger than 30 participants please turn off your video camera for the entire class unless you are invited to speak
- In classes of 30 students or fewer, where video chat procedures are being used, please be prepared to turn your video camera off at the instructor’s request if the internet connection becomes unstable
- Unless invited by your instructor, do not share your screen in the meeting
The course instructor will act as moderator for the class and will deal with any questions from participants. To participate please consider the following:
- If you wish to speak, use the “raise hand” function and wait for the instructor to acknowledge you before beginning your comment or question.
- Please remember to unmute your microphone and turn on your video camera before speaking.
- Self-identify when speaking.
- Please remember to mute your mic and turn off your video camera after speaking (unless directed otherwise).
General considerations of “netiquette”:
- Keep in mind the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students in the course.
- Be courteous toward the instructor, your colleagues, and authors whose work you are discussing.
- Be respectful of the diversity of viewpoints that you will encounter in the class and in your readings. The exchange of diverse ideas and opinions is part of the scholarly environment. “Flaming” is never appropriate.
- Be professional and scholarly in all online postings. Use proper grammar and spelling. Cite the ideas of others appropriately.
Note that disruptive behaviour of any type during online classes, including inappropriate use of the chat function, is unacceptable. Students found guilty of Zoom-bombing a class or of other serious online offenses may be subject to disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct.
12.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services: 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
- 2020-2021 Calendar References
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos 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 any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
