Psychology 3720F-650

The Psychology of Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviour

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

The course will consider the social, situational and personality factors responsible for the occurrence of prosocial behaviours such as helping others in disaster or crisis situations, and of antisocial behaviours such as violence and aggression.

Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810 (281) [or Psychology 2780E or permission of the Department at Huron]

3 lecture/discussion hours, 0.5 course

Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll 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.


2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor: Melanie MacEacheron, M.Sc.                

Office: SSC 6323

Email: mmaceac4@uwo.ca                         

Office Hours:  Tuesdays noon-1:00 pm in SSC 7440, or by appointment in SSC 6323. Because this is an internet-based course, possibly the best way to contact the instructor is by email. I will do my best to respond to your emails as quickly as possible. If you would like to meet in person outside office hours, please email me to set up a meeting. Please be sure to include “Psych 3720” as part of the subject heading of your emails, and email from your “@uwo.ca” account.

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

Textbooks (required):

Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., Schroeder, D. A., & Penner, L. A. (2006). The Social Psychology of Prosocial Behavior. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. (For Part 1 of the course)

Krahé, B. (2013). The Social Psychology of Aggression (2nd edition). New York, NY: Psychology Press. (For Part 2 of the course)

Online notes and discussion board available on OWL powered by Sakai (https://owl.uwo.ca/portal).

Please do not post any derogatory, sarcastic, or demeaning comments about other students or their postings.

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this course are:

  • To teach students about key theories, methods and findings in the scientific study of prosocial and antisocial behavior
  • To provide students with the adequate tools to generate a research idea and to write a research proposal according to APA standards
  • To encourage students to think critically and apply their knowledge through online discussions with their colleagues

At the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Describe theories, research methods and findings regarding the occurrence of antisocial and prosocial behaviours. Measured through exams.
  • Apply theoretical principles and research findings to everyday examples of prosocial and antisocial behaviour. Measured through online discussions with colleagues.
  • Locate and critically evaluate information. Measured through online discussions with colleagues and research proposal (literature review).
  • Generate and develop a research idea. Measured by research proposal.

5.0     EVALUATION


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

Grade Breakdown

Component

% of Final Grade

Exam 1

30

Exam 2

30

Research Proposal

25

Discussions

15

Total

100



6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

Course grades will be based on five online discussions, two exams and a research proposal.

1. Exams: Each two-hour exam will consist of “short answer” questions that test your ability to identify, conceptualize, and/or apply the course material. Sample questions will be provided after each lesson in the form of practice questions.

The midterm exam (Saturday, June 18th), worth 30% of the final grade, will cover material from May 9th through June 11th (weeks 1-5).

The final exam (during the final exam period: date, time and location will be available from Registrar’s office), worth 30% of the final grade, will cover material from June 19th through July 29th (weeks 7-12).

2. Research Proposal: You are required to write a research proposal, which is worth 25% of the final grade. The maximum length of the proposal is 15 typed, double-spaced pages (excluding references). It is due in APA format on July 31st.

Your goal is to propose a study (preferably an experiment) that would extend our understanding of any area in prosocial or antisocial behaviour. Note that you will not actually conduct the study.

More information about the requirements for the research proposal will be provided on the course website.

3. Online Discussions: There will be five online discussions worth 15% of the final grade. The online discussions will take place in weeks 3, 4, 8, 11 and 12 (see schedule below). 

There will be a discussion board on the course website, which will list a new question each of these weeks, for students to comment on/discuss. You will be divided into groups of approximately five, and will comment on/discuss the question among yourselves.

Students are expected to participate in all of these discussions by completely answering each component of each question, posting their own thoughts or observations, and by commenting constructively on other students’ comments. In the Discussion area of the course website, you, as a student, can interact with your classmates to explore questions and comments related to the content of this course. A successful student in online education is one who takes an active role in the learning process. Participation in the discussion should enhance your learning experience throughout the course.

The discussions will be graded for the quality and content of your contributions. Examples of quality posts 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; and

-       providing a URL and explanation for an area you researched on the Internet.

It is strongly suggested that you participate in each discussion regularly (i.e., not solely just before the deadline for the submission of each), and multiple times. One reason for this, is that in order to earn a good grade, you are expected to not only to post good comments that completely answer the given question, but also to respond to others’ posts. Your (final) posting for each discussion must be received by OWL by Sunday at 11:59pm of the week of the discussion, in order to be marked.

There will also be a bonus discussion. The bonus discussion will replace either your lowest discussion mark or a missed discussion post. 


7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Week

Date

Topic

Readings

Discussions

Part 1: Prosocial Behaviour

1

May 9 – 14

Introduction to Prosocial Behaviour

Dovidio, Ch. 1

 

2

May 15 – 21

The Origin of Prosocial Behaviour

Dovidio, Ch. 2

 

3

May 22 – 28

When will people help?

Dovidio, Ch. 3

Discussion 1

4

May 29–June 4

Why do people help?

Dovidio, Ch. 4

Discussion 2

5

June 5 - 11

Being the helper and Being helped

Dovidio, Ch. 7

 

6

June 12 – 17

Midterm Study Break

 

 

Exam 1: Saturday, June 18th (Time TBA) – Covers all textbook chapters and lesson materials (notes, additional readings, activities, and videos) in Part 1 of the course.

Part 2: Antisocial Behaviour – Aggression

7

June 19 – 25

Defining and measuring Aggression

Krahe, Ch. 1

 

8

June 26-July 2

Theories of Aggression

Krahe, Ch. 2

Discussion 3

9

July 3 – 9

Development of Aggression

Krahe, Ch. 3

 

10

July 10 – 16

Situational elicitation of Aggression

Krahe, Ch. 4

 

11

July 17 – 23

Media violence and Aggression

Krahe, Ch. 5

Discussion 4

12

July 24 – 29

Aggression as part of everyday life

Krahe, Ch. 6

Discussion 5

13

July 30-Aug. 1

Study Days

 

 

14

August 2 – 5

Final Exam Period

Bonus Discussion

Exam 2: Sometime between August 2nd and 5th (inclusive). Exact date and time will be available from Registrar’s office. Covers all textbook chapters and lesson materials (notes, additional readings, activities, and videos) in Part 2 of the course.

Recommended Schedule for completing the Research Proposal: 

  • Weeks 1 – 4: 
    • Find area that interests you (skim readings). 
  • Weeks 5 – 7:
    • Review past research in this area (PsycInfo). 
    • Review the following material posted in the Research Proposal tab on the website: 
      • Techniques to generate a research idea that extends past research
      • The structure of an outline for your research proposal
    • Develop outline of a research proposal 
  • Week 8 – 9: 
    • Write first draft 
  • Week 10 – 11:  
    • Review the following material posted in the Research Proposal tab on the website:
      •  Writing style/organization
      • Typical problems/sample feedback    
    • Keeping these materials in mind: Write second draft  
  • July 22nd:
    • Submit draft to Turnitin and check for matches 
  • July 24th: 
    • Revise and submit final draft (one week before deadline) 
  • July 31st:

Research Proposal Due

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

The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.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
- 2015 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.