Psychology 2070A 650 SU24
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.
Western University
London Canada
Department of Psychology
Summer 2024
Psychology 2070A Section 650
Social Psychology
1 Calendar Description
An introduction to the theories, methods, findings, and problems encountered in the study of people as social beings.
Antirequisites: Psychology 2720A/B, Psychology 2780E
Prerequisites: n/a
3 lecture hours; Course Weight: 0.5
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.
2 Course Information
Instructor: Dr. Corey Isaacs
Office Hours: via Zoom by appointment
Email: cisaacs3@uwo.ca
The best way to contact me is by email. Please include “Psych 2070” in the subject line and send emails only from your Western email account. I will always do my best to respond to your email within 48 hours (Monday to Friday), but during busy times it may take a little longer.
Time and Location of Classes: This course will be offered online asynchronously—you will not be required to attend any weekly class sessions. Lecture videos will be released on OWL every Sunday and will remain available for the remainder of the course.
For courses that include an online component, students must have a reliable internet connection and computer that are compatible with online learning system requirements.
3 Course Materials
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Fehr, B., & Somers, S. R. (2021). REVEL Social Psychology (7th Canadian Edition). Pearson Education Canada, Inc. (ISBN: 9780136621423)
The etextbook can be purchased on its own, or as an integrated part of the REVEL website, which includes access to all their online tools, including the audio book and study aids. You may purchase a textbook access code via the Western Book Store website or directly from Pearson’s website: https://www.pearson.com/en-ca/subject-catalog/p/social-psychology-canadian-edition/P200000002590/9780136621423
4 Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course students should understand 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.
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge · Identify key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in social psychology. |
Readings, Lectures, Online Discussions |
Exams, Online Discussions, Chapter Quizzes |
|
Knowledge of Methodologies · Summarize knowledge of psychological theories and methods involved in social psychology. |
Readings, Lectures, Online Discussions |
Exams, Online Discussions, Chapter Quizzes |
|
Application of Knowledge · Apply psychological theories and concepts to the understanding of social behaviour. |
Readings, Lectures, Online Discussions |
Exams, Online Discussions, Chapter Quizzes |
|
Communication Skills · Communicate accurately and clearly, in a way that would be broadly understandable to a non-specialist audience. |
Online Discussions |
Online Discussions |
5 Evaluation
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives
Exams (75% of final grade)
This class includes two midterm exams (each worth 20%) and a final exam (worth 35%), which will be administered synchronously online. Exams will be closed book and linear (i.e., students cannot go back to change answers once they move on to the next question) and will cover material from both the textbook and the OWL units. The final exam will be cumulative (i.e., it will assess material from the entire course), with an emphasis on material from Units 9 – 12.
Exams in this course will be conducted using a remote proctoring service. By taking this course, you are consenting to the use of this software and acknowledge that you will be required to provide personal information (including some biometric data) and the session will be recorded. Completion of this course will require you to have a reliable internet connection and a device that meets the technical requirements for this service. More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote Proctoring website at https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca.
Online Discussions (25% of final grade)
There will be a discussion forum posted to OWL each week (12 throughout the course), and you will be required to participate in any FIVE of the discussions throughout the term to earn the Online Discussions component of your course grade. You can choose to participate in six discussions, in which case your BEST FIVE OF SIX discussion grades will be used to calculate your Online Discussions grade. If you participate in more than six discussions, your grade will be based only on the FIRST SIX—any additional discussions beyond the first six will not be graded. The ‘Introduce Yourself!’ forum is NOT graded.
Forum grades will be earned based on the quantity and quality of your contributions to these 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.
Each discussion will be open for seven days, from 12:05 AM on Sunday until 11:55 PM the following Saturday. You will be required to post at least one question to your group (before midnight on Monday) about the previous week's topic as a starting point for discussion. You will also be required to respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts before 11:55 PM on Saturday. Once the discussion closes, no more posts can be made. Post early in the week to avoid last-minute problems, and always back up your work (e.g., write your forum posts in MS Word before posting them), as “technical difficulties” is NOT an acceptable excuse for missing a discussion deadline.
Policy on Missing Coursework
Exams. Students who fail to write an exam at the scheduled time will receive a grade of zero unless they receive academic considerations from their Academic Dean’s office.
There will be a makeup exam during the week after each of the midterm exams (see section 6). If a student is absent from both the midterm exam and the makeup exam with permission from their Academic Dean’s office, that portion of their course grade may be reassigned to the final exam.
There will be a makeup final exam at 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM on Saturday, August 10. Students will need to receive academic considerations from their faculty to write the makeup final exam.
Online Discussions. If a student fails to participate in at least five of the weekly online discussions, they will receive a grade of zero for each of the incomplete discussions. If a student receives academic considerations for an online discussion forum, that may include an extension on the Monday night question deadline or omission of a missed/incomplete discussion from the calculation of their Online Discussions grade. It is not possible to participate in a missed or incomplete discussion forum after the forum has closed.
Important Notes About Grades
The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses
72% 2100-2999-level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
In the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.
Policy on Grade Rounding
Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered.
6 Assessment/Evaluation Schedule
Online Discussions Sunday – Saturday each week
Midterm Exam 1 (Units 1 - 4) 10:00 – 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 1
- Midterm 1 Makeup Exam 10:00 – 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 8
Midterm Exam 2 (Units 5 - 8) 10:00 – 11:00 AM on Saturday, July 6
- Midterm 2 Makeup Exam 10:00 – 11:00 AM on Saturday, July 13
Final Exam (Cumulative) TBA (July 29 - August 1)
- Makeup Final Exam 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM on Saturday, August 10
7 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.
|
DATES |
OWL UNIT |
READING |
TOPIC |
||
|
May 6 - 11 |
Unit 1 |
Chapter 1 |
Introduction |
||
|
May 12 - 18 |
Unit 2 |
Chapter 2 |
Research Methods |
||
|
May 19 - 25 |
Unit 3 |
Chapter 3 |
Social Cognition |
||
|
May 26 - June 1 |
Unit 4 |
Chapter 4 |
Social Perception |
||
|
June 2 - 8 |
Unit 5 |
Chapter 5 |
The Self |
||
|
June 9 - 15 |
Unit 6 |
Chapter 6 |
Attitudes |
||
|
June 16 - 22 |
Unit 7 |
Chapter 7 |
Conformity |
||
|
June 23 - 29 |
Unit 8 |
Chapter 8 |
Group Processes |
||
|
June 30 - July 6 |
Unit 9 |
Chapter 9 |
Interpersonal Attraction |
||
|
July 7 - 13 |
Unit 10 |
Chapter 10 |
Prosocial Behaviour |
||
|
July 14 - 20 |
Unit 11 |
Chapter 11 |
Aggression |
||
|
July 21 - 27 |
Unit 12 |
Chapter 12 |
Prejudice |
||
8 Academic Integrity
Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.
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.
Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.
Multiple Choice Exams
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.
Exam Proctoring Software
Tests and examinations for online courses may be conducted using a remote proctoring service. More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote
Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca.
9 Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education
View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link.
Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western.
If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information. Email: aew@uwo.ca Phone: 519 661-2147
10 Absence & Academic Consideration
View Western’s policy on academic consideration for medical illnesses this link
Find your academic counsellor here: https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain academic considerations. Students must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence.
Medical Absences
Submit a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for Academic Consideration.
Nonmedical Absences
Submit appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Religious Consideration
Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term.
11 Other Information
- Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
- Student Development Services: sdc.uwo.ca
- Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness@Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ 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.
If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf. Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).
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.
12 Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton. Nations, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. This land continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) whom we recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors of our society.
