Social Psychology

PSYC2730 Spring 2005

Class Time : Tuesday & Friday, 10 am to 11:50 am

Class Room : Eaton 214

Instructor : Chris VerWys

e-mail : verwyc@rpi.edu

Phone : 276-8513

Course Description

When most people first think of psychology, images of insane asylums and people laying down on couches talking about their parents typically come to mind. However, many psychologists now prefer to study normal everyday behavior. Social Psychology is about how people think about, relate to, and interact with one another on a daily basis. During this class, we will examine principles of human behavior on an individual level, an interpersonal level, and in group settings. Some of the topics we will cover include self-esteem, romance, racism and sexism, aggression, obedience, conformity & persuasion, to name only a few.

One great thing about Social Psychology is that we are all amateur Social Psychologists by nature. Every day we make judgements about motivations and internal mental states just by observing other people and thinking to ourselves, why are they doing that ?

Social Psychology adds to human intuitions by scientifically classifying and quantifying normal human behavior. Utilizing scientific method and logical thinking, social psychologists attempt to determine cause and effect relationships in interpersonal behavior, in order to further the overall goal of psychology of being able to predict and control human behavior.

Required Text, Exploring Social Psychology, 3^rd edition. David Myers (2000) McGraw Hill . ISBN 0-07-234487-3.

Course Structure : A combination of lecture and mass media presentations, class discussion will be encouraged whenever appropriate. In class experiments, videos, research papers, and other demonstrations will all be used to communicate course concepts.

Course Web Site : Notes can be found at rpi.edu/~verwyc . Click on the Social Psychology Link

Grading : One semester length paper which incorporates your understanding of key concepts with autobiographical events will be the sole basis for your final grade. This paper is due on Friday, April 15^th . Since this is a semester long assignment, there will be substantial penalties for papers which are not turned in on time. One letter grade will be deducted for each school day the paper is late. Papers can be turned in as early as Friday, April 1^st if you don't want to wait until the last minute.

Course Schedule

All Classes meet on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 10am to 11:50 am in Eaton 214

Holiday and Due Dates :

Tuesday, February 22^nd : No Class, Monday Schedule applies

Friday, March 11^th : No Class

Tuesday, March 15^th : Spring Break, No Class

Friday, March 18^th : Spring Break, No Class

Tuesday, April 5^th : GM week, No Class

Friday, April 8^th : GM week, No Class

Friday, April 1^st : Students can begin to turn in final paper

Friday April 15^th, Final Paper Due

Semester Length Paper Details: This paper is designed for the student to demonstrate a grasp of key Social Psychological concepts and to identify how individual events in their life have been identified/described/explained in terms of Social Psychology.

This paper can be turned in as early as April 1^st, and will be accepted without penalty until the final due date of Friday, April 15^th .

No official excuses will be accepted as rationale for turning in this paper late. Penalties will apply, one letter grade for every school day your paper is late. If you hand the paper in on Monday, A[ril 18^th, you will lose one letter grade. If you hand the paper in on Tuesday, April 19^th , you will lose two letter grades.

The paper is to be 28-42 pages in length, 2-3 pages for each of the fourteen concepts you choose to explain. The paper is to written in Ariel font size 12, and double spaced. You will have a title page, a table of contents, and a bibliography which will not count toward the page total. For each concept, you will write two to three pages which describe the concept, explain social psychology experiments related to the concept, and how some event in your own life can be described/explained by this concept. In other words, you have to relate the concepts you choose to yourself, in some meaningful autobiographical manner. By linking these concepts with your personal experience, we hope to foster long term retention of the conceptual knowledge, as well as furthering the goal of getting you to know yourself better. Your paper will receive a grade of "A", "B", or "C". If your paper is less than 28 pages in length (you write a page and a half for each topic instead of two full pages, you will most likely receive a letter grade of "C" . If your paper is between 28-36 pages in length, you will most likely receive a letter grade of "B". If your paper is between 37-42 pages in length, your paper will be in consideration for a letter grade of "A" . Remember these page length/grading guidelines are not absolute, the quality of your paper is equally/more important than the length.

You are encouraged to have the writing center review your final paper before submission, and to have peers read your paper for typos. The instructor will not review your paper before submission to ensure a level playing field for all students, but will be available to answer general questions about the conceptual topics.

The choice of specific Social Psychological topics is up to you, choose 14 concepts from the list of 60 topics on the next page :

Topics for consideration for Final Social Psychology Paper :

Self Esteem

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Self Handicapping

Hindsight Bias

Memory Construction

Locus of Control

Self Serving Bias

Learned Helplessness

Impression Management

Fundamental Attribution Error

Cognitive Dissonance

Self Perception Theory

Attitude Formation

The link between opinion and actions

Foot in the Door Phenomenon

Gender Roles

Evolutionary Psychology

Conformity

Obedience

Central Route Persuasion

Peripheral Route Persuasion

Cult Indoctrination

Attitude Inoculation

Disclosure Reciprocity in Relationships

Reward Theory of Attraction

Physical Attractiveness Stereotype

Matching Phenomenon

Social Exchange Theory

Passionate Love

Two Factor Theory of Emotion

Explanatory Style

Depression

Happiness

Cultural Differences

Gender Differences

Social Time

Social Distance (proxemics)

Social Facilitation

Evaluation Apprehension

Deindividuation

Discrimination

Anonymity and Behavior

Prejudice

Racism

Sexism

Discrimination

Realistic Group Conflict Theory

Group Behavior

Social Loafing

Group Polarization

Group Think

Psychological Reactance

Learning of Aggression

Psychological Influences of Aggression

Observational Learning

Displacement and Aggression

Media Exposure and Aggression

Altruism

Bystander Effects in Helping

Social Responsibility Norm