Psychology 315: Introduction to Social Psychology
Fall 2005 ~ MWF, 3-4 pm; Brown 100
Instructor:
Dr. Alan Lambert
Office: 319B
Phone: 935-7176
E:mail: alambert@artsci.wustl.edu
Office hours: Mondays and Fridays 11-12 noon and by
appointment (email me to set something up)
Course website: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~alambert/socialinks.htm
TAs:
Laura Nesse Tim
Bono
Office: 309C
e-mail:
laura@nesse.org email :
tjbono@artsci.wustl.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays and
Thursdays Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays
11:30-12:30 and by appointment 2:00-3:00
pm and by appointment
This course provides a broad overview of the
theories and methods of social psychology.
The emphasis of the course is on the scientific understanding of
individual behavior in its social context. Topics to be discussed include
impression formation, interpersonal attraction, prejudice and discrimination,
attitudes, aggression, group psychology, and personality.
I. Text
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Akert, R. (2005). Social
Psychology: Understanding human
interaction (5th Ed.).
II. Class
Attendance
Regular class attendance is
required. You are responsible for everything covered in class, including
lectures, films, remarks of guest speakers, and announcements. The class material complements the text, but
does not substitute for it. In some cases, material covered in class will
overlap that in the textbook; in other cases, the lecture content will diverge
from that of the text. Material covered
in class forms a large part of the tests, and hence, your presence in every
class is essential if you want to do well in this course.
III. Emails
From time to time I may make important
announcements via email. Some of these
announcements may have important ramifications for your grade. It is your responsibility to make sure that
your email address is working and that you are receiving all emails sent by
me. I will send out a test email the
first day of class. If you don’t receive
it please see me immediately after class on Friday.
When emailing me please put “psychology 315” in
the subject line or in the body of your email. This will help me keep track of the huge number
of emails from this course vs. the 600 students who are enrolled in my other
course (Psychology 100). I cannot guarantee responses to emails without
psychology 315 somewhere in your email.
IV.
Readings
Lectures will be structured assuming that
students have already read the assigned material prior to coming to class. Therefore, it is important that you do the assigned
reading before each class meeting. This will vastly improve your
understanding and enjoyment of the lectures.
V. Tests and Final Examination.
Your knowledge will be evaluated by three tests and an optional cumulative
final examination. All exams are
multiple choice. The three tests will be
given during class period (see schedule below) and the optional final will be
given on Friday December 16th. Each test will be worth 50 points and will consist
of 50 questions, each worth 1 point.
The Optional final examination
Anyone who misses
one of the regularly scheduled examinations for any reason other than a
University-sponsored event MUST take the final examination. There
are no make-up examinations in this course, other than absence due to attending
a University-sponsored event. If you miss an exam without prior written
notification you will receive a zero.
You may also elect to take the final examination to improve your score in the course. If you elect to take the final examination and your score on the final is greater than one of the three regularly scheduled exams, we will replace the lowest exam score with your score on the final exam. If your score on the final exam is lower than any of the regularly scheduled exams, then we will base your final grade on the three exam scores. Note that this means that taking the final cannot hurt your grade in any way, it can only improve your score.
Missing an exam
As noted above, the only acceptable reason for missing one of the three regularly scheduled examinations is if you must attend a University-sponsored event. Because these events are planned well in advance, you must notify Dr. Lambert, in writing, no later than September 9th (no exceptions). This notification must be in the form of a written note explaining which exam you must miss and the University event that you will be attending.
Travel Plans, Flights, etc
Because the exam dates are posted well in advance, it is your responsibility to plan ahead and schedule your travel plans around the exam dates, which are Friday September 30, Monday, November 7th, Monday December 12th, and Friday December 16th. Due to the huge size of this class, we cannot schedule special exam dates for students who wish to leave town early for the holidays or other reasons.
VI. Research participation
As part of the requirements for this course, you are to participate in 6 hours of posted experiments (see “Research Guidelines” below). This is akin to a laboratory requirement in other sciences, and serves to acquaint you with the methods and issues of contemporary psychology. Each hour of experimental participation is worth 1 point, for a total of 6 maximum points. Every activity associated with participating in research, including checking how many experiment credits you have earned over the course of the semester, will be handled through our subject pool website.
Alternatives to research. If you would rather not earn credit through
participation in research, you have two main options. First, you may complete your hours of
research by writing a short (1 page) paper.
Each paper is worth one point and thus each paper can be used to replace
one hour of your required experiments. You have the option of writing as few or
as many papers as you wish. A list of approved
papers for alternative assignments will be posted on the course website. Students who turn in papers on an article
that is not listed as an approved topic on the website will not receive credit.
All papers are due in Dr. Lambert’s box
by 5 pm on the last day of class.
A second option is to attend one of the departmental colloquia. These are one-hour talks that typically are on many (but not all) Mondays, from 4-5 pm. Space for these talks is limited, and you must sign up for these in advance. Please see the following website for more information: http://artsci.wustl.edu/~alambert/colloquia.htm
Grading. Your grade will be based on (a) 3 exams, each worth 50 points (note that one of these may be the optional final), and (b) 6 points for experiments (or papers). Thus, the maximum possible score in the course is 156. The grading scale is listed below.
Grading scale:
A+ 97-100%
A 93-96%
A- 89-92%
B+ 85-88%
B 81-84%
B- 77-80%
C+ 73-76%
C 69-72%
C- 65-68%
D+ 61-64%
D 57-60%
D- 53-56%
F 52% or lower
If you are taking this class Pass-Fail you must earn a C or better to
earn a passing grade.
Grade Appeals. If you feel strongly that your grade on some test was unfair, you have the right to appeal. In such cases, write a note stating (a) what test item you are questioning and (b) your rationale for the appeal. Attach the note to your test and hand it in to Dr. Lambert. Such appeals must be submitted within one week in which grades for that exam are posted.
Class schedule
August 31, September 2 Introduction
to course/Methodology--Chapter 2
September 5, 7, 9 Social
Cognition--Chapter 3
September 12, 14, 16 Social Perception--Chapter 4
September 19, 21, 23 Self Knowledge--Chapter 5
September 26, 28 Self
Justification and Self Esteem--Chapter 6
Friday, September 30: EXAM 1 (IN
CLASS): CHAPTERS 2-6
Review session Thursday September 29th,
7-8 pm, room TBA
October 3, 5, 7 Attitudes
and Attitude Change--Chapter 7
October 10, 12, 14 Conformity--Chapter 8
October 17, 19 (no class October 21; fall break) Group Processes--Chapter 9
October 24, 26, 28 Interpersonal Attraction--Chapter 10
October 31, November 2, 4 Pro-Social Behavior--Chapter 11
Monday, November 7: EXAM 2 (IN
CLASS): CHAPTERS 7-11
Review session Sunday November 6th, 7-8 pm, room TBA
November
9, 11 Aggression--Chapter 12
November 14, 16, 18
Prejudice—Chapter
13
November 21 (no class 11/23-2;
t-giving break) Prejudice--Chapter 13
(continued)
November 28, 30, December 2 Module 1: Social Psychology and Health
Week 14: December 5, 7, 9 Module 3: Social Psychology and the Law
Monday,
December 12: EXAM 3 (IN CLASS): CHAPTERS 12, 13, MODULES 1 & 2
Review session Sunday December 11th, 7-8 pm, room TBA
Optional Cumulative Final: Friday, December 16th, 6-8 pm—Brown
100
Review
session TBA
This
schedule is subject to change pending extenuating circumstances. Specific reading
assignments
will be announced in each class session.
Commonsense etiquette during class
This course is based on a simple principle of mutual respect and politeness. Just as it is important for your instructor to act in a courteous and respectful way toward you, it is equally important for you to extend the same courtesy to your fellow students and also, the instructor. Empirical research shows that the following behaviors are judged to be equally disruptive to students and faculty:
a. Talking with your neighbor (or to
yourself, if you’re into that sort of thing) after the instructor has begun
lecturing. Students rate this as
extremely annoying because it interferes with their ability to take notes. It
is also distracting to your instructor and will inevitably prevent him or her
from presenting the class material. Thus, once the instructor steps to the
podium, as a courtesy to your fellow students and to your instructor, this is a
signal to stop talking with your neighbor.
b. Coming in late. Class starts promptly at 7 minutes after the hour. If you come to class late, please select a seat in the back row; do not clamber over other students to find your usual “favorite” seat.
c. Ringing/beeping/using cell phones and pagers. Please turn off all phones and beepers before class begins.
How to
participate in experiments for credit
in the
Department of Psychology
As part of this course,
you may earn credit by participating in one or more experiments being offered
by the Department of Psychology. Read your syllabus carefully for information
on how this credit factors into your final grade. The purpose of this memo is to provide a
brief summary of how to get started participating in research.
Nearly
all aspects of this participation, including registration as a user, signing up
for experiments, and making sure that your instructor is notified of the points
you have earned, is handled by our website. The website can be accessed at: http://experimetrix.com/wu/ You can also access the site through the
Department of Psychology website, at http://psych.wustl.edu and clicking on “research participation
site”.
Note: earning
credit by participating in research is OPTIONAL. If you would rather earn your credit in ways other
than doing research, every instructor in the psychology department provides his
or her students with alternative ways of earning credit (e.g. by writing a
short paper, etc.). See your instructor
and/or your syllabus for further information about these options.
If
you would like to earn credit by participating in research, the website is very
easy to use and is largely self-explanatory.
Just a few things to keep in mind:
1.
When
you first access the site, make sure
that you click on “read me” and read the subject pool guidelines. This
is important even if you have used the pool before, because some minor
procedures may have changed since you last used it. It is your responsibility to make sure that you
are aware of and follow all guidelines. Failure to do so may mean a loss of
credit.
2.
New
users should click on NEW USERS to get started. Students who have used this website before
can use the same logon and password that they have used in past semesters. If
you have forgotten your logon or password, the website allows you to have this
information sent to you again via email.
After logging in, you are ready to start scheduling yourself for experiments.
3.
Please
keep track of your appointments and make sure that you show up on time. If you must cancel, then it is necessary for
you to do so no later than 4 hours before the scheduled time. If you fail to
show up for a study without canceling on time, or if you show up more than 10
minutes late, this will result in a penalty. Please see the guidelines
listed under READ ME for more details.
4.
The
last date to participate in experiments is on the last day of class (Arts and
Sciences schedule). DO NOT DELAY completing your
hours! There may be far fewer
opportunities later in the semester and in fact if you wait too long you may
not be able to earn any credit at all.
If you are a new user and/or need a new password, it is strongly
advised that you register within the first month of the semester to avoid
last-minute complications.
5.
It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you check your
profile from time to time to make
sure that you did not accidentally sign up for a study. (This does happen occasionally.) You
will receive a penalty if you do not show up for any study you signed up for,
regardless of whether you intended to sign up for it or not. Also, this will allow you to make sure that
you have the number of credits that you think you have. Double-checking
your profile is especially important during the last two weeks of the semester.
After the last day of class, no changes can be made on your credit report!
6. **Reminder to returning users: There is now a “research credit cap” in
place, which applies after you have earned a total of 24 research credits. See the subject pool website for details;
click on the “research cap” link.
Note: You must contact the subject
pool chair (Alan Lambert, alambert@wustl.edu)
each subsequent semester—this is not done automatically.
Questions? Specific questions about using the website
may be directed toward the webmaster, at PsychE@artsci.wustl.edu. More general questions about the subject pool
may be sent to Alan Lambert, subject pool chair, at alambert@wustl.edu