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Professor: Dr. Zuoming Wang
Email: Office: 309E GAB Phone: 940-5654283
Office Hours: by appointment
Course Overview
This course examines social media through the lens of our everyday life. The focus is on how the social media work through the socio-psychological processes of human beings and influence perception and behavior. Emphasis will be placed on how to understand an empirical project related to social media to help us better understand the relationship between social media and people’s social needs. The pedagogy will be equally focused on in-class meetings and discussions, and problem solving for research projects.
Course Goals
The overall goal for the course is to connect current thinking in psychology with human behavior on the Internet. There are multiple objectives intended for a wide variety of student background and goals including:
- Understanding how current theories and models of human behavior can explain and anticipate social dynamics over the Internet
- Evaluating theories critically, with an emphasis on how humans adapt to technology and use it for social purposes
- Forming an awareness of research methods that are used to study social behavior on the Internet
Required Readings
- Textbook: Kevin B. Wright & Lynne M. Webb (eds). (2011). Computer-mediated communication in personal relationships. Peter Lang Publishing.
Attendance and Participation
Your active attendance and participation in class is required. Most class periods will involve discussion or communication activities. You are encouraged to share your experiences and provide thoughtful insights. Beyond one absence, 1 point will be deducted off your participation points per absence. Absences need never be discussed with the instructor unless you are providing a documented note. Commit yourself to a responsible attendance policy that will ensure the grade you desire. Students who do not attend on the first day class may be dropped, so that students who are not enrolled but attend the first day of class can be added to the class.
Late Work Policy
Except under the most extreme circumstances (and documentation of those circumstances is required), late work will be penalized. If you encounter an emergency situation of some kind, it is best to communicate with me about it earlier rather than later.
Late Assignments & Paperswill be graded for half credit. This is a severe penalty, but it is better than zero points. It is not fair to others who met the deadlines if I accept yours late. I will not accept any assignment or final paper more than one daylate. Also, no longer are printer troubles and computer problems reasonable excuses for late papers. I suggest knowing the equipment well enough and allowing ample time in case of problems.
Acceptable Student Behavior:
Student behavior that interferes with an instructor’s ability to conduct a class or other students' opportunity to learn is unacceptable and disruptive and will not be tolerated in any instructional forum at UNT. Students engaging in unacceptable behavior will be directed to leave the classroom and the instructor may refer the student to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities to consider whether the student's conduct violated the Code of Student Conduct. The university's expectations for student conduct apply to all instructional forums, including university and electronic classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. The Code of Student Conduct can be found at
Punctuality
It is really important that class begins on time every day to guarantee that all of the scheduled information and activities are completed. For every two times you are late or leave early, it counts as one absence. It is your responsibility to make sure I know you were late and not absent.
Distractions
Make sure you turn the ringers off on your cell phones prior to the start of class. It is best to shut them off completely. Please do not text message during class.
Academic Integrity
All persons shall adhere to the Code of Student Conduct regarding academic dishonesty, including acts of cheating and plagiarism.
Cheating: The willful giving or receiving of information in an unauthorized manner during an examination, illicitly obtaining examination questions in advance, using someone else’s work or written assignments as if they were your own, or any other dishonest means of attempting to fulfill a requirement of this course.
Plagiarism: The use of an author’s words or ideas as if they were your own without giving proper credit to the source, including but not limited to failure to acknowledge a direct quotation.
The minimum sanction for a violation of the code is a grade of zero for the assignment; a second act of plagiarism warrants a failing grade in the course. The code is available in the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Access Policy
We cooperate fully with the University’s Office of Disability Accommodation to provide reasonable accommodation to students who require it. Students who wish to self-identity should register with the ODA no later than the second day of class.
Extra Credit Opportunity
Graduate students or faculty may provide the opportunity for students to participate in research. IF such opportunities are offered this semester, students are encouraged to take advantage of any extra credit offered. IF offered, each opportunity will count up to 1% of a student's final grade. Note, however, students must be at class when these opportunities are provided. Makeup of extra credit will not be allowed.
Policy on Incompletes
We will award grades of “Incomplete” only in cases where a student has completed 75% of the coursework AND the grade is warranted by a medical or military excuse. Inability to complete coursework in a timely fashion does not constitute an acceptable reason for requesting or receiving an incomplete.
APA Style
Students are expected to produce written work that conforms to APA style and the “Writing Guidelines” that appear on the department website in the “Important Documents” section of both the Undergraduate Program and Graduate Program tabs.
Crisis Contingency
In the event of the university closing for weather-related reasons or illness outbreak, e.g. flu, please visit the course website on Blackboard. I will provide instructions on how to turn in assignments and how the class will proceed utilizing Blackboard's Announcements function.
Copier Use Statement
Students conducting research in the Communication Studies Library associated with departmental coursework have access to a printer/photocopier located in the office adjacent to the library. We encourage students to make use of this resource to print research accessed online in the library or to copy essays from any of the department’s holdings. Students may not use this resource for other purposes, such as printing courses assignments, class notes, scripts, etc. Students who use the copier for uses other than those outlined above will lose copying privileges.
Disclaimer
This syllabus should not be construed as a binding contract on the part of the instructor or teaching assistants. We reserve the right to change any aspect of the course without notice.
Grade Scale
A: (excellent, clearly outstanding)450-500pts 91-100%
B: (very good, impressive)400-449 pts 81-90%
C: (average college level) 350-399 pts 71-80%
D: (below average, barely passing) 300-349pts 61-70%
F: (failing) 299pts or lower 60% and below
Assignments/Evaluations
Exams (300 points)
Three exams (each counts 100 points) cover both lectures and material from the reading. Keep in mind that some lecture material does not come directly from the text, meaning you should keep good lecture notes. The exam consists of multiple choice and true-false questions.
Online Blog Assignments (10 point X 10 postings = 100 points)
There is an online component of the course work, which needs to be completed in the virtual environment using the course website during the second half of the class time. That is to say, the class will meet first face-to-face in the classroom. After the first half of the class,students will log on the course website to locate the assignment and complete it by the end of the class time. Each posting should be no less than 250 words. For example, some empirical research projects will be presented in the lecture. You will need to write a critic/commentary of the project reviewing pros and cons on its rationale, study design, and implications. Or sometimes a few video clips will be shown in lecture (or posted online) during the semester. For each video clip, you need to write a blog that applies a theory/concept from the designated chapter to analyze the video clip. The point of this assignment is to illustrate that you have incorporated what you learn from the book to the scenarios shown in the video clips. The online blogs need to be submitted at the course website by the end of the class time 3:50pm.
Final Paper(100 points)
The topic of the final paper is quite flexible, as long as it is related to communication technology. Generally speaking, the final paper should be in the 5 page range (not counting the title page and reference page) and follow APA guidelines. The paper should have at least 8 academic sources. The final paper is due on May 31 no later than noon time through turnitin.com. Students should also email an electronic copy of the paper to the instructor at before submitting to turnitin.com.
OnMay 18, final paper Topic is due. It needs to be one-page, double spaced, explaining the topic you’d like to write about as specific as possible. It is 5 points.
On May 24, final paper Reference (at least 8 academic sources) is due. It needs to be APA style. It is 5 points.
The actual Final Paper would essentially be the introduction and literature review. It will require a thorough understanding of the literature in an area in order to succinctly summarize it. It is 80 points.
On May 31, students will give PPT format presentation of their final paper. It’s about 10 minutes (including Q&A). It is 10 points.
Schedule
This is a tentative schedule for the semester. We may fall behind or move ahead from time to time, so revisions will be announced in class and on the course web site. You are responsible to keep up on announced revisions.You should read all assignments prior to class.
May 15, course overview, first blog assignment
May 16: impression formation online, Chapter 1
May 17: online deception in dating environment, Chapter 3
May 18: exam 1, Final paper Topic due by the end of the class time 3:50pm
May 22:relationship maintenance, Chapter 4
May 23: friendship online, Chapter 12
May 24:Exam 2, Final paper Reference due by the end of class time 3:50pm
May 25: online self-disclosure, Chapter 9
May 30:video game research, Twitter research project, Chapter 15
May 31:Final Paper Due, In-class PPT presentation of final paper
June 1: Final Exam