Advanced Social Psychology

Psych 5600

Spring 2018

Thursdays 4:00-6:30pm

HSS 105

InstructorOffice Hours

Jessica Cundiff, Ph.D.W1:00-3:00pm

115 Humanities & Social SciencesBy appointment

Phone: 573-341-6028

Email:

Course Overview

This course provides an overview of relevant research in social psychology – the scientific study of how people influence and are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others. As a graduate-level course, we will cover fewer topics than an introductory course but examine these topics in much greater depth. Thus, you will not be exposed to every topic within social psychology, but will have in-depth exposure to four important and interesting subareas: (1) Social Cognition, (2) The Self, (3) Social Influence, and (4) Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination.

Beyond surveying relevant work, a major goal of the course is to encourage skills that distinguish a graduate-level education: critical thinking and evaluation, integrative thought, ability to solve complex problems, and ability to think rigorously and independently. To facilitate these goals, the class will be mostly discussion, with some lecture and demonstrations. Typically, I will begin class by providing an overview of the weekly topic; the remainder of class will be devoted to class discussion of the readings.

As a graduate-level course, we will be reading original empirical research articles as well as review articles. You should be familiar with APA-style and psychology research methods. You should expect to devote at least 10 hours a week preparing for class. All required readings are posted on Canvas.

Learning Objectives

The course emphasizes both content-based and skill-based objectives. You should be able to do the following by the end of the course:

Content-basedobjectives:

  1. Describe and explain how human thought and behavior are influenced by the social context.
  2. Discuss the implications of social psychology research and theories for individuals and society.
  3. Applysocial psychologyresearch and theory to solve real world problems.

Skill-basedobjectives:

  1. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of original empirical work and evaluate their claims.
  2. Integrate empirical findings to construct novel interpretations and propose new directions.
  3. Clearly and concisely communicate ideas through writing, presentation, and discussion.

Course Requirements

All course requirements are designed tofacilitate the learning objectives.

Weekly Thought Papers

PURPOSE: To encourage you to think critically about what you are reading and to consider your own insights, biases, counter-arguments, and connections to other material. To maintain consistently high-quality discussions.

WHAT: Each week you will submit a thought paper that critically evaluates the readings for the week. Your thought paper should pose a discussion question and then outline points that address your question. Your thought paper should demonstrate that you have thought carefully and reflected on the readings. Most importantly, your paper should NOT merely summarize the readings; your paper should demonstrate high levels of critical thinking and grappling with the issues at hand. Critical thinking involves identifying underlying assumptions, evaluating all sources of evidence, and considering alternative scenarios and interpretations. While writing your paper, you may consider the following: Is the theory or hypothesis logical? Do the methods adequately lend themselves to answer the research question? Do you agree with the conclusions; why or why not? What else could explain the results? What are the limitations of the findings? Considering the readings together, what are some non-obvious implications? How are the readings connected? What research ideas do you have that would extend this line of work? How would you test those ideas? Thought papers should be no more than 1 page.

Papers will be graded on the following scale:

  • 5-6 points = Excellent: Demonstrates high levels of critical thinking and generates discussion
  • 3-4 points = Good: Goes beyond the readings but prompts little discussion
  • 1-2 points = Poor: Confusing or merely summarizes the readings
  • 0 points = Did not submit paper

Papers should be submitted on Canvas by 8amTuesdays starting Jan 30th, unless otherwise noted.

Class Participation

PURPOSE: To build skills communicating ideas orally, encourage critical thought by considering multiple perspectives, and increase depth of understanding.

WHAT: The success of the course depends upon student engagement and participation. A great seminar is one in which everyone has thought carefully about the readings and arrives ready to present new study ideas, debate, and/or raise theoretical, practical, and/or methodological questions.

Your daily participation will be graded on the quality of your contributions per week (up to 5 pts/week):

  • 4-5 points = Satisfactory: Raised questions that spurred discussion, made compelling arguments substantiated with evidence, offered novel insights that substantially contributed to discussion
  • 2-3 points = Needs improvement: Comments lacked substance/depth, were tangential to discussion
  • 0-1 points = Unsatisfactory: Did not participate

Distance students who do not attend live will earn participation points by emailing me a written response to the activities, questions, and points raised during discussion. The purpose is to hold you accountable for watching the recorded lecture/discussion and facilitate active engagement with the material and the course.Responses are due by 11:59pm on the Sunday following class.

Article Presentation

PURPOSE: To develop skills presenting complex information clearly and concisely. To practice synthesizing and prioritizing information, evaluating empirical work, and discussing implications. To ensure that we are covering contemporary issues and focusing class discussion on students’ interests.

WHAT: Each week, one student will give a 15-minute presentation on a research article that is related to the week’s readings. The article must have been published within the last 10 years in one of the leading journals of the field: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, or Social Psychological and Personality Science (see me to discuss exceptions).

The presentation should describe the rationale for and findings of the article in sufficient detail so that those of us who have not read the article will be able to understand it and learn from the presentation. Most journal articles will provide much more information than can be covered in 15 minutes, so you will need to determine which information is most critical for telling the story. The presentation should also identify the strengths and weaknesses of the research, discuss the implications, and draw connections to the assigned readings. Finally, the presentation should end with a prepared discussion question that follows from the article and inspires discussion. The grading rubric will be posted on Canvas.

Social Influence Project

PURPOSE: To apply social influence research and theory to your own life. To facilitate critical thinking and meaning-making through experiential learning.

WHAT: You will conduct a mini research project to compare the effectiveness of at least two social influence strategies covered in the course. You can choose any two (or more) strategies, including (but not limited to): foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, reciprocity, direct order, hypocrisy-induction, scarcity, descriptive norms, injunctive norms, invoking social or personal identity. Your goal is to persuade people to change their behavior in some way, for example, donate money to a cause, lend you supplies, buy you lunch, purchase a specific product, sign a petition, etc. You must be able to test the strategy on at least 10 people and you must be able to assess whether or not the person engaged in the target behavior. Of course, your strategy and target behavior must not cause harm to anyone and must be legal (e.g., no illegal soliciting). This project contains two elements:

  1. Procedure approval (we will have class time on March 20th to brainstorm ideas; procedure is due no later than April 2nd). You must get your procedure approved by me prior to conducting the project or else you will receive a zero for the assignment.Email me no later than April 2nda brief description of your project:
  • Identify the strategies you are testing.
  • Explain how you will test the strategies. You may want to include a script.
  • Explain how you will approach subjects (where, when, and who).
  • Describe the target behavior and explain how you will measure it.
  1. Presentation (due April 10th)

Each student will present their project in class on April 10th. Your presentation should describe the strategies you tested, how you tested them, and your results and evaluation of the strategies. Be prepared to discuss barriers you encountered, tips for implementing the strategies, and/or other special considerations, and what you learned about the strategies. Distance students should plan to attend live. Grading rubric is posted on Canvas.

Research Proposal

PURPOSE: To encourage in-depth evaluation and synthesis of social psychology research by identifying important limitations in current knowledge and proposing novel directions to address those limitations. To facilitate critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. To develop skills presenting complex information clearly and coherently both orally and written, and to share new ideas with others in a collaborative forum.

WHAT: Your proposal should propose a novel research idea that will address an inconsistency or gap in the social psychology literature. Writing a research proposal is more challenging than just writing a literature review; it requires you to not only be familiar with the current state of knowledge in the field, but also to identify inconsistencies and limitations in current knowledge, and propose a solution that will address the inconsistencies and limitations and uncover new understandings. Therefore, even if you do not intend to pursue a career in research, writing a research proposal will hone valuable skills in critical thinking, sophisticated evaluation and synthesis, and creativity. You may even decide to pursue your research idea! The research proposal consists of three elements:

  1. Paper Outline (due by 8am on day of our individual meeting, week of April 3rd)
    This should be a rough draft of your final paper. At the very least, it should give me an idea of your research question, rationale for your study, and an outline of your method. During the week of April 3rd, instead of meeting for class that week, each student will meet with me individually for 30 min to discuss their draft. The more effort you put into your outline, the better able I will be to give you feedback and guidance during our one-on-one meeting.
  1. Presentation (last day of class on May 1st)
    Each student will give a 15-minute presentation based on their final paper, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session. Your final paper will provide much more information than can be presented in 15-minutes, so you will need to determine which information is most important to present. Distance students should plan to attend class live. The grading rubric will be posted on Canvas.
  2. Final Paper (due SundayMay 6that 10am on Canvas)
    The final paper should be 10-15 pages double-spaced (not including references or title page) written in APA style, and should include the following sections:
  • Title Page: see APA manual for proper formatting and content
  • Introduction: Introduce the topic and your specific research question, and explain why it is important. Provide relevant background literature to set up your research question and hypotheses. Describe how your study extends prior work and describe the theoretical rationale for your study. Clearly state your hypotheses and provide a rationale for each hypothesis.
  • Methods: Because this is a research proposal, methods should be future-tense. Describe your intended participants and how you will recruit them, experimental and/or stimulus materials, measures, and procedure.
  • Results: What are your expected results? How will you analyze your results (which statistical test will you use)? Include a graph of your expected results.
  • Discussion: Describe strengths and limitations of the proposed research. Describe potential implications of the study.
  • References: Papers must include at least 10 empirical references from peer-reviewed psychology journals. At least 5 of those references cannot be assigned readings from the course.

The grading rubric will be posted on Canvas.

Grades

Your final grade for this course will be based out of a total of 215 points:

Thought Papers (10x6)60 points28%

Class Participation (12x5)60 points28%

Article Presentation10 points5%

Social Influence Presentation20 points9%

Research Proposal

Paper Outline5 points2%

Presentation10 points5%

Final Paper50 points23%

Grades will be assigned using the following scale:

PercentagePointsGrade

90-100%193+ A

80-89.9%172-192 B

70-79.9%150-171 C

60-69.9%129-149 D

59.9% or belowbelow129 F

Office Hours

I encourage you to come to my office hours. Office hours are an extension of the classroom and offer many opportunities:

  • Discuss course content: We’ve all needed help in something at some point in our lives.Come and talk to me about what you are having trouble understanding, or for help with writing or assignments. I am also happy to discuss course content in more depth than is covered in the classroom and to point you to resources for learning further about the topics that interest you.
  • Get involved in research:The best way to learn more about a topic is to research it! We can discuss research ideasand how to get you involved in ongoing and future research projects.
  • Just talk: I’m eager to get to know each of you. Feel free to stop by any time during my office hours. I’m also available if you want to grab coffee and chat.

If you aren’t able to come during office hours because you have class or work, email me so we can find a time to meet that works.

Course Policies & University Resources

Class Attendance

You are expected to attend every class. I understand that extenuating circumstances arise that can make this difficult, but please let me know at least one hour before class if you cannot attend. More than 2 absences may negatively impact your grade due to missed participation points (see above), as well as the missed learning opportunities that will facilitate success in the course.

Accommodations

I am committed to creating the most inclusive and supportive learning environment possible. If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, I strongly encourage you to meet with me early in the semester. You will need to request that the DisabilityServices staff send a letter to me verifying your disability and specifying the accommodation you will need before I can arrange your accommodation. You can contact the University’s Disability Support Services in 204 Norwood Hall: 573-341-6655 or .

Late Work

Your best option is to turn in all of your work on time. Assignments are considered late if they are submitted any later than the due date and time. Late work will receive a 20% penalty for each day it is late, unless otherwise noted. Every day (including weekends/holidays) counts as a late day. All assignments and papers should be submitted through Canvas unless otherwise noted. No-penalty extensions will be considered only in very rare circumstances (e.g., serious medical condition, death in the family) with appropriate documentation and at least 48-hour notice before the due date.

Academic Integrity

All work submitted for evaluation in this course assumes adherence to the Student Honor Code (see and appropriate student conduct as outlined in section 200.010 (p. 30-31) of theStudent Academic Regulations: index.html.Unless instructed otherwise, all of your work in this course should represent completely independent effort and should not replicate work in a previous or concurrent course. Of particular importance, you should avoid plagiarism by using your own language in your papers and assignments and by citing all references. Failure to follow appropriate conduct as outlined in the Student Academic Regulations will result in a failing grade on the assignment, and possibly the course, and will be reported to the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Studies.

Title IX

Missouri University of Science and Technology is committed to the safety and well-being of all members of its community. US Federal Law Title IX states that no member of the university community shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, or be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity. Furthermore, in accordance with Title IX guidelines from the US Office of Civil Rights, Missouri S&T requires that all faculty and staff members report, to the Missouri S&T Title IX Coordinator, any notice of sexual harassment, abuse, and/or violence (including personal relational abuse, relational/domestic violence, and stalking) disclosed through communication including but not limited to direct conversation, email, social media, classroom papers and homework exercises.Missouri S&T’s Title IX Coordinator is Vice Chancellor Shenethia Manuel. Contact her directly (; (573) 341-4920; 113 Centennial Hall) to report Title IX violations. To learn more about Title IX resources and reporting options (confidential and non-confidential) available to Missouri S&T students, staff, and faculty, please visit

Classroom Egress Map

Please familiarize yourself with the classroom egress maps posted on-line at:

The Burns & McDonnell Student Success Center

The Student Success Center is a centralized location designed for students to visit and feel comfortable about utilizing the campus resources available. The Student Success Center was developed as a campus wide initiative to foster a sense of responsibility and self-directedness to all S&T students by providing peer mentors, caring staff, and approachable faculty and administrators who are student centered and supportive of student success. Visit the B&MSSC at 198 Toomey Hall; 573-341-7596; ; facebook: web: