PSYC 130 (3 credits) Introduction to Social Psychology University of Vermont

PSYC 130 (3 credits)
Introduction to Social Psychology
University of Vermont
Spring 2014
MWF 9:35-10:25 a.m. in Rowell 103
Instructor:
Office hours:
Dr. SK Fenstermacher
[email protected]
Wednesdays 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. or by appointment in Dewey 334
Graduate Teaching Assistants:
Office hours:
Nolan Rampy
[email protected]
TBA
Jenn Zangl
TBA
[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Textbook:
Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D., & Akert, R.M. (2013). Social Psychology (8th Edition).
Available at the bookstore.
Readings:
Assigned article readings will be available on the course Blackboard site.
Course Overview
This survey course is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the major research and theoretical
foundations of social psychology and the application of social psychological concepts to everyday life. The course will
cover significant theories, experiments, and themes within the field of social psychology, illustrating the powerful
influence of situational factors on human behavior and interpersonal relations.
Contacting Instructors
For specific questions about course material, questions about how your work was graded, or for help improving your
performance in the course and developing study skills, you should first contact the Graduate Teaching Assistant to arrange
a meeting. If you continue to have questions or you would like to go over material again after meeting with the GTA, I
am happy to meet with you as well. Please get into the habit of using your UVM email accounts for any communication
about the course. Although we usually check our email regularly during the week and will do our best to get back to you
at our first opportunity, please be patient and understand that a response may take more than one day, particularly if the
email is sent over a weekend/holiday break or during high-volume times (e.g., around exams or assignment due dates).
Class Format
The format of the course will include primarily lectures, with occasional group discussions and class activities.
Questions, comments, and active class participation are encouraged. I expect students to come to class with the readings
for the assigned day completed, to listen attentively and respectfully, and to contribute their best efforts to class activities
and discussions.
Course Website
Please familiarize yourself with the PSYC 130 Blackboard site, and check frequently for announcements. We will post
assignment guidelines, extra credit opportunities, grades and other material pertinent to the course on the Blackboard site.
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Course Requirements
Exams (420 points total; 70% of final grade)
There will be four exams in this course. Three multiple-choice midterms will be administered during the semester. The
midterms are not cumulative and will be worth 100 points each. The final exam (multiple-choice, worth 120 points) will
be quasi-cumulative, touching upon major themes and concepts from earlier course topics but with a strong emphasis on
material covered following the third midterm. All exams are closed book and will begin promptly at the start of the class
period/final exam start time. You will have the entire class period to take the exams. Please note that your attendance to
class is essential to strong performance on the exams, as some topics discussed in lecture will not necessarily be found in
the text or assigned readings.
Important note regarding make-up exams:
Make-up exams will be administered only in the case of a valid, documented excuse (e.g., illness for which you
can provide a doctor’s note, car accident or family emergency for which I will be notified by the Dean’s Office)
and MUST be accompanied by official written documentation from a medical or similar professional and/or the
Dean’s Office. If you do not have this documentation, you will not be permitted to take a makeup exam.
Please note that circumstances such as sleeping through your alarm, vacation plans, early leave for holidays or
semester breaks, or similar events do not constitute valid or acceptable excuses for missing an exam in this
course. Please do not expect to receive permission to make up an exam if you lack the required written
documentation described above. ALL APPROVED MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE ADMINISTERED DURING
THE FINAL THREE WEEKS OF THE SEMESTER (APRIL 16-30) AT THE DISCRETION OF YOUR
INSTRUCTORS.
Experience Analysis (Reflection Paper) (120 points total; 20% of final grade)
The purpose of this 3- 4 page writing assignment is to provide students with an opportunity to apply concepts from social
psychology to personal experiences. You will be provided with two opportunities to submit this assignment. Lists of
specific topics and guidelines will be posted on Blackboard no later than 28 days prior to the due date for each.
The first set of topics will be posted on Blackboard no later than February 26, with papers due in class on March 26. This
set of topics will address material covered in the first half of the course (social cognition, attitudes, persuasion,
conformity). The second set of topics will be posted on Blackboard no later than March 26 (with papers due on April 23)
and will include material from the second half of the course (prejudice, aggression, prosocial behavior, group dynamics).
You may choose to turn in a paper for either of these sets of topics. It is up to you which assignment you wish to turn in.
You are only required to submit ONE experience analysis paper for this course. However, students may, if they wish, opt
to complete and turn in both paper assignments. In this case, only the better of the two scores will be counted toward the
final course grade. Please note that re-writes or revisions of previously graded papers will not be accepted.
Some notes on writing assignment preparation and submission:
1. All written work submitted for this course should include a separate title page (including your name, ID, date
and a creative TITLE for your paper) and must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman
font, with 1-inch margins.
2. Papers will be collected at the start of class on the due dates listed in the syllabus and must be in hard copy
format. Papers should be submitted directly to your GTA on the day they are due.
3. E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTED. Please plan accordingly for printing as last-minute
computer or printing issues can unfortunately lead to papers being docked points for lateness.
4. Do not turn in assignments outside of class (whether before or after the due date) without first contacting your
instructor or Graduate Teaching Assistant to verify an alternate arrangement for submitting the assignment.
5. Late papers will be docked 5 points for each day late.
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Class participation activities (60 points total; 10% of final grade)
I will periodically assign activities to be completed during class time. These activities may include, but are not limited to,
brief quizzes or writing assignments done at the start of class to reflect on the assigned readings, material collected during
lecture to be used for class demonstrations, or comments and questions on the day’s topic turned in at the end of class.
Attendance for the entire class period is required to receive credit for the activity on that day. In other words, if you are
absent, arrive late to class, or leave early and miss an activity, there will not be an opportunity for you to make it up.
Class participation activities will be collected for credit randomly throughout the term and will be graded out of a possible
ten points each. Your lowest two grades will be dropped. Class participation activities are closed-book, must be turned in
during class, and must be completed individually unless the opportunity to collaborate with classmates is explicitly stated.
Things to keep in mind for class participation activities/quizzes:
1. Missed class participation activities cannot be ‘made up’, regardless of circumstances. If you are absent
from lecture on the day we have an activity (REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT THE ABSENCE IS
EXCUSED) or leave early and miss an activity at the end of class, you will receive a zero for that day’s activity.
If you arrive late to an activity, you may participate in the remainder of the activity but I will not re-read questions
or portions of the activity that were missed. Please note that contacting the professor or Teaching Assistant ahead
of time to let us know that you will be absent or late to class, while appreciated, does not excuse you from a
missed class activity; there are simply too many students in the course to make exceptions.
I understand that students may occasionally miss lecture for legitimate and unavoidable reasons; thus I will take
care to avoid holding activities during religious holidays (students need to provide me with a list of anticipated
religious holiday absences in advance) and will additionally allow two ‘byes’ so that students may drop their two
lowest activity scores. In other words, though there will be at least 8 activities throughout the semester, only your
best 6 scores will count toward your final grade.
2. Please note that representing another student’s work as your own, or completing work for another
student, regardless of circumstances or type of assignment, constitutes academic dishonesty and will be
treated as such. In a class of this size, there is sometimes temptation for classmates to ‘cover for’ one another to
ensure credit for missed class activities. Students often do not realize that the act of completing and submitting
work for another student under any circumstances constitutes a serious academic transgression. Regardless of the
nature or point value of the assignment, all students involved will be considered equally guilty of academic
collusion and will receive equal penalty for this behavior--potentially resulting in course failure. Please refer to
UVM’s Code of Academic Integrity on-line at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/acadintegrity.pdf for
policies on collusion and other forms of academic misconduct.
Extra Credit (15 points maximum)
There are several ways to earn extra credit in this course. Please note that while you may combine these extra credit
opportunities, 15 points is the maximum number of extra credit points you may receive. Moreover, as stated below, if you
receive a zero as a result of failing to show up for any research study, you may not make this up by completing another
extra credit assignment.
1. Research participation (6 points per hour of participation): Occasionally, there may be research participation
opportunities within the UVM psychology department that are announced during lecture and/or on Blackboard. Keep an
eye out for these opportunities. You will earn four extra credit points for each hour of participation that you complete (in
other words, completion of a study lasting 45 minutes would earn 4.5 extra credit points), for a total of up to twelve
points. Please note that if you choose this option and sign up for research studies, you MUST attend the study at the time
for which you sign up. Signing up for a study and then not showing up without contacting the researcher well in advance
to make other arrangements will result in a zero for the entire extra credit assignment. Please also note that the number of
available research participation opportunities varies from semester to semester.
2. Article summary/critique (up to 5 points each): For each of the assigned articles (listed in the syllabus and posted on
Blackboard), you may opt to write a 1.5-2 page summary and critique, to be turned in the week for which that article is
assigned. In other words, summary/critique papers should be handed in prior to discussion of the articles in class. Each
summary/critique is worth up to 5 points. Further details on this extra credit option will be posted on Blackboard.
3. In addition, I will occasionally announce ‘optional homework’ assignments which you may choose to complete and
turn in for extra credit. More details to follow!
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Summary of Course Requirements
Course Requirement
Midterm exams (3 @ 100 points each)
Possible Points
300
Percentage of Course Grade
50%
120
120
60
20%
20%
10%
600
100%
Paper (1 @ 120 points)
Final exam (1@ 120 points)
Class Participation Activities (6 @ 10 pts each)
TOTAL
Course Grades
Letter grades will be based on the following percentages of the 600 possible points.
To earn a(n): Receive:
Definition:
A
93% or better of possible points (558+)
A-
90% or better of possible points (540+)
B+
88% or better of possible points (528+)
B
83% or better of possible points (498+)
B-
80% or better of possible points (480+)
C+
78% or better of possible points (468+)
C
73% or better of possible points (438+)
C-
70% or better of possible points (420+)
D+
68% or better of possible points (408+)
D
63% or better of possible points (378+)
D-
60% or better of possible points (360+)
F
59% or below of possible points
Achievement that is outstanding relative to the level
necessary to meet course requirements.
Achievement that is significantly above that necessary to
meet course requirements.
Achievement that meets course requirements in every respect.
Achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to
fully meet the course requirements.
Work was either complete but at a level of achievement that is
not worthy of credit or not completed.
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Course Schedule (please note that course schedule may be subject to change; any changes to the schedule will be
announced in class and posted on the Blackboard site)
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Date
January 13
January 15
January 17
January 20
January 22
January 24
January 27
January 29
January 31
February 3
February 5
February 7
February 10
February 12
February 14
February 17
February 19
February 21
February 24
February 26
February 28
March 3-7
March 10
March 12
March 14
March 17
March 19
March 21
March 24
March 26
Due date for paper 1*
Topic
Readings (articles listed are available on Blackboard)
Introduction to the course;
Research methods in social psychology
Text, Chapters 1 and 2
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY HOLIDAY : NO CLASS MEETING
Social Cognition
Text, Chapter 3
Social Perception
Text, Chapter 4
The Self In Social Psychology
Text, Chapter 5
Midterm 1
Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Justifying Our Actions
Text, Chapter 6
PRESIDENTS’ DAY HOLIDAY: NO CLASS MEETING
Justifying Our Actions (continued)
Text, Chapter 6;
Article: “Cognitive Consequences of Forced Compliance”
Persuasion
Text, Chapter 7;
Article: “Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising
Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement”
SPRING RECESS 
Conformity
Midterm 2
Text, Chapter 8
Article: “Behavioral Study of Obedience”
Chapters 6, 7, 8 and associated readings; Obedience
Group Processes
Text, Chapter 9
Prejudice
Text, Chapter 13
*see syllabus for details
12
13
14
15
March 28
March 31
April 2
April 4
April 7
April 9
April 11
Aggression
April 14
April 16
April 18
April 21
April 23
Due date for paper 2*
Midterm 3
*see syllabus for details
16
April 25
April 28
April 30
May 9 (FRIDAY)
7:30 – 10:15 A.M.
Quiet Rage
Prosocial Behavior
Attraction and Relationships
Text, Chapter 12;
Article: “Violence and U.S. Regional Culture”
Review Chapters 6, 8, 9, 12, 13;
Article: “Reflections on the Stanford Prison Experiment”
Chapters 9,12,13 and associated readings
Article:
“Violence
Text,
Chapter
11 and U.S. Regional Culture”
Article: “Social Determinants of Bystander Intervention in
Emergencies”
Text, Chapter 10
Wrap up
Final Exam in Rowell 103 (quasi-cumulative; emphasis on chapters 10, 11, associated readings and Quiet Rage, with additional
questions on main concepts from previous exams, films, and readings)
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Course Expectations and Responsibilities
You are responsible for knowing and following the course policies listed below.
1. Prerequisite: This course is designed for intermediate undergraduate students in psychology and related fields who have completed
General Psychology (Psyc001). Please see me if you have not taken this prerequisite but you believe you have a sufficient background
in psychology to be prepared for this course.
2. Attendance: Please come to each class ready to engage in the day’s lesson. This includes having the assigned reading completed,
and any assignments ready to turn in at the start of class. I understand that sometimes circumstances beyond your control may prevent
you from attending class. If you must miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what you have missed. Exams will include
information from class that is not in the readings.
3. Special Accommodations: Students with special needs that affect their ability to participate fully in class, to meet all course
requirements, or that require special exam administration should contact Accommodation, Consultation, Counseling & Educational
Support Services (ACCESS; A170 Living/Learning Center; phone: 656-7753) and me within the first two weeks of class. I will
provide reasonable accommodations for documented disabilities in accordance with college policies. NOTE: Students who take
exams at ACCESS must take the exam on the same day that the exam is scheduled in class unless given permission by the
instructor to take the exam on another day.
4. Grade Concerns: If you have concerns regarding your grade at any point, please meet first with your Graduate Teaching Assistant
to discuss ways to improve your mastery of the course material. The sooner you contact us regarding concerns, the more we can do for
you. I will not be able to accommodate students who contact me at the end of the semester with concerns about their grade. I also
encourage students to visit the Learning Co-op (Living/Learning Center, 244 Commons) for help with writing, study skills, and examtaking skills. Please call the Co-op (656-4075), visit their web site http://www.uvm.edu/~subtutor/, or stop by M-Th 8a-9p, F 8a-5p,
Sun 6p-9p for additional information.
5. Returned Assignments: Hold on to all graded assignments after they have been returned until the end of the semester. They will
serve as your record of your grade. In the case that a grade is missing for an assignment that you turned in and that was returned to
you, you will need to produce a copy of the graded assignment. Please note that producing a copy of the graded assignment is the
ONLY way to protest a missing assignment grade. Moreover, any questions regarding missing assignment grades should be brought
to the attention of your instructors promptly following the grading of that assignment. We will not honor requests to review
assignment grades that were posted on Blackboard more than two weeks prior to the request.
6. Late Essay Papers: Late papers will be docked 5 points for each day late and are not to be submitted outside of class without first
contacting your instructor or Graduate Teaching Assistant to verify an alternate arrangement. Papers that are emailed, slipped under
our office doors, or left in a mailbox will not be accepted.
7. Academic Misconduct: The University of Vermont requires academic honesty from all students, and academic misconduct will not
be tolerated. Academic misconduct includes cheating on assignments or exams, plagiarizing (misrepresenting someone else’s work as
your own), submitting the same or similar papers for more than one course without the permission of all instructors involved,
submitting work on which you have collaborated with other students except in cases when this is specifically encouraged or required,
or sabotaging another student’s work or access to necessary class resources. Please remember that plagiarism occurs whenever you
present another person’s ideas as your own. In written assignments, students must NOT duplicate passages of more than five words
from another source without quotation marks AND proper attribution. If you paraphrase someone else’s words, you do not use
quotation marks, but you still need to give the reference. See the following resource for additional information on plagiarism:
http://www.uvm.edu/~agri99/plagiarism.html. Please avoid problems by understanding what behaviors constitute academic
misconduct and asking me for any clarification. You are responsible for knowing and understanding the Plagiarism policies of the
University Vermont, which are available in the Code of Academic Integrity on-line at
http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/acadintegrity.pdf. If a student engages in academic misconduct, the case will be
forwarded to the Center for Student Ethics & Standards and may involve sanctions such as receiving a zero on the assignment or
failing the course.
8. Religious Holidays: Students have the right to practice the religion of their choice. Each semester, students should submit in
writing to their instructors by the end of the second week of classes their documented religious holiday schedule for the semester.
Faculty must permit students who miss work for the purpose of religious observance to make up this work.
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UVM Department of Psychology Code of Classroom Conduct
Faculty and students will at all times conduct themselves in a manner that serves to maintain, promote, and enhance the
high-quality academic experience befitting the University of Vermont. The essential characteristic of this policy is
respect.
Student responsibilities
 Students are expected to attend every class, arriving promptly and remaining alert and involved until dismissed by
the instructor.
 Students are expected to come having not only read and completed assignments but also having thought about
them, and be prepared to engage in discussion and pose meaningful questions.
 During class, students will refrain from using laptop computers or other web-enabled devices. While the use of
laptops, tablets and smart phones in the classroom has potential benefit, the Department of Psychology does not
allow the use of these devices in classrooms for courses that enroll 100 or more students. This policy may be
waived at an individual faculty member’s discretion.
Faculty and student responsibilities
 Faculty and students will promote academic discourse and the free exchange of ideas by listening with civil
attention to all individuals.
 Faculty and students will treat all members of the learning community with respect and will not discriminate on
the basis of characteristics that include race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation,
marital status, disability, or gender identity or expression.
 Mutual respect extends to turning off cell phones or other web-enabled devices prior to the beginning of class,
refraining from leaving the room in the middle of class, and, when authorized, using laptops for course-related
activities only.
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