215 PSYC September 2009
Room: Leacock Building
Rm. No. l32
Monday, Wednesday & Friday
l3:30 - l4:30
PSYC 215 (FALL)
Introduction to Social Psychology
Course Outline
Instructor:
Dr. Donald M. Taylor
Room:
W8/30A - Stewart Biological Sciences Building
Telephone:
398-6104, email: [e-mail] (bear in mind that the
professor is email challenged).
Office
Hours:
MOST Mondays and Wednesdays between 3 p.m. and 4 pm in W8/30A.
Teaching
Assistants:
Rgine Dbrosse, Julie Caouette
Secretary:
Judi Young
398-6094
Course website: WebCT
Lecture Audio Recordings:
Available to those who have a legitimate reason for accessing
Lecture on WebCT.
Required Textbook: David Myers & Steven Spencer
Social Psychology, 4th Canadian Edition
McGraw Hill, 2009
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PSYC 215 September 2009
Date
Lecture
Text Chapters
Myers & Spencer
Sept.2
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
The key to all of psychology.
Ch. l
Sept. 4
In defense of theory: Mars/Venus/
death/towels
Ch. 1
Sept. 9
Making research methodology digestible.
Ch. 1
Sept. 11
Method as a vehicle for social change
INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES
Sept. 14
Introducing Attitudes and the challenge
of attitude assessment.
Ch. 4
Sept. 16
Attitude theory: Balance and Congruity.
Ch. 4
Sept. 18
Attitude theory: And then along
came dissonance.
Ch. 4
Sept. 21
Attitude change: Language Legislation,
Desegregation and Cults.
Sept. 23
Prejudice: I may be a bigot,
but Im politically correct.
Sept 25
Unconscious attitudes: Briefcases, backpacks,
fish and dollar signs
Ch. 5
Ch. 12
Ch. 12
Sept. 29
Unconscious prejudice: Maybe Im a bigot
and dont know it.
Sept. 30
Race and gender stereotypes.
Ch. 12
Oct 2
Stereotypes: a process for the
Mentally lazy?
Ch. 12
Oct. 5
The roots of Attribution Theory.
Ch. 3
Oct. 7
Cognitive and Emotional attribution processes.
Ch. 3
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PSYC 215 September 2009
MIDTERM EXAM (To be announced)
Oct. 9
Applying attribution theory.
Oct. 14
Explanation of Research Project
Oct. 16
Attribution, affirmative action and baseball
(Jackie Robinson)
Ch. 3/12
Oct. 19
The Self: The ultimate human cognition.
Ch. 2
Oct. 21
If I dont know who I am, how can
I like myself?
Ch. 2
Oct. 23
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS
Asking the wrong questions.
Ch. 11
Interpersonal attraction:
Making new acquaintances
Ch. 11
Oct. 28
Keeping love together
Ch. 11
Oct. 30
Love: An un-romantic analysis
Ch. 11
Nov. 2
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
The myth of personal freedom.
Nov. 4
What is culture? Dying to find out.
Ch. 8
Nov. 6
Conforming: Are terrorists deranged evil people
Ch. 6
Nov. 9
Conforming to authority
Ch. 6
Nov. 11
Social norms: Policing ourselves.
Ch. 8
Nov. 13
Social roles: Womens or mens liberation?
Ch. 5/12
Nov. 16
Reference groups: Life on the hedonic treadmill.
Nov. 18
The Myth of Personal Freedom Reconsidered:
Nov. 20
Aggression: Humankind at its worst!!
Altruism: Humankind at its best???
Oct. 26
Ch. 3
Ch. 10
Ch. 9
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PSYC 215 September 2009
Nov. 23
Deindividuation: My professor doesnt
even know my name.
Ch. 7
Group Polarization: I thought committees
Couldnt make decisions.
Ch. 7
Nov. 27
Are leaders born or made?
Ch. 7
Nov. 30
INTERGROUP RELATIONS
Your textbook doesnt get it.
Ch. 12
Nov. 25
Dec. 2
Realistic Conflict Theory vs.
Social Identity Theory
Dec. 3
Module A
There is hope.
Examination Period: December December 7-22.
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PSYC 215 September 2009
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Requirements for Introduction to Social Psychology - Psych 215
1.
Thanksgiving (Turkey) Quiz - 20%
This will be a multiple choice examination to be held in the evening on October 9.
The duration of the exam is 55 minutes. The exam will cover lectures, and text up to
that point.
2.
Research Project - 35%
The details of this assignment will be explained and administered in class
on Friday, October 14. Essentially it involves choosing a concept in social
psychology from a list provided, and designing, but not conducting, an experiment on
that concept. A nine-page write up of the experiment is the format
requirement and it is due Nov. 10/09.
The WAI point
3. On occasion a student does not do as well as they had hoped on the mid-term exam,
and those who do very well always want more. In order to alleviate extreme stress I
am introducing the Who am guaranteed I? point out of 20 bonus on your midterm exam. Of course you only get the point if you do it.
Heres the deal. Write a one page, double-spaced story of your lifewhere you came
from, where you are now, and where you are going. Take a shot at it and hand it in
hard-copy only, no email--by Friday, September 12 and you get the point. Dont do
it, or miss the deadline and you miss out the point that might put you over the top
come December.
4.
Final Exam - 45%
The final exam will be held sometime between December 4 - 19 and will last for
three hours. The examination includes material from the lectures and the text,
with all of the concepts coming from material covered since the beginning of term.
The exam will involve multiple choice items covering lectures and text.
5.
Supplemental Examination
A supplemental exam will be given, worth 45% of the final grade.
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PSYC 215 September 2009
6.
Extra-Credit Research Participation
Psychology is an incredibly diverse discipline, encompassing everything from the
way that humans manage to see the world in three dimensions, to how they interact
with each other in different social contexts. In order to understand these topics,
researchers in this department regularly conduct experiments, and in many
cases these experiments involve the participation of students. Student
participation not only serves the research community, but also offers students
a unique experience, something that cannot be learned from a book or from a
lecture; one of the most direct ways for students to learn about research in
Psychology is to participate in it! For this reason, as part of the Psychology
Departments core curriculum, students in PSYCH 2l5 have the option of 2% extra
credit by participating in one experiment and submitting a one-page report based
on their experience.
Details about extra-credit research participation will be made available in special
information sessions, to be announced later.
7.
The administration requires that the following be included in the syllabus.
1.
In the event of circumstances beyond the instructors control, the evaluation scheme
as set out in this handout might require change.
2.
McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand
the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the
code of student conduct and disciplinary procedures (see www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more
information).
TAYLORS DOS AND DONTS
In our constant struggle to be able to meet students individually, be absolutely fair in
the treatment of students, provide students with feedback on their exams and yet have the
marks available instantly, the hassle factor has logarithmically increased. Like any
bureaucracy, our response to this is to generate rules that are supposed to apply to everyone
(but usually end up applying to no one).
Here are Taylors Rules
1)
If you feel unfairly treated on an exam or assignment, make a written request for a
re-evaluation and give this to Judi Young. The written request must be in the hands
of Judi within 7 days of the grades being posted. There is no other
mechanism for obtaining a re-evaluation. Upon re-evaluation, your mark may go
up, down, or stay the same. If there is any change to the grade it will be posted
outside W8/33 on the board 2 weeks after the marks have been posted.
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PSYC 215 September 2009
2)
Your exams will involve multiple choice questions. Obviously, these cannot be
re-evaluated since there is only one right answer. However, if you feel that
another answer than the right one should be counted then write a convincing
rationale and give it to Judi within 7 days of the grades being posted. If
your rationale convinces me, your grade, and where appropriate the grade of
other students, will be adjusted accordingly.
3)
If you are late handing in an assignment the cost is one point per day. Weekends
count for one day.
4)
If you must miss the mid-term exam let me know in advance, in writing, with
supporting documentation and hand your request to Judi. If deemed legitimate, you
will not write the midterm and your final will be worth 65%.
5)
Problems with scheduling and attendance for the final exam must be taken up
with Student Affairs at Dawson Hall, NOT ME.
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