SYLLABUS
Theory
and Research in Social Psychology
PSYCHOLOGY 431
Spring 2008
PROFESSOR JOHN B. PRYOR -
INSTRUCTOR
Description
In an essay on the history of social psychology
in the Handbook of Social Psychology, Gordon Allport (1985) defined social psychology as
a discipline that uses scientific methods to "understand and explain how
the thought, feeling, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual,
imagined, or implied presence of others" (p. 3). This time-honored
definition seems still applicable in 2008. Social psychology holds a distinct and important role in the
field of psychology. It lies at the juncture between theory and
application. Because social
psychologists are interested in predicting and understanding naturalistically
occurring social behavior, many have ventured from the laboratory to conduct
theoretically important and socially relevant field research. Also, because
social psychologists are interested in the causal mechanisms underlying social
behavior, the field contains some of the most creative and sophisticated
laboratory research done in psychology.
The major aim of the course is to allow students to gain a sophisticated
understanding of current theory and research in the field of social
psychology. This background should
be useful to graduate students planning theses, dissertations, and other
research projects.
Readings
Most of the readings are available from Milner
electronically. I will make photocopies of all book chapters and other assigned
readings that might be difficult for students to find in the library. I will
put these on reserve in the Psychology Resource Center (DeGarmo 13) at least a
week ahead of their coverage in the course. The photocopies on reserve
are not to be checked out of the Resource Center overnight. Students are
expected to make their own photocopies of the assigned articles. When choosing
articles, I have kept three goals in mind. First, I included some time-honored classics to give you a
sense of how great minds framed some of the original social psychological
questions. Second, I wanted some
cutting-edge, "hot off the presses" articles to capture the current
excitement of the field. Finally,
I included several comprehensive reviews taken from the Annual Review of
Psychology, the 1998 Handbook
of Social Psychology, and Abraham Tessor's (1995) edited volume, Advanced
Social Psychology.
Assignments
Grades will be derived from three types of
assignments: 1) Reading Summaries, 2) Presentations, and 3) Term papers. Below
I will describe each of these assignments in detail. Then I will describe how
the grades from these assignments are combined to determine your course grade.
Reading Summaries. All students are expected to read all articles
assigned. At the beginning of each week, students will turn in a one page
(about 200-250 words) summary of each assigned article for that week. These
must be typed and follow general APA style. Each summary should be emailed
to me as an attachment no later than noon on the Monday of the week the readings
will be covered. In the subject
line of your email, please type the following: PSY431 summaries for the
dates ________. Your summaries may include discussion questions
designed to stimulate the class's thinking about the articles. In grading the
reading summaries, a grade of "A" will be given to the students who
turn in all the assigned summaries on the days that they are due. A
"B" will be awarded to those who fail to turn in 1 to 4 summaries. A
"C" will be given to those who fail to turn in 5 to 8 summaries. A
"D" will be given to those who turn in less than 8 summaries. An
"F" will be given to students who do not turn in summaries.
Presentations. At the beginning of the semester, we will
divide the articles up among the class participants for presentations. During
each class, presenters will be expected to summarize the assigned article for
the class in an oral presentation (approximately 20-25 minutes in length,
somewhat longer for longer articles). Then the presenter will be expected to
lead a discussion of the article in the class. The presenter should generate
several questions to pose to the class regarding the assigned reading. Each
presentation will be assigned a letter grade. You will be given feedback at the
beginning of each week about the grades assigned to the presentations for the
previous week. These grades will be averaged for each student so that each
student will have an overall Presentation grade at the end of the semester.
Term Papers. Each student will write two 10-page papers for
the class. The first is due on March 17 and the second is due on May 7. These papers must be typed and follow APA stylistic conventions.
The topic of each paper should be related to the readings that have been
assigned in the half semester just prior to it's due date. Students are
required to discuss the topic of each paper with the instructor before
beginning. The papers may take
one of two possible forms: 1)
a research proposal or 2) a Psychological Bulletin type literature review. In
the research proposal, the student proposes an original research study. This
includes the following sections: Introduction (Literature review), Method,
Projected Results, and Discussion of implications. In the Psych. Bull. type paper, the student will review and organize
the literature in a research area. The review articles that appear in the
journal, Psychological Bulletin,
serve as models for this type of paper.
In both papers, the students are encouraged to integrate literature from
social psychology with literatures or research problems from other
sub-disciplines (e.g. school psychology, industrial/organizational psychology,
clinical, counseling, etc.). I encourage you to begin discussing your ideas
about possible topics for these papers with me as soon as possible. Together we
can refine them. You must have an approved topic no later than a week before
a paper is due. Failure to meet
these requirements will result in a failing grade on your paper. Each paper
will be given an A-F letter grade.
Final Grade. Equal weight will be given to each of the four
grades in determining the final grade. Thus, the Final Grade = (Reading
Summaries + Presentations + Paper #1 + Paper #2)/4.
Any student needing to arrange a
reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability
Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TDD).
READING ASSIGNMENTS
Dates
Discussion Topics
Jan 14 Orientation/History
Richard, F. D., Bond, C. F., Jr., &
Stokes-Zoota, J.J. (2003). One hundred years of social psychology:
Quantitatively described. Review of General Psychology, 7(4), 331-363. 1
Jan. 16 Methods
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Brewer, M. B
(1998). Experimentation in social
psychology. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.) Handbook
of social psychology, (4th
edition, Vol. 1, pp. 99-142).
Boston: McGraw-Hill. 2
Jan. 23 Impression Formation/Social Cognition
Ash, S. (1946). Forming impressions of
personality. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 41, 258-290. 2
Fiske, S. T. (1995). Social cognition. In A. Tesser (ed.), Advanced
social psychology. (pp.
149-193). Boston: McGraw-Hill. 2
Jan. 28/30 Attribution/Social
Cognition
Malle, B. F., Knobe, J.
M., & Nelson, S. E. (2007). Actor-observer asymmetries in explanations of
behavior: New answers to an old question. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 93, 491-514. 1
Reeder, G.
D., Monroe, A., & Pryor, J. B. (under review). Impressions of MilgramÕs obedient teachers:
Situational cues inform inferences about motives and traits. 2
Feb. 4 Implicit
Measures
Fazio, R. H., & Olson, M. A. (2003). Implicit measures in social cognition
research: Their meaning and uses. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 297-327 1
Payne, B. K., Cheng, C. M., Govorun, O., &
Stewart, B. D. (2005). An inkblot for attitudes: Affect misattribution as
implicit measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(3), 277-293. 1
Feb. 6 Automatic
& Controlled Processes
Gawronski, B., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2006).
Associative and propositional processes in evaluation: An integrative review of
implicit and explicit attitude change. Psychological
Bulletin, 132, 692-731. 1
Feb. 11 Stereotypes
& Prejudice
Fiske, S. T. (1998). Stereotyping, prejudice, and
discrimination. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, and G. Lindzey (Eds.), The
handbook of social psychology
(4th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 357-414). Boston: McGraw-Hill. 2
Feb. 13 Reducing
Prejudice
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A
meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 751-783. 1
Feb. 18/20 Attitudes
Petty, R. E. (1995). Attitude change. In A. Tesser (ed.), Advanced social
psychology. (pp. 195-256).
Boston: McGraw-Hill. 2
Crano, W.D., & Prislin, R. (2006). Attitudes and persuasion. Annual
Review of Psychology, 57,
345-374. 1
Feb. 25 Social/Cognitive Neuroscience
Lieberman, M. (2007). Social
cognitive neuroscience: A review of core processes
Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 259-289. 1
Feb. 27 Social Influence
Cialdini, R. B. (1995). Principles and techniques
of social influence. In A. Tesser (ed.), Advanced social psychology. (pp. 257-281). Boston: McGraw-Hill. 2
Cialdini, R. B. & Goldstein, N. J. (2004).
Social influence: Compliance and conformity. Annual Review of Psychology,
55, 591-621. 1
Mar. 3/5 Self
Baumeister, R. F., &
Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments
as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529.
1
Leary, M. R., (2007). Motivational and emotional
aspects of the self. Annual
Review of Psychology, 58, 317-344.
1
Mar. 10/12 SPRING
BREAK
Mar. 17 Ostracism
Williams, K. D. (2007). Ostracism. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 425-452. 1
Mar. 19 Stigma
Pryor, J. B., Reeder, G.D., Yeadon,
C., & Hesson-McInnis, M. (2004). A
dual process model of reactions to perceived stigma. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 87, 436-452.
1
Mar. 24 Groups
& Identity
Hogg, M. A., Abrams, D., Otten, S., & Hinkle,
S. (2004). The social identity perspective: Intergroup relations,
self-conception, and small groups. Small Group Research, 35(3), 246-276. 1
Mar. 26 Groups
& Performance
Kerr, N. L., & Tindale, R. S. (2004). Group
performance and decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 623-655. 1
Mar. 31/Apr. 2 Culture
Lehman, D. R., Chiu, C., & Schaller, M.
(2004). Psychology and culture. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 689-714. 1
Gelfand, M., Erez, M., & Aycan, Z. (2007). Cross-cultural organizational
behavior. Annual Review of
Psychology, 58, 479-514. 1
Apr. 7 Antisocial
Behavior
Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002).
Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 27-51. 1
Baumeister, R. F.,
Bushman, B. J., & Campbell, W. K. (2000). Self-esteem, narcissism, and
aggression: Does violence result from low self-esteem or from threatened
egotism? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 26-29. 1
Apr. 9 Prosocial
Behavior
Penner, L., Dovidio, J., Piliavin, J., &
Schroeder, D. (2005). Prosocial behavior: Multilevel perspectives. Annual
Review of Psychology, 56, 365-392.
1
Apr. 14/16 Gender
Deaux,
K., & Lafrance, M. (1998). Gender. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, and G.
Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (4th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 788-827). Boston:
McGraw-Hill. 2
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An
ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary
justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist, 56(2), 109-118.
1
Apr. 21/23 Close
Relationships
Berscheid, D., & Reis, H. T. (1998).
Attraction and close relationships. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, and G.
Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (4th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 193-281). Boston:
McGraw-Hill. 2
Peplau, L., & Fingerhut, A. (2007). The close
relationships of lesbians and gay men. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 405-424. 1
Apr. 28/30 Evolutionary
Social Psychology
Buss, D. M., & Kenrick, D. T. (1998). Evolutionary social psychology. In D. T.
Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, and G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social
psychology (4th ed., Vol. 2, pp.
982-1026). Boston: McGraw-Hill. 2
Schaller, M., &
Duncan, L. A. (2007). The behavioral immune system: Its evolution and social
psychological implications. In J. P. Forgas, M. G. Haselton, & W. von
Hippel (Eds.), Evolution and the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and
social cognition (pp.
293–307). New York: Psychology Press. 2
1 Available online from Milner.
2
Available as
photocopy in Psychology Resource Center.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
OFFICE HOURS: T-TH 2:30-3:30, 410
DeGarmo Hall (call for an appointment - 438-5191).
EMAIL: pryor@ilstu.edu
ATTENDANCE: You are expected to
attend all classes. Unexcused absences will result in a lower grade.
CLASS PARTICIPATION: My teaching philosophy places an emphasis on active
learning. Rather than passively absorbing
lectures delivered by the instructor, students in this graduate class are
expected to be actively involved in the process of discussing and trying to
understand the topics assigned. If
you decide to take the class, you should expect to do a significant amount of
reading and writing, participate actively in class discussions, and
occasionally lead the class in discussion. Failure to participate in class
discussions will result in a lower grade.
PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism on either of your term
papers will result in your failing the class. Don't risk it.
Presentations
Please use the work sheet below to record your
presentation assignment and those of your classmates. Later on, you may wish to
swap presentations with a classmate. If you do this, please let me know in
advance.
Jan 14 Orientation/History
Richard, F. D., Bond, C. F.,
Jr., & Stokes-Zoota, J.J. (2003). J. B. Pryor
Jan. 16 Methods
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D.,
& Brewer, M. B (1998). J. B. Pryor
Jan. 23 Impression
Formation/Social Cognition
Ash, S. (1946). ______________
Fiske, S. T. (1995).
______________
Jan. 28/30 Attribution/Social
Cognition
Malle,
B. F., Knobe, J. M., & Nelson, S. E. (2007). ______________
Reeder, G. D., Monroe, A., & Pryor, J. B. (in press)--Glenn
Reeder-Guest Lecture
Feb. 4 Implicit
Measures
Fazio, R. H., & Olson, M. A. (2003). ______________
Payne, B. K., Cheng, C. M.,
Govorun, O., & Stewart, B. D. (2005). ______________
Feb. 6 Automatic
& Controlled Processes
Gawronski, B., &
Bodenhausen, G. V. (2006). ______________
Feb. 11 Stereotypes
& Prejudice
Fiske, S. T. (1998). ______________ & ______________
Feb. 13 Reducing
Prejudice
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp,
L. R. (2006). ______________
Feb. 18/20 Attitudes
Petty, R. E. (1995). ______________
Crano, W.D., & Prislin, R. (2006). ______________
Feb. 25/27 Social
Influence
Cialdini, R. B. (1995). ______________
Cialdini, R. B. & Goldstein,
N. J. (2004). ______________
Mar. 3/5 Self
Baumeister,
R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). ______________
Leary, M. R. (2007). ______________
Mar. 10/12 SPRING
BREAK
Mar. 17 Ostracism
Williams, K. D. (2007). -- J.B. Pryor
Mar. 19 Perceived
Stigma
Pryor, J. B.,
Reeder, G.D., Yeadon, C., & Hesson-McInnis, M. (2004). -- J. B. Pryor
Mar. 24 Groups
& Social Identity
Hogg, M. A., Abrams, D., Otten,
S., & Hinkle, S. (2004). ______________
Mar. 26 Groups
& Performance
Kerr, N. L., & Tindale, R.
S. (2004). ______________
Mar. 31/Apr. 2 Culture
Lehman, D. R., Chiu, C., &
Schaller, M. (2004). ______________
Cohen, D., & Gunz, A. (2002). ______________
Apr. 7 Antisocial
Behavior
Anderson, C. A., & Bushman,
B. J. (2002). ______________
Baumeister,
R. F., Bushman, B. J., & Campbell, W. K. (2000). ______________
Apr. 9 Prosocial
Behavior
Penner,
L., Dovidio, J., Piliavin, J., & Schroeder, D. (2005). ______________
Apr. 14/16 Gender
Deaux, K., & Lafrance, M.
(1998). ______________
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T.
(2001). ______________
Apr. 21/23 Close
Relationships
Berscheid,
D., & Reis, H. T. (1998).
______________
Peplau,
L., & Fingerhut, A. (2007). ______________
Apr 28/30 Evolutionary
Social Psychology
Buss, D. M., & Kenrick, D. T. (1998). ______________
Schaller, M., & Duncan, L.
A. (2007). ______________
Here is an example of the feedback sheet I will
give you concerning your presentations:
PRESENTATION
FEEDBACK SHEET
NAME:_________________________________DATE:______________
1) Grasp of the material
poor
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 excellent
2) Presentation style
needs improvement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 couldn't be better
3) Presentation content
needs improvement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 outstanding
4) Ability to stimulate discussion from the
audience
no discussion stimulated 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 stimulated lively
discussion
Comments:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OVERALL GRADE FOR THIS PRESENTATION: A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F