Social Psychology (PSY 343)
Section 01 (Wednesday, 6:30-9:30)
Fall, 2003

Professor: Hilary Lips, Ph.D.
    Office: 335 Russell Hall
    Phone: 831-5361
    E-mail: hlips@radford.edu
    Website: http://www.radford.edu/~hlips		   Syllabus Pages:  
  Page 1     Page 2
  Projects-Presentations
  Page 3     Page 4
Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 3:00 – 5:00
and by appointment
Textbook: Social Psychology (Third edition) by Stephen Franzoi (McGraw-Hill, 2002). This text comes with a CD-ROM which contains practice quizzes and other study aids. I recommend that you use it to get the most out of this book.
     There are also two companion web sites for the Franzoi textbook. The first is available at  http://www.mhhe.com/franzoi3. This site can be used as an interactive study guide for the textbook. For each chapter it provides a list of learning objectives, a chapter overview, practice quizzes using multiple choice, fill in the blanks and true-false questions, flashcards and internet exercises.
     The second site is McGraw-Hill's Powerweb, for which you should register, using the information provided with the textbook. This site contains web resources, suggested readings, practice quizzes, current social psychology news, and other resources to help you get the most out of the course. You can access this site at:  http://www.dushkin.com/powerweb/. This site will give you online access to some course readings.
  
Course Requirements and Grading:
General Expectations: You are expected to attend class, to come prepared, and to participate in the class activities and projects. Complete assigned activities before class. Read each assigned chapter or reading before the class in which it is scheduled to be discussed. You are responsible for all material in the assigned readings, whether or not it is discussed in class. You are also responsible for all material presented in lectures, whether or not it is in the readings. If you miss classes, you will be missing not only lectures, but group meetings, in-class exercises, announcements, etc. that cannot easily be "made up".    
TESTS AND EXAM -- 95 POINTS
TESTS: (Dates are listed in the schedule at the end of this syllabus)
Test # 1 - - 20 points
Test # 2 - - 20 points
Test # 3 - - 20 points
Altogether, scores on the 3 tests make up 60 of the 150 points for the course. In other words, more than one-third of your grade in this course (40%) is determined by your combined test scores. In general, if you miss a test, your score on that test will be 0. If you must miss one of the tests because of illness or emergency, you must provide documentation of the emergency and consult with me in advance about the possibility of a make-up test. Except under very exceptional circumstances, make-up tests will not be allowed for this course; rather, the weight assigned to the final exam score will be increased to reflect the weight of the missing test.
FINAL EXAM:
The final exam will take place on the date specified in the university's fall schedule: Wednesday December 17th at 8 p.m.. It will cover material from all sections of the course and will be worth 35 points. If you have a grade of A or a high B (50 out of a total possible of 60, or 83%) on your cumulated test scores for the course, you are not required to write the final exam and may choose instead to have your test scores weighted more heavily.

Beginning Page 2
ASSIGNMENTS, PROJECTS AND GROUP WORK -- 55 POINTS
1) Assignments and In-class exercises - 30 points
RESPONSES TO ON-LINE READINGS (10 points )
On the course schedule page, an online reading from the PowerWeb site is listed next to each chapter. Pick any 5 of these readings (2 points each). Before the date on which that chapter is scheduled to be discussed in class, read the article, complete the online Test Your Knowledge form, and e-mail it to me. If I do not receive it by the date on which we are scheduled to discuss the chapter, or if your answers on the form indicate that you do not actually know anything about the article, your submission will not be counted.
IN-CLASS EXERCISES (20 points) (In assigned lab groups)
This is a class in which active learning, through hands-on participation in projects, is emphasized. Discussion and/or research exercises will be carried out in class time in assigned lab groups or in spontaneous groupings (e.g. students might spend class time working on a case study, role-playing different social scenarios, brainstorming to design a questionnaire, or going onto the campus to observe behavior). A significant part of virtually every class will be devoted to this component. Students who participate and write up and hand in the results will receive credit. Those who are absent for whatever reason or who do not participate or write up the results will not receive credit. (Up to Three missed exercises will be allowed without penalty). Your grade on this aspect of the course will be based on the proportion of the class exercises and that you complete satisfactorily.
2) Group Project - 25 points
You will work in a group of 4 to 5 people to prepare a 15-20 minute creative, interesting, and memorable class presentation about the life and work of a prominent social psychologist. These presentations will be made on the date that we cover material relevant to that person=s research in class. You may form your own group, if you wish. I will construct groups for everyone who does not wish to form their own. You must let me know by September 3 (i.e. our second weekly class) if you have formed your own group (and give me a list of participants). If I have not heard from you by the end of that class, I will assign you to a group. Your group must pick a social psychologist from the list, and your presentation will be on the date that matches that name. The first group to let me know that they wish to choose a particular name will get that name, and no more than 2 presentations will be given for each presentation date. Some class time will be devoted to group meetings on September 10th and on subsequent dates.
click on the above for detailed project-presentatin information
Questions you may have:
Q: What if I do not appear for group meetings in class, or agreed-upon out-of-class meetings?
A: You will be lose marks whenever you miss in-class meetings unless you can demonstrate that you were prevented from coming by a serious emergency and you contact me and/or your group members ahead of time to explain your absence. If you miss out-of-class meetings, you must contact your group ahead of time and find a way to do your share of the work.. If you do not do this, your grade will be lower.
Q: What if I fail to live up to my contract with the group, miss deadlines, don't do what I agreed to do, etc.?
A: Part of your grade is determined by your fellow group members. Thus, if you consistently disappoint them and let them down, your grade will be lower.
3) BONUS POINTS: UP TO 10 points altogether
Up to 3 bonus points can be earned by participating in approved psychological research in the department (1 point for each study). Write up a brief (2 or 3 sentences) description of the study and have the researcher sign the description.
Up to 3 bonus points can be earned by attending and submitting a one-page report on designated out-of-class lectures or events (1 point per lecture). Write a one-page report and turn it in within one week of the event.
Up to 10 bonus points can be earned by completing and submitting online multiple-choice quizzes presented on the Franzoi3 web site. To earn one point, complete and submit to me by e-mail the results of the multiple-choice quiz that accompanies a chapter we are covering. You must submit the results by the date we are scheduled to cover that chapter in class.
You must also score at least 80% correct on the quiz.
   
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GRADING:
A: At least 132 points out of 150 (88%)
B: At least 120 points out of 150 (80%)
C: At least 105 points out of 150 (70%)
D: At least 90 points out of 150 (60%)
Example of Grade Calculation:
A student gets 18/20 on the first test, 14/20 on the second test, and 15/20 on the third test. She gets 24/35 on the final exam. She never missed a class, so she gets 20/20 on her in-class work. She turned both of her assignments, and they were done properly, so she gets 10/10 on her assignments. Her final project grade is 19/25. To calculate her grade, she adds all of these scores (18+14+15+24+20+10+19) to get a total of 120. She earned 2 bonus points, which bring her total to 122. Consulting the above GRADING chart, she sees that 122 out of 150 is a B.
List of Prominent Social Psychologists from which to choose for the Group Project:
Chapters, Possible Names: Presentation Date:
Chapter 3 - Roy Baumeister, Hazel Markus, Henri Tajfel, Jennifer Crocker October 1
Chapter 4 - Mark Snyder, Judith Hall, Alice Eagly, Bernard Weiner
Edward Jones
 October 8
Chapter 5 - Kay Deaux, John Williams, Deborah Best, Susan Fiske, Robert Rosenthal, Melvin Lerner, Martin Seligman October 15
Chapter 6 - Robert Zajonc, Daryl Bem, Leon Festinger October 29
Chapter 8 - Claude Steele, Greg Herek, Patricia Devine, Kenneth and/or Mamie Clark November 5
Chapter 11 -Ellen Berscheid, Susan Cross, Karen Dion, Dan Russell November 12
Chapter 12 -Elaine Walster, Phillip Shaver, Robert Sternberg, Kenneth Dion November 19
Chapter 13 – Leonard Eron, Leonard Berkowitz, Albert Bandura, Mary Koss, Neil Malamuth December 3
Chapter 14 -John Darley, Bibb Latané, Jane Piliavin, Daniel Batson December 10
   
Radford University Honor Code: In accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to uphold the Honor System without compromise or exception. The Honor Code provides an essential framework that guides our actions during the classroom learning experience. The Honor Code, and our commitment to the Honor Code, allow us to put trust in each other. That trust is vital to the learning experience. All students are expected to abide by the Standards of Academic Integrity described in the Student Handbook.
   
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REVISED COURSE SCHEDULE
Note: Additional readings, available on the Powerweb site will be assigned occasionally. When such readings are assigned, they will be covered on the tests for the section of the course in which they were used.
Dates: Topic: Read:
August 27 Overview of social psychology 
Social Loafing: Why do we do it? 		Franzoi, chapter 1
pp. 329-334 in ch. 10
September 3 The power of social situations over us: (Social influence: conformity) Franzoi, chapter 9, pp. 277-297
(PowerWeb # 15: New tactic on college drinking: Play it down)
September 10 Power of social situations: compliance and obedience Franzoi, Chapter 9, pp. 298-319
(PoweWweb #18-Reflections on the Stanford Prison Experiment)
September 17 Doing research in social psychology Franzoi, chapter 2
(PowerWeb # 1: Causes & correlations)
September 24 Doing research in social psychology (continued) (PowerWeb # 4: Culture)
October 1  TEST #1 (covers Franzoi chapters 1, 2 & 9 & pp. 329-334, & all lecture
                               material)
October 1    2nd half) Library instruction session. Class will meet in the Library,
                             Room 350 at 8 p.m.
October 1 (2nd half) 1) Presentation, Group 1 (Baumeister)
2) Exercise/discussion to begin
The Self in Social Psychology
Franzoi, Chapter 3, pp. 48, 51-67, 71-76
     
October 8 The self in social psychology (Cont’d)
Self-Presentation/Social Perception		 Franzoi, Chapter 4 pp. 84-92, 102-114
(PowerWeb #10: How culture molds habits of thought)
October 15 Social cognition/Stereotyping Presentation, Group 3 (Seligman) Franzoi, Chapter 5
(PowerWeb # 31: Competing choices: Men’s and women’s paths after earning a bachelor’s degree)
October 22    TEST # 2 (covers Franzoi sections indicated of chapters 3, 4 & 5 and
               lecture material)   Second half of class will be devoted to projects and discussion.
October 29 Attitudes & Persuasion Franzoi, Chapter 6, pp. 154-166, 176-191
(PowerWeb # 20: Persuasion: What would it take to convince you?)
November 5 Prejudice & Discrimination Presentation, Group 5 (Karen Dion) Franzoi, Chapter 8
(PowerWeb # 29: Why we hate)
November 12 Interpersonal attraction / Intimate relations Franzoi, Chapter 11 & 12
(PowerWeb # 27: What’s your love story?)
November 19   TEST # 3 (covers Franzoi chapters 6, 8, 11, 12, and lecture material).
November 19 (second half). Presentations, Groups, 6, (Cross), 7 (Russell), 4 (Kenneth Dion).

November 26 - Thanksgiving Break No class
December 3 Aggression/Violence Franzoi, Ch. 13
(PowerWeb # 34: The verdict on media violence)
December 10 Prosocial behavior / Helping Franzoi, Ch. 14
(PowerWeb # 39: Cause of death: Uncertain(ty))
Wednesday, December 11, 8 p.m.:    Final Examination (Cumulative, based on
                                                              a study guide to be handed out)
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