Org Studies/Psychology 103: Social Psychology

Fall Semester, 2009

Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 9:35 – 10:50 am	Room: Fletcher 112
Professor: Jeff Lewis	Office: Fletcher 214
Phone: 73069 (607-3069 from off campus)
Web Page: http://www.pitzer.edu/~jlewis	E-Mail: jeff_lewis@pitzer.edu
Office hours: Tuesday at 11:00 p.m., Thursday at 3:00 p.m., or by appointment.

Text:

Myers, David G. (2008). Social Psychology (9^th ed.).

Goals of the Course:

This course will provide an overview of the major topic areas and methods associated with the field of social psychology, investigating important research contributions and theoretical views. Following from introductory classes, the course is designed to foundational piece of both the Psychology and Organizational Studies majors. It is hoped that upon completion of this course that you will have a better understanding of the major topics of one of the primary subfields of Psychology, knowledge of many of the important findings in the area, and exposure to important research examples and methodological issues faced by Social Psychologists. Through discussion of the readings, completion of exercises, experiment reviews, and exams, students hopefully will demonstrate their understanding of the wide variety of influences that contribute to our social behavior. In general, the sessions will concentrate on an exploration of what we know in specific topic areas, utilizing exercises, presentations and films to further explore these topics and concepts.

Course Requirements:

Exams (60% of the course grade) - There will be three exams in this course (as noted in the following schedule). Each will cover approximately one third of the book and related lectures. The exams themselves will be essay material and the third test is NOT cumulative.

Class Participation (10%) - Throughout the course, you will be responsible for completing the reading assignments prior to class and be able to demonstrate in class the ability to discuss and reflect upon the assigned reading. In addition, exercises and participatory demonstrations will be used to illustrate some of the concepts presented in the readings and lectures. Finally, most of the weeks you will also be asked to submit your vote for an article cited in the textbook that you would like discussed in more depth in class. You will need to email your selection to the address listed above on Tuesday morning prior to class of the selected week. This message will also need to include sufficient justification for your choice.

Observational study poster presentation (30%) - You will also be required to work in a group to design and implement an experimental study that is related to an important question in the field. After finding an interesting topic (possibly from your previous paper...), you will carefully observe the behavior of others within your controlled situation and report back to the class your findings. Your observational study will also form the basis of a poster presentation that explains your inspiration, methods, results, and discusses the meaning of your findings in more detail.

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

Dates	Topic	Readings
September 1^st and 3^rd	Introduction	Ch. 1
September 8^th and 10^th	The self	Ch. 2
September 15^th and 17^th	Beliefs and Attributions	Ch. 3
September 22^nd and 24^th	Behavior and Attitudes	Ch. 4
Sept. 29^th and Oct. 1^st	Heredity, Gender and Cultural Influences	Ch. 5
Test One – October 1^st (Chapter 1-5)
October 6^th and 8^th	Conformity	Ch. 6
October 13^th and 15^th	Persuasion	Ch. 7
Spring Break – October 17^th – 20^th (no class October 20^th)
October 22^nd	The Social Group	Ch. 8
Presentation Topic Proposals due October 22^nd
October 27^th and 29^th	Prejudice	Ch. 9
November 3^rd and 5^th	Aggression	Ch. 10
Test Two – November 5^th(Chapters 6-10)
November 10^th and 12^th	Attraction	Ch. 11
November 17^th and 19^th	Altruism and Conflict	Ch. 12 & 13
November 24^th	Clinical and Social Psychology	Ch. 14
Thanksgiving Break November 26^th – 29^th (no class November 26^th)
December 1^st and 3^rd	Forensic Psychology	Ch. 15
Poster Presentation Papers due December 3^rd
December 8^th and 10^th	Poster Presentations and review
Test Three: Tuesday, December 15^th at 9 am (Chapters 11-15)