Syllabus
Social Psychology

Social Psychology

SOCI-2326

Spring 2012
01/17/2012 - 05/13/2012

Course Information

Section 001
Lecture
MW 13:30 - 14:50
RGC1 123
David Weiner

Office Hours

No office hours have been entered for this term

Course Requirements

 


COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Social Psychology

Spring 2012

Instructor:  Dr. David Weiner

 

POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS

 

This Syllabus and This Class

 

This syllabus explains what the course is about, how the class is structured and how you earn grades.  It is your  responsibility to make sure to understand all that the syllabus contains.  This means asking questions during the first weeks of class about anything that seems confusing.  I shall keep you updated on your progress in the class at the Grade Center on Blackboard.  I shall also place Announcements on Blackboard and send e-mails to your ACC address, from time to time.  So it is essential that you check Blackboard and your ACC e-mail regularly.  A student cannot miss the first two weeks of classes unless s/he makes prior arrangements with me to do this, and I agree.  As you will see below, regular attendance and full class participation are major requirements of this class.  This means arriving on time, staying for the entire period, taking notes and joining in class discussions.  It also means completing 4 short writing assignments by the final deadline dates indicated below, taking an end of semester test of your own design if you wish, and completing an independent research project for a grade of “A”.  All of this is explained below, and will be fully explained during the first class sessions as well.

 

 

Class Structure and Organization

 

Our first goal shall be to explore some of the seminal theories, ideas, and methods of social psychology, and to meet the important men and women who made these contributions.  Next, we shall apply these theories, ideas and methods toward resolving questions of concern to our own small class-sized community, and others.  As required, additional insights from social science will be introduced, and sometimes we shall discover important questions not yet fully addressed by scholars.  In short, this class is designed to be intellectually challenging and hopefully very interesting.  Participation and engagement are extremely important.  This means arriving on time, staying for the entire period, taking notes and joining in class discussions.  It also means completing 4 short writing assignments by the final deadline dates indicated below (see the chart of Due Dates at the end of the syllabus).  Each of these assignments is designed to increase your skill at learning and applying ideas.  Each is pre-requisite for the one that follows.

 

Texts and Resources

 

The textbook for this course is Social Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman.  An additional resource is my own essay, "Some Architects of  Sociology in Historical Perspective," which can be used on-line or downloaded from my website (see below).  The major subject matter areas of social psychology set forth in the  Topic Outline (located near the end of this syllabus) can be also be found in most standard introductory social-psychology textbooks, and in other printed and on-line sources.   Two e-books available through ACCs  on-line resources are Social Psychology, by Kenneth Bordons, et. al., and The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychologoy. The ACC librarians are eager to assist students and provide excellent training in how to do use the on-line resources as well as to answer other questions concerning library research.

 

Another resource you'll find at my website  is the Booklist needed for Writing Assignment 3 (see below).  If you want to purchase a book, or order it through the ACC Library, I advise you to begin this process early.  Other materials found at my website will also serve as resources from time to time.  So spend some time looking over it.

 

Office Hours and Website

 

My office hours are posted on  Black Board.   I can also be reached  at  (512) 345-8319 (home), (512) 663-3277 (cell), at dweiner@austincc.edu and at d18weiner@gmail.com.   I shall very much prefer to interact with you during office hours or correspond with you by e-mail.  Please save phone calls for true emergencies.

 

You can always find an up-to-dated syllabus at public.me.com/weiner18 (be sure not to precede this address by http or www) among other very useful materials for this class. The web site for the ACC sociology department is http://www2.austin.cc.tx.us/socdept/

 

Please note that I shall not very forthcomingly respond by phone or e-mail to questions concerning:

            (1) assignment requirements,

            (2) assignment due dates, or

            (3) what was covered in a missed class

             

I will gladly answer such questions in class or during office-hours after you have carefully read the syllabus and queried a classmate. The purpose of this policy is to encourage you to take notes and collaborate with your peers.  I can't overstate how important these skills are in preparation for success at four-year colleges and universities as well as in the workplace.

 

Academic Freedom and Scholastic Honesty

 

ACC’s policy concerning Academic Freedom states:

 

            “...the professor and students shall strive to protect free inquiry and the open exchange of facts, ideas,     and opinions. Students are free to take exception to views offered in this course.”

 

College rules concerning scholastic honesty fully apply in this class.  Plagiarism: turning in work done by someone else or copied without giving credit to the author constitutes cheating, which will usually result in withdrawal or a grade of "F".  As part of the evaluation process an instructor may orally examine a student concerning the content and methodology of work submitted. 

 

 

Basic Grading Criteria (also see “Details” and “More Details” below)

 

Plan I:  If you miss no more than  __X_ classes (see Schedules below)

 

 (a)       Class Participation                                                                                                      30 points

 

(b)       4 short Writing Assignments                                                                                      40 points

            10 pts. each  so long as a paper is completed by the Final Deadline. 

            This means Re-doing it within the time period allowed until you get it right.

            (See SCHEDULES at end of syllabus.)  Failure to completeassignment 1, 2,

            or 3 by its absolute final deadline  will ordinarily result in withdrawal from the class.

 

(c)        Test                                                                                                                             10 points

           

 

(d)       Project                                                                                                                          20 points

Total                                                                                                                                       100 points

Plan II:  If you miss no more than _Y___ classes (see Schedules below)

Exactly the same as Plan I except that Class Participation will count 25 points and the test will count 15 points.  This is to pressure students who miss classes to keep up with lectures by collaborating with classmates.  I shall not provide notes for missed lectures.                                                                                                                      

 

Plan III:  Should you find yourself unable to attend enough classes to remain on  Plan II,  you may, if you wish, opt to fulfill course requirements by completing additional writing assignments in lieu of attendance.  You will need to initiate a meeting with me to decide how to go about doing this no later than 24 hours after your absences have exceeded those allowed on Plan II.  Without such a plan in place by this time you will be withdrawn from the class.  Unfortunately, should you fall off of Plan II after the final drop date of the semester the best I can offer is a grade of Incomplete, allowing you to accomplish enough work during the following semester to qualify for a grade of “C”.   Again, you must initiate the process for deciding what work will be required.   Otherwise, the Incomplete will automatically turn into an “F” at the end of the next semester.

 

Grading Criteria Details (see below for More Details)

 

 

Class Participation 

 

            Attendance:  To receive full attendance credit for any class you must attend for the entire period.  If you arrive no more than15 minutes late, or leave no more than 15 minutes early, you will receive half-credit for that day's attendance.  As indicated above, how many class participation points you receive for the semester, depends upon how many classes you miss: more points for Plan I, less for Plan II.  At the Grade Center onBlackboard you can always determine which Plan you are on.

 

However, missing one special class will result in a 5 point reduction of your Class Participation grade.  This is the very last class of the semester when we discuss the Projects (see below) that you and your classmates have done.  This is when you share your findings with one another.  I consider no activity to be more important than this one. 

           

Engagement:  This means taking part in class discussions, focusing during lectures and maintaining a good set of notes.  It  also means reading assigned short passages of material in preparation for the next class, or as follow-up to a previous class.  It does not mean texting, sleeping, studying for other classes or engaging in a side discussion with a classmate.  It also does not mean leaving class to conduct private business of any kind.  

During the first few weeks of the semester  essays in “Architects of Sociology” corresponding to the Topic Outline sub-topics covered during a particular lecture are automatically assigned as follow-up reading.  This task will be fully explained in class.

           

Writing Assignments (see More Details below for specific instructions)

 

            Submission requirements and due dates:  Except under special, pre-arranged circumstances assignments may not be turned in by e-mail or in the mail room.  Written assignments must be placed in my hand by you or your designated representative.  Absolute final deadlines mean exactly that.  Your being absent for any reasonwill not excuse you from this deadline unlessyou have previously offered an almost acceptable submission.   As indicated below in the syllabus under Due Dates, you have plenty of time to submit, and if necessary to re-do each writing assignment between the Due Date and the Absolute Final Deadline.  Waiting until the last minute is ill advised.  If you set your assignment-completion-date goal as the Due Date and something occurs to interfere with your submission, you have plenty of time to make adjustments.  If you set your submission-date-goal as the Absolute Final Deadline and something goes wrong, you have no wiggle room at all.  In this case,  you will ordinarily be withdrawn from the class  (This stipulation does not necessarily apply to Early College Start students taking the class in a High School setting).

 

Be sure to back up everything you write on a Flash Drive.  These are very inexpensive.

 

 Writing assignments must be typed on full sized, 81/2x11 paper and pages must be stapled (not paper clipped)in order to be accepted.   Each of the four Writing Assignments must contain a minimum of 1000 words.

 

To assure that you received credit for a writing assignment check the Grade Center on Black Board.  I always post grades  quickly.

           

           

Test (see More Details below for important additional information)

 

The end of class test may be taken in one of two ways.  So long as you qualify for the first option you may choose either option.  If you don't qualify for the first option then only the second option will be available.  The test must be taken on the next to last class of the semester, as indicated below in the table of Due Dates, or on the last meeting of the class -- unless prior arrangements have been made for an alternative test date.  No test will be administered after the last class meeting unless a student has successfully contracted for an incomplete.

 

            First Option (Multiple choice + Essay):   In order to quality for this test option you will turn in several multiple choice questions each week over lectures delivered the previous week (see More Detailsbelow for exactly how to write them).  Also see Due Dates at the end of the syllabus for the number of questions you must write and when you must submit them.  You may not submit questions later than this date.  You are invited, in fact required, to submit a re-do for any submission that still needs some work -- on the next submission date. So long as you don't miss more than two submissions (undone re-dos become missed submissions) you will qualify to take Test Option 1.

 

Multiple choice questions may be handwritten but must be submitted on full sized, 8.5 x 11 paper or no more than a fraction smaller.  Multiple pages must be stapled for a submission to be accepted.  When submitting Re-dos, the original submission must be stapled to the Re-do.

 

On each of your Multiple-Choice submissions I shall indicate with the letter "P"  questions to be posted on Black Board in a forum created for this purpose.  Near the end of the semester all who quality for Test Option 1 will collaborate to submit 50 of these posted questions to me, and after a little editing these will make up  the first part of Test Option 1.  I shall explain all of this fully in class.

 

I strongly encourage students to collaborate on multiple-choice submissions.  This means sharing notes and helping one another to write questions.  This does not mean several collaborators each turning in a single set of identical questions.  I.e., three collaborators must submit three distinct sets of questions.

 

Collaboration also meansthat if you cannot make it to class on the day submissions are due, you will e-mail one or all of your classmates (Black Board allows you to do this) or post your questions to a "HELP" thread on Student Forum (I shall show you how to do all of this) by way of asking a classmate to print it out and turn it in for you.  This group cooperation is required of all who wish to take Test Option 1.  Why, will be explained in class as part of a lecture.  This procedure does not, however, apply as regards Written Assignments 1 - 4.  Class-mates may assist one another if they wish to, but final responsibility for turning in writing assignments rests entirely with each student individually.

 

To ensure collaboration and to discourage mere copying  I shall occasionally conduct a  Note Check.  Note checks  must be passed in order for a student to qualify to take Test Option 1.

 

The second part of Test Option 1involves writing an essay based on class notes (buy a Blue Book in the  bookstore)  .  This essay will discuss any major theme or set of ideas covered during the semester.  You must  include mention of  at least five people we talked about, but it will be entirely your choice which ideas and which people to write about.  You can prepare for this essay ahead of time and  bring an outline of what you wish to write on a 5x8 index card for use during the test.

 

Each part of Test Option 1 is worth 50%.  If you fail either or  both parts you will be entitled to a re-take during  the final class of the semester.  No re-takes will be offered after this date except under very special circumstances where prior arrangements have been made.

 

            Second Option (Matching questions):

 

Based on the Topic Outline and your class notes, you will answer a series of matching questions associating social scientists with their contributions, ideas, concepts, theories, and major works. This test will be written by me and not provided ahead of time.  There will be no re-take of this test. Total value = 100 points.

 

Project (see More Details below for instructions)

 

To earn a grade of "A"  in this class you must complete an independent research project.  What this involves is  elaborated below and will be thoroughly covered in class.  The object of the Project is to provide you with an invaluable hands-on learning experience in a manner that allows you considerable self-expression.  Just as applies to Writing Assignments, unless prior arrangements have been made, under very special circumstances, your project must be handed to me by yourself or your representative.  It may not be delivered in any other fashion.  You must also be available, prior to the end of the semester, to discuss your project with me orally.  Failing this, your project will ordinarily not be accepted.

 

Bonus Points

 

Bonus points will  be awarded for outstanding Class Participation, and for excellent performance  on Written Assignments 2, 3, and 4 according to the following criteria:  1+ = better than average; 2+ = strong creativity, but somewhat weak writing; 3, 4, or 5+ =  good to very strong creativity and  writing.  Each + = 1/2 bonus point added to your grade.   The maximum number of bonus points that can be earned by any means is  5.

 

 

MORE DETAILS

 

The 4 writing assignments: 

 

1)         Discuss a  problem or issue or idea that you feel passionately about; or that at least seems important to you.  Bounce it with me if you feel uncertain whether it is appropriate.  This paper may very well serve as the basis for your  research Project (see below).

 

(2)       Select  any 1 or 2 of the subtopics included on the Topic Outline (below near the end of the syllabus).  For each of these:

 

            (a)        State the focus of the subtopic in one sentence  and elaborate in no more than one short                                         paragraph.  Then, for each social scientist included under the topic heading, indicate his/her                                  main contribution(s) to the subtopic (theory? method? concept? insight?)  Do not dwell on                                biographical facts, but on ideas.  All of this should make up about one half of your paper.

 

(b)       Based on your own observations and other knowledge, discuss how some of the theories methods, concepts, insights and ideas you have described in part (a)  might apply   in the real world of today, of yesterday, or in  the  future.  This discussion should make up at least one half of your paper.       

 

The primary resource for this             assignment is Architects of Sociology (see Texts and Resources above)however you may use other resources in addition, so long as they stress the important ways in which your subjects have contributed to the development of sociology and our knowledge about society.

 

 

3)         Either  read at least 250 pages of one or more of the non-fiction books (except The Tipping Point ) on the booklist, or two of the fiction books listed, or view any 4 of the films listed at the end of the booklist.  For each book or film:

                       

                        (a)        In no more than 100 words briefly synopsize the content.   

                       

                        (b)       Choose  3 specific passages or scenes that were particularly meaningful  to you.                                                    Synopsize these in no more than 100 words and then elaborate at much greater length in                                        terms of your own feelings and reactions.  This should make up 2/3 of your paper.

           

                        c)         Write a film or book review in the persona of one of the social  scientists                                                                included in the Topic outline (i.e., what would they have thought of your                                                               film or  book, and why?).  This part should make up about 1/3 of your paper.       

                       

                        (d)       Finally, Be  prepared to answer questions about your book(s) or films from notes or                                             from memory.

 

(4)       In Social Intelligence, read the Prologue, Part I, Part III, Chapter 15, Part V, Chapter 21 and the    Epilogue.  As you read, mark passages that especially resonate with you.  When you've finished,             elaborate upon one passage from Part I, one from Part III,  one from Part V, and two more of your           own choosing.  Use  examples from your own life, or from what you observe of the world.  Be      prepared to show that you have read all of the material, however.

 

Multiple choice questions and note checks:

 

 

A multiple choice question will include 4 possible answers (A, B, C and D), one of these always being the correct answer.  The last possibility (D) may be “all of the above,”  but it  may not be “none of the above.” Nor can it be "A and B," or " B and C" or A and C". Questions submitted each week must cover the new material  covered during the previous two classes.  Often previously presented material will be reviewed or repeated.  If this is done in not quite the same way as earlier, it qualifies as new material.

 

This class is not about memorizing facts and definitions.  Therefore multiple choice  submissions oriented this way will receive re-dos.  As will questions about class procedures, the syllabus, or any material not discussed in class or the subject of a lecture.  A question identifying a main concept or theory, or indicating how one social scientist seems to resemble or differ from another, or how a theory or concept pertains to an issue discussed in class will qualify as a good question.  I shall place a "P" next to it, indicating that it should be posted on blackboard as a worthy candidate for your end of semester test.

 

The best way to take notes over a lecture or discussion in this class is to jot down people, theories, concepts, patterns and facts stressed.  Later, flesh out your recall from memory.  Then compare what you have with your collaborative group.   I encourage you to use class-time to ask questions toward filling in gaps in your notes, and toward clarifying whatever remains vague or obscure from the previous day's lecture or discussion.  

 

 

 Project (all below will be explained thoroughly in class):

 
You will propose doing hands-on research about a subject that interests you (probably what you wrote about in your first paper).  I shall modify this proposal if necessary and then initial it, keeping one copy and returning the other to you.  This will be our contract.   No project can be carried out until a contract exists. To receive a satisfactory grade of 10 points the project must involve at least  20 hours of work.  Better than satisfactory projects will receive 11- 20 points.  

 

Once we have a contract you will begin to design an interview or questionnaire or participant observation procedure to carry out your project.   You will share this effort with me and the class, and through this process all will learn a great deal about what is involved in carrying out social science research.  This learning will be very valuable for you in the future.  Eventually, your research procedure will receive my affirmation and I shall initial it. No student may actually apply their questionnaire, interview schedule or participant observation process until I have initialed it.  The reasons for this will be thoroughly explained in class.  These are some limiting conditions on what you can do:

 

 (a) In no event may unknown individuals be mailed or e-mailed a questionnaire.  Using Survey Monkey or Survey Gizmo (see the Student Aids folder on my website), however, you can post your questionnaire on a website accessible to anyone, anonymously.  You can e-mail the link to your friends  or post it on Facebook etc.

 

(b) Under no circumstances can questions be asked that could conceivably result in information that might reflect badly upon a subject, or cause them injury.  Not even if the questions are answered anonymously. 

 

(c) Ordinarily, minors cannot be interviewed or questioned under any conditions.

 

Your project write-up must include:

 

(1) A description of how the research was done, including what kinds of people were interviewed or observed, but never indicated by name.

 

(2) Logical connection(s) between the data you collected and your initial questions or hypotheses.

 

(3) Any additional discussion you find relevant, such as limitations of your study, things you would do differently next time, difficulties in accomplishing the project, further implications of what was discovered, etc.

 

(4) Some, but not a lot of relevant library research.  Notes, but not  pages of material copied on downloaded should be included.

 

(5) All interviews, questionnaires, observations, drafts, rough notes, etc. materials collected or produced during the course of the project. 

 

(6) A journal of how time was spent on the project including sharing your progress and bouncing your questions with the class.

 
Your project must be neatly presented, in an appropriate folder or binder, and handed to me personally -- not placed in my mail box --  on or before the specified due date.  No project will be accepted after the last class period of the semester unless a student has successfully contracted for an incomplete. I may ask you detailed questions about your project as part of evaluating how many points to assign it.  For this reason, you must not simply leave your project with me and depart.  You have to stick around until I've had a chance to look at it and discuss it with you, in order to receive any grade at all.

 

Topic Outline

 

1. Personality, Social Structure and Social Change:

 

A. August Comte, Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer: One for Hobbes, one for Locke and one in between

B.  Vilfredo Pareto, William Ogburn, Max Weber: Two for Hobbes, none for Locke

C.  Franz Boaz, Bronislaw Malinowski, Ruth Benedict: Cultural Relativism reinforces Locke

D.  Gunnar Myrdal, James Coleman, William J. Wilson:  A case study supports Locke

E.  Emile Durkheim, George H. Mead, John Bowlby: Socialization research supports Locke

F.  Georg Simmel, Irving Goffman, Herbert Blumer: Interactionism rejects all a-priori assumptions

 

2.  Theories of Social/Psychological Pathology:  

 

A.  Emile Durkheim, Herbert Marcuse, Erich Fromm : Anomie, Alienation and Authoritarianism

B.   Karl Mannheim, Peter Berger, Edmund Husserl: Believing what we want to know, not what we perceive

C. Gordon Allport, Kurt Lewin, Leon Festinger: Prejudice, Attribution Error, and Cognitive Dissonance

D.  Antonio Gramsci, W.E. B. Dubois, Oliver Cox: The need to reject denial in exchange for minor rewards

E.  C.W. Mills, David Riesman, Pierre Bourdieu: The need for engaged citizenship

F.  Herbert Marcuse, Michele Foucault, Jurgen Habermas:  Only one remains optimistic about self-actualization

 

3.  Altruism and Connectedness

 

A.  Emile Durkheim, George H. Mead, John Bowlby: Toward a social psychology of hope

 

 

SCHEDULES

ATTENDANCE

 

PLANS

16 week 2/wk class

16 week

1/wk class

12 week 2/wk class

11&11.5 week  2/wk class

8 week  2/wk class

5&5.5 week

4/wk class

Plan 1maximum misses

3

1

2

2

1

2

Plan 2maximum misses

6

3

5

5

3

4

Plan 3

when more misses than

6

3

5

5

3

4

 

 

 

APPROXIMATE DUE DATES (for specific due dates access the class syllabus at the link to Basic Course Materials on Blackboard)

ITEM DUE

16 week 2/wk class

16 week

1/wk class

12 week 2/wk class

11&11.5  week  2/wk class

8 week  2/wk class

5&5.5

week

4/wk class

Multiple Choice Questions

3 ?s lst class each week

3 ?s each class

4 ?s lst class each week

4 ?s first class each week

4 ?s lst class each week

5 ?s every Tues and Thurs.

lst Writing Assignment

4th class

2nd class

3rd class

3rd class

2nd class

3rd class

lst Writing Assignment Final Completion Absolute Deadline

6th class

3rd class

5th class

5th class

3rd class

4th class

2nd Writing Assignment

7th class

4th class

6th class

6th class

4th class

5th class

2nd Writing Assignment Final Completion Absolute Deadline

10th class

5th class

8th class

8th class

5th class

7th class

3rd writing Assignment

16th class

9th class

12th class

12th class

7th class

12th class

3rd Writing Assignment Final Completion Absolute Deadline

19th class

10th class

14th class

14th class

9th class

13th class

Project Contract

19th class

10th class

14th class

14th class

9th class

13th class

4th Writing Assignment

22nd class

11th class

16th class

16th class

11th class

16th class

4th Writing Assignment Final Completion Absolute Deadline

24th class

12th class

18th class

18th class

12th class

17th class

Last M-C ?s

25th class

13th class

19th class

19th class

13th class

17th class

50 proposed M-C ?s for test

as soon as possible

as soon as possible

as soon as possible

as soon as possible

as soon as possible

as soon as possible

Test Date

next to last class

last class

 

next to last class

next to last class

last class

next to last class

Project Submission

next to last class

last class

next to last class

next to last class

last class

next to last class

Project Final Completion Absolute Deadline

last class

last class

last class

last class

last class

last class


LECTURE /DISCUSSION  TIMELINE

 

                           CLASSES

 

FOCUS

16 wk 2/wk

16wk

1/wk

12wk 2/wk

11 wk  2/wk

8 wk  2/wk

5.5wk

4/wk

Course process and syllabus

1-2

1

1-2

1-2

1

1

Topic Outline concepts, ideas, and key social scientists, including discussion of first and second written assignments

3-12

3:1A

4:1B

5:1C

6:1D

7:1E

8:1F

9:2A

10:2B

11:2D,E

12:2F,3A

2-6

2:1A-C

3:1D-F

4:2A-C

5:2D-F

6:3A

 

3-9

3:1A,B

4:1C,D

5:1E,F

6:2A,B

7:2C,D

8:2E,F

9:3A

3-9

3:1A,B

4:1C,D

5:1E,F

6:2A,B

7:2C,D

8:2E,F:9:3A

2-6

2:1A-C

3:1D-F

4:2A-C

5:2D-F

6:3A

2-8

2:1A,B

3:1C,D

4:1E,F

5:2A,B

6:2C,D

7:2E,F:9:8:3A

Designing a hands-on research project/exercise

13-19

 

7-10

 

9-15

 

9-14

 

6-10

 

8-14

 

Discuss 3rd  and 4th written assignments; evaluate census and other survey research data; class analyze each other's research instruments.

20-30

11-15

16-22

15-20

11-15

15-20

Tests and  Project submission

31

16

23

21

16

21

Discussion of Project findings and last late submissions

32

16

24

22

16

22

 

 

Readings

 

Texts and Resources

 

The textbook for this course is Social Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman.  An additional resource is my own essay, "Some Architects of  Sociology in Historical Perspective," which can be used on-line or downloaded from my website at  https://public.me.com/weiner18.  The major subject matter areas of social psychology set forth in the  Topic Outline (located near the end of this syllabus) can be also be found in most standard introductory social-psychology textbooks, and in other printed and on-line sources.   Two e-books available through ACCs  on-line resources are Social Psychology, by Kenneth Bordons, et. al., and The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychologoy. The ACC librarians are eager to assist students and provide excellent training in how to do use the on-line resources as well as to answer other questions concerning library research.

 

Another resource you'll find at my website  is the Booklist needed for Writing Assignment 3 (see below).  If you want to purchase a book, or order it through the ACC Library, I advise you to begin this process early.  Other materials found at my website will also serve as resources from time to time.  So spend some time looking over it. 

Course Subjects

LECTURE /DISCUSSION  TIMELINE

 

                           CLASSES

 

FOCUS

16 wk 2/wk

16wk

1/wk

12wk 2/wk

11 wk  2/wk

8 wk  2/wk

5.5wk

4/wk

Course process and syllabus

1-2

1

1-2

1-2

1

1

Topic Outline concepts, ideas, and key social scientists, including discussion of first and second written assignments

3-12

3:1A

4:1B

5:1C

6:1D

7:1E

8:1F

9:2A

10:2B

11:2D,E

12:2F,3A

2-6

2:1A-C

3:1D-F

4:2A-C

5:2D-F

6:3A

 

3-9

3:1A,B

4:1C,D

5:1E,F

6:2A,B

7:2C,D

8:2E,F

9:3A

3-9

3:1A,B

4:1C,D

5:1E,F

6:2A,B

7:2C,D

8:2E,F:9:3A

2-6

2:1A-C

3:1D-F

4:2A-C

5:2D-F

6:3A

2-8

2:1A,B

3:1C,D

4:1E,F

5:2A,B

6:2C,D

7:2E,F:9:8:3A

Designing a hands-on research project/exercise

13-19

 

7-10

 

9-15

 

9-14

 

6-10

 

8-14

 

Discuss 3rd  and 4th written assignments; evaluate census and other survey research data; class analyze each other's research instruments.

20-30

11-15

16-22

15-20

11-15

15-20

Tests and  Project submission

31

16

23

21

16

21

Discussion of Project findings and last late submissions

32

16

24

22

16

22

Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives

 

Class Structure and Organization

 

Our first goal shall be to explore some of the seminal theories, ideas, and methods of social psychology, and to meet the important men and women who made these contributions.  Next, we shall apply these theories, ideas and methods toward resolving questions of concern to our own small class-sized community, and others.  As required, additional insights from social science will be introduced, and sometimes we shall discover important questions not yet fully addressed by scholars.  In short, this class is designed to be intellectually challenging and hopefully very interesting.  Participation and engagement are extremely important.  This means arriving on time, staying for the entire period, taking notes and joining in class discussions.  It also means completing 4 short writing assignments by the final deadline dates indicated below (see the chart of Due Dates at the end of the syllabus).  Each of these assignments is designed to increase your skill at learning and applying ideas.  Each is pre-requisite for the one that follows.