SUNY Buffalo
State
Sociology 330: Social Psychology
Spring Semester 2015 Syllabus
Dr. ZHANG Jie
Course Call No.: 2916
Class Place: Classroom
Building B332
Class Time: 4:30pm –
5:45pm Tuesday and Thursday
Office Location: Classroom
Building B312
Office Phone: 878-6425
Office Hours: 2:00pm – 3:00pm
TR or by appointment
PURPOSE
OF THE COURSE
This course is designed to introduce
students to the field of social psychology, which is defined as "an
attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of
individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of
others." Through extensive readings, intensive lectures, and organized discussions,
you will learn how human beings as "social animals" are influenced by
social forces. Towards the end of the course, you will be able to better
understand interpersonal relations in your life and why some people do things
you think crazy. You will also be able to explain many other social phenomena
with the major theories you will have acquired in the class. Specifically, all
students by end of the course should understand (1) the language and role of the discipline
in contributing to our knowledge of social reality, and (2) the methods and
procedures used to conduct social scientific inquiry.
TEXTBOOK
Aronson, Elliot, Timothy D. Wilson, and Robin M. Akert. 2010. Social Psychology (7th Edition). New York: Prentice Hall.
In addition to the above textbook, some course related information such as study guides and this syllabus is available on the course's website http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/zhangj.
READING
ASSIGNMENTS
Reading the textbook is a must to earn a grade for this course. You are promised to have no busy work beyond reading this text, which is the only homework (besides writing a term paper and preparing for exams) you are required to do. I will occasionally check your reading by randomly picking up one or more of you to answer questions before I start to lecture. Your efforts in answering the questions are considered to be part of your participation of the class.
EXAMINATIONS
There will be four major exams, three during the course and one final. All exams contain multiple-choice questions and will be given on the days indicated in the course schedule. Each of the first three exams has only 50 multiple-choice questions. The final exam consists of 80 multiple-choice questions that cover the material since and before the third exam. You will be provided with a study guide on the courses’ website http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/zhangj prior to each exam. No early exams are allowed for any reason. If you have to miss an exam, you need to provide me before the exam with some written document as your excuse. If you want to make up the missed exam, it may be available on the last day of classes. As the instructor, I reserve the right to refuse any make-ups not approved in advance and to give you a "0" for that test. In other cases, even if the make-up was approved in advance, the instructor reserves the right to reduce your score for that test by 10 to 15 points if your reasons and/or the documentation are not satisfactory.
TERM
PAPER AND PRESENTATION
Each student is required to write a term paper on a subject given by the instructor during the course. The whole paper should be no longer than 10 double-spaced pages. More information about the format of the term paper is provided on another page of this syllabus. You will be given a chance to present your paper in class. Using at most five minutes, you will talk about the most interesting part of your paper in your own words. This presentation is considered to be part of your participation.
CLASSROOM
ENVIRONMENT
The relationship between the instructor and students is based on mutual respect. My job is to teach the course by making it as interesting as possible and help you earn a highest grade you deserve. Your duties as students include reading the textbook, attending classes, taking notes, participating in classroom discussion, writing a term paper, and taking exams. Classroom courtesy is expected of everyone in the class. Talking without permission from the instructor, reading newspapers or other materials, using cell phone and laptop for internet, doing homework, sleeping, packing up before the instructor dismisses the class, and etc. are not courteous behaviors in this class. Classroom behavior is considered to be part of your participation.
ATTENDANCE
AND CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION
A good or perfect attendance record, productive participation, and courteous behaviors in classroom will help you improve your final grade. You are discouraged to miss classes. However, there are no points deducted from your final score if you have missed two or less classes in the semester. From the third class you have missed, each one will cost you three percent of your final score (final percentage). Coming late or leaving early is also discouraged. If you have committed to this class this semester, do not schedule anything, such as doctor’s appointment, academic advisement, etc. for the class time. Each coming late or each leaving early will be counted as ˝ missing. As for missing classes, you do not have to present to me any excuses. All students are treated equally. For these purposes, you are asked to sit through the semester at the same place you chose at beginning, and the class roll is taken in each class period.
GRADING
The final course grade will be based
on 330 possible points:
Exam 1 = 50 Exam 2 = 50 Exam 3 =
50 Final = 80
Participation = 50 Term Paper = 50
Grades will be assigned using the following percentage scale:
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A = 94 - 100 |
A- = 90 - 93 |
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B+ = 87 - 89 |
B = 84 - 86 |
B- = 80 - 83 |
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C+ = 77 - 79 |
C = 74 - 76 |
C- = 70 - 73 |
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D+ = 65 - 69 |
D = 60 - 64 |
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E = 0 - 59 |
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If you score a certain percentage, you will be ensured to get a grade corresponding to that percentage. If you did not score a percentage you desired, you still have chance to improve your grade by showing me that you are working hard and making progress in the course. NOTE: The policies and schedule for this class are subject to change in accordance with circumstances that may change in the quarter.
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TOPIC |
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Chapter |
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Week 1 |
Jan. |
27 |
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Introduction to the course |
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Introduction to Social Psychology |
1 |
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29 |
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The Social Influence |
1 |
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Week 2 |
Feb. |
3 |
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Methods in Social Psychology |
2 |
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5 |
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Social Psychology in Action |
2 |
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Week 3 |
10 |
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory |
6 |
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12 |
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Attribution Theory: Explaining Behaviors |
4 |
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Week 4 |
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17 |
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Presidents’ Day Recess (No Class) |
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19 |
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Exam #1 |
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Week 5 |
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24 |
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Self |
5 |
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26 |
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Self Awareness |
5 |
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Week 6 |
Mar. |
3 |
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Group Dynamics |
8 |
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5 |
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Informational Social Influence |
8 |
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Week 7 |
10 |
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Normative Social Influence |
8 |
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12 |
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Attitudes |
7 |
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Week 8 |
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17 |
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Attitude Change |
7 |
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19 |
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Exam #2 |
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Week 9 |
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24 |
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Spring Recess (No Class) |
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26 |
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Spring Recess (No Class) |
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Week 10 |
31 |
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Group Dynanics |
9 |
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Apr. |
2 |
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Social Groups |
9 |
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Week 11 |
7 |
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Social Attraction |
10 |
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9 |
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About Beauty |
10 |
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Week 12 |
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14 |
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Altruism |
11 |
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16 |
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Exam #3 |
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Week 13 |
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21 |
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Aggression |
12 |
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23 |
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Racial and Ethnic Relations |
12 |
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Week 14 |
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28 |
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Health and Environment |
Action 1,2 |
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30 |
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Term Paper Presentation (Paper Due) |
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Week 15 |
May |
5 |
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Term Paper Presentation |
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7 |
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Last Day of Class: Overall Review |
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Week 16 |
Thursday |
14 |
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Final
Examination: 5:40pm – 7:30pm |
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GENERAL
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TERM PAPER
Sociology 330: Social Psychology
I. Title Page: (5%): This page consists
of the title of the paper, the writer's name, course number, section number,
professor's name, and the date.
II. Outline and thesis statement: (10%): The
thesis statement is a paragraph consisting of one or two sentences pointing out
the thesis of the paper. The outline of the paper follows immediately after the
thesis statement. The two parts should appear on the same one page, with the
title of the paper at top of it.
III. First Page of the Text: (5%): The title of the paper should appear again on top of the first page of the text exactly as on the title page and outline page.
IV. Text: (5%): The whole paper including the title page, outline page, the text, and references should be typed and on one side of the paper only. The text should be double-spaced and confined to seven pages in length.
V. References: (10%): All authors you have cited should be given credit, first in the text by putting the last name followed by the publication year in parentheses, and then in a list of references that appears at the end of the paper. You can use any format in references as long as you keep consistent.
VI. Page number: (5%): The page number should be put either at center bottom position or on the right upper corner of each page. No page number should be put on the title page or the outline page. If you decide to have the number on the right upper corner, the number on the first page is omitted.
VII. Organization: (10%): The text of the paper should consist at least of three parts: (1) introduction, (2) body, and (3) conclusion. In the introduction, you tell what your study is, why your study is important, and the hypothesis statement. Then in the body part of the paper, you develop your analysis or argument with or without literature review, empirical evidence or your personal observations to test your hypothesis. The conclusion part should include a brief summary of the study, and send a signal of ending for the paper.
VIII. Content: (50%): The content of the paper is both specified in the syllabus and discussed during the course.
NOTE: Plagiarism will cause a failure
of the course.