Download a PDF of the Syllabus

ΨB10: Social Psychology

Fall 2009

General Course Information

Lecture Times:

Wednesdays, 10 am - 11 am

Fridays, 10 am - 12 noon

Also available online as a WebOption course: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/psyb10/lectures.html

Lecture Location:

Academic Centre (AC) 223

Textbook:

Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Fehr, B. (2007). Social Psychology, 4th Canadian Edition. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Canada.

Textbook Course Reserve:

8 copies of the textbook will be available for short-term use through the UTSC Library course reserves, call number: HM251 .A793 2010

Course Website with WebOption Lectures:

http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/psyb10

Exams (2 Midterms, 1 Final):

Midterm 1: Week of Wednesday, October 14th - Saturday, October 17th

Midterm 2: Week of Saturday, November 7th - Saturday, November 14th

Final Exam: TBA by UTSC Registrar, sometime between 12/07 - 12/18

Professor:

Dr. Elizabeth Page-Gould

Office:

Science Research Building (SY) 169

Office Hours

Wednesdays, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Email:

elizabeth.page-gould@utsc.utoronto.ca

Office Phone:

(416) 208-2795

Teaching Assistants:

Michelle HilscherAlexa Tullett
Email: hilscher@utsc.utoronto.caEmail: alexa.tullett@utoronto.ca

Optional Weekly Q&A Review:

Wednesdays, 1 - 2 pm in Bladen Wing (BV) 363, beginning 9/16

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Course Description

Social psychology is the study of social processes: How the presence of others affects the way we think, feel, and behave. This course will provide a high-level introduction to the fascinating field of social psychology. Social psychologists rely on scientific methods to discover how social animals (e.g., humans, non-human primates, monkeys, birds, etc) are affected by groups, collectives, and affiliative bonds. We will begin with social cognition, which focuses on how information about the social world - including ourselves - is perceived, stored, accessed, and applied. Next, we will move to some of the oldest questions in social psychology: Attitudes, persuasion, conformity, dissent, and the power of group situations. We will then turn to interpersonal processes, with an emphasis on emotion, initial attraction, and close relationships. We will close with one of the most dynamic and widely researched areas: Prosocial behaviour, aggression, and prejudice/intergroup relations.

You will be presented with many research studies that have changed what we know about humans and other social animals. The methods of these studies will broadly include self-report, behavioural, cognitive, psychophysiological, and neuroscientific methods. You are strongly encouraged to evaluate the methods and implications of these studies critically so that you will come to think like a modern social psychologist.

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Course Resources

Course Website and Online Lectures. The course website will be your one-stop resource for all course documents, lectures, announcements, and supplementary information. Lecture notes (PDF copies of the powerpoint slides) will be posted on the website at least 24 hours prior to the lecture. WebOption lectures will be posted on the course website within 6 - 48 hours after the lecture. You are highly advised to familiarize yourself with the website and its contents, as well as check on pages like the "Announcements" and "FAQ" pages regularly.

Textbook. The 4th Canadian Edition of the Aronson et al. Social Psychology textbook is an up-to-date version of the most widely used textbook in social psychology. You can purchase the textbook directly from the UTSC Bookstore, or you can purchase an electronic copy for 35% of the price of the hardcover textbook at http://www.coursesmart.com/0136089739. Eight copies of the 4th Edition Aronson et al. text are on course reserves at the UTSC Library under call number HM251 .A793 2010. Therefore, if you cannot purchase the 4th Canadian Edition of the Aronson et al. text, then there are a number of other options available for you to complete the assigned reading. You may not use an older version of the textbook. If you use any other version of the textbook, then you are solely responsible for any mistakes or loss in marks that are incurred.

iClicker. iClicker will be used to take quick polls and illustrate a number of social psychological principles. The iClicker is available through the UTSC bookstore for $35, and will be used by instructors over your entire student career at UTSC. If you have already purchased an iClicker, please bring it with you to class. If you have not purchased one yet, please consider getting one, because it works in all UTSC courses and can be sold back to the UTSC Bookstore when you graduate. iClicker will not factor into your grade.

Optional Weekly Q&A Review Sessions. The Teaching Assistants will be holding optional weekly review sessions on Wednesdays from 1 - 2 pm in BV 363. The format of these weekly review sessions will be question-and-answer about course material covered in the past week, such that you must come with questions about the material from the previous two lectures in order to get something out of the weekly Q&A review. The TAs will answer your questions for everyone to hear. If no one comes with any questions, then the TAs will not provide any review. This weekly Q&A review session is purely optional. Individual attendance will not be recorded and will not factor into your grade.

How to Get Help with the Course. First, check this syllabus; you will find the answer to almost all procedural questions here. If you have a question that cannot be answered by this syllabus, check the "FAQ" on the course website, which will be consistently updated with answers to many conceptual and procedural questions. If this does not answer your question, then decide if the question is conceptual or procedural. Conceptual questions are best answered during the TAs' weekly Q&A review or the professor's office hours. If you have other questions, feel free to email either TA or the professor. The professor will return your email in a reasonably timely fashion Monday through Friday, but the fastest way to find your answer will be the FAQ.

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Course Requirements/Marking

Exams. There will be 3 non-cumulative exams, two midterms and one final, over the course of the semester. Each midterm is worth 30% of your grade, and the final is worth 40%. The exams will be about 85% multiple choice and 15% matching. Exams will test material covered during the lectures and assigned readings since the previous exam. Midterm 1 will cover Lectures 1 - 7, Midterm 2 will cover Lectures 8 - 15 (excluding Lecture 9), and the Final exam will cover Lectures 16 - 22. A topic-based review sheet and a few example test questions will be posted on the "Exams" page of the course website no less than 1-week prior to each exam. If you want to contest any part of your mark on a midterm exam, then you must do so within one week of receiving your mark. Absolutely no changes to marks will be made more than 1 week after an exam is returned.

This is a very large lecture course and it is WebOptioned. As such, we cannot have the exams in this classroom, so the date and time of exams are determined by the UTSC Registrar. The dates, times, and locations for the midterm exams will be announced at least one week before Midterm 1 in lecture, on the course website and intranet, and through an email announcement. Refer to any one of these sources for midterm information.

Missed Exams. According to University policy, you may miss one of the exams if you are unable to take the regularly scheduled exam for a number of legitimate reasons. If we determine that you have a good reason, then your final exam mark will be expanded to cover your missed course mark (i.e., your final exam will be worth 70% of your final mark). You will need to obtain verifiable documentation of the reason for missing the exam, and contact the TAs or Professor immediately. Unless the reason for missing the exam is an unforeseen emergency that occurs within 24 hours of the midterm, then you must notify us more than 24 hours before the start of the midterm in order to be eligible for the altered marking scheme. In the case of a same-day emergency, you must submit an official U of T medical certificate unless you have flu-like symptoms (please see the H1N1 section below). If you must miss the final exam, then you will need to contact the UTSC Registrar's Office, as we are not authorized to handle changes to the final exam schedule.

Extra Credit. You will be able to earn up to 2% extra credit on your final course mark. The details of the extra credit assignment will be described in the first lecture (9/11). For the extra credit, you will analyse the behaviour and success of contestants on "Battle of the Blades" which is a new reality TV show produced by the CBC this fall. First, you will watch the season premiere on October 4th, and make predictions about which pair of contestants will be eliminated each show. You must submit your elimination slate through blackboard no later than 10/10. Then, you must watch the show every week until its completion on November 16th to observe the contestants' behaviour, developing relationships, and see who is eliminated each week. Every week for the 7 weeks after the premiere, you must submit a short (1-2 paragraph) analysis that applies concepts you have learned in class to the contestants' performance and your elimination predictions. You will earn 0 to 2 points on your final mark based on the quality and quantity of the weekly analyses you submit. Any weekly analysis that does not apply a concept from class to that week's show will not be counted as a submission. Submitting less than 3 weekly analyses will receive no extra credit, submitting between 3 - 5 will receive 1% extra credit, and submitting 6 - 7 will receive the full 2% extra credit. Your final mark will be calculated from the exams as described above in the "Exams" subsection, and then you will have 0%, 1%, or 2% added based on your extra credit assignment.

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Accessibility

Everyone with a love of learning is a welcome member of this class, and we strive to provide an equal playing field for students with diverse learning styles and needs. Please contact the AccessAbility office as soon as possible if you need any form of accommodation. They will provide confidential services that include flexible, personalized solutions for test-taking, note-taking, and the like. The AccessAbility office is located in SW302 and can be emailed at: ability@utsc.utoronto.ca

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Academic Integrity

This classroom is built on mutual respect for each other and for the opportunities we have all been given by our higher education. As such, I will assume that you take great pride in your integrity and would not engage in academic dishonesty. However, in the rare cases of substantial evidence that the University of Toronto's Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters (Section B) has been compromised, then I will enact the procedures outlines in Section C of the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. First, I will invite you to discuss the possible offence through an email invitation. If our discussion leads me to believe that you have not compromised the code, then the matter will be dropped. If either you fail to respond to two requests for this discussion or new evidence comes to light, then a formal investigation will be initiated.

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H1N1 Preparedness

This year, U of T is planning ahead to minimize the impact of H1N1 on the campus community. As such, if you feel sick, you should not come to class. All lectures are WebOptioned and will remain online until the final exam, so you will not miss anything by not attending a lecture. If you must miss an exam due to the flu, then email us immediately. Seven to fourteen days after the assignment, you must bring a formal written statement declaring that you had flu-like symptoms and could not attend. Please sign this statement.

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