Class Information Instructor Information
PSYCH 3606/5606 Dr.
Helen C. Harton
Baker 315 Baker
357; 273-2235
W 6:30-9:20pm harton@uni.edu;
www.uni.edu/harton
Office Hours: Wed. and Fri. 11-11:50, Wed. 2-3, and by appt.
Readings: There are two books for this course as well as a
set of readings. All but a few of the readings are available online. Three
chapters that aren’t can be copied from books on reserve in the library (Handbook of theories of social psychology,
Volumes 1 and 2). The final reading not available online (Conway and Tetlock) will be sent out as a pdf.
Festinger, L., Riecken, H. W., & Schachter, S. (1956/2010). When prophesy fails. A social and psychological study of a modern group that predicted the destruction of the world. London: Pinter & Martin. (foreward by E. Aronson).
Haidt, J. (2012). The righteous mind: Why good people are
divided by politics and religion. New
York: Pantheon Books.
Course Description: Now that you
have a basic background in social psychology and research methods, this class
is designed to increase your knowledge about social psychology, increase your
ability to apply social psychology to your own life, and give you practice in
designing and running your own research. In particular, we will explore the
social psychology of ideology, elections, and false beliefs.
This
class is not one of those that you can come to once in a while and get the
notes from someone else; it will require work and responsibility on your part.
It is important that you do all the readings on time, reading them not just
cursorily, but critically. You will
also be expected to be actively involved in class discussions. This is a
seminar class, and productive class time demands prepared students who are
willing to share their thoughts. In return for your work, you will gain
1) a better
understanding of the correlates and effects of ideology on personality, mental
health, attitudes, and behaviors;
2) a better
understanding of why people believe what they do (even when it’s wrong);
3) insight into
factors that affect people’s ideologies and values;
4) an
appreciation of factors that influence voting outcomes;
5 a better understanding of research
methods and how to be a critical consumer of information, whether that
information is coming from a journal article or the local newspaper;
6) knowledge
about how to conduct and present psychological research;
Plagiarism and cheating. Plagiarism (using another’s words without quotation marks or ideas without citation) and cheating (including but not limited to using an assignment from another class to fulfill or partially fulfill one in this class and getting help on examinations from other students or from notes or books) will result, at a minimum, in a 0 on that assignment. See “Academic Ethics Policies” in the Student Handbook for more information.
Course Requirements:
Midterm exam 15%
Final exam 15%
Multimedia project 15%
Group project proposal 15%
Class discussion. Active class discussion is essential to the functioning of the class. You are expected to contribute meaningfully to class discussions. While mere attendance is not enough to get a good grade for this component, it is imperative in that you can’t participate if you’re not here. Participation in class discussion (frequency and quality) counts 50% toward this component.
Also included in the class discussion component will be the quality of discussion questions or points that you contribute each week. By noon on Tuesdays, you should email me three or four good discussion questions/points on the readings for that day (put “class questions” in the subject line). Questions should include some of your own opinions/thoughts in terms of why it is an interesting or important question. Discussion questions are worth 50% of your discussion grade.
Discussion and discussion questions will be graded on the following scale:
0 = not there
2 = attended but didn’t participate, or turned in, but not very relevant (below average)
3 = comments or questions relevant, but didn’t involve much insight (average)
4 = comments or questions relevant and insightful (good)
5 = more than one comment or question showed a significant contribution (excellent)
Because I realize some weeks will be more hectic for you than others, you
can drop two of your discussion grades. You could drop your two lowest class
discussion grades (though only one absence, for whatever reason, will be
dropped--missing more than one class will begin to hurt your grade), your two
lowest discussion question grades (here you could just not send questions two times
during the semester), or a combination of the two. There may also from time to
time be other assignments that you should complete before class (e.g., complete
a questionnaire, visit a website) that will contribute to your discussion
grade.
Exams. There will be two essay exams in the class.
Each will have 6-7 essay questions of which you will write on 4. These
questions will cover information from the readings and class discussions
throughout the semester. I will give you a longer list of questions from which
all the essay questions will be drawn at least a week before the exam.
Multimedia project. For this assignment, you will choose a
current ideological “hot button” topic (sign up at https://docs.google.com/a/uni.edu/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvGm2QdOV41CdDBsNEpRc2hYaE9DajFFSXZmVnZxU1E#gid=0)
and do a multimedia presentation (could be a video, or a powerpoint
with subtitles or background sound, etc.) that will be posted on a private youtube or google channel so
everyone in the class can see and comment on it. In the presentation (about 10
minutes), you should outline the arguments that liberals and conservatives (or
whomever the “sides” are) give for their positions and analyze those in terms
of the things you’ve been reading in class—why do they have different
viewpoints? Is there information that they are ignoring or misinterpreting?
Why? What is truth, and what is “false belief”? How do people see the “other
side”? Are there ways to reconcile or come to a middle ground? For this
assignment, you need to understand the arguments the sides give (get that
information from news stories, websites, etc.), evaluate the “truth” of both
sides (this will involve reading primary sources) and apply the information
from class to further elucidate those arguments, their motivations, and how
they fit with attitudes on other issues.
Group project. You will be doing a research project in this course. You can do the project
alone or in small groups of 2 or 3. Your group will work together to design a
study on some aspect of ideology, morality psychology, or political psychology,
collect the data, analyze the data, and present the final product in class. The
project needs to potentially advance our understanding of ideology, elections,
or false beliefs, be situated in the literature, and be well designed and
carried out. The project should be different from any paper or study you’ve
previously written or research you’re involved in outside of class. All group
members should be involved in all parts of the study (e.g., literature review,
data collection, analysis, presentation).
You will turn in an IRB form
for your study (whether you need IRB review or not—it allows me to evaluate and
approve the study). In the IRB form, you need to give expanded information for
the first set of questions, including at least 5-7 references from scientific
journal articles explaining how your study fits with previous research. You
also need to have a clear and detailed method description.
After you’ve had the
proposal approved (by me and then by the IRB), you will run the study, analyze
the results, and present it to the class (about a 15 minute Powerpoint
presentation, with 5 minutes for questions). I highly recommend that you stay
in close contact with me about your ideas and progress as the study goes on. I
can also help you with the statistics and presentation of results.
There will be very little
time in class for group meetings, so you should plan to mainly meet outside of
class. Your grade on these components will be partially determined by the
project and partially determined by your group members' ratings of your
contributions (if applicable). Basically, your group’s evaluations of you could
raise or lower your personal grade from the group grade.
Class Schedule
August
22. Why do we hold false beliefs?
Classic approaches
Lord, C. G., Ross, L., & Lepper,
M. R. (1979). Biased assimilation and attitude polarization: The effects of
prior theories on subsequently considered evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 2098-2109. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.11.2098
Heath, C., Bell, C., &
Sternberg, E. (2001). Emotional
selection in memes: The case of urban legends. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1028-1041. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.1028
*Come to class
with an example of a belief that many people hold that’s false
August
29. Why do we hold false beliefs?
Cognitive dissonance
Festinger et al. book: foreward
and first 4 chapters
Cooper, J. (2012). Cognitive
dissonance theory. In P. A. M. Van Lange, A. W. Kruglanski,
& E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of
theories of social psychology, Volume 1 (pp. 377-397).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
*Come to class
with an example of cognitive dissonance (personal, or from the news) that’s not
in the readings
September
5. How do people deal with their
beliefs being threatened?
Festinger et al. book: last 4 chapters and epilogues
Greenberg, J., & Arndt,
J. (2012). Terror management theory. In P. A. M. Van Lange, A. W. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology,
Volume 1 (pp. 398-415). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
*Come to class
with an example of a group whose beliefs or identity were threatened and how
they responded
September
12. How do people get their
ideologies?
Jost, J. T., & Amodio, D. M. (2012). Political ideology as motivated social
cognition: Behavioral and neuroscientific evidence. Motivation and Emotion, 36, 55-64. doi:10.1007/s11031-011-9260-7
Hatemi, P. K., Funk, C. L., Medland,
S. E., Maes, H. M., Silberg,
J. L., Matin, N. G., et al. (2009). Genetic and environmental transmission of political attitudes over a life time. The Journal of Politics, 71, 1141-1156. doi:10.1017/S0022381609090938
Kandler, C., Wiebke,
B., & Riemann, R. (2012). Left or right? Sources of political
orientation: The roles of genetic factors, cultural transmission, assortative mating, and personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 633-645. doi:10.1037/a0025560
September
19. How do liberals and conservatives
differ?
Jost, J. T., Glaser, J., Kruglanski, A. W., & Sulloway,
F. J. (2003). Political
conservatism as motivated social cognition. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 339-375. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.339
Schlenker, B. R., Chambers, J. R.,
& Le, B. M. (2012).
Conservatives are happier than liberals, but why? Political
ideology, personality, and life satisfaction. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 127-146. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2011.12.009
September
26. Do liberals and conservatives
think in different ways?
Federico, C. M., Deason,
G., & Fisher, E. L. (2012). Ideological asymmetry in the relationship between epistemic
motivation and political attitudes.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, online posting. doi:10.1037/a0029063
Conway, L. G. III, Suedfeld, P., & Tetlock, P.
E. (2001). Integrative complexity and
political decisions that lead to war or peace. In D. J. Christie, R. V. Wagner, & D.
D. N. Winter (Eds.), Peace, conflict, and
violence: Peace psychology for the 21st century (pp. 66-75).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
*Proposal due
October
3. Do liberals and conservatives
think about things in different ways?
Nail, P. R., Harton, H. C.,
& Decker, B. P. (2003). Political orientation and modern versus aversive
racism: Tests of Dovidio and Gaertner’s
integrated model. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 84, 754-770. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.754
Morgan, G. S., Mullen, E.,
& Skitka, L. J. (2010). When values and attributions collide:
Liberals’ and conservatives’ values motivate attributions for alleged misdeeds.
Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, 36, 1241-1254. doi:
10.1177/0146167210380605
October 10. Exam 1
October
17. Are we motivated to believe
certain things?
Taber, C. S., Cann, D.,
& Kucsova, S. (2009). The
motivated processing of political arguments. Political Behavior, 31, 137-155. doi: 10.1007/s11109-008-9075-8
Jost, J. T., & van der Toorn, J. (2012). System justification theory. In P. A. M. Van
Lange, A. W. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology,
Volume 2 (pp. 313-343). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
October
24. How does morality fit in?
Haidt book: first 4 chapters
*Go to yourmorals.org and do
the moral foundations questionnaire (before starting to read the book)
*Come to class with an
example of a moral issue that seems to be automatic
October
31. How does morality intersect with
politics?
Haidt book:
next 4 chapters
November
7. Why do our moral beliefs lead to
dissention?
Haidt book: last 4 chapters
Critiques and
other views (*read and be prepared to discuss at least one critique or
alternative explanation),
November
14. How does the
media affect our beliefs?
Feldman, L. (2011). Partisan differences in
opinionated news perceptions: A test of the hostile media effect. Political Behavior, 33, 407-432. doi:10.1007/s11109-010-9139-4
Hopkins, D. J., & Ladd, J. M.
(2012). The Consequences of Broader Media Choice: Evidence from the Expansion of
Fox News.
*Read another
article on the media (including internet, blogs, etc.) and political attitudes
or behavior and summarize it informally in class (be able to answer questions
about it too)
November 21. No class (Thanksgiving break)
November
28. Automatic effects on voting
behavior
Payne, B. K. Krosnick,
J. A., Pasek, J., Lelkes,
Y., Omair, A., & Tompson,
T. (2010). Implicit
and explicit prejudice in the 2008 American presidential election. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,
46, 367-374. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.11.001
Carter, T. J., Ferguson, M. J.,
& Hassin, R. R. (2011). A single exposure to the American flag shifts support toward Republicanism up
to 8 months later. Psychological Science,
22, 1011-1028. doi:10.1177/0956797611414726
*Multimedia
example due.
December 5. Exam 2
December 11. (6:30-8:30pm) Group
presentations and discussion of multimedia examples (watch all of them before
class and add comments online)