Class Information Instructor Information
400:162g:01 Dr.
Helen C. Harton
Baker 315 Baker
357; 273-2235
W 6:00-8:50pm harton@uni.edu;
www.uni.edu/harton
Office Hours: Wed. 11-12, Fri. 2-4, and by appt.
Readings: There
are three books for this course as well as a readings packet available at Copy
Central in the library. We’ll read all of the first two books and most of the
third. The packet includes required and (some of the) optional readings.
Cialdini and P & A are reviews of research written in an engaging style by
well known social psychologists. Gladwell is a journalist who has covered
psychology for a number of years (and includes lots of psychological examples
in his book). The readings packet includes classic articles in the field as
well as more recent contributions.
Cialdini,
R. B. (2001). Influence: Science and practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn
& Bacon.
Gladwell, M. (2000). The
tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. New York:
Little, Brown, and Company.
Pratkanis, A.,
& Aronson, E.
(2000). Age of propaganda: The everyday use and abuse of persuasion
(revised ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman and Company.
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 experiments. In particular, we will explore
the social psychology of persuasion, propaganda, and influence, which has
implications for the workplace (motivating workers, selling your product), the
therapist’s office (influencing your clients to change their thoughts or
behaviors), the Capitol building (getting elected, selling your pet projects),
the living room (resisting the influence of the media), the Justice Office
(understanding terrorism and evil), and just about everywhere else.
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 attitude
change and social influence, including practical knowledge useful for your next
job interview, trip to the car lot, or romantic rendezvous;
2) 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;
3) knowledge about how to conduct a
psychological study from beginning to end;
4) knowledge about how and when to use
various computer programs, including Microsoft Excel and SPSS;
5) experience presenting research findings.
Course Requirements: There are two options for
how your grades will be computed in this class. You should let me know which
option you choose by October 2. Grad students should choose Option A.
Final exam 25% Final exam 30%
Individual presentation 15% Individual
presentation --
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 that you contribute each week. By 9:30 am on Wednesdays, you should deliver to me three or four good discussion questions on the readings for that day, preferably through e-mail, but notes in my box work just as well. 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
are allowed to 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
will also from time to time be other assignments that you should complete
before class and that will contribute to your discussion grade.
Final exam. You will have a final exam made up of essay questions. The test questions will cover information from the readings and class discussions. I will give you a longer list of questions from which the essay questions will be drawn a week before the exam.
Group project. You will be doing a group project in this course. There are two options for forming groups that we’ll discuss in class. Your group will work together to design a study on some aspect of influence, collect the data, analyze the data, and present the final product.
You will turn in a group research proposal (10-13 pages) in APA-style designed to test your hypothesis, including a review of relevant literature (using at least 5-7 references from scientific journal articles), your proposed method, expected results, and discussion. You will also turn in an IRB form based on your proposal in order to get university approval for the study. In both cases, you’ll have an opportunity to turn in a rough draft before the final draft is due. This portion of your project will be worth 50% of your group project grade.
After you’ve had the proposal approved (by me and then by the IRB), you will run the study, analyze the results, and create a poster presentation. This portion of your project will contribute 50% to your project grade.
In order to make sure that things are progressing regularly in your groups, one person from each group should check with me each week (or more often, if either of us thinks it’s necessary). This representative can either be the same person each week or a different person. There will be some time in class for group meetings, but you should plan to meet outside of class as well. Your grade in these components will be partially determined by the group project and partially determined by your group members' ratings of your contributions.
Individual presentation. In addition to becoming an “expert” in the area of your group project, you may also choose to become an expert in another area of the social psychology of influence. You will choose a topic that we haven’t covered in class and read several relevant articles. You will then present information/lead a discussion on your topic. You should turn in a one-page abstract and an APA-style bibliography with at least 5-8 scientific journal articles that you read carefully on the day of the presentation. (You don't have to include each of these articles in your presentation, but you should be knowledgeable about them should anyone ask.) You should also assign an article for the class to read about your topic at least one week ahead of time. Your presentation should include some class involvement and some presentation by you, but you can choose how much of each to include. Students receiving graduate credit for the course are required to do an individual presentation.
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 Policies” on pages 61-62 in the Student Handbook for more information.
Date |
Topic |
Additional assignments |
|
Aug.
28 |
What
are persuasion, propanganda, and influence? |
|
|
Sept.
4 |
Basic
persuasion techniques |
|
|
Sept.
11 |
Commitment,
consistency, and self-persuasion |
|
|
Sept.
18 |
Reciprocity
and liking |
Present
group project ideas to class. |
|
Sept.
25 |
Social
proof and the power of norms |
|
|
Oct.
2 |
Obedience
and scarcity |
Option
choice and presentation topic due. |
|
Oct.
9 |
Contagion,
rumor, and the lure of the media |
Final
drafts of IRB and proposals due. |
|
Oct.
16 |
Genes,
memes, and the evolution of culture |
IRBs
turned in by Fri. if changes needed. |
|
Oct.
23 |
Connectivity
and communication chains |
|
|
Oct.
30 |
Stickiness
and the power of the situation |
Begin
data collection if you haven’t already. |
|
Nov.
6 |
The
tipping point and resistance |
|
|
Nov.
13 |
The
dark side of influence |
All
data should be collected by this date. |
|
Nov.
20 |
FINAL
EXAM |
|
|
Dec.
4 |
Presentations |
|
|
Dec.
11 |
Presentations |
Display
rough drafts of posters. |
|
Dec.
18 |
Poster
session (5:00-6:50?) |
Final
drafts of posters due. |
Research topics to be discussed: 1) coming up with ideas and checking the literature; 2) conferences; 3) designing a questionnaire; 4) IRB forms and ethics; 5) recruiting participants; 6) entering data; 7) making graphs; 8) analyzing data; 9) making posters; 10) presenting research.