• to introduce you to the perspectives, topics, and methods of social psychology;
• to help you develop an appreciation for social psychology's central theme: the power of the situation;
• to foster your critical thinking skills in general;
• and, to help you learn to cultivate skill at analyzing complex social events.

For our class to be an interesting and worthwhile experience, its important that you:
• Attend class and do all of the assignments and readings for the days they are due.
• Think critically about the readings and concepts: What are their implications? What questions do they raise? Do the readings agree with your observations or personal experience (if not, why)?
• Be aware that class lectures and activities are meant to supplement the text and additional readings. As such, class topics may often overlap with reading material, but may also cover entirely unique material. EVERYTHING, even assigned readings not covered in class, is fair game for the course exams. You are also responsible for material covered in classes you miss.
• Actively participate during class. I would like for there to be a substantial component of the course that involves active discussions. Feel free to interrupt me, challenge me, bring interesting examples in, and otherwise make your voice heard. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn as much as possible and to have (intellectual) fun!

• Gilovich, Keltner, Nisbett (2010).  Social Psychology, 2nd Edition. W.W. Norton & Company. Available in the bookstore. The book is also available in hardcover, three-hole punch loose leaf, or e-book.  See http://books.wwnorton.com/books/978-0-393-93258-4/  for more information. I will also place a copy of the book on reserve at the library.
• Supplemental Readings will be available via Moodle.

• Study Guide: If the bookstore runs out of copies, request that they order it for you. Note that some, but not all, of the Study Guide materials are available for free on the textbook's companion web site: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/psych/social-psych2/ (Choose a chapter at the top of the page, then follow the menu on the right margin.)

Your grade will be determined by your performance on each of the following:

• 60%  Two Exams
• 10%    Blog Report
• 30%    Apply It! Exercises
• Two Study LOC Requirement

*Note: You will not receive an "A" or equivalent on any homework assignment or paper that has more than three grammatical, formatting, punctuation or other syntax errors. Common errors are failing to follow assignment directions, failure to properly cite your sources, noun-verb agreement, a confusion of "then" and "than," and failure to use apostrophes appropriately. Proof-read and spell check everything you hand in and work on these basic writing skills. Remember there are writing tutors at the Writing Center who can help (as can I). If you are working regularly with a writing tutor (or me) and I have documentation of this, I will be more lenient.

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Exams (60% total)
There will be 2 exams in the course. Each exam will have 40 multiple choice questions sampling from the topics addressed in-class, from the textbook, and from supplementary readings and activities. You should note that I like to ask questions that require you to apply theories and terms.

Blog Reports (10 possible points; 10% total)
This assignment has 2 purposes: (1) to introduce you to some interesting blog sites; and (2) to expose you to a social psychological analysis of current events.

At the beginning of the semester, you will be assigned to one general topic areas from the following list: 

• culture & the self
• self-esteem
• cognitive dissonance
• conformity
• obedience
• fundamental attribution error or  self-fulfilling prophecy
• aggression
• altruism
• morality/justice/cooperation
• stereotyping & prejudice 

For your topic area, you should search or browse through entries from the blogs listed below, and find an interesting, relevant entry that relates to the material in the textbook and/or lecture.  Please note that some entries explicitly mention social psychology concepts and explain, in full, how they apply. These are fine to use, but if your report simply regurgitates the blog's concept application without providing any additional analysis, it will be impossible for me to judge the depth of your understanding (and your score will reflect that).  You also want to avoid making an inaccurate or weak application just to get the assignment done.  So, your choice of blog entry matters, and the best entry may not be the first one you come across. It will be worth your time to do a bit of exploring and reading before choosing an entry.

For the entry you choose, write a report explaining: 1) the most important or interesting points from the blog entry; 2) what textbook or lecture concept(s) it addresses - making sure to fully elaborate why and how the concept fits with the material in the blog; and, 3) why it is interesting to you. Time allowing, you will also deliver a very brief (3-5 minute) report to the class.

Reports that receive the full 10 points will be insightful, thorough, accurate, well-reasoned and well-supported by evidence from the blog, your text, lecture and/or supplementary readings. Short, superficial responses that convey little understanding of the material will receive 0 points. Your score will also depend upon your success in writing clearly (which is accomplished by revising your original draft several times), spell-checking AND proof-reading. I estimate that, in order to have all of the excellent qualities listed above, a blog report would need to be at least 2-3 double-spaced pages.

When you refer to information you learned from your textbook or a supplemental reading in your report, please cite the source following these instructions linked here.  You can cite your textbook for all lecture material. Also, please include a link to the blog in the assignment. Please proof-read, spell-check, double-space, use 1" margins and Times New Roman 12 point font. You will submit your completed document to me via Moodle (see below). Carefully read and follow the instructions about naming your file.

Choose an entry from one of the following blogs:

• Social Psychology Eye: http://socialpsychologyeye.wordpress.com/
• The Situationist - dedicated to entries exploring situational forces: http://thesituationist.wordpress.com/
• PSYBlog - general scientific psychology:  http://www.spring.org.uk/
• Mind Matters: http://bigthink.com/blogs/Mind-Matters
• The Frontal Cortex - emphasis on neuroscience: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/frontal-cortex/
• Psychology Today Blogs: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog

Apply It! Exercises (90 points possible; 30% total)

The exams will test the breadth of what you are learning, and these Apply It! Exercises will test the depth of your understanding of specific concepts. Most of the exercises are from your textbook's web site, and feature links to a video or article, followed by one or more questions to answer. See the Course Schedule for details on which exercises to complete and when they are due.

Each answer can be awarded up to 5 points. Responses that receive the full 5 points will be insightful, thorough, well-reasoned and well-supported by evidence from the link, your text, lecture and/or supplementary readings. Short, superficial responses that convey little understanding of the material will receive 0 points. Your score will also depend upon your success in writing clearly (which is accomplished by revising your original draft several times), spell-checking AND proof-reading. The questions will require answers of varying lengths, so the important thing is to consider whether or not you are being sufficiently thorough and incorporating information from the sources mentioned above. Remember that the goal of these exercises is to apply (make use of) what you are learning.

When you refer to information you learned from your textbook or a supplemental reading in your responses, please cite the source following these instructions linked here.  You can cite your textbook for all lecture material.   Although the web page provides a fill-in form for your answers, their "submit" feature is not functioning properly.  So, you will need to type your responses. Please proof-read, spell-check, double-space, use 1" margins and Times New Roman 12 pt font. You will submit your completed document to me via Moodle (see below). Carefully read and follow the instructions about naming your file.

Two Study Research Requirement
Research is the foundation of the information you learn in class and being an active participant in this arena allows you to better understand the field of psychology. Therefore, the Psychology Department has adopted a policy for its courses that requires students to interact with psychological research inside and outside of the classroom. You may satisfy the research requirement for this course in one of two ways:

(a) Give back to the research community by signing up to participate in two studies being conducted by psychology peers and faculty members. You can find studies which qualify for this requirement by looking on the Research Board just outside the Psychology Department Office (Moyer 227). Sign-up sheets are posted throughout the semester, but most studies are posted beginning mid-semester and ending about 3 weeks before the last day of classes. You will receive a stamp on the Research Card I will hand out to you for each study you participate in, and you will turn in your card near the end of the semester. Please visit the LOC web page for more information about this requirement, and for FAQ (e.g., "What do I do if I lose my Research Card?").

(b) An important ethical principle in psychology is that all participants be volunteers; thus, it is important for you to know that you do not have to be a participant in a research study to fulfill this requirement.  If you do not wish to be a participant, or if you cannot find sign-up times that match your schedule, you may do an alternative assignment to fulfill this requirement. This assignment will involve reading about studies and producing a brief written-report about the topic and methodology of the study. If you wish to do the alternative assignment, please contact me.

Failure to complete this requirement, in its entirety, will result in a 5% deduction in your final course grade.


Course Grades will be assigned as follows:

Extraordinary:   A+ (98-100%); A (93-97%); A- (90-92%)
Extraordinary work is accurate, precise, thorough, and demonstrates a particularly sophisticated (high-level) understanding of the course material.

Good:   B+ (88-89%); B (83-87%); B- (80-82%)
Good work is, on the whole, accurate and precise.  It may lack sophistication, but it demonstrates a solid and comprehensive understanding of the course material.

Satisfactory:   C+ (78-79%); C (73-77%); C- (70-72%)
Satisfactory work may include inaccuracies, a lack of precision or sophistication; however, it demonstrates basic, sufficient understanding of the course material.

Poor:    D (60-69%)
Poor work is work that is inaccurate, imprecise and unsophisticated. Although some learning of the material may be evident, the overall result fails to reflect even a basic understanding.

Failing:   F (< 60%)
Failing work, on the whole, is inaccurate, imprecise, and does not provide sufficient evidence of any learning of the course material.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

E-mail, Moodle and Class Web Page

You are responsible for maintaining a functioning e-mail account - preferably the account the college provided to you. Check your e-mail often. Be sure the address you use for your Moodle account is accurate and functioning. If you wish to send me e-mail, please note that I have spam-protection software which may automatically delete your message if you are using a domain other than muhlenberg.edu.

Moodle is an on-line program similar to Blackboard that I will be using to distribute presentation slides and some course readings. Here are instructions for accessing Moodle:

• Go to http://moodle.muhlenberg.edu
  
• If necessary, click "Login" at the top right of the page.
  
• Look at the column labeled "Is this your first time here?"
  
• Follow the instructions provided.
  
  • (Fill out the New Account information; check your e-mail and click on the link Moodle sends you; look through all of the Muhlenberg College courses - look under "Psychology" to find Social Psychology and select it)
    
• The enrolment key is cwfa10

Note the three main sections I am using are Announcements, Course Readings and Assignments

Note: You must also check the class web site regularly for schedule revisions, assignments, etc. (http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/psychology/cwolfe/PSY202/PSY202.htm)

Sustainability Practices

I encourage you to print all assignments or readings double-sided or print on the back of scrap paper. I encourage you to use whatever practices you can to reduce the amount of paper used on campus. Please also remember to recycle discarded paper AND to consider placing usable, one-sided discards in a scrap pile next to public printers so that others may also re-use paper. The printers in Moyer Hall may be loaded with scrap paper already; this practice is encouraged. Also note that Muhlenberg now uses single-stream recycling. Thus, you can put cans, bottles, and paper in any recycling bin you see.

Teaching Philosophy

I want you to learn about psychology, and grow to love learning. I'll do my best to facilitate that. Please remember, however, that how much you get out of this class (or any class), is largely up to you. With respect to grading and assignments, I try to treat students fairly and provide as much information as I can regarding grading criteria, expectations and deadlines; I am also very strict regarding these issues. I will do my best to assist you but you must alert me to potential problems early on and stick to any alternate plans we make. I’m happy to discuss ideas, or review outlines or drafts for any assignment. I’m also happy to help you prepare for tests or double check your understanding of the material. Please remember I can be much more flexible if you discuss problems with me before an assignment is due - not at the moment or after it is due. Please keep me informed of ways I can help you get as much as you would like to out of this class. I’d like this class to be a positive experience for each of you!

Late Assignment Policy

• Assignments are due at the beginning of our class meeting on the due date. After that point, the clock starts at 1 day late.
• Except in the case of documented emergency situations:
  • Your grade will be lowered by 1 letter grade each day an assignment is late.
  • I will not give credit for any assignment more than 5 days late.
  • Missing any quiz, exam, or in-class presentation appearance will result in a zero for that assignment.
• If you have a documented emergency and you contact me as soon as humanly possible about a missed test, you will be allowed to take a (different and more difficult) make-up during finals week. Also, contact me immediately about missed assignments and we will make arrangements.
• "A Virus Ate My Homework” ~ "My Internet is Broken" Computer problems do not relieve your responsibility for turning in work on time. I suggest that you aim to have each assignment completed one full day before it is due to allow for all the various last minute problems that may arise. Note: USB drives fail (really, they do). Make back-ups of all your work. Also - please note that the computers in Moyer Hall are not regularly monitored by the OIT staff (as are other computer labs on campus). As such, there is no guarantee that any computer or printer will be working when you need it to! Leave plenty of time to make a run to Ettinger or the library to print Power Point slides or assignments. Now you know.

• I encourage you to talk to me about difficulties you are having with the exams or assignments. Avoid the temptation to cheat by keeping up with your coursework, by anticipating problems and by communicating with me about any problems you are having. I will be happy to help you learn how to properly cite sources, etc., and I remind you that extensions may be available if you ask (in a timely fashion). You are expected to know and follow the Academic Behavior Code of Muhlenberg College (http://www.muhlenberg.edu/pdf/main/aboutus/dean-academic/Iabc2.pdf). You are responsible for keeping drafts, references, disk and backup copies of all of your written assignments until final course grades are completed. Any cheating will be reported to the Dean, and strictly dealt with via a failing grade on the exam, assignment, or a failing grade for the course depending on the severity of the infraction.
• All work in this class should be your own work. You should note that paraphrasing is not an appropriate way to use sources in a paper. Even some types of paraphrasing you may have been told were acceptable in other courses are not acceptable here. You are required to follow the guidelines about paraphrasing described at the following web site: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/psychology/paraphrasing.htm. Feel free to ask me if you are uncertain how to use your sources. If you engage in inappropriate paraphrasing, you will have to re-write the assignment or your grade on the assignment will be lowered by 2 letter grades. You will not be allowed to re-write the final paper, so inappropriate paraphrasing will result in an automatic 2 letter grade deduction. Note: persistent and egregious patterns of inappropriate paraphrasing will be reported to the Dean of Students as academic dishonesty (plagiarism).