Course Description
This course will focus on presenting the fundamental principles underlying social influences upon human behavior, such as: attitudes and attitude change, socialization, communication, group dynamics, inter-group relations as influenced by social structure and individual personality, cognition, and emotional factors. (3 credits)
Prerequisites
- ENG 101: English Composition 1
- ENG 102: English Composition 2
- PSY 101: Psychology (Recommended)
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Discuss experiments and other empirical research in the field of social psychology.
- Examine the role of seminal research studies in social psychology; citing basic methodology, results, and impact. (Milgram's study, Asch's study, Festinger's study, etc.).
- Explain how the notion of the "self" contributes to cognitive processes in social interaction.
- Discuss the main research findings in the area of social persuasion.
- Define the term "attitude" and identify the mechanisms behind attitude change.
- Examine group processes and social facilitation.
- Analyze the cognitive and affective theories/components linked to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.
- Identify the basic properties and factors involved in interpersonal attraction and the formation and maintenance of relationships.
- Compare and contrast different types of aggression and discuss research techniques for studying aggressive behaviors.
- Identify factors that affect a person's decision to help or not help other people.
- Apply social psychology to health, law, business, and environmental issues.
Course Activities and Grading
| Assignments | Weight |
|---|---|
Discussion Postings (Weeks 1-8 @ 10 pts each) | 30% |
Critical Thinking Exercises (Weeks 1-8 @ 2 pts each) | 30% |
Annotated Bibliography (Week 2) | 10% |
Final Paper Outline (Week 3) | 10% |
Final Paper (Week 7) | 20% |
Total Points | 100 |
Required Textbooks
Available through Charter Oak State College's online bookstore
Miller, D. A., Bordens, K. S., & Horowitz, I. A. (2023). Social psychology (Black and White). 6th ed. Academic Media Solutions. ISBN-13: 978-1-955543-26-2
Course Schedule
Note: This accelerated 8-week course will cover 12 chapters of the textbook; therefore, this course will be very demanding at times. Each week, students will need to contribute to the discussion board and post a minimum of 3 substantive posts for each discussion board forum/chapter.
For each chapter:
- The first post to three questions is due by Wednesday, 11:59pm
- The second post to one peer is due by Friday, 11:59pm
- The third post to a second peer is due by Sunday, 11:59pm.
In addition, for each chapter students will also complete a 300-500-word critical thinking assignment.
Critical thinking assignments for each week to be completed by Sunday,11:59pm.
Week | SLOs | Readings and Exercises | Assignments |
1 | 1,2,3 | Social Psychology and Related Fields Research Methods in Social Psychology
The Social Self – Self Concept, Self-Esteem and Self-Control
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2 | 3 | The Social Self – Thinking of Ourselves, Self-Awareness, and Self-Presentation
Social Perception – Impression, Attributions Biases, Schemas and Positive Psychology
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3 | 4,5,7 | Prejudice and Discrimination – Social and Cognitive Roots of Prejudice and Stereotypes
Attitude Formation – Attitudes and Behavior, Feelings about Ideology
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4 | 4,5 | Persuasion and Attitude Change
Conformity and Obedience
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5 | 6,8 | Group Processes
Interpersonal Attraction and Relationships
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6 | 9,10 | Interpersonal Aggression – Types of Aggression, Gender Differences in Aggression, Reducing Aggression
Prosocial Behavior and Altruism – Why do People Help?
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7 | 11 | Applying Social Psychology – Social Psychology and the Law, Health, the Work Place and Environment
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8 | 11 | Self-Assessment and Social Psychology in Action |
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Additional Information:
This accelerated 8-week course will cover 12 chapters of the textbook; therefore, this course will be very demanding at times. Each week, students will need to contribute to the discussion board and post a minimum of 3 substantive posts for each discussion board forum/chapter.
For each chapter:
- The first post to questions is due by Wednesday, 11:59pm
- The second post to one peer is due by Friday, 11:59pm
- The third post to a second peer is due by Sunday, 11:59pm.
- In addition, for each chapter students will also complete a 300-500-word critical thinking assignment.
- Critical thinking assignments for each week to be completed by Sunday,11:59pm.
COSC Accessibility Statement
Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.
COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources
Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.