Social Psychology

USF Course Code: SOP 4004

Prerequisite: none; taught in English

Audience: ISA students

Contact hours: 45

I. Course Description:

This course explains in the most experiential manner possible what Social Psychology is, and discusses the influence of the social environment on the individual and vice versa. We will study the social impact of feelings, thoughts, behaviors and attitudes.
We will learn about and prove the existence of phenomena such as: our social construction of reality which often leads to a non-rational way of viewing reality; self-justification, cognitive dissonance and our strive towards consonance that leads our motivations and drives; obedience to authority which comes rather from our own need to be seen as cooperative than from the impact of an authority; our tendency to conform to others; discrimination and racism, coming from stereotypes and prejudice and our drive to adhere to stereotypes; human aggression; liking, loving and interpersonal sensitivity, mass communication, propaganda and persuasion; and, last but not least, gender difference and its ramification on our social perception and behavior.    
Students will not only study the existence of these phenomena, they will also learn about the consequences of these phenomena in the daily social world. They will for example be able to develop efficient commercial messages and high power communication/sales techniques based on their understanding of social and self-bias and of the mechanism of cognitive dissonance; they will learn to understand what lies and rumors mean for us – that they don’t always have ill-intent - and see how education processes should deal with the phenomenon; they will gain insight in the power that lays in our tendency to obey others even if these others make us do illegal, immoral things, how it can explain for example the holocaust and they will discuss the way the holocaust could have been prevented, as well as how managers of the restaurant chain Mc Donald’s were coaxed into strip searching their employees by a false police agent; they will learn to understand the impact of conformity, how it can lead to social disasters, for example the explosion of the Challenger and how we can learn from them to avoid repeating them; they will learn how stereotyping is a cultural given, that has a huge impact on social problems such as discrimination, racism and fascism and they will learn strategies to fight stereotypes on a personal and group basis, and strategies to beat inter-group conflicts; they will experience how the self is involved in our liking of others and in the disliking of others, they will know and practice what impression management is and its effects on personal and professional life and they will see how the social and psychological impact of gender difference is fed by stereotypes and stereotype threats, therefore does not really exist and learn how we can all live together based on the #1 rule.     

II. Learning outcomes:
This course will teach participants:
1.    Cognitive insight in:
-    History of social psychology
-    Conceptualization of and definitions within the field
-    Different research methods and its preference for the ‘experimental method’
-    Important social psychological research and its results: the Stanford Prison Experiment, the obedience to authority experiment by Stanley Milgram, the Asch conformity experiment, ‘A class divided’, Robber’s Cave Experiment, …
-    Social problems such as compliance to norms, conformity, obedience to authority, propaganda…
-    Social psychological solutions to these social problems such as anonymous voting, Jigsaw techniques, over-arching goals, role playing, psychodrama of Moreno …
-    How social psychological mechanisms influence our judgment and decision-making processes
-    How we can use social psychological phenomena to impact the world around us
-    What authenticity and values in life are

2.    Practical/experiential learning:
-    Critical sense with regards to theory and practice in the field of social psychology (Sokal hoax!)
-    Analytic insight in the different research methods
-    Competency in conducting a valid social psychological experiment, and in drafting valid conclusions from its findings
-    Communication skills 
-    Impression management
-    Appreciate and utilize diversity in teams
-    Teambuilding techniques and teamwork
-    How to apply social psychological learning with the objective to change social problems within society (for instance: racism, rumors …)
-    Time management
-    Giving and accepting feedback
-    Leadership competencies
-    Working under the pressure

III Course Content (order of content may be modified): 
MODULE 1: What is social psychology?
•    Definition
•    Conceptualization of the field
•    History of social psychology
•    Cultural psychology
•    Different research methods
•    Preferred research method: the experiment
•    Fundamental and applied social psychology
•    Practicum: team building exercise to open up authenticity, respect and confidentiality; to gain insight in verbal and non verbal communication; to feel how the social situation defines your thoughts, feelings and behavior

MODULE 2: Social cognition.
•    Rationality as opposed to social construction of reality
•    Information processing
•    Cognitive and social biases
•    Practicum in empathy, giving feedback and conflict management
•    Cognitive dissonance theory and our drive to the mental state of consonance
•    Stereotypes, prejudice, xenophobia, discrimination, racism
•    Practicum in jigsaw technique as a means to overcome prejudice

MODULE 3: The Self in a social context.
•    Awareness of identity
•    Identity theory
•    Social identity theory
•    Practicum: from Irving Goffman to a Post Secret project
•    Categorization
•    Group identification and its risks for society
•    Gender within social psychology
•    Altruism vs. being selfish
•    Practicum: role play, psychodrama

MODULE 4: Interaction within the social context.
•    Where do attitudes grow?
•    Attitudes and beliefs do not only guide our thinking, but also our behavior
•    Self esteem
•    Practicum in impression management
•    Formal and informal groups
•    Social influence on group behavior:
o    Rumors
o    Authority and obedience
o    Conformity
o    Public opinion
•    Mass communication, persuasion, propaganda
•    Violence and aggression
•    Interpersonal sensitivity: 
o    Liking and loving
o    Shyness
•    Practicum: how do we dismantle this team and integrate the learning of the class in our daily life?

IV. Bibliography: 

•    The social animal. Elliot Aronson. By Worth Publishers, originally published in 1972, 514p.
•    Knowing people. Michael J. Lovaglia. By Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc., 2013, 362p.

Complementary bibliography:

•    Per module you will receive more or less 3 mandatory and 6 optional readings (articles), all to be downloaded from the internet and we will refer you to do critical reviews of some news stories.

V.I. How to succeed in this course
Due to the amount of material covered in this course, come prepared to class. Listening to lectures, watching videos and participating in class activities and discussions is much more effective than reading someone else’s notes or watching a video later. Remember that active and meaningful participation is taken into account as part of the evaluation. Reading prior to the class sessions is essential to keep track of the course due to all the material that will be covered and the pace. 
Becoming an active learner is one of the best ways to finish successfully this course: come always prepared to class: use the syllabus to be aware about will be covered or due in class, do all assignments before class, review before the class and be organized. Group discussion is essential to this course. 

VI. Grading scale
Final grades will be calculated according to the following scale:

Grade dispute: 
The deadline for claiming grades is 30 days from the receipt of the certificate at the university of origin.

VII. Course policies

VII.I. Attendance
Class attendance is mandatory and is taken every class day and reflected in the course attendance sheet. 
An 85% attendance rate is required for the successful completion of the course. Perfect attendance will be taken positively into account in the participation section. 
If a student exceeds this limit, 1 point will be taken off of the final grade (Spanish grade). Reaching a 20% of unexcused absences means that the transcript for this subject will show “not attended course”. 
Excused absences: Medical Certificates that will be considered only if issued by a physician (not notes from the family explaining the student’s absence). The certificates must include the exact dates for which a student should be excused for having missed classes. Courses cannot be audited, so attendance is possible only for students enrolled in a specific class. 
Punctuality: Students are expected to arrive on time to class and to return directly to class after class breaks. Arriving 10 minutes late (or more) and/or early class departures are considered unexcused absences and will be taken into account as half an absence. 
 
Attending class is not only the presence in the classroom. The professor will encourage active participation in the course and it will be taken into account as part of the evaluation.  

Auditors: Courses cannot be taken as auditors, thus attendance is possible only for students enrolled in a specific class.

VII.II. Conduct in class
Students who actively participate in classroom activities and who maintain a professional and respectful attitude will be evaluated positively. Students must not eat or use laptops during the class (unless specifically authorized by the teacher).  

VII.III. Late work 
One half point will be taken off (from the learning activities grade) for homework that is submitted late repeatedly. Late assignments will be corrected but will not be graded. 
Missing a class does not release the student from completing the homework assigned or studying the topics covered in class that day.

VII.IV. Make-up Exams
If a student cannot be present for an examination for a valid reason (see V.II.) and approved by the professor and academic direction, a make-up exam will be given.

VII.V. Exam retention
After exams are graded, the teacher will review the examination with the class and collect all exams. The exams will be retained for one semester following the current one, and then they will be destroyed.

VII.VI. Academic Honesty
Students are expected to act in accordance with their university standards of conduct concerning plagiarism and academic dishonesty.

VII.VII. Special accommodations 
Students with special needs who require reasonable accommodations, special assistance or specific aid in this course (either for properly making-up classes, taking exams, etc.) should direct their request to Academic Coordination during the first days of the course.

Teaching staff is required to report any disclosures harassment or violence of any kind.