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CLASS 1 – INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY

PSYC 2120 3.0 Social Psychology Wednesday, January 8 th – April 24 th , 2014 Section M - 11:30-2:30, Vari Hall B Section O – 2:30-5:30, Curtis Lecture Hall L. CLASS 1 – INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY. 1) Class Structure 2) What is social psychology? 3) What methods do social psychologists use?

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CLASS 1 – INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY

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  1. PSYC 2120 3.0 Social PsychologyWednesday, January 8th – April 24th, 2014Section M - 11:30-2:30, Vari Hall BSection O – 2:30-5:30, Curtis Lecture Hall L

  2. CLASS 1 – INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY 1) Class Structure 2) What is social psychology? 3) What methods do social psychologists use? 4) Break 5) The psychfiles.com 6) One of my favourite articles 7) Class 2

  3. Class Structure • What am I going to learn? • How am I going to learn it? • How will I be tested on it?

  4. Course Instructor Dr. Kerry Kawakami email: kawakami@yorku.ca Office: 324 Behavioural Sciences Building (BSB) Best contacted via email. Website: https://kawakami.squarespace.com/lectures-6405/

  5. Course Teaching Assistants Fran Karmali email: fkarmali@yorku.ca Office: 321 BSB Office Hours: Tuesday, 11:00 – 12:00 Regis Caprara email: r.e.caprara@gmail.com Office: 321 BSB Office Hours: Wednesday, 10:00 – 11:00

  6. General Description The primary goal of this course is to provide students with an introduction to research and theorizing in social psychology. Topics covered in this course will include research methods, attitudes and social information processing, social influence, the self, group processes, prejudice, altruism, aggression, and interpersonal attraction.

  7. Class Format One three hour class will be held each week consisting of lectures, video clips, and class discussions.

  8. Course Textbook Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Fehr, B. (2013). Social Psychology (Fifth Canadian Edition). Pearson Education Canada. This textbook is available from the York Bookstore. ISBN: 978−0−13−216539−6 Price $147.20 Required reading: Chapters 1 – 12. Not required: Social Psychology in Action 1, 2, and 3

  9. Textbook Website www.pearsonmylab.com • ebook • Practice test questions

  10. Course Administration • Enrolled? • Please check the class list during the break or after class and write down your name if you do not see it on the list. • Prerequisites • Psyc 1010 6.0, minimum grade of C • Last Drop Date: March 7, 2014

  11. Grading • Two in-class exams (worth 30% each) • Wednesday, January 29th • Wednesday, March 12th • Multiple choice and short-answer questions • Noncumulative - Material from lectures, videos, and textbook from each section • One final exam (worth 40%) • Final Exam Period, April 8th – April 24th • Multiple choice and short answer questions • Cumulative - Material from lectures, videos, and textbook from whole course • Missed Exams • Grade

  12. Course Schedule 1) Wednesday, Jan 8th - Regis Introduction and Methodology Reading material and websites: Chapter 1: Introduction to Social Psychology, pp. 2-25. Chapter 2: Methodology: How Social Psychologists Do Research, pp. 26-53. Check out website: https://kawakami.squarespace.com/lectures-6405/

  13. Course Schedule 2) Wednesday, Jan 15th - Regis Social Cognition Reading material: Chapter 3: Social Cognition: How We Think about the Social World, pp. 54-87. Check out website: https://pearsonmylab.com

  14. Course Schedule 3) Wednesday, Jan 22nd - Regis Social Perception and Self-Perceptions Reading material: Chapter 4: Social Perception: How We Come to Understand Other People, pp. 88-121. Chapter 5: Self-Knowledge and the Need to Maintain Self-Esteem, pp. 122-151.

  15. Course Schedule 4) Wednesday, Jan 29th - Regis First In-Class Exam (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5)

  16. Course Schedule 5) Wednesday, Feb 5th – Fran Attitudes Reading material: Chapter 6: Attitudes and Attitude Change: Influencing Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior, pp. 152-191. Do Web demonstrations of the IAT – https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

  17. Course Schedule 6) Wednesday, Feb 12th - Fran Persuasion

  18. Course Schedule 7) Wednesday, Feb 19th– Reading Week – No Classes

  19. Course Schedule 8) Wednesday, Feb 26th - Fran Conformity Reading material: Chapter 7: Conformity: Influencing Others, pp. 192-233.

  20. Course Schedule 9) Wednesday, March 5th – Fran Group Dynamics Reading material: Chapter 8: Group Processes: Influence in Social Groups, pp. 234-269.

  21. Course Schedule 10) Wednesday, March 12th – Fran Second In-Class Exam (Chapters 6, persuasion, 7, and 8)

  22. Course Schedule 11) Wednesday, March 19th – Regis Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination Reading material: Chapter 12: Prejudice: Causes and Cures, pp. 372-415.

  23. Course Schedule 12) Wednesday, March 26th - Fran Altruism and Aggression Reading material: Chapter 10: Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help? pp. 310-337. Chapter 11: Aggression: Why We Hurt Other People, pp. 338-371.

  24. Course Schedule 13) Wednesday, April 2nd - Regis Interpersonal Attraction and Close Relationships and Course Wrap-Up Reading material: Chapter 9: Interpersonal Attraction: From First Impressions to Close Relationships, pp. 270-309.

  25. Course Schedule 14) Final Exam: April 8th - 24th (Cumulative) - Fran and Regis - Date and Location TBA

  26. Psyc 2120, Social PsychologyClass 1: Introduction and Methodology Reading material: Chapter 1: Introduction to Social Psychology, pp. 2-25. Chapter 2: Methodology: How Social Psychologists Do Research, pp. 26-53. Check out the website: https://kawakami.squarespace.com/lectures-6405/

  27. Social Psychology and Its MethodsChapters 1 and 2 • What is social psychology? • What methods are used? • The Psych Files • One of my favorite studies

  28. Social Psychology • Psychology: Scientific study of behavior and the mind • Gordon Allport (1985) • Social Psychology is “the scientific study of the way in which people’s (individual’s) thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people.”

  29. Social Psychology The scientific study of how we think and feel about, influence, and relate to one another. The importance of the ABCs to social psychology - Affect (feelings) - Behavior (actions) - Cognitions (thoughts)

  30. Social Psychology • How does social psychology differ from • Sociology? • It’s about the individual and psychological processes • Other areas of psychology? • Cognitive psychology • It’s social • Clinical psychology • It’s about normal populations • Personality psychology • It’s about people in general • (psychological processes that people have in common with one another)

  31. Research (and Theory)in Social Psychology • Theory: • An integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events • Creating hypotheses based on a theory • (But can also creating hypotheses based on an observed phenomenon) • Testable predictions about the relationship between two or more variables • Testing the hypotheses • Theory refinement

  32. What is a Theory? A theory aims to fill a gap in explaining important phenomena. In basic research, a theory is a system of logical principles that attempts to explain relations among observable phenomena.

  33. Signs of a Good Theory • Posits causal relationships • Attempts to be coherent • Tells a good story • Aims for parsimony (simple explanations are preferable to complex explanations) • Is testable • Proves fertile • Solves problems Susan Fiske (2004)

  34. Example Does exerting willpower/control deplete us? Theory: People have a common source of controlled resources/willpower from which they draw. Each time we try to control our will, we reduce this pool of resources. Baumeister et al. (1998)

  35. How Can We Test a Hypothesis? • Hypothesis: Do women on a diet have fewer cognitive resources than women not on a diet? • Method • Correlational: • Observational method* • Observe/measure natural associations to assess the relationship between two or more variables • Experimental: • manipulate one factor to see if it affects another factor

  36. Correlational Research Examine whether the occurrence of A is related to the occurrence of B • Theory: Exerting willpower/control will deplete us. Hypothesis: Women on a diet will have fewer cognitive resources than women not on a diet? A – diet or not How observe/measure this? One way - Restrained Eating Scale B – cognitive resources How observe/measure this? One way – Stroop Task

  37. Measure of Diet?Restrained Eating Scale 1 . How often do you diet? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Always 2. What is the maximum amount of weight (in pounds) that you have ever lost in one month? 0 4 5-9 10-14 15- 19 2O+ 3. Do you have feelings of guilt after overeating? Never Rarely Often Always 4. How conscious are you of what you are eating? Not at all Slightly Moderately Very Much

  38. Measure of Cognitive ResourcesStroop Task Yellow

  39. Stroop Task Blue

  40. Stroop Task Red

  41. Stroop Task XXX

  42. Correlational Research Examine whether the occurrence of A is related to the occurrence of B • Example: Does exerting willpower/control deplete us? Do women on a diet have fewer cognitive resources than women not on a diet? Results – correlation between score on the restrained eating scale and the Stroop task. What is another way of testing this relationship? Another way of operationalizing willpower and controlled resources?

  43. Experimental Research • Examine whether A causes B • Manipulate independent variable • Observe effect on dependent variable • Basic principles: • Experimental Control • Random Assignment

  44. Experimental Research Manipulate independent variable to see if it affects the dependent variable Example: Does exerting willpower/control deplete us? Independent Variable • 1/3 subjects told not to show emotions during sad movie • 1/3 subjects given no instructions during sad movie • 1/3 not shown a movie and no instructions Dependent Variable • Holding your hand in cold water for as long as possible

  45. Experimental Research Manipulate independent variable to see if it affects the dependent variable Example: Does exerting willpower/control deplete us?

  46. Types of Validity Issues related to validity are related to whether a relationship exists between 2 variables. • Internal Validity • whether changes in the independent variable cause changes in the dependent variable • External Validity • whether the results generalize to other labs, participants, settings (e.g., in the field) • Mundane versus psychological realism • Construct Validity • whether the manipulation related to the independent variable and the measurement of the dependent variable are good representations of the theoretical constructs intended

  47. Problems with Correlational Research Don’t know whether A B A B or A B C

  48. Problems with Experimental Research Don’t know whether results are externally valid.

  49. The Psych Files The Psych Files http://www.thepsychfiles.com/ Episode 45 – Research Design http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2008/02/episode-45-basic-research-design-part-1/

  50. One of My Favourite Studies Dijksterhuis & van Knippenberg (1998) - ideomotor effects - independent variable - dependent variable - procedure

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