PSY301 Social Psychology
Week 1 Discussion
Research in Social Psychology
To prepare for this discussion, please read Chapter 1: Studying Social Psychology of your textbook and Exploring the Ethics and Psychological Impact of Deception in Psychological Research article.
In this discussion, you will consider principles of scientific research, including methodology and ethical considerations.
First, visit the Online Social Psychology Studies (Links to an external site.) web page and select any study from the list. (Note that some links may be broken; if you choose a study that is unavailable, simply pick another option.) Participate in the research by following the instructions. After you have completed the study, answer the following questions (see Chapter 1 and Boynton, Portnoy, & Johnson, 2013):
Indicate the study you completed, including the web link.
Describe the research that was conducted. What did you do? What type of method do you think the researcher was utilizing? Can you identify the hypothesis and/or theory?
Appraise the study based on your understanding of research gained from the reading. What elements of the study “worked” and what would you suggest the researchers do to improve their study? Mention at least three specific elements.
Indicate any relevant ethical concerns. Was deception utilized?
Identify situational factors and/or social and cultural influences that may impact the phenomenon being studied.
Illustrate how this insight may be relevant to your personal or professional life through specific examples.
To fully demonstrate content knowledge and critical thinking in your Research in Social Psychology discussion
Interpret course concepts explicitly, applying them to your personal experiences/observations, and cite the required readings as appropriate.
Be thorough and specific, structuring your work intentionally (with an introductory and concluding sentence or two), providing clear context, and concisely and precisely explaining relevant course concepts.
Use personal examples to illustrate as appropriate, but do be sure to provide an objective analysis too, referencing required materials and using additional sources as needed to support your insight.
Use your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.
Review APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) for more information.
Your original post should be a minimum of 300 words.
Peer Responses: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least three of your peers in a minimum of 300 words (each reply), by Day 7 (Monday).
What lingering questions do you have about the research in which your peer participated?
Can you identify any additional methodological or ethical concerns?
PSY301 Social Psychology
Week 2 Discussion
Social Thinking
To prepare for this discussion, please read Chapter 4: Attitudes, Attributions, and Behaviors; Chapter 5: Making Judgments; and Chapter 6: Prejudice of your textbook, and Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases downloadand Intergroup Contact Theory articles. In addition, watch A Class Divided.
In this discussion, you will consider theoretical perspectives on the formation, maintenance, and change of attitudes and the cognitive processes that support these thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Choose any group toward which you have a strong attitude, positive or negative.
Possible dimensions from which you may select your group include: appearance, race or ethnicity, gender, social class, nationality, sexual identity, (dis)ability, rural versus urban status, geographic region, religious belief, political ideology, incarceration/criminal history, occupational status, military status, and so on.
Relate stereotypes (thoughts about), prejudice (feelings toward), and/or discrimination (actions) directed toward members of this group on a societal or cultural level, explaining potential causal mechanisms (categorization, social norms, inequality, etc.; see Chapter 6). You may elect to identify your own implicit and explicit attitudes, as well, though this is not required.
Use concrete examples to illustrate (e.g., advertisements that depict members of the group in a stereotypical manner, statements you have overheard expressing affective reactions to the group, policies that discriminate in favor or/against the group, etc.). Consider both negative and positive elements.
Identify situational and social/cultural factors that may influence attitudes toward this group.
Analyze attitudes toward this group using one or more relevant theoretical perspectives (self-perception theory, cognitive dissonance, theory of planned behavior, etc.; see Chapter 4).
Examine the use of heuristics (availability, representativeness, etc.) and errors in judgment (belief perseverance, confirmation bias, illusion of control, etc.) with regard to this attitude (see Chapter 5).
Consider how positive or negative attitudes toward this or another group might be implicated in a professional setting (see A Class Divided). Identify realistic suggestions to eliminate as much bias as possible in this context (see Pettigrew, 1998).
To fully demonstrate content knowledge and critical thinking, in your Social Thinking discussion
Interpret course concepts explicitly, applying them to your personal experiences/observations, and cite the required readings as appropriate.
Be thorough and specific, structuring your work intentionally (with an introductory and concluding sentence or two), providing clear context, and concisely and precisely explaining relevant course concepts.
Use personal examples to illustrate as appropriate, but do be sure to provide an objective analysis too, referencing required materials and using additional sources as needed to support your insight.
Use your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.
Review APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) for more information.
Your original post should be a minimum of 300 words.
Apply relevant concepts from the readings to your own experiences and/or cite appropriate outside sources to support your insight whenever possible. Be sure to use your own academic voice and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.
Peer Responses: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least three of your peers in a minimum of 300 words (each reply), by Day 7 (Monday).
Discuss alternative theoretical perspectives or concepts that might apply to the attitude your peer described.
Identify additional examples of cognitive processes that contribute to judgment.
Ask questions that encourage your peer to more fully consider the impact of stereotypes, prejudice, and/or discrimination on his/her behavior or the targeted group.
PSY301 Social Psychology
Week 3 Discussion
Social Influence
To prepare for this discussion, please read Chapter 8: Conformity and Obedience and Chapter 9: Groups of your textbook and the Milestones in the Psychological Analysis of Social Influence and One Hundred Years of Group Research: Introduction to the Special Issue articles. In addition, watch Everybody’s Doing It (Links to an external site.) video.
In this discussion, you will consider social behavior and the various normative and informational social influences you encounter in your everyday life, including the impact of groups on individual thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Complete the following:
Appraise your behavior for a period of 24 hours.
Identify at least 10 behaviors in which you engage that are due to conformity or obedience. Strive to identify less obvious examples that will allow for greater insight and a more interesting discussion. For example, how do you greet people or respond to messages? Which rules or social norms do you break, and which do you follow?
Discuss the situational factors that impact your beliefs and behaviors.
Describe potential social and cultural influences.
Analyze five of your logged behaviors, determining whether they are due to normative or informational influence and whether group pressures apply.
Then, select one of the following options below:
Choose one mundane behavior from your log that is based on a social norm. Violate this norm. Be sure you are not breaking any rules or laws or putting yourself at risk in any way. Here is a link to Examples of Norm Violations (Links to an external site.), but feel free to come up with your own (or Google search for additional ideas. Or,
Spend 24 hours living “a day of nonconformity,” living each minute as uninfluenced as possible (without infringing on the rights of others). Strive to be your true, unfettered self.
Examine your social influence log and your experience living a day of nonconformity or violating a social norm. Include the following in your summary:
To what extent is your everyday behavior shaped by social influence? Why or why not?
How do people react when you do not conform/obey?
What factors influence people to follow? (e.g., leaders, groups, etc.)
Is conformity a good thing, or a bad thing? Explain your point of view.
How do social and/or cultural differences play a role in social influence?
To fully demonstrate content knowledge and critical thinking, your Social Influence discussion must
Interpret course concepts explicitly, applying them to your personal experiences/observations, and cite the required readings as appropriate.
Be thorough and specific, structuring your work intentionally (with an introductory and concluding sentence or two), providing clear context, and concisely and precisely explaining relevant course concepts.
Use personal examples to illustrate as appropriate, but do be sure to provide an objective analysis too, referencing required materials and using additional sources as needed to support your insight.
Use your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.
Review APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) for more information.
Your original post should be a minimum of 300 words.
Peer Responses: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least three of your peers in a minimum of 300 words (each reply), by Day 7 (Monday).
What about your peer’s experience was most/least surprising?
How would you have reacted to the nonconformity of your peer?
When and how might the presence of others (i.e., a group) impact your peer’s thoughts or actions?
PSY301 Social Psychology
Week 4 Discussion
Social Relations
To prepare for this discussion, please read Chapter 10: Aggression, Chapter 11: Prosocial Behavior, and Chapter 12: Attraction and Relationships of your textbook and the Love: What It Is, Why Does It Matter, and How Does It Operate? and the Perceptions of Love Across the Lifespan: Differences in Passion, Intimacy, and Commitment articles. Also, review The Lucifer Effect (Links to an external site.) website.
In this discussion, you will consider social interaction, including aggression and prosocial behavior as well as attraction and relationships.
First, select a book, play, television show, movie, etc., that contains adequate social interaction illustrating both a friend or romantic relationship and an example of aggression or prosocial behavior. Provide necessary information such as the general plot and key characters for the class to understand if they are not familiar with the source. Then, complete the following:
Interpret a depicted voluntary (i.e., friend or romantic) relationship from a social psychological perspective. Point out specific examples to illustrate the following:
Which of the various factors in attraction are present in this relationship?
Is the relationship based on friendship or love? If love, what type of love is portrayed?
Examine a scenario from the source you selected that illustrates either aggression or prosocial behavior.
Identify specific course concepts in your analysis, pointing out relevant theory and research. Note that you must utilize at least one relevant scholarly source in addition to your textbook for this portion of the discussion.
Aggression:
Examine research that examines a possible source of aggression (e.g., the media, weapons, alcohol, environmental factors, etc.). Give specific examples.
Explain why this particular variable is/is not harmful. How does this theory/research apply to the scenario you described?
Prosocial Behavior:
Examine research on prosocial behavior, predicting who will help whom, when, and why (e.g., empathy, cultural norms, gender, religiosity, etc.).
Assess whether this information might be useful in reducing aggression/violence. How does this theory/research apply to the scenario you described?
For both of the above (attraction and aggression/prosocial behavior),
Distinguish situational factors that may influence social relations (attraction, aggression, prosocial behavior, etc.).
Discuss the impact of social and cultural differences on social relations (attraction, aggression, prosocial behavior, etc.).
To fully demonstrate content knowledge and critical thinking, in your Social Relations discussion,
Interpret course concepts explicitly, applying them to your personal experiences/observations, and cite the required readings as appropriate.
Be thorough and specific, structuring your work intentionally (with an introductory and concluding sentence or two), providing clear context, and concisely and precisely explaining relevant course concepts.
Use personal examples to illustrate as appropriate, but do be sure to provide an objective analysis too, referencing required materials and using additional sources as needed to support your insight.
Use your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.
Review APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) for more information.
Your original post should be a minimum of 300 words.
Peer Responses: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least three of your peers in a minimum of 300 words (each reply), by Day 7 (Monday).
Can you identify other theoretically or empirically supported means of enhancing attraction or reducing antisocial behavior/increasing prosocial behavior?
Can you apply additional theoretical principles to the chosen relationship/scenario?
Do your personal experiences (with regard to relationships and pro/antisocial behavior) mirror theoretical predictions?
PSY301 Social Psychology
Week 5 Discussion
A Prescription for Health
To prepare for this discussion, please read Chapter 13: Social Psychology, Stress, and Health of your textbook and read the Stress, Health and Illness: Four Challenges For the Future and the Life Stress and the Life Stress and Health: A Review of Conceptual Issues and Recent Findings articles. Also, watch the Achieving a State of Optimal Health: Stress and the Health Realization Model—American Academy of Pediatrics: Reaching Teens video.
In this discussion, you will consider social psychological variables that affect health. Note that you must utilize at least one relevant scholarly source in addition to your textbook for this discussion.
Interpret the relevance of one or more social variables that influence health (e.g., social support, hope, choice, etc.) in your own life.
Also, in your discussion,
Examine situational factors that play a role on health.
Discuss social and cultural variables that may influence health.
Appraise relevant theory and research to support your analysis.
To fully demonstrate content knowledge and critical thinking,
Interpret course concepts explicitly, applying them to your personal experiences/observations, and cite the required readings as appropriate.
Be thorough and specific, structuring your work intentionally (with an introductory and concluding sentence or two), providing clear context, and concisely and precisely explaining relevant course concepts.
Use personal examples to illustrate as appropriate, but do be sure to provide an objective analysis too, referencing required materials and using additional sources as needed to support your insight.
Use your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.
Review APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) for more information.
Your original post should be a minimum of 300 words.
Peer Responses: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least three of your peers in a minimum of 300 words (each reply), by Day 7 (Monday).
Provide alternative advice to your peer for managing his/her health.
Identify concepts from previous chapters that might be relevant for changing your peer’s unhealthy behavior or mental processes.
