EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
SOP 3210C, Section 095 and 096
Spring, 2003

PREREQUISITES

The prerequisites for Experimental Social Psychology are: Research Methods (PSY 3214) and Research Methods Laboratory (PSY 3214L). No student will be allowed to take the course without having completed the prerequisites.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Pelham, B. W. (1999). Conducting research in psychology: Measuring the weight of smoke. New York: Brookes/Cole.
Lesko, W. A. (2000). Readings in social psychology, (4th Ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The study of social influences on the behavior of individuals. The principles studied will be applied under controlled laboratory conditions.

GOALS FOR THE COURSE

Students completing this course should be able to design an experiment, collect data, analyze data, and write a report on the research using APA style. Students should also be able to evaluate research reported in the literature.

STANDARDS FOR EVALUATION

The grade received in this course will be determined by a point system. Students earning 523-550 points will receive an A in the course; students earning 506-522 will receive an A-; students earning 467-505 points will receive a B+; students earning 451-466 points will receive a B-; students earning 413-450 points will receive a C+; students earning 396-412 points will receive a C-; 330-395 points a D; 329 points or below an F.

LABORATORY

Students will work in the computer laboratory on the designated days. Laboratory work will earn up to 100 points (points for the IRB and results are included in lab grade). Students working in the laboratory must confine their use of the computers to class work. Students using the computers for uses other than class work will lose credit for that class period. The IRB form and Results section will be completed in the laboratory as a group.

EXAMS

There will be one exam in the course, worth 50 points. The exam will be on Feb. 20^th. It will cover the methods book, Conducting Research in Psychology: Measuring the Weight of Smoke, class sessions, and lectures.

EXPERIMENTS

During the first day of class students will organize into research groups. Each group will choose a research topic from the topics covered in class. The research groups will work on the same topic for the entire semester. Some of the assignments will be done individually and some will be done as a group.

METHOD

Each research group must prepare a single Method Section. This paper will be two to three typewritten, double-spaced pages. This paper will be written according to APA style and is due on Feb 11^th. The paper will include a description of participants even though the data has not been collected. Describe what you anticipate in the way of participants. The paper will be written in the past tense even though the research has not been done. The grade for this paper will be a group one and worth 50 points. The method section must include a title page and have attached to it: all questionnaires, scenarios, the informed consent form, a description of the oral presentations for the informed consent and debriefing.

IRB FORM

Each research group must prepare a Request for Review by the Institutional Review Board based on the Method Section. The grade for this form will be a group grade and worth 25 points. The IRB form will be completed in the laboratory on Feb 18^th and will count toward the laboratory grade. Students must be in the lab the entire class period and work on this paper in order to receive credit for it. Please bring extra copies (both hard copies and on a disk) of your questionnaires, scenarios, and informed consent forms.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE/INTRODUCTION

Each student will be responsible for a three-page (typewritten, double-spaced) review of the literature on the topic chosen by his/her research group. No paper longer than four ½ pages will be accepted. This review of the literature is due on March 6^th and must be in APA style (this style will be presented in class). A minimum of five (5) articles from psychology journals must be reviewed and a hypothesis given. Each student must review at least one article that is neither in the book of readings nor in any of his/her group member’s papers. The grade for this review will be an individual one and worth 50 points. A title page and references (in addition to the three pages) are required. ANY STUDENT WHO PLAGIARIZES WORK FOR THE PAPER WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE A ZERO FOR THE PAPER AND CANNOT RECEIVE A GRADE HIGHER THAN “C” IN THE COURSE. If there is any question about the paper, the student will be required to turn in copies of the cited articles.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

Each student will be responsible for turning in one written discussion question for each article from the book, Readings in Social Psychology. The questions will be due the class period devoted to that topic and students will ask their classmates the questions. NO QUESTIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED BEFORE OR AFTER THE CLASS PERIOD OF THE DUE DATE. In other words, students must be present during the class period in order to get credit for their questions. Questions will be graded on ability to generate discussion and each assignment (the two or three questions assigned for a particular day) will be worth ten (10) points for a total of 70 points.

Students will receive up to 80 additional points by participating actively in the discussions. Students will receive up to 40 points based on their attendance at the class sessions (a class session is from the beginning to end of the class) devoted to discussion topics. Students must attend the whole class period in order to get credit. Based on their level of participation, students can receive up to 40 additional points for a possible total of 80 points.

RESULTS

Each research group must prepare a single "Results" section for its research. This section will be about one to two typewritten, double-spaced pages, plus a title page and tables. This paper must be written according to APA style and is due on April 15^th. The grade for this paper will be a group grade and worth 25 points. The results section will be written in the laboratory and will count toward the laboratory grade. Students must be in the lab the entire class period and work on this paper in order to receive credit for it.

ORAL REPORTS

Each research group will present the findings of their research project to the class. The report will include a review of the literature, methods, results, and discussion and should take approximately 30 minutes. These findings will be presented on April 22^nd, 24^th, and 29^th. The grade for this oral report will be a group grade and worth 75 points.

DISCUSSION SECTION

Each student will prepare a three-page discussion section, written according to APA style, on the research conducted by his/her research group. The grade on this paper will be an individual one, worth 75 points. This paper is due April 24^th. An abstract must be included with this final paper as well as a title page. The abstract and title page are in addition to the three-page discussion. Please make a copy prior to turning in your papers. Be sure to highlight or circle your name on the title page.

GROUP GRADES

The last week of class, students will evaluate the other members of their group. Each student will evaluate every other member of his/her group in terms of whether that student did an appropriate share of the work for the group projects. If a member of your group did 100% of that member's share of the work, the evaluation will be 100%. If the member did 50% of that member's share of the work, that person's evaluation will be 50%. I will average the evaluations for each person. Each person will receive that percentage of the total grade for the group work (Results, IRB, Method, presentation). Please do your share of the work so that you will get 100% of the grade.

This syllabus is subject to change.