SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

SOP3004 Online

Sections 0708 and 2244

Instructor

Ron Chandler, Ph.D.  

Contact: ronchandler@ufl.edu, 352.215.8400          

Physical Office Hours: TBA, McCarty, Bldg. C, Room 528

Virtual Office Hours (via email or text): 8am-2pm Mon-Fri

Teaching Team

Graduate Teaching Assistants: Joy Losee, Savannah Tate, and Meagan Henry

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants: Ally Prince, Dhruv Ahuja, Amber Lewis, Gabriela Garcia, Omar Viera, Collin Ulmer, Aaliyah Brown, Allison Derovanesian, Farwah Zaidi, and Sebastian Mallory.

Graduate TA Office Hours: By Appointment

Undergraduate TA Office Hours: By Appointment 

Teaching Assistant Group Assignments

Groups 1&2: Ally Prince

Groups 3&4: Dhruv Ahuja

Groups 5&6: Amber Lewis

Groups 7&8: Gabriela Garcia

Groups 9&10: Omar Viera

Groups 11&12: Collin Ulmer

Groups 13&14: Aaliyah Brown

Groups 15&16: Meagan Henry

Groups 17& 18: Farwah Zaidi

Groups 19&20: Sebastian Mallory

Groups 21&22: Joy Losee

Groups 23&24: Savannah Tate

 

Course Description

Social psychology is the scientific study of the ways in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. When you complete this course you will be able to: (A) distinguish social psychology from other related disciplines, (B) explain the philosophy and methods of science utilized by social psychologists, (C) understand what is meant by the many technical and standard terms used in the field and be able to use them with precision, (D) appraise the value of new psychological science in light of previous theories and findings, and (E) see the world through the eyes of a social scientist.

 

 

 

Course Textbook and Website

The text for this course is Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Akert, R. M. (2016) Social Psychology (9th edition), Pearson. You may purchase the E-Book if you prefer. This course is housed in the CANVAS Learning Management System and includes everything you will need to complete this course.

 

If You Have Questions about the Course

1. Check the helpful resources page in CANVAS.
2. Check the course syllabus and the “course questions” discussion forum to see if the question has already been asked.
3. If the question has not been asked, post your question to the course questions discussion board. Be sure to give it a meaningful heading! An example would be “Question about due date for open response items” or “Question about cognitive dissonance”. Please do not post questions about grades, make up assignments, or other private matters on the discussion
4. Ask your Teaching Assistant during his/her virtual office hours or using the CANVAS email
5. Chandler will be happy to answer any questions or address any concerns that cannot be resolved by your Teaching Assistant. Please email Dr. Chandler using the CANVAS email feature.

Important Notes: Whether you email or post a question on the "course questions" discussion forum, please allow 24 hours for a response. Questions posted over the weekend will not receive a response until Monday. Please use the CANVAS email feature to contact your TA or instructor. TA office hours are virtual; you can “speak” with your TA using the Chat tool in CANVAS. The initial chat is viewable to anyone in the chat room, so please do not include confidential information here. If you wish to speak with your TA privately, let them know in the chat window and they will provide you with a link to a private conference.  You may also contact them through CANVAS messenger. 

 How to Participate and Succeed in this Course

The course is organized in 12 modules that correspond to chapters of the textbook. You will complete one module during each week of the semester. It is very important that you be organized and that you keep up regularly with course readings and lectures.

You should start the course by viewing the welcome video, and then reviewing the course objectives. In order to begin the first module, you must first successfully complete the syllabus quiz, which will ask you questions about the content of this syllabus.  To complete an individual module, you should first complete the assigned textbook reading and watch the recorded lecture(s) and other media assigned to that module. After reading the chapter and completing the videos and activities for the week, you should complete the pre-test, which you can take as many times as you’d like until you get the maximum number of points. After that, you’ll complete the other assignments related to that module (see below). So, for example, in the first week you’ll watch the Week 1 lectures and do the activities. Then you’ll do the pre-test. Then you’ll do the assignments, and complete the end-of-module quiz. Modules will open at the beginning of the week (Sunday at 12am) and close at the end of the week (Saturday at midnight).

Course Assignments & Grade Components

Quiz 1: Syllabus Quiz

In order to open the first module, you must complete the syllabus quiz. You have one attempt to complete the syllabus quiz.  Not understanding the syllabus will quickly lead to you losing points, so please read this syllabus completely and carefully first! You will complete the syllabus quiz and the first module in the same week.

The Syllabus Quiz is worth 5 points.

Open Book Module Quizzes

You will have one Module Quiz per module. You will have 20 minutes each but can only take it once. The purpose of each quiz is to facilitate an overall improvement of your understanding of the concepts, theories, and areas of research presented in the Module Lecture and textbook chapter. Taking the Module Quiz before you write your ISUA and your group work will likely help you do your best on the ISUA and AiC.

Module quizzes are 16 points each.

Introduction Post

During the first week, you should post an Introduction Post. The purpose of this post is to introduce yourself and to get to know to your classmates. Your post should be 2-4 sentences in length and is your opportunity to share a bit about who you are, why you’re taking this course, and something about your interests. This post is worth 2 points.

 Individual Work: Individual Statement of Understanding and Application (ISUA)

Each week you will be responsible for writing a one page, single-spaced paper in Times New Roman 12-point font (in Word only, no PDFs will be accepted) in which you explain how you would employ what you learned from the module lecture and readings for that week (textbook and other assigned readings if any) towards the advancement of a holistically sustainable society and improvement individual and/or societal experience of dignity. For purposes of this assignment “holistically sustainable society” is an allocentric society, one that attends to betterment of the individual as well as the collective whole, does so within natural limits, and “pays forward” for improvement of the human as well as nonhuman condition. For purposes of this assignment “dignity” is the individual composite experience of efficacy, esteem, agency, a sense of safety, freedom to be, and social capital.

Your ISUA is a significant part of your grade, is an important contribution to your group’s paper (see instructions below), as well as to your group’s paper grade. Your ISUA must be submitted to CANVAS before midnight on Tuesday of each week . No late work will be accepted past this deadline.  Following is a rubric for how your ISUAs will be assessed.

 

 

 

Your ISUAs are worth 10 points each for a total of 120 points.

8-10 = Superior	5-7 = Adequate	1-4 = Needs Improvement	0 = Unacceptable
Defines concepts presented in the chapter correctly, and applies these concepts to improvement of individual and societal human dignity, as well as for fostering a holistically sustainable society.	Is missing (or reports incorrectly) one of the essential features required for a Superior grade.	Is missing (or reports incorrectly) more than one of the essential features required for a Superior grade.	No response is provided or response is missing (or reports incorrectly) all of the essential features required for a Superior grade.

See description of ISUA for definitions of human dignity and holistically sustainable society.

Group Work: Application in Context (AiC)

If you do not already have one, you will need to establish a Google Docs account. In preparation for group work you will post your ISUA for the week in Google Docs so that you can work with your group to collectively develop your Application in Context (AiC) paper. Take time to read over your group members' ISUAs and begin discussing the material from there.  There is a "chat" feature on Google Docs that allows you to have a discussion in chat as you work on your AiC. Once everyone has read all members’ ISUAs the group will employ “collective cognition” and create a two-page, single-spaced AiC in Times New Roman 12-point font (Word docs only, no PDFs will be accepted). As with your ISUAs, the group’s AiC will explain how the group would collective apply what you learned from the module lecture and assigned readings if any towards the advancement of a holistically sustainable society and improvement individual and/or societal experience of dignity.

The group’s AiC is a synthesis, not a cut-and-paste collage of ISUAs, but a document that as comprehensively and intelligibly as possible represents how the group’s  understanding of what you have learned can be employed for the advancement of a holistically sustainable society and improvement individual and/or societal experience of dignity. Important: All group members’ ISUAs must be appended to the group’s AiC paper in order for the group to eligible for full credit.

Your group’s AiC must be submitted to CANVAS before midnight on Saturday of each week. No late work will be accepted past this deadline.  The assessment rubric for your AiCs is the same as that used to assess your ISUAs.

Your AiCs are worth 10 points each for a total of 120 points.

Take Away Paper

As an extra effort to ensure that this course has benefitted you in the field of Psychology (as well as in your everyday lives), this semester we are allowing students the opportunity to write a 500-word essay on a social psychology topic of your choice that you found interesting, disagreed with, researched further into, etc.  throughout this semester.  We encourage you to cite sources from lectures and readings, and to draw from personal experience in order to prove that you understand the topic you are discussing. It is important that you go beyond definitions or textbook examples to demonstrate your knowledge on a topic that interests you. We want you to be creative, have fun with this assignment. There will be no penalty for students who do not wish to pursue this extra credit opportunity – again, this assignment is optional. Only single-spaced papers written in Word using 12 point Times New Roman will be accepted (no PDF’s will be accepted).

Your Take Away Paper is worth a maximum of 10 points and will be assessed using the following rubric. Keep in mind that this paper is graded “out of zero” in CANVAS which means that any points you earn are counted as extra points and are not factored in as part of your standard grade percentage.  It will not negatively impact your grade if you decide not to complete this assignment.

10 = Superior	7.5 = Good	2.5= Fair	0 = Unacceptable
Excellent paper: well written, unique, personal and intelligible approach to chosen topic. Abundant and relevant sources cited.	Well written and addressed chosen topic with orginal/personal thought/perspective. Needed reference citations	There were useful points made pertaining to the chosen topic, but paper lacked a thorough and/or orginal discussion. Too few references to sources.	Topic was not discussed meaningfully and/or intelligibly.

Grading

Your final grade will be calculated based on your grades the Syllabus Quiz (5 pts.), Quiz 2 (Chapters 1&2; 25 pts.), Introduction Post (2 pts.), 12 ISOUs (10 pts ea.), 12 AiCs (10 pts ea.), and 12 Open Book Quizzes (10 pts ea.). for a total of 392 possible standard points. Important: If you wrote a Takeaway Paper, you will want to add those points to your total and recalculate your grade.

Grading Policy

Percent	Grade	Grade Points
94-100	A	4
90-93.9	A-	3.74
87-89.9	B+	3.58
84-86.9	B	3.46
80-83.9	B-	3.74
77-79.9	C+	3.18
74-76.9	C	3.06
70-73.9	C-	2.94
67-69.9	D+	2.78
64-66.9	D	2.66
60-63.9	D-	2.54
0-59.9	E	2.38

 Important: Use total points presented in the CANVAS grade table for your course. Total point values presented here are estimates that must be made at the first of each semester but  do not account for addition and deletion of assignments or extra credit points.

 Students with Disabilities

Students requesting accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student, who must then provide documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.  Please establish any accommodations made by the DSO with the TAs and Dr. Chandler as soon as possible.

 Policy for Disputing a Grade

You will have one week (including weekends) after a grade has been posted to dispute your grade. Grade disputes will not be considered after that date. If you want to dispute a grade you will need to write a paragraph explaining the dispute clearly (i.e., what item or question are you referring to, in what module) and a paragraph explaining why you believe your answer is correct. Then send a private email with this information to your TA via the CANVAS email feature. Please note that the TAs will consider your case, but they are not required to change your grade simply because you believe you are right. You may always email Dr. Chandler if you cannot resolve the issue with your TA; however, it is rare, if ever, that he will overturn a TAs decision.

 Late Assignments and Make Up Work

Please note that late course work is not accepted unless you have an emergency that leaves you unable to participate in the course for at least five days. Note: This is a good reason to do your work early rather than waiting until the last minute to complete your assignments. Making up late assignments will only be granted for university approved reasons and must include proper documentation as per university guidelines. Because you may do your work at any point during a given week, the documentation must state clearly that you were unable to participate for at least five days.

 Cheating and Academic Dishonesty

Cheating is defined in the UF Handbook, and it is the student’s responsibility to be familiar with its many forms. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code. If a student is caught cheating, the first offense will result in a zero for that exam or assignment and a record of the event will be placed in a temporary file with the Office of Student Affairs. The second offense will result in an “E” for the course, and the student will go before the Honor Court. As a result of completing the registration form at the University of Florida, every student has signed the following statement: "I understand that the University of Florida expects its students to be honest in all their academic work. I agree to adhere to this commitment to academic honesty and under- stand that my failure to comply may result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the University."

 Academic Complaints

Each online distance learning program has a process for and will make every attempt to resolve student complaints within its academic and administrative departments at the program level. See http://distance.ufl.edu/student-complaints (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for more details.

Course Schedule

Each module lasts for one calendar week. Each week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. More specifically, the week begins at 12:00am separating Sundays and Mondays.  See assignments in the Assignments tab.  This course has no final exam.