Last Revised, 1.21.05

Last Revised, 1.16.05

This course will introduce you to many of the theories, methods, and findings of Social Psychology. There is one assigned book, Social Psychology, Eighth Edition, by David G. Meyers (2005). You are expected to purchase the book and to read the assigned pages prior to each class (see Course Calendar). Class time will be devoted to discussions of textbook material, exposition of additional ideas and findings, viewing of videos, and occasional interactive activities. There will be two quizzes and four tests on textbook and class material, along with an optional final examination (see III below). In addition, you will write a paper (c. 1250 words).

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Last Revised, 1.16.05

I consider a college course to involve an informal contract between students and teacher. The following is a more explicit statement of this contract.

As the teacher, I agree to come to every class, on time, prepared with thoughtful, relevant, lecture and discussion material. I agree to teach as creatively and energetically as possible, and to strive to be fair and reasonable in my policies and expectations. I agree to treat each of you with respect, and to uphold the dignity of the educational setting and process.

You agree to come to every class¹, on time, having completed all assigned work, prepared to think, question, and discuss relevant material. You agree to treat me, and each other, with dignity and respect. You agree to do a level of work that reflects a serious attempt to confront the challenges that the course presents.

¹I understand that circumstances occur that prevent a student from attending class (e.g., illness, family emergency).  In such cases, your responsibility is to send me an email or voicemail message, in advance of the class meeting, alerting me to the situation.

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Last Revised, 1.16.05

The Calendar of Events lists the dates of the two quizzes and four tests. Each test covers all assigned readings and important ideas developed in lectures and class discussions occurring since the previous test (or the beginning of the semester, for Test #1). The tests are objective, and contain a combination of multiple-choice, true-false, and short-answer questions. The purpose of the tests is to determine how well you have understood and retained the important ideas and facts.

The optional final examination is actually four separate tests, corresponding in coverage to the four tests given during the semester. A student is free to take 0, 1, or 2, of these tests. For each test taken, the grade on the optional final will be substituted for the grade on the original test if (and only if) two conditions are met: (1) the optional final grade is the higher of the two; and (2) the grade on the original test was 50% correct or better. The latter rule is included in order to discourage students from "blowing off" a test (and corresponding readings) in anticipation of taking the optional final at the end of the semester (the rule may be suspended if a legitimate excuse for missing a test is given to me in advance of the test date).

Each of the four tests is worth 50 points, for a total 200 points. This accounts for 2/3rds of your course grade.

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Last Revised, 1.17.05

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Last Revised, 2.09.05

You are required to write a paper (5 double spaced typewritten pages, +/- 1 page) that conforms to the following format. There are three sections. Section One is a succinct review of textbook material on a particular section of Chapters 2 - 13 of the Myers text. Section Two is a personal anecdote that is relevant to the material presented in Section One. Section Three explicitly shows how the anecdote in Section Two relates to the textbook material described in Section One. Further details concerning the paper will be presented in class.

The paper is worth 80 points--26.7% of the total number of points you can earn. Early in the semester, you should skim the Myers text and identify sections that are particularly interesting to you, and that appear relevant to an important event in your life--an event you would be willing to write about.  Then click here to rank-order three textbook chapters for your paper. No chapter may be chosen by more than five students; thus those students who submit their ranked choices to me early, are most likely to get one they want for their papers.  Click here to view the current paper assignments.

New 01/23/04 -> All papers written in Psychology courses at SUNY-Oneonta are expected to conform to APA (American Psychological Association) manuscript conventions.  Click here for a template that you can load into your wordprocesser, to assure that your paper is properly formatted.

The papers have variable due dates (see Course Calendar); typically, a paper is due about one week after the module is read and discussed in class. There is a "late penalty" of 5% of the earned grade, per class/day that the paper is late.

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Last Revised, 1.16.050

Attendance.  As explicated in the Course Contract, perfect attendance is expected.  The following table shows the bonuses (and penalties) for good vs. poor class attendance. The shape of the function is displayed in the figure that follows.

Participation.  It is my experience that class discussions are more interesting and valuable when students have read the appropriate textbook material prior to class, rather than after class (or just before a test!). I have developed a system to encourage students to come to class prepared.  Your names are written on 3x5 cards, which are shuffled before each class begins. Throughout a class session I may ask questions concerning the textbook reading assignment, as well my ongoing lecture. Each question is directed to a student whose name appears on the next card in the deck. At the end of the semester, students who have done a credible job at answering questions receive a 10 point bonus. 

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Last Revised, 1.16.05

The table on the left shows the point value for each class quiz, test, and the paper.  The table on the right shows that total points (including bonuses) required for each grade. 

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Last Revised, 5.13.05

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