Advanced Social Psychology, Fall 2021

Class Information	Instructor Information
PSYCH 6204	Helen C. Harton, Ph.D.
Bartlett 34	Bartlett 2080
W 7-9:45pm	273-2235; harton@uni.edu

Office Hours: M 3-4; WF 11-11:50; whenever I’m around

Course Information

Course Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1) Critically evaluate theory and research relevant to the major areas of social psychology;

2) Apply theories and research in social psychology to other topics and to societal issues;

3) Design a study that would adequately test novel predictions based on previous research and theory;

4) Orally present about and defend your study and design; and

5) Write a scientific paper that describes this study using best practices in design, ethics, statistics, and APA style.

Instructor Course Description: In this class we will explore several major (and overlapping) areas of social psychology. Social psychology has been defined as “an attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others" (Allport, 1954). This course will deal with the theory, research, and methodology of social psychology, including both classic and contemporary approaches. We will also talk a lot about the “replication crisis” in social psychology and what it means for our findings. In addition to the overview of each area provided by the text, we will usually focus on about three or four articles or chapters each week in depth. The additional readings include newer theoretical approaches as well as some empirical and classic articles. There are so many choices that no two graduate social psychology courses will ever be the same, but I chose articles with an eye toward interesting ideas and recent events/controversies (both in psychology and in the world). The course will primarily be discussion-based, but I will sometimes give introductions to an area or provide you with further information about research findings.

Course Catalog Description: Covers the major areas of classic and current research in social psychology. Students engage in an in-depth, critical analysis of the research in areas including, but not limited to, conformity, obedience, social norms, social cognition, interpersonal relationships, aggression, and helping behavior. Substantial proportion of the course focuses on social cognition. Examines the socio-historical context of social psychology and the application of social psychological research. Prerequisite(s): an undergraduate course in social psychology; graduate standing in psychology or consent of instructor.

Course Policies

Makeup and Late Paper Policies: Class discussion grades cannot be made up, but you can drop your one lowest one. You can drop two discussion point grades. You can also turn in one up to 24 hours late with no penalty. Essays and the proposal will be accepted up to two days (days, not business days) past the due date, but one letter grade will be deducted for each day until they are turned in. Essays are due at 6:45pm and proposals are due at 12pm (noon), so after that counts as the next “day.” Plan ahead and don’t wait until the last minute to finish (or start) the tests or paper, in case something unexpected arises. If there are extenuating circumstances, talk to me—it’s always better to address things than to put them off, and I’m a reasonable person (I like to think anyway).

Attendance Policy: It’s expected that if you’re able to, you’ll attend class, but if you need to self-isolate (e.g., for COVID exposure), we can temporarily have you attend virtually. You have one automatic drop for class discussion grades. If you need to miss more than one class because of illness, etc., just talk to me. We’ll figure something out. Don’t come to class sick or contagious.

Academic Ethics Policy Statement: You should read and make sure you follow the Academic Ethics Policy (http://www.uni.edu/policies/301). Cheating and plagiarism of any kind or amount will result in lowered grades, up to and including a possible disciplinary F in the course. Plagiarism/cheating includes using a paper from another class or that you have worked on with another faculty member, student, or other person to fulfill a requirement in this class, quoting or too closely paraphrasing material in a paper without proper attribution, using secondary citation sources for primary citations, or looking at or using any prohibited information during tests. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse. If you have any questions about what is acceptable, ask.

COVID- and Weather-related Policies UNI is not currently requiring face coverings in classes; however, you may wear one if you wish, and especially if you are not vaccinated, you are encouraged to wear one in class and individual meetings. Individual meetings can be face-to-face or done via zoom at your request. If class must become virtual at any time during the semester for any reason, including university directive, cancellation due to weather, and/or instructor illness, the default response will be to meet via Zoom during regular class time. Check your email at that time for further information.

Diversity and Inclusion Policy: We are lucky to have diversity in class, as it makes our discussions richer and our understanding of social psychology more nuanced. My intention in the course and all that I do is to be respectful of various types of diversity, including but not limited to gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, religion, political orientation, and culture. Please let me know if you have thoughts or concerns or ideas on how to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups. In addition, if any of our class meetings conflict with your religious events, please let me know so that we can make arrangements for you.

Classroom Civility Policy: It is important that we discuss topics calmly and respectfully. We want to have an open setting where everyone feels free to contribute, where no one tries to dominate the conversations, and where we all remain open to other’s ideas. Ad hominem comments are not appropriate.

Credit Hour Statement: This course meets the Course Credit Hour Expectation outlined in the Course Catalog. Students should expect to work a minimum of 2 hours per week outside of class for every course credit hour. Because this is a graduate course, the expectation is that you will work approximately 4 hours per week outside of class for every course credit hour.

Required Readings

Nelson, T. D. (Ed.) (2018). Getting grounded in social psychology: The essential literature for beginning researchers. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315171371

Additional chapters and articles assigned for each week are listed in the course schedule below. Those that are not available freely online (check ahead of time—these things change!) using your UNI account can be found in Blackboard.

**Bring the readings to class with you when we discuss that topic (hard copy or electronic).

Course Elements and Expectations

Class discussion: Active class discussion is essential to the functioning of the class. You are expected to contribute meaningfully (thoughtful, relevant, critical comments) to class discussions. While mere attendance is not enough to get a good grade for this component, it is imperative in that you can’t participate if you’re not here. You should read the readings carefully and critically before class and come to class with specific questions or comments about each of them to add to the discussion. Think about things like how the research or theory relates to other research you know about, how you could test the theory, criticisms and solutions of the theory or area, etc. I will drop your one lowest discussion grade. Participation (frequency and quality) will be graded each week on roughly the following scale:

0 = not there

2 = attended but didn’t participate, or turned in, but not very relevant (below average; C-)

3 = comments or questions relevant, but didn’t involve much insight (average; B-)

4 = comments or questions relevant and insightful (good; A-)

5 = more than one comment or question showed a significant contribution (outstanding; full credit)

You will also turn in at least four written discussion points each week (covering at least four of the readings for that week). This assignment is designed to help you prepare for discussion and better articulate your thoughts on the readings. They will be graded on the same scale as class discussion. Your discussion points are due each Tuesday by nine am and should be uploaded in Blackboard. The discussion points will count for 40% of your discussion grade. I may call on you in class to talk about your discussion points, so bring them to class. Your two lowest scores will be dropped. If you choose not to turn them in the first week of class, that will be one of your drops.

For more information on class discussion grading, click here.

Midterm and final essays: There will be two take-home exams made up of four essay questions. You’ll have the questions at least two weeks before the exam is due, and some choice in which you write about.

Research proposal: This original proposal should be based on one or more social psychological theories (they don’t have to be ones discussed in class, but make sure you check with me early on whether your theory is appropriate for this assignment) and add to the literature in the area. For this paper, you can either 1) choose a theory and propose a study to test a new prediction from the theory (this may take the form of extending or limiting the theory); 2) choose two or more theories and design a study to integrate them, either showing that they would lead to similar predictions or differentiating conditions under which they would lead to conflicting predictions; or 3) apply a theory to a research area to which it has not been previously applied (e.g., your area of interest). The proposals should contain an abstract, a relevant and focused literature review (at least 7-8 pages), a detailed method section, a results section with proposed analyses and expected results, a discussion section examining the implications and limitations of your expected findings, references, and appendices with any questionnaires or measures you designed. The paper should be in excellent APA style. Papers with APA style or citation errors will be returned for you to fix, and late points will be deducted until the corrected paper is turned back in. Topics (a written description of your general idea) will be due September 29, and the final paper will be due on December 10 by noon. I will be happy to read and give you comments on (fairly complete) rough drafts, but you have to turn them to me by November 3 to get this feedback. I am also happy to meet with you anytime during the semester to discuss your proposal. If you have any questions about whether a paper topic is appropriate for any reason, ask me about it. Obviously proposals for projects that you are working on with other faculty or students or for another class are not appropriate for this assignment, but you can do something related to (but different from) your thesis or do something that may become your thesis.

Click here for a rubric that explains what I expect to see in each section and here for a level-based rubric.

Presentation: During one of the last class sessions, you will present your proposal to the class (background, method, expected results, what they would mean, etc.). Your presentation, which should include some audio-visual effects (e.g., PowerPoints), should last about 15 minutes, followed by a discussion of the proposal by the class of no more than 5-10 minutes. You can integrate any helpful comments from the class into your proposal before you turn it in. Sign up for your presentation date and time here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wvesMvvL0JjcmTf291-8PtSf02Fl6sI69F4CuGlmlT8/edit?usp=sharing

For more information on the presentation, click here and for a level-based rubric, click here.

Grading

The components of your final grades are as follows:

Class discussion/papers 35% Final grades will be distributed as follows:

Midterm essays 15% 93-100 = A; 90-92 = A-; 87-89 = B+;

Final essays 20% 83-86 = B; etc.

Research proposal 20%

Proposal presentation 10%

Course Schedule

*not available online (see Blackboard). For most but not all articles that are available through the library, you can click on the doi link. Otherwise, you’ll need to click on “find it at UNI.” Others that are linked elsewhere have hyperlinks on the first person’s name. Check these ahead of time, as some may be removed over time.

August 25 Introduction: History, Theory, and Methodology

Textbook Chapter 1

*Ellsworth, P. C. (2004). Clapping with both hands: Numbers, people, and simultaneous hypotheses. In J. T. Jost, M. R. Banaji, & D. A. Prentice (Eds.), Perspectivism in social psychology: The yin and yang of scientific progress (pp. 261-273). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10750-019

Van Lange, P. A. M. (2013). What we should expect from theories in social psychology: Truth, abstraction, progress, and applicability as standards (TAPAS). Personality and Social Psychology Review, 17(1), 40-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868312453088

Sullivan, D. (2020). Social psychological theory as history: Outlining the critical-historical approach to theory. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 24(1) 78-99. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868319883174

*Schimmack, U. (2020). A meta-psychological perspective on the decade of replication failures in social psychology. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 61(4), 364-376. https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000246

September 1 The Self

Textbook Chapter 2

Pyszczynski, T., Lockett, M., Greenberg, J., & Solomon, S. (2021). Terror management theory and the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 61(2), 173-189. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167820959488

Watts, T. W., Duncan, G. J., & Quan, H. (2018). Revisiting the marshmallow test: A conceptual replication investigating links between early delay of gratification and later outcomes. Psychological Science, 29(7)¸ 1159-1177. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618761661

Falk, A., Kosse, F., & Pinger, P. (2020). Re-Revisiting the marshmallow test: A direction comparison of studies by Shoda, Mischel, and Peake (1990) and Watts, Duncan, and Quan (2018). Psychological Science, 31(1), 100-104. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619861720

Watts, T. W., & Duncan, G. J. (202f0). Controlling, confounding, and construct clarity: Responding to criticisms of “revisiting the marshmallow test” by Doebel, Michaelson, and Munakata (2020) and Falk, Kosse, and Pinger (2020). Psychological Science, 31(1), 105-108. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619893606

Malte, F., Loscheider, D. D., Gleseler, K., Frankenbach, J., & Inzlicht, M. (2019). Is ego depletion real? An analysis of arguments. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 23(2), 107-131. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868318762183

September 8 Culture, Morality, and Social Neuroscience

Textbook Chapter 13 and 6

*Miyamoto, Y. (2013). Culture and analytic versus holistic cognition: Toward multilevel analyses of cultural influences. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 131-188. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407236-7.00003-6

Ellemers, N., & van Nunspeet, F. (2020). Neuroscience and the social origins of moral behavior: How neural underpinnings of social categorization and conformity affect everyday moral and immoral behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(5), 513-520. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420951584

*White, C. J. M, & Norenzayan, A. (2019). Belief in karma: How cultural evolution, cognition, and motivations shape belief in supernatural justice. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 60, 1-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2019.03.001

September 15 Social Cognition

Textbook Chapters 3 and 4

Jost, J. T. (2019). A quarter century of system justification theory: Questions, answers, criticisms, and societal applications. British Journal of Social Psychology, 58(2), 263-314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12297

Greenwald, A. G., & Lai, C. K. (2020). Implicit social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 71, 419-445. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050837

*Sherman, J. W., & Rivers, A. M. (2021). There’s nothing social about social priming: Derailing the ‘train wreck.’ Psychological Inquiry, 32(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2021.1889312

September 22 Prejudice

Textbook Chapter 11

Crandall, C. S., & Eshleman, A. (2003). A justification-suppression model of the expression and experience of prejudice. Psychological Bulletin, 129(3), 414-446. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.414

Paluck, E. L., Porat, R., Clark, C. S., & Green, D. P. (2021). Prejudice reduction: Progress and challenges. Annual Review of Psychology, 72, 533-560. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-071620-030619

Barreto, M., & Ellemers, N. (2015). Detecting and experiencing prejudice: New answers to old questions. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 52, 139-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2015.02.001

September 29 Attitudes

Textbook Chapter 5

Hornsey, M. J. (2020). Why facts are not enough: Understanding and managing the motivated rejection of science. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(6), 583-591. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420969364

*Bal-Tal, D., Hameiri, B., & Halperin, E., (2021). Paradoxical thinking as a paradigm of attitude change in the context of intractable conflict. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 63, 129-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2020.11.003

Ajzen, I., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2019). Reasoned action in the service of goal pursuit. Psychological Review, 126(5), 774-786. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000155

Paper ideas due.

October 6 COVID and social psychology

Pennycook, G., McPhetres, J., Zhang, Y., Lu, J. G., & Rand, D. G. (2020). Fighting COVID-19 misinformation on social media: Experimental evidence for a scalable accuracy-nudge intervention. Psychological Science, 31(7), 770-780. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620939054

Roozenbeek, J., Freeman, A. L. J., & van der Linden, S. (2021). How accurate are accuracy-nudge interventions?: A preregistered direct replication of Pennycook et al. (2020). Psychological Science, 32(7), 1169-1178. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620939054

Khazaie, D. H., & Khan, S. S. (2020). Social psychology and pandemics: Exploring consensus about research priorities and strategies using the Delphi method. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 23(4), 363-371. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12442

Midterm essays due.

October 13 Social Influence

Textbook Chapter 7

Le Texier, T. (2019). Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment. American Psychologist, 74(7), 823-839. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000401

Gelfand, M. J., Harrington, J. R., & Jackson, J. C. (2017). The strength of social norms across human groups. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(5), 800-809. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617708631

Spears, R. (2021). Social influence and group identity. Annual Review of Psychology, 72, 367-390. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-070620-111818

October 20 Groups and Cultural Emergence

Textbook Chapter 12

Greenway, K. H., & Cruwys, T. (2019). The source model of group threat: Responding to internal and external threats. American Psychologist, 74(2), 218-231. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000321

Varnum, M. E. W., & Grossmann, I. (2017). Cultural change: The how and why. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12, 956-972. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617699971

*Harton, H. C., Bourgeois, M., & Gunderson, M. (in progress). What we can learn from Dynamic Social Impact theory to apply to the events of January 6, 2021. Manuscript in preparation.

October 27 Relationships

Textbook Chapter 9

*Arriaga, X., Kumashiro, M., Simpson, J. A., & Overall, N. (2018). Revising working models across time: Relationship situations that enhance attachment security. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 22(1), 71-96. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868317705257

Karney, B. R. (2021). Socioeconomic status and intimate relationships. Annual Review of Psychology, 72, 391-414. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-051920-013658

Walter, K. V., Conroy-Beam, D., Buss, D. M., Asao, K., Sorokowska, A., Sorokowski, P, Aavik, T., Akello, G., Alhabahba, M. M., Alm, C., Amjad, N., Anjum, A., Atama, C. S., Atamturk Dyar, D., Ayebare, R., Batres, C., Bendixen, M., Bensafia, A., Bizumic, A.,…Zupancic, M. (2020). Sex differences in mate preferences across 45 countries: A large scale replication. Psychological Science, 31(4), 408-423. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620904154

November 3 Helping and Happiness

Textbook Chapter 10

Latané, B., & Darley, J. M. (1969). Bystander “apathy.” American Scientist, 57, 244-268.

Phillpot, R., Liebst, L. S., Levine, M, Bernasco, W., & Lindegaard, J. R. (2019). Would I be helped? Cross-national CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts. American Psychologist, 75(1), 66-75. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000469

*Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Tay, L. (2018). Advances in subjective well-being research. Nature Human Behavior, 2, 253-260. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6

King, L. A., & Hicks, J. A. (2021). The science of meaning in life. Annual Review of Psychology, 72, 561-584. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921

November 10 Aggression and Rejection

Textbook Chapter 8

Mathur, M. B., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2019). Finding common ground in meta-analysis ‘wars’ on violent video games. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(4), 705-708. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619850104

1745691620927666

Gul, P., Cross, S. E., & Uskul, A. K. (2021). Implications of culture of honor theory and research for practitioners and prevention researchers. American Psychologist, 76(3), 502-515. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620927666

Freedman, G., Williams, K. D., & Beer, J. S. (2016). Softening the blow of social exclusion: The Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, Article 1570. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01570

November 17 Political Partisanship, Terrorism, and Extremism

Clark, C. J., Liu, B. S., Winegard, B. M., & Ditto, P. H. (2019). Tribalism is human nature. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28(6), 587-592. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419862289

*Gibson, J. T., & Haritos-Fatouros, M. (1986). The education of a torturer. Psychology Today, 20, 50-58.

*Bandura, A. (2004). The role of selective moral disengagement in terrorism and counterterrorism. In F. M. Moghaddam & A. J. Marsella (Eds.), Understanding terrorism: Psychosocial roots, consequences, and interventions (pp. 121-150). American Psychological Association.

Atran, S. (2021). Psychology of transnational terrorism and extreme political conflict. Annual Review of Psychology, 72, 471-501. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050800

van den Bos, K. (2020). Unfairness and radicalization. Annual Review of Psychology, 71, 563-588. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050953

December 1 Student presentations

December 8 Student presentations

December 10 Paper due 12pm (noon)

December 13 Final essays due 6:45pm

Resources and University Policy Statements

Counseling Center: UNI’s Counseling Center is free, confidential, convenient, and effective. It is the mission of the University of Northern Iowa Counseling Center to promote the personal development and psychological well-being of all students and to encourage a college environment that is conducive to growth and learning. To make an appointment, call 273-2676 (8:00-5:00 M-F). For urgent situations outside of office hours, call the Counseling Center at 273-2676 and press 2 to speak to a crisis counselor. Call 911 in case of immediate danger.

Rod Library: Rod Library is here to help, so take advantage of their services. Need help finding resources for a research paper? Need to find some information and can’t figure out where to look? Contact the Rod Library! You can stop by, chat, email, text or call the library all hours the library is open. www.library.uni.edu/research/ask-us

Need Other Assistance?: I am happy to help you with class content, program issues, writing, etc. If you’re a victim of a crime, you can call 1-800-770-1650 to talk to an advocate 24/7 or text IOWAHELP to 20121. If you are experiencing food insecurity, you can access the Panther Pantry in the lower level of Maucker Union. I can also help you locate other resources, but be aware that if you report certain things to me (e.g., sexual abuse, criminal activity), I may be required to report it to the university (see below).

Other required syllabus statements can be found at https://provost.uni.edu/required-syllabus-statements.