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Social Psychology
PSY 235: Section DS4
Summer II 2020
Online via Zoom Meeting ID: 941 7752 7873
Password: 767390
Mondays 5:50pm – 9:35pm

Professor: Karla Felix, PhD

Email: kfelix@mmm.edu (preferred)
Alternate email: profkarlafelix@gmail.com

Required Text
Myers, David G. and Twenge, Jean M. (2018). Exploring Social
Psychology (8th Ed.). McGraw Hill Education.
ISBN-13: 9781259880889
ISBN-10: 1259880885
Additional required readings will be made available on Blackboard.
Videos and podcasts may be assigned outside of the course.

Course Description:
Social Psychology is the scientific study of the way people think, feel,
and behave in social situations. It involves understanding how people
influence, and are influenced by, the others around them. A primary
goal of this course is to introduce you to the perspectives, research
methods, and empirical findings of social psychology. Equally
important is the goal of cultivating your critical thinking skills for
analyzing the social situations and events that you encounter in your
everyday lives. Finally, throughout the course, emphasis will be
placed on developing critical and integrative ways of thinking about theory and research in social
psychology. We will also discuss the current issues and debates within the field and look at current
research.

Course Learning Goals

By the conclusion of the semester, students should:
 Be able to analyze the processes of social interaction and their effects upon the behavior and
attitudes of individuals and groups.
 Gain a greater understanding of their own and others’ thoughts, behaviors, are profoundly
impacted by the power of the situation.
 Confidently understand the rationale underlying basic research designs and techniques.
 Develop a sincere appreciation for research ethics.

Course Requirements: The Expected Input

Students are expected to adhere to the following class rules:
 Attend class regularly and on time
 Do all assigned readings before class
 Check email and blackboard for supplemental readings and course updates/changes
 Participate in online reading and activities
 Silence cell phones before entering the classroom
 Participate in class and answer questions during class on an Audience Response System known
as polleverywhere.com. Bookmark the site in your mobile web browser to easily access the site.
See Policy for Electronic Devices

Course Evaluation: Your final grade will be based on the following weights: participation and
citizenship (18%); Quiz (15%); Final exam (34%), Reflection Papers based on podcasts (33%)
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Participation and Citizenship (18%): The optimal class experience requires respectful, lively, informed
discussion and debate from students who follow the rules of the class. Therefore, it is essential that
students come prepared, having read the assigned readings, and are ready to engage in discussion and
group activities with their full attention because they will have put their phones away for the duration of
the class. Please be punctual as I do take attendance online. As such, you must be in class to participate
and participate in this online forum. Additionally, violations of the electronic devices policy will also
cost you citizenship points – please keep your phones silent and minimize background noise.

Quiz (15%): There will be a total of 3 short quizzes that will test your knowledge of the previous week’s
content. Quizzes will be available on blackboard and class time will start at 6pm whenever we have
quizzes giving you 10 minutes of class time to start and end the quiz. Quiz responses will be collected on
a google form and consist of either multiple choice or true/false questions.

Final Exam (34% each)

There will be 1 cumulative take home exam. The exam will cover textbook readings, class lectures,
assigned journal article and discussions. The exam will consist of multiple choice, short answer questions
and will be timed. There will be NO make-up exams. No early exams or make-up exams will be given
except in the most extreme circumstances and always at the discretion of the instructor. Any form of
cheating on exams will result in a zero grade for that exam and most likely a failing grade in this course.

Reflection Papers based on podcasts (33%): You will reflect on NPR podcasts from the Hidden Brain.
The podcasts are free and at no cost to you. Your one page (single-spaced papers) are meant for you to be
creative and thoughtful so please do not write a simple summary of the podcast. Papers are to be
emailed only either to my Marymount email or Gmail. These are the only two emails I use,
please do not send papers via dropbox or any other cloud sharing mechanism. Each week, I will
select one to two students to elaborate on his or her discussion issue/question. So, please be
prepared to discuss your thoughts with the class. Note that the podcasts are about half hour to 40 min
each.

Exam Grading Scale

A 95 – 100 A- 90 – 94
B+ 87 – 89 B 84 – 86.5 B- 80 – 83.5
C+ 77 – 79 C 74 – 76.5 C- 70 – 73.5
D+ 67 – 69 D 63 – 66.5 D- 60 – 62.5
F < 60

On exam day, you must arrive on time. No exam will be given to a late student after the first exam
has been completed and turned in.

Late assignments
Assignments may not be turned in late and may not be emailed to me. Late assignments are worth 0
points. Keep your syllabus available and refer to it often to keep from missing a deadline! If you know
you will be absent, plan to turn in your work early or to give the work to the secretary to put in my
mailbox.

These are serious factors outside your control which adversely affect your ability to perform to the best of
your ability and should be brought to my attention as soon as possible. They will be handled on an
individual basis. Computer problems the day of or before an assignment is due does not fall under
this category. If you feel that you may have a computer problem that may hinder your ability to turn in
your class work, let me know immediately. All papers must be turned in via email, not blackboard (use
profkarlafelix@gmail.com if sending files using google docs)

Attendance
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Attendance and participation in class go hand-in-hand. You must show up to actively participate as the
class is a hybrid of didactics and class discussion. Note, however, that students will not be penalized for
religious or pregnancy – or childbirth-related absences. Absences for these reasons will not be counted
toward the allowed number of absences in this course. Please inform me about absences related to
pregnancy, childbirth, or religious observation.

Academic Honesty
MMC fosters an academic community where students and faculty work together to create a learning
experience that imparts knowledge and forms character. To achieve this, the College requires all
members of the community to adhere to the policy of Academic Honesty that can be found in the Student
Handbook, the College Catalogue and on the College website (https://www.mmm.edu/offices/academic-
advisement/academic-standing-policies.php).

Emails
All email correspondences must show up in my box as being from a student in my class. Emails from
such as HotBabeInNYC@madeupmail.com will not be read, and emails asking questions such as, “Which
chapters will be covered on Exam 1?” will not be responded to, as the answer is easily found in your
syllabus or discussed in class. You receive all the information you should need to know on the first day
(in detail). You are expected to check your college email address with great frequency as that is my
preferred method of communication.

Before you write an email to me, Stop and Think. Please remember that email is a formal means of
communication when you correspond with your professors. Avoid abbreviations, slang and cuteness. Use
capital letters, punctuation, greetings and salutations as in any professional message. Politeness is
encouraged. And, please, don’t forget to sign your emails with your full name. I have the right to share
emails with the chair of the department if it contains content that needs to be brought to the chair’s
attention. You should not assume that information written in your emails is confidential.

Policy for Electronic Devices

This course is based on interaction and having cordial discussions with one another. While you are in
class, you are expected to pay attention and there should be absolutely no texting, tweeting, emailing,
surfing, taking pictures of others, taking selfies, posting or responding on IG or FB, snapchatting or
answering calls in class. Cell phones and mobile devices should be put away unless I ask you to answer
questions using sli.do. When put away, please switch your device off or to silent.

You may not record my lectures unless you have a documented disability and need to. It is preferred
that you take notes by hand – however laptops and tablets are permitted for note taking purposes
ONLY. Web-surfing, emailing, chatting, etc. will not be tolerated. This is both distracting and
disrespectful to your fellow students and to me. It is expected that you behave in way that is appropriate
to a college classroom. Violation of this policy will lead to a complete no-electronic-devices rule that will
be strictly enforced. If you need to leave on your phone or mobile device under extenuating
circumstances, please let me know before class.

Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities (learning, physical, or psychological) who require reasonable accommodations
or academic adjustments for a course must be registered with the Office of Disability Services or enrolled
in the Academic Access Program. If you have questions regarding the Office of Disability Services or
wants to obtain accommodations, please contact Diana Nash, Director of Academic Access & Disability
Services, Room 500 Carson, 5th floor Main Building. dnash@mmm.edu or 212-774-0724.

Emergency Response
All students, faculty and staff should be familiar with College emergency response procedures, which can
be found online within the MMC Emergency Response Guide. If there is an emergency at any
Marymount Manhattan College facility notify Campus Safety immediately at ext. 411 and dial 911 if
necessary.
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Emergency Notification System – Connect-ED

In the event that a significant emergency or dangerous situation occurs involving an immediate threat to
the safety of students, MMC will notify the College community without delay. This information will be
transmitted utilizing Connect-ED, the College’s emergency communication system, which will allow
MMC to send time-sensitive information via voice, email and text messages delivered right to student’s
cell phones. Connect-ED enhances emergency preparedness and response at the College and enables our
community to stay informed in the event of an emergency. All students are strongly urged to register with
Connect-ED. Sign up through the MMC Portal. Parents can also sign up for Parent ConnectEd.

Emergency School Closings

Weather or emergency conditions may result in a delayed opening or the closing of the College.
Information about delays or closings will be available through the following means:
 College Information Line – 212-517-0400
 Connect-ED
 College Website
 College email system

RADIO STATIONS TELEVISION STATIONS

WCBS 880 NBC (Channel 4)

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Suggested Psychology Websites for Further Exploration

(* might be particularly relevant for this course)

American Psychology Association: http://www.apa.org/ APA is the leading scientific and professional
organization representing psychology in the United States, with more than 115,700 researchers,
educators, clinicians, consultants and students as its members. They also publish the APA Style
Manual http://www.apastyle.org/

*APA Formatting and Style Guide at Purdue: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

This is probably the best site for a quick and easy answer to an APA style question. APA
(American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the
social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA
manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations,
endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed., 2nd printing).

Adolescence | Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/adolescence a great site for

some basics about adolescence and adolescents.

*Center for Social Research Methods (Many resources): https://www.socialresearchmethods.net/ This

website is for people involved in applied social research and evaluation. Whether you are
currently taking a research methods course or you have a career that requires you to do evaluation
or use research, the hope is that you will find something of value here.

History of Psychology Website: http://elvers.us/hop/ The site provides a gateway for teachers and
students to over 1000 World Wide Web resources related to the history of psychology.

*Methods in Behavioral Research (a textbook with links): http://methods.fullerton.edu/

Online Psychology Career Center: http://www.socialpsychology.org/career.htm Want tips on how to

get into graduate school? Need advice on how to prepare for the Graduate Record Exam, develop
an academic vita, or get good letters of recommendation? Want to search through hundreds of job
listings in psychology? Then you've come to the right place!

Psychology Careers and Job Search Guide: http://www.careerprofiles.info/psychology-careers.html

Explore an exciting world of career and employment opportunities in psychology.

Research Methods | Simply Psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/research-methods.html

Confused about something related to research methods? This site might be able to clear things up.

Research Randomizer: https://www.randomizer.org/ Want to generate random numbers? Look no

further!

*Social Psychology Network: https://www.socialpsychology.org/social.htm For all things social

psychology, this site is hard to beat. There are a tremendous amount of links here to all things
related to psychology, not just social psychology.

*Society for Research on Adolescence: https://www.s-r-a.org/ Established in the winter of 1984, the
Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) is a rapidly growing, dynamic society focused on the
theoretical, empirical, and policy research issues of adolescence.
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Social Psychology
PSY 235: Section DS4
Summer II 2020 Course Outline Professor Felix
*Syllabus details are subject to change. Changes will be communicated in class or via
announcements on Blackboard/email.

Date
Chapter/Topic
June 29 Welcome and Introducing Social Psychology

Module 1 Doing Social Psychology

Module 2 Did you Know it all Along?
Module 3 Self-Concept: Who Am I?

July 6 Quiz #1
Module 22 The Reach of Prejudice
Module 23 The Roots of Prejudice
Required Reading: Dukes, K. N., & Kahn, K. B. (2017). What social science research says
about police violence against racial and ethnic minorities: Understanding the antecedents and
consequences—an introduction. Journal of Social Issues, 73(4), 690-700.

Due July 6 11am – The Air We Breathe: Implicit Bias and Police Shootings
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/12/876073130/the-air-we-breathe-implicit-bias-and-police-
shootings

July 13 Quiz #2
Module 6 The Fundamental Attribution Error
Module 9 Behavior and Belief

Due July 13 11am - The Influence You Have: Why We Fail To See Our Power Over
Others
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/20/807758704/the-influence-you-have-why-were-blind-to-our-
power-over-others

July 20 Quiz #3
Module 13 Gender, Genes and Culture
Module 14 How Nice People Get Corrupted

Due July 20 11am - Our Better Angels: What We Lose When We Assume People Are Bad
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/15/857156637/our-better-angels-what-we-lose-when-we-assume-
people-are-bad

July 27 Cumulative Exam on all Modules above

July 1 2020 – Last day to drop class without a grade & Last Day to Register for Pass/Fail for Summer II
2020
July 22 - Last Day to Withdraw from Summer II 2020 with a “WF” Grade
July 27 - Summer II 2020 Semester Ends