COLLEGE OF BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH (CoBRes)

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY

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Course Number/ Title: PSY 1103 – Introduction to Social Psychology
Semester: One
Duration: 14 Weeks
Credits: 4
Contact/ Week: 3 lecture hours; 1 tutorial hour
Exemptions: None
Pre/ Co-Requisites: None
Follow-on Course: None
Lecturer: Leann Kendall
E-mail Address: leann.kendall@uog.edu.gy
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Course Description
PSY 1103 – Introduction to Social Psychology is a basic overview of the field of
social psychology for students who have no prior engagement with the subject.
This course will expose students to the major perspectives in social psychology
and will attempt to identify and examine current local and global social
psychological problems within this rubric. Contemporary social psychological
issues such as social influence, stigma, abuse, environment, poverty and health
will form the core subject matter of this course.

Course Objectives
1. To provide students with a foundation for understanding human growth and
development.
2. Students will be able to critically examine and discuss the impact of heredity
and the environment on the development of an individual.
3. To enable students to develop the ability to critically examine various
theoretical perspectives of childhood, adolescence, and adult development.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course students are expected to:
a) Understand social psychology in relation to other similar disciplines
b) Understand the basic perspectives in social psychology
c) Identify social problems and to perform basic analyses of these using the
tenets of social psychology
d) Understand some classic and contemporary cases in social psychology
and their application in local contexts

Students are responsible for all reading assignments even if the information is
not covered in class. The readings which will be used for this course are:

Resources

Required
Baron, R. A., Byrne, D., & Branscombe, N. (2017). Social Psychology (14th ed.).
Boston: Pearson Inc.
Myers, D.G. (2010). Social Psychology McGraw Hill College.

**** **** **** ****

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Recommended

Alcock, J. et al. (1997). A textbook in Social Psychology. Prentice Hall, Alan and
Bacon Canada.

Brehm, Kassin and Fein, (2002). Social Psychology New York, NY: Houghton
Mifflin.

Zagefka, Hanna. (2009). The concept of ethnicity in social psychological

research:

Additional reading materials may be provided as the course progress.

Content
Week/ Topics Reading
Session Assignments
1 Class Orientation
- Introduction to Social Psychology

2 Introduction to Social Psychology Baron, et al., Ch 2

3 Social Cognition Baron, et al., Ch 2

4
Social Perception Baron, et al., Ch 3

5
Social Perception (continued) Baron, et al., Ch 3

6
Attitudes Baron, et al., Ch 5

7 Social Influence: Conformity Baron, Ch 8,

8 M I D S E M E S T E R T E S T
10

11 Social Influence: Prejudice, Stereotypes, Baron, et al., Ch 8

Discrimination
12 Social Relations: Aggression
Baron, et al., Ch 10

-
13 Social Relations: Attraction and Close Baron, et al., Ch 7
Relationships
14 F I N A L E X A M I N A T I O N
Course Methodology

Key concepts from the core texts as well as supplementary materials will be
highlighted during lectures. Complementary readings may be provided to
elaborate on lecture materials. Class discussions will explore concepts,
questions, and topical issues, while providing opportunity to examine and debate
the psychological foundation of behaviour. Additionally, student may be required
to make oral presentations on relevant psychological concept. These
methodologies do not in any way preclude the necessity of personal reading
and study.

Student Assessment/Evaluation
There will be 4 evaluation exercises for this course for a total of 40% for course
work and one final examination worth 60% of your overall score.

Mid Semester Test 20% Face to Face : date TBA

Day of Compassion 10% by November 4th, 2023

Individual Reflection 5% December 2nd, 2023

*Tutorial Presentation 5% Ongoing (From week 3)

Total Coursework: 40 %

Final Examination 60 % Face to Face : date TBA

TOTAL 100 %

*Additional guidelines will be provided on the Moodle LMS in the Course

Resource Folder.
 ASSIGNMENTS
Description of Assignments
All assignments must be submitted via the Moodle LMS on or before the due
date. Any additional information will be provided during lecture sessions. All
assignments will be conducted and completed individually and below are the
guidelines.

Assignment 1. Day of Compassion: Due by November 4th, 2023

To complete this assignment, choose a day that will be your "Day of

Compassion" and try your utmost to live each minute of that day as
compassionately as possible. In other words, for a full 24-hour period (while
awake) you should do your best to reduce suffering of others, help those in need,
be considerate and respectful, and avoid causing harm to any living being.

When carrying out this assignment, leave no behaviour unexamined - from

watching TV to eating lunch to decisions about giving time or money to others.
That is, do not limit yourself to simply holding the door open for a stranger or
petting a lonely dog; Go beyond the obvious and think about all the unnecessary
suffering in the world, and strive for the greatest impact and deepest level of
compassion without being phony or insincere. It is up to you to define what
compassion is and to decide how best to realize it.

If you are already quite compassionate, try being compassionate toward groups
you don't often focus on, and even if your actions do not differ much from how
you normally behave, carefully observe and analyze what transpires during the
day. If outside events make it difficult for you to participate on the designated
day, or if you feel dissatisfied with your performance of the assignment, feel free
to repeat the exercise on a later day.

Note: To minimize any bias in social reactions, it is best if you do not tell
others about the class assignment until after the Day of Compassion is over
Submit a social psychological analysis of what the day was like. Below are the
guidelines you must address (but are not limited to):

• How did you define compassion, and who were the recipients of your
efforts?
• If your behavior was different than normal, which person did you like
more: the "Day of Compassion you" or the "normal you"? If you preferred
the "Day of Compassion you," what are the psychological factors that
prevent this "you" from coming out?
• What are the psychological costs and benefits of behaving
compassionately? In your view, do the benefits outweigh the costs?
• How did others respond to your compassion? Do you think they noticed a
difference in your behavior? What attributions did people make for your
behavior, and why?
• If you wanted to encourage others to behave as you did during the Day of
Compassion, what psychological techniques would you use? How can
social psychology be used to foster compassion?
• If you were to predict your behavior one month from now, do you think it
will be changed in any way as a result of participating in the Day of
Compassion? If so, how? If not, why not?

This assignment must be submitted as a word document and conform to the

following guidelines:

• Four (4) to six (6) pages type written on letter size paper. Do not exceed
6 pages.
• 1.5 spacing
• One-inch margin on either side.
• Pages must be numbered to the right corner preceded by a running
head, which must be on the left-hand side in all caps
eg. (Day of Compassion… 1).
• Paragraphs to be indicated by indenting five spaces (use tab key for
default five spaces indention).
• All sources cited in the paper must appear in the list of references.
References must appear in alphabetical order.
• Must have an introduction, body/main section (with appropriate
headings and subheading(s) if necessary), conclusion, and references.
• Must confirm to APA guidelines.

Additional guidelines may be provided during class or otherwise.

Assignment 2: Individual Reflection: Due by Dec. 2nd, 2023

Each student must submit an individual reflection on their experience while
executing their day of compassion and being a student of PSY 1103 throughout
the semester. You can take this opportunity to highlight which topic resonated
with you throughout the semester and or any suggestions you have for future
classes. 2 to 3 pages.
GRADING SCHEME
A - 80% - 100%
B - 70% - 79%
C - 60% - 69%
D - 55% - 59%
F - below 55%

Academic dishonesty
Cheating is a serious offence, which will result in penalties including failure of
the course and possible suspension. This includes but not limited to cheating
during exams and plagiarizing. Plagiarism is using someone’s work and ideas as
if it is yours. Fabrication of information is also prohibited since it is contrary to
academic standards. Students are therefore encouraged to cite careful references
in their written work. This underscores the importance of the APA manual when
citing references.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE

This is a reading course and students are advised to consult the relevant reading
materials in this course outline and other relevant sources. Prepare a study
timetable giving equal weight to your topics while paying attention to the areas
you are weak in. Get into the habit of asking questions especially in class so that
you can get issues clarify. Do not procrastinate; begin working on assignments
early for best results. Get someone to read over your work before submission.
Study with an open mind. That is, keeping your other courses in mind as
information from one may be relevant to the other. Remember your courses build
on and complement each other so do not blank out the others when studying for
this course. These tips are not cast in stone. You may use what best works for
you.

BEST WISHES!