Psychology
475
Intergroup and Intragroup relations
Tues. and
Thurs. 11:15A - 12:30P
267 Willard
Instructor: Janet K.
Swim, Ph.D.
Office Hours: Wednesday 2:00 to 3:30
Office: 515
Phone: 863-1730
Email: Please use Angel to contact me
Home page: http://psych.la.psu.edu/jswim/
Table of Contents:
1. Contacting
Teaching assistant
2. Course
Description
3. Course
Goals
4. Assignments,
grading, and absentee policy
5. Schedule
The
Date this page was last edited: 01/09/06
1. Contacting Teaching assistant:
Teaching
Assistant: Elizabeth Lee
Email: EAL178@psu.edu
Office Hours: Thurs. 1:00 to 3:00 PM
Office: 5F
Phone: 863-7264
Contact your teaching assistant for graded papers and tests. You can contact either the teaching assistant or the instructor for help on course material and for information regarding absences.
The purpose of the present course is to examine intergroup relationships with a specific emphasis on stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. This topic has been of central interest to social psychology from the beginning of the 20th century. The specific topics covered will be 1) an examination of different forms of prejudice, 2) the effects of prejudice and stereotyping on judgments and behaviors, 3) theoretical origins of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination, 4) the experience of being the target of prejudice, 5) responding to discrimination, and 6) changing stereotypes and decreasing prejudice.
Course content will be obtained from lectures, selected readings, and the web. A reading packet can be purchased at the Student Book Store (SBS, Big Blue on the Corner). It is highly recommended that you do the readings prior to coming to class. This will aid your understanding of the material as well as your class participation.
3. Course Goals
· Understand variations in racist and sexist beliefs.
· Be familiar with the prejudice against people in a number of different social groups including ethnic groups, gays and lesbians, women and men, and overweight individuals.
· Understand the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of explanations for the origins of prejudice and stereotypes.
· Understand effect of stereotypes on perceptions of others and social interactions.
· Understand how targets of prejudice perceive prejudice, are affected by prejudice, and cope with prejudice.
· Understand psychological processes leading to changing stereotypes and reducing prejudice.
· Be familiar with a variety of methods used to study stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and intergroup relations.
4. Assignments, grading, and absentee policy
Course grades will
be based upon 1) six test (11% each); 2)
Grades are based
upon the following percents: A = 91 to 100; A- = 90; B+ = 89; B = 81 to 88; B-
= 80; C+ = 79 C = 70 to 78; D = 60 to 69 and F = 59 and below.
TESTS
The tests will
consist of 20 multiple choice questions worth two points each. The tests
will be based upon class lectures and the chapters from the main text book.
Class notes: The class notes will be posted on the
web. HOWEVER, THE CLASS NOTES ARE NOT SUFFICIENT FOR UNDERSTANDING
MATERIAL COVERED IN CLASS. You will want to come to class to fully
understand the information in the overheads. You will also want to
supplement your understanding of the lecture materials on the class notes.
Text book: You will be tested on chapters from the
text book. There are review questions for the text book posted on the web
which will help you study for the exam. Answering the questions are
strictly for your benefit. You do NOT need to turn them in to us.
There will be no
make up tests.
Instead, if you miss a test, you may make it up by writing a 6 to 8 page paper
on a topic covered over the test. The paper must be typed and include
references in APA style. Studying for the test can help in completing the
paper so studying will not have been a waste of your time. You must contact the instructor ASAP after
the multiple choice test has been given to the class for a list of topics so
that you will be covering appropriate material for the test you will be
replacing. You do not need to come up with your own topic. The
paper must be completed within one week after the test. (The exception is
that a paper replacement for the last test needs to be done by 5:00 on Tues. of
exam week.) You are allowed to replace one missed test once.
If you need to replace a test more than once, it suggests that you may be
having substantive problems and you need to meet with Dr. Swim to discuss this.
You can also earn
points toward your exams. These points can come from a) writing a
multiple choice question at the end of class for that class period when this
possibility is announced in class (These questions may be used on the test); b)
identifying the relevance of music presented in class for that days lecture, c)
going to talks of relevance to the class and describe in writing the connection
between the talks and material covered in class, d) bringing in cartoons, newspaper
articles, web sites and a written description of how this information connects
to specific theories or findings in class (these cannot be things that have
been presented in class or part of assignments and they cannot be generally
related to the class but specifically related to particular topics in the
class). Written descriptions are typically between one to two pages
typed. They cannot simply state, for example, "This is related
modern racism. " You will need to explain why, for instance, it is
related to modern racism and what type of modern racism you are thinking
about. Each activity is worth one point each. You may earn up to 20
during the semester which is equivalent to 1/2 of a test.
READING ASSIGNMENTS.
Assessments of the
readings will occur via responding to questions about the readings. You
can find the questions for each article at the end of each article in your
reading packet as the links noted in the syllabus. Please note that
there are a few places where questions are noted directly on the syllabus and
not in the reading packet. Also, please note that the questions linked to
the chapters in the book on the syllabus are to assist you in studying for the
exam and are not part of the reading assessment. Do not turn in answers to
questions from the Jone's text book.
You can not hand in
your answers to reading assignment questions before or after the class period
is over. They are to be handed in during the class period for which they
are assigned. You cannot email them to the T.A. If a friend or
classmate hands in your assignment or you email it, you will not get the points
for the assignment.
You can, however,
replace points for the reading assignments by reviewing a journal article
reporting on a research study. You can hand in a journal article
summary to replace any number of points you've missed for reading
assignments. The replacement points earned cannot exceed possible points
available for the reading assignment being replaced. Instructions for
writing the reviews for the articles you get from the reading packet and the
articles you may find on your own can be found at http://psych.la.psu.edu/jswim/Psych475/Journal_article_review.htm.
If the journal article is not appropriate for these make up points, it will not
count so you may want to check with the instructor, by bringing the article to
class, prior to doing the summary. The summary must be turned in within
one week of the assignment it is replacing. It must be typed.
Summaries are typically two to three double spaced pages long.
CLASS PROJECTS
There will be one
assignment to do outside of class. This will be described in class and
links to the instructions provided within the course schedule. The points
awarded for the assignments will be reduced by 10% of the total points
available for that project for everyday it is late.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Plagiarism is
grounds for flunking. Do not copy any part of other people's responses or
research reviews either from this semester or previous semesters and do not
copy any part of the text from the reading when answering questions about the
readings. For the reading assignments, be sure to state answers in
your own words.
Violations of academic integrity (e.g. cheating or plagiarism) can result in flunking of the academic or disciplinary action. According to University policy, "Academic dishonesty encompasses a wide range of activities, whether intentional or unintentional, that include, but are not limited to all forms of fraud, plagiarism, any failure to cite explicitly all materials and sources used in one’s work, cheating, lying, deception, directly harming the work of others." For further information please see the college's web page on academic integrity. http://www.la.psu.edu/undergrad/integrity/integrity.htm.
5. Schedule
Changes to the syllabus will be announced in class and will be added to the web page.
Jones refers to the textbook
RP: Reading packet available at “Big Blue on the corner.”
|
Date |
Topic |
Assignments |
|
9-5 |
Course overview |
|
|
|
Definitions & Levels of analysis
|
Read syllabus Jones: Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 Because this is the first lecture day, there are no questions for these readings. However, reading them will help you. |
|
|
Old-fashioned and Modern prejudice |
Jones: Chapter 3 Questions for web page: Give three examples of the ways that hate groups attempt to hide their prejudices. |
|
9-14 |
Ambivalence (value conflict, respect & liking, paternalism)
|
RP: VanTassell, "Only the law would rule between us: Antimiscegenation, the Moral Economy of dependency, and the debate over rights after the Civil War." RP: Glick
& Fiske. “An ambivalent |
|
|
Jeopardy |
|
|
9-21 |
Test 1 |
|
|
9-26 |
Automatic stereotype activation |
Jones, Chapter 4 Read about the
IAT at the following web page: If you feel comfortable completing the IAT, please do so before class. |
|
9-28 |
Stereotypes and effects of categorization |
|
|
|
Stereotypes and Effects of categorization continued |
RP: Beirnet. Toward a Broader view of Social Stereotyping.
|
|
10-5 |
Covert & Subtle discrimination |
|
|
10-10 |
Test 2 |
|
|
|
Social forces molding beliefs and behaviors. |
|
|
10-17 |
Individual differences and prejudice |
Jones, Chapter 5 RP: Altemeyer “What happens when authoritarians Inherit the earth: A Simulation.” |
|
|
Intergroup relations
|
Jones, Chapter 6 |
|
10-24 |
Test 3 |
|
|
10-26 |
Stigma & Effects on targets: Academic performance |
Instructions for daily diaries Jones, Chapter 7 RP: Steele,
C. "A threat in the Air: How stereotypes Shape Intellectual
Identity and Performance." |
|
10-31 |
Stigma & Effects on targets: Psychological well-being |
|
|
11-2 |
Everyday prejudice & Identifying prejudice and discrimination |
RP:
Griffen, "Black like me" Daily diaries due |
|
11-7 |
Test 4 |
|
|
11-9 |
Selecting coping responses |
RP: Swim & Thomas (2004). |
|
11-14 |
Confronting discrimination |
RP: Neuborne (1994). "Imagine my surprise." |
|
11-16 |
Identity as a coping responses & Collective action |
RP: Kitzinger & Wilkinson's article and the four articles responding to K&W’s article that follow. |
|
11-21 |
No class. This Tues. follows a Friday schedule. |
|
|
11-23 |
Thanksgiving |
|
|
11-28 |
Test 5 |
|
|
11-30 |
Prejudice reduction |
Jones, Chapter 8. |
|
12-5 |
Motivation and prejudice reduction |
RP: McIntosh “White privilege….”
|
|
12-7 |
Intergroup contact and Desegregation |
RP: Pettigrew. RP:
"Savage Inequalities: Children in |
|
12-12 |
Public policies: Affirmative Action |
RP: Crosby, Clayton, & Downing.
|
|
12-14 |
Test 6 (This is not cumulative) |
|
|
Exam week |
no final |
|