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Dr. Andreas Schneider
4311 Sociology and the Person Spring 2008 2:00- 3:20 PM Holden Hall 226 |
My Office hours
Spring 2008: Thursdays 3:20 PM to 5:20PM Holden Hall 159, phone 806 742 2401 ext 231
By E-mail andreas.schneider@ttu.edu I usually check at least twice a workday.
Anytime on our teaching homepage on the World Wide Web http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider.
Teaching Assistant:
John Billington
Office Hours: Tuesdays 14:00-16:00 and Wednesdays 11:30-12:30 Holden Hall 64
This course presents theories and research findings about the nature of social relations and the cultural bases of individual experience. Readings are drawn from
Franzoi, Stephen. 2006. "Social Psychology." Forth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Some additional readings about current research will be made available on the teaching homepage on the Internet. Lectures give particular consideration to research concerning symbolic interactionism, self, affect, and sexuality. I will further add a cross-cultural perspective. More details will become available on the World Wide Web at: http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider.
A general reminder: We will be dealing with diverse theoretical approaches and some emotional and controversial issues, and you might surf the Internet without a parental censoring program. Students who are not prepared to be exposed to alternative opinions and materials should reconsider their enrollment in the course.
One section of this syllabus contains the administrative "laws" of the course. The other section with the course outline is to a certain degree variable. We shall proceed through the material at our own pace and take advantage of interesting current events. In the following the outline of topics and their corresponding readings are listed according to their anticipated sequence. This section will be continuously updated in the eSyllabus at http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/schneider2/4311spring08. Links to overheads and other materials will be provided briefly before and/or after each class session.
For your convenience, I left the links to my class notes and overheads open. These texts reflect the current state of preparation of the course and will be updated right before the specific class session.
Participation is an important aspect of our class. I welcome feedback from students and try to incorporate it into the class session. For that reason we will proceed at our own pace as much as possible. In each class session I will provide you with a brief preview of our next session. Some of the sessions described below have a fixed date (marked red on the eSyllaus), others are listed in their sequential order. In the electronic syllabus I left the links to overheads and other information open. This is for your convenience. These posted notes should be considered a draft. Notes for each session will be updated and authoritative before each session.
January 10 Basic Perspectives and Methods
Perspectives in Social Psychology (chapter 1)
Assignments:
Internet session
Methods in Social Psychology (chapter 2)
Feb 12 Exam #1
Study Sheet for our First Exam
Perceiving People and Events
Construction of the Self (chapter 3 & 6)
Culture and structure, nature vs. nurture
Micro theories of early socialization
Structural approaches to socialization
Self-Presentation as Management of Identities (chapter 4)
Maria Golden: "Nature of the self- how we view ourselves and to what extent this is influenced by our surroundings. How this differs in different cultures."
Jared Bressler: "“The Internet as a form of self detention.” This projected would look at how people are able to use the Internet to redefine them self. There are several places to look. One would be MMORPGs where millions of people interact under newly assumed identities. Another option would be fans of tv shows inserting themselves into the show as a character. I will look at the formation of new subcultures and individual roles on the Internet."
March 13 Exam #2
Study Sheet for our Second Exam
Cognition, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Amanda Whitson: "Cognitive Dissonance Theory: This occurs when we behave in a way that is inconsistent with our beliefs. There has been much research conducted on cognitive dissonance, and I find it very interesting. I also will present and explain theories that have challenged cognitive dissonance theory."
Combining Chapter 5 and 8
March 27 Tarryn Williams: "I believe cognition has a lot to do with prejudice and discrimination. At an early age in our lives our brains are taught to think a certain way about certain people, this could be cause of our environment or how we were raised."
March 27 Geoffrey Baumgartner: "Self Fulfilling Prophecies (Ch. 5). Do the expectations we have about people really lead to the fulfillment of those expectations? This is what is referred to as a self-fulfilling prophecy. In addition, the self-fulfilling prophecy is often researched in the classroom, whereby the attitudes of teachers is measured and compared to academic performance."
April 1 Myriam Audoux: "How can cultural differences affect the way we are looking at other people, talking about them and interacting with them? Do we have the same expectations for everyone? Do people act the way we expect them to act and how can that process vary according cultural differences?"
Attitudes
Attitudes and behavior (chapter 6)
1. Reasoned Action Model
2. Balance and Cognitive Dissonance Theory
3. Bem's Self Perception Theory
- The three dimensions of affective response: Measuring Evaluation, Potency.
- The essence of ACT
- The use of events in affect control theory.
- Events and affective processing.
- Analyzing social life in terms of events.
- Attitude balance viewed from an event perspective.
Study Sheet for our Third Exam
April 8 Exam #3
April 10: no class
April 15 Patrick Ryan: "Leadership: I would like to explore the various types of leaders found in groups and their degrees of effect. The way each heritage is influenced by each style of leadership differently is an interesting issue that I would like to investigate in more depth. Leaders are an important part of society and their impact whether it is in self interest or beneficial for the group as a whole is substantial."
Group Behavior, Power and Conformity
April 15 Social power: Behavior and attitude change (chapter 9)
April 15 Ryan Trask :"Power, Status, Authority, and Leadership - I would like to analyze the effects of power and status in the work force between women and men".
April 15 Clint Darter: your presentation "discusses different ways to secure request or for instance, sales requests. It informs us of more than one way to win over customer, and the study represents how multiple types of request can be effective compliance strategies. It covers; foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, that’s-not-all, and low-balling. I think these strategies can be helpful to our social means."
Aspects of Performance, conformity, and cooperation (chapter 9)
April 17 Aggression
Aggression and conflict (chapter 13)
April 17 Vanessa Taylor: Introduce the experiment of Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) and interpret their findings. What theoretical approach was used, which explanations (theories) were challenged, and what are alternative explanations for the results of this experiment.
April 17 Sarah Bann: "It is commonly thought that men have a higher expression of aggression than women. It is also thought that personality traits also give way to a more expressive types of aggression." So the question that you wan to address is: are personality traits that influence aggression gendered or does gender has an independent influence on aggression?
April 22 Exam #4 comprehensive, no study sheet posted.
April 24 Sexuality, Attraction and Intimacy
Close relationships: Interpersonal attraction (chapter 11) and intimacy (chapter 12)
April 24 Stephanie De Leon: Parent Child Attachment "The importance of a child – parent relationship and the bond between the two that creates the proper emotional functioning for a proper social human being, and without a child – parent bond or attachment there is disturbed functioning. It has been proven that a child cannot survive without an attachment of love, touch and care from a parent figure."
Interpersonal Attraction
April 24 Anna Barrientos: "I want to look at the attachment styles among children and their parents and see if they form the same attachment styles with their partners and later with their children."
What is special about a friend?
What is Love?
Sexuality, Attraction and Intimacy
April 24 Daphne Laplante: " Intimate Relationships. I would like to present on love styles and relationships. I could explore the theories of Sternberg, Lee, and Hendrick and Hendrick. I could also discuss the how the various types of love play into relationships (stages, success or failure)."
Norms vary by gender
April 29 Jasper, Chieng: "Donna Eder's Research About Romantic Feeling Norms. I would like to find information, through interviews of several different students. Using this information, I will present the differences in their views of romantic social norms. I will find similarities, also."
Norms vary by culture
April 29 Erin Eggert "Nudity and eroticism- I think that it would be interesting to discuss and present norms for various countries (American, Europian, and others) on nudity and eroticism. I would like to do so through research (academic journals and studies, as well as through discussion with classmates and members of the general student body)."
April 29 Helping
April 29 Wiede Daniela: The USA is one of the few countries in which helpers can be legally liable for providing help. Show some cases to illustrate the problem. How would this influence helping behavior. In your explanation, use theories that we learned.
Social Exchange Theory: Another Theory of Action (Chapter 14)
April 29 Ben Baracato: Introduce the Prisoner Dilemma Game. Who contributed which variations to this research at what time?
Some main aspect of the following lectures will be integrated
Social relationships and groups (chapter 10)
Textbook:
Some others will be made available via our www site
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to
Assessment of Learning Outcomes
Multiple choice exams are used to test the knowledge of theories, methods and problems in the sociology of the person / social psychology. Some of these questions will be geared to assess the ability of the student to compare methodological and theoretical approaches and their application to problems in sociology.
The presentation investigates the engagement of the student, his/her critical thinking, the ability to work independently, and his or her communication skills.
Grades are based on the student's performance on four scheduled exams, an unscheduled small (pop) exam, a presentation proposal, one presentation, and their attendance. Assigned readings have a specific due date. I consider it as a requirement that the literature listed in this syllabus is read before it is covered in class.
One pop exam 5% before the first exam (no time scheduled)
Presentation Proposal 5% Jan 24
Presentation 15% at the time the topic is covered in class
First exam 15 %, Feb 12
Second exam 15% Mar 13
Third Exam 15% Apr 8
Fourth exam (comprehensive) 20 % April 22
Attendance 10%
----------------------
100% = 100 points
If the student stands "between" grades, outstanding constructive class participation might be used for further rounding in the conversion to the final grade.
Grading key to convert number grades in letter grades: 0-59 F, 60-62 D-, 63-66 D, 67-68 D+, 69-72 C-, 73-76 C, 77-78 C+, 79-82 B-, 83-86 B, 87-88 B+, 89-92 A-, 93-96 A, 97-100 A+
For your paper you receive letter grades. If you are interested, here the key to convert the letter grades into number grades: A+ 100, A 93, A- 90, B+ 88, B 83, B -80, C+ 78, C 73, C- 70, D+ 68, D 63, D-60, F 60.-->
All exams will be multiple choice. Please bring your orange "bubble sheets." Not only do you need to have a basic understanding of the material, you also should be able to take what you have learned and apply it. While the first three exams will be cumulative, their focus will be on the recent topics. The fourth exam will be comprehensive.
How to prepare for the exams:
This will be a 15 minute presentation on a topic covered in a class session listed in the syllabus.
How to get a presentation: Presentation Proposal
How to prepare the presentation?
How do I grade?
Please classify your presentation as theoretical, methodological or issue related. I will use the following criteria in my evaluation of your presentation.
Presentations on theories (behaviorism, cognitive dissonance etc.)
Presentations on methods (experiments etc.)
Presentations on issues (conformity, self esteem etc.)
When do you present?
Attendance is a logical prerequisite of participation. At the end of the course I will count the sessions you were absent. Grading key for absences: 0 to 4 unexcused absences 100 points, 5 to 6 absences 50 points, 7 or more absences 0 points.
With all respect, there are more efficient ways for me to serve students than conveying their current standing on the attendance list. For that reason I will stay with the strict policy not to reply to any requests of information about your attendance standing. My assistant will count the attendances at the end of the course. You are completely responsible for signing up the attendance sheet. If you wish, you can keep your own attendance statistics. My assistant will only accept written excuses, signed by a third official party. Missing exams or pop exams will not count against your participation.
Exams: Students who are absent will receive "0" points. Make up exams will be scheduled for students who have an authoritative excuse for missing the exams. These makeup exams with open end questions or multiple choice exams.
The nature of our self paced course only allows approximate presentation dates. Since class participation is mandatory this is not a problem. Failure to give presentation can only be excused by a doctor's note. Unexcused missing of a presentation will be counted as a missed assignment (0 points).
Authoritative excuses I accepted in the past were: physician's statements, copies of invitations for job interviews or funerals, and dated trophies. Concerning an absence due to officially approved trips – in accordance with the Texas Tech University Catalog (p.48), the person responsible for a student missing class (e.g. coach) due to a trip should notify the instructors of the departure and return schedule in advance of the trip. The student may not be penalized and is responsible for the material missed. The Texas Tech University Catalog also states that a student who is absent from classes for the observance of a religious holy day will be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence. (p.49) ( prior notification to the instructor is appreciated)
A clarifying reminder of our Dean: "Please make sure that the student knows that it is her/his responsibility to withdraw from the class in person in the Office of the Registrar. Often, students, as well as some instructors, are under the impression that the instructor of the course can withdraw the student from the class by assigning a grade of “W” on the final grade report. A “W” cannot be assigned to a student unless the student has officially withdrawn from the class by the withdrawal deadline".
Disabilities Accommodation: Any student who because of a disability may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make necessary accommodations. Students should present appropriate verification from AccessTECH in the Student Counseling Center. No requirement exists that accommodations be made prior to the completion of this approved university process.
Academic Integrity: Keep in mind that I have to enforce the strict rules of academic behavior. Any student found cheating on the exam or plagiarizing a paper will receive an "F" for the exam or paper and may receive an "F" for the entire course. “It is the aim of the faculty of Texas Tech University to foster a spirit of complete honesty and high standard of integrity. The attempt of students to present as their own any work not honestly performed is regarded by the faculty and administration as a most serious offense and renders the offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension. a. Dishonesty of any kind on examinations and quizzes or on written assignments, illegal possession of examinations, the use of unauthorized notes during an examination or quiz, obtaining information during an examination from the examination paper or otherwise from another student, assisting others to cheat, alteration of grade records, illegal entry or unauthorized presence in an office are instances of cheating. b. Complete honesty is required of students in the presentation of any and all phases of course work as their own. This applies to quizzes of whatever length as well as to final examinations, daily reports, and term papers. c. Plagiarism is offering the work of another as one's own without proper acknowledgement; therefore, any student who fails to give credit for quotations or essentially identical expressions of material taken from books, encyclopedias, magazines, internet sources, and other reference works, or from the themes, reports, or other writings of a fellow student, is guilty of plagiarism.(TTU OP 34.12)”
Civility in the Classroom: Please be referred to the University's policy posted at http://www.studentaffairs.ttu.edu/vpsa/publications/civility2002.pdf. While I have no problem with you eating in the classroom (see description), I ask you to shut off your cellular phones.
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Disclaimer: The documents linked to other sources on the WWW, others than http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider2/ and its subdirectories, do not necessarily express the views of Texas Tech University or Dr. Andreas Schneider. @Copyright 2007 Andreas Schneider