Dr. Andreas Schneider SOC 5320  Social Psychology: Symbolic Interactionism   Fall 2006, Mondays 18:00-20:50 Holden Hall 155

Contact Information

• Fall 2006: Wednesdays and Fridays 12:00 PM to 1:00PM Holden Hall 159, phone 806 742 2401 ext 159

• By E-mail (andreas.schneider@ttu.edu)

• On our teaching homepage on the World Wide Web http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider

Course Description

The graduate seminar SOC 5320 “Social Psychology: Symbolic Interactionism” integrates psychological, socio-psychological and sociological thought to introduce social psychology with a focus on the symbolic interactionist perspective. Its interdisciplinary character has attracted students of fields like sociology, management, psychology, education, and communication studies. Dr. Schneider, who offers this seminar on a biyearly basis, has published in the fields of international management, qualitative and quantitative methodology, and the comparative cultural analysis of identity and emotion.  

We will start with the review of important concepts such as different perspectives about culture, attitudes, meaning, identity, emotions, impression management, labeling, attribution, cognitive dissonance, and balance theory.  Having established our theoretical building blocks we are ready to discuss contemporary approaches in symbolic interactionism.

The course is guided by the paperback of Neil MacKinnon, Symbolic Interactionism as Affect Control (1994). Later, I will introduce some quantitative models of symbolic interactionism and show empirical applications. Here I will employ a cross-cultural approach to the problem of violence, authoritarianism, and miscommunications in multicultural organizations.

We will take turns in briefly presenting the readings to the class. Choices of topic will be accommodated as possible. The student should investigate his/her own agenda within the framework of the course in form of a paper. Several versions of these papers will be reviewed by fellow students and the instructor. Ideally, this evolutionary process will help the students to establish a solid basis for a publishable paper.

Readings: Two small paperbacks, a reading package, and resources on the Internet.

Syllabus

Links to our overheads and notes will be updated (and authoritative) the day before the session.

Check the TTU academic calendar for important dates.

Session 1 Aug 28

Introduction into the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective in Social Psychology

If you have your very own concrete idea for a presentation, please e-mail me

 

Labor Day Weekend

Session 2 Sept 11

Different Perspectives in Social Psychology  

House, James. 1977. The Three Faces of Social Psychology. Sociometry 40,2: 161-177

Markus, H. and R. Zajonc. 1985. "The cognitive perspective in social psychology". Pp. 137-230 in G. Linzey and E. Aronson (eds.). Handbook of Social Psychology Vol. 1, 3^rd edition. NY: Random House. Pp. 137-214.

Quite some reading for today! Be advised that we will visit the Structural Dynamics (Gestalt Theory, Balance Theory and  Cognitive Dissonance Theory pp197-208) in more detail in our session #5.

Sign up for the presentations

Session 3 Sept 18

I. Theoretical Building Blocks

See also on the net:  David Heise receiving the Cooley-Mead Award from the Social Psychology Section of the American Sociological Association San Francisco, August, 1998. This speech describes the integration and interconnection of the symbolic interactionist perspective with current theoretical approaches in sociology and social psychology.

Attitudes and Meaning: Nature and Measurement

• Attitudes defined
• Osgood's article
• Understanding unknown cultures (Schneider 2002)

Osgood, Charles E. Probing Subjective Culture. Journal of Communication, 1974, 24 (1): 21-35 and 82-100. Reprinted in Charles E. Osgood and Oliver C.S. Tzeng. 1990. "Language, Meaning, and Culture, The Selected Papers of C.E. Osgood." Charles E. Osgood and Oliver C.S. Tzeng (Eds.). New York: Centennial Psychology Series.

(See also in Markus & Zajonc 1984. Pp. 175-186)

Schneider, Andreas. 2002. "Probing Unknown Cultures". Electronic Journal of Sociology: 6, 3.

Handout Copy Chapter 2

Session 4  Sept 25

Attribution

• Covariation over time
• Attribution in the Prisoner's Dilemma Game
• Discounting Effect: Multiple Possible Causes
• Attribution of Causality
• Replication of Kelley's experiment of mutual faith control

Kelley, H.H. 1971. Attribution in Social Interaction. Morristown: General Learning Press. Copy pp.1-26

PRE: be my assistant in the replication Kelley's experiment of mutual faith control

PRE: The Prisoner Dilemma Game

Session 5 Oct 2

Balance Theory and Cognitive Dissonance

• Balance Theory

Heider, Fritz. 1958. The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. NY: Wiley. Chapter 7: Sentiment pp.174-217.

Handout Copy Chapter 6

• Cognitive Dissonance

Festinger, Leon. 1957. A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press. Pages 1-31.

(See also in Markus & Zajonc 1984. Pp. 201-206)

PRE: Festinger's famous cognitive dissonance experiment and its behaviorist alternative interpretation by Bem (self-perception)

Session 6 Oct 9

Self, Identity, and Culture

• Self and Identity

Stryker, Sheldon. 1987. Identity Theory: Developments and Extensions. In: K. Yardley and T. Honess. Self and Identity: Psychological Perspectives. 89-103.

• Reflexive Meaning of Identity

Mead, G. Herbert. 1913. "The Social Self". Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods. Pp. 373-380.

Cruise Mead on the Web

• Identity, Culture, and Labeling

Strauss, Anselm. 1994. Identity, Biography, History, and Symbolic Representations. Social Psychology Quarterly. 58,1: 4-12

Handout Copy Chapters 3,4, and 10

PRE: How do we build our set of identities? How does this set change over time?

PRE: The effects of labeling.

Session 7  Oct 16

Impression Management

Book: Goffman, Erving. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. NY: Simon and Schuster.

    Exam

    Paper Topics

Session 8  Oct 23

II. Symbolic Interactionism (SI)

Sociological Social Psychology and Symbolic Interactionism

Stryker, S. and P. J. Burke. (2000). The Past, Present, and Future of an Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 284-297.

House, James, S. Gary A. Fine, and Karen S. 1995. Cook. Reply: The Promise of Sociological Social Psychology. Social Psychology Quarterly. 58, 4:336-338.

SI as Affect Control: Affect Control Theory

Introduction

Cruise Herm Smith's Affect Control Theory.

Heise, David R. 1992. Affect Control Theory and Impression Formation. E. Borgatta and M. Borgatta (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Sociology, Vol. I, pp. 12-17. (New York: Macmillan, 1992).

MacKinnon, Neil J. 1994. Symbolic Interactionism as Affect Control. Albany: State University of New York Press. Foreword and Chapter 1

Session 9  Oct 30

Affect Control Theory: Basic Propositions, Meaning and Action

MacKinnon1994, Chapters 2

Cognition, Affect and Motivations

• Difference between ACT and Cognitive Dissonance Theory
• Translating the Heider's POX model in the ABO event configuration

MacKinnon1994, Chapters 3

Handout Copy Chapter 6

• Mead and ACT

MacKinnon1994, Chapter 4

          PRE: How does ACT relate to Mead?

          PRE: Differences and Similarities of ACT and Blumer's Symbolic Interactionism.

Session 10 Nov 6

Identities and Roles

MacKinnon1994, Chapters 5 &6

Handout Copy Chapter 5

Burke, Peter J. 2006. "Identity Change." Social Psychology Quarterly 69,1:81-96.

PRE: Define and introduce "Classic Role Theory" of Sociology.

PRE: Present some different theoretical approaches to the identity concept and differentiate these concepts

PRE:  How do we create and maintain a deviant or criminal identity?

Session 11 Nov 13

Emotions

MacKinnon1994, Chapter 7

Handout Copy Chapter 8

Nice summary of our topic on identity that links to emotions: Smith-Lovin, Lynn. 2002. Roles, Identities, and Emotions: Parallel Processing and the Production of Mixed Emotions. Pp. 125-143. In: Self and Identity Yoshihisa Kashima, Margaret Foddy, and Michael Platow. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. London. 

Check out the online program of David Heise for emotions predictions (currently this link might not work)

PRE: How do emotions correspond to identities?

PRE: What are the different approaches to emotions you find the literature

         PRE: Take a critical position on the stereotype that "females are more emotional than males"

Session 12  Nov 20

Violence

• Sexual Violence, Structural and Affective Meaning

Schneider, Andreas. 1996. "Sexual-Erotic Emotions in the U.S. in Cross-cultural Comparison." International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. 16: 123-143. Special Issue: "Sociology of Emotions."

PRE: Female offenders of sexual violence.

• Anderson, Peter and Dianne Melson 2002. From Deviance to Normalcy: Women as Sexual Aggressors. Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality, Volume 5
• Violence in the U.S. South

Cohen, Dov, Joseph Vandello, Sylvia Puente, and Adrian Rantilla. 1999. “When You Call Me That, Smile!”  How Norms for Politeness, Interaction Styles, and Aggression Work Together in Southern Culture.  Social Psychology Quarterly  63:257-275.

PRE: Violent Crime in the U.S., a historical comparison.

PRE: Differentiate your evaluation for the South and other meaningful regions (West Coast, Midwest etc.) of the U.S.  You might use the following sources:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
• U.S. Department of Justice
  • Bureau of Justice Statistics (NCVS)
• Social Statistics provided by the White House (UCR & NCVS)
• Crime Statistic Link Guide

Session 13 Nov 27

Cross-cultural Comparison

• The World Value Survey

Inglehart, Ronald, and Wayne Baker. 2000. "Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values. American Sociological Review. 65:19-51.

PRE: I was told that there are conservative - liberal cycles in the U.S. history.  Present evidence (discuss literature) supporting this assumption.

• Measurement of Sentiments

David R. Heise. 2001. Project Magellan: Collecting Cross-cultural Affective Meanings Via The Internet. Electronic Journal of Sociology.

Response of Herm Smith about problems in the application in China:  Smith, Her, Shuuichirou Ike, and Ying Li. 2002. Project Magellan Redux: Problems and Solutions with Collecting Cross-cultural Affective Meanings Via the Internet. Electronic Journal of Sociology.
 

• Authority and Identity

Schneider, Andreas. 2004. “The Ideal Type of Authority in the United States and Germany.” Sociological Perspectives 47,3: 313-327.

PRE: Problems in Multicultrual organizations

(Powerpoint Presentation: Schneider, Andreas. 2006 “Misunderstandings in multicultural Organizations: Pattern of Authority in Germany and the US.” Presentation at Lehrstuhl für Organisations- und Sozialpsychologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Aug 21.)

 

Session 14  Dec 4

Open session

At the end of the course students should be able to

• know and understand major theoretical approaches in social psychology
• distinguish and critically evaluate these approaches
• apply theoretical approaches to problems of social psychology
• understand the different conclusions we draw when applying different theoretical approaches to identical problems
• describe and differentiate different methodologies in the study of  social psychology
• in their presentation students demonstrate the ability to independently investigate a topic of sociology and to improve oral presentation skills.
• student will learn to investigate their own agenda within the framework of the course. Hereby they learn the   evolutionary process that ideally will help the students to establish a solid basis for a publishable paper.

• One exam is used to test the knowledge of theoretical building blocks underlying symbolic interactionism. 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 social psychology / sociology.
• The presentation investigates the engagement of the student, his/her critical thinking, the ability to work independently, and his or her communication skills.  
• Handing in a paper proposal, a preliminary paper and a final paper students have to demonstrate that they are able to engage in an evolutionary process that typically underlies the dissimilation of scientific inquiries.
• Grades are based on the student's performance on  two presentations, one scheduled exams, a paper proposal, a preliminary paper, and a final paper.

Requirements: Students will be evaluated on the basis of an exam that concludes the section in which we review basic theoretical building blocks (25%). The main task is the submission of a paper proposal (5%), a  preliminary paper (25%), and the evaluation of the final version of the paper (25%).  In the second session students will have to choose two presentation topic which will count 10% each.

Exam 25%, October 16

Two Presentations 10% each

Paper proposal 5%, October 23  (Paper Topics)  or earlier

Preliminary paper 25% November 6  or earlier

Final version of your paper 25%, November 27 or earlier

Grades will be personally and anonymously delivered in class or by email.

Exam: This will be an in class exam of approx. 11/2 hours. It will have a multiple choice and an essay question component.

Presentations: In the syllabus you have topics marked with PRE. Presentations have to be held within the session it is listed. After our fist session I have to check the size of our class to determine the exact number of possible presentations, and their length. Topics are given in the second class session on a first come first serve basis in the second session. If deemed necessary we might draw numbers to determine the order of choice (my goodness, do I get formalistic here). Once all listed presentations are taken, we will assign the wildcard presentations.

Wildcard Presentations: Sometimes interesting matters or controversial views come up in class that cannot be answered right away. Students who sign up for a wildcard presentation have to prepare a subject within a week and present it in the upcoming. Evaluations of these presentations will of course take this time restriction into consideration. Topics might also involve current issues that I cannot foresee at the time I write this syllabus. The number of wildcard presentations available will depend on the number of students.

Papers: If you can demonstrate a specific interest,  I am very flexible in the accommodation paper topics other than the ones I suggest:  suggested paper topics.  Since the ideal final product is a publishable paper, your expertise and interest should be the major determinant of your topic.  The length of  your paper proposals depend largely on your stage of completion.  I suggest at least two pages for your paper proposal. Papers should be submitted double spaced, one inch margin on all sides, and in formats of our major journals.  I suggest to follow the ASA format and will include a copy of the ASA guidelines in your reader. You can see good examples in the readings of the Social Psychology Quarterly articles. You should submit two copies of your paper proposals (one for your fellow reviewers, and one for me). Attach all prior versions of your paper proposals, so I can judge your progression.

Paper Grading: Believe it or not, one of the most important things to observe is the due date. The fact that we only meet once a week make the timely delivery compulsory. If there is no authoritative medical excuse, papers received up to one week late will be downgraded by one full grade.  If they are not received one session after due date they will receive an "F".  There are three ways to avoid such severe disadvantage: (1) Submit your paper in an earlier session. (2) If there are circumstances that we can accommodate under mutual agreement one session prior to the paper's due date. (3) Submit your paper electronically prior to Sunday 10P.M. before its due date. In this way, I can print it and distribute it for review.

Grading key to convert number grades of your exam or final grades into 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.

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

Attendance is mandatory. Students who do not attend will receive 0 points for their missing presentation / critique.

Package available before our second session at Copy Tech.

Content:

1. House, James. 1977. "The Three Faces of Social Psychology". Sociometry 40,2: 161-177

2. Markus, H. and R. Zajonc. 1985. "The cognitive perspective in social psychology". Pp. 137-230 in G. Linzey and E. Aronson (eds.). Handbook of Social Psychology Vol 1, 3^rd edition. NY: Random House.

3. Osgood, Charles E. "Probing subjective culture". Journal of Communication, 1974, 24 (1): 21-35.

4.  Kelley, H.H. 1971. Attribution in Social Interaction. MorrisTown: General Learning Press. Copy pp.1-26

5. Festinger, Leon. 1957. A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press. 1-31.

6. Heider, Fritz. 1958. The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. NY: Wiley. Chapter 7: Sentiment pp.174-217.

7. Stryker, Sheldon. 1987. Identity Theory: Developments and Extensions. In: K. Yardley and T. Honess. Self and Identity: Psychological Perspectives. 89-103.

8. Mead, G. Herbert. 1913. "The Social Self". Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods. Pp. 373-380.

9. Strauss, Anselm. 1995. "Identity, Biography, History, and Symbolic Representations". Social Psychology Quarterly. 58,1: 4-12

10. Stryker, S. and P. J. Burke. 2000. The Past, Present, and Future of an Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 284-297.

11. House, James, S. Gary A. Fine, and Karen S. 1995. Cook. Reply: "The Promise of Sociological Social Psychology". Social Psychology Quarterly. 58, 4:336-338.

12. Heise, David R. 1987. "Affect Control Theory: Concepts and Model". Journal of Mathematical Sociology 13: 1-33.

13. Cohen, Dov, Joseph Vandello, Sylvia Puente, and Adrian Rantilla. 1999. ""When You Call Me That, Smile!" How Norms for Politeness, Interaction Styles, and Aggression Work Together in Southern Culture". Social Psychology Quarterly 63:257-275.  

14. Inglehart, Ronald, and Wayne Baker. 2000. "Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values. American Sociological Review. 65:19-51.

15. American Sociological Association Style Guide Second Edition

16. Smith-Lovin, Lynn. 2002. "Roles, Identities, and Emotions: Parallel Processing and the Production of Mixed Emotions". Pp. 125-143. In: Self and Identity. Yoshihisa Kashima, Margaret Foddy, and Michael Platow. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. London. 

+17. Burke, Peter J. 2006. "Identity Change." Social Psychology Quarterly 69,1:81-96.

Additional Readings that might interest you (no fear, they are not required). The library is in process of putting them on reserve. 

Back to the homepage of Dr. Andreas Schneider http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider/

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 2006 Andreas Schneider