Fall 2007
830:321 – Social Psychology
Section 05: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:20 - 4:40 PM, LSH A-143

Instructor: Dr. John Ackroff	Teaching Assistant: Lisa Maeng
ackroff@rci.rutgers.edu	limaeng@eden.rutgers.edu
Tillett 609	Psychology 201 (Busch)
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 1:15 - 2:30,	Office Hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 5:00 - 6:00
and by appointment	and by appointment

Web Page:

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~ackroff/Social PowerPoint presentations for each lecture will be available here before each lecture. Other information may also be found here.

Textbook:

Brehm, Sharon S., Kassin, Saul, and Fein, Steven. Social Psychology. (Sixth Edition). Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-618-77088-7. (Paperbound)

To be available at the Livingston Bookstore.

NOTE: This version of the text is bound together with a study guide. If you purchase a different version, you may not get the study guide. This version is about $10 more than a used hardcover version, which does not include the study guide. I have been told that the material in the chapters is the same in the hardbound and paperbound editions, but I have seen instances with a different publisher in which this was not the case.

The Seventh Edition may be available by the time classes start, however we will be using the Sixth. Please be sure you purchase the Sixth Edition.

Exams and Grading:

There will be three non-cumulative multiple-choice exams of 60 questions each based on the text and other materials presented in class. You are responsible for bringing pencils with erasers to each exam. Exam scores will be posted in the SAS Gradebook; a link will be available on the course web page. If you have questions about your score on an exam, you must discuss it with your Teaching Assistant before the next exam.

If you have a schedule conflict with an exam, you may be allowed to take the exam before the scheduled date at the discretion of the instructor. If you miss an exam, you will be allowed to take a make-up exam only if you present a note from your Dean's office verifying that you missed the exam due to an excused absence. This note should also indicate a reasonable time frame in which you will be able to make up the exam. You should give this note to the instructor within 1 week of the scheduled date of the exam.

Exams are often given in a different location in order to allow for more room between students. Room changes will be posted on the class web page. If an exam is cancelled or postponed on the day of the exam, there will be a member of the Psychology Department in the room at the scheduled time to make the announement. Notices posted on doors or the blackboard are likely to be hoaxes.

Final grades will be determined by the total number of questions you answer correctly on the exams. Extra credit points (see below) are added to the total number of questions you answer correctly. The following grades are "guaranteed":

A: 90% - 100%
B+: 88% - 89.99%
B: 80% - 87.99%
C+: 78% - 79.99%
C: 70% - 77.99%
D: 60% - 69.99%

I reserve the right to lower any of these cutoffs at my sole discretion.

Practice Exams:

will be made available at www.rutgersonline.net. You will need a Rutgers NetID to log in; your password is your date of birth in YYYYMMDD format.

Extra Credit:

You can earn extra credit points by taking special forms of the practice exams. This will be explained when the first Practice Exam is made available.

Supplementary Instruction:

Brent Donnelly (donnelbr@mac.com) will hold Supplementary Instruction sessions on Fridays from 3:00 to 4:00 in Scott 103. He will also be available before class begins on Tuesdays to answer questions.

Attendance and Correspondence Policies:

Attendance: You should attend all meetings of all of your classes. My lectures are based on the material in the assigned readings, but may also cover material not discussed in the readings. You are responsible for all of this material.

If you arrive late or must leave before class is over, please sit near a door and try to be as inconspicuous as possible. It is distracting to everyong to have people walking in and out of the classroom during class.

Classes are held according to the schedule below as long as the University is open. If the weather appears to be threatening, you can check the Campus Operating Status here.
Classroom Etiquette: Please turn off all cell phones, etc., before class begins.

If you wish to use a laptop computer to take notes, that is fine. If you wish to use a laptop computer to surf the web, play games, IM your friends, etc., I would suggest you go to the nearest Student Center. This advice also applies to having side discussions with your classmates, reading newspapers, doing puzzles, etc.
Questions: I encourage you to ask questions during class. If something is unclear, or if you have a question related to the material being discussed, please ask your question then. Chances are that some of your classmates would also like some additional discussion of the topic.

Because of schedule-related issues, I prefer not to answer questions before or after class.
Email: I try to answer email promptly. Having said that,
- Please use a Subject that gives me some idea what you are writing about. This is especially important if you send mail from an account other than eden. Mail from sexgoddess@aol.com with a subject of "hello" is likely to be considered spam and deleted unread.
- If you ask me a question whose answer is on the course web page or Syllabus, my reply is likely to say that.
- If you ask me a question about your standing in the course, please include your name and which course and section you are enrolled in.
- Please re-read the section on "Questions" above. I realize that there are times when you are reviewing notes after class and/or before an exam when you will discover that you have a question. But it is in everyone's best interest for you to ask your questions in class, rather than after the fact, if you have a question while class is in session.
- As stated on the course web page, you are responsible for any announcements, etc., I send to the class via email. Emails are sent to the address that appears when your name is entered into "Search People" on the "Search Rutgers" page. There is a link on the course web page that allows you to update this address.

Schedule

Date	Topic	Reading
Tuesday Sep 4	Course Overview
Thursday Sep 6	Introduction	Chapter 1
Tuesday Sep 11	Doing Social Pschology Research	Chapter 2
Thursday Sep 13	(No Class)
Tuesday Sep 18	The Social Self	Chapter 3
Thursday Sep 20	Perceiving Persons	Chapter 4
Tuesday Sep 25	Perceiving Persons, cont'd
Thursday Sep 27	Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination	Chapter 5
Tuesday Oct 2	Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination, cont'd
Thursday Oct 4	Review for Exam 1	Chapters 1 - 5
Tuesday Oct 9	Exam 1	Chapters 1 - 5
Thursday Oct 11	Attitudes	Chapter 6
Tuesday Oct 16	Attitudes, cont'd
Thursday Oct 18	Conformity	Chapter 7
Tuesday Oct 23	Conformity, cont'd
Thursday Oct 25	Group Processes	Chapter 8
Tuesday Oct 30	Attraction and Close Relationships	Chapter 9
Thursday Nov 1	Attraction and Close Relationships	Chapter 9
Tuesday Nov 6	Review for Exam 2	Chapters 6 - 9
Thursday Nov 8	Exam 2	Chapters 6 - 9
Tuesday Nov 13	Helping Others	Chapter 10
Thursday Nov 15	Aggression	Chapter 11
Tuesday Nov 20	Aggression, cont'd	Chapter 11
Thursday Nov 22	No Class -- Thanksgiving
Tuesday Nov 27	Law	Chapter 12
Thursday Nov 29	Law, con'td
Tuesday Dec 4	Business	Chapter 13
Thursday Dec 6	Health	Chapter 14
Tuesday Dec 11	Review for Exam 3	Chapters 10 - 14
Monday Dec 17	Exam 3, 9:00 AM (time change)	Chapters 10 - 14

I consider the course materials used for lecture content and the course web page to be my personal intellectual property or the intellectual property of other parties, as identified. I view the sale or purchase of these materials as a violation of copyright laws.

Fall 2007 830:321 – Social Psychology Section 05: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:20 - 4:40 PM, LSH A-143