Pre-requisites: The prerequisite for this course is General Psychology 201, which gives you a basic understanding of the scope of psychology (it's not just counseling) and how psychological research is conducted.  Because of the range of students who take Social Psych (including psych, social work, business, and other majors), this course is designed for sophomore-level non-psychology majors who have already completed General Psych (so don't panic if you're not a psych major).

I have a Ph.D. in social psychology and have taught at Dordt since 1997. I am happily married to Nick, who directs an international organization for Christian professors; we have 3 kids, numerous perennial flower gardens, and several ongoing house renovation projects. For more background information and my curriculum vita, visit my home page at http://homepages.dordt.edu/~lantinga/.

My office hours are every weekday from 3-4:30 (or another time by appointment) in the Faculty Office Building 215 (above the Copy Center); phone 712/722-6038; e-mail lantinga@dordt.edu. I am an admitted e-mail-aholic but only between 8am-5pm on weekdays.

My overall goals for this course are these: to help you gain insights into the social psychological nature of everyday human behavior, to benefit your own relationships and service in God's kingdom as a friend, roommate, neighbor, and co-worker; to help you contribute to and learn from a community of learners in the process of becoming an educated Christian; to foster your enthusiasm for studying psychology in this and in future classes; and to encourage your growth in discerning and confronting sin in your own and others' lives and in larger social structures.  Students will be able to:

(1) Demonstrate foundational knowledge in social psychology (concepts, theories, research methods); assessed with journal article review and tests

(2) Apply social psychological phenomena to one's own thinking, behavior, and relationships as well as to Biblical stories and cultural artifacts (literature, film, etc.); assessed with portfolio papers, anger observations, and tests

(3) Recognize the extent to which social behaviors are influenced by situational and interpretive factors; assessed with film analysis, situational observation, and anger observation

(4) Outline a Biblical perspective on human nature and compare it to social psychological perspectives (e.g., evolutionary, sociocultural); assessed with tests

Textbook:    Kenrick, D. T., Neuberg, S. G., & Cialdini, R. B. (2005). Social psychology: Unraveling the mystery (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN: 0205420486

Other readings (on library reserve at http://denis.dordt.edu/offices/library/reserves/e_reserves.shtml and at the circulation desk):

Dalrymple, T. (2004, May 31). Hearts of darkness: Torturers among us, and in us. National Review, 56(10), 28-29.

Levine, R. V. (2003, May-June). The kindness of strangers. American Scientist, 91, 226-233.

McAndrew, F. T. (1993). Environmental psychology. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. (pp. 101-118, 121-125 and 129-141 are assigned)

Plantinga, C. P., Jr. (1995). Not the way it's supposed to be: A breviary of sin. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. (pp. 173-197 are assigned)

Taylor, B. B. (1998, February 9). Why we love this deadly sin. Christianity Today, 42(2), 61-62.

Van Leeuwen, M. S. (1990). Gender and grace: Love, work, and parenting in a changing world. Downer's Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. (pp. 53-71 are assigned)

Zimbardo, P. G., Maslach, C., & Haney, C. (2000). Reflections on the Stanford Prison Experiment: Genesis, transformations, consequences. In T. Blass (Ed.) Obedience to authority: Current perspectives on the Milgram paradigm (pp. 193-237).  Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. (pp. 193-220 are assigned)

Grading & Assignments (top)

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Journal Article Review
All of the information in your Social Psych textbook is based on research that is reported in professional journal articles.  The textbook gives you broad coverage of social psychology, but you'll gain a much better understanding of the field and of specific topics if you consult original sources.  In this assignment, you will read a professional research article and write a short paper to introduce you to how social psychological research is conducted and reported.

Film Scene Analysis
Because social psychology is based on the idea that situations and interpretations of them are key to understanding social behavior, you will practice observing, describing, and analyzing the key features of a short movie scene.  You will present your findings in a short paper and in a classroom speech.  See more details here.

Situational Observations
Building on the Film Scene Analysis assignment, you will further develop your observational and analysis skills by reporting on a real-life situation.  You may choose whether to be an objective observer of a scripted situation (e.g., doctor's waiting room) or a participant in a persuasion situation. In either case, your social observational skills and your appreciation for the powers of the situation and interpretation should be enhanced by this assignment, which is described in more detail here. 

Anger Observations
In the course of a day, we all experience frustration or anger.  In this assignment you will purposely keep track of these feelings, the situational and interpretive factors that contribute to them, and reflect on their behavioral and social consequences.  More details are described here.

Course Format: Because students learn differently, classes will involve large and small group discussions, lectures, video clips, guest speakers, and student presentations. Because of this variety, some class activities may be more or less “useful” ways for you to learn material than for other students (e.g., some students learn best when they talk about ideas out loud rather than just reading about them or hearing them in lectures). Class lectures will expand on topics related to the assigned reading but will not repeat the reading.

Exam Policy:  Students are expected to take exams at the scheduled time. Failure to do so will result in a score of 0 unless prior arrangements are made with the professor instructor (in cases of illness or family emergency, documented by Student Services). Excuses such as “I overslept,” “I have 2+other tests,” or “I’m going home this weekend (so can I take the exam early)” will not exempt you from the consequence of a missed exam. Any make-up exams will be scheduled at the professor's convenience and may take a different format than the scheduled exam.

Late Policy: Late work will be penalized 10% per day (with the “late clock” beginning at class time rather than the end of the workday), until the graded assignment has been handed back to the class; at that point, late work will not be accepted. Excuses such as “I overslept” or “The printer wasn’t working” will not exempt you from late penalties.

Attendance Policy: Merely reading the text or copying a classmate’s notes are unlikely to result in enough understanding for you to be successful in class. Therefore, don’t miss class. However, absences are sometimes unavoidable; in such situations, you are responsible for obtaining and learning any material you miss. More than 1 week’s worth of class absences (i.e., 1 night class, 2 Tues/Thurs classes, 3 MWF classes) during the semester will reduce your grade and may be grounds for withdrawal from the course after discussion with the Psychology Department.

Writing expectations: Good writing is a skill required of all educated persons (not just English majors). Carefully edit and proofread your work; a significant number of grammatical, writing, or APA-style errors will reduce your assignment grade.  If you struggle with writing, consult an ASK Center writing tutor or a good friend early in the semester to get regular help.

E-mail: Please check your e-mail regularly (weekday evenings are best) for class announcements, schedule changes, etc.

Study Tips (top)

College professors expect that students study about 2 hours outside of class for each hour spent in class; for our 3-credit class, that means about 6 hours per week doing assigned readings (which should include outlining or making notes), reviewing lecture notes, and completing assignments. This kind of regular studying enhances learning and usually results in higher grades (cramming for 8+ hours the night before a test is not related to learning or to good grades). You'll need to go beyond just familiarity with the concepts or even memorization; you are expected to have a deeper understanding of the material, which includes the ability to apply it to new situations and comparing concepts or theories.

Last year's social psych students were asked this open-ended question on the end-of-semester evaluation form: What advice would you give to future students about how to get the most out of this class?  Here's what they said:

• Keep up with the readings/read before class
• Attend class faithfully
• Actively participate or get involved in class; ask questions
• Work on applying terms/concepts to real life
• Pay attention, keep an open mind, make learning the focus

If you find yourself struggling with the course material, see these study tips to help you: http://homepages.dordt.edu/~lantinga/studytips_social.htm. You should also review the From the Authors preface in your text for valuable tips on reading the chapters.

If you have difficulty in this class at any point, please come see Dr. Lantinga. This lets her know and care about your problem and she may also be able to give some advice to help you. The ASK Center has tutors for this class as well. Don't wait to seek help!

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last revised January 2005