Research in Social Psychology [WLOs: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

To prepare for this discussion, please read Chapter 1: Studying Social Psychology of your textbook and Exploring the Ethics and Psychological Impact of Deception in Psychological Research article.

In this discussion, you will consider principles of scientific research, including methodology and ethical considerations.

First, visit the Online Social Psychology Studies (Links to an external site.) web page and select any study from the list. (Note that some links may be broken; if you choose a study that is unavailable, simply pick another option.) Participate in the research by following the instructions. After you have completed the study, answer the following questions (see Chapter 1 and Boynton, Portnoy, & Johnson, 2013):

• Indicate the study you completed, including the web link.
• Describe the research that was conducted. What did you do? What type of method do you think the researcher was utilizing? Can you identify the hypothesis and/or theory?
• Appraise the study based on your understanding of research gained from the reading. What elements of the study “worked” and what would you suggest the researchers do to improve their study? Mention at least three specific elements.
• Indicate any relevant ethical concerns. Was deception utilized?
• Identify situational factors and/or social and cultural influences that may impact the phenomenon being studied.
• Illustrate how this insight may be relevant to your personal or professional life through specific examples.

To fully demonstrate content knowledge and critical thinking in your Research in Social Psychology discussion

• Interpret course concepts explicitly, applying them to your personal experiences/observations, and cite the required readings as appropriate.
• Be thorough and specific, structuring your work intentionally (with an introductory and concluding sentence or two), providing clear context, and concisely and precisely explaining relevant course concepts.
• Use personal examples to illustrate as appropriate, but do be sure to provide an objective analysis too, referencing required materials and using additional sources as needed to support your insight.
• Use your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.
• Your original post should be a minimum of 300 words.

 Social Thinking [WLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 5]

To prepare for this discussion, please read Chapter 4: Attitudes, Attributions, and Behaviors; Chapter 5: Making Judgments; and Chapter 6: Prejudice of your textbook, and Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases and Intergroup Contact Theory articles. In addition, watch A Class Divided.

In this discussion, you will consider theoretical perspectives on the formation, maintenance, and change of attitudes and the cognitive processes that support these thoughts, feelings, and actions.

• Choose any group toward which you have a strong attitude, positive or negative.
  • Possible dimensions from which you may select your group include: appearance, race or ethnicity, gender, social class, nationality, sexual identity, (dis)ability, rural versus urban status, geographic region, religious belief, political ideology, incarceration/criminal history, occupational status, military status, and so on.
• Relate stereotypes (thoughts about), prejudice (feelings toward), and/or discrimination (actions) directed toward members of this group on a societal or cultural level, explaining potential causal mechanisms (categorization, social norms, inequality, etc.; see Chapter 6). You may elect to identify your own implicit and explicit attitudes, as well, though this is not required.
  • Use concrete examples to illustrate (e.g., advertisements that depict members of the group in a stereotypical manner, statements you have overheard expressing affective reactions to the group, policies that discriminate in favor or/against the group, etc.). Consider both negative and positive elements.
• Identify situational and social/cultural factors that may influence attitudes toward this group.
• Analyze attitudes toward this group using one or more relevant theoretical perspectives (self-perception theory, cognitive dissonance, theory of planned behavior, etc.; see Chapter 4).
  • Examine the use of heuristics (availability, representativeness, etc.) and errors in judgment (belief perseverance, confirmation bias, illusion of control, etc.) with regard to this attitude (see Chapter 5).
• Consider how positive or negative attitudes toward this or another group might be implicated in a professional setting (see A Class Divided). Identify realistic suggestions to eliminate as much bias as possible in this context (see Pettigrew, 1998).

To fully demonstrate content knowledge and critical thinking, in your Social Thinking discussion

• Interpret course concepts explicitly, applying them to your personal experiences/observations, and cite the required readings as appropriate.
• Be thorough and specific, structuring your work intentionally (with an introductory and concluding sentence or two), providing clear context, and concisely and precisely explaining relevant course concepts.
• Use personal examples to illustrate as appropriate, but do be sure to provide an objective analysis too, referencing required materials and using additional sources as needed to support your insight.
• Use your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.
• Your original post should be a minimum of 300 words.

Text

Feenstra, J. (2013). Social psychology. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

• This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.

Book

Articles

• Adams, G., & Markus, H. R. (2001). Culture as patterns: An alternative approach to the problem of reification. Culture & Psychology, 7(3), 283–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X0173002
• Boynton, M. H., Portnoy, D. B., & Johnson, B. T. (2013). Exploring the ethics and psychological impact of deception in psychological research. IRB: Ethics & Human Research, 35(2), 7¬13. Retrieved from https://www.thehastingscenter.org/publications-resources/ethics-human-research/
• Cialdini, R. B. (2014). Harnessing the science of persuasion. ASCA Newsletter, Edition 6, 26–35. Retrieved from https://www.ebsco.com/
• Crano, W. D. (2000). Milestones in the psychological analysis of social influence. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 4(1), 68–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2699.4.1.68
• Forsyth, D. R. (2000). One hundred years of groups research: Introduction to the special issue. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 4(1), 3–6. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2699.4.1.3
• Kuhn, M. H., & McPartland, T. S. (1954). An empirical investigation of self-attitudes (Links to an external site.). American Sociological Review, 19(1), 68–76. https://doi.org/10.2307/2088175
• Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224–253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224
• Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 65–85. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.49.1.65
• Reis, H. T., & Aron, A. (2008). Love: What it is, why does it matter, and how does it operate? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(1), 80–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2008.00065.x
• Segerstrom, S. C., & O’Connor, D. B. (2012). Stress, health and illness: Four challenges for the future. Psychology and Health, 27(2), 128–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2012.659516
• Slavich, G. M. (2016). Life stress and health: A review of conceptual issues and recent findings. Teaching of Psychology, 43(4), 346–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628316662768
• Sumter S. R., Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2013). Perceptions of love across the lifespan: Differences in passion, intimacy, and commitment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 37(5), 417–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025413492486
• Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124–1131. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124

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