Dr. Gregory Neidert
PGS 461
Interpersonal Influence
Working Course Syllabus
Spring 2013
Instructor: Dr. Gregory Neidert
Meeting Time: M 1:30pm - 4:15pm - SCOB316 [SLN 13623]
Office: PSY B203
Office Hrs.: Monday by appointment only 11:30am - 1:30pm and 7:30pm - 8:30pm; Tuesday by appointment only 11:30am - 1:30pm and 4:30pm - 5:30pm; Wednesday - Friday none
Office Phone: 965-1868
Main Office Phone: 965-3326
Email: atgpn@asu.edu
Website 1: http://www.public.asu.edu/~gneidert
Website 2: http://www.asu.edu/courses/pgs461
Textbooks:
(1) The Social Animal (11th ed.) - Aronson (2012)
(2) Influence: Science & Practice (5th ed.) - Cialdini (2009)
Readings: Will be available by the end of the second week of class.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will address the issues of interpersonal influence in-depth (see the topics listed below). We will examine how the real, imagined, or implied presence of others motivates you to think, feel, and behave in ways that may or may not be desirable. The following topics will be addressed in approximately their order of presentation below.
I. INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
Chapter 1 (A)
II. METHODS (review only)
Chapter 9 (A)
Full-cycle Social Psychology (Cialdini, 1980) - Not assigned reading – discussion on article only
III. THE CORE MOTIVES MODEL OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND THE SIX PRINCIPLES OF INFLUENCE
Instant Influence Action Guide (Neidert, 1991)
The Core Motives Approach to Understanding Social Influence (Neidert, 2008)
IV. INFORMATION OVERLOAD, MINDLESSNESS, & VULNERABILITY
Chapter 1 (C)
The Splendid Table (Lynne Rossetto Kasper, 16 January 2013)
Rethinking the role of thought in social interaction (Langer, 1978)
The experience of living in cities (Milgram, 1970)
V. SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM, DRAMATURGY, & ROLE THEORY
On the nature of the environment (Barker, 1963)
A Study of Prisoners and Guards in a Simulated Prison (Haney, Banks, & Zimbardo, 1973)
Videotape and the attribution process (Storms, 1973)
VI. RESEARCH FINDINGS IN CONFORMITY
Chapter 2 conformity (A)
Chapter 4 social proof (C)
A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgement (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955)
The werther effect (Phillips, 1985)
Lady in distress (Latane & Rodin, 1969)
VII. COMPLIANCE INDOCTRINATION, AUTHORITY, & SOCIAL ORDER: THE SEEDS OF OBEDIENCE
Chapters 6 authority, 3 commitment & consistency (C)
Chapter 5 self-justification (A)
Some conditions of obedience and disobedience to authority (Milgram, 1965)
An experimental study in nurse-physician relationships (Hofling et al., 1966)
VIII. ADVERTISING, THE MEDIA, & PERSUASION
Chapters 2 reciprocation, 5 liking (C)
Long-term behavioral effects of cognitive dissonance (Freedman, 1965)
Television criminology: Network illusions of criminal justice realities (Haney & Manzolati, 1978)
The impact of mass media violence on U.S. homicides (Phillips, 1983)
IX. USING PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION & SOCIAL "GOODS"
Chapter 7 scarcity (C)
Chapter 7 prejudice (A)
Avoiding social traps (Neidert & Linder, 1990)
X. ETHICAL INFLUENCE: APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE TECHNIQUES IN THE REAL WORLD
Chapter 8 (C)
The purpose of the course is to educate you about and, therefore, sensitize you to the various interpersonal/social mechanisms of influence. In other words, those mechanisms that have evolved in human cultures in order to control and maintain your thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviors within socially "tolerable" limits.
LECTURE
Before coming to class, I expect students to have read the assigned material. By so doing, it allows a higher and more informed level of discussion to take place. I feel that by waiting until the week before the exam to read the material, students are cheating themselves out of their education and are also unable to effectively participate in the class. I encourage your participation in class, because I view you as consumers who pay to have me relate information on this topic to you: And I want you to get as much from this course as you can. Consequently, by providing input during lectures and office hours, I feel you will be able to get the type and level of information from this class that you seek.
My lectures are oriented toward the practical application of Influence Processes in a wide variety of fields and settings. I generally provide lecture outlines to the class that act as guides for the topics under discussion and also as study guides for the exams. During lecture, I focus on having you UNDERSTAND CONCEPTS, as opposed to merely memorizing sterile, lifeless definitions. Consequently, I stress my in-class examples as vehicles for allowing students to generate their own intuitive definitions of the concepts. The standardized definitions are available in the written materials (which, as I said, should have been read in advance).
TESTS
Four (4) tests will be given. They will be multiple choice tests, with the number of questions per test varying according to the schedule presented below (in the GRADING SCHEDULE section of the syllabus). In Tests 1 and 3 questions are taken from your assigned text book chapters. In Tests 2 and 4, the questions are taken from lecture and the readings. No test will be eligible to be dropped and NO MAKE-UP TESTS WILL BE GIVEN.
The following represents the tentative test schedule for this semester. I reserve the right to alter the dates as I see fit.
Test # DATE TOPICS
Test I
11 Feb. 2013 I - VI, Books
Test II
04 Mar. 2013
I - TBA, Lecture & Readings
Test III
01 Apr. 2013
VII - X, Books
Test IV
29 April 2013 [or 6 May 2013]
VII - X, Lecture & Readings
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
ASU complies with all federal and state laws regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. Necessary accommodations will be made for any students with disabilities who are registered with Disability Resources. If you have a disability and need reasonable accommodation for equal access to education at ASU and are not yet registered, Disability Resources is located on the first floor of the Matthew's Center Building; their office hours are from 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday (965-1234). Any information about a disability provided to Dr. Neidert or his teaching assistants will remain confidential.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Attendance throughout each entire class period is required & will be taken by Dr. Neidert every class period via a sign-in sheet. Individuals who arrive late or leave early, without prior permission of the instructor (for a verifiable and unavoidable reason), will be counted as absent, even if they signed-in on the sheet.
If a you are not present when attendance is taken for two (2) class periods, your final grade will be reduced by one full grade level. If a you are not present when attendance is taken for three (3) or more class periods, you will receive a final grade of E for the course.
Only absences preapproved by the instructor, or those for which there is a verifiable and unavoidable reason, will be excused. Individuals missing four (4) or more classes for verifiable and unavoidable reasons may submit appropriate documentation to receive a grade of I or W for the course. If the appropriate documentation is not submitted, the student will receive an E for the course.
Finally, only students registered for the course are allowed in the class. Visitors are allowed to attend only with prior permission from Dr. Neidert. Individuals not enrolled in the course will be referred to the Dean of Students for appropriate University disciplinary action.
CLASS PAPERS/PROJECTS/EXERCISES
There will be two major projects for the course. All assignments will be due at the beginning of the period on the dates assigned in class. In other words, all papers and projects are due by 1:30pm on the assigned due dates. Assignments handed in after the beginning of class will receive a grade of F (HINT ... there is no penalty for getting your papers or projects in early).
All written assignments/exercises will be laser printed, double-spaced, with 1" margins about the papers. They will be written in American Standard English, written in clear typeface, in accordance with the style recommendations advanced by the American Psychological Association, etc. Excessive (more than about 5 - 7) grammatical or typographical errors will result in a grade of F.
Criteria used for grading all papers:
Writing Style - your ability to clearly and concisely communicate your thoughts to the reader.
Analysis - your ability to clearly and persuasively argue and support the assertions you make in your paper.
Proofreading - your attention to detail in the production of your paper. More that 5 - 7 typographical or grammatical errors will result in a grade of E.
Citations - your capacity to select appropriate citations to support your arguments, as well as having a sufficient number of citations (as required in your assignment).
The following represent a partial listing of the assignments:
* Mini papers/projects (1 or 2 pages)
* Three sales visits (groups of 2) (5-10 pages)
* Mormon visitor center & AA visit combined paper (groups of 2) (10-15 pages)
This category of coursework has the capacity to reduce your minimum number of total points for your Final Grade by 5%, except in the case of D or E level performance on the tests [see the page 5 for details]. All Papers/Projects are graded on a Pass/Fail basis only. All must be completed and receive a grade of Pass to be counted toward your Final Grade. If any is not completed with a grade of Pass, then none of the Papers/Projects/Exercises points count toward your Final Grade. After grading, papers will not be returned to you. Rather, the grades will be posted on the attendance sheet and the papers will be available in Dr. Neidert’s office for review. You may come by during office hours or set an appointment to review and discuss your work.
GROUP MEETINGS/APPOINTMENTS WITH CLASSMATES
If you commit to a meeting with your classmates, you must show up, attend, and substantively contribute throughout the entirety of the time you scheduled. Similar to the contingencies applied to class attendance, apply to meetings with classmates (see above). Group members who violate this norm may be vetoed from their groups and lose eligibility to complete the class projects.
GRADING
Your grades will be based on your performance on the tests. I grade strictly on a 90% (A), 80% (B), 70% (C), 60% (D), 50% and below (E) scale. Attendance and contributions to class will be duly noted and will help you if you are on the (exact) borderline of a grade at the end of the semester. You can examine the GRADING SCHEDULE for the exact point requirements for each grade level. If the number of Total Test Points/Total Possible Course Points varies from 300, then the cut-off scores for each grade level will be proportionately adjusted to compensate for that variation.
GRADING SCHEDULE
Tests I-IV: 300 Points
PAPERS/PROJECTS Pass/Fail
(All must be completed with a grade of
Pass, or none count toward your Final Grade)
Mini Papers
P/F
Three Sales Visits
P/F
Cut-off scores for each grade level:
A = 270 pts. or 255 pts. with grades of Pass on all Papers/Projects
B = 240 pts. or 225 pts. with grades of Pass on all Papers/Projects
C = 210 pts. or 195 pts. with grades of Pass on all Papers/Projects
D = 180 pts. or 165 pts. with grades of Pass on all Papers/Projects
E < 180 pts. or <165 pts. with grades of Pass on all Papers/Projects
POLICY ON FINAL GRADES
If, in fact, you missed a grade level by one point, then you missed that grade level. Please do not call or visit after Test IV to try and extract one point from one of your tests or papers. If you want to do that, do it within 2 weeks after each Test or paper is handed back. Attempts after the last Test will be in vain.
* COPYRIGHT NOTICE
All rights reserved. No part of my lectures, lecture outlines, syllabus or any other course materials may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D.
Infringement of this copyright, in any form, by any party, will result in, but will not be limited to, legal remedies as provided under the Copyright Act of 1976 (Title 17 of the United States Code). [cf. U.S.C.A. 102(a)(1)].
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY POLICY STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Preamble: Academic dishonesty is both detrimental to the goals of education and scholarship and demoralizing to the spirit of learning and teaching. Students, together with faculty, assume as part of their obligation to themselves, other students, and the University the responsibility to encourage qualities of honesty and integrity. The following statement represents the official policy on academic dishonesty of the Department of Psychology.
Definition of Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, acts of fraud or deception on an examination, laboratory work, or class assignments; acts of forgery or unauthorized alteration of any academic record or document; and attempts to gain credit for work which the student has either not actually performed or has plagiarized from another person's work.
Plagiarism is characterized as the act of taking ideas and writings from another person and passing them off as his/her own work. Quotation marks, page number, and author reference are required for adequate acknowledgment of word-for-word copying of another's work. An author reference is sufficient acknowledgment for the rephrasing in your own words of the work of another person. Other forms of plagiarism include reproducing a friend's paper and obtaining a paper from a paper preparation service. Furthermore, submitting the same paper for academic credit in two or more courses is considered an act of academic dishonesty, except in those rare instances in which the instructor is informed and gives prior approval.
Reporting and Investigation of Academic Dishonesty: The reporting of suspect incidents of academic dishonesty is the responsibility of all members of the University community. Academic dishonesty is of special concern to honest students since they may be deprived of receiving higher earned grades because of artificially elevated grade distributions and inflated grade levels. Apparent instances of academic dishonesty are to be reported to the course instructor who will conduct an investigation in a manner than protects the individual rights of the persons involved.
Sanctions for Academic Dishonesty: When concluding that an incident of academic dishonesty has occurred, the course instructor may apply sanctions ranging from discussion and/or verbal reprimand of the student to more concrete actions. These actions include but are not limited to lowering credit for the assignment, giving a failing grade for either the assignment or the entire course, recommendation to the chairperson of suspension and/or dismissal of the student from the Psychology Program, and/or a recommendation to the Dean of Students to deal with the incident of academic dishonesty.
Student Appeal of Sanction: A student may appeal sanctions imposed for alleged dishonesty by preparing a written report which both disclaims the charge of academic dishonesty and presents alternative information and/or arguments defending against this charge. Appeal shall be made first to the instructor of the course in which the incident occurred, second to the Chairperson of the Department of Psychology, and third to the office of the Dean.
The consequences of cheating and the policy of this course will be discussed at the beginning of the semester.