PSYC 240 - Social Psychology

Credits: 5
Covers theories and supporting research that explore the area of social psychology. Topics may include the social self, social cognition, stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination, individualistic and collectivistic cultures, attitudes, persuasion, group influence, conformity and obedience, attraction and close relationships, aggression and helping others, and conflict resolution.

Prerequisite: PSYC& 100.

Satisfies Requirement: Social Science

Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

Define social psychology and understand the role it plays in the field of psychology.
Describe what attitudes are including attitude formation and persuasion.
Define social perception and identify related concepts such as attribution theory, first impressions and the fundamental attribution error.
Describe the power of social influence as demonstrated by classic research in areas like group conformity and obedience to authority.
Describe the power of group behavior and the influence of groups.
Define prejudice and identify the contributing factors.
Identify approaches shown to resolve conflict between individuals and groups.
Describe how factors related to culture (individualistic and collectivistic) contribute to the understanding of self and others.

Program Outcomes

Identify and apply concepts related to acquiring, evaluating and using reliable, valid, and powerful information to understand mind and behavior.

College-wide Outcomes

Critical Thinking - Critical thinking finds expression in all disciplines and everyday life. It is characterized by an ability to reflect upon thinking patterns, including the role of emotions on thoughts, and to rigorously assess the quality of thought through its work products. Critical thinkers routinely evaluate thinking processes and alter them, as necessary, to facilitate an improvement in their thinking and potentially foster certain dispositions or intellectual traits over time.