Course Objectives

 The primary goals of this course are to (a) provide students with an understanding of the basic cognitive and motivational processes involved in intergroup relations and (b) encourage students to think deeply about the stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination in every day life. Beyond acquiring knowledge of relevant literature and issues, successful students will need to think independently, critically, and creatively. The assignments in the course are structured to both test knowledge of basic principles and to foster independent thought. In the end, a successful student will be one who is familiar with the course content and is able to express their ideas about the broad themes that emerge across the semester.  

Required Text 

(1)    Nelson, T. D. (2002). The Psychology of Prejudice. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon

(2)    Stangor, C. (2000). Stereotypes and Prejudice. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

Grading 

Grades in this course will be based on 2 take-home exams, several thought papers, and a series of assignments requiring students to observe their social environment for evidence consistent with or inconsistent with various theoretical perspectives.  There will also be a final exam offered. The final exam will be cumulative and offered during finals week. The final exam is not required. Rather, students can take the final exam and drop an earlier exam score if they would like. While this is the general structure of the assignments, the instructor reserves the right to drop or add assignments, as well as reserving the right to change assignments, testing formats, and/or point distributions.

Grades will be based on the following percentages.

Grade            Percent          

    A                 94-100% 

    A-                90-93.9%   

    B+                87-89.9%

    B                  83-86.9%

    B-                80-83.9%

    C+                76-79.9%

    C                  70-75.9%

    D                 60-69.9%

    F                  below 60%

  Extra Credit

     Students may also earn up to 10 points of extra credit in a variety of ways:  

1.       Research Summary and Critique. Students may write a 2 to 3 page summary of any published article dealing with a topic related to the course content. Critiques must be typed in Times New Roman 12-point font and contain one inch margins. Copies of articles must be turned in with critiques (they will be returned to you). You can earn up to 10 points for your summary and critique.  

2.       Research Proposal. Students may write a 2 to 3 page research proposal in which you present a hypothesis, explain why your hypothesis is important and relevant to some aspect of the course contact and propose a study to test the hypothesis. Your research proposal must be on a topic relevant to the course content. It must also clearly identify your independent and dependent variables, as well as laying out a well-articulated design to test your prediction (including a clear discussion of how you will manipulate independent variables and measure dependent variables). 

General Policies 

Attendance: Although we will not take attendance, coming to class is important. Material will be presented in lecture that is not covered in the book or readings and you will be held responsible for that information (i.e., you will be tested on information presented in lecture). Missing class will also mean missing important discussions of assignments and exams, as well as review of difficult test material. You may also miss announcements about scheduling changes and extra credit opportunities. You are responsible for all announcements made in lecture regardless of whether or not you attend class.  

Late work:  Thought papers will not be accepted late (i.e., will receive a zero). The only exception to this will be in the case that you talk to the instructor, preferrably prior to the due date, in the case of a medical or family emergency. 

Make-up policy: Make-up exams will only be given only in the case of a documented hospitalization, debilitating illness, death in the family or other emergency. Prior approval should be obtained if circumstances allow. Additionally, slips from the health center saying that you were in the office on the day of an exam will not be considered appropriate documentation unless they are accompanied by a note from the doctor stating what was wrong and that you were ill to a degree prohibiting attendance. Importantly: it is your responsibility to provide sufficient documentation and to make-up missed work at the earliest possible date. 

Accommodation for special needs: The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please talk to the instructor or a teaching assistant as soon as possible.  

Office hours: The instructor and graduate teaching assistant both hold office hours each week. Both are also happy to make appointments and to speak briefly following class. We can be reached at our office phone or email (which I check Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings). We do, however, ask that you please refrain from calling us at home. If you need to reach one of us in case of an emergency it is fine to leave a phone message or send an email.  

Academic Integrity: Academic integrity refers to honest and ethical behavior in all aspects of academic activity. This includes: not cheating on exams or homework assignments (e.g., copying the work of others or using crib notes), not passing off someone else's ideas as your own (plagiarism), not engaging in dishonesty of any kind with regard to your class participation and assignments. Cheating is not a difficult issue, if you do it and you get caught, you will receive an F in the class.

Plagiarism is a more difficult issue. Of course, turning in a thought paper or exam written by someone else or lifting words directly from published articles are violations of academic integrity: it’s cheating. If caught cheating the stiffest penalties allowed by University policy will be imposed upon you. At minimum you will fail this class. There are, however, other behaviors that fall under the rubric of plagiarism. We’ll discuss in class what this means. However, the basic idea is that any work you present must be your own. A general guideline is that you should acknowledge the source of ideas you use; we’ll talk in class about how to do this. You should also read Department of English plagiarism homepage (http://www.psu.ed/dept/english/comp/plagiarism.html)