Week #1 – Introduction to the Science of Social Psychology - Students will be able to define Social Psychology and Social Cognition, as well as recognize the areas of research that are conducted by Social Psychologists. They will be able to identify the many careers that are available to Social Psychologists. 
Week #2 -  Social Influences on the Self - Students will learn about self-concept and self-esteem,  the role social comparison plays in self-evaluation and the formation of our social identity as expressed in the Social Identity Theory.
Week #3 -  Social Perception - Students will learn about the processes through which people interpret information about others, draw inferences about them and develop mental representations of them. The role of schemas (mental representations)and how they affect our perceptions will be discussed. Students will learn about biases in social perception such as the potential risks of forming first impressions and the self-fulfilling prophecy. Attributional errors such as the fundamental attribution error, the actor-observer effect and self-serving bias are identified. 
Week #4 - Attitudes - Do attitudes always determine behavior? Students learn the three components of an attitude as well as the definition of an attitude. The role of genetics and social learning in the formation of attitudes. The mere exposure effect in advertising is identified. The student will learn the two routes to attitude change, the elaboration likelihood model and the cognitive dissonance model. Differences in attitudes across cultures will be discussed. 
Week #5 - Prejudice and Stereotypes - Students will be able to identify the theories suggested for why prejudice develops. Students will be able to define and recognize stereotypes as well as why stereotypes are so difficult to change in spite of evidence. Students will discuss the concept of social discrimination. Motivational, Cognitive and Learning theories of prejudice and stereotypes will be discussed. Ideas for reducing prejudice will be part of the class discussion. 
Week #6 - Interpersonal Attraction - Students will discuss the sayings "opposites attract" and "birds of a feather flock together" in examining why people like or love others. Keys to attraction such as the environment, similarities and physical attractiveness are discussed. Students will identify the role of relationships in adolescent development. 
Week #7 - Social Influence - Students will be able to define the process through which individuals and groups directly and indirectly influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Social norms will be examined including both injunctive norms and descriptive norms. The social norm of reciprocity will be discussed as well as the power of social influence on the concept of deindividuation. 
Week #8 - Conformity & Compliance - Students will examine why individuals conform and comply with requests or pressure as a result of social norms. Public conformity versus public acceptance will be discussed. The classic experiment of Solomon Asch will be examined and the results of the study will be reviewed regarding conforming. Another study that will be reviewed is the study by Muzafer Sherif on creating a group norm. Students will be able to identify three techniques for creating compliance - the foot-in-the-door technique, the door-in-the-face technique and the lowball technique.
Week #9 - Obedience - Students will review the research of Stanley Milgram's Shock Experiment. The purpose of the experiment, the actual set up of the experiment and the findings will be discussed as they relate to the concept of obedience. Ethical issues surrounding this experiment will be discussed. Factors affecting obedience will be identified.
Week #10 - Aggression & Frustration - Are individuals born aggressive or is it learned? Genetic and biological mechanisms versus learning and cultural mechanisms will be examined. Research regarding the effects of violent video games and media on acts of aggression will be discussed. The Bobo doll experiment will be discussed as well as the frustration-aggression hypothesis. 
Week #11 - Prosocial Behavior - Identification of prosocial behavior and the difference between prosocial behavior and altruism will be discussed. Students will discuss the reasons people help others such as explained by the cost-reward theory of arousal. Students will be able to identify several factors that influence a person's willingness to provide assistance. The bystander effect will be explained and the assault and death of Kitty Genovese in New York will be discussed as it relates to the bystander effect. Students will learn about the empathy-altruism helping theory as well as biopsychosocial factors in prosocial behavior. The role of personality and environmental factors in helping behavior will also be reviewed. 
Week #12 - Group Processes - Social facilitation, social interference and social loafing will be defined. The roles of individuals in a group setting will be discussed. Students will be able to identify group processes such as groupthink and deindividuation. How groups make decisions will be discussed as well as how group leadership is determined. 

Students will read handouts and will have questions to answer prior to each class. Links will be provided to internet resources.Class discussions will be didactic as I appreciate an interactive classroom. Prior experience in psychology will not be necessary.