Course Description

This graduate-level course will introduce students to social psychology and will focus on how aspects of the situation (e.g., immediate surroundings, the actual or imagined presence of other people, the broader sociocultural context) affect individuals’ attitudes and behavior. Each week will provide an overview of an important topic in social psychology, and the readings – which mostly consist of empirical research articles but also will include some theoretical/review articles – will present both classic and contemporary perspectives on that week’s topic. \

The course is discussion-based, but I will spend 15-20 minutes at the beginning of class providing background information and/or clarifications. I encourage those of you facilitating discussion to provide a mix of “traditional” (e.g., discussions based on the readings) and “non-traditional” (e.g., discussions of current events related to the course material) discussion formats whenever possible.