Main Content
Syllabus
PSYCH 424 Applied Social Psychology (3) Application of social psychological theories and research methods to field settings and to the study of social issues.
Overview
PSYCH 424 examines how social psychological methods, theory, and research can be applied to foster individual, institutional, and society-wide change. After taking this course, students should be able to distinguish between basic social psychology and applied social psychology, to be knowledgeable about research methods and intervention techniques, and to have an understanding of the causes of a variety of social problems and science-based strategies for solving them.
The prerequisites for the course are PSYCH 100 Introductory Psychology and PSYCH 221 Introduction to Social Psychology. Students must have received a minimum of a “D” in both of those courses.
This course has an established start and end date. Students are required to meet due dates and to have access to the Internet to complete the course.
Course Objectives
By the time you complete this course, you should have learned about the following:
- Recognize the major concepts and empirical findings in applied social psychology
- Identify social psychological principles relevant to personal well-being
- Apply scientific methods to real-world problems
Required Course Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.
Library Resources
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
This course requires that you access Penn State library materials specifically reserved for this course. You can access these materials by selecting Library Resources in your course navigation, or by accessing the Library E-Reserves Search and search for your instructor's last name.
Technical Specifications
| Operating System | Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
|---|---|
| Browser | Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. |
| Additional Canvas Requirements | For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
| Additional Software | All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. |
| Hardware | Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Mobile Device (optional) | The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements. |
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Grading
Quizzes
There will be 17 open-book quizzes, one for each chapter that we read. Each quiz will consist of 10 questions that are randomly choosen from a pool of multiple-choice questions. There is a 30 minute time limit, and you can take each quiz twice, with the highest score being counted. Your lowest 4 quiz scores will be dropped. The quizzes will count for 130 points, which is 21.8% of your final grade.
Discussions
Almost every week there will be a discussion question for you to respond to. These questions are designed to elicit discussion from members of the class. You will choose 10 questions over the course of the semester. The final discussion “Putting it all together” is mandatory as one of your 10 chosen. You are expected to put a good deal of thought into your answers for these questions by using examples from your personal life experiences, knowledge of social psychology in society, and by incorporating information from the class (Lessons or readings). You will write approximately 2-3 paragraphs in response to the question. You will also provide a substantive reply to responses that other students have posted. In order to get full credit you must make at least two posts for the discussions that you decide to participate in. Do not simply agree or disagree with other students, but explain why you agree or disagree. Your initial post is due Thursday by 12 pm ET and the reply to another student's post is due by Monday at 12 pm ET. You will be graded on the thoughtfulness of your responses and your effort in getting involved in discussion. Each of the discussions is worth 10 points for a total of 100 points, which is 16.8% of your final grade. You are welcome to complete more than 10 discussions, but only the highest 10 scores will be counted.
Blog Entries
Starting in Lesson 4, we will have a weekly blog. We will have 10 blogs, and you will be choosing 5 to participate in. The blogs are designed to allow you to write about any topic of your choosing that is related to the week's lesson. For each blog entry you will prepare an informal APA cited and referenced entry (approx. 4-5 paragraphs). The content of each blog entry will focus on applying an idea from the course materials to a current event, your life, outside readings, or any other application by linking evidence from theory or fact to the example you have chosen. While these are not formal essays, you will need to write them in a more formal style than you would write to your friends and family. A key component of these blog entries is that you are making connections. For example, you can connect course material to other courses you are studying, other things you are reading or things that are going on in your personal life or in the world at large. These are publicly viewable documents where you want to demonstrate to the world what you are learning during your studies. Treat them as if you were writing a news article for the USA Today or the New York Times. The blog entries will be due Thursday at 12 pm ET. Each blog entry is worth 25 points for a total of 125 points. Like the discussions, you can complete more than the minimum, however only the highest 5 grades will be included from the blogs. This is 21.1% of your final grade.
Blog Replies
In addition to writing 5 blogs, you will be replying to 5 students' blogs. You do NOT have to choose to reply in the same blogs that you post an entry to. You will prepare well-though out informal response (approx. 1-2 paragraphs) for each comment. The content of each blog reply will focus on asking questions about points that you did not understand in a person’s entry (or getting more information for something that you are interested in), or clarifying those matters for commentors. Like the blog entries, these are publicly viewable documents where you want to demonstrate what you are learning during your studies to the world. Treat them as if you were following up with an expert in the field who was verifying your facts to your story. The blog replies will be due Monday at 12 pm ET. Each blog reply is worth 10 points for a total of 50 points. You can comment on more than 5 blogs, but only the highest 5 grades will be counted. This is approximately 8.4% of your final grade.
Policy Proposal Paper
In order to help you apply the concepts we have discussed in class, you will be required to write a formal APA paper designing an intervention and evaluation. You will need to explain the ideas, gather evidence that supports the conclusions that emerge from the ideas, and lay out an intervention and an evalutation of that intervention. The paper should be at least 10 pages in length. There will six assignments leading up to the paper to help you prepare for it, totalling 90 points. The policy paper itself will be worth 100 points. Together, the paper and related assignment are worth 190 points or 31.9% of your final grade.
Due Dates
Unless otherwise noted, all assignments are due by 12 pm Eastern Time the day after the lesson is completed. So for instance, an assignment that addresses the topic in Lesson 3 would be due at 12 pm ET the day Lesson 4 starts. There are two exceptions to this rule, the Discussion Posts and the Blog Entries. Your first discussion post and your blog entry is due by 12 pm ET Thursday so that your classmates have time to read and respond to your post. The Discussion replies and the Blog Replies are both due by 12 pm the following Monday.
Late Work Policy
This is a semester-based course with deadlines. Students are expected to complete work by posted deadlines. Please check the course schedule for the times and dates that assignments are due in this course (times are listed in Eastern Time in North America). Please contact your instructor to discuss legitimate and unavoidable situations that may cause lateness (such as illness, injury or family emergency). If you know that you are going to miss a deadline, please contact your instructor in advance of that deadline to discuss an extension (or if you are not able to contact the instructor before the deadline, as soon as you are able). Decisions regarding extensions will be made at the discretion of the instructor on a case-by-case basis.
In the absence of a legitimate and unavoidable situation, late work will be accepted at the discretion of the instructor and will be penalized up to 10% of the total assignment points for each day of lateness. Unless there is a legitimate and unavoidable situation that causes prolonged lateness, work more than 1 week late may not be accepted.
Extra Credit Policy
There will be no extra credit opportunities in this course.
If, for reasons beyond the student's control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student's transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student's associated Penn State campus.
For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade page.
Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Undergraduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.
The final grade will be determined from your grades on: quizzes, blog entries, blog comments, discussions, and your policy proposal paper:
| Assignment Type | Point Value | Percentage of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Quizzes | 130 points | 21.85% |
| Blog entries | 125 points | 21.01% |
| Blog comments | 50 points | 8.40% |
| Discussions | 100 points | 16.81% |
|
Policy Proposal Paper Assignments | 190 points | 31.93% |
| Total | 595 points | 100% |
The final grading scale will be as follows:
| Points | Percentage | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 552.76 - 595.0 | 92.9 - 100 | A |
| 528.96 - 552.75 | 89.9 - 92.8 | A- |
| 518.25 - 528.95 | 87.1 - 89.8 | B+ |
| 494.45 - 518.24 | 83.1 - 87.0 | B |
| 476.00 - 494.44 | 80.0 - 83.0 | B- |
| 457.56 - 475.99 | 76.9 - 79.9 | C+ |
| 415.31 - 457.55 | 69.8 - 76.8 | C |
| 357.00 - 415.30 | 60.0 - 69.7 | D |
| 000 - 356.99 | 0 - 59.9 | F |
[printer-friendly version]Course Schedule
Note: All due dates reflect North American eastern time (ET).
Initial discussion posts and Blog Entries are due Thursdays at 12:00 pm ET. Discussion replies, blog replies, and all other assignments are due by 12:00 pm ET the day after each lesson ends.
| Lesson 1: | Introduction to Applied Social Psychology |
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| Assignments: |
Please complete the following assignments in the order listed below:
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| Lesson 2: | Theory and Research Methods |
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| Assignments: |
Please complete the following assignments in the order listed below:
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| Lesson 3: | Intervention and Evaluation |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following assignments in the order listed below:
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| Lesson 4: | The Environment |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following assignments in the order listed below:
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| Lesson 5: | Health and Clinical/Counseling |
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Complete the following assignments in the order listed below:
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| Lesson 6: | Intergroup Relations/Diversity |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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| Lesson 7: | Organizational Life and Teams |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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| Lesson 8: | Legal System/Criminal Justice |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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| Lesson 9: | Media/Communications Technology |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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| Lesson 10: | Education |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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| Lesson 11: | Community |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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| Lesson 12: | Relationships/Everyday Life |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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| Lesson 13: | Social Change/Participatory Research |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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| Lesson 14: | Policy Paper |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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| Lesson 15: | Putting It All Together |
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| Assignments: |
Complete the following tasks in the order listed below.
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NOTE: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please see "Graduation" on the World Campus Student Policies website.
Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Academic Integrity
According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity , an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.
Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity ). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean’s List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
World Campus students are expected to act with civility and
personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and
property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all
can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment
of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and
others, as well as a civil community.
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, the Policy on Academic Integrity indicates that procedure requires an instructor to inform the student of the allegation. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If that committee recommends an administrative sanction (Formal Warning, Conduct Probation, Suspension, Expulsion), the claim will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us by going to the Contacts & Help page .
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contacts for disability services at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website.
In order to apply for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Additional Policies
The purpose of course communication tools is to provide students with a quick method for contacting faculty, teaching assistants, and other students of the class, in regards to course related questions, comments, and concerns. Please note that, according to University policy AD95/AD96, course communication tools may not be used as a method for emailing unauthorized content including but not limited to: solicitation for businesses, advertisements, selling or distributing personal or class materials, transmitting offensive, obscene, or harassing materials, chain letters, news posts, or other forms of “spam” email. Doing so will be considered a violation of course and/or University policies, and might also violate the student code of conduct and the expectations expressed in the Penn State Principles. Resulting penalties might include the suspension or termination of system access, as well as disciplinary or academic sanctions. When appropriate, information about violators will be passed on to University Police Services. If you have any questions in regards to whether or not a particular email you wish to send would violate University policies, please check with your instructor before sending messages to others through the University system.
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or dependents with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus are subject to change, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.