Sociology/Psychology 530
Introductory Social Psychology
Spring 2009
Prof. John DeLamater TA: Jaewoon Bang
2432 Sewell
Social Science 2438
Sewell Social Science
262-4357 263-4522
delamate@ssc.wisc.edu jbang@ssc.wisc.edu
Exercises
The
requirements for the course include completing four exercises, designed to help
you engage and apply the course material.
In each, you collect information about some aspect of social behavior,
and analyze that information using some concepts or a theory from the
course. The assignments identify the
aspects of social behavior you are to study/observe, and give you some
direction or questions to guide your analysis of the information you collected.
You
should prepare a brief, written report for each exercise. The report should offer an argument
that 1) describes the information/data you collected, and 2) analyzes
that data using some concepts, a theory, or general principles from the course. Don’t select the concepts or theory
arbitrarily; some will fit your data and others will not. If you think the suggested or obvious
concepts or theory are not helpful, tell us why, and suggest an alternative.
Each
student should complete all four of the exercises. Some exercises include an “Extra Mile”
opportunity. As the name suggests, these
additional data-gathering steps are optional.
Instructions
for Write-Ups:
1.
Each
exercise should be typed, double-spaced, carefully proof-read, and no
more than three pages in length.[1] The TA will not read the assignment beyond
the end of the third page. Feel free to
print your assignments double-sided. Please put your name only on the last page
of the essay. If you choose to do
the “extra mile,” you can use up to four pages.
2.
Completed
assignments should take the form of an argument: they should contain an introduction that
includes a clear thesis, a body of evidence (data and relevant theoretical
material) that supports the thesis, and a brief conclusion.[2]
3.
Please
acknowledge relevant course material with citations in the text of the
essay. If you are citing information
from one of the course books or lecture material, you may simply use an
abbreviated citation, like this (DM: 265) or (Lecture:
4.
Turn
in each write-up stapled or paper-clipped to the data you collected for the
exercise.
5.
Exercises
are due on the day indicated on the syllabus, in class.
6.
Each
exercise is graded according to the following 10 point scale:
10
points - exercises that are creative, insightful and impeccably written
(completing the Extra Mile opportunity does not guarantee a 10—though it may
get you closer to one).
8
points - exercises that are complete and on-time.
6
points - exercises that are on-time but significantly flawed or incomplete.
4
points - exercises that are complete but late (no matter how terrific they
are).[3]
7.
Exercises
will not be accepted after the lecture following the due date. In the interest of fairness to all students
in the course, exceptions to this rule cannot be made.
The TA is more than happy to offer assistance with these assignments when needed. However, it is always the student’s responsibility to seek assistance in time for the TA to provide it. It is difficult, if not impossible, for a TA to be of much help with an assignment that is due in less than forty-eight hours. Please keep this constraint in mind as you plan your semester. Read each assignment carefully, well in advance of the due date, and gather the data at least a week in advance, so that we have plenty of time to solve any problems that may arise.
Sociology/Psychology
530
Lecture
1: DeLamater
Exercise
1: Who am I?
Due on February
13th
We
have talked in class about how everyone is a “social object” for everyone else,
and that each of us is also a social object to ourselves. In this exercise, we would like you first to
take yourself as a social object and, looking at that object, to answer the
question “Who am I?” ten times. That is,
ask the question ten times and give ten discrete answers to it. Do it quickly, writing down words and phrases
as they come into your mind without censoring them, until you have ten
statements. Please do this without
considering the other parts of the exercise.
After
you have done that, “take the role of the other”, with that other being one of
your parents (choose one), and repeat the task.
In other words, taking yourself as a social object from your parent’s
perspective, list how your parent would answer the question, “Who is your
name here?” Again, assume that your parent was asked to do this task
quickly, listing the words and phrases as they come to his or her mind, without
censorship, he or she had completed a list of ten answers.
Finally,
take the role of your best friend and do the same.
The
Extra Mile
Ask
one of the significant others themselves to answer the question “Who is your
name here?” Compare his or her list
to the list you made when you tried the same task while taking his or her role.
Begin
by examining your data (the lists you have generated). Consider some of the following:
-How
are the three lists similar? What words
and phrases do all three people (in your opinion, of course) use to describe
you? How might you explain the
similarities?
-How
are the three lists different? How do
you see yourself in ways that are different from the way you think these
significant others see you? Again, how
do you explain this? To what extent do
you think the differences lie in how you may act differently with them? To what extent is it their needs that lead
them to see you differently from the way you see yourself, or from the ways
different significant others see you? To
what extent might the differences artifacts of your, and your significant
others’, places in larger social structures and institutions?
Consider the data in light of
available theoretical constructs and explanations:
-How
do theories of the self discussed in Chapter 4 of the textbook and in lecture
help you to understand the image of yourself that you hold? To what extent do you believe that your
self-image is the result of direct personal experience? To what extent is it a “looking glass self,”
as symbolic interaction would explain it?
With how much of it were you born?
Draw
some conclusions about the relationship of your data to the explanations
offered in the course material. Select
one central point around which to write your essay. The essay should make references to specific
points or concepts from the course material, as well as specific references to
relevant points of data.
Sociology/Psychology
530
Lecture
1: DeLamater
Exercise
2: Observing Subcultures
Due on
February 27th
A
major influence on our behavior is the subcultures to which we belong. A subculture is characterized by
somewhat distinctive cognitive and evaluative beliefs/norms; these
beliefs/norms often lead to distinctive language and behavior. Many organizations and businesses create a
subculture within which its members work.
The
purpose of this assignment is for you to learn about subcultures by observing
one. One set of subcultures that is easy
to observe in our society is fast-food restaurants. First, read Chapter 7 in the textbook. Then, select a fast-food restaurant. Observe activity in that restaurant for a minimum
of two hours. Try to place yourself so
that you can observe the workers; you may want to buy coffee, a milkshake or a
soft drink to sip while you watch.
Take
a notebook, and record
your observations in it. Carefully
record your observations of the group and its members. In particular, you’ll want to observe what
group members say (to others in the group and to non-members), how they
look/dress, what they do.
The
Extra Mile
Observe
a comparison subculture, either in another food-service venue, or
elsewhere. Again, observe for at least
two hours and take record what you see.
Examine
your data:
Read
through your notes once. When you are
done, jot down a couple of observations about them. Were there any recurring incidents or themes?
Analyze your
data in light of relevant theory:
Reread
your notes several more times, considering what you’ve learned about
subcultures. For example,
1. What is the language of the group?
2. What symbolic indicators, in addition
to language, are used by the group?
3. Describe the symbolic dress of group members.
4. What is the status ranking among group
members? How can you tell?
5. What official and unofficial norms can you
observe?
6. In what ways are the various parts of the
culture integrated? Are there
parts that don’t seem to fit?
7. How is the culture learned by members?
8. What are the functions or benefits of this
subculture? What would the restaurant be
like without these shared elements?
9. What are the dysfunctions or costs of this
subculture - on members, on customers?
Once
you have formulated an argument around one specific point you’d like to make
about the subculture you observed, make sure you include some basic information
in your essay, as it becomes relevant.
1. Which fast-food restaurant did you
observe? What day and time did you carry
out your observation(s)?
2. Briefly describe the culture of the
group-norms, language, other symbols, dress.
How well are the parts integrated?
The
Extra Mile
The
key to your write-up will be to find connections to make between the function
of the two subcultural groups you observed. If you have observed a comparison group, it
may help you begin your analysis to ask yourself questions like
-are
both of these groups in workplaces? What
do the similarities/differences between the groups say about the kinds of
businesses you observed, or about the “customer service” norms therein?
-if
the comparison group is not a workplace group, how did you know it was a
subculture? Do any of the subcultural mechanisms that apply to workplace groups apply
outside them? Which ones do not? For example, perhaps there is a comparison to
be made between the ways that uniforms are used in a group like McDonalds
employees, and a group of goth teenagers.
Sociology/Psychology
530
Lecture
1: DeLamater
Exercise
3: How did you know it was love?
Due
on April 10th
The
goal of this project is to explore the nature of love.
First,
we will identify the different dimensions of the experience of love through an
introspective look at your own first “real” love. Try to recall as much as you can about that
love, focusing on your own experience of love rather than the unique
characteristics of the loved person. How
did you know it was love?
Fill
in the blanks in the third column.
Dimensions
Possible Variables
Personal Experience______________________________
Physical What did you
experience physically in the presence of
___________________________________
symptoms your loved one (e.g., pounding heart,
blushing, great ___________________________________
anxiety or
excitement)?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Changed How did you perceive
your loved one? What attributes
___________________________________
perceptions made him or her worthy of your
love (e.g., good looks, ___________________________________
intelligence, poise, kindness,
sexiness)?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Behavioral What unusual behaviors made you
realize you were in ___________________________________
symptoms love (e.g., thought about
him or her all the time, started ___________________________________
to stutter or stammer when
talking to him/her)?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Next,
think about how your unique experience relates to the theories of love discussed
in class. In Chap. 13 of the textbook,
two theories are discussed: Hatfield’s theory of passionate love, and
Sternberg’s theory of love as a story.
The Extra
Mile
Consider the ways love is portrayed in a movie, work of art or literature with which you are familiar. What are some ways that authors, filmmakers, and others, convey to an audience that characters are experiencing love? How do these representations match up with your experiences and with the theories offered by social psychology? OR, talk to someone over the age of sixty-five, or from a non-western culture, about how he or she experienced love. Fill in a table like the one above for this person. To what degrees are your narratives similar or different from your respondent’s? What can we learn from the comparison? Are the theories offered in the text applicable to the experience of love in other times and places?
The Write-Up
Think about the
degree to which your experience was similar to and different from passionate
love, and from the idea of love as an acting out of a story..
In writing your
report, consider some of the following:
1. Summarize
your experience of love. What physical,
cognitive and behavioral symptoms did you experience?
2. In
what ways was your experience like Sternberg’s conception of love as a
story? In what ways was it different?
3. In
what ways was your experience like Hatfield’s conception of passionate
love? In what ways was it
different? You may want to complete the
Passionate Love Scale as reproduced in
4. How
similar is love to other positive emotions?
In what ways was your experience of love similar to and different from
the way you feel before an exciting trip?
Sociology/Psychology
530
Lecture
1: DeLamater
Exercise
4: The Power of Advertising
Due on April 24th
The
purpose of this exercise is to increase your awareness of the influence
techniques used by advertisers.
For this project, you will be collecting data on persuasive appeals - specifically, television ads. Watch three hours of television programming and record the content of each ad on a data sheet using the three categories below. You may want to record the ads you watch so you can refer to them later. First, note the product being sold (soap, beer, cars, cereal, etc.). Next, describe the primary person(s) making the pitch (sex, age, social role - e.g., mother, doctor, celebrity). Third, analyze the type of persuasive appeal(s) being used in the ad. Common appeals include:
1) appeals to the desire to be healthy;
2)
appeals to the desire to be physically/sexually attractive;
3) appeals to the desire to fulfill a role well (to be a good mother, father, spouse, student, or professor);
4) appeals to the desire to save money;
5)
appeals to the desire to have fun, adventure, to let yourself go;
6)
appeals to the desire for social status and recognition.
Note that these types of appeals are not mutually exclusive, and one ad may include a number of them simultaneously. In addition, keep in mind that a persuasive appeal is not limited to the words that are actually spoken, but includes the way the product is displayed or used by characters in the ad.
The Extra Mile
Start with the same data collection steps described above. After you’ve watched your three hours of TV, identify a type of product (e.g., cars, or frozen dinners) or message (e.g. “smoking is bad for you”) that was promoted in several of the ads you saw. Then, seek out ads promoting similar products or messages in other types of media (magazines, newspapers, junk mail, billboards, etc.). What can you learn by comparing ads for similar products/messages across different media?
Before
you write your report, read Chapter 8 in the textbook, especially
Analyze
your data, considering
the following:
1. What day, time, and station/network did
you watch?
2. What types of persuasive appeals were
used in the ads you saw? Was one or two
types used more often than the others?
3. What patterns did you observe in these
appeals? Were the appeals different if
the persuader was a man or a woman? Were
the appeals different if the target audience was young or old, children or
adults, men or women? What kinds of
strategies did ads use to convince you that the person making the appeal was
credible?
4. In your opinion, which persuasive
appeals were most effective? Why? (Make sure you consider what social
psychological research would say in response to this question.)
You will have more data here than you can
reasonably write about in a three-page argument. Make sure that you identify a central point
(your thesis) around which to base your essay.
You do not need to write about each and every ad you saw. Instead, make sure you identify a pattern in
some of the ads, and discuss it in light of course material, giving examples
from the ads that are relevant.
[1] Introduction to Social Psychology is an
upper-division, university course. The
expectation at this level is that completed work contains no grammatical or
stylistic errors. If you are not a
crackerjack speller or proofreader, complete the assignment in time to allow
someone else to proofread it for you.
You may want to invest in a style and usage reference book, or make use
of a dictionary or style guide reference available on-line.
[2] If you are unfamiliar with this kind of writing, Jaewoon has handouts that may help you. The campus
[3] Make arrangements to turn assignments in
on-time if you know in advance that you will be missing class.