Seminar in Social PsychologyPsy 522Doug Stenstromdstenst@calstatela.edu(323)343-2258Office Hours: Tu & Th 3:30-4:00, 6:30-7:30 other times by appointment

• Psychology is… the scientific study of – Affect – Behavior – Cognition – physiology/biology

• Social psychology is… the scientific study of HOW OTHER PEOPLE INFLUENCE OUR– Affect– Behavior– Cognition– physiology/biology

Syllabus

• Course Overview• Required Readings• Schedule• Course Format

–Class Attendance and Participation–Discussion Leaders–Evaluating Research–Manuscript Review–Exam

http://www.psychwiki.com/wiki/Seminar_in_Social_Psychology_Fall_2008

How to Read Journal Articles in Social Psychology• Start with abstract to get “overview”• Skim the article…

– Major headers– Specific hypotheses– Number of studies– Read first few paragraphs of Discussion

• Then re-read in-depth…– Maybe starting with Method, then

Discussion– All evaluation/critique centers around

Method

Guidelines for Weekly Evaluation

For each study:

• (Introduction) - What is the hypothesis?• (Method) - How does method relates to

hypothesis?• (Result) - How do the results relate to hypothesis?• (Discussion) - How do implications relate to

hypothesis?