Psychology Program at Bard | Social Psychology

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Courses

Social psychology is the study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. It includes topics such as persuasion, attraction, prejudice, and gender roles. The world is changing at a rapid pace, and the perspectives of social psychology have never been more important. Relationships are increasingly interdependent, and actions have broad implications beyond small worlds of family, friends, and neighborhood. Social psychology provides insights and findings to explain the rapid changes taking place in the world, from the women’s movement to the search for peace in troubled areas. As a scientifically based view of human behavior, social psychology is applied to many real-world settings, such as the workplace, diplomacy, health, and law and provides a complementary perspective for courses in American studies, anthropology, economics, gender studies, multiethnic studies, political studies, and sociology.

· Introduction to Social Psychology Psychology 115
· Social Psychology and Human Aggression: Applied Theories and Analysis Psychology 226
· Exploring the Boundaries of Self Psychology 233 MES
· An Ecology of the Human Psyche Psychology 237
· Social Influence: Persuasion, Pressure, and Power Psychology 239
· Psychology of Women Psychology 250 Gender Studies
· Psychology of Men Psychology 251 Gender Studies
· Social Cognition Psychology 259
· Research Conference Seminar Psychology 301-302

· Independent Research: Social Psychology Psychology SOC

Introduction to Social Psychology
Psychology 115
A consideration of the ways in which we experience ourselves and come to know others, how our attitudes and behavior are influenced by other people, and how our identities are institutionally mediated. How do we form and maintain conceptions of ourselves? How do we form and maintain impressions of others? What are the fallibilities of human reason in everyday life? What are the challenges we face in our pursuit of happiness? What role does physical beauty play in attraction? What factors promote conformity, compliance, and obedience? What is injustice, and how do people resist it in their daily lives? Under what conditions are some people likely to aid a person in distress? How are we affected by features of the physical environment around us?

Social Psychology and Human Aggression: Applied Theories and Analysis
Psychology 226
Social psychology has studied human aggression for much of the past 60 years. How do we explain aggression, violence, war, and murder? Focusing on two types of criminals–serial murderers and serial child sex offenders–this upper-level course examines social psychological and social interactionist models of human aggression. Students discuss theories and relevant empirical research. One emphasis of the course is the applied forensic utility of these normative models: how can they be used to understand criminal aggressive behavior? Prerequisites: some background in general or social psychology and permission of the instructor.

Exploring the Boundaries of Self
Psychology 233 MES
An excursion into the boundaries of the self from "Western," "non-Western," and "women’s" perspectives, using research findings and cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural readings. The implications of the explanatory models for counseling in a multicultural society are examined.

An Ecology of the Human Psyche
Psychology 237
This course explores a particular perspective in the helping professions, a synthesis of two conceptual frameworks, systems thinking and the multiplicity of the mind. The class looks at how the various parts of the psyche (sub-selves, sub personalities of the self) function as an inner ecology, i.e. how they relate to one another and interface with the environment. Other considerations include sources and nature of transferred burdens (extreme ideas, feelings), which organize and constrain the parts from playing their valuable roles and how the core of the person (the self) can be differentiated to assume its inherently equipped role to give leadership to the internal family. The model offers a fresh, nonpathological perspective to change our inner world, reempower others (especially abuse survivors), and understand families, other cultures, and society.

Social Influence: Persuasion, Pressure, and Power
Psychology 239
At the heart of this subject is the examination of two related issues: 1) how can (and how do) we influence the attitudes, opinions, beliefs, and behaviors of others? and 2) how are our own attitudes, opinions, beliefs, and behaviors influenced by others? The course examines both classic and contemporary social psychological research on social influence, with readings in seminal books, review chapters, and empirical psychological research. Issues and applications include obedience to authority, conformity and compliance, advertising and marketing, peer pressure, mob violence, persuasion and propaganda, and politics. Also discussed are mechanisms and techniques of social influence, i.e., what every good salesperson already knows.

Psychology of Women
Psychology 250 Gender Studies
Gender is one of the most powerful influences on behavior and self identities. Empirical findings are used to focus on topics relevant to the scientific understanding of women’s behavior and experience: real and perceived sex differences in personality and abilities; development of sex differences; biological, psychodynamic, and social psychological theories; psychological aspects of uniquely female experiences (for example, menstruation, childbirth, abortion); sexuality; interpersonal relationships; and women at work.

Psychology of Men
Psychology 251 Gender Studies
An exploration of the essential social expectations regarding masculinity in Western society and the impact of these expectations on men’s lives. Among the topics examined are antifeminine attitudes and their impact on socialization, the need for success, public aggression, the myths about male sexuality, and the demand for self-reliance among boys and men. Within this context, students examine men’s relationships with each other and with women and the health costs of the demands of masculinity. The connection between psychological theory and social change for the welfare of both men and women is stressed.

Social Cognition
Psychology 259
Social cognition is a subspecialty of social psychology that examines how people make sense of themselves and others. This field is heavily influenced by cognitive psychology, both methodologically and theoretically. The course examines social cognitive approaches to the study of attitudes, stereotyping, attribution, self-concept, person perception, self-regulation, and affect. Real-world applications are particularly emphasized.

Research Conference Seminar
Psychology 301-302
The following courses are designated by the numbers 301 or 302 and refer to different research conferences offered for the junior year of moderated psychology students. They take up a particular research topic, require immersion in the psychology journal literature, and are focused on student presentations of that material.

Independent Research: Social Psychology

Psychology SOC

This course provides an opportunity for guided research in social psychology. Students will participate in laboratory research on stress and social relationships, including an independent project. The majority of time in this course will consist of independent laboratory work and research. Requirements include participation in a weekly laboratory meeting, readings, assignments, two short papers (a literature review and a summary of your empirical project), and student presentations. Open to first-year, second-year, and junior students with consent of the instructor.