Social Psychology
Courses
- Abnormal Psychology
- Academic Writing
- Academic Writing II: Writing about Literature
- Advanced Topics in Mathematics
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Astronomy
- Environmental Science
- FUNdamentals of Chemistry
- Java for Video Games
- Mathematical Problem Solving
- Molecules, Proteins, and Genes: Building Blocks of Biology
- Nanotechnology
- Plugged In: Media Studies in the 21st Century
- Screenwriting
- Short Fiction Workshop
- Short Fiction Workshop II
- Social Psychology
Score Requirements: (Score Table 2)
About the Course: This course is designed to give students an introduction to the main perspectives and theories in contemporary social psychology. It will begin with a discussion of what social psychology is, how it differs from other related fields, and what methods of inquiry social psychologists use. The focus will then shift to the variety of subtopics that help to explain how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by social forces. Students will learn about the key research findings on such topics as the self, social identity, persuasion, stereotypes and prejudice, conformity, social cognition, attitudes, social influence, interpersonal attraction, aggression, and group processes. Students will also apply principles of social psychology to their everyday lives and analyze current events from a social psychological perspective.
About the Instructor: Jennifer Guadagno is a graduate of Pepperdine University, where she earned a B.A. in Psychology. She is currently a graduate student at Duke University pursuing a Ph.D. in the field of Social Psychology. She has served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate psychology courses at both Pepperdine and Duke. Her main interests focus on positive emotions and involve examining ways individuals can increase their well-being and life satisfaction. She has been active in designing and conducting various social psychologically related research studies, including a study that examined how parents’ expectations are related to their children's academic success. Currently, Jennifer is writing a paper on personality predictors that moderate reactions to interpersonal rejection, and she is working on a project that examines how individuals who belong to a stigmatized group respond to threatening stimuli in their environment.
Instructor(s) subject to change.