Experimental social psychology

The course meets from 3.11. - 4.12.2009 in computer class 2035 (Unioninkatu 37, 2nd floor) on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. - 12 noon.

Prerequisites

This is an introductory level course, it is intended for those interested in learning the basics of the experimental methodology in social psychology. Some statistics concepts will be dealt with, but you do not need previous courses in statistics. A maximum of 20 students will be accepted in the order of registration.

Compensations

The course gives 3-5 credits (2-4 study weeks) for study unit SP19, SP53 or SP61, depending on the number of assignments the student submits.

Content

This course provides an introduction to the area of experimental social psychology, which studies how the behaviors, thoughts and feelings of individuals and groups are influenced by other people and social situations. The experimental method applies the model of the natural sciences to social psychology. Importantly, only with this approach can the researchers propose causal explanations for social psychological phenomena. Throughout the course the main assumptions of the experimental method will be presented, the basics principles of experimental design will be explained, and the ethical implications of this kind of research will be discussed. Empirical examples will illustrate the profound impact that experimental methodology has had in the study of topics such as prejudice, altruism, attitudes, and decision making. Additionally laboratory sessions on experiment generation software and electronic databases will be conducted.

By the end of the course, the participants should become:

• Able to distinguish between experimental, correlational and qualitative studies.
• Familiar with the basic notions operationalization and experimental design.
• Competent to construct simple experimental scripts with the help of computer software.
• Proficient to review research articles reporting experimental studies in social psychology.

Completion

The participants will learn the basic concepts of the experimental methodology by means of lectures, lab practices in experimental design and hands-on projects.

To earn 3 credits (2 study weeks) for the course, the student must attend most of the lectures and lab sessions and hand in all class-project reports. To earn 5 credits (4 study weeks) for the course, the student must, in addition to the above, approve a final examination covering the topics presented in the lectures an the suggested reading of the course (about 40 pages)