Laboratory Practice of Social Psychology

Code:

P405

Acronym:

PL

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Scientific Research Methodology

Instance: 2011/2012 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Psychology
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Master Psychology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIPSI	96	Official Curricular Structure 2007/2008	1	-	3	-
			2

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

- Introduction to Experimental Social Psychology by contact and consideration on classical experiments.
- Acquisition of methodological skills namely the planning and execution of experimental studies in Social Psychology.
- Acknowledgement of the differences between the experimental research approach and other approaches.
-Contact with the constraints specific to the execution of laboratory studies.
- Acknowledgement of the specificities of the experimental method: causal inference, psychological realism and experimental realism, construct validity, internal and external validity, operational definitions, etc.
- Acknowledgement of the ethical implications inherent to psychological research, particularly in the field of Experimental Social Psychology.

Program

1. Introduction to laboratory experimentation in Social Psychology:
1.1. Contact with experimental studies on classical areas of research in Social Psychology;
1.2. Planning in small work groups of an experimental study on one of the themes presented (need for suitability of methodology to the conditions of the LPS)
1.3. Implementation in the laboratory of Social Psychology of planned studies, including all steps required by the experimental design (from the implementation of materials, testing and training of "scripts", experimental data collection, randomisation process more or less complex to the debriefing)
1.4. Group discussion of theoretical and methodological aspects raised by the study: "relevance" of the research on the phenomenon in question, possible methodological improvements to the study, alternative methodologies, etc.
2. The fields of research in Social Psychology Experimental addressed in discipline are adjusted the composition of classes. In particular, the number of students that make up and the school year in which they are.
2.1. In this semester, the areas covered in studies conducted by teaching staff with the collaboration of students-during the period of the classroom-are the following: (1) obedience to authority, (2) helping behavior and (3) between-groups discrimination.
After completion of each of the studies, methodological aspects are discussed and its theoretical framework in broader areas, respectively (1) social influence in pro-social behavior (2) and relations among groups and social identity.
2.3. Experimental studies planned and executed by groups of students focus on the following research areas: (1) cognitive dissonance, (2) causal attribution, (3) conflict between groups, (4) prejudice and social discrimination, (5) reaction to deviance in groups.
After completion of each study, and their debriefing, the methodology used and the theoretical framework of the study are discussed.
3. Transversal contents are always addressed in large group discussion:
3.1. The notion of "experimental scenario" on experimentation in Social Psychology: the construction of "real" situations/contexts in the laboratory, experimental control, operational definitions and variables handling, experimental realism vs. mundane realism, the concept of randomisation, etc.
3.2. The notions of "measure" and "validity" in testing: genetics constructs carrying, operational definitions and variables.
3.3. Ethical implications of research with human beings, in particular on experimentation in Social Psychology: acknowledgment of the limits of studies, importance of informed consent and debriefing, anonymity and confidentiality, distinction between experimental manipulation and "deception", etc.

Mandatory literature

Vala Jorge 570; Psicologia social. ISBN: 972-31-0845-3
Hogg Michael A.; Social psychology. ISBN: ISBN 0-13-486770-X
Judd Charles M.; Research methods in social relations. ISBN: ISBN 0-03031149-7
Smith Eliot R.; Social psychology. ISBN: 0-86377-587-X

Complementary Bibliography

Glick, P., Zion, C. & Nelson, C. (1988). What mediates sex discrimination in hiring decision. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 178-186.
Levine, J. M. (1980). Reactions to opinion deviance in small groups. Em P. B. Paulus (Ed.) Psychology of group influence (pp. 187-231). Hillsdale, NJ, Erlbaum.
Sherif, M. (1956). Experiments in group conflict. Em A. R. Pratkanis & E. Aronson (Eds.), Social psychology, Volume I (pp. 380-389). New York: University Press.
Festinger, L. e Thibaut J. (1951). Interpersonal communication in small groups. Journal of Abnormal Social Psychology, 46, 92-99.
Jones, E. E., & Harris, V. A. (1967). The attribution of attitudes. Journal of Experimental Social psychology, 3, 1-24.
Aronson, E. & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59, 177-181.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Practical; exercises

keywords

Social sciences > Psychological sciences > Psychology > Social psychology

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Attendance (estimated)	Participação presencial	26,00
Group work	Defesa pública de dissertação, de relatório de projeto ou estágio, ou de tese	33,00		2012-06-29
Group work	Defesa pública de dissertação, de relatório de projeto ou estágio, ou de tese	22,00		2012-06-29
	Total:	-	0,00

Eligibility for exams

Minimum 75% attendance

Calculation formula of final grade

The group experiment (30%) oral presentation (30%) plus the final report of the group experiment (40%).

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Individual report

Classification improvement

New final report