Group Processes

Psychology 457/557: CRN 25972

UH 14:00-15:20 146 Straub

Winter 1997

Instructor: Dr. Robert Mauro
311 Straub
346-4917
mauro@oregon
Office Hours: UH 15:30-16:30 & by appointment

TA: Helen Meisenhelder
347 Straub
346-4921 msg
meisen@darkwing
Office Hours: 10-12 H and by appointment

Texts:

D. Forsyth, (1990). An Introduction to Group Dynamics (2nd Ed.). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Cialdini, R. (1984). Influence: The New Psychology of Modern Persuasion. New York: Quill.

This course is concerned primarily with the study of individuals interacting in groups. Many of the topics covered in this course have been studied by anthropologists, cognitive scientists, management theorists, and sociologists as well as by psychologists; hence, we will draw on the literatures of several different disciplines. However, psychological research will be the basis for this course.

Course Requirements

This is a graduate/advanced undergraduate course. You will be expected to be able to read and to write at that level. If you feel uncomfortable with either task, do not take this course.

Undergraduates

You will be required to participate in three small group sessions during the course. During each session a short group behavior demonstration will be conducted. You will be either a subject in the experiment, or an observer or both. After each session you are to write a brief (around 5 page) report in APA style. These reports will be graded using 5 criteria: Is the hypothesis stated clearly and clearly derived from the reading material? Are the experimental procedures clearly summarized? Are the results clearly summarized? Are the implications of the results for the hypothesis clearly stated? Are the results and opinions clearly separated? I am assuming that you have completed the university writing requirement and the departmental statistics and research methods courses and are comfortable with this material. If you are not comfortable with this material, do not take this class. These papers will be due at the times noted on the syllabus (approximately one week after the exercise).

There will be a midterm and a cumulative final examination consisting of multiple choice questions and short answer/essay questions. The short answer/essay questions will be taken from a larger set of study questions which will be distributed about one week before the examinations.

Grading: Each small paper will be worth 10 points. The midterm examination will be worth 25 points and the final will be worth 45 points - for a total of 100 points. Late papers will not be accepted. To obtain an A in the course you must accumulate 85 points; a B -- 75 points, a C -- 65 points, and a D -- 55 points. To obtain a P you must accumulate 65 points.

Graduates

You will be required to lead three small group sessions during the course. This will involve meeting with me prior to the session and doing a little (not much) preparation. This is meant to give you an opportunity to practice doing research and working with groups. The undergraduate students in your groups will be asked to comment on your performance but these comments will be for your use only (just as you will not be involved with grading the undergraduates in the course). Also, you will be required to write a term paper on a subject in the field of group behavior, broadly defined, due on 3/13/97. You must have the topic of this paper approved by me prior to 1/23/97. Finally, you will be required to take the final examination described above.

Grading: The term paper and the final are each worth 50% of the course grade.