Social Psychology

Social Psychology Module 1
Introducing Social Psychology

• History and Principles
• The Person and the Social Situation
• Social Cognition
• Social Affect
• Social Behavior
• Social Neuroscience
• Observational Research

Social Psychology Module 2
Social Learning and Social Cognition

• Social Knowledge
• How We Use Our Expectations
• Automatic vs. Controlled Cognition
• Overconfidence
• Cognitive Biases in Everyday Life

Social Psychology Module 3
Social Affect

• Moods and Emotions in Our Social Lives
• The Physiology of Affect
• Basic and Secondary Emotions
• Culture and Gender Differences in Emotional Responses
• Emotions, Stress, and Well-Being
• Stress and the Immune System
• Depression and Anxiety
• Coping with Negative Emotions
• Distorting and Suppressing Negative Outcomes
• Self-Regulation
• Power of Positive Emotions

Social Psychology Module 4
The Self

• Development and Characteristics of Self-Concept
• Overestimating How Others View Us
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Esteem
• Self-Monitoring
• Self-Presentation
• Social Groups Provide Social Identity

Social Psychology Module 5   
Attitudes, Behavior, and Persuasion

• Attitudes are Evaluations
• Strong Attitudes
• When Do Our Attitudes Guide Our Behaviors?
• Choosing Effective Communicators
• Creating Effective Communications
• Preventing Persuasion
• Self-Perception

Social Psychology Module 6
Perceiving Others

• Initial Impressions
• Nonverbal Behavior
• Judging People by Their Traits
• Making Inferences About Personality
• Attributions for Success and Failure
• Self-Serving Attributions
• Perceiver Characteristics
• Cultural Differences in Person Perception
• Attributional Styles and Mental Health

Social Psychology Module 7
Influencing and Conforming

• Informational Conformity
• Normative Conformity
• Majority Influence
• Minority Influence
• Obedience, Power, and Leadership
• Person Differences
• Gender Differences
• Cultural Differences
• Psychological Reactance

Social Psychology Module 8
Liking and Loving

• Initial Attraction
• Physical Attraction
• Similarity
• Closeness and Intimacy
• Communal and Exchange Relationships
• Interdependence and Commitment
• What is Love?
• Hormones and Close Relationships

Social Psychology Module 9
Helping and Altruism

• Understanding Altruism
• Moods and Emotions
• Positive Moods Increase Helping
• Guilt Increases Helping
• Personal Distress
• How Social Context Influences Helping
• Gender and Cultural Differences
• Who Do We Help?

Social Psychology Module 10
Aggression

• Biological and Emotional Causes of Aggression
• Role of Biology on Aggression
• How Social Situations Influence Aggression
• Social Learning and Modeling
• Television, Video Games, and Handguns
• Viewing Violence
• Personal and Cultural Influences on Aggression

Social Psychology Module 11
Group Performance and Decision Making

• Understanding Social Groups
• Similarity
• Communication, Interdependence, Group Structure
• Social Identity
• Group Process
• Improving Group Performance
• Social Facilitation and Social Inhibition
• Process Losses and Process Gains

Social Psychology Module 12
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

• Social Categorization
• Stereotyping
• Ingroup Favoritism and Prejudice
• Personality and Cultural Determinants of Ingroup Favoritism
• Reducing Discrimination
• Changing Social Norms
• Intergroup Contact
• Benefits of Recategorization

Social Psychology Module 13
Competition and Cooperation in Our Social Worlds

• Conflict, Cooperation, Morality, and Fairness
• Competition and Conflict
• Role of Social Dilemmas
• Who Cooperates and Who Competes?
• Gender and Cultural Differences
• Strategies for Producing Cooperation
• Task Characteristics and Perceptions
• Privatization
• Role of Communication

**Outlines are subject to change, as courses and materials are updated.**