POL 564 - Social Influence
Spring 2012
Time: Wednesday 2-5
Instructor: Lindsey Levitan
Office: SBS N737
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 11-12, Wednesdays, 11-12. For other times make an appointment.
E-mail: Lindsey.Levitan@stonybrook.edu
Course Description (from Course Bulletin)
In studying public opinion, people often focus on the arguments, information, and overt
attempts to persuade. In doing so, we neglect the impact of the social environment in which an
individual is situated. Friends, family, and aspects of the broader social environment all deeply
influence the attitudes people hold, the tenacity with which they hold them, and the political
behaviors they engage in. Rather than focusing on direct persuasion, this course emphasizes the
effect social context can have upon people's opinions even without overt argumentation or even
information exchange. Students will learn about the influence of 1) other individuals (e.g.
socialization, social network influence), 2) social roles (e.g. power, obedience) 3) societal
influence (e.g. normative influence, conformity, deviance & rejection), and 4) influence from
other environmental sources (e.g. priming).
Makeup Policy
Makeup work without penalty will only be accepted with written documentation of an
emergency. The instructor will verify the emergency, and make the final judgment as to whether
it warrants makeup of work.
Textbook and Materials
Forgas, J. P., & Williams, K. D. (2001). Social influence: Direct and indirect processes:
Psychology Pr.
Grading
The assignment of final grades will be based on multiple criteria:
Class participation is worth 25% of the final grade.
You will be expected to read assignments before class and participate in the
discussions thereof.
2. Paper 1, due 2/29/12, is worth 20% of the final grade.
3. Paper 2, due 3/28/12, is worth 20% of the final grade.
4. Final Paper - due 5/7/12, is worth 35% of the final grade.
1.
Papers: There will be three written papers. The first two papers will be 4-6 pages in
length, on a topic of your choice related to the readings up to that point of the course. They may
take a variety of approaches:
(a) A discussion and attempted resolution of what you see as conflicting ideas and/or
findings in the given literature.
(b) A critical reaction (positive or negative) to some theoretical proposition or program of
research (but not simply a summary).
(c) A synthesis of perspectives that have been presented as competing or unrelated.
(d) A brief research proposal designed to test or extend a theoretical claim you have
encountered in the readings/lecture.
(e) A synthesis of perspectives linking some ideas from this course to other ideas you have
run across in other coursework.
(f) A systematic discussion of how phenomena discussed so far relate to a practical political
problem, and could be leveraged to address that problem (e.g. improving voter turnout,
swaying public opinion, addressing public health concerns, etc.)
(g) Some other idiosyncratic approach that you must clear with me in advance.
The final paper will be 8-10 pages, and require additional outside reading. Topics on this
paper should be cleared with me in advance.
Americans with Disabilities Act:
If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact your course
work, please contact Disability Support Services, ECC (Educational Communications Center)
Building, room128, (631) 632-6748 or http://studentaffairs.stonybrook.edu/dss/. They will
determine with you what accommodations, if any, are necessary and appropriate. All information
and documentation is confidential.
Students who require assistance during emergency evacuation are encouraged to discuss their
needs with their professors and Disability Support Services. For procedures and information go
to the following website: http://www.sunysb.edu/ehs/fire/disabilities.shtml
Academic Integrity:
Each student must pursue his or her academic goals honestly and be personally accountable for
all submitted work. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Faculty
are required to report any suspected instances of academic dishonesty to the Academic Judiciary.
Faculty in the Health Sciences Center (School of Health Technology & Management, Nursing,
Social Welfare, Dental Medicine) and School of Medicine are required to follow their schoolspecific procedures. For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including
categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website at
http://www.stonybrook.edu/uaa/academicjudiciary/
Critical Incident Management:
Stony Brook University expects students to respect the rights, privileges, and property of other
people. Faculty are required to report to the Office of Judicial Affairs any disruptive behavior
that interrupts their ability to teach, compromises the safety of the learning environment, or
inhibits students' ability to learn. Faculty in the HSC Schools and the School of Medicine are
required to follow their school-specific procedures.
Stony Brook University expects students to maintain standards of personal integrity that are in
harmony with the educational goals of the institution; to observe national, state, and local laws
and University regulations.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1 - 1/25/12
Topic
Introduction and Orientation
Reading No reading
Week 2 - 2/1/12
Topic
Chapter
Articles
Social Influence of the Self on the Self
Eagly & Chaiken (1993), The Psychology of Attitudes. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
College Publishers, 455-479
Feldman, S., & Conover, P. J. 1983. Candidates, issues and voters: The role of
inference in political perception. Journal of Politics, 45(4), 810-839.
Mullainathan, S., Washington, E. (2009) Sticking with your vote: Cognitive dissonance
and political attitudes. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 1, 86-111
Week 3 - 2/8/12
Topic
Why others matter: Groups, Deviance, and Rejection
Chapter
Forgas & Williams, Chapter 15
Articles
Janis, I.L. (1982). Groupthink: Psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes
(2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. [Chapter 5, Escalation of the Vietnam War:
How Could It Happen?]
Gonsalkorale, K. & Williams, K. D. (2007). The KKK won't let me play: ostracism
even by a despised outgroup hurts. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37,
1176 – 1186.
Week 4 - 2/15/12
Topic
Influence of Individuals: Compliance
Cialdini, R.B. (1995). Principles and techniques of social influence. In A. Tesser (Ed.),
Chapter
Advanced Social Psychology, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Chapter 7.
Cialdini, R.B., Schroeder, D.A. (1976). Increasing compliance by legitimizing paltry
contributions: When even a penny helps. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 34, 599-604.
Articles Cialdini, R.B., Wosinska, W., Barrett, D.W., Butner, J., Gornik-Durose, M. (1999).
Compliance with a request in two cultures: The differential influence of social
proof and commitment/consistency on collectivists and individualists. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25 (10), 1242-1253.
Week 5 - 2/22/12
Topic
Influence of Close Others
Chapter
Articles
David Lazer. 2011. “Networks in Political Science: Back to the Future.” PS: Political
Science and Politics, Vol. 44, No. 1. (January): 61‐68.
Granberg, D., & Bartels, B. (2005). On being a lone dissenter. Journal of Applied
Social Psychology, 35(9), 1849-1858.
Mutz, D.C. (2002). The consequences of cross-cutting networks for political
participation. American Journal of Political Science, 46, 838-855.
Week 6 - 2/29/12
Topic
Influence of Groups: Informational and Normative Influence
Kelley, H. H. (1952). Two functions of reference groups. In G. E. Swanson, T. M.
Chapter
Neewcomb, & E. L. Hartley (Eds.), Readings in Social Psychology (2nd ed., pp.
410-414). New York: Holt.
Levitan L. C. & Verhulst B. (in prep). Conformity in Groups: The effects of groups on
expressed attitudes.
Articles Levitan, L. C., & Visser, P. S. (2008). The Impact of the Social Context on Resistance
to Persuasion: Effortful versus Effortless Responses to Counter-attitudinal
Information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.44, 640–649.
Paper 1 due electronically by 5pm.
Week 7 - 3/7/12
Topic
Minority Influence
Chapter 10, Pratkanis, A. R. (2007). The Science of social influence: Advances and
Chapter
future progress: Psychology Pr.
McGuire, W. J., & Papageorgis, D. (1961). The relative efficacy of various types of
prior belief-defense in producing immunity against persuasion. The Journal of
Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62(2), 327.
Articles
Wood, W., Lundgren, S., Ouellette, J. A., Busceme, S., & Blackstone, T. (1994)
Minority influence: A meta-analytic review of social influence processes.
Psychological Bulletin, 115(3), 323-345.
Week 8 - 3/14/12
Topic
Influence of Large Groups and Society: Normative Influence Part II
Chapter 7, Pratkanis, A. R. (2007). The Science of social influence: Advances and
Chapter
future progress: Psychology Pr.
Jost, J.T., Banaji, M.R. (1994) The role of stereotyping in system justification and the
production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology. 33(1), 127.
Articles Zimbardo, P. G. (1970). The human choice: Individuation, reason, and order vs
deindividuation, impulse, and chaos. In W. J. Arnold & D. Levine (Eds.), Nebraska
Symposium on Motivation,1960. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. *select
pages*
Week 9 - 3/21/12
Topic
Priming & Environmental Influence
Chapter
Forgas & Williams, Chapter 8
Articles
Berger, J., Meredith, M., & Wheeler, C. (2008). Contextual priming: Where people
vote affects how they vote. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105,
8846-8849.
Hurwitz, J., & Peffley, M. (2005). Playing the Race Card in the Post-Willie Horton Era.
Public Opinion Quarterly, 69(1), 99.
Week 10 - 3/28/12
Topic
Influence of Mass Media
Chapter 11, Sears, D. O., Huddy, L., & Jervis, R. (2003). Oxford handbook of political
Chapter
psychology: Oxford University Press, USA.
Mutz, D.C., & Martin, P.S. (2001). Facilitating communication across lines of political
difference: The role of mass media. American Political Science Review, 95, 97-114.
Articles
Ball-Rokeach, S.J., Rokeach, M., & Grube, J.W. 1984. The Great American Values
Test. Psychology Today, 18, 34-41.
Paper 2 due electronically by 5pm.
Week 11 - 4/4/12 SPRING BREAK
Week 12 - 4/11/12
Topic
Social Influence on Perception - Where do norms come from?
Chapter
Forgas & Williams, Chapter 5
Articles
Todorov, A., Mandisodza, A. N. (2004). Public Opinion on Foreign Policy: The
Multilateral Public that Perceives Itself as Unilateral. Public Opinion Quarterly,
68(3), 323-348.
Sinclair, S., Dunn, E., & Lowery, B. S. (2005). The relationship between parental racial
attitudes and children's implicit prejudice. Journal of Experimental Social
Psychology, 41, 283-289.
Week 13 - 4/18/12
Topic
Emotions
Chapter 5, Pratkanis, A. R. (2007). The Science of social influence: Advances and
Chapter
future progress: Psychology Pr.
DeSteno, D., Petty, R.E., Rucker, D.D., Wegener, D.T., Braverman, J. (2004). Discrete
emotions and persuasion: the role of emotion-induced expectancies. Journal of
Articles
Personality and Social Psychology, 86 (1), 43-56.
Gorn, G.J., (1982). The effects of music in advertising on choice behavior: A classical
conditioning approach. The Journal of Marketing, 46, 94-101
Week 14 - 4/25/12
Topic
Chapter
Articles
Authority & Aggression
Kelman, Herbert, C., and V. Lee Hamilton. 1989. Crimes of Obedience: Toward a
Social Psychology of Authority and Responsibility (Chapter 5, pp. 103-135). New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral Study of Obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology, 67, 371-378.
Kelman, Herbert, C., and V. Lee Hamilton. 1989. Crimes of Obedience: Toward a
Social Psychology of Authority and Responsibility (Chapters 1, pp. 1-22). New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Week 15 - 5/2/12
Topic
Prejudice
Chapter
Forgas & Williams, Chapter 14
Articles
Sechrist, G. B., & Stangor, C. (2001). Perceived consensus influences intergroup
behavior and stereotype accessibility. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 80, 645-654.
Sherif, M. (1958). Super ordinate goals in the reduction of intergroup conflict.
American Journal of Sociology, 63, 349-356.
Final Paper due 5/7/12 due electronically by 5pm.