Psychology of Stereotyping and Prejudice

Discussion Questions. Participants must read each week's set of readings prior to the class meeting. For each of the readings, participants will be expected to submit a set of discussion questions (submit them to the discussion leaders and to me, preferably by e-mail; an e-mail roster will be distributed). Questions for each week's readings will be due no later than 10 p.m. on the Monday preceding the class meeting. This due date will give the discussion leaders all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning to organize their plans for the discussion, taking into account the questions and issues raised by the other participants. Discussion leaders are also responsible for submitting questions to the other co-leader(s) and to me. Your questions must reflect thoughtful analysis of the issues presented in the readings and should be neither overly general and vague (e.g., "What is prejudice, really?") nor limited to small or generic details (e.g., "Did they have adequate statistical power in that study?").

Examples of good questions include questions addressing critical features of presented theories or studies (including critiques), questions addressing the relationships between different readings (within or between different class meetings), questions regarding the implications of the readings for real world issues or other issues in social psychology, or questions proposing novel theories or insights. Obviously, this is not a comprehensive listing of all possible good question types. Most important is that the questions reflect thoughtful analysis of the assigned reading and are capable of generating discussion.

Discussion Leadership. During the organizational meeting, each person will sign up to be a co-leader for two of the seminar meetings. Leaders will be responsible for planning the discussion of each week's set of readings. With the help of the other participants' discussion questions, leaders must identify the core issues and organize them into a logical sequence of topics for group discussion and debate. As discussion leaders, it is not necessarily your responsibility to explain the readings to others or review the important points of each paper. Instead, your job is to provide some framework that seems sensible for discussing the topic. Perhaps you might present an initial framework at the beginning of class (on the board or via overhead) to highlight common (or divergent) themes that run throughout the readings. There are no right or wrong ways to do this. However, every week's discussion must include both discussion of broad theoretical concerns as well as analysis of specific experiments. The final period of each discussion should focus on identifying issues for future research, including brainstorming about possible experiments that could be done to address these issues. The goal is to provide structure and direction for fellow students during discussion.

Participation. Participants are expected to ask questions, express opinions, draw linkages among papers, develop new ideas, etc. Class attendance only is not sufficient for full credit. One acceptable form of participation would be to simply read a question that you have submitted for your weekly assignment.

Term Paper and Presentation. Participants in the seminar will complete an independent research project which will be the basis of a term paper (typically, 15-20 pages in length) and a classroom presentation. There are several options for the project:

• Option 1:
  Research an issue related to stereotyping, prejudice, or discrimination not covered in the seminar or research an issue that was not extensively covered in the class in greater detail. For example, you may focus on the history of stereotypes or prejudice toward a particular group. This option is meant to be a 'literature review.'
  
  
• Option 2:
  Propose a research study. Briefly review the literature on a topic and identify a gap or controversy in our existing knowledge. Be specific. Identify the independent and dependent variables in the study. Discuss how the variables will be manipulated and measured. Derive a set of predictions. Finally, discuss how the experiment will make a contribution to our understanding of a topic or issue.
  
  
• Option 3:
  Think of an occasion when you perceived that you were a victim of stereotyping, prejudice, or discrimination. Discuss the experience with a focus on the cognitive, emotional, or behavioral consequences of this experience. Do not, however, write a purely experiential account. Discuss how (or if) the existing research provides any insight into understanding the experience. If so, what can the existing research explain or predict? If not, discuss whether there is an oversight in the literature and how that oversight could be rectified.
  
  
• Option 4:
  Think of an occasion when you stereotyped, were prejudiced toward, or discriminated against others. How did you react to the experience? What were the effects of the incident? Again, try to relate your experience to the literature as it now exists. Does the research that we reviewed provide you with any insight into the processes involved in your experience? If so, how? If not, why not?
  
  

You may, of course, propose your own topic that does not fit any of these descriptions. You will need to receive my explicit approval before initiating any such project.

A two-page (maximum) description of your topic will be due on November 1st. Please indicate the option that you have chosen and provide some preliminary details of your research question and plan.

You will need to provide me with at least three references that you have obtained that are relevant to your proposed topic. This will help me in providing you with additional references and/or feedback.

TERM PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IF A PAPER PROPOSAL WAS NOT SUBMITTED AND APPROVED.

Classroom Presentation. The results of the independent research projects will be presented in the seminar meeting on December 6th. Each student will speak for approximately 10-15 minutes (depending on the number of participants in the seminar). We will discuss presentational styles as those dates approach, but keep in mind that a presentation is different from simply reading what is contained in a research paper. Overheads and multimedia presentations, for example, typically improve the clarity and interest of a presentation.