This course provides a selective review of research and literature relating
to interpersonal behavior. It surveys a
broad range of topics, including interpersonal cognition and perception,
interpersonal expectancies, power, communication, but also various aspects
relationships, attraction, aggression and helping behavior. This diversity of topics is reflected in the
readings which for the most part focus on original empirical and theoretical
contributions rather than review articles.
This course has two main objectives.
The first objective is to provide an in-depth examination of important
theories and findings pertaining to each research area. The second objective is to develop an
appreciation for some of the methodological approaches used in empirical
investigations in these areas. The third
objective is to promote critical thinking in the evaluation of data or
arguments that are advanced in order to support various theoretical
positions. To accomplish these goals,
the typical reading assignment for each week consists of four to five papers
spanning a variety of theoretical and empirical approaches.
This course will follow a seminar format.
Whereas the instructor will take some time to provide some (historical)
context of the readings for the day, the majority of the class will be open for
discussion. Your active participant is
essential to the quality of the course.
There will be a course pack available in the lobby of the sociology
department, MSS 300. Note that many of
the articles can be downloaded via the website of the UNR library.
Keep in mind that I (MK) have read the papers as well; hence there is no
need for extant summary of the papers.
Also, it is critical that you argue clearly, support your statements,
and present justifications, e.g., for suggested extensions of the present
research.
The reaction papers should be around one to two single-spaced pages, and
should be turned in no later than 3 PM
on Monday via email. Please email your brief essay to all
students in the course and to me.
Given that the reaction papers are a relatively open-ended task, the
grading of the content of the reaction paper will be generous with grading
focusing on thoughtfulness not “accuracy” of content. However, please be sure to address at least
three of the readings of the day in your reaction paper.
Writing the research proposal is a two-step process. After spring break you are required to submit
a 5-6 page outline of your proposal.
This outline should provide a general description of your proposal,
motivating your project and elaborating its theoretical rational. At the end of the term you must submit a full
research proposal that includes a full-fledged theory part/introduction,
elaboration of the research question(s) and/or hypotheses as well as an outline
of the empirical methodology you are planning on using. The assumption is that proposals are usually
no shorter than 15 and no longer than 30 pages (double-spaced). Use APA style (5th edition) or ASA
style (4th edition).
The research proposals will be graded based on quality of
review of relevant literature, quality of your own analysis and integration of
that literature, originality/creativity and quality of writing. (The first two criteria take priority over
the second two criteria).
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January 20
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Organizational
meeting -- general issues
Jordan, C. H.,
& Zanna, M. P. (2001). How to read a journal article in social
psychology. In L. L. Thompson (Ed.), The
social psychology of organizational behavior (pp. 419-428). New
York: Psychology Press. [reprinted in various other
sources]
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January 27
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Interpersonal
perception
Kelley, H. H.
(1950). The warm-cold variable in first impressions of persons. Journal of Personality, 18, 431-439.+
Ross, L., &
Nisbett, R. E. (1991). The person and
the situation. McGraw-Hill. Chapter 2 “The power of the situation” &
5 “Lay personality and lay social psychology” (
Funder, D. C.
(1999). Personality judgment: A realistic
approach to person perception. San Diego:
Academic. Chapter 3 “Error and accuracy in the study of personality judgment”
pp. 57-79.
Ambady, N.,
& Rosenthal, R. (1993). Half a minute: Predicting teacher evaluations
from thin slices of nonverbal behavior and physical attractiveness. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 431-441. *
Andersen, S.
M., Glassman, N. S., Chen, S., & Cole, S. W. (1995). Transference in
social perception: The role of chronic accessibility in significant-other
representations. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 69, 41-57.*
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February 3
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Expectancies and
hypothesis testing
Darley, J. M.,
& Fazio, R. H. (1980). Expectancy confirmation processes arising in the
social interaction sequence. American Psychologist, 35, 867-881.
Word, C. O.,
Zanna, M. P., & Cooper, J. (1974). The nonverbal mediation of
self-fulfilling prophecies in interracial interaction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 109-120.
Swann, W. B., Jr., & Ely, R. J. (1984). A
battle of wills: Self-verification versus behavioral confirmation. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1287-1302.
Jussim, L.
(1993). Accuracy in interpersonal expectations: A reflection-construction analysis
of current and classic research. Journal
of Personality, 61, 637-668.
Snyder, M.
& Swann, W. B. (1978). Hypothesis testing processes in social
interaction. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 57, 925-939.
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February 10
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Self-presentation
and impression management
Leary, M. R.,
& Kowalski, R. M. (1990). Impression management: A literature review and
two-component model. Psychological
Bulletin, 107, 34-47. *
Scully, D.,
& Marolla, J. (1984). Convicted rapists’ vocabulary of motive: Excuses
and justifications. Social Problems,
31, 530-544.+
Rudman, L. A. (1998). Self-promotion as a risk factor for women: The costs and benefits of counterstereotypical impression management. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 629-645.* Rowatt, W. C., Cunningham, M. R., & Druen, P. B. (1999). Lying to get a date: The effect of facial physical attractiveness on the willingness to deceive prospective dating partners. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 16, 209-223.* Cupach, W. R., & Metts, S. (1994). Face management in interpersonal communication. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. (pp. 1-16)
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February 17
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Stigma and stereotypes in interaction
Major,
B., & Crocker, J. (1993). Social stigma: The consequences of
attributional ambiguity. In D. M. Mackie, & D. L. Hamilton (Eds.), Affect, cognition, and stereotyping:
Interactive processes in group perception (pp. 345-370). San
Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Vorauer,
J., & Kumhyr, S. M. (2001). Is this about you or me? Self- versus other-directed
judgments and feelings in response to intergroup interaction. Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, 27, 706-719.+
Harber, K. D. (1998). Feedback to minorities: Evidence of a positive
bias. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 74, 622-628.*
Frable,
D. E., Blackstone, T., & Scherbaum, C. (1990). Marginal and mindful:
Deviants in social interactions. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 140-149.*
Inzlicht,
M., & Ben-Zeev, T. (2000). A threatening intellectual environment: Why
females are susceptible to experiencing problem-solving deficits in the
presence of males. Psychological
Science, 11, 365-371.+
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February 24
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Cognition, attribution and interaction
Hilton,
D. (1990). Conversational processes and causal explanation. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 65-81.*
Schwarz, N., Strack, F., Hilton, D.,
& Naderer, G. (1991). Base rates, representativeness, and the
logic of conversation: The contextual relevance of "irrelevant"
information. Social Cognition, 9, 67-84.
Swann, W. B., Giuliano, T., &
Wegner, D. M. (1982). Where leading
questions can lead: The power
of conjecture in social interaction. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 1025-1035.
Malle,
B. F., & Pearce, G. E. (2001). Attention to behavioral events during
interaction: Two actor-observer gaps and three attempts to close them. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 278-294.*
Kemmelmeier,
M., Bless, H., Schwarz, N., & Bohner, G. (in press). What research
participants learn from rewards: A conversational logic analysis of rewarding
reasoning performance. Cahiers de
Psychologie Cognitive/Current Psychology of Cognition.
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March 2
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Language and communication
Semin,
G. R., & Fiedler, K. (1988). The cognitive function of linguistic
categories in describing persons: Social cognition and language. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 54, 558-568.*
Sanchez-Burks,
J., Lee, F., Choi, I., Nisbett, R., Zhao, S., Koo, J.
(2003). versing across cultures: East-west communication styles in work and
nonwork contexts. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 363-372.*
Higgins,
E. T. (1992). Achieving “shared reality” in the communication game: A social
action that creates meaning. Journal of
Language and Social Psychology, 11, 107-125.
Guerin,
B. (2003). Language use as social strategy: A review and an analytic
framework for the social sciences. Review
of General Psychology, 7, 251-298.*
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March 9
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Affect and interpersonal comparisons
Tesser,
A., Millar, M, & Moore, J. (1988). Some affective consequences of social
comparison and reflection processes: The pain and pleasure of being close. Journal of Personality and social
psychology, 54, 49-61.*
Kulik,
J. A., Mahler, H. I. M., & Moore, P. J. (1996). Social comparison and
affiliation under threat: Effects of recovery from major surgery. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 71, 967-979.*
Christophe,
V., & Rime, B. (1997). Exposure to the social sharing of emotion:
Emotional impact, listener responses and secondary social sharing. European Journal of Social Psychology, 27,
37-54.+
Cahill,
S. E., & Eggleston, R. A. (1994). Managing emotions in public: The case
of wheelchair users. Social Psychology
Quarterly, 57, 300-312.+
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March 16
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SPRING BREAK – no class
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March 23
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Interpersonal influence and negotiation
Rafaeli, A., & Sutton, R.
I., (1991). Emotional contrast strategies as means of social influence:
Lessons from criminal interrogators and bill collectors. Academy
of Management
Journal, 34, 749-775.+
Chartrand,
T., & Bargh, J. A. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception-behavior
link and social interaction. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 893-910.*
Burger, J. M. (1986). Increasing compliance by improving the deal: The
that's-not-all technique. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 277-283.
O'Connor,
K. M., & Carnevale, P. J. (1997). A nasty but effective negotiation
strategy: Misrepresentation of
a common-value issue. Personality &
Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 504-515.+
Ross,
L., & Ward. A. (1995). Psychological barriers to dispute resolution. In
M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in
Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 27, pp. 255-304). San
Diego, CA: Academic Press.
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March 26
|
Deadline research proposal—outline
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March 30
|
Power
Lee, F., & Tiedens, L. Z. (2001). Is
it lonely at the top?: The independence and interdependence of power holders.
Research in Organizational Behavior, 23,
43-91.
Galinsky,
A. D., Gruenfeld, D. H., & Magee, J. C. (2002). From power to action. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 85, 453-466.*
Molm, L. D. (1997). Risk and power use: Constraints on
the use of coercion in exchange. American
Sociological Review, 62, 113-133.+
Snyder, M., &
Kiviniemi, M. T. (2001). Getting what they
came for: How power influences the dynamics and outcomes of interpersonal
interaction. In A. Y. Lee-Chai, & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The use and abuse of power: Multiple perspectives
on the causes of corruption (pp. 133-155). Philadelphia,
PA: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis.
Cast, A. D. (2003). Power and
the ability to define the situation. Social
Psychology Quarterly, 66, 185-201.+
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April 6
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Relating
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to
belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human
motivation. Psychological Bulletin,
117, 497-529.*
Hazan,
C., & Shaver, P. R. (1990). Love and work: An attachment-theoretical
perspective. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 59, 270-280.
Baldwin,
M. W., Carrell, S. E., & Lopez, D. F. (1990). Priming relationship
schemas: My advisor and the Pope are watching me from the back of my mind. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,
26, 435-454.
Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Norman, C. (2001).
Self-expansion model of motiviaton and cognition in relationships and beyond.
In G. J. O. Fletcher & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology: Interpersonal processes
(pp. 478-499). Malden, MA:
Blackwell.
Burke, P. J., & Stets, J. E. (1999). Trust
and commitment through self-verification. Social
Psychology Quarterly, 62, 347-366.+
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April 13
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Attraction, love and sex
Foster,
C. A., Witcher, B. S., Campbell, W. K., & Green, J. D. (1998). Arousal and attraction: Evidence for automatic and controlled processes. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 74, 86-101.*
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P.
(1993). Sexual Strategies Theory: An evolutionary perspective on human
mating. Psychological Review, 100,
204-232.*
Beall, A. E., & Sternberg, R. J. (1995). The social
construction of love. Journal of Social
and Personal Relationships, 12, 417-438.
Laumann,
E. O., & Gagnon, J. H. (1995). A sociological perspective on sexual action.
In R. G. Parker & J. H. Gagnon (Eds.), Conceiving sexuality: Approaches to sex research in a postmodern
world (pp. 183-213). Florence, KY:
Taylor & Francis.
Baumeister,
R. F., & Bratslavsky, E. (1999). Passion,
intimacy, and time: Passionate love
as a function of change in intimacy. Personality
& Social Psychology Review, 3, 49-67.
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April 20
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Relationships processes
Rusbult,
C. E., Arriaga, X. B., & Agnew, C. R. (2001). Interdependence in close
relationships. In G. J. O. Fletcher & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology:
Interpersonal processes (pp. 359-387). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Murray,
S. L., & Holmes, J. G. (1993). Seeing virtues in faults: Negativity and
the transformation of interpersonal narratives in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 65, 707-722.*
Clark, M. S., Mills, J.,
&Powell, M. C. (1986). Keeping track of needs in communal and exchange
relationships. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 51, 333-338.
Gottman,
J., Coan, J., Carree, S., & Swanson, C. (1998). Predicting martial
happiness and stability from newlywed interactions. Journal of Marriage
and the Family, 60, 5-22.+
McKenna,
K. Y. A., Green, A. S., Gleason, M. E. J. (2002). Relationship formation on
the internet: What’s the big attraction? Journal
of Social Issues, 58, 9-31.+
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April 27
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Aggression
Smuts, B. (1996). Male
aggression against women: An evolutionary perspective. In D. M. Buss & N.
M. Malamuth (Eds.), Sex, power, conflict:
Evolutionary and feminist perspectives (pp. 231-268). New York: Oxford University Press. [reprinted from Human Nature, 3, 1-44.]
Twenge, J. M., Baumeister, R. F.,
Tice, D. M., & Stucke, T. S. (2001). If you can't join them, beat them:
Effects of social exclusion on aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1058-1069.*
Bushman, B. (2002). Does venting anger feed or extinguish
the flame? Catharsis, rumination, distraction, anger, and aggressive
responding. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 28, 724-731.
Cohen,
D., Vandello, J., Puente, S., & Rantilla, A. (1999). "When you call
me that, smile!" How norms for politeness, interaction styles, and
aggression work together in Southern culture. Social Psychology Quarterly,
62, 257-275.+
Reifman, A. S., Larrick, R. P.,
& Fein, S. (1991). Temper and temperature on the diamond: The
heat-aggression relationship in major league baseball. Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 580-585.
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May 4
|
Prosocial behavior
Dovidio, J. F., & Penner,
L. A. (2001). Helping and altruism. In G. J. O. Fletcher & M. S. Clark
(Eds.), Blackwell Handbook of Social
Psychology: Interpersonal processes (pp.162-195). Malden,
MA: Blackwell.
Burnstein,
E., Crandall, C., & Kitayama, S. (1994). Some neo-Darwinian decision
rules for altruism: Weighing cues for inclusive fitness as a function of the
biological importance of the decision. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 773-789.*
Holmes, J. G., Miller, D. T.,
& Lerner, M. J. (2002). Committing altruism under the cloak of
self-interest: The exchange fiction. Journal of Experimental Social
Psychology, 38, 144-151.+
Pemberton, M., &
Sedikides, C. (2001). When do individuals help close others improve? The role
of information diagnosticity. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 234-246.*
Batson, C. D., Ahmad, N., Yin, J., Bedell, S. J., Johnson, J.
W., Templin, C. M., & Whiteside, A. (1999). Two threats to the common good: Self-interested egoism and empathy and empathy-induced
altruism. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 25, 3-16.+
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May 9
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Deadline research proposal—full paper
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