Social Psychology Lab, PSYC 4260

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  PSYC 4260
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: Research articles and video clips are being utilized in a Psychology course for undergraduate students by Anne Duran at California State University, Bakersfield. The research articles and clips provide up-to-date research and examples of concepts covered in the class. The main motivation to adopt an open source was to have the students access the most current research and knowledge about SPSS and statistical concepts. Most students access the articles via the CSUB Library’s OneSearch.

Course Title and Number - Social Psychology Lab, PSYC 4260
Brief Description of course highlights:  In my social psychology course, my goal is to expose students to many aspects of research. They independently write a paper using the correlational approach and do a group assignment collecting data for an experiment. They learn about classic research and the most current findings in social psychology. They learn how to use SPSS, from creating data files to manipulating and analyzing the data. No textbook covers all of these pieces, and having the students purchase books to cover everything would be unethical—especially when the same information is available for free online.  https://catalog.csub.edu/course-descriptions/psyc/
PSYC 4260 Social Psychology Lab (3)
Laboratory in Social Psychology.
Requisite(s): Prerequisite: PSYC 3110 and PSYC 3260
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring  

Student population: Juniors and seniors take my Social Psych Lab course. These students have taken Social Psychology previously. The students on our campus typically begin university with less preparation than those at other schools/campuses; in addition, many are first-generation US and/or first-generation college students.

Learning or student outcomes: From the syllabus:
This course is developed to support the Psychology Department Goals and Objectives. Specifically, this course will address the following:

Goal 1: Content Knowledge and Applications
1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and theories in psychological science
1.4 Apply psychological content to solve practical problems
Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking
2.1 Exercise scientific reasoning to investigate psychological phenomena
2.2 Interpret, design, and evaluate basic psychological research
2.3 Incorporate sociocultural factors in scientific research practices.
2.4 Use statistics to evaluate quantitative research findings
Goal 3: Values in Psychological Science
3.1 Employ ethical standards in research, practice, and academic contexts
Goal 4: Communication, Psychological Literacy, and Technology Skills
4.3 Provide evidence of psychological literacy
4.4 Exhibit appropriate technological skills to improve communication
Syllabus and/or Sample assignment from the course or the adoption:   SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY LAB - Duran Bakersfied.docx

Instructor Name - Anne Duran
I am a Psychology professor at California State University, Bakersfield. 
Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach.

• Social Psychology
• Social Psychology Lab
• The Psychology of Sexual Orientation 

Many people have not seen a course like this. Here’s the catalog copy:

1. The purpose of this course is to incorporate information from a variety of different fields (e.g., history, sociology, biology) to address psychological issues relevant to sexual orientation. In this course, students will critically examine attitudes, assumptions, and research regarding straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people. Topics will include the development of gender and sexual orientation; historical views of sexual orientation; differences between individuals with different orientations; progression and change in orientation throughout the lifespan; social/legal policies regarding sexual orientation; and stereotypes and discrimination of individuals with particular orientations.

• Senior Seminar 

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  I believe my role as a professor is to create a classroom that feels both safe and enjoyable—a space where students can take intellectual risks, consider other points of view, and reflect on why they believe what they believe. My job is to provide the knowledge and context that help students see the bigger picture, but also to bring the enthusiasm that makes learning feel energizing and fun. I see education as both an adventure and a conversation: we explore ideas together, ask questions, and discover that curiosity is not just encouraged—it’s contagious. 

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: 
Brief Description:  We use our campus’s OneSearch to locate relevant articles. A couple of the classics used include:

Darley, J. M., & Latane, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4, Pt.1), 377–383. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0025589  

Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral Study of obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040525 

Lepper, M. R., Greene, D., & Nisbett, R. E. (1973). Undermining children’s intrinsic interest with extrinsic rewards: A test of the “overjustification” hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28(1), 129-137. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0035519 

I also share videos posted by other profs to explain SPSS and Qualtrics. I figure that when the students hear the same (usually difficult for them) content presented in different ways, it’s easier for them to get the feel for the information.   Links to the videos:

Reverse Coding in SPSS: https://youtu.be/goKHbzAddsw Cronbach’s Alpha in SPSS: https://youtu.be/Kz8OdR6lV44
Smoke filled room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE5YwN4NW5o&list=PLlynurGP9Axx_eL_PXPVeLlyj1O-FEGHQ&index=3 

Helpful softball team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE5YwN4NW5o&list=PLlynurGP9Axx_eL_PXPVeLlyj1O-FEGHQ&index=3 

Bystander effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSsPfbup0ac
Bugs Bunny Full Episodes (for observational studies): https://csub.instructure.com/courses/32358/modules/items/1887784 

Tom and Jerry Full Episode (for observational studies): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gkysb_8N9os

Student access:  Students access the classic articles from a link in a module on our Canvas course page. Links to the videos are in a different module on the same page. 

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  To have the information in textbook form for this class, I would have to use several:

Social Psychology: Revisiting the Classic Studies, Smith & Haslam (eds), $44.00
Conducting Research: Social and Behavioral Science Methods, L.T. Orcher, $105.37
How to use SPSS, B.C. Cronk, $46.99
And of course, How to Use Qualtrics, J. Snow et al., $2.99 (Kindle edition)
License:  I am using articles available in the library catalog, OneSearch, in lieu of a textbook. So they are not OER under a particular license, but ZCCM available through the library. They are also using video from YouTube, mostly from a Dr. Todd Grande's channel where they showcase reverse code variables in SPSS.

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process
Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low-Cost option.  The primary impetus for my using a no-textbook approach for my class is simply that an appropriate one is not available. Having the students buy all of the texts they would need is just unethical. In addition, my approach helps keep us all current with the different versions of SPSS and Qualtrics. 

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?
The classics are fairly well agreed-upon across my field. For the videos, I do searches, then watch the videos to see if I feel they might add to the student’s understanding. Occasionally my students will suggest additional links, too, which is great.

Sharing Best Practices:   You do not have to use a textbook!!! Who would have thought?  Rather than designing your course around a textbook, think about your goals for the students, then locate resources to support those goals. (The thought of designing my course around my goals v. the textbook was a huge eye-opener for me!)

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned.  Some links go dead. I need to check the links before the students need them. Some information needs frequent updating. It is important to keep on top of what’s going on in the research field so I don’t give students outdated info.