The Social Self
PSYC 326 SPRING2017
Monday & Wednesday 1:20 pm – 2:40 pm
Classroom: SCIE139
Instructor: Mingxuan (Michelle) Tan
E-mail: [email protected]
Office: 406 B Judd Hall
Office Hours: Mondays 2:30-3:30 pm or by appointment
Course Tools
Required readings are in the appendix
There will be three academic articles for students to read every week. Each student is expected
to have read all the articles before Monday classes and prepare two questions and one hypothesis
based on the readings for each week.
Website
I will be using the Wesleyan Moodle site heavily. It is a critical source of information
throughout the term. All of articles, course arrangements and announcements will be posted on
the site.
Email
Please make sure that you regularly check your email inbox for course information，
clarifications, notifications, and assignment reminders, etc.
Course Description
The Social Self is a seminar course where students will be provided with an overview of the
recent theoretical, methodological, and practical development of one of the classic sub-areas of
social psychology: The Self. Course content will be organized around research articles which
offer in-depth understanding of the nature of the self. These articles will include the cutting-edge
research findings or review of findings focused on three primary aspects of the self: the cognitive
self(e.g., self-knowledge), the affective self(e.g., self-esteem, self-compassion), and the executive
self(e.g., self-regulation, self-control). There will also be discussions on recent developments in
the field such as the self in close relationships, the role of the self in adaptive functioning, self and
group, and implicit self-esteem.
Typical Class Format
Submission of hypotheses (at the beginning of Monday classes)
Introductory remarks (5-10 minutes)
Article presentation (if applicable: 15-20 minutes;)
Discussion of assigned readings including questions and hypotheses (50 minutes to 1 hour)
Grading (100%)
1. Preparing questions and contributing to class discussion (10%)
It is expected that everyone will contribute to class discussions every week. To facilitate
discussion, each student will bring two questions based on the readings to each Monday class.
Students are free to structure their questions as they wish (perhaps questioning theories,
hypotheses, methods, results, broader meanings of the readings, etc.). This component of your
grade will also reflect my assessment of your participation in class discussions.
2. Leading the class discussion (30%)
Each week two to three students will take the role of discussion leader and prepare a list of
questions (besides the one required question) to guide class discussion. Seminar enrollment will
determine the number of times each student serves as the discussion leader. Topics will be
assigned during the first week of class meetings, based on student requests.
3. Hypothesis statements (10%)
A critical part of doing research is developing interesting and testable hypotheses. To that end,
each student will bring a hypothesis to each Monday class (only one hypothesis; typed or written;
keep it brief, no more than a few sentences - one sentence is best). This assignment involves
developing hypothesis statements that are related to (or at least inspired by) the readings. As a
group, we will discuss ways to test your hypotheses.
Bring two copies of your hypothesis statement to class. Turn in one copy at the beginning of
the Monday classes; keep the second copy to take notes of ideas generated by the group, which
will become helpful in considering possible research proposal topics (described below). This
component of your grade will reflect bringing a testable and justified hypothesis statement to each
Monday class.
4. Research proposal (35%)
To strengthen your ability to link research hypotheses with specific operational definitions and
empirical procedures, you will prepare a research proposal based upon one of your hypotheses
(described above) or questions for the readings. Proposals should include: (1) an introduction,
including a discussion of relevant theory and research and development/justification of one or
more testable hypotheses, (2) a method section that describes how you plan to test your
hypotheses (a description of your sample, data collection procedure, possible scale items, etc.), (3)
consideration of limitations and alternative explanations, and (4) references.
The proposal should be written in APA style (6th edition), and it should be between 12 and 15
double spaced pages (excluding references). Proposals are due by May 21 at 11:59 pm
(emailing them to me is fine). We have no classes during the week of May 8 - those of you who
would like will have the chance to sign up for a 30 minute time slot to meet with me sometime in
that week about your proposal. At that time, I will give you my feedback about your proposal,
and we will discuss all aspects of your proposed project one-on-one.
5. Article presentation (15%)
Each student will do one article presentation over the course of the semester. Students will
choose one article from the article list as they see fit with their schedule or topic preference
(Article presentation schedule will be determined during the first week of class meetings, based
on requests.)
The oral presentation should last 15-20 minutes and should summarize the (a) literature
reviewed in the article (if applicable), (b) theory and hypotheses (if applicable), (c) methods (if
applicable), (d) results (if applicable), and (e) broader relevance/implications (if applicable). Treat
this as if it were your own research and opinions that you are presenting. Presentations will be
graded based on their content (communicating what was discussed in the article and why it is
meaningful) and the form (e.g., making appropriate use of visual media, covering only what
absolutely needs to be covered, keeping within the time limit).
Academic Integrity
All contributions in this course will be original, and needs to represent a single submission,
unless otherwise noted through explicit and appropriate citations. Academic dishonesty, including,
submitting the same academic work for two classes without permission, obtaining unauthorized
information, cheating, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism (the use of someone else’s work,
words, or ideas as if they were your own) and misrepresentation, is strictly prohibited. Students
are responsible for understanding and abiding by the Wesleyan University policies regarding
academic integrity and student conduct.
Accommodations for Students with Special Needs
Wesleyan University is committed to ensuring that all qualified students with disabilities are
afforded an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from its programs and services. To
receive accommodations, a student must have a documented disability as defined by Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and provide
documentation of the disability. Since accommodations may require early planning and generally
are not provided retroactively, please contact Disability Resources as soon as possible.
If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact Dean Patey in
Disability Resources located in North College, room 021, or call 860-685-5581 for an
appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations.
Schedule of Readings
Articles marked with * are recommended ones suitable for a presentation. However,
students should feel free to choose any one article from the whole list of that week to
present.
Week 1: 01/30, 02/01. Course introduction, group organization, presentation and discussion
leader arrangements etc.
Week 2: 02/06, 02/08. Nature, Structure, and Origins of Self-Knowledge
*McAdams, D. P. (2013). The psychological self as actor, agent, and author. Perspectives on
Psychological Science, 8(3), 272-295.
*Epstein, S. (1973). The self-concept revisited: Or a theory of a theory. American Psychologist,
28(5), 404-416.
*Swann, W. B., Jr., Chang-Schneider, C., & McClarty, K. (2007). Do people’s self-views matter?
Self-concept and self-esteem in everyday life. American Psychologist, 62(2), 84-94.
Week 3: 02/13, 02/15. Metacognitive Aspects of the Self
DeMarree, K. G., & Morrison, K. R. (2012). What do I think about who I am? Metacognition and
the self-concept. In P. Briñol & K. G. DeMarree (Eds.), Social Metacognition (pp. 103-119).
New York, NY: Psychology Press.
*Dweck, C. S. (2008). Can personality be changed? The role of beliefs in personality and change.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(6), 391-394.
*Gunderson, E. A., Gripshover, S. J., Romero, C., Dweck, C. S., Goldin-Meadow, S., & Levine,
S. C. (2013). Parent praise to 1-3 year-olds predicts Children’s motivational frameworks 5
years later. Child Development, 84(5), 1526-1541.
Week 4: 02/20, 02/22. Accuracy of Self-Knowledge
*Swann, W. B. Jr & Buhrmester, M. D. (2012). Self as functional fiction. Social Cognition,
30, 415-430.
Wilson, T. D. (2009). Know thyself. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4(4), 384-389.
*Vazire, S. (2010). Who knows what about a person? The self–other knowledge asymmetry
(SOKA) model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(2), 281-300.
Week 5: 02/27, 03/01. The Desire for Positivity: Self-enhancement
*Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological
perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103(2), 193-210.
*Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Toguchi, Y. (2003). Pancultural self-enhancement. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 84(1), 60-79.
*Heine, S. J., & Hamamura, T. (2007). In search of East Asian self-enhancement. Personality and
Social Psychology Review, 11(1), 4-27.
Week 6: 03/06, 03/08. The Desire for Accuracy: Self-verification
Swann, W. B., Jr. (2011). Self-verification theory. In P. Van Lang, A. Kruglanski, & E. T.
Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology (pp. 23-42). London, England:
Sage.
*Wood, J. V., Perunovic, W. E., & Lee, J. W. (2009). Positive self-statements: Power for some,
peril for others. Psychological Science, 20(7), 860-866.
*Ayduk, Ö., Gyurak, A., Akinola, M., & Mendes, W. B. (2012). Consistency over flattery: Selfverification processes revealed in implicit and behavioral responses to feedback. Social
Psychological and Personality Science, 4(5), 538-545.
Week 7: 03/13, 03/15. No Class. Spring Break.
Week 8: 03/20, 03/22. No Class. Spring Break.
Week 9: 03/27, 03/29. The Non-Conscious Self
*Greenwald, A. G., Banaji, M. R., Rudman, L. A., Farnham, S. D., Nosek, B. A., & Mellott, D. S.
(2002). A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept.
Psychological Review, 109(1), 3-25.
*Buhrmester, M. D., Blanton, H., & Swann, W. B., Jr. (2011). Implicit self-esteem: Nature,
measurement, and a new way forward. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(2),
365-385.
*Falk, C. F., & Heine, S. J. (2015). What is implicit self-esteem, and does it vary across cultures?
Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(2), 177-198.
Week 10: 04/03, 04/05. The Relational value of Self-esteem:
*Leary, M. R., Tambor, E. S., Terdal, S. K., & Downs, D. L. (1995). Self-esteem as an
interpersonal monitor: The sociometer hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 68(3), 518-530.
*Anthony, D. B., Wood, J. V., & Holmes, J. G. (2007). Testing sociometer theory: Self-esteem
and the importance of acceptance for social decision-making. Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, 43(3), 425-432.
*Layous, K., Davis, E. M., Garcia, J., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Cook, J. E., & Cohen, G. L. (2017).
Feeling left out, but affirmed: Protecting against the negative effects of low belonging in
college. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 69, 227-231.
Week 11: 04/10, 04/12. The Protective Function of Self-esteem:
Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Arndt, J., & Schimel, J. (2004). Why do people need
self-esteem? A theoretical and empirical review. Psychological Bulletin, 130(3), 435-468.
*Routledge, C., Ostafin, B., Juhl, J., Sedikides, C., Cathey, C., & Liao, J. (2010). Adjusting to
death: The effects of mortality salience and self-esteem on psychological well-being, growth
motivation, and maladaptive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(6),
897-916.
*Neff, K. D. (2011). Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem, and Well-Being. Social and Personality
Psychology Compass, 5(1), 1-12.
Week 12: 04/17, 04/19. Ego Depletion and Self-Control
*Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Muraven, M., & Tice, D. M. (1998). Ego depletion: Is the
active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(5), 12521265.
*Daly, M., Delaney, L., Egan, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2015). Childhood self-control and
unemployment throughout the life span: Evidence from two British cohort studies.
Psychological Science, 26(6), 709-723.
*Hagger, M. S., & Chatzisarantis, N. L. D. (2016). A multilab preregistered replication of the
ego-depletion effect. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(4), 546-573.
Week 13: 04/24, 04/26. The Self in the Group
*Brewer, M. B., & Gardner, W. (1996). Who is this “We”? Levels of collective identity and self
representations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(1), 83-93.
Hornsey, M. J., & Jetten, J. (2004). The individual within the group: Balancing the need to belong
with the need to be different. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8(3), 248-264.
*Swann, W. B., Jr., Buhrmester, M. D., Gómez, A., Jetten, J., Bastian, B., Vázquez, A., Ariyanto,
A., Besta, T., Christ, O., Cui, L., Finchilescu, G., González, R., Goto, N., Hornsey, M.,
Sharma, S., Susianto, H., & Zhang, A. (2014). What makes a group worth dying for?
Identity fusion fosters perception of familial ties, promoting self-sacrifice. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 106(6), 912-926.
Week 14: 05/01, 05/03. The Self in Interpersonal Relationships.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal
attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529.
*Aron, A., Aron, E. N., Tudor, M., & Nelson, G. (1991). Close relationships as including other in
the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 241-253.
*Carbonneau, N., Vallerand, R. J., Lavigne, G. L., & Paquet, Y. (2016). "I'm not the same person
since I met you": The role of romantic passion in how people change when they get involved in a
romantic relationship. Motivation and Emotion, 40(1), 756-767.
Week 15: 05/08, 05/10. Class time will be used to discuss research proposals on a one-on-one
basis. Detailed scheduling will be arranged ahead of time.