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Course Syllabus
Psychology of Mass Communication
Professor Information
Professor Name:
Email:
Phone:
Office:
Office hours:
Course Information
Course title:
Psychology of Mass Communication
PSY 315, Section 1, Spring 2018
NCWC Catalog
description of this
course:
This course examines the social, cognitive, and developmental psychology mechanisms
behind mass communication. Topics covered include media advertising, violence, sex,
and portrayals of groups (writing intensive).
What you’ll be doing in
this course:
We will be discussing many topics this semester, so much of the time in class will be
devoted to me lecturing and you taking notes. However, one of the biggest lessons from
psychological research is that different people learn in different ways. Because of that, you
will also be taking part in discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on activities in class,
which should also help keep things interesting for you. Because the focus of this class is
media, we will also explore and analyze various forms of media in class.
General Education
Program goals:
This course emphasizes the General Education Program goals of North Carolina Wesleyan
College. These include critical thinking and ethical decision making (which will be
developed in course discussions on topics such as advertising and media marketing) and
the goal of analytical writing, which will be accomplished through the papers that you write.
Classroom:
Class Meets:
Course Start Date:
Required Text:
Sanborn, F. W. & Harris, R. J. (20138). A cognitive psychology of mass communication,
7th Ed. New York, NY Routledge. ISBN: 978-1138046276.
Electronic Resources
www.routledge.com/cw/sanborn
(textbook)
2
Welcome
PSY 315 Course Objectives
1. To understand how media affects our lives. The information learned in class is great, but not of much value if
it is never used outside the classroom. Therefore, the discussions, activities, written assignments, and exams
in this course are designed to help you see how topics we cover in class have “real-world” applications.
course is the ability to evaluate ideas for their merit and value. To practice this skill, you will be participating in
class discussions, completing writing assignments, and reading and discussing research related to media
psychology.
4. To have fun! I am a firm believer that learning should be fun. I think that people learn more when they are
PSY 315 Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of PSY 315, Psychology of Mass Communication, you should be able to:
1. Thoughtfully discuss issues related to media and psychology
This will be demonstrated by successfully completing the three short answer/essay exams and
participating in class discussions.
2. Improve your writing skills
To demonstrate this, you will be required to write four short papers; the final grade on your fourth
paper should be better than the grade on your first paper. Because this is a writing intensive class,
revisions and writing conferences will also be part of improving your writing skills.
3
Graded Work
Task
Description
Points Possible
Due Date(s)
Syllabus quiz
Sometimes students don’t like reading the syllabus for a course,
but it contains very important information. To encourage you to
read through the syllabus for this class, there is an online quiz you
should take. The quiz is due before the date of the second class
period (and no late quizzes will be accepted!). Instructions about
how to take this quiz will be given in class.
1 quiz=
10 points
1/11/18
In-class
writings
Six times this semester, you will be assigned a very brief in-class
writing assignment. Mechanical issues won’t count as part of
these grades. In fact, these writing assignments are meant to be a
kind of formative assessment that will allow you to gauge your
understanding of the course material prior to exams. For that
reason, you will receive three points for your in-class writing
assignments, regardless of your performance. You will be given
feedback on the writing assignments within one week. To
encourage you to regularly attend class, exact dates for these in-
class writings will not be announced until the day of the writing.
Although there will be six in-class writing assignments, only five will
count toward your grade. However, if you are present for all six,
you will receive three points extra credit. Also note that no make-
up in-class writings will be given, regardless of the reason for an
absence.
5 in class writing
assignments, 3
points each = 15
points; possibility
for one additional
in-class writing
assignment = 3
points extra
credit
Weeks 2,4,9,11,12,14
Written
assignments
You will be given four written assignments this semester, each
worth 25 points. These assignments may include (but are not
limited to) questions regarding a problem or issue related to mass
communication or small projects that relate something we’ve
discussed in class to your own life. These assignments are
designed to: (1) allow you to incorporate material from outside the
textbook and class, (2) strengthen your written communication
skills, and (3) allow you to see how various class topics have real-
life applications. A handout for each assignment that will detail
exactly what you will be writing about will be posted on
my.ncwc.edu. Also, after the graded assignments are returned to
you, you will have one week to rewrite/correct the assignments for
up to five additional points; rewrites are completely optional on
your part, however.
Your assignments should be uploaded to my.ncwc.edu by 11:55
pm on the due dates indicated to the right.
4 written
assignments,
25 points each=
100 points
Assignment 1 due:
1/24/18
Assignment 2 due:
2/14/18
Assignment 3 due:
3/14/18
Assignment 4 due:
4/11/18
Writing
conference
You will meet once this semester one-on-one with the instructor to
discuss your writing and its progression. On the days when writing
conferences are held, there will be no class. Instead, you will
make an individual appointment with the instructor. If you miss a
scheduled writing conference, you will not receive credit for the
meeting. More details about this process will be given in class.
5 points for
attendance at
writing
conference=5
points
The writing conference
will be held on the
following dates:
2/19/18, 2/21/18, or
2/23/18
Exams
There will be three exams this semester. All three exams will be
worth 100 points each. Exams will be entirely short answer and
essay. You will be given a list of questions that could appear on
the exam one week prior to the test. The final exam will not be
comprehensive; it will cover the material discussed after the
second exam.
3 exams, 100
points each =
300 points
Exam 1: 2/7/18
Exam 2: 4/4/18
Exam 3/Final:
4/20/18 (Fri.) (1:00
pm)
TOTAL
POSSIBLE:
430 points
4
Grading Scale
The following grading scale will be used in this class. Percentages with decimals of .5 or above will be rounded to the next whole
percentage. Your current grades will be accessible via the gradebook on my.ncwc.edu. A note about extra credit: To receive the
best grade possible in this course, you should focus on earning the points offered with the exam and assignments. However, be
aware that an extra credit question or two will show up on your exams. Besides this, there will be no other extra credit
opportunities.
PSY 315 Tentative Course Outline
Week
Dates
Topics
Readings
Work Due, Important Dates, etc.
1
1/8/18-
1/12/18
Introductions
Mass Communications in Our Lives
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 1
1/10/18—first day of class
1/11/18—Online Syllabus Quiz due
2
1/15/18-
1/19/18
Mass Communications in Our Lives
Studying Mass Communications
Psychology of Media Use
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 1, 2, 3
1/15/18—MLK Day—no classes
In-Class Writing
1/26/18—last day to drop a course
without a “W”
3
1/22/18-
1/26/18
Studying Mass Communications
Psychology of Media Use
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 2, 3
1/24/18—Assn. 1 due
4
1/29/18-
2/2/18
Group Portrayals
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 4
In-Class Writing
5
2/5/18-
2/9/18
Group Portrayals
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 4
2/7/18—Exam 1 (Ch. 1-4)
6
2/12/18-
2/16/18
Advertising
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 5
2/14/18—Assn. 2 due
7
2/19/18-
2/23/18
Advertising
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 5
Mandatory attendance at one-on-
one Writing Conferences—2/19/18,
2/21/18, or 2/23/18
2/23/18—last day to drop a course
with a “W”
8
2/26/18-
3/2/18
Spring Break
No classes
9
3/5/18-
3/9/18
Advertising
Emotion: Sports, Music, Religion
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 5, 6
In-Class Writing
10
3/12/18-
3/16/18
News
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 7
3/14/18—Assn. 3 due
11
3/19/18-
3/23/18
News
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 7
In-Class Writing
12
3/26/18-
3/30/18
Politics
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 8
3/28/18—No class—Sanborn
advising
A
93-100%
C+
77-79%
A-
90-92%
C
73-76%
B+
87-89%
C-
70-72%
5
13
4/2/18-
4/6/18
Violence & Sex
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 9, 10
4/4/18—Exam 2 (Ch. 5, 7, 8)
14
4/9/18-
4/13/18
Violence & Sex
Prosocial Media
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 9, 10, 11
4/11/18—Assn. 4 due
In-Class Writing
15
4/16/18-
4/20/18
Prosocial Media
Harris & Sanborn,
Ch. 11
4/16/18—last day of class
4/18/18—Reading Day
4/20/18 (Fri., 1:00 pm)—Final Exam
(Ch. 9-11)
16
4/23/18-
4/27/18
Final Exams
***NOTE: all due dates 11:55 pm
Eastern Time
