Kirsten Thorpe
Email:
Thorpe@psych.stanford.edu
Office: Jordan Hall (Building 420) Room 278
Office Hours: Thursday: 3:05-5:00pm
The course will be held twice weekly. The first class of the week will be mostly lecture format, in which we cover a specific psychological concept in the context of the academic literature and the research that informs it. The students will then be given a set of readings from newspapers, magazines, websites, and self-help manuals and a movie to watch. The second class of the week will have two parts. First, authorities on various topics will be brought in as guest speakers to provide expert perspective on each of the movies. Second, students will discuss how the media portrayals differed from the empirical findings covered during the previous class. Students will be evaluated based on five short reaction papers, a final project and participation in the discussions.
Media Portrayals of Psychology will provide students with a basic background
in empirical methods and the psychological literature and will teach students
to become more critical consumers of media information
Second, we want to make students critical consumers of information. The mass media is filled with "pop" psychology, and poor science. Upon completion of this course, students should have the tools necessary to critically evaluate psychological claims, and recognize pseudo-science when they come across it. Students should further be able to recognize flaws in experiments in a variety of other disciplines, and be in general wiser consumers of media information.
Third, we hope to create interest in the field of psychology. Clearly, as psychology is our chosen discipline, we find the topic fascinating. We would like to pass our enthusiasm for the topic on to students. We want students to find the class enjoyable, and the material exciting. Ideally, students will gain an appreciation for psychology that will spur them to take more advanced classes in the future.
Finally, we want to see if anybody actually reads the "course goals" section of the syllabus. There are certainly reasons to skip immediately to the "grading" section of the class, but a wise consumer of information might find that the course goals will tell much more about the usefulness of a class than grade breakdowns would. And to reward the steadfast reader, the first person to notice this fourth point and mention it to a professor will win a prize.
Overall, we expect the course to be a lot of fun, and are thrilled to
have you joining us. We love meeting with students outside of class, and are
very responsive to feedback. We hope to make this one of the best
experiences you have this summer.
Movies:
Each week, a movie related to the topic that is being covered will be
assigned. On the first day of class we will decide upon a screening time
that is convenient for the students, and students are encouraged to attend
that screening of the movie. Students who are unable to attend a screening
are expected to watch the movie on their own time before the Tuesday
discussion of the movie. Movies can be checked out from the instructors, or
rented at a local video store. (There is a Blockbuster video on University
Avenue)
Extra Credit:
There is the potential to earn extra credit in this class by
participating in psychological experiments or by writing a research paper.
More information about this option can be found on the extra credit handout.
Up to 3% of your total class score can be earned in this manner.
Grades:
The grade breakdown will be as follows:
Assignment 1: 15%
Assignment 2: 15%
Assignment 3: 15%
Assignment 4: 15%
Assignment 5: 15%
Final Project: 20%
Participation 5%
The Honor Code is the University's statement on academic integrity written by students in 1921. It articulates University expectations of students and faculty in establishing and maintaining the highest standards in academic work: The Honor Code is an undertaking of the students, individually and collectively:
1) That they will not give or receive aid in examinations; that they will not give or receive unpermitted aid in class work, in the preparation of reports, or in any other work that is to be used by the instructor as the basis of grading;
2) That they will do their share and take an active part in seeing to it that others as well as themselves uphold the spirit and letter of the Honor Code.
Spend a moment right now determining good places to take cover, and think about several ways in which you might exit the building should an earthquake occur. It is also a good idea to locate the closest fire extinguisher and first aid kit. If you have a disability or for any reason might require extra assistance in the event of an earthquake, please let the instructor know so that your needs can be taken into account in our preparations for emergencies. You are encouraged to review the Stanford University Environmental Health and Safety Web Site at: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/EHS/prod/index.html for more information. If you have any questions about earthquake safety, please don't hesitate to ask your instructor.
| Date | Topic | Instructor | Movie |
| Tuesday, June 24 | Introduction | Oppenheimer | |
| Thursday, June 26th | Child Development | Thorpe | Nell |
| Thursday, July 1st | Child Development | Thorpe | |
| Thursday, July 3rd | Gender Differences | Thorpe | The Hot Chick |
| Tuesday, July 8th | Gender Differences | Thorpe | |
| Thursday, July 10th | Love, Lust, and Relationships | Oppenheimer | When Harry Met Sally |
| Tuesday, July 15th | Love, Lust, and Relationships | Oppenheimer | |
| Thursday, July 17th | Psychopathology | Oppenheimer | Girl Interrupted |
| Tuesday, July 22nd | Psychopathology | Oppenheimer | |
| Thursday, July 24th | Memory & Learning | Thorpe | Memento |
| Tuesday, July 29 | Memory & Learning | Thorpe | |
| Tuesday, August 5th | Consciousness | Thorpe | Thursday, August 7th | Morality | Oppenheimer | The Devil's Advocate | Tuesday, August 12th | Morality | Oppenheimer | Das Experiment |
| Thursday August 14th | Experimental Ethics | Oppenheimer |