COURSE OBJECTIVES/CONTENT:

This seminar will deal with how perceptions of the self and perceptions of other people are related, how these perceptions are different, and how they interact. In particular, the course will focus on phenomena that involve both self and other, rather than perceptions of only one in isolation of the other. We will read current, empirical articles on this topic, drawn mostly from social psychology journals, as well as some older "classic" readings.

COURSE READINGS:

The readings for this course come from a variety of journals and books. There is no textbook. Required readings are to be read by everyone. Related readings are suggested but not required, and additional related readings may be suggested throughout the course, by other seminar members or the instructors. Master-copies of readings are on reserve in the Taylor Room in Straub Hall and can also be obtained from Joanna Molitor (the psychology department graduate secretary in Straub 137). In addition, full references are provided for all the readings, so you may read them in the original journal or book if you wish.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1) Class participation
This course is a seminar, thus class participation is extremely important. All participants are expected to read each required reading prior to class and be prepared to discuss it fully. In particular, participants should try to go beyond the information provided in the readings, raising new questions, critiquing methodology, and making connections to other readings.

Because attendance is a prerequisite of in-class participation, we strongly recommend you come to class. If you know in advance that you must miss a class, we would appreciate it if you let us know. We anticipate many interesting ideas and contributions to come from you-- the seminar participants--and thus your absence affects the quality of other participants' experience in the seminar. In addition to in-class participation, seminar participants are encouraged to use electronic resources to contribute to the class dialogue. We will keep an ongoing electronic archive of comments or questions from participants during the course. (A handout about how to use the class web page and Motet software is attached).

As part of regular participation we will ask one seminar participant per week to keep "minutes" of the major arguments, comments, and problems raised during our seminar discussion. These minutes need not be extremely detailed; rather, they should give us a sense of the important points we discussed. The minute-taker is asked to type his or her notes into a computer file and send them to bfmalle@darkwing. They will then be posted on the world wide web and provide a running record of our seminar.

2) Presentation
Although you should always be prepared to contribute to the class, each seminar participant will be asked to prepare an approximately 15-30 minute presentation on a topic related to the course, using sources outside of the required readings. Choice of topic is up to you--you may wish to pursue in further depth something discussed in class, or you may wish to discuss a related line of research in an area other than social psychology. If you want, you may talk about your final paper topic (see below) for your formal class contribution. The last week of class is set aside for participants who would like to talk about their paper topics for their formal contribution. Please alert us at least a week in advance when you wish to make your presentation--we may have to limit the number of people who can present in any one week.

3) Final paper
Each student will write a final paper that will be due at a date during finals week to be announced. There are two possible formats for this paper:

a. You may write an introduction and methods section of a study write-up, with a greater emphasis on the literature review component of the introduction than you would normally include in a paper you were submitting for publication. If it is not explicitly clear from the theory outline in your introduction, you should also provide expected results.

OR

b. You may write a literature review or theoretical paper about a topic related to the class. The literature review should be a Psychological Bulletin type paper of an area not previously reviewed; the theoretical paper should be Psychological Review type paper, outlining a novel theoretical interpretation of pre-existing literature.

Whichever format you pick, a description outlining what you plan to do for your paper (about a page) is due in class the week of November 25. You are each responsible for having at least one other person in the class read your final paper prior to turning it in, allowing sufficient time to incorporate any of that person's suggestions. The final paper (either format) should be written in APA style.

GRADING:

The course may be taken graded or pass/no-pass. In order to pass the course, each separate component (participation, presentation, and paper) must be at a passing level (non-compensatory model). If you take the course for a grade, your paper will be 60% of your grade and participation (weekly in-class and electronic contributions, plus your presentation) will be 40% of your grade.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with one of us soon. Please request that the Counselor for Students with Disabilities send a letter verifying your disability.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

Note: We will adhere to this schedule as closely as possible and will notify you of anu changes.

*Denotes RELATED (optional) reading

Week I. Organizational Meeting

Week II. Actor-Observer Differences

Barr, C. L., & Kleck, R. E. (1995). Self-other perception of the intensity of facial expressions of emotion: Do we know what we show? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 608-618.

Jones, E. E., & Nisbett, R. E. (1972). The actor and the observer: Divergent perceptions of the causes of behavior. In E. E. Jones, D. Kanouse, H. H. Kelley, R. E. Nisbett, S. Valins, & B. Weiner (Eds.), Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior (pp. 79-94). Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.

Keysar, B., Ginzel, L. E., & Bazerman, M. H. (1995). States of affairs and states of mind: The effect of knowledge of beliefs. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 64, 283-293.

Malle, B. F., & Knobe, J. (in press). Which behaviors do people explain? A basic actor-observer asymmetry. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

* Keysar, B. (1994). The illusory transparency of intention: Linguistic perspective taking in text. Cognitive Psychology, 26, 165-208

* Krueger, J., Ham, J. J., & Linfor, K. M. (1996). Perceptions of behavioral consistency: Are people aware of the actor-observer effect? Psychological Science, 7, 259-264.

* Robins, R. W., Spranca, M. D., & Mendelsohn, G. A. (1996). The actor-observer effect revisited: Effects of individual differences and repeated social interactions on actor and observer attributions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 375-389.

Week III. The Self as Reference: Simulation and False Consensus

Dawes, R. M. (1990). The potential nonfalsity of the false consensus effect. In R. M. Hogarth (Ed.), Insights in decision making: A tribute to Hillel J. Einhorn (pp. 179-199). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Gordon, R. M. (1992). "He thinks he knows": And more developmental evidence against the simulation (role taking) theory: Reply to Perner and Howes. Special Issue: Mental simulation: Philosophical and psychological essays. Mind & Language, 7, 98-103.

Harris, P. L. (1992). From simulation to folk psychology: The case for development. Special Issue: Mental simulation: Philosophical and psychological essays. Mind & Language, 7, 120-144.

Perner, J., & Howes, D. (1992). "He thinks he knows": And more developmental evidence against the simulation (role taking) theory. Special Issue: Mental simulation: Philosophical and psychological essays. Mind & Language, 7, 72-86.

Ross, L., Greene, D., & House, P. (1977). The "false-consensus effect:" An egocentric bias in social perception and attribution processes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13, 279-301.

* Baron-Cohen, S., & Cross, P. (1992). Reading the eyes: Evidence for the role of perception in the development of a theory of mind. Special Issue: Mental simulation: Philosophical and psychological essays. Mind & Language, 7, 172-186.

* Gopnik, A., & Wellman, H. M. (1992). Why the child's theory of mind really is a theory. Mind & Language, 7, 145-171.

* Gordon, R. M. (1992). The simulation theory: Objections and misconceptions. Mind & Language, 7, 11-34.

* Gordon, R. M. (1992). "Folk psychology: Simulation or tacit theory?": Reply to Stich and Nichols. Special Issue: Mental simulation: Philosophical and psychological essays. Mind & Language, 7, 87-97.

* Marks, G., & Miller, N. (1987). Ten years of research on the false consensus effect: An empirical and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 102, 72-90.

* McFarland, C., & Miller, D. T. (1990). Judgments of the self-other similarity: Just like other people, only more so. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 475-484.

* Stich, S., & Nichols, S. (1992). Folk psychology: Simulation or tacit theory? Special Issue: Mental simulation: Philosophical and psychological essays. Mind & Language, 7, 35-71.

Week IV. Empathy and Perspective Taking

Batson, D. C., Sympson, S. C., Hindman, J. L., Decruz, P., Todd, R. M., Weeks, J. L., Jennings, G., & Burris, C. T. (1996). "I've been there, too": Effect on empathy of prior experience with a need. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 474-482.

Davis, M. H., Conklin, L., Smith, A., & Luce, C. (1996). Effect of perspective taking on the cognitive representation of persons: A merging of self and other. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 713-726.

Hodges, S. D., & Wegner, D. M. (in press). The mental control of empathic accuracy. Chapter to appear in W. Ickes (Ed.), Empathic Accuracy. New York: Guilford.

Mendoza, R. (TBA)

* Wispè, L. (1986). The distinction between sympathy and empathy: To call forth a concept, a word is needed. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 314-321.

* Higgins, E. T. (1981). Role taking and social judgment: Alternative developmental processes and perspectives. In J. H. Flavell and L. Ross (Eds.), Social cognitive development: Frontiers and possible futures (pp. 119-153). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Week V. Relationships and Attachment

Baldwin, M. W., Keelan, J. P. R., Fehr, B., Enns, V., & Koh-Rangarajoo, E. (1996). Social-cognitive conceptualizations of attachment working models: Availability and accessibility effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 94-109.

Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226-244.

Taylor, M. (TBA)

Elster, J. (1985). Introduction. In J. Elster (Ed.), The multiple self (pp. 1-34). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

* Jack, D. (1987). Silencing the self: The power of social imperatives in female depression. In R. Formanek & A. Gurian (Eds.), Women and depression: A lifespan perspective (pp. 161-181). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

* Shapiro, D. (1965). Hysterical style (Ch. 4). In Neurotic styles. New York, Basic Books.

* Shatz, M., & Gelman, R. (1973). The development of communication skills: Modifications in the speech of young children as a function of the listener. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 38.

Week VI. Satellites of the Self

Cialdini, R. B., Borden, R. J., Thorne, A., Walker, M. R., Freeman, S., & Sloan, L. R. (1976). Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 366-375.

Pennebaker, J. (1989). Confession, inhibition, and disease. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 22, pp. 211-244). San Diego: Academic Press.

Wegner, D. M. (1989). The remote control of thinking. In White bears and other unwanted thoughts (pp. 77-98). New York: Viking.

Wegner, D. M., Erber, R., & Raymond, P. (1991). Transactive memory in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 923-929.

* Beach, S. R. H., & Tesser, A. (1993). Decision making power and marital satisfaction: A self-evaluation maintenance perspective. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 12, 471-494.

* Turkle, S. (1995). Aspects of the self. In Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the Internet (pp. 177-209).

* Wegner, D. M., Giuliano, T., & Hertel, P. T. (1985). Cognitive interdependence in close relationship. In W. Ickes (Ed.), Compatible and incompatible relationships (pp. 253-276). New York: Springer-Verlag.

Week VII. Self-Perception

Bem, D. (1972). Self-perception theory. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 6, pp. 1-62). New York: Academic Press.

Ross, M. (1989). Relation of implicit theories to the construction of personal histories. Psyhcological Review, 96, 341-357.

Wilson, T. D., Hodges, S. D. & LaFleur, S. J. (1995). Effects of introspecting about reasons: Inferring attitudes from accessible thoughts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 16-28.

* Kelley, H. H. (1967). Attribution theory in social psychology. In D. Levine (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 15, pp. 192-240). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

* Nisbett, R. E., & Valins, S. (1972). Attribution processes in the development and treatment of emotional disorders. In E. E. Jones, D. Kanouse, H. H. Kelley, R. E. Nisbett, S. Valins, & B. Weiner (Eds.), Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior (pp. 63-78). Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.

* Schachter, S., & Singer, J. E. (1962). Cognitive, social, and physiological determinants of emotional states. Psychological Review, 69, 379-399.

* Vallone, R. P., Griffin, D. W., Lin, S., & Ross, L. (1990). Overconfident prediction of future actions and outcomes by self and others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 582-592.

Week VIII. Self Focus and the Presence of Others

Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1978). Self-focusing effects of dispositional self-consciousness, mirror presence, and audience presence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 36, 324-332.

Hass, G. H. (1984). Perspective taking and self-awareness: Drawing an E on your forehead. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 788-798.

Higgins, E. T. (1996). Emotional experiences: The pains and pleasures of distinct regulatory systems. In R. D. Kavanaugh, B. Zimmerberg, & S. Fein (Eds.), Emotion: interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 203-241). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

* Fenigstein, A. (1984). Self-consciousness and the overperception of self as a target. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 860-870.

Week IX. Affective Self-Regulation Involving Others

Baumeister, R. F. (1982). A self-presentational view of social phenomenon. Psychological Bulletin, 91, 3-26.

Baumeister, R. F., Smart, L., Boden, J. M. (1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of high self-esteem. Psychological Review, 103, 5-33.

Isen, A. M., & Levin, P. A. (1972). Effect of feeling good on helping: Cookies and kindness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21, 384-388.

Tesser, A., & Cornell, D. P. (1991). On the confluence of self processes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 27, 501-526.

* Brown, J. D., & Smart, S. A. (1991). The self and social conduct: Linking self-representations to prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 60, 368-375.

* DePaulo, B. M., Brittingham, G. L., & Kaiser, M. K. (1983). Receiving competence-relevant help: Effects of reciprocity, affect, and sensitivity to helper's nonverbally expressed needs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 1045-1060.

* Nadler, A., & Fisher, J. D. (1986). The role of threat to self-esteem and perceived control in recipient reaction to help: Theory development and empirical validation. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 19, pp. 81-122). New York: Academic Press.

* Salovey, P., Hsee, C. K., & Mayer, J. D. (1993). Emotional intelligence and the self-regulation of affect. In D. M. Wegner and J. W. Pennebaker (Eds.), Handbook of mental control (pp. 258-277). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Week X. Presentations

ELECTRONIC TOOLS:

This seminar has a home page on the world wide web: <http://darkwing/~bfmalle/so.html>. This page functions mainly as an information resource for seminar participants. It contains the syllabus, announcements, "minutes" of each seminar session, and several links to other web resources. If you have never used the world wide web, please talk to the instructors.

In addition, we will have a conference page on which participants are encouraged to write comments, questions, and critiques of the articles we read weekly or to continue a discussion that did not reach closure during the regular seminar session. This page functions as an electronic discussion forum much like a newsgroup but in a new software medium.

In order to gain access to the conference page, you must first register. Go to <http://pythia> and follow the instructions for registration by clicking "Sign up to use Motet on Pythia." (You should choose your Email name as your conference name; you will also have to choose a password.)

Once registered, go to the conference home page, <http://pythia.uoregon.edu/motet-bin/home>, click on "List all conferences," and then enter the "Practice" conference. Practice the various commands (e.g., reading and submitting memos, creating a new topic, listing topics) until you feel comfortable.

Then click on "List all conferences" again (at then end of the Practice conference page) and go to our class conference page PSY607. Choose the Motet-Feedback topic and make your first posting, briefly reporting about your earning experience with this new tool. Later on, you may want to make a posting under the Week2-Readings topic or any of the other emerging topics.

We hope that participants will make ample use of the conference page between seminar sessions. Be sure to check the web page and conference page several times a week. By the time we meet in person for our next session, we will have a sense of which issues are of importance and what additional information the instructors may need to provide before entering the discussion.

Once all of you are registered, we will close access to the conference page to seminar participants only. That way we can have discussions without feeling publicly monitored. If any of you should still feel uncomfortable using an electronic discussion forum and would rather not make any postings, please let us know, and you can make up for it by increasing class participation.