PSYC-FPX3520 at the 300 level requires more than knowing the findings of classic social psychology experiments — it requires evaluating those findings critically, understanding the theoretical debates within the field, and applying social psychological principles to complex real-world situations with nuance. Students who took PSYC-FPX2520 first often find this course demands a step up in analytical sophistication — the replication crisis, cultural generalizability questions, and theoretical refinements over the past two decades are now part of the required content. For academic support on PSYC-FPX3520 assessments, that analytical depth is what we provide.
Course Overview
PSYC-FPX3520 covers social perception (attribution theory — FAE, actor-observer bias, self-serving bias), social cognition (schemas, heuristics, automatic vs. controlled processing), self-concept and self-presentation (self-monitoring, impression management, self-fulfilling prophecy), attitudes and attitude change (ELM — central vs. peripheral route, cognitive dissonance), social influence (conformity, obedience, reactance), group dynamics (groupthink, social loafing, deindividuation, group polarization, social facilitation), intergroup relations (social identity theory, stereotype threat, implicit bias, self-categorization theory), prejudice and discrimination (realistic conflict theory, contact hypothesis and its conditions), prosocial behavior (diffusion of responsibility, factors affecting altruism), aggression (biological, frustration-aggression, social learning perspectives), and intimate relationships (attraction, love, relationship maintenance). The replication crisis in social psychology is addressed explicitly.
Key Assessments
-
1Social Cognition or Attribution Analysis
Applies social cognition or attribution theory to explain a real-world social phenomenon — requiring accurate use of concepts like the fundamental attribution error, actor-observer asymmetry, or self-serving bias, and connecting the analysis to contemporary research rather than relying solely on classic studies.
-
2Intergroup Relations and Prejudice Research Review
Critically evaluates the psychological research on intergroup bias, stereotyping, and prejudice reduction — engaging with social identity theory, implicit bias research, stereotype threat, and the conditions under which contact reduces prejudice. Must represent the methodological debates and contested findings accurately.
-
3Applied Social Psychology Intervention Proposal
Proposes a socially psychologically grounded intervention for a real-world problem — prejudice reduction, prosocial behavior promotion, attitude change, or group effectiveness improvement — connecting the specific proposed activities to the psychological mechanisms and citing strong empirical evidence for each mechanism.
How We Help With PSYC-FPX3520
- Applying social identity theory and self-categorization theory with theoretical precision for Assessment 2
- Engaging with the implicit bias research critically — including the IAT validity debate and what implicit bias measurement does and does not predict
- Correctly specifying the four conditions of the contact hypothesis in prejudice reduction interventions
- Addressing the replication crisis in social psychology accurately — knowing which classic findings have replicated, partially replicated, or failed to replicate
- APA 7 citations for both foundational and contemporary social psychology research
Common Challenges in This Course
The IAT (Implicit Association Test) is a particularly fraught topic — many students present it as definitive evidence of unconscious bias, while the actual validity literature is considerably more nuanced (predictive validity for specific behaviors is modest and context-dependent). Assessment 2 papers that present IAT scores as straightforward measures of discriminatory tendency without acknowledging this methodological debate will score below the 300-level competency threshold. On Assessment 3, the same contact hypothesis problem from PSYC-FPX2520 persists — proposals that cite "contact" without Allport's four conditions fail. At the 300 level, the rubric also expects you to acknowledge implementation challenges and counter-evidence, not just present a research-supported proposal as if it were a guaranteed solution.
Need Help With PSYC-FPX3520?
Share your assessment rubric and we'll help you engage with social psychology research at the analytical depth this upper-division course demands.
Related Courses
PSYC-FPX3520 FAQ
Both cover social psychology, but PSYC-FPX3520 at the 300 level requires deeper theoretical engagement, more rigorous evaluation of research methodology, and critical awareness of the replication crisis and debates within the field. Descriptive application of classic studies sufficient for the 200-level course will score below competency at the 300 level.
The replication crisis refers to the widespread failure of landmark psychology studies to replicate when retested, particularly after the Open Science Collaboration's 2015 Reproducibility Project. Several classic social psychology findings — including some priming effects, ego depletion, and aspects of power pose research — have failed to replicate or replicated with smaller effect sizes. At the 300 level, rubrics expect you to engage with this rather than presenting classic studies as settled science.
Tajfel and Turner's social identity theory proposes that people derive part of their self-concept from group memberships (social identity) and are motivated to maintain positive social identity by viewing their in-group favorably relative to relevant out-groups. This produces in-group favoritism, out-group derogation, and social discrimination even in minimal group paradigms — findings directly relevant to intergroup relations and prejudice content.
Steele and Aronson's stereotype threat refers to the risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one's social group that can impair performance in stereotype-relevant domains (e.g., women in math, Black students on verbal tests). It's a situationally triggered, performance-impairing phenomenon, not a permanent capacity difference. The research has replicated, though effect size estimates have been revised downward in more recent meta-analyses.