The basis for evaluating your performance will be (a) the quality of your
contributions to weekly discussions, (b) the quality of your presentations and
leadership of discussions, and (c) the clarity, thoroughness, rigor , and creativity of
your term paper. The IP's are a required component of the course, but will not be used
in a formal way to determine your overall grade in the course. The class contributions
and presentations will count 50% of your grade, and the term project will count the
remainder. Please see me at any time during the semester if you wish interim feedback
about your performance. First-year students and students not in social should meet
with me at least a couple of times to discuss their progress.
Hints for Leading Discussions
- Prepare a set of discussion questions which bring out the main points of
the reading, link it to previous material, raise methodological or logical
concerns, etc. Either distribute these in advance or at the beginning of
the class session.
- Prepare overheads and/or handouts in conjunction with #1.
- In your own mind have an idea of the major points you would like to see
emphasized. However, try to get other people to do the emphasizing.
- Despite #3, be sensitive to the way the discussion is going. It may take a
very beneficial turn that you had not anticipated.
- Try to provide a summary of the discussion at the end. Also, if things
seem to be getting disorganized or way off the track, attempt to
summarize at various points during the discussion as well.
Hints for Discussion Participants
- As you prepare for the session, take notes regarding points that you think
are particular salient, relate to other relevant topics, are important or
interesting, etc., and be prepared to share these ideas with the class. It is
likely this will be the basis for your IP papers, also.
- Whenever possible and appropriate, try to move the discussion to some
resolution of a point, or to the development of some "researchable" idea.
- Assume a mental set that is "constructively critical" toward the material.
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EXPLAINING THE SOCIAL WORLD:
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL COGNITION
Readings
- January 18:
- Hilton, D. (1990). Conversational processes and causal explanation. PB, 107, 65-81.
- Read, Stephen J. (1987). Constructing causal scenarios: A knowledge
structure approach to causal reasoning. JPSP, 52, 288-302.
- Read, S.J. (1992). Constructing accounts: The role of explanatory coherence. In
McLaughlin, M.L., Cody, M.J., & Read, S.J. (Eds.), Explaining Oneself to Others:
Reason-Giving in a Social Context (pp. 2-20). Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
- January 25:
- Bennett, L. (1992). Legal fictions: Telling stories and doing justice. In McLaughlin,
M.L., Cody, M.J., & Read, S.J. (Eds.), Explaining Oneself to Others: Reason-Giving in a
Social Context (pp. 149-166). Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
- Pennington, N., & Hastie, R. (1988). Explanation-based decision-making: Effects of
memory structure on judgment. JEP:LMC, 14, 521-533.
- Pennington, N., & Hastie, R. (1992). Explaining the evidence: Tests of the
story model for juror decision making. JPSP, 62, 189-206.
- February 1:
- Howard, G.S. (1991). Culture tales: A narrative approach to thinking, cross-cultural
psychology, and psychotherapy. AP, 46, 187-197.
- Russell, R., & Luciariello, J. (1992). Narrative, yes; narrative ad infinitum, no!. AP,
47, 671-672.
- Baumeister, R., & Newman, L. (1994). How stories make sense of personal
experiences: Motives that shape autobiographical narratives. PSPB, 20, 676-690.
- Ross, M. (1989). Relation of implicit theories to the construction of personal histories.
PR, 96, 341-357.
- Heatherton, T. & Nichols, P. (1994). Personal accounts of successful versus failed
attempts at life change. PSPB, 20, 664-675.
- February 8:
- Murray, S. & Holmes, J. (1994). Storytelling in close relationships: The construction of
confidence. PSPB, 20, 650-663.
- Murray, S., & Holmes, J. (1993). Seeing virtues in faults: Negativity and the
transformation of interpersonal narratives in close relationships. JPSP, 65, 707-722.
- Holmberg, J.D., & Holmes, J. (1994). Reconstruction of relationship memories: A
mental models approach. In N. Schwarz & S. Sudman (Eds.), Autobiographical
memory and the validity of retrospective reports, (pp. 267-288). New York: Springer-
Verlag.
- February 15:
- Gonzales, M, Haugen, J., & Manning, D. (1994). Victims as "narrative critics": Factors
influencing rejoinders and evaluative responses to offender's accounts. PSPB, 20,
691-704.
- Baumeister, R., Stillwell, A., & Wotman, S. (1990). Victim and perpetrator accounts of
interpersonal conflict: Autobiographical narratives about anger. JPSP, 59, 994-1005.
- Gonzales, M., Manning, D., & Haugen, J. (1992) Explaining our sins: Factors
influencing offender accounts and anticipated victim responses. JPSP, 62, 958-971.
- Lamb, R., & Lalljee, M. (1992). The use of prototypical explanations in first- and third-
person accounts. In McLaughlin, M.L., Cody, M.J., & Read, S.J. (Eds.), Explaining
Oneself to Others: Reason-Giving in a Social Context (pp. 21-40). Hillsdale, N.J.:
Erlbaum.
- February 22:
- Ohbuchi, K., Kameda, M., & Ararie, N. (1989). Apology as aggression control: Its role
in mediating appraisal of and response to harm. JPSP, 56, 219-227.
- Gonzales. M., Pederson [Haugen], J., Manning, D., & Wetter, D. (1990). Pardon my
gaffe: Effects of sex, status, and consequence severity on accounts. JPSP, 58, 610-
621.
- Snyder, C., & Higgins, R. (1988). Excuses: Their effective role in the negotiation of
reality. PB, 104, 23-35.
- Weiner, B. (1992). Excuses in everyday interaction. In McLaughlin, M.L., Cody, M.J.,
& Read, S.J. (Eds.), Explaining Oneself to Others: Reason-Giving in a Social Context
(pp. 131-146). Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
- Weiner, B., Figueroa-Munoz, A., Kakihara, C.(1991). The Goals of Excuses and
Communication Strategies Related to Causal Perceptions. PSPB, 17(1), 4-13.
- March 8:
- Saarni, C. & von Salisch, M. (1993). Deceit and illusion in human affairs. In M. Lewis
& C. Saarni (Eds.), Lying and Deception in Everyday Life (pp.1-29). New York:
Guilford.
- DePaulo, B., LeMay, C., & Epstein, J. (1991). Effects of importance of success and
expectations for success on effectiveness at deceiving. PSPB, 17, 14-24.
- DePaulo, B., Epstein, J., & Wyer, M. (1993). Sex differences in lying: How men and
women deal with the dilemma of deceit. In M. Lewis & C. Saarni (Eds.), Lying and
Deception in Everyday Life (pp. 126-147). New York: Guilford.
- [Spring Break]
- March 22:
- Kumon-Nakamura, S., Glucksberg, S., & Brown, M. (1995). How about another piece
of pie: The allusional pretense theory of discourse irony. JEP:General, 124, 3-21.
- Fiedler, Klaus, Semin, G., & Koppetsch, C. (1991). Language use and attributional
biases in close personal relationships. PSPB, 17, 147-155.
- Brown, R., & Van Kleck, M. (1989). Enough said: Three principles of explanation.
JPSP, 57, 590-604.
- Semin, G. & Marsman, J. (1994). "Multiple inference-inviting properties" of
interpersonal verbs: Event instigation, dispositional inference, and implicit causality.
JPSP, 67, 836-849.
- March 29:
- Hilton, D., Mathes, R., & Trabasso, T. (1992). The study of causal explanation in
natural language: Analyzing reports of the Challenger disaster in The New York
Times. In McLaughlin, M.L., Cody, M.J., & Read, S.J. (Eds.), Explaining Oneself to
Others: Reason-Giving in a Social Context (pp. 41-60). Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
- Turnbull, W. (1992). A conversation approach to explanation, with emphasis on
politeness and accounting. In McLaughlin, M.L., Cody, M.J., & Read, S.J. (Eds.),
Explaining Oneself to Others: Reason-Giving in a Social Context(pp. 105-130).
Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
- April 5:
- Sigmon, S., & Snyder, C. (1993). Looking at oneself in a rose-colored mirror: The role
of excuses in the negotiation of personal reality. In M. Lewis & C. Saarni (Eds.), Lying
and Deception in Everyday Life (pp. 148-165). New York: Guilford.
- Baumeister, R. (1993). Lying to yourself: The enigma of self-deception. In M. Lewis &
C. Saarni (Eds.), Lying and Deception in Everyday Life (pp. 166-183). New York:
Guilford.
- April 12:
- Bies, R., & Sitkin, S. (1992). Explanation as legitimization: Excuse-making in
organizations. In McLaughlin, M.L., Cody, M.J., & Read, S.J. (Eds.), Explaining Oneself
to Others: Reason-Giving in a Social Context (pp. 183-198). Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
- Mitchell, R. (1993). Animals as liars: The human face of nonhuman duplicity. In M.
Lewis & C. Saarni (Eds.), Lying and Deception in Everyday Life (pp. 59-89). New York:
Guilford.
- April 19:
- Lewis, M. (1993). The development of deception. In M. Lewis & C. Saarni (Eds.),
Lying and Deception in Everyday Life (pp. 90-105). New York: Guilford.
- Saarni, C., & von Salish, M. (1993). The socialization of emotional dissemblance. In
M. Lewis & C. Saarni (Eds.), Lying and Deception in Everyday Life (pp. 106-125). New
York: Guilford.
- April 26:
- Discussion of Term Projects [Papers due 5pm, April 28th]
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