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PSYC 315 Course cover

Psychology (PSYC) 315
Psychology and the Mass Media (Revision 1)

Revision 1 closed December 22, 2005, replaced by current version.

Delivery mode: Individualized study with online enhancements.

Credits: 3 - Social Science

Prerequisite: None. A 200-level psychology course is recommended but not required.

Centre: Centre for Psychology

PSYC 315 has a Challenge for Credit option.

Course Web site

Overview

This course introduces students to a range of psychological theories, processes, and principles in the context of the mass media. In addition, the application of these theories and principles to several prominent issues will be discussed. Such issues may include violence on television programs, advertising, and news reporting. Students will be encouraged to reflect upon their own lives and apply the psychological principles they find useful to their work, study, or daily lives. As most scholarly work has been written on the mass medium of television, the material presented in this course will be over-represented in this area. The newest electronic technologies, e.g., computer communication on the Internet, will not be covered in this course.

Outline

Unit 1: Introduction

Unit 2: Persuasion: Changing Attitudes and Behaviours

Unit 3: Persuasion Theories

Unit 4: Advertising

Unit 5: News and Politics

Unit 6: Public Information and Educational Programmes

Unit 7: Entertainment

Unit 8: Violence in the Media

Unit 9: Conclusions

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Evaluation

To receive credit for PSYC 315, you must achieve a composite course grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Assignment 1 (advertisement analysis) Two Quizzes Assignment 2 (research paper) Final Exam Total
15% 15% 40% 30% 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Harris, R. J. (1999). A cognitive psychology of mass communication (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Fowles, J. (1992). Why viewers watch? (2nd ed.) Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Perloff, R. M. (1993). The dynamics of persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Other Features

Online components are optional.

Other materials

The course materials include a reader, a student manual, a study guide, and an assignment manual.

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