Dr. Alexandru Manafu

alexman@yorku.ca

I expect students to ask their questions during our weekly Zoom meetings. Due to the number of students enrolled in this course, I prefer oral communication over email. If you must email me, then use your York U email address and mention which section you are in.

Meetings times:

Mandatory Zoom meetings: Wednesdays from 11:30am-2:30pm.

The course will be a combination of independent individual study at your own pace, and online meetings via Zoom. There will be one mandatory video meeting per week via Zoom, where I will teach key concepts, answer your questions, and we will do some exercises and quizzes.

Please note that this is a course that depends on remote teaching and learning. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus.

The entire course, including the submission of assignments, participation/discussion and test-taking, will take place on Moodle.

Section L
The time of our mandatory Zoom meetings will be on Wednesdays from 11:30am-2:30pm. There is a small chance that this time may change if necessary, but you should not assume that it will.
[The original time and place, set before Covid, was: Wed, 4:00pm, PSE 321. Disregard this time.]

Expanded Course Description:
This is an interdisciplinary course in which we will look at persuasion along both its logical and psychological dimension. Along the logical dimension, you will learn about the standards of good reasoning in everyday life, as well as in science; you will develop a set of skills that will allow you to recognize and make good arguments, recognize and avoid bad arguments, as well as criticize arguments and ideas effectively. Along the psychological dimension, we will look at the underlying factors that influence people’s decisions. Using a range of examples from the world of marketing and advertising, politics, the media, etc., we will investigate the 6 principles that social psychologists have found to govern social influence and persuasion. As part of the coursework you will analyze the persuasion around us.

Technical requirements for taking the course: It is expected that you will participate in the weekly video meetings, via Zoom. In addition to stable, higher-speed Internet connection, you will need a computer with webcam and microphone, and/or a smart device with these features.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:
Student Guide to Moodle
Zoom@YorkU Best Practices
Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide
Computing for Students Website
Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]

● Influence: Science and Practice. by Robert Cialdini. Publisher: Allyn and Bacon; 5th edition (August 8, 2008). ISBN-10: 0205609996. Available at the University Bookstore, or online. Everyone must have a copy of this book, as we will be using 100% of it.
● Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills – Canadian Seventh Edition. by: William Hughes; Jonathan Lavery; Broadview Press. ISBN: 9781554811991 / 1554811996. Available at the University Bookstore. We will be using approximately 40% of this book. For those who cannot get this book, the relevant material will be covered in the slides, which will be made available on Moodle.
● A selection of materials which will be made available in PDF on Moodle.

6 Wiki entries: 12%
4 Homework assignments: 32%
2 End of term Moodle exams: 36%
Quizzes (require attending the weekly Zoom meetings): 20%

NOTE: I do not revise the student’s grades, nor do I allow students to do extra work to boost their marks. The main reason for this is my commitment to treat all students equally, and the fact that I like to stick to the grading scheme above.

The coursework will involve mandatory Zoom meetings once a week, as well as individual independent study using the lecture slides available on Moodle. For more details, see the top of this document.

Typically classes include a combination of lecturing, class discussion, work at the board, as well as interactive problem-solving. All these will be adapted for online learning. Student participation is required and expected.

This is a practical course which aims to help you build your critical thinking and persuasive argumentation skills. By the end of this course, you will:
● Be able to formulate and evaluate arguments, as well as to refute them.
● Be able to analyze persuasion productions around us using the principles that govern the psychological dimension of persuasion (reciprocation, social proof, commitment and consistency, liking, authority, scarcity).
● Recognize fallacies in reasoning.
● Be able to distinguish between good science and questionable science or pseudoscience.
● Become a better arguer and persuader.

Wiki entries
At the end of each set of lectures addressing one psychological persuasion principle (there will be 6 such sets), you will write an individual wiki entry about a persuasion production you have found which exemplifies that principle. You may write about examples of persuasion that you find in everyday life: at a store, in the mall, in a YouTube video, a web article, a picture, a poster, an advertisement, a podcast, a radio show, a passage from a book, a newspaper/online magazine article, etc. Word count: 250-500 words. Each entry is worth 2%, which will be awarded automatically (no grading) to all and only to those entries that are reasonably well prepared.

Homework assignments
There will be 4 homework assignments throughout the year, divided equally between semesters. The feedback on these assignments will be offered through Moodle, and the assignments’ solutions will be discussed in the subsequent class.

End of term Moodle exams
Each term there will be one exam, to be written during the standard examination period. The exams will be administered through Moodle, and students will need a working computing device and access to Moodle to take them.

Quizzes
Most weekly Zoom meetings will include a quiz. Typically, the questions will be from the content taught during that meeting and/or the previous meeting. The purpose of the quizzes is to assess the assimilation of the content taught and they will require student’s participation in the weekly Zoom meetings.

Late assignments
The penalty for late wiki entries is 10% of the value of the assignment/day. Due to the fact that the answers to the homework assignments will be revealed on Moodle and feedback will be provided in the following class, no late homework assignments will be permitted.

Extensions
If you get sick or encounter other incapacitating problem before a deadline and are intending to ask for an extension please talk to me before the deadline explaining your situation and attaching the relevant documentation. No extensions will be provided post deadline.

Missed exams
If you know ahead of time that you will not be able to write your exam, you are required to talk to me or email me before the exam takes place explaining your situation and attaching the relevant documentation. If you have missed your exam due to unforeseen circumstances you have to talk to me or email me explaining your situation and attaching the relevant documentation. Make-up exams will be organized only in special circumstances, if there are serious and sufficient reasons for doing so.

Technology
It is expected that you will participate in the weekly video meetings, via Zoom. In addition to stable, higher-speed Internet connection, you will need a computer with webcam and microphone, and/or a smart device with these features. In this course we will use Moodle and other online tools for learning. Students are expected to have with them in class a functional computing device: laptop (ideal), tablet (OK), smartphone (might work too). In addition to any other form of submission that might be requested, all coursework must be submitted through Moodle.

Student questions
Students are encouraged to feel free to interrupt and ask questions during the Zoom meetings.

Office hours
As a general rule, the weekly Zoom meetings will include time dedicated to student’s questions. In addition, individual meetings with students can be arranged on a case by case basis.

The Student Information Sheet includes:
● York’s Academic Honesty Policy and Procedures/Academic Integrity Website
● Access/Disability
● Ethics Review Process for Research Involving Human Participants
● Religious Observance Accommodation
● Student Conduct Standards

Additional information:
● Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
● Alternate Exam and Test Scheduling
● Grading Scheme and Feedback Policy
The Senate Grading Scheme and Feedback Policy stipulates that (a) the grading scheme (i.e. kinds and weights of assignments, essays, exams, etc.) be announced, and be available in writing, within the first two weeks of class, and that, (b) under normal circumstances, graded feedback worth at least 15% of the final grade for Fall, Winter or Summer Term, and 30% for ‘full year’ courses offered in the Fall/Winter Term be received by students in all courses prior to the final withdrawal date from a course without receiving a grade (see the policy for exceptions to this aspect of the policy - http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/gradfeed.htm

“Final course grades may be adjusted to conform to Program or Faculty grades distribution profiles.”
If Term Test will be held outside of regularly scheduled class time, include announcement of day, date and time here (e.g., Saturday, October 28, 2006, 10 am to 11:30, room TBA).

●
"20 % Rule"
No examination or test worth more than 20% of the final grade will be given during the last two weeks of classes in a term, with the exception of classes which regularly meet Friday evenings or on the weekend (Saturday and/or Sunday at any time). (Approved by Senate, November 28, 1996)