Course Director: Dr. Alexandru Manafu alexman@yorku.ca

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: The students will need steady internet access to access the course materials, lecture recordings, and assignments/exams.

• Influence: Science and Practice. by Robert Cialdini. Publisher: Allyn and Bacon; 5th edition (August 8, 2008). ISBN-10: 0205609996. Everyone must have a copy of this book (either printed or electronic version), as we will be using 100% of it. It should be available at the York U bookstore.
• Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills – Canadian Seventh Edition. by: William Hughes; Jonathan Lavery; Broadview Press. ISBN: 9781554811991 / 1554811996. We will be using approximately 40% of this book. It should be available at the York U bookstore, and through the York U library (which may have even an online version, though not the same edition, so you are responsible for making sure you identify and cover all required content).
• Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking by Van Cleave, available as an open textbook, from the Open Textbook Library:

https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/introduction-to-logic-and-critical-thinking

• A selection of materials which will be made available in PDF online or on EClass

6 Wiki entries: each graded as pass/fail, you need to pass at least 4 wiki entries

4 Homework assignments: 32%

2 End of term eClass exams: 64%

10 Quizzes: each graded as pass/fail, you need to pass at least 6 quizzes

Time: asynchronous, online

The course will be online and asynchronous. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus. Students will be given access to video recorded lectures.  There will be the possibility of class meetings or individual student meetings via Zoom, to further clarify/explain the material, at the student’s request or as needed. Students will be able to book office hours. Students will be expected to study the material individually, at their own pace, but following the detailed course schedule (the Roadmap), which will be made available on eClass. The students are responsible for following the Roadmap, and for submitting the quizzes and the assignments by the deadlines indicated in the Roadmap.

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 marked as pass/fail. Pass will be awarded to all and only to those entries that are reasonably well prepared. Students must submit all 6 wiki entries, and must pass at least 4 to pass the course.

Homework assignments

There will be 4 homework assignments throughout the year, divided equally between semesters. The feedback on these assignments will be offered through eClass.

End of term eClass exams

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

Quizzes

There will be 10 quizzes throughout the year. Many weeks, though not all, will have a quiz. The purpose of the quiz is to ensure that the student have assimilated the material covered in the previous lecture(s). Therefore, every week, students are expected to do the readings and watch the lecture videos. The students are responsible for checking the eClass several times a week, and taking the quiz when it becomes available. Typically, the questions on the quiz will be from the content covered in the previous lecture, or from the readings.  Each quiz is marked as pass/fail, and you need to pass at least 6 quizzes to pass the course.

Late assignments

Wikis must be submitted by the deadline, and late submissions are not accepted. Due to the fact that the answers to the homework assignments and quizzes will be revealed on eClass and feedback will be provided in the following lecture, no late homework assignments or quizzes  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 contact 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 contact me immediately to explain your situation and submit the relevant documentation. Make-up exams will be organized only in special circumstances, if there are serious and sufficient reasons for doing so.

Office hours

Individual or class Zoom meetings with students can be arranged, as needed. More details will be provided on our course’s eClass page.

Recordings policy

Students will be given access to recorded lectures. Students do not have permission to duplicate, copy and/or distribute the lectures outside of the class (these acts can violate not only copyright laws but also FIPPA).