Dr. Alexandru Manafu
alexman@yorku.ca

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

This is an interdisciplinary course in which we will look at persuasion along both its logical and psychological dimensions. 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 with 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.

Lectures: Delivered as pre-recorded, asynchronous, accessible anytime via eClass.

Tutorials: Conducted by a TA live on Zoom at scheduled days and times. Check your timetable to see what tutorial number you are in, and when your tutorial is scheduled.

Technical requirements: You will need steady internet access to access course materials and complete coursework.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to eClass

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

• 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.

The book will be available at the YorkU Bookstore. Cost: TBD

• 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.

The book will be available at the YorkU Bookstore. Cost: TBD

• Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking by Van Cleave. Free PDF access:

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: 12%

4 Assignments: 28%

2 End of term exams: 30%

Tutorial participation: 30%

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

The course will be online, with asynchronous lectures and synchronous tutorials (see above). You will be given access to video recorded lectures. You will be able to book office hours/Zoom meetings with the TA or course director. You will be expected to study the lectures individually, at your own pace, but following the detailed course schedule (the roadmap), which will be made available on eClass. You are expected to attend and participate actively in tutorials. You are responsible for following the roadmap, and for submitting the coursework 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.

Assignments

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

End of term exams

Each term there will be one exam, to be scheduled by the Registrar and taken during the standard examination period. The exams will be administered through eClass, and you 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, you are expected to do the readings and watch the lecture videos. You 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. Each quiz will show up as being marked out of 2, though that is only for the purpose of assessing whether the quiz is a pass or a fail – quiz marks do not actually contribute to the total grade in the course. Quiz mark < 1 is a Fail. Quiz mark ≥ 1 is a Pass.

Late assignments

Wikis must be submitted by the deadline, and late submissions are not accepted. Due to the fact that the answers to the assignments and quizzes will be revealed on eClass and feedback will be provided in the following lecture, no late assignments will be permitted. Quizzes are designed to match the course pace and to help you stay on track with the course, so they need to be done on time; late quizzes will be accepted. Exam dates are set by the Registrar, and exams must be taken at those times.

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

Exam dates are set by the Registrar, and exams must be taken at those times. 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 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 very rare and 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

You will be given access to recorded lectures. You 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).

Course Policy on AI

In this course, the use of AI tools for assignments, quizzes, or exams is not only discouraged, but strictly forbidden. In fact, in this particular course, using AI to solve your coursework is detrimental to your learning.

Engaging in AI-assisted work without approval not only violates the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty, but it may also constitute cheating or plagiarism under that policy (see: https://www.yorku.ca/laps/decisions-petitions/academic-honesty/gen-ai/). According to §5.2a of York’s Academic Conduct Policy, even unintentionally using AI when it is not permitted can be deemed academically dishonest (see: https://www.yorku.ca/unit/vpacad/academic-integrity/ai-technology-academic-integrity/). Failure to comply may result in disciplinary actions under the Academic Conduct Procedures (see: https://www.yorku.ca/unit/vpacad/academic-integrity/avoiding-a-breach/).