Scott Plous
- Media Contact
Scott L. Plous joined the Wesleyan University faculty in 1990. His research interests include the psychology of prejudice and discrimination, international security, decision making, and the human use of animals and the environment.
Among social psychologists, Professor Plous is perhaps best known as the founder and Executive Director of Social Psychology Network, a suite of nonprofit web sites supported by the National Science Foundation, several other organizations, and members from more than 100 countries. Collectively, these sites have received more than 380 million page views.
Professor Plous has served on the FABBS Foundation Board of Directors, the Institute for Humane Education Curriculum Advisory Board, and SPSSI Council. In addition to teaching at Wesleyan, Professor Plous has taught summer school for the Harvard University Program in Trento, Italy; summer school at Beijing Normal University in China; and courses on social psychology, social justice, and human rights on two world voyages with Semester at Sea. He also teaches a free online Social Psychology course that was first offered in 2013 and has received a cumulative total of 1.3 million enrollments from students in approximately 200 countries.
Honors and Awards
Show AllCareer Honors and Awards
Research and Writing
- Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (1984)
- William James Book Award for The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making, Society for General Psychology (1993)
- Otto Klineberg Intercultural and International Relations Award, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (1993)
Teaching and Mentoring
- Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching, Wesleyan University (1998 and 2011)
- Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (2009)
- Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award, American Psychological Foundation (2008)
- Connecticut Professor of the Year, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (2006)
Public or Private Service
Fellow of Associations
- American Psychological Association Division 15: Educational Psychology (2021–)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (2015–)
- Society for the Teaching of Psychology (2010–)
- Society of Experimental Social Psychology (2009–)
- Association for Psychological Science (2005–)
- Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (1994–)
- American Psychological Association (1994–)
Primary Interests:
- Aggression, Conflict, Peace
- Applied Social Psychology
- Attitudes and Beliefs
- Ethics and Morality
- Internet and Virtual Psychology
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Political Psychology
- Prejudice and Stereotyping
Research Group or Laboratory:
- Social Psychology Laboratory
Note from the Network: The holder of this profile has certified having all necessary rights, licenses, and authorization to post the files listed below. Visitors are welcome to copy or use any files for noncommercial or journalistic purposes provided they credit the profile holder and cite this page as the source.
Video Gallery
What Is Action Teaching?
Teachers Make a Difference
Presentations
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Teach Like Your Hair Is on Fire!
- Linked publication: No authorship indicated. (2008). Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology. American Psychologist, 63, 357-359.
- Linked publication: Plous, S. (2000). Responding to overt displays of prejudice: A role-playing exercise. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 198-200.
- Linked publication: Plous, S. (2012). Action teaching. In D. Christie (Ed.)., The Encyclopedia of Peace Psychology (pp. 1-5). New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Linked publication: Plous, S. (2009, Winter). Are you an action teacher? Win $1,000 while making the world a better place. Psychology Teacher Network, 18(4), pp. 1, 4, 8, 10, 11.
Data Files
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IACUC Study Data File
- Linked publication: Plous, S., & Herzog, H. A., Jr. (2001). Reliability of protocol reviews for animal research. Science, 293, 608-609.
- Linked publication: Plous, S., & Herzog, H. A., Jr. (1999, June). Should the AWA cover rats, mice, and birds? The results of an IACUC survey. Lab Animal, pp. 38-40.
Other Files
Books:
- Plous, S. (1993). The psychology of judgment and decision making. New York: McGraw-Hill. [Translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, and Russian; hardbound edition concurrently published by Temple University Press.]
- Plous, S. (Ed.). (2003). Understanding prejudice and discrimination. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Journal Articles:
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No authorship indicated. (2008). Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology. American Psychologist, 63, 357-359.
- Linked presentation: Teach Like Your Hair Is on Fire!
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Plous, S. (2000). Responding to overt displays of prejudice: A role-playing exercise. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 198-200.
- Linked presentation: Teach Like Your Hair Is on Fire!
- Plous, S. (2000). Tips on creating and maintaining an educational web site. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 63-70.
- Plous, S. (1998). Signs of change within the animal rights movement: Results from a follow-up survey of activists. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 112, 48-54.
- Plous, S. (1996). Attitudes toward the use of animals in psychological research and education: Results from a national survey of psychologists. American Psychologist, 51, 1167-1180.
- Plous, S. (1996). Attitudes toward the use of animals in psychological research and education: Results from a national survey of psychology majors. Psychological Science, 7, 352-358.
- Plous, S. (1996). Ten myths about affirmative action. Journal of Social Issues, 52, 25-31.
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Plous, S., & Herzog, H. A., Jr. (2001). Reliability of protocol reviews for animal research. Science, 293, 608-609.
- Linked data: IACUC Study Data File
-
Plous, S., & Herzog, H. A., Jr. (1999, June). Should the AWA cover rats, mice, and birds? The results of an IACUC survey. Lab Animal, pp. 38-40.
- Linked data: IACUC Study Data File
- Plous, S., & Neptune, D. (1997). Racial and gender biases in magazine advertising: A content-analytic study. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 627-644.
- Plous, S., & Williams, T. (1995). Racial stereotypes from the days of American slavery: A continuing legacy. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25, 795-817.
- Takooshian, H., Gielen, U. P., Plous, S., Rich, G. J., & Velayo, R. S. (2016). Internationalizing undergraduate psychology education: Trends, techniques, and technologies. American Psychologist, 71, 136-147.
Other Publications:
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Plous, S. (2012). Action teaching. In D. Christie (Ed.)., The Encyclopedia of Peace Psychology (pp. 1-5). New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Linked presentation: Teach Like Your Hair Is on Fire!
-
Plous, S. (2009, Winter). Are you an action teacher? Win $1,000 while making the world a better place. Psychology Teacher Network, 18(4), pp. 1, 4, 8, 10, 11.
- Linked presentation: Teach Like Your Hair Is on Fire!
- Plous, S., Myers, D. G., Kite, M., & Dunn, D. S. (2021). Teaching social psychology effectively: A practical guide. In J. Zumbach, D. Bernstein, S. Narciss, and P. Marsico (Eds.), International Handbook of Psychology Learning and Teaching. Springer.
- Plous, S., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2004, September 10). How social science can reduce terrorism. Chronicle of Higher Education, pp. B9-B10.
Courses Taught:
- Computer Laboratory in Psychological Statistics
- Psychological Statistics
- Research Methods in Social Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Social Psychology MOOC
- The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination
Scott Plous
Department of Psychology
Wesleyan University
207 High Street
Middletown, Connecticut 06459
United States of America
- Phone: (860) 685-2368