Scott Plous

Scott Plous is an academic social psychologist, currently working as a Professor of Psychology at the Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University.^[2]

His areas of research include the psychology of prejudice and discrimination, judgment and decision making, international security and counter-terrorism, interactive web-based research, and the human use of animals and the environment. He is also the founder of the Social Psychology Network.^[3][4]

Plous coined the term “action teaching” in 2000.^[5] In this article he presented action teaching as the pedagogical counterpart to action research, a term coined by Kurt Lewin in the aftermath of World War II (Marrow, 1969). This experience of action teaching, he says, “leads not only to a better understanding of psychology but to a more just, compassionate and peaceful world.” ^[6]

In 2001, he published a study that evaluated the reliability of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs), and found that animal testing standards in the United States are widely inconsistent across different research institutions.^[7]

After his father almost died of cancer, Plous developed a character he called Joe Chemo, intending to present a more realistic view of smoking than the Joe Camel character used by R. J. Reynolds.^[8] The first image ran in the 1996 winter issue of Adbusters magazine.^[9]

Plous has published two books, and numerous journal articles, on social issues, animal rights, and psychology. He is best known as a founder of Social Psychology Network, a suite of nonprofit web sites supported by the National Science Foundation, created in 1996. Currently Plous also teaches social psychology online through Coursera's MOOC^[10]

Publications[]

Books[]

• Plous, S. (1993). The psychology of judgment and decision making. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-050477-6 [Translated into Chinese, Korean, Norwegian, and Russian; hardbound edition concurrently published by Temple University Press.]
• Plous, S. (Ed.). (2003). Understanding prejudice and discrimination. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-255443-4

Journal articles[]

• Plous, S. (2000). "Responding to overt displays of prejudice: A role-playing exercise". Teaching of Psychology, 27, 198-200.
• 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.
• Plous, S., & Herzog, H. A., Jr. (2001). "Reliability of protocol reviews for animal research". Science, 293, 608-609.
• Plous, S., & Herzog, H. A., Jr. (1999, June). "Should AWA coverage be broadened? Results from a survey of animal care and use committees". Lab Animal, pp. 38–40.
• 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.

Honors[]

Awards

• 2006. Connecticut Professor of the Year award from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.^[11]
• 2008. Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award

Notes[]

External links[]

• Plous.socialpsychology.org