The "small talk" activity helps students gain a comprehensive overview of c
ourse material and encourages them to apply course content to situations ou
tside the classroom. Students in a course on the psychology of stereotyping
and prejudice applied their knowledge of course material in generating res
ponses to comments about gender and ethnic bias that ostensibly might be he
ard at social gatherings (e.g., "Women are all alike"). The: comments were
related to theoretical and research articles assigned throughout the semest
er, and students were instructed to respond to these comments from a psycho
logical perspective. Students alternated playing the roles of commentator a
nd respondent. I include a discussion of variations of the activity and an
application of the activity for other courses.