Psychology (71) (72) This project is creating enhancements in the psychology curriculum to nurture students' appreciation of psychology as a science. It is addressing several needs: (1) giving large and varied numbers of students exposure to the scientific method by actively engaging them in research demonstrations; (2) providing majors an opportunity to carry out research using technical instrumentation actually employed by researchers; and (3) giving all students the opportunity to understand psychology as an integrated set of sub-disciplines. To achieve these goals, the department has acquired equipment for three interconnected laboratories, one for each representative sub-discipline of psychology. Each lab is being used to examine the same psychological phenomenon from the unique perspective of its sub-discipline. Through this "bio-psycho-social" approach, students are developing an improved understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of psychology. The first demonstration module is using eye-gaze to explore the relationships among physiological measures, non-verbal cues, and empathic indicators of another's thoughts. As a result, students develop competence in hypothesis generation, data collection, data analysis, and report-writing, all while utilizing sophisticated technological instrumentation.
The project is adapting the results of a similar project at Carleton College carried out under NSF funding by Neil Lutsky and Julie Neiworth (Grant number 9751519) to create demonstration modules for their introductory and upper level psychology students using PC-based simulations and connections to other related materials via the world-wide web. This project is modifying the Lutsky and Neiworth approach by using laboratory equipment in demonstrations and research rather than computer simulations. It is following the American Psychological Association guidelines for improving undergraduate education in psychology [J. S. Halonen et al., "National Guidelines and Suggested Learning Outcomes for the Psychology Major," APA, Washington DC, 2002.] Among its intellectual merits, this project is invigorating the interest of undergraduates in the conduct of scientific inquiry. Lower-level students are now able to observe how measures in psychology are operationalized, analyzed, and interpreted. Majors are developing more expertise in general methodology and an improved understanding of psychology as a multidisciplinary science. This project also is strengthening the relationship between teaching and research. The early involvement of undergraduate majors in research is increasing their motivation and knowledge to develop into independent researchers who will eventually make scientific contributions in their own right.
