Introduction: Cognitive psychology courses are rich in content that can be useful to broad audiences. Much of the foundational research presented in course texts is conducted in highly constrained laboratory settings, making the concepts difficult to apply or use in the real world. Statement of the Problem: Students in cognitive psychology classes…

Introduction: The discrepancy between what is known from clinical research and what is done in applied clinical practice is called the "science-to-service gap." Teaching students to bridge this gap must be a primary focus of graduate education in applied psychology sub-disciplines. Statement of the Problem: Since science is fluid, an…

Despite the popularity of the psychology major, complaints regularly arise about the value of majoring in psychology. This article reviews the workforce advantages that accrue to successful psychology students and encourages new strategies for emphasizing the professional development goal in the American Psychological Association's…

We discuss a project given to introductory psychology students that increased their critical thinking regarding psychological findings, such as those that might appear in news reports (e.g., "listening to Mozart makes you smarter") or everyday life (e.g., "birds of a feather flock together"). Relative to students who did not do the project,…

To understand the relevance of cognitive psychology, students in a cognitive psychology course were required to complete a detailed plan for a public service announcement focusing on environmental issues. The final exam was a Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentation incorporating at least eight concepts from the course. Students in the course…

Under faculty supervision, a college student enrolled in a "Sensation and Perception" course constructed a light box, which generated some surprising and interesting color effects. (RM)

This article describes research conducted to evaluate the impact of service learning on exam scores and emotional empathy in a life-span development course. Service learning was 1 of 3 project options offered in the course; others included an interview project and a research paper. With the exception of the first exam, scores were significantly…

Discusses a student project for psychology courses in which students collect newspaper clippings that illustrate psychological concepts. Explains that the students record the source and write a brief description of the clipping, explaining how it relates to a psychological concept or theory. Includes results of student evaluations of the…

One difficulty in teaching service courses such as psychology of adolescence is maintaining the interest of nonmajors without sacrificing course-relevant content. Described is a project that overcomes this problem by requiring students to observe some type of media (e.g., television) and determine the extent to which particular themes occur.…

College psychology students were required to make contact with an organization and obtain permission to conduct a job satisfaction survey with its employees, develop questionnaires, collect data, and compile an "Executive Summary" which was given to the organization and then presented in class. (RM)

Reviews a Web-based psychology research project where students searched preselected Web sites for data on the ages of advertisers and mates sought in personal advertisements in order to determine the mate selection preferences of heterosexual and homosexual men and women. Addresses the benefits and problems of using the Internet for research…

Describes a project used in an introductory psychology course that examines flashbulb memories. At two different points in the semester students recorded what they were doing when they first heard of a particular event. Discusses the project assessment and considers the benefits of the project. (CMK)

Illustrates a field experiment in which students studied whether people (1) respond to smiles with smiles and (2) fail to reciprocate frowns. Explains that the project facilitates understanding of methodological issues, such as random assignment, manipulation strength, and experimenter bias. Discusses the procedure and results from the project and…

Focuses on the use of small, independent project lab groups in two different courses: (1) Introduction Methodology; and (2) Psychometrics. States that this type of group enables students to receive feedback from their peers, while also allowing them to explore an area of individual interest. (CMK)

Reports on a classroom project in which college-level psychology students developed a institutionwide course ratings questionnaire. Describes the data gathering, item development, and pilot testing phases of the project. Concludes that the students learned about tests and measurements by doing the project and that the institution benefited from…