Introductory psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate courses and often serves as the gateway to choosing psychology as an academic major. However, little research has examined the typical structure of introductory psychology courses. The current study examined student learning objectives (SLOs) and course content in introductory…

Reviews a study designed to determine which topics students and parents believe should be included in an introductory psychology course on the college level. Parents and students believed that anxiety and punishment should receive major emphasis and that little importance should be attached to the history of psychology, perception and attention,…

Recommends that an anchor test be used in college level psychology courses to regulate grading. An anchor test means a core of items on content which is common to all sections within a particular course. Items are distributed throughout the test and scored in comparison with how an individual class performs in relation to all other classes. (DB)

Realizing that students usually approach an introductory statistics course on the college level with a mixed set of fears, a course instructor devised a course introduction which emphasized that statistics were no more than tools to make sense out of research data and could be used by students much in the way that other tools were used. (DB)

Recounts experiences in developing and implementing a one-hour credit elective service course for psychology majors entitled "Psychology as a Profession." The objective of the course is to provide systematic information about career options in psychology and to help undergraduate psychology majors plan their careers. (DB)

Explains how to teach undergraduate students in a comparative psychology course to undertake social science research. Information is presented on selecting appropriate research projects, choosing students with a variety of research styles, and course evaluation. (DB)

Discusses an interdisciplinary course on the psychology and philosophy of William James. Describes course organization and goals. Explains that the course includes sections on James' life and personal characteristics, his psychological and philosophical works, and specific psychological and philosophical topics that he addressed. Assesses…

A review of psychology teaching in American high schools during the past decade shows that while there were many problems--e.g., polarized opinion about goals and related curriculum content and teaching methods, inadequate teacher education, and an ambivalent interface with professional psychology--there was also movement toward their partial…

A course for teaching an advanced undergraduate course on the psychology of adult development and aging is described and evaluated. Course goals, content, and format are discussed. Students generally viewed the course favorably. (RM)

Reviews major areas of interest in the future of undergraduate psychology education. Educators will be concerned with the increasingly diverse student needs, the value of a liberal arts education, and the need for personal and professional growth. The debate over educational objectives and program course content will continue. (AM)

Describes a matrix that depicts the relationships between desired perspectives, skills, knowledge, and attitudes and an undergraduate psychology curriculum. Expounds that the curriculum matrix is a useful tool for representing the coverage of specific material in the individual courses offered within the overall curriculum. Provides a blank…

Discusses whether change in favor of vocational preparation compromises liberal arts values and what effects such a change would have in undergraduate psychology programs. Proposes a new liberal skills model and curriculum changes emphasizing career advising, career-relevant coursework, curricula enrichment, and fieldwork. Urges that career…

Summarizes the results of a survey that revealed several dichotomies between what instructors felt introductory psychology courses delivered and what students wanted. Students desired a knowledge of people and relationships while the instructors felt the courses provided a broad overview of the discipline. Includes statistical data and analysis.…

A senior psychology seminar that dealt with recent psychological, sociological, and feminist literature on sexual victimization is described. Major topics addressed were rape, childhood sexual abuse, and incest. The topics of pornography, sexual harassment, and sexual exploitation in the media were also covered. (Author/RM)

The major goals of this two-semester seminar are to help first-year graduate students understand the links among perspective, theory, assumptions, problem formulation, methods, and findings in psychological research and to optimize their transition into the PhD program. The seminar is described and evaluated and suggestions for change are made.…