When a psychologist announces a new research finding, it is often based on a rejected null hypothesis. However, if that hypothesis is true, the claim is a false alarm. Many students mistakenly believe that the probability of committing a false alarm equals alpha, the criterion for statistical significance, which is typically set at 5%. Instructors…

Student evaluations of teaching are among the most accepted and important indicators of college teachers' performance. However, faculty and administrators can overinterpret small variations in mean teaching evaluations. The current research examined the effect of including statistical information on the interpretation of teaching evaluations.…

Quantitative and statistical literacy are core domains in the undergraduate psychology curriculum. An important component of such literacy includes interpretation of visual aids, such as tables containing results from statistical analyses. This article presents results of a quasi-experimental study with longitudinal follow-up that tested the…

Quantitative and statistical literacy are core domains in the undergraduate psychology curriculum. An important component of such literacy includes interpretation of visual aids, such as tables containing results from statistical analyses. This article presents a new technique for enhancing student interpretation of American Psychological…

We examined how academic background and course involvement differentially predicted students' performance on lecture- and text-based exam questions (N = 114; 34% men; 76% freshmen). Results showed that academic background and course involvement predicted performance on lecture-based questions and overall exam performance, whereas academic…

People often make interpretations when they believe they are providing factual descriptions. To demonstrate unintentional interpretation, the author showed a brief ambiguous video clip and asked students to write descriptions of what they saw and heard. When students evaluated their responses, they discovered that 96% of the class wrote…

Provides a classroom demonstration designed to test an astrological hypothesis and help teach introductory psychology students about research design and data interpretation. Illustrates differences between science and nonscience, the role of theory in developing and testing hypotheses, making comparisons among groups, probability and statistical…

Describes a class demonstration of observer bias in which students were led to believe what the research data would indicate. Reports that students reported trends consistent with the expectancy. Asserts that the demonstration had a strong and memorable effect on students and has value for demonstrating observer bias. (CFR)

We describe a perceptual experiment that we have successfully used in Research Methods classes. Students attempt to identify a series of simple cookie cutter shapes using only the fingers and hands (haptic perception). Students read archival studies that have used this procedure, identify confounds, generate and test alternate hypotheses, and…

Maintains that preparing graphs is an essential part of data analysis and representation. Asserts that, although psychologists use graphs extensively, most textbooks provide limited techniques for designing graphs. Reviews research on graphical techniques and includes recommended articles on the topic. (CFR)

Describes two QuickBASIC programs that provide students direct experience with interpreting correlation scatter-plots. Maintains that the programs can be used in classroom exercises to highlight factors that influence the size of a Pearson correlation coefficient. (CFR)

Describes a QuickBASIC program for demonstrating the differences between main effects and interactions in factorial designs. The program can be used in conjunction with a traditional lecture to improve student understanding and develop skills in recognizing main effects and interactions from graphic displays. (CFR)

Provides a brief overview of single-subject research designs. This method exercises its power by examining changes in single subjects' responses over time across experimental conditions. Describes a classroom project in which students collect repeated measures of their own behavior and graph the data. (MJP)

Describes a technique for demonstrating personality scale validation techniques to introductory psychology students. Claims that the technique promotes a better grasp of the principles of test validation. Results include better class discussion, written reports, and examination grades. Suggests that introducing practical applications before…

Provides an exercise for introducing research methods to undergraduates. The students view a graph revealing that left-handed people are underrepresented in older age groups. Small group discussions attempt to explain this phenomenon. A follow-up class discussion focuses on the different approaches and methods available for interpreting the data.…