Psychology instructors have reported that it is common for students to not know how to cite sources correctly. Therefore, the authors created a classroom game to help students learn to cite sources in different scenarios. The game involved students submitting names of celebrities and fictitious dates of publication and then using those submissions…

We examined the effect of in-text American Psychological Association (APA)-style citations on quiz performance as a function of structure building ability, measured by the Multi-Media Comprehension Battery. Participants were randomly assigned to either APA or no citation conditions and asked to read an expository text followed by a comprehension…

American Psychological Association (APA)-style writing is an essential part of the undergraduate psychology curriculum. However, little is known about the effectiveness of specific techniques for instructing students on how to format APA-style citations and references. The current research compared the effectiveness of having students (N = 76)…

This study examined the similarities and differences in the topics and references in selected chapters of eight introductory social psychology textbooks and six developmental psychology textbooks. We wanted to determine the extent to which there were core concepts and references presented in these chapters. We found a relatively small set of core…

This study is concerned with the nature of the coverage in introductory social psychology textbooks of the Stanford prison experiment (SPE), given the many criticisms, especially recently, of the SPE. These criticisms concern both the study's methodology and the situationist explanation of the outcome. Ten textbooks were analyzed for coverage of…

To determine the effectiveness of 20- to 30-min workshops on recognition of errors in American Psychological Association-style writing, 58 introductory psychology students attended one of the three workshops (on grammar, mechanics, or references) and completed error recognition tests (pretest, initial posttest, and three follow-up tests). As a…

This study evaluated how effective an online academic integrity module was at reducing the occurrence of plagiarism in a written assignment for a university course. In a preintervention comparison group, plagiarism was detected in 25.8% of papers submitted, compared with only 6.5% in the group that completed the academic integrity module. The…

Sales figures and recollections of psychologists indicate textbooks play a central role in psychology students' education, yet instructors typically must select texts under time pressure and with incomplete information. Although selection aids are available, none adequately address the accuracy of texts. We describe a technique for sampling…

I evaluated a brief homework assignment designed to reduce citation problems in research-based term papers. Students in 2 developmental psychology classes received a brief presentation and handout defining plagiarism with tips on how to cite sources to avoid plagiarizing. In addition, students in 1 class completed 2 brief homework assignments in…

The author indexes of 24 introductory college-level psychology textbooks were surveyed to determine the authorities cited most frequently. The five names cited most often in descending order were Freud, Piaget, Skinner, Bandura, and Erikson. Significant changes from earlier citations studies are discussed. (Author)

Examines citation patterns in introductory psychology textbooks of the recipients of the American Psychology Association's Awards for Distinguished Scientific Contribution. Compared recipient citations by time period and by gender. Determines that earlier recipients were cited more often in textbooks published in 1971, but in recent textbooks, no…

Describes method of analysis of textbook indexes and bibliographies. Data can be used for studying the discipline, teaching, evaluating textbooks, and making administrative/personnel decisions. (Author/KC)

Describes a writing assignment where students summarize and critique an empirical research article cited in their textbook. Students relate the article to course materials and compare it with the textbook's presentation of the research. Participants praise the assignment's efficacy in teaching about psychology research and encouraging critical…

Maintains that direct instruction can improve significantly undergraduates citing of primary and secondary sources. Students were tested concerning definitions of primary and secondary sources, judgement of citation acceptability, and identification of samples. Students receiving posttest instruction showed marked improvement. Recommends early…