Visual representations of data are widely used for communication and understanding, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, despite their importance, many people have difficulty understanding data-based visualizations. This work presents a series of three studies that examine how understanding time-based…

Contrary to its typical presentation in scientific publications as a certain and linear process, in reality, the experimental method, not least the design aspect of it, requires a great deal of trial-and-error and ad hoc decision-making on the part of the researchers. This uncertain and contingent aspect of research, although little known outside…

Digital badges (i.e., digital credentials for achievements) have been suggested as a useful and scalable implementation of gamification. Digital badges (hereafter "badges") provide two potential supports for learning: (1) badges provide support for motivation by rewarding achievement and (2) badges provide implicit learning goals. The…

This paper examines the possibilities and limitations of introducing simulated experiments in the psychology domain by practicing a course with graduate students in psychology, in which simulated experiments were conducted in place of real human experiments. The class-learning object was the dual-storage model of human memory. The simulation…

Experiments in psychology or education often use logistic regression models (LRMs) when analyzing binary outcomes. However, a challenge with LRMs is that results are generally difficult to understand. We present alternatives to LRMs in the analysis of experiments and discuss the linear probability model, the log-binomial model, and the modified…

Although feedback engagement is important for learning, students often do not engage with provided feedback to inform future assignments. One factor for low feedback uptake is the easy access to grades. Thus, systematically delaying the grade release in favor of providing feedback first--"temporary mark withholding"--may increase…

Doubly bounded continuous data are common in the social and behavioral sciences. Examples include judged probabilities, confidence ratings, derived proportions such as percent time on task, and bounded scale scores. Dependent variables of this kind are often difficult to analyze using normal theory models because their distributions may be quite…

Complex, multimedia software such as educational videogames offer a wide range of elements to modify learner behavior. The adjustment of such software might support learning, especially in complex settings like collaborative or cooperative scenarios. Coming from a theoretical background of educational psychology, our experiment seeks to implement…

Recognition of a single word is an elemental task in innumerable cognitive psychology experiments, but involves unexpected complexity. We test a controversial claim that the human fovea is vertically divided, with each half projecting to either the contralateral or ipsilateral hemisphere, thereby influencing foveal word recognition. We report a…

The traveling salesman problem (TSP) is a combinatorial optimization problem that requires finding the shortest path through a set of points ("cities") that returns to the starting point. Because humans provide heuristic near-optimal solutions to Euclidean versions of the problem, it has sometimes been used to investigate human visual…

This work outlines the historical background and implications for deaf-blind psychology of the so-called Zagorsk Experiment, which was conducted in the USSR in the early-to-mid-1970s. Pioneered by the Department of Psychology at Moscow State University, the experiment involved conducting extensive fundamental research and deploying a comprehensive…

Economics and business students are taught that sunk costs are irrelevant to their decisions. Yet, there is ample evidence that managers fail to integrate this simple rule and fall prey to what is known as the sunk-costs bias. To mitigate cognitive biases, such as the sunk-cost bias, educators must raise students' awareness of these common…

Transactive memory theory describes the processes by which benefits for memory can occur when remembering is shared in dyads or groups. In contrast, cognitive psychology experiments demonstrate that social influences on memory disrupt and inhibit individual recall. However, most research in cognitive psychology has focused on groups of strangers…

Across three experiments featuring naturalistic concepts (psychology concepts) and naïve learners, we extend previous research showing an effect of the sequence of study on learning outcomes, by demonstrating that the sequence of examples during study changes the representation the learner creates of the study materials. We compared participants'…

Digital storytelling is a technology application that has emerged as a powerful teaching and learning tool that engages both teachers and students. Digital storytelling allows students to become creative storytellers through selecting a topic, conducting research, writing a script, and developing the story. However, the use of digital storytelling…