We describe an Introduction to Psychology (IP) demonstration of water dowsing and ideomotor action designed to enhance students' critical thinking. An instructor demonstrated that metal rods crossed over an uncovered cup containing water but not one containing sugar. Student volunteers using the rods also saw them cross over the cup…

To help beginning psychology students understand how they are influenced by social pressures to conform, we developed a demonstration designed to elicit their conformity to a small group of students standing in the hallway before class. Results showed the demonstration increased students' recognition of their own tendency to conform, knowledge of…

Information about the undergraduate psychology courses preferred by graduate programs is useful for a number of purposes, including (a) advising psychology majors who are interested in graduate school, (b) undergraduate curriculum planning, and (c) examining whether graduate programs' preferences reflect national guidelines for the undergraduate…

Maintaining contact with alumni can result in a number of benefits for psychology departments. For example, alumni may give feedback useful for curriculum assessment and departmental planning, assist with recruiting, and provide current students with information about jobs and graduate school. The authors describe a Facebook group they created for…

We examined whether a role-playing exercise, similar to that developed by Plous (2000), increases students' ability to generate effective responses to prejudiced comments. We assessed social psychology students' (n = 23) ability to respond to prejudiced comments before and after the exercise, and compared their performance to that of 2 other…

We examined the effectiveness of several techniques for enhancing student learning from educational videos. Introductory psychology students (N = 113) watched a video about intelligence and testing while taking notes, not taking notes, writing answers to guiding questions, or thinking about guiding questions without writing answers. Afterward,…

We tested a procedure designed to enhance psychology students' learning from educational videos. Introductory psychology students (N = 127) watched a video about social psychology during a regular class session. Students in some sections of the course watched the video with no special instructions; students in other sections answered 8 guiding…

We discuss a technique for teaching students everyday applications of statistical concepts. We used this technique with students (n = 50) enrolled in several sections of an introductory statistics course; students (n = 45) in other sections served as a comparison group. A class of introductory psychology students (n = 24) served as a second…

Describes a Web-based social psychology course and addresses the design of the course, focusing on the course prerequisites and preassignment and the structure of the course and Web site. Discusses the students' course evaluations and considers both the advantages and disadvantages of teaching a Web-based course. (CMK)

Describes a test used to assess the critical thinking ability of psychology majors. Asserts that the ability to engage in psychological critical thinking separates psychology majors from other students and provides evidence demonstrating that senior psychology majors scored higher on the test than students of other majors and introductory…

Reports on a study of 88 students in an introductory college psychology course to determine whether a media assignment increased students' ability to apply psychological concepts to real-world events. Finds mixed results but concludes that media assignments may enhance student learning. (CFR)

Presents 13 active-learning activities designed for use in consumer behavior courses. The exercises involve students in brief activities, such as analysis of persuasion techniques in advertising, and follow-up discussion. Reports that students found the exercises enjoyable and worthwhile. (CFR)