Because 98% of teachers use textbooks for the introductory psychology course and the majority of introductory teachers do not assign reading beyond the textbook, examining the topical coverage allocation pattern in introductory textbooks versus that in introductory course lectures is important for our understanding of how introductory students are…

The present article describes four free or inexpensive Internet-based activities that can be used to supplement statistics/research methods/general psychology classes. Each activity and subsequent homework assessment is described, as well as homework performance outcome and student opinion data for each activity. (Contains 1 table.)

I summarize multidisciplinary paradigms and best practices' recommendations for professional learning by higher education faculty members. This review leads to an innovative narrative model for academic life that synthesizes current personality and vocational psychology theory and positive psychology's emphasis on virtues and character…

In the past decade, the psychological study of creativity has accelerated greatly. To facilitate the teaching of creativity, I provide an overview of the recent literature. The overview begins by discussing recent empirical results and research trends. This discussion specifically treats creativity's cognitive, differential, developmental, and…

As the burgeoning field of evolutionary psychology continues to gain exposure and acceptance throughout the psychological community, it is important to explain this field clearly and accurately to students. This article discusses some recent findings and trends in evolutionary psychological research to aid instructors in their efforts to provide…

The authors investigated whether practice (or graded) quizzes, with or without provision of correct answers, would be more beneficial for introductory psychology exam performance. In six sections (N = 249) of an introductory psychology class, taught by the same professor, different approaches to quizzes were applied across sections to measure…

The current study explored whether an affliction similar to Medical Student Syndrome occurs in psychology students (i.e., Psychology Student Syndrome) by examining the relationship between self ratings of psychological health and the number of psychopathology courses taken. Undergraduate participants rated their level of concern about suffering…

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a popular means of examining "hidden" biases. However, some express concerns about classroom use of the IAT, citing students' potentially negative affective reactions to taking the IAT and discovering their implicit biases. To investigate the validity of this criticism, 35 social psychology students completed…

The guided experimentation method requires that students learn how a database works by generating and testing hypotheses about it (i.e., become skilled at strategies of experimentation). These strategies are essential to learning by inquiry, which is linked to argumentation. We conducted a quasi-experimental field study to show that students who…

To increase the number of students who read the text before class and to promote student interaction centering on text material, I developed an online discussion assignment as a required component of a cognitive psychology course. Across 2 studies, this assignment had a limited effect on examination performance, but students completing online…

Students in an undergraduate psychology and law course and an introductory psychology course completed a variety of measures, at both the beginning and end of the semester, to assess their knowledge of and attitudes toward psycholegal topics. The psychology and law course improved students' knowledge of psychological topics concerning the legal…

The "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association" (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010) provides a widely utilized template for preparing research reports in the behavioral sciences. Because learning APA style is integral to disciplinary socialization, our department recently implemented a 1-hr course in scientific…

This study examined the retention of students who listened to podcasts of a primary source to the retention of students who read the source as text. We also assessed students' preferences and study habits. Quiz scores revealed that the podcast group performed more poorly than did students who read the text. Although students initially preferred…

Selections from the career counseling literature indicated that the undergraduate psychology curriculum is a potential source of generic liberal arts skills--for example, numeracy, literacy, critical thinking--said to be useful to baccalaureates entering the workforce. A "meritocracy hypothesis" stated that psychology and other liberal arts…

Dr. Henry L. (Roddy) Roediger is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in the Psychology Department at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) and a scholar of human memory. He graduated from Washington & Lee University in 1969 and received his PhD in psychology from Yale University. He served as chair of the Psychology…