Description:

This course will provide you with an overview of experimental designs likely to be encountered if you pursue a career in experimental psychology. The development of critical thinking will be emphasized. We will conduct four or five research projects. You will perform statistical analyses on the data and write papers in APA format on the research projects. The projects will increase in size and complexity as the semester progresses. You will also have to read and think critically about journal articles from the literature. You will also spend a good deal of time learning the basics of file management, spreadsheets, and word processing on the Macintosh computer.

As this course is designed for those entering graduate school, you will be treated as first-year graduate students. You will be expected to do a large amount of work and thinking on your own. You will face questions for which there is no one correct answer, and you have to proceed as you feel best onto uncertain ground. Many students are uncomfortable with this kind of uncertainty, but it is intrinsic to scientific research and is, therefore, intrinsic to this course.

Texts:

Myers. Experimental psychology. (4th ed.) 1997

Grading and Requirements:

Exams: 3, 10% each

Papers: 4

Papers 1 & 2 10% each

Papers 3 & 4 15% each

Quiz(zes) on computer skills: 5%

Class participation/addt'l assignments 15%

Prerequisites:

Psychology 301 with a grade of C or better, Psychology 418 or an equivalent statistics course with a grade of C or better, upper division standing, a GPA of 3.0 in Psychology courses taken at the University, and a major in psychology.

Updated 24 February 1998
Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
University of Texas at Austin

Some graphics courtesy of Ann Pommerehn