Chapman The Study of Choice Is by Debra Umberson and Jennifer Montez Questions
1. Participate in an psychological experiment- One powerful way to learn about psychology is to participate in a real research study. Listed below are three different websites that will link you to an online experiment. Browse through them and then select one study that you would like to participate in. There may also be opportunities to participate in research on campus. Such opportunities will be announced in class.
(1) http://psych.hanover.edu/research/exponnet.htmlLinks to an external site. (for studies in various areas of psychology)
(2) http://www.socialpsychology.org/expts.htmLinks to an external site. (for studies in social psychology)
(3) http://www.faceresearch.orgLinks to an external site. (for studies in facial attractiveness) After completing the study write a 3-4 paragraph response to address the following questions:
What was the study about (topic, related concepts & theories, research question)?
What research methods were used? (e.g., survey, interview, reaction time measure)
Did the study comply with APA ethical standards (e.g., informed consent, debriefing, freedom from harm, etc.?)
Did the researchers share your results with you after you completed the study?
If so, how did you react to the analysis of your responses (do you agree or disagree with the results)?
Did the researchers share what they know about this topic in general (e.g., did they discuss results from previous studies)?
How does the study that you participated in relate to the material we’ve discussed in the course?
2. Explore Current Research in Psychology Find a current research study on a topic that we have discussed in class. Then write a 3-4 paragraph response that addresses the following questions:
What was the study about (topic, related concepts & theories, research question or hypothesis)?
Who were the participants? What type of research design was used (e.g., descriptive, correlational, experimental)?
What types of measures were used? (e.g., survey, interview, reaction time measure)?
What were the results of the study? What questions should be addressed in future research? You must turn in a copy of the article with your write-up.
3. Do research on a contemporary psychologist (10 possible points)- Teach us more about some of the modern day psychology researchers.
Search the web for one of the Professors (see list below):
Elizabeth Loftus, Martin Seligman, Angela Duckworth, Carol Dweck, Paul Ekman, David Matsumoto, Heidi Keller, Jennifer Eberhardt, Walter Mischel, Philip Zimbardo, Albert Bandura, Daniel Kanehman, Jordan Petersen, Jonathan Haidt, Alison Gopnik, Paul Bloom, David Buss, Robert Sternberg, Daniel Gilbert, Daniel Goleman, Carol Gilligan, Jerome Kagan, Janet Hyde, Jean Twenge, Phillip Shaver Try to find the following information for the person you are investigating:
Faculty webpage- Where does this professor teach and do research (or are they retired)? What is/was this professor’s area of expertise.
Link to a recent study or piece of published research- Try to read one of their current studies and then write a one paragraph description of the types of research this professor is engaged in. What are his/her/their research interests? What type of research method(s) does this professor use (e.g., in their study did they use a correlational or experimental design)?
Link to a media article, interview, or video clip with this researcher- What is this article, interview, or video clip about? Why is it important?
When you are finished collecting your research, share what you learned on the above points and explain why you were interested in learning more about this particular researcher or topic of research.
