Investigates the content and structure of the undergraduate curriculum in psychology by analyzing 500 college catalogs. Reveals that introductory, statistics, and a capstone are the common required courses, laboratory experiences are not integral to required courses, prerequisites are recommended, and the traditional model is the most popular…

Explores the structure and content of statistical training in U.S. undergraduate psychology programs. Presents the results and provides comments on curricular structure and on statistical instruction. Discusses options for addressing issues of course sequencing, content focus, and advanced-level offerings in the major. (CMK)

Reports on an evaluation of an undergraduate program in industrial/organizational psychology (College of New Jersey) five years after its implementation in order to assess the effectiveness of the program and identify areas in need of change. Describes the program and makes recommendations for future directions. (CMK)

Describes a technique for teaching personality theories to undergraduate psychology students where they view segments from films and use the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) to explore interactional behavior. Presents results from a study where SASB was used in an introductory psychology course. (CMK)

Presents a study which recorded attendance of 57 introductory psychology students by requiring them to sign-in at each class meeting. States that students who signed in attended more classes and scored higher grades on weekly multiple-choice quizzes, even on material from the textbook not included in lectures. (CMK)

Presents a study that examined the effect of using a self-reference exercise to supplement a lecture on standard life expectancy in which general psychology students participated. Reports that students who completed the exercise had significantly higher test scores overall and also on the ten items involving longevity. (CMK)

Presents results from a survey of students in two sections of an abnormal psychology course. Assessed the number of students who had firsthand exposure to a psychiatric disorder (friend, family member, or themselves), the nature of the relationship, the average number of personal relationships with people with psychiatric disorders, and the…

Presents a study that applied a discourse analysis (DA) to the electronic discussion of a 16-week Internet-based section of a class in statistical methods in psychology. Reveals that several DA categories were related to the final course grade. Discusses the implications of the results. (CMK)

Analyzes multiple-choice questions provided in test banks for introductory psychology textbooks. Study 1 offered a consistent picture of the objective difficulty of multiple-choice tests for introductory psychology students, while both studies 1 and 2 indicated that test items taken from commercial test banks have poor psychometric properties.…

Describes an activity in which students categorize the sexual orientation (heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual) of 10 fictional people. Students study aspects of sexual orientation, including its resistance to rigid and consistent definitions. The activity has been used in Psychology of Women, Sexual Behavior, and Psychology of Sexual Orientation…

Focuses on a course in humanistic and transpersonal psychology for undergraduate students that addresses metaneeds, consciousness, altered states of consciousness, Eastern and Western meditative practices, mytho-poetic wisdom, and metaphoric epistemology. Describes the goals, content, and structure of the course and discusses the course…

The blend of applied behavior analysis and on-site business experience, provided in the undergraduate seminar described here, is an excellent way for increasing the expertise and employment potential of undergraduate psychology majors as well as for involving the university with its surrounding community. (RM)

Research shows a trend toward increased fragmentation and specialization among graduate level and professional psychologists that is spreading to undergraduate education. To remedy the problem team teaching can be used in introductory courses, and a levels-of-analysis approach can be used in advanced courses. (AM)

Describes the impact of trends in higher education on undergraduate psychology programs. College administrative structures and educational functions and goals are changing due to declining enrollments and funding. The structure of the program must be improved to accommodate increasing student mobility. Individualized instruction is recommended.…

Describes an experiment used with undergraduate students to educate students about plagiarism and paraphrasing techniques. Discusses the procedure used for the experiment as well as results from the experiment and a postexperiement questionnaire. (CMK)