Questions the validity of a multiple-choice evaluation in which university students evaluated a lecture which had been cancelled. Comparison of this evaluation with evaluation of a film on sex and communication, which had been viewed by approximately 50 percent of the students, is offered. (Author/DB)

Reports on two studies that assessed the interchangeability of logical and empirical estimates of readability and human interest for college-level introductory psychology texts published between 1977 and 1988. Uses Flesch's procedures to obtain logical scores and student ratings to obtain empirical scores. Finds that correlations are too low to…

Examines a college seminar's capacity to reduce stress by evaluating a psychology seminar on stress management over a six-year period. Students reported significantly less general anxiety, general anger, situational stress reactivity, and stress-related physiological reactivity after taking the class. Follow-ups of two classes indicated…

We examined the effects of in-class writing instruction, practice, peer review, and feedback on writing skills of undergraduates enrolled in a general psychology course. We rated writing for grammar, writing style, mechanics, and American Psychological Association referencing style. Significant differences emerged on the 4 writing skill domains (p…

Examines text and photographs in 28 introductory textbooks published between 1990 and 1992 for coverage of diversity issues (minority group members and gay and lesbian lifestyles). Although the quantity and quality of diversity coverage has improved, the content and images in 1990s textbooks has varied substantially. Includes statistical tables.…

A psychology course in which students are required to apply learned principles to their interpersonal experiences is the instructors answer to the need to make psychological principles and methods generally available for a wider impact on human existence. (JH)

Discusses the Programmed Achievement learning system in an introductory psychology course. This system is based on an instructional system of motivation and reward in which a crucial ingredient is the testing procedure. (Author/JR)

Two procedures--a consensual procedure and an independent procedure--for measuring personality, and a demonstration designed to help students understand which is more accurate and why, are described. Independent ratings are found to be more valid than group consensus. (RM)

The audio-tutorial was used in college level psychology classes to minimize student entry level differences in their knowledge of statistical concepts. The nature, rationale, and application of the audio-tutorial is described, and an evaluation study is presented. (RM)

The argument made by Gaffuri, Wrench, Karr, and Kopp (Teaching of Psychology; v9 p229-30 1982) that student ratings of instruction are correlated with and possibly biased by grades is critiqued. (RM)

Discusses problems encountered in using the Matarazzo Checklist to rate students' interviewing skills with psychiatric patients. (RM)

Discussion of textbooks criticizes review and selection by professors without consideration for price, publishers who push sales of new or revised textbooks instead of older textbooks, and emphasis on readability and teaching techniques rather than on content. (ND)

Describes and evaluates a college level psychology of aging course which actively involved students in projects that integrated personal experience with cognitive learning. Intellectual mastery is a sufficient goal in many college courses. However, in courses on aging, additional objectives, such as emotional growth and attitude change, must be…

States that undergraduate psychology curricula emphasize abstract, generalized topics which do not reflect changes in the field of psychology or its relevance to real world problems. The author advocates the integration of theoretical concepts into areas of applied psychology and presents a course outline to achieve this goal. (AM)

An evaluation of the effectiveness of experiential adjuncts to clinical psychology textbooks is reported. The adjuncts to the undergraduate course were films, exercises, and exposure to professional literature. Results indicate that the use of adjuncts to the text is a positive learning experience. (KC)