During the first class devoted to assertiveness, the professor came into class, sat down, and proceeded to write notes on a pad for the duration of the period. Their rights to an education being violated, students were confronted with the option to intervene in their own best interests. (RM)

A graduate level practicum that introduces clinically-oriented psychology students to the applied and practical aspects of the field of psychiatry is described. The course format, goals, and benefits are examined. (RM)

The encoding specificity principle asserts that a retrieval cue will be effective if, and only if, the to-be-remembered item was specifically encoded with respect to that cue during input. Describes a classroom experiment that provides an opportunity to demonstrate the encoding specificity phenomenon, note its limitations, and discuss its cause…

It is valuable for psychology students to look at their discipline from a different cultural perspective. Described is a course, developed by the psychology department of Chapman College (California), in which students live in Mexico City for one month and immerse themselves in Mexican culture and psychology. (CS)

Students who wish to get bad grades should daydream, not read their textbooks or study manuals, avoid note taking, and procrastinate on assignments. This "manual" is used in an introductory psychology class to modify students' habits and change mediocre classroom behavior. (CS)

Self-study materials, consisting of abridged didactic information concerning basic aspects of exceptionalities, accompanied by written exercises aimed at fostering accepting attitudes toward exceptional children, were successfully used in a preservice teacher education course. The course was conducted without allocating large blocks of course time…

At the beginning of an introductory social psychology course, students were asked to rate their professor on a semantic differential scale. The results were compiled and used to generate questions about interpersonal perceptions, stereotypes, data collection, and the characteristics and limitations of social psychological research in general. (AM)

Recounts experiences in developing and implementing a one-hour credit elective service course for psychology majors entitled "Psychology as a Profession." The objective of the course is to provide systematic information about career options in psychology and to help undergraduate psychology majors plan their careers. (DB)

Describes abnormal psychology course centered around films which include "King of Hearts,""A Woman Under the Influence,""David and Lisa,""In Cold Blood," and "The Boys in the Band." Each film deals with a fundamental concept such as psychopathology, neurosis, psychosis, insanity, and sexuality. (KC)

Describes a course on communication skills in psychology that includes learning library research skills, writing research reports and term papers, making behavioral observation notes, and giving oral presentations. Shows that student performance in tests on knowledge of American Psychological Association principles improved during the course.…

An experimental psychology course which analyzes the broad probability of operant conditioning is described. (DE)

A course in teaching research methods in an experimental child psychology course is described. (DE)

A psychologist and an attorney use the state mental health system as a model in teaching the problems of mental health delivery. The essence of their course is conveyed through a sampling of teaching materials used, observations made, and issues covered. (Author/JH)

A course in behavioral self-control which uses the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) approach is described. (DE)

Describes and evaluates a college psychology course on death education (thanatology). Course objectives were to help students become aware of the feelings involved in facing death, encourage discussion on the subject of death, motivate students to change their attitudes about death, and encourage practical planning for funeral arrangements.…