Detailed Table of Contents Unit 1: The Science of Psychology Investigating Variation in Replicability: A "Many Labs" Replication Project , Richard A. Klein, et al., Social Psychology , 2014 A classic saying from science is "if it hasn''t happened twice, it hasn''t happened." A team of 51 researchers collaborated to replicate the research findings of 10 previously published studies. Surprisingly, some of the published outcomes did not replicate, and the reasons for failed replication were not due to lab versus online testing or United States versus international samples. That''s So Random: Why We Persist in Seeing Streaks , Carl Zimmer, The New York Times , 2014 Humans can have a difficult time in recognizing patterns; sometimes we see patterns that are not present, and other times we miss patterns occurring in front of us. The ability to understand when an event is random (or not) can have momentous influence on how we make decisions. Trigger Warnings in Psychology: Psychology Teachers'' Perspectives and Practices , Guy A.
Boysen and Loreto R. Prieto, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 2018 Psychology instructors often address topics of a sensitive nature, and if a topic coincides with a students'' personal history, this could trigger a negative experience. The intention of a "trigger warning" is to give students a preview of topics to be discussed in order to avoid potential negative experience. These researchers surveyed psychology instructors to determined how many instructors have used trigger warnings and how often trigger warnings are typically issued. A Manifesto for Reproducible Science , Marcus R. Munafò, et al., Nature Human Behavior , 2017 A key element of scientific findings is predictability or reproducibility; that is, if a psychological effect happens once, it should happen again under the same or similar conditions. Recent disciplinary introspection demonstrates that replications are not occurring as desired.
These authors propose to improve the reliability and efficiency of scientific research with specific suggestions in hopes of making scientific research more transparent, more reproducible, and more efficient. Unit 2: Biological Bases of Behavior Sleep Deprivation and False Confessions , Steven J. Frenda, et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 2016 From 15 percent to 25 percent of criminal convictions in the United States occur due to false confessions. In a fascinating research study, these authors report that individuals who were in sleep-deprived states (after having been up all night) were 4.5 more likely to offer a false confession compared to normally rested participants. Innocence or guilt may heavily rely on a good night''s sleep. Could a Dose of Sunshine Make You Smarter? Ruth Williams, The Scientist , 2018 Researchers exposed mice to ultraviolet (UV) light similar to sunlight, and this UV exposure eventually lead to the increased production of glutamate, a neurotransmitter linked to learning and memory.
Given that UV light is typically thought of as dangerous, a beneficial effect such as potentially enhanced learning and memory is striking. Does this beneficial effect hold true for humans as it does for mice? The Largest Health Disparity We Don''t Talk About , Dhruv Khullar, The New York Times , 2018 Individuals suffering with a mental illness often do not receive the mental health services they need, but as it turns out, they often do not receive the physical health services they need as well. U.S. citizens with a mental disorder (such as depression or bipolar disorder) die 15-30 years younger than those without a mental disorder. For physicians, the two key factors that have been identified are probably therapeutic pessimism and diagnostic overshadowing. Using Deviance Regulation Theory to Target Marijuana Use Intentions among College Students , Robert D. Dvorak et al.
, Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology , 2018 Deviance regulation theory (DRT) is based on the ideas that people who engage in uncommon behaviors tend to stand out and that information about these individuals is particularly important and valuable--this messaging is a signal to others how they would be perceived if they were to engage in the uncommon behavior. Using DRT and recognizing that marijuana use is on the rise with college-age samples, these researchers used a positively framed message about marijuana abstainers or a negatively framed message about marijuana users over three months and then measured students'' intent to use. Unit 3: Perceptual Processes Some People Are More Likely to See Faces in Things , Moheb Constandi, Braindecoder , 2015 The ability to see images in places where those images are unlikely to exist (e.g., seeing the image of a famous historical figure in a slice of toast) is called pareidolia. This reporter writes about recent research where the ability to detect such images is related to both personality characteristics and current mood states. A New Way to Trick the Brain and Beat Jet Lag , Randy Rieland, Smithsonian , 2016 There are certain tricks that researchers are uncovering about the relationship between brain function and interacting in our environment. In one study, researchers were able to reduce the amount of jet lag (sleepiness) by manipulating the light that passes through the eyelids.
Other new research-based "tricks" involve not "watching" what you eat and not thinking too much about that new, desired habit. Understanding Human Perception by Human-made Illusions , Claus-Christian Carbon, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience , 2014 Although visual illusions can be fun to view, researchers believe that by studying the limitations of human perception, the cognitive processes that drive perception can be better understood. The author believes that by garnering attention to the visual illusions, viewers can become more interested in understanding and studying the psychological phenomena that cause these illusions in the first place. Evoking the Ineffable: The Phenomenology of Extreme Sports , Eric Brymer and Robert D. Schweitzer, Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice , 2017 Extreme sports, characterized as a leisure activity in which a mistake or accident would likely cause death, are experiencing rapid growth while many traditional sports are suffering from declining participation. Based on interviews with 15 extreme sports participants in this research study, the authors extract three themes that shed insight into one''s attraction to extreme sports: (a) extreme sports as invigorating experience, (b) inadequacy of words, and (c) participants'' experience of transcendence. Unit 4: Learning You Have No Idea What Happened , Maria Konnikova, The New Yorker , 2015 Researchers now understand that memories for emotional events are truly different than memories for regular, everyday events. One''s confidence in a recollection of events may be related to the emotionality of that event.
A ''Learning'' Attitude Helps Boost Job Search Success , Scott Sleek, Alexandra Michel, and Anna Mikulak, APS Observer , 2015 When college seniors viewed their job search as an opportunity to learn, they successfully increased their chances of landing a job. Also, researchers reported that a moderate amount of stress helped job seekers be successful--thus, stress is not always universally bad. The Science of Learning: Five Classic Studies , Tom Stafford, The Guardian , 2015 This is a very nice summary of five key studies in the psychology of learning. The studies selected by the author describe the construction and recollection of memories over time, the operant behavior of rats, multiple memory systems, how novices and experts think about situations differently (like chess), and the thousands of hours that it takes to acquire expertise. B. F. Skinner at Harvard , Gregory A. Briker, The Harvard Crimson , 2014 In this retrospective piece about B.
F. Skinner, his graduate school habits and freedom to conduct research at Harvard are discussed and examined. Unit 5: Cognitive Processes Cognitive Shields: Investigating Protections against Dementia , Andrew Merluzzi, APS Observer , 2015 Researchers have recently indicated that over a lifetime, individuals can build a "cognitive reserve" which may serve as a protective factor from dementia. Multiple researchers in multiple laboratories are exploring different methods of encouraging individuals to build their cognitive reserve. Getting a Scientific Message across Means Taking Human Nature into Account , Rose Hendricks, The Conversation ,.