Dr. Arruda’s Student Learning Outcomes

At the completion of Experimental Psychology the successful student should be able to:

1. Describe the critical distinctions between scientific and non-scientific approaches to understanding behavior;

2. Describe how psychological concepts, constructs, and variables are operationally defined;

3. Identify the independent and dependent variables of a hypothesis;

4. Select an appropriate research methodology to test a variety of hypotheses and predictions;

5. Perform appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical analyses to obtain valid research results;

6. Describe and to adhere to ethical standards for conducting psychological research.

Dr. Gould's Student Learning Outcomes:

Objectives of this course are that as a result of careful study of the course materials and fulfillment of the course assignments students should be able (among other things) to:

1. Identify the goals, assumptions, and requirements of science;

2. Distinguish between descriptive research and experimental research;

3. Recognize, in their typical sequence, the several steps of the scientific method;

4. Distinguish betweenindependent and dependent variables of research designs;

5. Indicate the definitions of and relationship between validity and reliability;

6. Recognize intervening variables and their relationship to other variables;

7. Recognize the characteristics and functions of operational definitions;

8. Identify ethical research issues involving humans and nonhumans;

9. Indicate the two meanings of experimental control;

10. Recognize the various forms of extraneous variables, and the control techniques;

11. Distinguish among the three general sources of variance in research;

12. Differentiate the three types of dependent variable variance;

13. Identify the three minimax principles of variance in research;

14. Identify when to apply the various control techniques for extraneous variables;

15. Indicate the components of experimental research designs;

16. Identify the determinants for selecting research designs;

17. Indicate the criteria for evaluating research designs;

18. Distinguish among pre-experimental, quasi-experimental, and experimental research designs--and identify their relative strengths and weaknesses;

19. Recognize interactions in factorial designs;

20. Distinguish between populations and samples;

21. Recognize the principles of sampling reliability, distributions, error, and validity;

22. Distinguish among the various generalization and validity concerns in research;

23. Identify the four major sampling techniques in research, and their pros & cons;

24. Distinguish between research hypotheses and null hypotheses;

25. Recognize the difference between proof and disproof;

26. Distinguish between Type I and Type II Errors;

27. Recognize the researcher’s dilemma when choosing levels of significance;

28. Identify the concept of statistical power/sensitivity and its determinants;

29. Identify the relationship between hypothesis testing and sampling distributions of differences between pairs of means;

30. Distinguish between statistical significance and practical significance.

Dr. Arruda’s Student Learning Outcomes

At the completion of the Experimental Psychology laboratory the successful student should be able to:

1. locate, read and comprehend research articles in professional journals on a given topic;

2. formulate research hypotheses and predictions that are testable;

3. select an appropriate research methodology to test hypotheses and predictions;

4. select or construct specific research instruments or techniques to collect the data needed to test hypotheses and predictions;

5. perform appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical analyses to obtain valid research results;

6. correctly interpret research findings in relation to research hypotheses and predictions, including limitations and qualifications of the findings;

7. describe in writing the research process and outcome following professionally established style requirements;

8. describe and to adhere to ethical standards for conducting psychological research.

Dr. Gould's Student Learning Outcomes:

The objectives of the laboratory section of Experimental Psychology are to familiarize students with experimental (as well as descriptive) research methods by providing "hands-on" experiences--through a series of exercises--in designing, conducting, analyzing, interpreting, and writing up psychological research. As a result of careful study and fulfillment of the course assignments, students should be able (among other things) to:

1. Develop experimental research problems in psychology

2. Conduct reviews of the scientific literature relevant to chosen research problems

3. Formulate research hypotheses

4. Design experimental psychology studies

5. Run pilot studies

6. Execute experimental studies by collecting research data under carefully controlled conditions

7. Summarize and statistically analyze research data

8. Evaluate research results and draw conclusions pertaining to hypotheses

9. Communicate research studies in oral, written, and poster formats

Student Learning Outcomes

At the completion of Sensation and Perception, the successful student should be able to:

1. identify and demonstrate a basic understanding of the three methodologies commonly used in the study of sensory and perceptual systems, including the physiological, psychophysical, and cognitive approaches;

2. identify the basic neuroanatomy associated with the visual, auditory, somatosensory, olfactory, and gustatory systems;

3. demonstrate through written means a basic understanding of sensory and perceptual processes as they pertain to human experience and behavior;

4. use theories to explain and predict sensory and perceptual processes

5. think and read critically;

6. integrate the course content to the broader area of Psychology as the scientific study of human behavior.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. apply the principles of psychology (e.g., human physiology, behavior, and cognition) to the understanding and design of everyday work activities;

2. use the methodologies and tools of the human factors discipline to analyze, critique, and solve problems associated with human-machine interaction;

3. develop (conceptually) user-friendly human-machine interfaces. 

Students will never view their own experiences with modern technology in the same way, as they will gain an appreciation for the capabilities and limitations of humans in human-machine systems. 

Student Learning Outcomes: Students will acquire a very broad and practical knowledge of the intertwined fields of learning and motivation across all levels of being (biological, behavioral, personal, transpersonal).  Students have the option to supplement this knowledge with additional reading, a personal project, or an experiment.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:

1. Critically evaluate and integrate literature on memory and cognition.

2. Identify and Explain methodologies used for research on memory and cognition.

3. Correctly use the editorial style of the American Psychological Association.

4. Explain and identify components and properties of memory systems.

5. Evaluate the limitations of memory accuracy. Understand and describe the mechanisms that contribute to distortions and inaccuracies in memory recollection.

6. Apply memory research to improve their memory for information.

7. Explain psychological research on the strengths and weaknesses of human thinking, reasoning, problem solving, judgment, and decision making.

8. Apply these findings to improve their own critical thinking skills.

9. Identify and explain social and cultural influences on cognition.

10. Explain how memory and cognition work together to create complex thought.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:

1. Critically evaluate and integrate research on memory and cognition.

2. Identify and Explain methodologies used for research on memory and cognition.

3. Write methods and results sections using the editorial style of the American Psychological Association.

4. Use computer software (Microsoft Excel and SPSS) to enter, and analyze data from psychological research.

5. Develop a research proposal on a topic in Cognitive Psychology.

6. Collect data from participants using appropriate controls and adhering to the ethical standards of conducting research in Memory and Cognition.

Student Learning Outcomes

At the completion of Sensation and Perception, the successful student should be able to:

1. Identify and demonstrate an understanding of the three methodologies commonly used in the study of sensory and perceptual systems, including the physiological, psychophysical, and cognitive approaches;

2. identify the basic neuroanatomy associated with the visual, auditory, somatosensory, olfactory, and gustatory systems;

3. demonstrate through written means an advanced understanding of sensory and perceptual processes as they pertain to human experience and behavior;

4. demonstrate through oral means an advanced understanding of sensory and perceptual processes as they pertain to human experience and behavior;

5. use theories to explain and predict sensory and perceptual processes;

6. think and read critically;

7. integrate the course content to the broader area of Psychology as the scientific study of human behavior and cognition.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. apply the principles of psychology (e.g., human physiology, behavior, and cognition) to the understanding and design of everyday work activities;

2. use the methodologies and tools of the human factors discipline to analyze, critique, and solve problems associated with human-machine interaction;

2.develop (conceptually) user-friendly human-machine interfaces. 

Students will never view their own experiences with modern technology in the same way, as they will gain an appreciation for the capabilities and limitations of humans in human-machine systems. 

Student Learning Outcomes:

The successful student will be able to:

1. Describe and understand the theoretical and empirical background on judgment and decision making.

2. Describe normative and probabilistic models for decision making.

3. Identify heuristics and biases in decision making.

4. Describe naturalistic decision making and differentiate this from normative models of decision making.

5. Describe the differences between expert and novice decision makers in terms of knowledge and information processing strategies.

6. Understand the development of expertise in decision making.

7. Develop a detailed knowledge and understanding of theory and empirical data concerning decision making within a specific domain of knowledge.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this course should exhibit competence in the following areas:

1. Describe the historical development of cognitive psychology.

2. Identify, describe, and discriminate among the different theoretical approaches to memory.

3. Outline the various models of attention and discuss neural correlates of attention.

4. Explain the relation between perceptual process and other cognitive processes.

5. Discuss the research and current models of short-term and working memory.

6. Understand and explain the role of encoding and retrieval processes in long-term retention.

7. Describe the role of knowledge and expertise in the acquisition, retention, and use of information.

8. Describe the mechanisms that contribute to forgetting, distortions, and other memory inaccuracies.

9. Evaluate the limitations of memory accuracy for the recall of personal events in applications such as eyewitness testimony and report of significant personal events during therapy.

10. Describe metacognitive processes and explain how these might be used to improve skill in memory or cognition.

11. Describe the encoding, representation, and retrieval of visual and spatial information.

12. Outline the models for the representation of general knowledge.

13. Discuss the development and use of language.

14. Describe heuristics and biases that influence judgment and decision making.

15. Discuss developmental issues in cognition, both in early and late life.

16. Demonstrate an extended knowledge of a topic of research related to memory and cognition by reviewing current research in the primary literature and integrating these new findings with models discussed during class.