Issues in the effective use of computers in introductory and advanced courses in psychology

The recent proliferation of time-shared terminals, computers, and instructional software is producing a dramatic change in undergraduate education in psychology. Although computers have been used for many years in research in psychology, their use as instructional alternatives only recently has been thrust upon the academic community, a development for which many faculty-even experienced computer users—are ill prepared. The use of computers and microcomputers in instruction can provide the instructor, and more importantly, the student, with an effective pedagogical tool. However, computers cannot be introduced into the curriculum in a piecemeal or haphazard fashion. In this paper, issues involved in the effective introduction and use of computers in teaching are outlined.     

Using computers in empirical and theoretical work in cognitive psychology

This article presents some of the issues I have faced in setting up my own laboratory system for research in cognitive psychology. First, for real-time subject testing systems, criteria for choosing hardware and software are presented along with a brief discussion of benchmarks. Stimulus generation and data analysis choices are also discussed. Second, choices of software for data analysis and data exploration are presented, including graphical presentation, statistics, and modeling tools. Third, some consideration is given to benchmarking workstations to be used in modeling (neural modeling in particular), and benchmarks of some of the fastest single processor systems available are presented. Fourth, two examples of the use of the various theoretical tools are given—one for testing compound cue models of priming, and the other for testing global memory models.     

Teaching the introductory course in psychology circa 1900

Teachers of introductory courses in psychology and those who wrote the textbooks for the courses at the start of the 20th century represented the new psychology that replaced the old psychology of mental philosophy. Teachers and texts presented psychology as a natural science of the mind and mental processes, described its methods, and suggested its potential applications to practical concerns. Textbooks and teachers varied in their approaches to psychology, their priorities among its methods, and their emphases on applying psychology. The introductory course in psychology accurately reflected the state of the discipline at the turn of the century.     

Java experiments for introductory cognitive psychology courses

Interactive on-line experiments provide a unique and useful method for communicating material to students that is otherwise cumbersome and often confusing. The Java programming language is particularly suited for Internet-based programming applications of this sort because it bypasses many technical issues, including resource availability, security, and cross-platform compatibility. In most cases, topics appropriate to this medium of presentation should (1) not be easily demonstrated by other means, (2) represent an important finding in the field, and (3) be robust with respect to variations in both participants and equipment. The present paper outlines the integration of interactive experiments into an introductory cognitive psychology classroom, describing several experiments currently available on the World-Wide Web (WWW). Evaluation of the technical aspects of the technology as well as expansion of the format to other courses is discussed.     

Teaching experimental psychology with on-line computers

The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of on-line computers in the teaching of experimental methodology. Computer models are featured.     

Using java in introductory statistics

In this paper, we discuss the use of Java, a programming language for the Internet, in introductory statistics courses. Monte Carlo estimation and simple linear regression are used as tutorial examples of the versatility of Java. Advantages over traditional instructional methods and other programming languages are examined.     

On-line computers in psychology: A laboratory course for advanced psychology majors

This course is structured as a series of increasingly difficult projects which involve students in all aspects of using computers for experimentation. Projects range from programming simple experiments utilizing monitor displays and keyboard responses to the use of hardware interfaces to connect complex peripherals. Students not only design and develop their projects, but also engage in data collection and analysis. The course provides experience with hardware and software as well as the intricacies of debugging the resulting project.     

Design and evaluation of a programmed course in introductory psychology

The design of a programmed course in introductory psychology, utilizing an interview procedure, is described. The performance of students in this course was compared with that of students covering the same subject matter but taught in a more conventional manner. Students in the experimental course scored significantly higher on objective and essay final examinations and rated the course more positively.     

Contingency management in an introductory psychology course produces better learning

For the contingency management techniques first devised by Keller (1966, 1968) to become a widely accepted teaching method, it is necessary that they be shown (1) to be applicable to general subject matter and (2) to be superior to traditional lecture methods. The present study demonstrated (1) by successfully teaching the material from a standard psychology text. The superiority of contingency management was established by direct comparison of final examination scores from comparable groups taught the same subject matter by either Keller's method or traditional methods. Students taught by Keller's method also rated the course more favorably.     

An introductory psychology laboratory system featuring inexpensive time-shared record-keeping

At California State University, Fresno, the introductory psychology lecture sections operate independently of the laboratory system. Each week, the faculty supervisor prepares the teaching assistants to instruct the following week’s laboratory presentation. The department’s subject pool is also administered through the laboratory system. At the end of the semester, the lecture instructors are supplied with laboratory grades for incorporation into the overall course grades. Record-keeping, especially for the subject pool, was a major problem until we computerized its various components. We use one of the university’s time-sharing systems for this purpose, which has proven cost effective, secure, and quite efficient.     

The impact of computers on cognitive psychology

Computer developments and their applications in cognitive psychology are reviewed. Examples from recent studies illustrate the ways that computers are used for different research purposes: stimulus generation, on-line interactive experimental control, response collection, data analysis, and theory building. A quantitative analysis of federal funding for computer-based and noncomputer research compares costs over the past 9 years for the areas of perception, memory, learning, and thinking. A tabulation of journal articles relevant to computer-based cognitive research shows the distribution of articles over various categories of hardware and software development. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of using computers in cognitive research are evaluated.