Research Participation Requirement for General Psychology Students

As many psychology students and faculty members are conducting research, there is a need for a pool of available research participants. To address this need, the Psychology Department has instituted a policy designed to provide a pool of subjects for experiments. All students in Psychology 114 (General Psychology) will be required to complete one of the options described below as part of the course requirements. While we hope that most students will select Option #1 (research participant), we also feel that students should not be forced to participate in the research option. For this reason, we have included a second "non-participant" option as well.

Students who choose Option #1 will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis, and any who are not selected will be informed in enough time for them to complete the second option. Due dates for Option #2 will be set by the individual instructors.

Satisfactory completion of the project will result in a grade of "Pass" of the option. A student who fails to complete one of the options by the end of the semester or who completes an option with the grade of "Fail" will receive a grade of "Incomplete" in the course until the work is satisfactorily completed.

If it appears that you cannot complete the research option on time, you will need to make arrangements with your instructor to complete the second option. If time is short, Option #2 is probably the best one to select.

RESEARCH OPTIONS

Option #1: Serving as a participant in one or more psychology studies for a total of 2 hours participation. Credit will be given for 1/2 hour blocks of time, depending on the length of the study. Sign-up sheets are located on the bulletin board outside the Psychology Department Office on the 6th floor of Donahue. If there are no studies available when you check the board or if you do not find a study that is convenient or interesting to you, check back from time to time, as new sign-up sheets will be added throughout the semester. After you have participated in a study, the investigator will give you a receipt. You need to give this receipt to your professor.

Option #2: Reading two articles in the latest Annual Editions: Psychology and writing a brief report on it. Students selecting this option need to go to the Psychology Department on the 6th floor of the Donahue Building and ask for a copy of the recent book from the Staff Secretary. After selecting two articles of interest and before writing the report, you must get your instructor’s approval of the articles. You then need to write a three to four page summary of each article, including one paragraph of reactions to it.