PSY 395 - Department of Psychology

PSY 395: Research Design and Measurement in Psychological Research
Spring Semester, 2015: Tuesday & Thursday 9:10am – 10:00am, B119 Wells Hall
Lab (see below for times), 012 Olds Hall
3.0 Credit Hours
Instructor: Dr. Jonathan Weaver
Office hours: Wednesday 10:30am – 2:30pm (or by appointment) in Psychology 252A
E-mail address: weaver71@msu.edu
TEXTS & MATERIALS: There are two required textbooks. Goodwin and Goodwin (2013)
should be available for purchase at the MSU Bookstore and other area bookstores. The Lowry
(n.d.) is available for free online.
Goodwin, C. J., & Goodwin, K. G. (2013). Research in psychology: Methods and design (7th ed.
Student value ed. for MSU), Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 9781119075172
Lowry, R. (n. d.). Concepts & applications of inferential statistics.
Available free from http://vassarstats.net/textbook/.
Finally, we will be using the I>CLICKER device (see www.iclicker.com for general
information) in the class. This is a device which will permit you to record your answers to miniquiz questions in class. Each student must have his/her own I>CLICKER (or I>CLICKER2 or
I>CLICKER+, but not the WEB>CLICKER). They are available (new or used) in local
bookstores, and can also be purchased new (amazon) or used (eBay) on the Internet.
To register your I>CLICKER go to www.iclicker.com and click on “Register” at the top
of the page. Complete the fields with your first name, last name, student ID, and remote
ID. Your student ID should be your MSU email. In the section for student id, you should
write your MSU netid including @msu.edu. For example, the instructor’s email address
is weaver71@msu.edu so he would enter this entire address under student id. Again, your
student ID should be your MSU email. DO NOT list your A-PID. The remote ID is the
series of numbers and sometimes letters found on the bottom of the back of your
I>CLICKER remote. If you cannot read the bar code on the back of your clicker, please
see me. Also, even if you registered your I>CLICKER last semester, you need to
register again this semester. If you’re using a used clicker, there is no need for the
previous owner to unregister. If you make a mistake registering just register again – the
correct information will take precedence.
We will use them every day in class, and you are responsible for bringing your
I>CLICKER daily.
COURSE WEBPAGE: On D2L (https://d2l.msu.edu/). This page will provide you with the
notes for the lectures, grades, and other important class information.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: There are four major goals for PSY 395. First, students will gain
mastery over basic concepts in psychological measurement and research design. Second,
students will learn how issues of measurement and design constrain the kinds of inferences that
are drawn from psychological research. Third, students will further develop their abilities to
critically evaluate psychological research, especially from a methodological perspective.
Finally, students will develop their writing skills by producing a well written final project.
PREREQUISITE:
Although PSY 395 is not exclusively a statistics course, you will apply the knowledge you
gained in PSY 295 such as correlations, t-tests, ANOVA, and basic regression. If it has been a
while since you have taken statistics, you will likely benefit from reviewing this material. If you
have any specific concerns about your understanding of the material from PSY 295, please do
not hesitate to contact me or your TA.
LABORATORY SECTIONS: Labs begin meeting the week of January 26th. You must attend
the lab section for which you are officially registered. They meet weekly in 012 Olds Hall. Here
is the list of laboratory sections and TAs:
Section
1
2
Day of the Week
Monday
Monday
Time
8:00am – 9:50am
4:10pm – 6:00pm
TA
Danielle
Allison
3
4
Tuesday
Tuesday
10:20am – 12:10pm
4:10pm – 6:00pm
David
Yixue
5
6
Wednesday
Wednesday
8:00am – 9:50am
12:40pm – 2:30pm
Allison
David
7
8
Thursday
Thursday
10:20am – 12:10am
4:10pm – 6:00pm
Sean
Sean
9
10
Friday
Friday
10:20am – 12:10pm
12:40pm – 2:30pm
Yixue
Danielle
 TA CONTACT INFORMATION 
Danielle Chiaramonte (Sections 1 and 10)
Email: chiaram1@msu.edu
Office Hours: Monday 10am-11am (or by appointment) in Psychology 9
Sean Deats (Sections 7 and 8)
Email: deatssea@msu.edu
Office Hours: Thursday 8am-9am (or by appointment) in Giltner 309
Allison Gornik (Sections 2 and 5)
Email: gornikal@msu.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday 10am-11am (or by appointment) in Psychology 40A
David Johnson (Sections 3 and 6)
Email: john3598@msu.edu
Office Hours: Monday 11am-12noon (or by appointment) in Psychology 244B
Yixue Wang (Sections 4 and 9)
Email: verawang18@gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesday 2pm-3pm (or by appointment) in Psychology 213
EVALUATION CRITERIA:
Exams: Four exams will be given in class. There will be no final/cumulative exam. Your three
best exam scores will account for 40% of your final grade. Your lowest exam score will be
dropped. The exams will consist of multiple-choice and true/false questions. The exams
emphasize material covered since the previous exam (in lecture and lab); however, the material
in this class is more or less cumulative given that basic concepts from the first portions of the
class are always relevant.
Make-up exams will only be given in case of a documented scheduled conflict, such as a
religious holiday or required participation in a university-sanctioned event. In case of a
scheduled conflict on an exam date, you must submit documentation at least two weeks in
advance of exam day. Absence from an exam for any other reason – including illnesses, family
obligations, job interviews, vacations, or unexpected events – will result in a grade of 0 for that
exam (but remember that your lowest exam grade will be dropped).
All Exams will begin at 9:10am. You may arrive late, but no more exams will be handed out
after the first student completes the exam. All Exams must be turned in by 10:00am. During
exams, you will only be permitted to have pencils and erasers at your desk. Please leave
refreshments or other materials zipped up in your book bag or do not bring them at all. Turn off
cellular phones – or, anything that makes noise – and please do not wear hats. Once the exam has
begun, there will be no talking or disruptions. Leaving the room is reserved for emergency
bathroom breaks only.
Mini-quizzes: During every class meeting, I will pose a number (usually 5-10) of multiple
choice questions that you will be able to answer using your I>CLICKER device. Here’s how this
will work. Each day you will get a certain % of these questions correct – your Quiz% for the day.
Excluding the first week of class (1/13 and 1/15) and days on which exams will be given, there
are 24 class meetings (yes, that includes poster presentation day). Therefore, you will have 24
such Quiz% scores. I realize that it may sometimes be necessary for you to unavoidably miss a
class, or there may be some days where you find it hard to grasp the material. To make
allowances for such occasions, I will drop your lowest six Quiz% scores. Thus, how many of the
Mini-quiz points you receive will be determined by your highest 18 Quiz% scores. Mini-quiz
questions will determine 5% of your course grade.
If you forget your I>CLICKER or if your batteries are dead, you cannot obtain credit for that day
of class. Excused or unexcused absences also will not receive credit for that day of class.
Please understand that in a class of over 200 students, there will be at least one person who
forgets their clicker or batteries each day and I simply cannot give credit in these circumstances.
Please do not ask! Also, please note that recording answers using anybody’s I>CLICKER
but your own constitutes providing false information to the Instructor and is a violation of
class and University rules.
Lab Reports: There are 3 lab reports. The first two are each worth 5% of your course grade. The
third is worth 10% of your course grade. In total, the lab reports account for 20% of your course
grade. Each one must be uploaded to D2L before the start of your lab the week they are due. No
late reports will be accepted. Lab work may be done in groups. Each student, however, must
write-up and turn in an independent report.
EVALUATION CRITERIA CONTINUED:
Final Term Project: The final project in PSY 395 is worth 35% of your course grade. STOP!
DO NOT STRESS OUT! Keep in mind that this project is broken down into multiple parts, and
takes the form of an original group research project and several of the laboratory sessions are
devoted to explaining this project. Your TA will assign you to research teams of 3 to 4 students;
however, written work must be completed independently. The project is broken down into the
following parts:
Proposal Overview Form: Worth 5% of your course grade and one form turned in per
team. This form will help your team organize and develop the research idea and study
you are proposing. The TA will provide comments and once the details are worked out
this document will serve as your "contract" for your final term project. All research
project topics MUST be approved by your TA.
Research Proposal: After your TA has given you an OK on your team project, each
individual will write up this information in a formal research proposal that develops an
empirical study, and you will conduct your designed study. The written research proposal
is worth 10% of your course grade and serves two purposes. First, it will help you get
started by writing the literature review and methods. Second, it will provide you with
feedback that you can incorporate into your final research paper. Each student must turn
in an individual written research proposal.
Final Research Paper: Each student will write a full APA-style research paper describing
the empirical study completed. The final research paper is worth 15% of your course
grade and each student must turn in an individual final project.
Final Research In-Lab and Poster Presentations: Additionally, each team will present
their findings in-lab and at a class wide poster presentation. Both are worth 2.5% of your
course grade (5% total) and will allow for feedback before handing in the written project.
Extra Credit: You may accumulate an additional 2% extra course points by participating in
ongoing research. All such participation will be through the Department of Psychology’s HPR
(Human Participation in Research) program. You will receive a credit for each half-hour that you
spend participating in an experiment. Each credit you earn is worth 0.2% extra-credit points in
this class, up to a maximum of 2% (or, 10 HPR credits). At the end of the syllabus are
instructions explaining how you sign up for these experiments. HPR credits must be earned
before noon on May 1st, 2015. Students under 18 are ineligible for HPR experiments. Contact
Leslie Baldwin (lbaldwin@msu.edu), the HPR Student Coordinator in Room 262, Psychology
Building, if you are under 18 in order to learn about non-HPR options or if you have any
questions about HPR. NOTE: Your instructor has nothing to do with HPR. Therefore, he cannot
answer your questions about logging into HPR, the available experiments, what to do if you noshow to an experiment, etc.
Alternative to research participation: You may write a research based paper that I have
designed for this situation. If you prefer this option you will have to make arrangements with me
by 3/26/15. I will then give you the specifics of the paper. This option will be gone after
3/26/15.
GRADING:
Your final grade will be based on the following course percentage points:
Requirement
Top 3 Exam Scores
Top 18 Mini-Quiz Scores
Lab Report 1
Lab Report 2
Lab Report 3
Proposal Overview Form
Written Research Proposal
Final Research In-Lab Presentation
Final Research Poster Presentation
Final Research Paper
Total
Extra Credit
% of final grade
40%
5%
5%
5%
10%
5%
10%
2.5%
2.5%
15%
100%
+2% potentially
The grading scale is as follows:
Percentage
89.50 – 100
84.50 – 89.49
79.50 – 84.49
74.50 – 79.49
69.50 – 74.49
64.50 – 69.49
59.50 – 64.49
0 – 59.49
Grade
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.0
I will adhere to these cut-offs. Extra credit is the only way to increase your point total if you are
concerned about falling on the wrong side on one of these cut-offs.
Policy on grade changes: At the end of the semester, if you believe that I made an error in
calculating your grade, please let me know. I will check your grade, and I will change it if I have
made an error. This is the only circumstance under which I will change a grade. Under no
circumstance will I “bump up” your grade, or give you a special extra credit opportunity. I never
do this, so please don’t ask. There will be no exceptions.
CHEATING: Article 2.3.3 of the Academic Freedom Report states that "The student shares
with the faculty the responsibility for maintaining the integrity of scholarship, grades, and
professional standards." In addition, the Psychology Department adheres to the policies on
academic honesty as specified in General Student Regulations 1.0, Protection of Scholarship and
Grades; the all-University Policy on Integrity of Scholarship and Grades; and Ordinance 17.00,
Examinations.
Therefore, unless authorized by your instructor, you are expected to complete all course
assignments, including homework, lab work, quizzes, tests and exams, without assistance from
any source. You are expected to develop original work for this course; therefore, you may not
submit course work you completed for another course to satisfy the requirements for this
course. Also, you are not authorized to use the www.allmsu.com Web site or similar websites to
complete any course work in this course. Students who violate MSU academic integrity rules
may receive a penalty grade, including a failing grade on the assignment or in the course. See
also: https://www.msu.edu/~ombud/academic-integrity/student-faq.html
Contact your instructor if you are unsure about the appropriateness of your course work.
In short, please do not do it.
POLICY ON RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES: If you anticipate being absent from class due to
a major religious observance, please provide notice of the date(s) to me, in writing, by the second
class meeting.
NOTE TAKING AND RECORDING: You are encouraged to take notes on the lecture and are
permitted to tape-record class sessions for your own purposes. However, you are not permitted to
take notes or tape-record for purposes of sale and distribution, no matter how financially
lucrative my lectures might be.
E-MAIL POLICY: E-mail is the best way to get a hold of us (Dr. Weaver, Danielle, Sean,
Allison, David, and Yixue). However, please use the following guidelines when e-mailing one of
us:
• First, ask yourself this question: “Can this question be answered by looking in the
syllabus or looking on the D2L course site?”
• Second, ask yourself this question: “Can this question be answered by looking in the
syllabus or looking on the D2L course site?”
• Please address the e-mail properly (i.e., Hi Allison; Hello Dr. Weaver).
• Refer to the course (PSY 395), so we know who you are.
• Proof read your e-mail. Is your question conveyed clearly with correct grammar and
spelling? Did autocorrect make it sound super weird?
• Please sign your e-mail with your full name, so we know who you are. We can’t wait to
get to know all of you, but maizeandbluearetheworst@spartans.com makes it hard for us
to know who you are.
• Use PSY 395 in the subject line that makes it clear you are a student in this course
asking a question. This helps to prevent e-mails from going directly to the junk folder.
• Be polite.
Check your e-mail regularly! During the course, we will e-mail you from time to time with
announcements and reminders. Please read these e-mails as soon as you receive them, and please
check your e-mail regularly.
STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: Students with disabilities should contact the Resource
Center for Persons with Disabilities to establish reasonable accommodations. For more
information, call 884-7273 (voice), 355-1293 (TTY), or visit http://rcpd.msu.edu. If you require
accommodations for exams, please notify the instructor as soon as possible. It is also your
responsibility to reserve a spot for each exam at the RCPD office.
ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE: This is a university and you are expected to produce college level
work. If you have any trouble with assignments or the material covered in class, please make an
appointment to speak with me. Additionally, the university has resources to assist students, such
as the Campus Tutorial Center, the Campus Writing Center, Adult Student Services, and more. A
lot is expected of you, but the university wants to help you to produce your best work.
DISCLAIMER: As the instructor, I reserve the right to make any changes that I deem necessary
to the details and/or policies listed in this syllabus. This includes adjusting the schedule
according to the pace of the course and the needs of the students. Check D2L regularly to keep
up with the topics. You will be given notice of any changes.
Dr. Weaver’s four rules for a happy, productive class:
1) Turn off cell phones. 2) Show up to lectures on time.
3) Ask questions. 4) Be courteous of other people.
PSY 395 Course Schedule for Spring 2015
DATE
Tuesday: 1/13
Thursday: 1/15
LECTURE TOPIC
What is Psychology?/Ethics
Ethics
Chapters 1 and 2
Chapters 1 and 2
Readings
Tuesday: 1/20
Thursday: 1/22
Basic Stats Review
Basic Stats Review
Review Lowry Online (4, 9, 10, 11, 12)
Review Lowry Online (4, 9, 10, 11, 12)
Tuesday: 1/27
Thursday: 1/29
Basic Ingredients of a Study
Scientific Inquiry
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Tuesday: 2/3
Thursday: 2/5
Scientific Inquiry
Scientific Inquiry
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Tuesday: 2/10
Thursday: 2/12
Exam 1
Chapter 3
Finishing Up Scientific Inquiry
Tuesday: 2/17
Thursday: 2/19
Measurement
Measurement
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Tuesday: 2/24
Thursday: 2/26
Measurement
Measurement
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Tuesday: 3/3
Sampling
Chapter 10 in MSU loose leaf addition / Ch.
12 in hard cover book (if purchased)
Exam 2
Thursday: 3/5
Tuesday: 3/10
Thursday: 3/12
Have a SAFE and fun
Spring Break!!!
Tuesday: 3/17
Survey Research
Thursday: 3/19
Experimental Research
Chapter 10 in MSU loose leaf addition / Ch.
12 in hard cover book (if purchased)
Chapter 5
Tuesday: 3/24
Thursday: 3/26
Experimental Research
Relational Research
Chapter 6
Chapter 9
Tuesday: 3/31
Thursday: 4/2
Relational Research
Tuesday: 4/7
Thursday: 4/9
Finishing Up Relational Research
Complex Experimental Design
Chapter 9
Chapter 7
Tuesday: 4/14
Thursday: 4/16
Complex Experimental Design
Interactions in ANOVA
Chapter 7; Lowry Online 14
Chapter 8; Lowry Online 16
Tuesday: 4/21
Thursday: 4/23
Interactions in ANOVA
Statistical Inference Problems
Chapter 8
Tuesday: 4/28
Thursday: 4/30
Chapter 9
Exam 3
Exam 4
Research Poster Presentations
Labs start the week of January 26th
Dates
Lab
Topic
Exercise
Jan. 26th – 30th
1
Observational Study
Lab Report 1 handed out
Feb. 2nd – 6th
2
Analysis of Observational Study
Feb. 9th – 13th
3
Data Collection
Lab Report 2 handed out
Feb. 16th – 20th
4
Analysis of Data
Lab Report 1 Due by the start of assigned lab time
Feb. 23rd – 27th
5
Analysis of Data
Lab Report 2 Due by the start of assigned lab time /
Lab Report 3 handed out
Mar. 2nd – 6th
6
Analysis of Data
Proposal Overview Form handed out
Mar. 9th – 13th
-
Mar. 16th – 20th
7
----------SPRING BREAK!!!----------
Work on Final Project
Lab Report 3 Due by the start of assigned lab time
Work on Final Project
Proposal Overview Form Due by the start of assigned
lab time
8
Mar. 23rd – 27th
Mar. 30th – Apr. 3rd
9
TA Feedback / Work on Final
Project
Apr. 6th – 10th
10
Work on Final Project / Prep for
Data Collection
Apr. 13th – Apr. 17th
11
Presentation Prep / Data Collection
Apr. 20th – 24th
12
Final Research In-Lab Presentations
-
Final Research Paper Due by 5pm
May 1st
Written Research Proposal due by the start of
assigned lab time
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY--DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Participation in Psychological Research: Information for Students
As part of your psychology course, you are encouraged to participate in research projects
conducted or supervised by the faculty of the department. The purpose of such participation is to
give you some direct experience with real experiments and to give you a better idea of how the
work of psychology is actually carried out. Participation is a course requirement for all sections of
PSY 101.
SPECIAL NOTE: Students under 18 years of age may not participate in any HPR
experiments. Special options have been created for students under 18 to meet the 14 credit
participation requirement. Contact Leslie Baldwin (lbaldwin@msu.edu) the HPR Student
Coordinator, if you are under 18 and want to learn more about these options.
Steps in Research Participation: Registering as a Participating Student
The purpose of this handout is to go over some of the things you will need to know before
participating in psychological research. The first step is registering. This, like nearly all your
scheduling activities is handled through a site on the Internet/World Wide Web. Its address is:
http://psychology.msu.edu/HPRSystem/
***If you have participated in the HPR in previous semesters you
will need to create a new account. ***
You can access it using standard Web browsers (such as Netscape, Firefox or Microsoft Explorer).
This will bring HPR main page. Click on the Participant button. The first time you visit this page
you must create your account. Click on the button that says Create an account - you will be
directed to the page that says Enter the Account Creation ID. This semester your Account
Creation ID is psych2015 – in the box used to enter the access code, type it just like this (in lower
case), then click on Enter. You will now see the registration page where you should provide all the
requested information. Once your account is created, you will be able to log directly into the
system with your user ID and MSU e-mail address. Please make sure you fill out all the fields in
the registration form. Registrations with incomplete fields will not be able to view the available
studies.
Among other things you will be asked to select the course and section number to which you wish
to have your participation credits credited. It is CRITICAL that you select the correct course and
section number. If you select an incorrect course or section, the credits that you earn through
participation will NOT be relayed to the proper instructor and will not be counted in calculating
your course grade. If you are enrolled in more than one participating class you will disperse
the credits you earn between the classes (credits cannot be shared) on the “My Schedule”
page on your HPR account.
During some semesters, experimenters may want to get some background information on those
participating in their experiments. They do this by having students answer Global Questionnaires.
The more of these that you fill out, the more experiments you will be eligible to participate in. So,
after registering, you should click on the Answer Global Questionnaires button and see if any are
posted.
Signing-up for research: You can sign up for experiments 24-hours a day on the Web site. To do
so, get to the Student Menu (following the procedure described above). Then, to see a list of all
experiments that are currently recruiting participants, click on the Sign up for an Experiment
button and follow the indicated directions. Please make sure you read the participant task and
any restrictions for the experiment you are signing up for.
Canceling appointments: Experimenters have invested a great deal of time and money in
preparing an experiment. This goes to waste if you fail to keep your appointment. In such
cases, you can cancel your appointment 24 hrs prior to the start time by clicking on the button
marked View/Modify My Schedule at the Student Menu on the Web site and following the
instructions for canceling an appointment. (You need to know the name of the experiment and
the date/time you signed up for.) If it is after the 24 hour deadline you need to e-mail the HPR
student coordinator, Leslie Baldwin, (lbaldwin@msu.edu ).
If you lost the appointment time and place: Sometimes, people mislay the date-time-location
information for an experiment they've signed up for. If this happens to you and you ever need to
check on your appointments (where you're supposed to be and when), you can always click on the
button marked View/Modify my Schedule at the Web site to get this information. You can save
yourself a lot of trouble by writing down all the information and keeping it in a safe place.
Reporting for a research appointment: Be sure to give yourself enough time to get to the
experiment on time, (Arriving 10 minutes before the experiment is to begin is suggested) If you
are late, you could find the experiment in progress and the door locked. On rare occasions, an
experimenter may not make his/her appointment with you because of unusual circumstances (e.g.,
a car breakdown, a personal emergency). If this happens contact Leslie Baldwin, the HPR student
coordinator in Room 262, Psychology Building or email her at: lbaldwin@msu.edu to report it
(email is preferred).
Rights of Students Participating in Psychology Research
Participation must be voluntary/optional activities. First, it is Department, University, and
Federal policy that no student be compelled in any way to participate in research. If you
participate in research, it must be done voluntarily. Therefore, even in classes where research
participation is required, students must be offered one or more alternative activities to meet their
requirement. If you want to avail yourself of such an alternative activity, you may get information
from your professor. Note that on rare occasions there are more people interested in participating
in experiments than there are openings in the experiments. If this occurs this semester, additional
alternative activities will be provided later in the semester.
Participation should be educational. Second, participating in research should be a learning
experience for you. You have a right to obtain information about the experiments in which you
serve as a participant. You are entitled to have your questions about the experiment answered.
Also, at least five minutes of every experimental session must be devoted to teaching you
something about the experiment. You are entitled to receive a written summary of the experiment,
including the name and phone number of the person in charge of the experiment, whom you may
contact if you have additional questions.
The right to discontinue participation: Third, the Department of Psychology is highly
concerned that no study be conducted that would in any way be harmful to you. Even so, it is
possible that in rare cases you will feel uncomfortable about participating in a study for which you
have volunteered. Just remember, you always have the right to leave any experiment. You don't
have to explain or justify why you want to leave, and you can never be penalized for leaving.
The right to receive earned credits: Finally, if you do what you're supposed to do (sign up
properly, show up at the right place at the right time, etc.), you have a right to receive the credit
you've earned. So, for example, even if an experimenter has an equipment breakdown, you're still
entitled to receive credit for the time you've spent in the study. However, do not sign up for the
same study twice. Please remember that credit values are based on the time it takes to
complete a study, (1 credit equal to 30 minutes) and not the study itself. Credits are not
automatically awarded and it may take researchers a few days to collect their data and
record attendance. The HPR does not penalize participants for missing studies but we do
appreciate being notified if you cannot make your session. Participants are NOT penalized
for No Shows or if they cancel an appointment.
Reporting problems: If you ever encounter some problem or feel that your rights have been
violated, we want to know about it. Problems you have will be handled by Leslie Baldwin, the
HPR student coordinator, email address lbaldwin@msu.edu or come to Room 262 Psychology
Building. They will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken. You will need to know
the name of the experiment and the date/time you signed up for.
Conclusions: We want to emphasize that negative experiences are very rare; most students who
serve as participants in research at Michigan State find their participation interesting and enjoyable.
When you serve as a participant in psychological research you're benefiting personally by learning
more about what the science of psychology is really about, but you're also benefiting many others.
Others like the psychologists who are working to get a better understanding of interesting and
important behavioral questions. Others like people who will benefit when that knowledge is
ultimately applied to everyday human problems like loneliness, depression, divorce, and selfdevelopment. And others like future generations of students. Who knows? Perhaps the research
you participate in this semester will be featured in future psychology textbooks, just as some of the
experiments you'll study this semester had their data supplied by previous generations of MSU
students. We hope and expect that you'll put as much in and get as much out of research
participation as they did.