PSY 44100 - Advanced Research In Personality And Social Psychology

In this course, students will have the opportunity to develop an advanced understanding of the principles, concepts, theories, and research methods used by personality and social psychologists. This course will demand a high level of student participation and responsibility in two broad ways. First, in place of standard lectures, students will be asked to actively participate in class discussions and demonstrations of central topics. Second, students will gain “hands-on” experience by conducting an empirical study pertaining to personality and social psychology, and by engaging in a variety of laboratory exercises.

Preparation for Course
P: PSY 20300 with a grade of C- or higher. Restricted to Psychology majors with Senior class standing.

Cr. 3.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Explain the philosophical underpinnings of science, the major philosophies of science, the nature of scientific theories, the replication crisis in psychology, and advances in scientific procedures and norms initiated by psychologists.
2. Explain and critically evaluate the major theories and principles in personality and social psychology.
3. Compare and contrast the major research paradigms and methodological designs used in personality and social psychology research.
4. Develop and empirically test theoretical propositions that integrate constructs across the areas of personality psychology and social psychology, including the development of valid manipulated and measured operational definitions, and procedures that adhere to the ethical guidelines of the APA and the Purdue University Institutional Review Board.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the logic of basic statistical tests, and apply specific statistical techniques appropriately, including correlation analyses, various analyses of variances, various regression analyses, and basic mediation and moderation analyses).
6. Demonstrate an ability to accurately interpret statistical output generated by the analyses listed above, leading to sound scientific conclusions, and the identification of alternative interpretations.
7. Present the findings of their empirical study using APA style in a formal, written manuscript, and in a short (14-16 minute) oral presentation.
8. Critically assess the pros and cons of their study (and other studies, in general), speculate reasonably on why certain unexpected findings emerged, offer insightful suggestions for additional research on the topic, and specify the implications that the theoretical research has for real-world concerns.