REQUIRED TEXTS: Jaccard, J. & Becker, M. A. (1997). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. Brooks/Cole.

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES: The present course is designed to further instruct the student on the methods of psychological research The course places special emphasis on experimental techniques research design, and data analysis. Through readings, classroom lectures, and homework exercises, you will learn to understand, decipher, and interpret journal articles from the psychological literature; an important initial step in the process of conducting psychological research.

The main difference between PSY 76 and PSY 77 is that in PSY 77 you (as a group) will carry out an original research project under my supervision. Please note that, these studies are somewhat original in nature (i.e., a study that might have already been carried out, but with additional independent variables, improved methodology, or different dependent measures). Consequently, the results may serve as pilot studies for future projects which you may want to carry out as independent studies (PSY 30). In the past a number of our students have presented their collaborative work with the faculty at professional conferences and/or subsequently published such work in scientific journals. Anyone interested in carrying independent research should make an appointment with one of us (Dr. Vigorito, Dr. Drucker, or me) to discuss the availability of projects or to hear about your ideas.

PSY 77 places its primary emphases on three areas: a) knowledge of experimental research methodology and associated problems; b) knowledge of the various statistical techniques available to analyze data; and most important c) a professionally written, publication-ready research study in Psychology. Finally, and by far most difficult of all, the course attempts to aid you in the acquisition of a truly scientific spirit in the understanding of psychological phenomena. In the process, it is my sincere hope that you will also acquire a point of view which is sensitive to scientific truth as well as to the systematic processes by which it is established.

GRADING SYSTEM: 10% - based upon your homework exercises and lab/class assignments. All homework exercises will be collected and reviewed. The work will be recorded in my grade book as acceptable or unacceptable. With no exceptions, failure to submit ONE exercise, submitting it late, or one that has been inadequately completed (e.g., incomplete or poorly done) will result in a deduction of 3 percentage points toward this grade. Thus, if you hand one exercise late your Homework contribution toward the final grade will be 7% instead of 10.

40% - based upon 2 examinations (midterm-20% and a final-30%) from class lectures and information from the textbooks, handouts, and class discussions. The final exam will include excerpts of experiments and you will have to identify the relevant variables, experimental design, appropriate statistical techniques to be used for data analyses, etc. You will also have to carry out some statistical analyses. Consequently, this exam which will be given during the week of final exams will take much longer than the normally allotted two hours.

IMPORTANT POINTS:

1. In most cases, the homework assignments will come in the form of handouts which will be distributed periodically. These handouts have been especially prepared so that careful reading of the instructions will enable the student to find his/her way through the exercise without difficulty.

2. Attendance, as well as punctuality, are extremely important in this course. Active and responsible participation is encouraged as it will greatly facilitate the learning process. Although class participation is not going to be formally graded (or the lack of it penalized), it is strongly encouraged. Please note, however, that class participation constitutes asking a question or making a comment when the student raises his or her hand and the instructor calls on the student. During lectures, no other interaction between students will be tolerated. I reserve the right to dismiss from class any student who, in my view, is disruptive.

3. You should do your readings, homework, papers, and any other work as soon as I assign the work. Late homework submissions will be penalized, without exception, by deducting 1% of the grade from the Homework portion of the grade for EACH DAY that the assignment is late. In the event that I forget to collect homework on the date that it is due, YOU are held responsible to hand it in. All assignment and exam dates will be announced in class ahead of time.

4. The assigned readings should be done on time. This will enable you to come prepared to class, to ask intelligent questions, and to make intelligent comments. When asking questions or making comments please raise your hand and wait until I call on you. Also, the following words/phrases are not to be used in this course: prove, proven, society, like a, sort of, you know. Be sure to use the terms hypothesis and theory correctly (see also below).

5. You will need an electronic calculator with at least the following functions: square root, squaring operation, additional memories (optional), and the capability to handle large numbers. Once we begin covering statistics, bring your calculator and statistics book to class EVERYDAY.

6. For some lab sessions you may be required to purchase and bring to class minor items such as index cards, a ruler, color paper, etc. for the construction of stimuli. An announcement of the items required will be made in class. Please pay attention to all announcements made in class. You are responsible for obtaining any information covered in class during an absence.

7. If you wish to review an exam you are to make an appointment with me and I will give you access to the exam paper. If you want to double check an answer or find the correct answer to a question that was marked wrong, bring your textbook and class notes to the office and look up the answer there. I will not provide you with the answers for you. However, I will be happy to explain a particular answer only after you have searched for the answer on your own.

MONITORING YOUR GRADES - You should always know your academic standing for this course. The following is the grading system used in all of my classes.

00.00 - 56.99 ------ F+ 90.00 - 100. ------- A
57.00 - 62.99 ------ D 85.00 - 89.99 ------ B+
63.00 - 69.99 ------ D+ 80.00 - 84.99 ------ B
70.00 - 74.99 ------ C 75.00 - 79.99 ------ C+

The following are some of the words which are frequently misspelled or misused: effects/ affects, conclusion, experimenter, results, hypothesis/hypotheses, theory, dependent/ independent, repetition, study/experiment. Be sure that you to spell them correctly. Any misuse of these terms in an assignment will automatically result in 10% reduction of the grade in that assignment.

RESERVE READINGS: These articles, book chapters, etc. are available in the library. Some of these resources will be used as references for your projects. Others, e.g., Anderson, will be given as reading assignments during the semester. Please note that additional materials may be placed on reserve.

Dunivin, D., & Zenhausern, R. (1981). Differential hemispheric activation and handedness and hysterical and obsessive personality styles. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 17, 23-25.

Roig, M. (1985). Hemispheric cognitive style and reflection and impulsivity. the Proceedings of the Association of Human Resources Management and Organizational Behavior, 2, 146-151.

Roig, M. (1990). Hemispheric cognitive style, sex, and torque. Unpublished, typed, corrected draft with editorial notations.

Roig, M. (1990). Hemisphericity style, sex, and torque. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, 539-544.

Roig, M. & Placakis, N. (1992). Hemisphericity Style, sex, and performance on a mirror tracing task. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 74, 1143-1148.

Roig, M., & Neaman, M. W. (1992). Hemisphericity style and belief in ESP. Psychological Reports, 71, 995-1000.

Roig, M., & Ryan, R. (1993). Hemisphericity style, sex, and performance on a letter detection task. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 77, 831-834.

Roig, M., & Cicero, F. (April, 1994). Sex differences but no hemisphericity style differences in a line bisection task. Poster paper presented at the 64th annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Arlington, VA.

Roig, M., & Cicero, F. (1994). Hemisphericity style, sex, and performance on a line bisection task: An exploratory study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 78, 115-120. (expanded article based on the EPA presentation above).

Roig, M. & Pederson, P. A. (April, 1993). Hemisphericity Style and social desirability. Poster paper presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Arlington, VA.

Student Author 1. (1995). Hemisphericity style and concurrent verbalization effects on a unimanual skill. Model paper with corrections submitted to PSY 77.

Student Author 2. (1995). Right vs. left hand tapping under conditions of right hemisphericity activity by left and right hemisphericity-style subjects. Student paper submitted to PSY 77.

Zenhausern, R. (1978). Imagery, cerebral dominance, and style of thinking: Unified field model. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 12, 381-384.

Zenhausern, R., & Gebhart, M. (1979). Hemispheric dominance in recall and recognition. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 14, 71-3.

Zenhausern, R., & Nickel L. (1979). Hemispheric dominance and maze learning. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 14, 435-436.

Zenhausern R., Notaro, J., Grosso, J., & Schiano, P. (1982). The interaction of hemispheric preference, laterality, and sex in the perception of emotional tone and verbal content. International Journal of Neuroscience, 13, 121-126.

Anderson, B. (1974) The Psychology Experiment (2nd ed.). Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

Chapt. 1: "Introduction" Chapt. 2: "The scientific method"
Chapt. 3: "The experiment" Chapt. 5: "Steps in conducting an exp."

SPECIAL NOTE: PSY 77 is one of the most difficult (if not the most difficult) and intensive (a lot of reading; a lot of work) courses in the Psychology curriculum. The grade obtained in this course will be of keen interest to graduate school admissions officers who review your application. Be advised that if you ask me and I agree to write a letter of recommendation for you (for whatever purpose, graduate school, job, etc.), my comments about you will, to a large extent, be based on your general performance (aptitude, attitude, academic performance, etc.) in this class. I strongly recommend that you keep this special note in mind throughout the semester.

CHANGES: I reserve the right to change or add to assignments and make changes to this course outline, for good reason and with adequate notice.