Stresses that departments of psychology in colleges and universities should supplement existing curricula with a human service psychology emphasis. Explains why and how this should be done. (DB)

A college-level, interdisciplinary psychology and composition course that emphasized understanding the human condition is described. Principles of behavior introduced in the psychology class were portrayed in action through the literature read and discussed in the English class. Students wrote their English compositions on issues raised and…

Two instruments developed to assess the progress of graduate level psychology students enrolled in consultant interview training courses are described. The instruments measure student responses to consultee statements. (RM)

Described is an innovative teaching method for developing student psychological literature search skills. The method involves empirical analysis of cliches and writing abstracts of psychological studies used in support or rejection of cliche hypotheses. (Author/DB)

Reports results of a study assessing the effectiveness of teaching statistics with an emphasis on selection skills. Discusses how general academic ability and gender affected students' learning when the instructor emphasized selection skills. Concludes that teachers must emphasize selection skills through handouts, lectures, and examinations to…

Described are computer assisted instruction exercises designed by a college professor to help undergraduate psychology students acquire fundamental skills in data collection--recording the data, using tables and graphs, and recognizing functional relationships. (RM)

Maintains that preparing graphs is an essential part of data analysis and representation. Asserts that, although psychologists use graphs extensively, most textbooks provide limited techniques for designing graphs. Reviews research on graphical techniques and includes recommended articles on the topic. (CFR)

The rapid generation of information today constitutes an imperative for change in the way undergraduate psychology courses are taught. Psychology instructors must carefully select material for their courses, structure courses to maximize student performance, emphasize information retrieval skills, and contribute to the development of general…

Reports on the impact of extra-credit assignments on the academic performance of marginal college-level students. Finds that those who attempted the assignments improved their test performance, were less likely to drop out of the class than a control group, and evaluated the experience positively. (CFR)