Integral to most undergraduate psychology degree programs are research methods courses. Students learn about theory, study design and hypothesis testing, and gain knowledge that is assessed by laboratory reports. We describe a problem-based learning approach with an emphasis on acquisition of study design skills. Working in small groups, students…

Although many studies of personality and aggression focus on multidimensional traits and higher order personality disorders (e.g., psychopathy), lower order, unidimensional traits may provide more precision in identifying specific aspects of personality that relate to aggression. The current study includes a comprehensive measurement of lower…

Problem: It has been suggested that gambling-related research more closely examine vulnerable population segments. Research indicates that college students are particularly vulnerable to experiencing disordered gambling behavior. Methods: We examined the gambling behavior and gambling-related Transtheoretical Model (TTM) construct (i.e., stage of…

It has been argued that to increase societal impact behavioral researchers must do more to address problems of obvious practical importance. The basic science wing of behavior analysis has been described as especially detached from this goal, but is it really necessary that basic science demonstrate social relevance? If so, why hasn't this…

Translating ethics knowledge into ethical behavior is much harder than it appears, writes Sternberg. In this article, he outlines an eight-step process that individuals must go through to act in an ethical way--for example, recognizing that there is an event to which to react, taking personal responsibility for generating an ethical solution to…

When responses function to produce the same reinforcer, a response class exists. Researchers have examined response classes in applied settings; however, the challenges associated with conducting applied research on response class development have recently necessitated the development of an analogue response class model. To date, little research…

Facilitating successful focus groups requires both science and art. One element that can fully challenge focus group facilitators includes how to handle the unfocused focus group. This article describes "unfocus" and the benefits and disadvantages of unfocus in focus groups. Lessons learned from and approaches taken on this journey are shared to…

Nearly all chapters in this volume are contemporary original research on personality, stress, and coping in educational contexts. The research spans primary, secondary, and tertiary education. Research participants are students and teachers. The volume brings together contributions from the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Scotland, and…