assignments for psychology students

Faculty Resources

Assignments

The assignments in this course are openly licensed, and are available as-is, or can be modified to suit your students’ needs. Selected answer keys are available to faculty who adopt Waymaker, OHM, or Candela courses with paid support from Lumen Learning. This approach helps us protect the academic integrity of these materials by ensuring they are shared only with authorized and institution-affiliated faculty and staff.

If you import this course into your learning management system (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.), the assignments will automatically be loaded into the assignment tool, where they may be adjusted, or edited there. Assignments also come with rubrics and pre-assigned point values that may easily be edited or removed.

The assignments for Introductory Psychology are ideas and suggestions to use as you see appropriate. Some are larger assignments spanning several weeks, while others are smaller, less-time consuming tasks. You can view them below or throughout the course.

You can view them below or throughout the course.

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• Pencil Cup. Authored by : IconfactoryTeam. Provided by : Noun Project. Located at : https://thenounproject.com/term/pencil-cup/628840/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

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Faculty Resources

Assignments.

The assignments in this course are openly licensed, and are available as-is, or can be modified to suit your students’ needs. Selected answer keys are available to faculty who adopt Waymaker, OHM, or Candela courses with paid support from Lumen Learning. This approach helps us protect the academic integrity of these materials by ensuring they are shared only with authorized and institution-affiliated faculty and staff.

If you import this course into your learning management system (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.), the assignments will automatically be loaded into the assignment tool, where they may be adjusted, or edited there. Assignments also come with rubrics and pre-assigned point values that may easily be edited or removed.

The assignments for Introductory Psychology are ideas and suggestions to use as you see appropriate. Some are larger assignments spanning several weeks, while others are smaller, less-time consuming tasks. You can view them below or throughout the course.

You can view them below or throughout the course.

Discussion Grading Rubric

The discussions in the course vary in their requirements and design, but this rubric below may be used and modified to facilitate grading.

• Assignments with Solutions. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Pencil Cup. Authored by : IconfactoryTeam. Provided by : Noun Project. Located at : https://thenounproject.com/term/pencil-cup/628840/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

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Resources for Teachers of Psychology

The Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP) curates and distributes teaching and advising materials to all teachers of psychology (e.g., 4-year instructors, 2-year instructors, and high-school teachers).  The resources available below are documents that can pertain to any aspect of teaching. (NOTE:  Syllabi have their own listings under Project Syllabus .)

Instructors have generously shared classroom activities, annotated bibliographies, film guides, lab manuals, advising aids, textbook compendiums, and much more. Notations indicate those that developed from Instructional Resource Awards .

Guidelines for Authors and Reviewers of Prospective Resources

All of These Resources are Peer-Reviewed

Did you know that all of the resources on this site are peer-reviewed before they are accepted for distribution?  In this way, STP attempts to encourage teaching as scholarship and to provide an endorsement of such work to heighten its value at the local level.  Our peer-review process requires all submissions to describe how the resource is based on evidence-based practices.

Please note:   Because we require all resources on this page to undergo our peer-review process, we do not include links to any resources available from other websites that have not first undergone our peer-review process.

Do you have an idea for a teaching or advising resource that we could distribute? If you are interested in discussing an idea for a possible project, please contact Ashley Waggoner Denton, STP's Editor of Best Practices in Teaching and Learning, at [email protected] .

Request for Volunteers

Would you like to volunteer to review new teaching resource submissions? Reviewing resources is a great way to contribute to STP with a modest time commitment.  If you would like to join the reviewer pool, please send the following information to  Ashley Waggoner Denton, STP's Editor of Best Practices in Teaching and Learning, at  [email protected] .  1) Complete contact information, especially e-mail address, phone number, and institution(s) where you teach 2) A list of courses you teach 3) Other areas that you feel competent to review (e.g., Advising, Careers, Ethics, Film, Practica/Internships, Technology)

Abnormal/Clinical/Counseling   Return to Index

An experiential approach to teaching counseling skills: instructional modules for undergraduate and graduate students in psychology (2020).

Note: 2019 Instructional Resource Award

Educating Students about Professional Licensure in Health Service Psychology (2016)

Dsm-5: using key changes to highlight critical teaching points for undergraduate psychology instructors (2014), why does johnny tantrum (2014).

• Introduction to narration (Word)
• Why Does Johnny Trantrum (PowerPoint)  

Author: Ennio Cipani Affiliation: National University Description: The PowerPoint file provides an introductory narrated presentation (under 8 min.) on a functional behavioral perspective on human behavior, especially explaining why challenging problem behaviors occur. Dr. Cipani contrasts this approach to understanding human behavior with a more traditional approach. The Word document suggests how to use the narration to stimulate class discussion.

Advising    Return to Index

Developing and enhancing students’ job search skills and motivation: an online job search intervention training module (2018).

STP Best Practices Author: Christopher J. Budnick & Larissa K. Barber Affiliation: Southern Connecticut State University & Northern Illinois University Description: This 47-page online training program provides a flexible, low labor, and low cost approach to implementing undergraduate student job search skills and motivation training into psychology courses. Designed to be easily modifiable, this module can be presented via online survey software (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey) and housed/deployed using learning management systems. Although this resource should be useful for any instructor wishing to embed job search training in their courses, it will likely especially benefit internship advisors, psychology instructors teaching career-focused courses, and industrial-organizational psychology instructors discussing application and selection processes.

Note: 2016 Instructional Resource Award

Interpersonal Helping Skills Instruction in Undergraduate Psychology Internship Courses (2017)

• Part 1:  Introduction to Resources and Background
• Part 2:  Student Handouts
• Part 3:  Instructor’s Guide

Author: Melissa J. Himelein Affiliation: University of North Carolina, Asheville Description: This 3-part resource advocates a curriculum focused on the instruction of interpersonal helping skills, defined as communication strategies that demonstrate a listener’s attention, interest, understanding, self-awareness, and ability to help. The resource provides instructors with the tools needed to integrate a helping skills curriculum into practicum-centered courses. Part 1 summarizes research establishing the theoretical and empirical basis of a helping skills curriculum. Part 2 provides a set of handouts, which can be distributed to students, summarizing each of 10 specific helping skills. Part 3 offers an instructor’s guide for faculty teaching internship courses containing background information, pedagogical strategies, and resource suggestions pertinent to the teaching of each skill.

Creating a Successful Career in Art Therapy: Advising Guide for Psychology Faculty and Students (2017)

An online career-exploration resource for psychology majors (2018).

For Faculty:  A Formal Introduction to the Resource For Students:  An Online Career-Exploration Resource for Psychology Majors For Departments:  An Online Career-Exploration Resource for Psychology Majors (Poster) - 2016.pptx  (Version for modifying to suit your needs) For Departments: A n Online Career-Exploration Resource for Psychology Majors Poster - PDF (Version for printing or viewing on a mobile device) For High School Teachers:  An Online Vocational-Exploration Resource for High School Psychology Students

Author: Drew C. Appleby Affiliation: Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Description: This resource is composed of the following four parts.

• The first (for faculty) is a formal introduction containing ways to use the resource to promote student success and lists of printed and online sources to aid faculty in their career-advising activities.  
• The second (for students) consists of more than 2,400 hotlinks psychology majors can use to explore 300 careers they can prepare to enter that have been organized into 15 broad occupational categories to facilitate searching.  Persons employed in 57 of these careers are psychologists who must hold the appropriate graduate degree. The remaining 243 psychology-related careers (i.e., those that require the demonstration of psychological knowledge and skills, but which do not carry the title of psychologist) are divided almost equally into two categories: those that can be entered with a bachelor’s degree and those that require a graduate degree.  
• The third is a poster departments can print and post. Faculty, advisors, and administrators can use this resource in classes, advising sessions, and departmental websites to help psychology majors begin the process of accomplishing Goal 5: Professional Development of APA’s Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major: Version 2.0 by acquiring an understanding of the “settings in which people with backgrounds in psychology typically work,” thus helping them to “develop meaningful professional directions.” 
• The fourth is a poster that high school teachers can use to help their students begin the process of accomplishing the Vocational Applications component of APA’s  National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula  by identifying “careers in psychological science and practice,” “careers related to psychology,” and “degree requirements for psychologists and psychology-related careers.”

Three New Ways to Bring Students’ Attention to the Kisses of Death in the Graduate School Application Process (2015)

Psychology career advice videos (2015), internship supervision resources for developing student employability (2015), educating prospective students of professional psychology about the supply-demand internship crisis (2013), a job list of one's own: creating customized career information for psychology majors (2009), doctor of psychology programs today: location, accreditation, administration, specialization (2007), undergraduate preparation for graduate training in forensic psychology (2006), so your students want to be sport psychologists (2003), a student's guide to careers in the helping professions (1999), position opening: professor--is college teaching a career you should consider (1992), writing letters of recommendation for students: how to protect yourself from liability (1991), what departments and faculty can do to assist their undergraduate students with their graduate school planning (1990), capstones   return to index, work-integrated learning internships in psychology (2023), child development    return to index, the benefits of incorporating a community project in a child development course (2021).

Authors: Jason McCartney and Rhyannon Bemis

Lev’s Research Legacy: A Developmental Psychology Research Methods Activity (2016)

Punishment on trial: a resource guide to child discipline (2009), curriculum guide for instruction in child maltreatment (2007), cognitive psychology    return to index, cognitive psychology games day manual (2024), conference hosting    return to index, how to host an undergraduate twitter poster conference (2021), how to host a student psychology conference at your college: a model from the national office of psi beta (1999), diversity    return to index, social justice pedagogy in psychology: advocating for access to mental health care for youth (2019), increasing inclusiveness and awareness: disability in introductory psychology (2019), presidential taskforce on diversity education (ptde)  (2012).

Author: Mary Kite, Ball State University, Chair, Rosemary Blieszner, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, James E. Freeman, University of Virginia, Ladonna Lewis, Glendale Community College, Jeffery Scott Mio, California State Polytechnic University Description: The APA Task Force on Diversity Education Resources was established by the 2006 APA President Gerry Koocher. The group’s mission was to provide support for instructors who want to address diversity issues in their classrooms. The Task Force compiled annotated bibliographies of teaching resources, including books, book chapters, journal articles, films, websites, and other media. Topics (noted on the navigational bar on the left of this page) included cross-cutting issues, such as assessment, institutional support for diversity education and, power and privilege and specific categories such as Race/Ethnicity, Religion, Gender/Sex, Sexual Orientation, and Age. The resources were developed for teachers of psychology at the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate level. The Division 2 Diversity Committee will continue the PTDE's work by making yearly updates to these resources.

Diversity Related Bibliography and Resources (2008)

Understanding and expanding multicultural competence in teaching: a faculty guide (2005), psychology of peace and mass violence -- genocide, torture, and human rights: informational resources (2004), psychology of peace and mass violence -- war, ethnopolitical conflict, and terrorism: informational resources (2004), psychology of peace and mass violence: instructional resources (2004), simulation of a world congress of sexology symposium on aids (2001), informational resources for teaching cross-cultural issues in psychology (1998), activities and videos for teaching cross-cultural issues in psychology (1998), including gay, lesbian, and bisexual students on campus: a short annotated reading list (1994), environmental psychology    return to index, teaching psychology for sustainability: a manual of resources (2006), ethical issues    return to index, plagiarism prevention tutorial: how to avoid common forms of plagiarism (2020, revised).

• Introduction to Plagiarism Prevention Tutorial
• Plagiarism Prevention Tutorial
• Plagiarism Prevention Quiz Questions
• Plagiarism Prevention Quiz Key (requires login)

Tutoriel sur la prévention du plagiat : comment éviter les formes communes de plagiat. [French translation] (2023, Revised)

• Présentation du tutoriel
• Tutoriel sur la prévention du plagiat
• Questionnaire sur la prévention du plagiat
• Corrigé du questionnaire

Auteure: Kosha Bramesfeld Affiliation: Humber College Description : Le tutoriel de 79 diapositives traite des erreurs fréquentes pouvant mener au plagiat, incluant (a) ne pas citer ses sources correctement; (b) copier les mots ou la structure du travail d’autres auteurs; (c) surutiliser le travail d’autres auteurs, aux dépens de sa propre contribution. Les étudiants apprennent comment corriger ces erreurs au fur et à mesure de leur progression à travers les cinq sections du tutoriel : (1) Qu’est-ce que le plagiat; (2) Citer ses sources selon les normes de l’APA; (3) Reformuler; (4) S’assurer que votre travail vous appartient; (5) Mettre en forme une liste de références. Les ressources disponibles comprennent une description du tutoriel et une banque de questions de type vrai ou faux et de questions à choix de réponses multiples. Le corrigé du questionnaire est accessible sur la section du site réservée aux membres ou en contactant l’auteure par courrier électronique. La traduction par: Marie-Claude Richard & Sophie Dubé (Université Laval) Note : La ressource suivante a été traduite du texte original en anglais vers le français avec la permission de la Division 2 de l’Association américaine de psychologie. La Division 2 ne garantit pas l’exactitude de la traduction qui n’est pas un produit officiel de la Division 2 de l’Association américaine de psychologie. Pour tout renseignement concernant cette ressource ou toute autre publication de la Division 2 de l’Association américaine de psychologie, veuillez envoyer un courriel à [email protected].

IRBs and Research on Teaching and Learning (2014)

Activities guide: teaching ethics in the introduction to psychology course (2013), beyond milgram: expanding research ethics education to participant responsibilities (2012), educating students about plagiarism (2012), scientific misconduct: an annotated bibliography of articles selected for their lecture development value (1994), sensitizing undergraduate students to the nature, causes, scope, and consequences of research fraud: preliminary report (1993), ethical issues in teaching and academic life: annotated bibliography (1993), faculty development    return to index, video clips of elements of master teaching (2013), peer review of teaching: an overview (1998), film in psychology    return to index, documentary films for teaching psychology (2011), films illustrating psychopathology (2009), films illustrating character strengths and virtues (2008), using film to teach psychology: a resource of film study guides (2006), history of psychology    return to index, women in psychology (2003), human sexuality    return to index, the development of sexual orientation: a teaching resource (2007 – module 8 added in 2009), industrial/organizational psychology    return to index, materials for incorporating i/o into an introductory psychology course (2013), international psychology    return to index, taking psychology abroad: resources for designing your study abroad course (2009), international psychology: a compendium of textbooks for selected courses evaluated for international content (2002), international psychology: annotated bibliography, relevant organizations, and course suggestions (2002), introductory psychology    return to index, the psychological myth project: research and application (2024), introductory psychology scientific reasoning modules (for small classes) (2019).

• Table of Contents
• ZIP file with Resources

Accessible Modules for Improving Scientific Reasoning in Large Introductory Psychology Classes (2019)

Game-based experiential learning in introductory psychology (2016).

• Instructor's Guide
• Student's Guide

Author(s): Jaclyn Spivey Affiliation: York College Description: This resource introduces a game-based approach to out-of-class activities for Introductory Psychology students. The 16-page instructor’s guide provides background and implementation advice; the 4-page students’ guide lists 9 individual and 6 small-group activities. Because of the asynchronous nature of the activities and required social media documentation, these activities can be used in traditional as well as online settings. Note: 2015 Instructional Resource Award

Writing to Learn, Reciting to Remember: Applying Learning and Memory Principles to Flashcards (2015)

Author(s): Mark L. Mitchell and Janina M. Jolley Affiliation: Clarion University Description: This resource is a tutorial (using PowerPoint®) for students to help them understand, retain, and apply both effective concept learning strategies and effective memory strategies, primarily by creating and then studying from flashcards.  Following the presentation of material, students can take a quiz and print out their results to turn in to their instructor.  In addition, a 5-page document summarizes for instructors what students will be learning.

Statistical Literacy in the Introductory Psychology Course (2014)

• Psychology major learning goals
• Introductory Psychology learning goals
• Literacy resources

Author(s): STP Statistical Literacy Taskforce 2012

Description: The Taskforce created two sets of statistical literacy standards: one for Introductory Psychology at both the high school and college levels and one for undergraduates majoring in basic and applied psychological science. In addition they created a 40-page annotated list of resources that provides examples of the kinds of resources that might be useful for instructors who want to implement the learning goals. Those resources are organized around the topics of general statistical literacy issues, general teaching resources, specific activities and assignments, technology, assessment, websites with more general resources, and ethics/research methods.

Scientific Literacy in a Psychology Curriculum Module (2013)

• Instructional Materials
• Student Materials
• PowerPoint Slides (If using internet explorer, ignore the username/password box that appears when you click on "open")
• Undercover.pptx

Flashcards-Plus: A Strategy to Help Students Prepare for Three Types of Multiple-Choice Questions Commonly Found on Introductory Psychology Tests (2013)

• Introductory Article
• PowerPoint Slides  (If using internet explorer, ignore the username/password box that appears when you click on "open")

Author: Drew C. Appleby Affiliation: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (Retired) Description: The purpose of this resource is to provide students with a research-based study strategy (creating flashcards) designed to help them understand, prepare for, and take multiple-choice tests more successfully. The 32 slides that accompany the introductory article familiarize students with three types of cognitive processes their instructors will commonly ask them to use in their classes and then invite them to model the behavior of their instructors by creating flashcards.  Their flashcards should contain verbatim definitions for retention questions, accurate paraphrases for comprehension questions, and realistic examples for application questions.

Integrating Mnemonics into Psychology Instruction (2011)

A compendium of introductory psychology texts (2003-2006) (2006), frequently cited concepts in current introduction to psychology textbooks (2006), principles of psychology: experimental foundations laboratory manual (2002), learning and memory    return to index, writing to learn, reciting to remember: applying learning and memory principles to flashcards (2015), learning and memory strategy demonstrations for the psychology classroom (2014), cases in negative reinforcement (2010), media psychology    return to index, teaching scientific literacy and public engagement with social media (2018), instructor resources for media psychology (2010), taking it to the streets: how to give psychology away and become a local media hero (2009), national standards    return to index, national standards for the teaching of high school psychology (2011), principles for quality undergraduate education in psychology (2011), apa guidelines for the undergraduate psychology major (2007), open educational resources    return to index, a primer on open educational resources (oer) for psychology instructors: background, resources, and materials (2017), outcomes    return to index, psychology for the public: a project to foster good science communication (2017).

• ZIP Folder Containing All Resources

Authors: T.M. Vanessa Chan and Jamie M. Trost Affiliation: University of Notre Dame Description: Over the past few years, the media frenzy around our evolving understanding of COVID-19 and its vaccines has highlighted the need for people being trained in the sciences to not only understand the research process, but also be able to explain research to others without the same background and education. While the fields of science journalism and science communication have grown, they are still not well known to students, nor do they preclude the imperative for all students to learn how to talk about what they have learned in an accessible manner. This instructional resource introduces a media project in cognitive psychology / neuroscience, in which students write a press release for a scholarly article and then present the article in a creative media format. Throughout the project, students are invited to think about how the media portrays science and practice communicating without jargon. In this way, the project will not only expose students to the media process, it will also make them more equipped to take scholarly research out of the ivory tower. This resource includes assignment instructions, suggestions for facilitating science communication in psychology, and rubrics for evaluating materials. Note: 2024 Instructional Resource Award

The Employable Skills Self-Efficacy Survey: An Assessment of and Resource for Fostering Skill Development (2017)

An electronic workbook for assessing the dunn et al. (2007) “quality benchmarks in undergraduate psychology programs" (2008), measuring the varied skills of psychology majors: a revision and update of the academic skills inventory (2013), a guide to writing learning objectives for teachers of psychology (2012), goals and objectives for the undergraduate psychology major: recommendations from a meeting of california state university psychology faculty (2000), physiological / biological psychology    return to index, authentic assessments for biopsychology: encouraging learning and retention by applying biopsychological knowledge in real-world contexts (2019), enhancing the physiological psychology course through the development of neuroanatomy laboratory experiences and integrative exercises (2013), interactive teaching activities for introductory biopsychology (2012), positive psychology    return to index, positive psychology teaching tools: supplemental readings to core texts (2012), psychology and law    return to index, psychology and law: a teaching resource (2005), sensation and perception    return to index, build-your-own sensation and perception lab kits: a compilation of inexpensive, accessible activities (2022), sensation and perception: activities to enhance learning (2017), using the drawing and animation tools in powerpoint® to build your own visual perception demonstrations (2010), problem-based group activities for a sensation & perception course [english version] (2009), actividades grupales basadas en problemas para un curso sobre sensación & percepción [spanish translation] (2009), social psychology    return to index, “c’est la vie: the game of social life: a role-playing game for teaching about privilege, oppression, and intersectionality” (2015).

Author: Kosha D. Bramesfeld Institution: Ryerson University Description:  This resource is an empathy-based privilege and oppression awareness intervention that can be used to help students engage in difficult dialogues surrounding the issues of privilege, oppression, and intersectionality.  The materials include (a) 64 character profiles and game sheets that describe the demographic characteristics and resources assigned to each player’s character, (b) a strategy game that presents students with a variety of different decision scenarios that interact with their character’s resources (described in a 33-slide presentation), and (c) an instructor’s guide that covers the development of the game, its recommended uses, and a debriefing and discussion points that help students reflect on the outcomes of the game, its connections with real life inequality, and the role that privilege and oppression might play in the students’ own lives.

Activities for Teaching about Prejudice and Discrimination (2013)

Statistics and research methods    return to index, writing testable research hypotheses: a guided student activity (2023).

• Writing Testable Research Hypotheses: A Guided Student Activity (DOCX)
• Hypothesis Activity Instructional Slides: PDF
• Hypothesis Activity Instructional Slides: Powerpoint Slides
• Hypothesis Activity Instructional Slides: Powerpoint Slides (Accessible Version)
• Hypothesis Activity Student Handout (PDF)
• Hypothesis Activity Student Handout (DOCX)

Author: Kate G. Anderson Affiliation: Presbyterian College Description: This three-part resource describes an activity for teaching students how to write testable research hypotheses. Through this scaffolded activity, students are introduced to the structure of a testable hypothesis and are given the opportunity to practice writing operational definitions and testable correlational and experimental hypothesis. Suitable for use in an introductory research methods class, this activity can be also used by instructors looking to review these fundamental skills in any course. The resource includes an instructor guide, ready-to-use instructional slides, and a student handout.

Making Research Reproducible (2022)

• Making Research Reproducible: Teaching Guide
• Making Research Reproducible: Powerpoint Slides
• Music and Room Color Data

Authors: Jason McCarley & Raechel Soicher Affiliations: Oregon State University Description: This 32-page resource (plus supplementary materials) provides instructors with the resources they need to teach analytical reproducibility to undergraduate students. It includes an introduction to the concept of reproducibility and its importance, a discussion of the challenges researchers face when trying to reproduce others' work, and an activity that teaches students how to prepare their materials in a reproducible way (with step-by-step instructions for both JASP and R users). Instructors will also benefit from a set of ready-to-use PowerPoint slides. Note: 2021 Instructional Resource Award

Evaluating Research Summaries (2021)

Answers & Explanations  (PDF)

Authors: Keith Millis 1 , Diane Halpern 2 , Katja Wiemer 1 , Patricia Wallace 1 Affiliations: 1 Northern Illinois University, 2 Claremont McKenna College Description: This two-part resource, geared toward undergraduate and high school students, provides students with opportunities to learn ways research may be flawed or limited. The first document includes 16 research summaries that contain one or more methodological flaws (e.g., no control group, small sample size). Students must identify which of the 12 possible flaws could be limiting the research presented. Answers and explanations are provided in the second document.

An Exercise to Assess Student Understanding of Bottleneck Concepts in Research Methods (2018)

Statistics that stick: embedding humor in statistics related teaching materials (2016), poker chip people: using manipulatives in a college level statistics course (2015).

• Instructor Manual
• Male Face Labels
• Female Face Labels
• Back labels:  Page 1   -  Page 2

Instructor Materials for Teaching Research Methods Using a Consulting Model (2015)

Increasing graphing literacy and graphing ability in undergraduate psychology majors through active learning based exercises (2014) .

Author: Meridith Pease Selden Affiliation: Yuba College Description: This 63-page resource is designed to increase students’ ability to read graphs and to create a variety of types of graphs in Microsoft’s Excel program. In-class activities and detailed instructions (including screen shots) are appropriate primarily for the graphing unit in a statistics or research methods class, but other instructors who want to help students read primary sources can select particular stand-alone activities from the set provided. Note: 2010 OTRP Instructional Resource Award 

Statistical Literacy Taskforce Learning Goals and Resources (2014)

Instructor's guide to using research methods and statistics concept maps (2013), research readings and statistical exercises using spss and excel (2012), statistics assignments using excel(r) (2010), factorial research design (2010), a template paper with comments for illustrating the 6th edition of apa style (2010), why and how to write apa-style citations in the body and reference section of your papers (2010), exemplar studies for teaching research methodology (2010), yes, you can write in a statistics class: an instructional tool to reduce anxiety and improve statistics performance (2010), statistics decision aids [english version] (2009), ayudas para la decisión estadística [spanish translation] (2009), assessing student learning: a collection of evaluation tools (2009), a self-scoring exercise on apa style and research language (2008), teaching statistics and research methods: a collection of hands-on activities and demonstrations (2008), a student-faculty research agreement (2007), guidelines for preparing posters using powerpoint presentation software (2001), an instructor's guide to electronic databases of indexed professional literature (2000), publication and award opportunities for undergraduate students (1998), teaching tools / programs    return to index, transferable skills assessments (2024).

Authors: Michael B. Madson, Eric R. Dahlen, Kruti Surti, Mark J. Huff, Kelsey Bonfils, & Marisa Alawine

Affiliation: University of Southern Mississippi

Description: This 14-page resource includes instructions and materials for two skills-related assessments. The first assessment is designed to measure students' perceptions of which transferable skills (from the Skillful Psychology Student ) are emphasized within a course and their perceived value and benefit (e.g., "I understand how the skills emphasized in this course will be valuable to my career"). The second assessment is intended as a program or department level measure of how much students are exposed to skills throughout their degree (as described in Madson et al., 2023). The resource includes advice on how to best implement each assessment, and instructors are encouraged to adapt the items and measures to their own unique context. Note: 2023 Instructional Resource Award

Effective Study Strategies Exercises in Online or Blended Delivery (2023)

• Powerpoint Slides (.pptx)

Authors: Sue Morris 1 , Jacquelyn Cranney 1 , and Carolyn Elizabeth Alchin 2

Affiliations: 1 School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2 School of Psychology and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia

Description: This 17-page resource provides instructors with resources and activities they can use to help students reflect on their own study strategies and understand which study strategies are supported by research and which are not. Task instructions, sample rubrics, PowerPoint slides, and links to additional instructional resources (e.g., videos) are provided. The resource also includes a helpful table for instructors wishing to connect the material to key learning and memory concepts.

Teaching Students to Synthesize Research Articles: An Online Interactive Tutorial (2023)

• Powerpoint Lecture (.pptx)

Authors: Nikole D. Patson 1 , Emily S. Darowski 2 , and Elizabeth Helder 3

Affiliations: 1 Ohio State University at Marion, 2 Brigham Young University, 3 Augustana College

Holding Space for Reflection: Bringing Current Events into the Classroom  (2022)

Authors: Amy Maslowski

Affiliation: University of North Dakota

Description:  This 25-page resource provides guidance for instructors on how to incorporate the discussion of current events into their psychology classes. It outlines the potential benefits of addressing current events before the start of class and offers advice on how instructors can best structure and plan for these discussions. A sample syllabus statement is provided, as well as specific tips for facilitating these conversations and dealing with challenges that may arise. The resource concludes with a call for more research on the potential effects of including open spaces for discussion in the classroom.

• Instructor Guide
• Fillable PDF Form
• Multiple Courses
• Sample Final

Authors: Ashley Waggoner Denton

Affiliation: University of Toronto

Description:  This 12 page resource and accompanying documents is a resource designed to help psychology students better identify and understand how what they have learned within their courses will transfer to their career and life after graduation. More specifically, this resource helps students be able to articulate the professional skills they have acquired in their psychology courses and understand the competencies that are the basis of these skills. A sample worksheet is provided along with the worksheets that can be utilized with psychology students as they examine either an individual course or when examining multiple courses.

Note: 2021 Instructional Resource Award

Sequential Assignments to Critically Evaluate Psychological Journal Articles (2020)

Authors: Suzanne Wood and Vanessa Chan Affiliations: University of Toronto Description: This 24-page resource contains a series of assignments to teach students the skills needed to interpret and critically evaluate original psychological research (APA Goal #2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking.) There are five separate activities varying in complexity according to Bloom’s taxonomy. Each assignment includes an overview, guidelines, and a suggested rubric for grading. The individual assignments are hyperlinked in the table of contents to assist in navigation.   Note: 2019 Instructional Resource Award

Critical Thinking in Psychology (& Life) Workshop Series: Instructional Materials (2018)

Authors: Ashley Waggoner Denton and Thalia Vrantsidis Affiliations: University of Toronto Description: This 17-page resource describes the first workshop from a newly developed series of critical thinking workshops aimed at early undergraduate students. This initial workshop,  Setting the Stage: An Introduction to Good Thinking , introduces students to the notion of actively open-minded thinking and emphasizes the idea that critical thinking involves habits, skills, and mindsets that can be developed and continually improved with practice. The purpose of this resource is to offer instructors a brief, effective, and freely available guide that will enable them to incorporate lessons on critical thinking into their existing courses or allow them to run their own critical thinking workshop. The resource includes a list of learning outcomes for the workshop, corresponding lessons and activities, as well as potential assessment strategies. Throughout the resource, the authors also offer insight into which strategies or activities have worked particular well for them, and offer suggestions for alternatives or variations that may work well for others.   Note: 2016 Instructional Resource Award

A Guide to Incorporating Social-Emotional Learning in the College Classroom: Busting Anxiety, Boosting Ability (2018)

Authors: Kristel M. Gallagher and Shevaun L. Stocker Affiliation: Theil College and University of Wisconsin - Superior Description:  This 69-page comprehensive teaching manual describes a novel application of social-emotional learning in the college classroom. It describes an easy-to-implement and scientifically-driven intervention targeting the stress and anxiety experienced by students both within and outside of the classroom. The program includes 15 short, weekly activities that promote key mindfulness and anxiety-reduction practices. Included in the manual are all program materials (including a detailed narrative describing the implementation of the program), as well as an empirical assessment of the efficacy of the program, ideas for possible variations of the program, and a summary of key background research with accompanying references and recommended readings. Note: Note: 2017 Instructional Resource Award

This Class is a Joke! Humor as a Pedagogical Tool in the Teaching of Psychology (2015)

Authors: Dan J. Segrist and Stephen D. A. Hupp Affiliation: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Description:  This 31-page annotated bibliography provides a representative and relatively comprehensive list of articles, book chapters, and books on the use of humor in teaching psychology, including using humor as a teaching tool, on exams, and in online teaching, and students' perceptions of instructor humor. Note: 2012 OTRP Instructional Resource Award

Instructor Resources for Psychology: Learning to Blog -- Blogging to Learn (2011)

Student Response Systems ("Clickers") in the Psychology Classroom: A Beginner's Guide" (2009)

Traveling psychology fair: learner-centered outreach activities to stimulate interest in psychology (2006), building community in the classroom through ice-breakers and parting ways [english version] (2004), construyendo un sentido de comunidad en clase a través de estrategias para “romper el hielo” y estrategias de cierre [spanish translation] (2004).

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Intro psych course free activities.

Start a conversation with these free Intro Psych activities for your course 

Engage your students in the science of being human with these free activities from two unique texts from award-winning authors. Share each activity with your students by simply copying and pasting the activity page URL into your learning management system (LMS).

Activity 1: How Far Can People be Pushed?

In this activity, your students will identify how we can make errors in judgments about others and how to reduce those incorrect judgments using psychological tools. They will also estimate which situations can have the greatest impact on behavioral change, and will learn to recognize the variables that contribute to prejudice. See activity . 

Activity 2: Studying “Appropriately” For Exams

In this activity, your students will assess the role of retrieval cues in remembering and explain how schemas aid in reconstructing memories and solving the problems of long-term remembering—all in the context of learning how to study effectively for exams.  See activity . 

Activity 3: Can Culture Influence Emotion?

In this activity, your students will examine how emotions, including happiness and motivation, are displayed across cultures. They will also make a prediction as to whether or not emotions are universally recognized and see to what extent do people in general agree on the emotions displayed by various facial expressions?   See activity . 

Activity 4: How Do We Form Impressions of Others?

In this activity, your students will reflect on how attitudes are formed, the functions they serve, and the factors that affect our attitudes toward others. They will also describe how their own impressions impact their behavior.  See activity . 

Activity 5: Does Stress Lower Resistance?

In this activity, your students will explain how psychologists study health and wellness. They will also identify the main sources of stress and how it affects health.  See activity . 

Activity 6: What is the Most Effective Way to Change a Habit?

In this activity, your students will describe the differences between reinforcement and punishment, both their positive and negative forms.  See activity . 

Learn more about our offerings for your Intro Psych course:

Essentials of Psychology - Vantage Learning Platform

Essentials of Psychology

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• How to Promote Student Mental Health
• Moments in Psychology Timeline
• Tips for Student Success
• Free Activities for Your Course
• Free Video Content for Use in Class
• Participate in Product Development Activities

By Saul M. Kassin, Gregory J. Privitera, and Krisstal D. Clayton

Psychology, 7e

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10 Fun Psychology Games & Activities For High School Students

High school is a time especially when students find themselves surrounded by innumerable fields and opportunities. Psychology too, is an emerging field in today’s world. As immersive as the subject is, we understand how it can be confusing to figure your way out through it.

Psychology is a field with widely spread divisions and paths, each different from the other. However, before opting for the field, wouldn’t it be great if you could get a glimpse of them, and that too in fun and interesting ways?

Psychology games and activities can guide you through this. The creative and interactive format of games and activities helps you expand your knowledge and get more clarity on the subject matter. In this article, you will find fascinating games and activities to deepen your interest and knowledge of psychology.

Psychology games and activities for high school students

Studying psychology must involve activities, games, and exercises that elevate one’s interest in the subject, engagement in class, and taking one’s knowledge of the subject to an expansive level.

Here are 10 interesting psychology games and activities:

1. Psychology jeopardy

The game of Jeopardy is famous for its fun and exciting nature. It increases one’s engagement in class and elevates interest levels. This activity is suitable for use in a classroom or peer group setting. Students must divide into teams of two or more. The teacher will ask questions to each team, and they can select the field of psychology they prefer to answer from. 

Each correct answer will earn the team ten points, but if they answer incorrectly, five points will be deducted from their score. Teams will have thirty seconds to answer each question. For example, if they choose cognitive psychology, a question may be “What are the three types of memory?” or if they choose biopsychology, a question may be “What is the basic unit of brain function?”

2. Psychology Pictionary

Pictorial and visual games and activities are beneficial in encouraging a student’s participation as well as alleviating their lack of understanding. The game begins by dividing the students into teams of two or more.

One student from each team will then come forward and receive a commonly understood phrase from psychology. Without using words or writing, the student will have to draw objects or scenarios that represent the phrase. 

The other members of the student’s team must guess the given word within sixty seconds, and if they get it right, the team earns a set number of points. For example, a student could draw objects like spectacles, couches, and sleeping z’s to represent Sigmund Freud or draw a man and a stick together to form the word “humanistic,” which is an approach in the field of psychology.

3. Word cross puzzles

Brain games like wordcross puzzles promote memory, critical thinking, and problem-solving. These are the core aspects of cognition and hence may help the children experience the concepts they are going to study. 

Formulate the word cross puzzle in a way that contains all terms related to psychology, along with their hints or definitions. For instance, the questions “Who is often called the father of experimental psychology?”, or “What is the name of the technique used by Freud that is related to sleep?” organized as “across and down” elaborate on different aspects of psychology along with acting as a brain teaser.

4. Mind mapping

Mapping out one’s thoughts can aid in adapting to various situations, developing skills such as situational interpretation, and solving problems. This practice can be useful in psychology classrooms or study sessions to help organize one’s chosen field, job prospects, advantages, and challenges.

To begin this activity, students need to create a mind map on paper or a hardboard, categorizing their psychology field of interest (e.g. industrial psychology or criminal psychology) and dividing it into potential job prospects and current positions. 

Lastly, students can list internship programs, courses, and additional subjects under each category. To make the process enjoyable, organizers can incorporate sticky notes, highlighters, pinboards, and threads to create a visual representation of their ideas. This exercise can help individuals better understand their interests and discover ways to expand their knowledge.

5. Movie analysis

Watching movies and shows is a technology that we all have in common. Why not use it to our advantage? Visual learning is an engaging and creative way to teach and to conduct this activity, select and show psychology and mental health-related movies that are appropriate for high school students.

After watching the movie, organize a group discussion in class where students can analyze the concepts, layers, and characters of the movie. This will help students to visually understand what they may study and deal with in the future. Visual presentations also help students develop a higher sense of empathy and comprehension, which can enhance their overall skills.

6. Emotional wheel

Plutchik’s emotion wheel is a visual representation of one’s emotions divided into a colored wheel spectrum. The emotional wheel can be understood in three main ways: the categorization by colors, overlapping layers, and mixing the emotions. Give the emotional wheel in the form of self-evaluation worksheets to students in a class to let them understand their own emotions better. 

Research has found that helping individuals expand their emotional vocabulary can help them regulate their emotions more effectively [ 1 ] . Attempting this worksheet as a self-evaluative activity helps the students to learn more about what they’ll be understanding in psychology and their perception of the subject’s prospects might be cultivated as well.

7. Myth-busting

Psychology is an intriguing subject, but it is also surrounded by many misconceptions and myths. To dispel these myths, organize a myth-busting activity in the classroom or with friends. Ask each student to research and bring 10 common psychological myths to the class. 

Then, randomly select students to present one myth and challenge their classmates to debunk it with facts. For example, the myth that more sleep leads to happiness is false – in reality, sleeping more than eight hours can actually cause fatigue. This activity encourages interactive learning and collaborative effort among students.

Debates and brainstorming activities include efficient analysis, critical thinking, and logical reasoning. These activities, referring to psychology are inclusive of topics that are already in debating sequences, for example, the debate of nature vs. nurture. Conduct this debate in the classroom or in peer groups. Randomly call two students to come forward or students can voluntarily participate in the same. 

To conduct the activity, provide a topic and set a timer of 30 seconds. The first student to say “for” or “against” will be given the chance to speak, depending on their stance. The other student will then speak in the opposite stance. This activity not only stimulates quick thinking and analysis but also encourages active participation among students.

Research has shown that using debate in higher education as a pedagogical tool affects the promotion of higher order and critical thinking [ 2 ] . This activity does not only include expanding one’s knowledge of psychology as a subject but also inculcates team effort, and confidence and boosts self-esteem.

9. Skits and role-plays

Skits boost a student’s confidence and help them healthily get over their stage fright. Skits and role plays are team activities and can be performed in a classroom setting as well as in peer groups. Just like role-play scenarios , ask students to select the psychological topics of highlights and discussions and together plan the sets of dialogues and enact scenes. 

These topics may include general discussions like “the importance of mental health” or “breaking the stigma behind mental health”, or can be more elaborative and specific like disorders. In this case, students would have to divide themselves into different roles, one of them, say, acting as the therapist, another one as the client, and the others as their friends, relatives, and family. They will then enact a scene that discusses what the disorder is about, and what treatment plans are advisable for the same.

10. Psychology book club

Book clubs are always a fun space to engage in. For extensive readers, being in a book club where you can suggest new books makes them look forward to the day. As future psychologists, what can be more interesting than analyzing the characters of your favorite books? 

To begin, students need to get together to discuss and share their views on books that may be related to psychology or the ones that touch on mental health. They may also analyze their favorite high school drama books and characters and associate them with different psychological theories. For example, all the Potterheads get together to discuss the parenting styles of each of the Harry Potter character’s parents or predict the personality types of the novel characters.

Wrapping up

Being interested in psychology is great, but it doesn’t leave the challenges behind. Studying a subject often has some restrictions and limitations according to one’s schedule and curriculum. This may make the subject feel a little boring. 

Games and activities in classrooms exhibit higher chances of productivity and engagement. Such activities do not just help students participate in the classroom and become interactive but also widen their knowledge and expand their horizons.

References : 

• Kircanski, K., Lieberman, M. D., & Craske, M. G. (2012). Feelings into words: Contributions of language to exposure therapy. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1086-1091.
• Camp & Schnader, 2010; Ng et al., 2004; Roy & Macchiette, 2005; Ryan & College, 2006

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Personality Pedagogy

A compendium of resources for the teaching of personality psychology

Assignments, Exercises and Activities

Louis Sergent, 16, who is in his first year at high school, does his homework. Both he and his father are determined… – NARA – 541288 by Russell Lee – U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

10 Easy Activities Science Has Proven Will Make You Happier Grounded in research, these activities including practicing gratitude, controlling counter-factual thinking and others may be used to spark discussion or to introduce topics in stress, resilience, cognition, emotion, and positive psychology.

10 Fun Activities for Adjectives of Personality Originally designed for English teachers to help their students understand and describe nuances of character, this site offers 10 activities exploring adjectives helping students to describe the personality of themselves and others. Includes links to positive personality adjectives and negative personality adjectives. Good for an ice breaker or as a class exercise to introduce trait theory.

Activities Guide: Teaching Ethics in the Introduction to Psychology Course The Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology (OTRP) is pleased to announce this new resource for teachers by Ana Ruiz and Judith Warchal of Alvernia University (2013). This 23-page guide presents 17 activities related to ethics for each chapter in a typical Introduction to Psychology text as it integrates the APA Learning Goals and Outcomes for ethics into that course. For each chapter, the activity lists the student learning outcome, instructions for conducting the activity, materials needed, approximate time required, and a method of assessment. Activities most relevant to the personality class include APA Ethics code Jeopardy, Research Methods, Personality Testing, and Debating controversial topics.

Analytical Paper Marc W. Patry from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada submitted this creative assignment in which students basically have to select and digest a study related to personality psychology and to connect it to the assigned reading, to current events, and to something about yourself. Details and grading guidelines are provided.

Art and Personality Does the art you enjoy match your personality? Research by Stian Reimers in conjunction with the BBC suggests that there is a relationship between the kind of art people prefer (e.g. Impressionism, Abstract, Japanese, Islamic, Northern Renaissance, and Cubism) and one’s personality (emotional intelligence, the five-factor model, and sensation-seeking). Click here to read more about the findings, art, personality, or to participate in this online.

Assessing Assumptions About Gender This exercise by Amy Taylor, won Honorable Mention for the 2009 Social Psychology Network Action Teaching Award. In this activity, students read a dialog between a man and a women and report their impressions of the characters. Half the class have the genders of the characters switched. According to Taylor, the objectives of this activity are to: (1) illustrate how subtle gender biases can influence social perceptions, (2) help students recognize their own implicit assumptions about gender, and (3) explore the implications these biases may have for gender equality.

Attachment Theory: Teaching Students About the Science of Romantic Attachment Nathan DeWall and David Myers describe a series of activities to help students think about attachment and why our romantic partners may get under our skin. Includes background reading, self-assessment, an out-of-class activity, and discussion topics.

Barnum Effect Feedback Take this test to remind yourself why good personality tests should provide specific feedback…and why horoscopes are so much fun! See also this explanation of the Barnum Effect.

The Bechdel Test For Media Bias According to the Feminist Frequency website by media critic Anita Sarkeesian, The Bechdel Test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in Hollywood films and just how well rounded and complete those roles are. It was created by Allison Bechdel in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985 . The test is: (1) Does the film have at least two [named or otherwise central character] women in it, (2) who talk to each other, (3) about something besides a man? (runs 2 minutes, 3 seconds). You and your students can use this test to see how popular movies, especially those winning Oscars or other top awards, fares. Click here for a discussion of similar tests for other types of bias in the media.

Big Five, Happiness: Beyond the Purchase From the website We know that the effects of our spending choices often last beyond the place or moment of a purchase. Sometimes those effects are beneficial, leading to enjoyment, happy memories, or feelings of belongingness. At other times those effects may be financially or emotionally detrimental. We developed Beyond The Purchase to explore happiness and the quality of life, and the outcomes of different purchasing and money-management choices, as well as the motivations behind them. Psychologist Ryan Howell and colleagues created this site to help people make more informed choices. The site features personality tests, research findings, and a special section for incorporating their ideas into your classroom including a demonstration and slides on the Big Five personality traits and teaching central tendency using the Big Five. Follow the BtP in your classroom link.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Worksheets Free downloadable cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) worksheets, formulations, and self-help resources including blank formulations, thought records, cognitive restructuring worksheets, diaries/data gathering sheets, mechanisms, information sheets, techniques/procedures, useful tools, forgiveness tools, and formulations for specific disorders, all in PDF format.

Coming Out Exercise Barry A. Schreier of Purdue University developed this exercise to assist individuals with the experience of loss that is often associated with Coming Out. Loss can come in many ways from the loss of a job, the loss of friends and family members, the loss of autonomy, loss of affiliation with others, and so on. This exercise is used to access the vital emotional components of participants’ belief and attitude systems in the efforts of creating greater inclusivity in attitude and belief for people who are Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual.

Conditioning at Mickey D’s “What do parents do, at a fast food restaurant, to encourage desirable behaviors and discourage undesirable behaviors? Are the principles of operant conditioning being used?” Check out Raymond Rogoway’s clever assignment for understanding and applying principles of conditioning.

Culture: Barnga This game teaches participants about inter-cultural awareness: In Barnga, participants experience the shock of realizing that despite many similarities, people of differing cultures perceive things differently or play by different rules. Players learn that they must understand and reconcile these differences if they want to function effectively in a cross-cultural group. Essentially, the game induces feelings of culture shock in the limited (and safe) environment of a classroom. Opens in PDF. Also available here.

Cultural Identity: The Cultural Circles Exercise Phani Radhakrishnan, University of Toronto, designed the Cultural Circles Exercise to help students in her Diversity in the Workplace class become more aware of cultural identity. Students discuss their own heritage and cultural background one-on-one with others in the class and identify sources of pride in their own culture.

Debriefed Stories: How to Conduct a Debriefing Discussion According to trainer and games guru Sivasailam Thiagi Thiagarajan People don’t learn from experience. They learn from reflecting on their experience. In this interactive story, he presents six questions for debriefing which facilitators can use to help participants reflect and learn from their experience. Very useful for teachers, trainers, facilitators, group leaders, and others who like to use experiential learning in their work. From the Thiagi Gameletter , October 2014.

Defense Mechanisms Randall E. Osborne, Indiana University East, first presented these two interactive exercises for the personality psychology course at the 9th Annual Conference on Undergraduate Teaching of Psychology: Ideas and Innovations, in 1995. In the second exercise, What’s my Defense Mechanism?, students must guess the defense mechanism depicted in a brief skit presented by their classmates. (In the first exercise, the Personality Collage, students and someone who knows them well each create a collage of the student’s personality. Students compare and contrast the two collages by answering various questions and come to understand the differences between self-view and other’s view of themselves.) Opens in PDF format.

Defense Mechanisms John Suler, Rider University, maintains the excellent Teaching Clinical Psychology website. For learning about defense mechanisms, he offers a handout [which] I give to students that we use to discuss some of the typical defense mechanisms. After the discussion, I break the students down into small groups so that can develop role plays that demonstrate these defenses. Instructions for these role plays are described at the end of the handout.

Extroversion and Introversion: The Eysenck Lemon Juice Experiment The BBC website provides instructions and a simple way to replicate this classic experiment.

Emotions: Spot the Fake Smile Can you tell which smiles are genuine and which are fake? Take this 10-minute test, based on the research of Paul Ekman, in which you watch brief video clips of 20 people smiling.

Erikson’s 8 Stages of Development Visit this page to see classroom activities submitted by high school and college teachers. Submit your own activities for inclusion here — or elsewhere on Personality Pedagogy — to [email protected].

Erikson’s Stages of Development Ages in Stages: An Exploration of the Life Cycle based on Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Human Development. Margaret Krebs-Carter designed this activity for High School English or Developmental Psychology classes and gives this description: How does age make a difference in the way we act/think/feel? Erik Erikson, the well-known teacher and psychiatrist who popularized the term “identity crisis” claims that we are greatly affected by the developmental changes that we undergo as we mature. This curriculum unit pursues the question of age differences by focusing on Erik Erikson’s theory of human development—the eight stages. Included in this unit are: 1) brief explanations of the eight stages; 2) recommended readings—short stories, plays, and novels—that illustrate the emotional crises that occur during these eight stages; 3) activities to introduce the new concepts; 4) suggestions of theoretical material for students to read; 5) a description of how to structure the classroom in order to teach a class in which group participation is encouraged.

Erikson’s Stages of Development: The Soundtrack of Your Life Describes an activity where students identify eight major events in their lives (e.g., deaths, first car, entering high school, etc.) and find songs (music and lyrics) to correspond to these events, designing an imaginary soundtrack of their lives. Students write about the experience, submit their compilations, and/or present a song to the class with an explanation of its import. Originally designed to be a writing assignment, with some additional guidance this activity can be used to illustrate narrative psychology, the self, Erikson’s stages, and other theories of personality psychology.

Necker’s cube by Me (Stevo-88) – Own work – my representation of a well known optical illusion. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Extroversion and Introversion: The Necker Cube Experiment This brief on-line experiment, devised by the Open University in conjunction with the BBC was developed by Dr Peter Naish. Their hypothesis is that because of their varying response to stimulation, extroverts and introverts will perceive a Necker cube differently.

The Facebook Experiment: Reaction From Psychologists According to former psychology professor Michael Britt in his podcast The Psych Files : You’ve probably heard about the controversy over the Facebook manipulation of user’s News Feeds and the (possible) effect this had on user’s emotions. In the latest episode of The Psych Files I summarize the study and my conclusions about it. Also included on the website is a (large) concept map that also summarizes the study, links to references and Facebook’s official response. Also included in the map and the episode: suggestions for students regarding how a proper informed consent form might have been written and presented to students. Episode 22, July 1, 2014. Runs 33 minutes and 16 seconds.

Five Factor Model James W. Pennebaker maintains this page of a dozen or so online research projects. Most of them involve taking a brief survey or by completing short exercises. Feedback and insight into one’s personality is provided. Topics include TAT, Big Five questionnaire, perceptual style, spirituality, depression and more.

Five Factor Model: Research Tool Demonstrates How Your Facebook Likes Reveal Your Personality Eric Ravenscraft, writing for LifeHacker , discusses a tool developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge to analyze your Facebook like to reveal what people can learn about you. Click here to try it out for yourself.

Five Factor model and e-perceptions The You Just Get Me website asks visitors Do you get people, even if you just met them? Do the people in your life truly get you? Using the Five-Factor model, respondents answer 43 questions about their personality and try to guess the personality of other visitors. Based on the research of Vazire & Gosling (2004).

Freud, Sigmund: That’s My Theory! Sigmund Freud and two other personality psychologists are guests on this online game show developed by PBS. Can you discover the who the real Sigmund Freud is though the answers he gives? Can you guess who the other two guests are?

Freud, Sigmund: Wrestling with Sigmund Freud ‘Ya gotta see it to believe it.

Freud: Online Activities: Dream analysis, Word Association, Ink Blot Generator The National Museum of Science and Industry , in the UK, sponsors this amazing website on Making the Modern World , which includes learning modules on all sorts of topics. One in particular, on Measuring the Unmeasurable , aims to take the user through various aspects of psychiatry and the study of mental illness. It looks at the treatment, diagnosis and methods used in psychiatry as well as the investigation of mental illness from a historical and socio-cultural perspective. This module includes 4 pages on Sigmund Freud: Freud and Psychoanalysis, Freud’s concept of the Personality, Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, and Freudian Techniques of psychoanalysis. The module on Psychoanalysis includes online activities on dream analysis, the Word Association Test, and Ink Blot Generator.

Freudian Dream Analysis Worksheet by Chris VerWys , Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute See also the Dream Analysis Survey Results .

Gender Stereotypes: According to Jim . These days, I find that my students are a little reticent to talk about gender stereotypes, especially since my classes are often very much skewed in one direction. To help the discussion along, I like to show the episode Jim Almighty from the ABC television show According to Jim , staring Jim Belushi. In this episode Jim thinks that he can design women better than the creator did. In the course of the show, many gender stereotypes are depicted and reinforced (and some are even abandoned). I instruct my students to keep track and write down all of the stereotypes for men and for women that are mentioned in the show. I put them on the blackboard and classify them into physical, sexual, personality, social, and emotional and discuss if they are accurate, inaccurate, or an exaggeration of a true difference. I may even have the class vote on what they think the distributions look like (e.g. normal curves with a lot of overlap, a little overlap or something in between). This is a good way to set up a discussion of gender similarities and differences in personality using Hyde’s work on meta-analysis. Note that the episode, while a family situation comedy which originally aired during prime time, does make scatological and sexual references and features the actor Lee Majors playing The Almighty (stereotyped as a Texan). I offer students who think they may be offended by the set-up an alternative activity, although nobody has taken this option. In discussions with the class, even religious students find the depiction of The Almighty funny and not at all offensive, but you should review this episode before showing your class in case your students are different from mine. This episode originally aired in January of 2008, season 7 episode 1, ( S07E01 ) and is available on You Tube here (21:19). Note: If the video has been removed from You Tube, try searching for it. If you are still unable to find it, it is available for streaming from Amazon.com for $1.99 if you have an Amazon Prime Account.

Genetically Engineer Your Own Child This somewhat creepy, satirical website allows visitors to create a genetically engineered child by selecting various characteristics such as gender, eye color, and sexual orientation. Once you find out the genetic code of your offspring, you can choose to have certain characteristics and disorders altered, if you are willing to spend the money. In the process, the visitor is forced to think about the value society places on certain attributes (e.g. IQ, musical ability, sexual orientation, AIDS, ADHD and others) and the ethicality of genetic engineering. The site was created as a piece of performance art and is not a real institution despite its authentic look and feel.

Genetics: Do Your Hands Have Family Traits? Check out these two projects from Science Buddies : In these hands-on genetics projects and activities, students investigate a family pedigree to see if they can determine whether traits are dominant or recessive. Do you and some (or all) of your family members share certain physical traits? Is a widow’s peak passed down from generation to generation? Find out!

Genetics: Six Creative Ways to Teach Genetics A selection of creative ways to help students of all ages and abilities understand genes and genetic disorders. From The Guardian , September 7, 2015.

Genetics: Your Family Health History: A DNA Day Activity This PDF describes how to create a family tree or pedigree documenting medical conditions which may run in families, but you can easily adapt the activity to focus on personality traits.

Genetics and Gender Differences in Ideal Mate Selection. Scott Bates, Utah State University, does the following exercise to introduce the topic of Genetics to his students: On the second day of class, I collect data via a survey (these data provide good lecture material throughout the course). One of the questions that I ask is this: List the top three characteristics of an IDEAL MATE (a person with whom you would like to spend the rest of your life). Use adjectives. If you’ve already married (or found) your ideal mate, then list the three most important characteristics that attracted you to him/her. I then have a TA code the responses into categories (e.g., physical appearance, social status, etc). Then, when I get to the topic of genes/environment, or evolution, I introduce human mate-selection and present material on evolutionary/genetic influences. The compelling part is that I present students’ data, by category, by sex. Males have always listed physical characteristics (e.g., pretty, hot, nice looking) more often than women. Women have always listed loyalty (e.g., faithful, trustworthy) and social status (e.g., ambitious, good job prospects) more often than men. (from the PSYTEACH discussion list, January 22, 2009).

Happiness The October issue of the Thiagi Gameletter ( Seriously fun activities for trainers, facilitators, performance consultants, and managers , see their homepage here ) describes an activity (which they call a jolt ) to demonstrate how our current emotions are influenced by our thoughts about the past.

Here’s a Quick Way to Figure Out What You Should Do With Your Life, Based on Your Personality Check out this colorful flow chart, based on the work of John Holland, which asks a series of questions to help you find your ideal career. From The Muse , July 13, 2015.

Hetereosexist Bias Lesson Plan and Questionnaire The Advocates for Youth website provides this lesson plan To give straight people an opportunity to experience the types of questions that are often asked of gay, lesbian, and/or bisexual people . Students answer a questionnaire and discuss the experience in small groups. Takes about 40 minutes. Includes questions for discussion.

Heterosexual Privilege The Student Counseling Center at Texas Tech University features a number of activities, handouts and other resources on their website. In this activity, students answer 32 questions that illustrate heterosexual privilege in ways straight people do not have to think about. For example, questions range from I can, if I wish, legally marry my life partner to My sexual orientation is represented in the media and I don’t feel excluded.

Homosexuality: A Values Clarification Exercise John Suler, Rider University, maintains the excellent Teaching Clinical Psychology website. To make students aware of their preconceptions and subtle attitudes towards homosexuality, he puts 10 statements on the board and students discuss the statements in a group. He then tallies the group votes and leads the class in a discussion of their own preconceptions, along with theory and research evidence.

The Grinch (That Stole Christmas) by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia

How the Grinch Stole Psychology Class After watching the 25 minute video of the classic Christmas story by Dr. Seuss, students analyze the Grinch’s personality and change of heart using theories and terms from personality including Freud, Adler, Horney, Maslow, and Rogers. A great end-of-the-semester review.

Ice Breakers and Team Builders Find tons of activities for groups for icebreaking, team building, name games, trust-building, self-awareness, multicultural awareness, and fun.

Idiogrid: Developing and managing self-report data James W. Grice of Oklahoma State University developed software for his idiographic research which he is currently offering for free to instructors and researchers. From the website: Idiogrid is software for administering, managing, and analyzing different types of self-report data [e.g. attitude scales, personality questionnaires, trait profiles, values test]. It was originally designed around George Kelly’s repertory grid technique but has been developed to include person-centered and questionnaire methodologies employed by researchers from a wide variety of domains (e.g., personality psychologists, self-concept researchers, clinical psychologists, market researchers, and sociologists). The site provides extensive support and resources for using the software for clinical, organizational and classroom demonstrations and assignments.

Intelligence Fellows of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute developed these 12 lesson plans on Human Intelligence: Theories and Developmental Origins .

I Scream, You Scream In this exercise students learn about the importance of validity and reliability by deconstructing the Ice Cream Personality Test . Miserandino, M. (2006). I Scream, You Scream: Teaching Validity and Reliability Via the Ice Cream Personality Test. Teaching Psychology. 33(4) , 265-68. Opens in PDF.

Jung: The Shadow Exercise As part of the Teaching Clinical Psychology webpage, John Suler, Rider University, includes this exercise on the shadow. Students reflect on a person they don’t like very much and consider if the traits they dislike in another reflects traits they don’t like in themselves.

Life Story When discussing intake interviews and psychotherapy, John Suler, Rider University, point[s] out that clients engage in a process of exploring their life story, usually at first by describing the most important “facts” about themselves. In this exercise, described on his Teaching Clinical Psychology website, students write down four important facts about themselves and one lie. Others in the class read each list and the class discusses patterns which they see.

Mask-Making Activity The Archdiocese of St.Louis sponsors special programs to reach out to teens. On their REAP website they describe a mask-making activity designed to help teens: recognize the masks he/she might wear, recognize the masks that others put upon him/her [and] view other students with more compassion in regards to the masks they wear.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, including newer 7- and 8- stage models. Also includes links to PDF and MSWORD illustrations of the hierarchies.

• Hierarchy of Needs Original 5 stage model in PDF format.
• Hierarchy of Needs Modified 7-stage model from the 1970s in PDF format.
• Hierarchy of Needs Modified 8-stage model from the 1990s in PDF format.
• Self-test Quick self-test based on the 5-stage model of the hierarchy of needs in PDF format.
• Self-test Quick self-test based on the modified 8-stage model of the hierarchy of needs in PDF format.

Maslow, Abraham: That’s My Theory! Sigmund Freud and two other personality psychologists — Skinner and Maslow — are guests on this online game show developed by PBS. Learn about all three theorists through the answers they give.

Mind Habits According to the website: ‘ MindHabits is based on scientifically tested and demonstrated tools that help reduce stress and boost confidence of players using principles from the new science of social intelligence. Research demonstrated benefits from playing just five minutes each day. Give it a try for free and see if it works for you!’ Trial version is free.

Multicultural Activities Group activities to make people aware of the impact of the culture on themselves and others.

Participate in Online Research The Social Psychology Network , maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University, lists over 150 web-based experiments, surveys, and other social psychological studies. Click on the section labels Personality and Individual differences to find links to studies on various topics such as the Five Factor Model, birth season, motivation, anxiety and more.

Perceptual Style James W. Pennebaker maintains this page of a dozen or so online research projects. Most of them involve taking a brief survey or by completing short exercises. Feedback and insight into one’s personality is provided. Topics include TAT, Big Five questionnaire, perceptual style, spirituality, depression and more.

Licensed under the Creative Commons

Personality Collage Randall E. Osborne, Indiana University East, first presented these two interactive exercises for the personality psychology course at the 9th Annual Conference on Undergraduate Teaching of Psychology: Ideas and Innovations, in 1995. In the Personality Collage students and someone who knows them well each create a collage of the student’s personality. Students compare and contrast the two collages by answering various questions and come to understand the differences between self-view and other’s view of themselves. (In the second exercise students must guess the defense mechanism depicted in a brief skit presented by their classmates.) Opens in PDF format.

Positive Psychology: 7-day unit plan for high school psychology Amy C. Fineburg, Homewood High School, Birmingham, Alabama, created this document for Teaching of Psychology in the Secondary Schools. Includes critical thinking activities (daily mood, satisfaction with life scale, creating flow experiences, measuring optimism, the hope scale and much more) interspersed with lesson plans for the high school psychology course.

Positive Psychology: Five -Ful Envelopes In this activity, by Barbara Frederickson, participants explore the positive emotions of hopeful, joyful, peaceful, playful, and thankful, and brainstorm ways of increasing the frequency and intensity of these positive emotions in their lives. From the January 2010 issue of the Thiagi Gameletter ( Seriously fun activities for trainers, facilitators, performance consultants, and managers , see their website here ).

Positive Reinforcement: A Self-Instructional Exercise Athabasca University devised this on-line exercise to teach students the concept of positive reinforcement and also to provide an idea of the kind of self-instructional exercises used in many Athabasca University course packages

The Religious Experience: East, West, Everywhere John Suler, Rider University, maintains the excellent Teaching Clinical Psychology website. He suggests the following exercise: Many psychologists, philosophers, and theologians talk about how some people have an intense, sudden, usually unexpected experience of a “higher reality” or “higher power” beyond what we normally experience. Some say it is the experience of “God.” Here are how William James (one of the greatest American psychologists) and D.T. Suzuki (one of the greatest Japanese Zen philosophers) described religious experiences in their cultures. Are there any similarities between east and west?

The Self: The Soundtrack of Your Life Describes an activity where students identify eight major events in their lives (e.g., deaths, first car, entering high school, etc.) and find songs (music and lyrics) to correspond to these events, designing an imaginary soundtrack of their lives. Students write about the experience, submit their compilations, and/or present a song to the class with an explanation of its import. Originally designed to be a writing assignment, with some additional guidance this activity can be used to illustrate narrative psychology, the self, Erikson’s stages, and other theories of personality psychology.

Self-Esteem Games Mark Baldwin and his colleagues at McGill University have developed games to help people increase their self-esteem based on psychological research. Visit this site to play one of three self-esteem games, to participate in their online research or to learn more about what they do.

Sex and the Brain From the BBC sponsored website: Find out more about “brain sex” differences by taking the Sex ID test, a series of visual challenges and questions used by psychologists in the BBC One television series Secrets of the Sexes . Get a brain sex profile and find out if you think like a man or a woman, see if you can gaze into someone’s eyes and know what they’re thinking, find out why scientists are interested in the length of your fingers, see how your results relate to theories about brain sex.

Sexual Orientation: The Complexity of Sexual Orientation The Understanding Prejudice website has a special section on college classroom activities. In this activity, students fill out a Sexual Orientation Identification sheet (on the website) which describes the behaviors and attractions of various hypothetical people. Students must decide if the person described is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or straight. The items are designed to provoke differences of opinion to spark a discussion as to what defines sexual orientation: behavior, desire, self-identification, or some combination of all three. Includes discussion questions.

Sexual Trichotomy Model An explanation of the trichotomy of sexual identity, sexual behavior, and sexual orientation. Students discuss how this trichtomy might apply to 6 hypothetical people and in the process discover how sexuality is fluid and how a person’s identity, orientation and behavior can change throughout life.

Skinner, B.F.: That’s My Theory! Sigmund Freud and two other personality psychologists — Skinner and Maslow — are guests on this online game show developed by PBS. Learn about all three theorists through the answers they give.

Teaching Students About How Simple, Positive Activities Can Increase Well-Being Nathan DeWall and David G. Myers offer their advice and guidance about teaching an area of research recently highlighted in Current Directions of Psychological Science . In this column for the May/June 2013 APS Observer they discuss numerous classroom activities to illustrate the effect—how simple activities can increase well-being—and spark discussion.

Teaching Students About the Sunny Side of Stress Nathan DeWall and David G. Myers offer their advice and guidance about teaching an area of research recently highlighted in Current Directions of Psychological Science . In this column for the May/June 2013 APS Observer they discuss how people can use arousal reappraisal to lessen the experience of stress in both mind and body.

Thematic Apperception Test James W. Pennebaker maintains this page of a dozen or so online research projects. Most of them involve taking a brief survey or by completing short exercises. Feedback and insight into one’s personality is provided. Topics include TAT, Big Five questionnaire, perceptual style, spirituality, depression and more.

Theorists Table See how the work of 32 major personality theorists — from Adler to Zuckerman with Freud, Maslow, McAdams , and Skinner in between — relates to the Five Factor Model. Includes references and links.

The Trait Paper Assignment: Fostering Critical Thinking in Personality Psychology . (Also available here). Hittner, J. B. (1999). Fostering critical thinking in personalty psychology. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 26, 92-97. From the abstract: A personality trait-based term paper assignment that is appropriate for use in personality psychology courses and that is designed to foster critical thinking skills is introduced. The extent to which the trait questions correspond to generic critical thinking questions is considered, the specific thinking skills induced by each trait question are discussed, and potential limitations of the assignment are noted. Preliminary data are also presented which suggest that the trait-based term paper assignment stimulates critical thinking and enhances knowledge about personality traits. It is hoped that the ideas presented and issues discussed in the present article will encourage academic psychologists from all subdisciplines to develop writing assignments that foster critical thinking skills. This assignment is not rooted in a particular model of traits and so is adaptable to any model.

Validity and Reliability Mark Mitchell and Janina Jolley for the Research Design Explained website provide these materials for students to administer a pencil-and-paper version of the Ice Cream Personality Test to a friend. Based on Miserandino, M. (2006). I scream, you scream: Teaching validity and reliability via the ice cream personality test. Teaching of Psychology, 33 , 265-268.

Want to Be Happier Right Now? The Think Positive! Experiment Reflecting on the 3 best events over the course of a week, as opposed to the three worst, colors our overall judgement of how the week was.

What’s In A Name? First Day of Class Ice Breaker What’s in a name? John Suler, Rider University, suggests this ice breaker in his Teaching Clinical Psychology website. Students state their name, and explain how they got their name. This is an especially powerful exercise for small classes or for classes where students work closely with each other over the course of a semester.

Who Am I? – Famous Psychologists Quiz Test your knowledge of important figures in psychology with this quiz. The expert level has 13 questions, which increase in difficultly. Ten of the questions are about personality psychologists including: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Karen Horney and Erik Erickson.

Why? A Happiness Activity The September (2008) issue of the Thiagi Gameletter ( Seriously fun activities for trainers, facilitators, performance consultants, and managers , see http://www.thiagi.com/ ) describes a series of Happiness Activities as part of their Tool Kit to demonstrate how most of our current goals when reduced to their most fundamental form — by repeatedly asking the question Why? have happiness at its core.

Why Self-Control and Grit Matter —- And Why It Pays to Know the Difference C. Nathan DeWall , writing for the Teaching Current Directions in Psychological Science column in the APS Observer , presents this five-minute activity on the Duckworth and Gross (2014) study of Self-Control and Grit.

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50+ Research Topics for Psychology Papers

How to Find Psychology Research Topics for Your Student Paper

• Specific Branches of Psychology
• Topics Involving a Disorder or Type of Therapy
• Human Cognition
• Human Development
• Critique of Publications
• Famous Experiments
• Historical Figures
• Specific Careers
• Case Studies
• Literature Reviews
• Your Own Study/Experiment

Are you searching for a great topic for your psychology paper ? Sometimes it seems like coming up with topics of psychology research is more challenging than the actual research and writing. Fortunately, there are plenty of great places to find inspiration and the following list contains just a few ideas to help get you started.

Finding a solid topic is one of the most important steps when writing any type of paper. It can be particularly important when you are writing a psychology research paper or essay. Psychology is such a broad topic, so you want to find a topic that allows you to adequately cover the subject without becoming overwhelmed with information.

I can always tell when a student really cares about the topic they chose; it comes through in the writing. My advice is to choose a topic that genuinely interests you, so you’ll be more motivated to do thorough research.

In some cases, such as in a general psychology class, you might have the option to select any topic from within psychology's broad reach. Other instances, such as in an  abnormal psychology  course, might require you to write your paper on a specific subject such as a psychological disorder.

As you begin your search for a topic for your psychology paper, it is first important to consider the guidelines established by your instructor.

Research Topics Within Specific Branches of Psychology

The key to selecting a good topic for your psychology paper is to select something that is narrow enough to allow you to really focus on the subject, but not so narrow that it is difficult to find sources or information to write about.

One approach is to narrow your focus down to a subject within a specific branch of psychology. For example, you might start by deciding that you want to write a paper on some sort of social psychology topic. Next, you might narrow your focus down to how persuasion can be used to influence behavior .

Other social psychology topics you might consider include:

• Prejudice and discrimination (i.e., homophobia, sexism, racism)
• Social cognition
• Person perception
• Social control and cults
• Persuasion, propaganda, and marketing
• Attraction, romance, and love
• Nonverbal communication
• Prosocial behavior

Psychology Research Topics Involving a Disorder or Type of Therapy

Exploring a psychological disorder or a specific treatment modality can also be a good topic for a psychology paper. Some potential abnormal psychology topics include specific psychological disorders or particular treatment modalities, including:

• Eating disorders
• Borderline personality disorder
• Seasonal affective disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Antisocial personality disorder
• Profile a  type of therapy  (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy, psychoanalytic therapy)

Topics of Psychology Research Related to Human Cognition

Some of the possible topics you might explore in this area include thinking, language, intelligence, and decision-making. Other ideas might include:

• False memories
• Speech disorders
• Problem-solving

Topics of Psychology Research Related to Human Development

In this area, you might opt to focus on issues pertinent to  early childhood  such as language development, social learning, or childhood attachment or you might instead opt to concentrate on issues that affect older adults such as dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

Some other topics you might consider include:

• Language acquisition
• Media violence and children
• Learning disabilities
• Gender roles
• Child abuse
• Prenatal development
• Parenting styles
• Aspects of the aging process

Do a Critique of Publications Involving Psychology Research Topics

One option is to consider writing a critique paper of a published psychology book or academic journal article. For example, you might write a critical analysis of Sigmund Freud's Interpretation of Dreams or you might evaluate a more recent book such as Philip Zimbardo's  The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil .

Professional and academic journals are also great places to find materials for a critique paper. Browse through the collection at your university library to find titles devoted to the subject that you are most interested in, then look through recent articles until you find one that grabs your attention.

Topics of Psychology Research Related to Famous Experiments

There have been many fascinating and groundbreaking experiments throughout the history of psychology, providing ample material for students looking for an interesting term paper topic. In your paper, you might choose to summarize the experiment, analyze the ethics of the research, or evaluate the implications of the study. Possible experiments that you might consider include:

• The Milgram Obedience Experiment
• The Stanford Prison Experiment
• The Little Albert Experiment
• Pavlov's Conditioning Experiments
• The Asch Conformity Experiment
• Harlow's Rhesus Monkey Experiments

Topics of Psychology Research About Historical Figures

One of the simplest ways to find a great topic is to choose an interesting person in the  history of psychology  and write a paper about them. Your paper might focus on many different elements of the individual's life, such as their biography, professional history, theories, or influence on psychology.

While this type of paper may be historical in nature, there is no need for this assignment to be dry or boring. Psychology is full of fascinating figures rife with intriguing stories and anecdotes. Consider such famous individuals as Sigmund Freud, B.F. Skinner, Harry Harlow, or one of the many other  eminent psychologists .

Psychology Research Topics About a Specific Career

​Another possible topic, depending on the course in which you are enrolled, is to write about specific career paths within the  field of psychology . This type of paper is especially appropriate if you are exploring different subtopics or considering which area interests you the most.

In your paper, you might opt to explore the typical duties of a psychologist, how much people working in these fields typically earn, and the different employment options that are available.

Topics of Psychology Research Involving Case Studies

One potentially interesting idea is to write a  psychology case study  of a particular individual or group of people. In this type of paper, you will provide an in-depth analysis of your subject, including a thorough biography.

Generally, you will also assess the person, often using a major psychological theory such as  Piaget's stages of cognitive development  or  Erikson's eight-stage theory of human development . It is also important to note that your paper doesn't necessarily have to be about someone you know personally.

In fact, many professors encourage students to write case studies on historical figures or fictional characters from books, television programs, or films.

Psychology Research Topics Involving Literature Reviews

Another possibility that would work well for a number of psychology courses is to do a literature review of a specific topic within psychology. A literature review involves finding a variety of sources on a particular subject, then summarizing and reporting on what these sources have to say about the topic.

Literature reviews are generally found in the  introduction  of journal articles and other  psychology papers , but this type of analysis also works well for a full-scale psychology term paper.

Topics of Psychology Research Based on Your Own Study or Experiment

Many psychology courses require students to design an actual psychological study or perform some type of experiment. In some cases, students simply devise the study and then imagine the possible results that might occur. In other situations, you may actually have the opportunity to collect data, analyze your findings, and write up your results.

Finding a topic for your study can be difficult, but there are plenty of great ways to come up with intriguing ideas. Start by considering your own interests as well as subjects you have studied in the past.

Online sources, newspaper articles, books , journal articles, and even your own class textbook are all great places to start searching for topics for your experiments and psychology term papers. Before you begin, learn more about  how to conduct a psychology experiment .

What This Means For You

After looking at this brief list of possible topics for psychology papers, it is easy to see that psychology is a very broad and diverse subject. While this variety makes it possible to find a topic that really catches your interest, it can sometimes make it very difficult for some students to select a good topic.

If you are still stumped by your assignment, ask your instructor for suggestions and consider a few from this list for inspiration.

• Hockenbury, SE & Nolan, SA. Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers; 2014.
• Santrock, JW. A Topical Approach to Lifespan Development. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2016.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

• Aug 8, 2023

10 engaging ways to start psychology class each day

When your students enter your room, do they ask what to do? Do they look for distractions and goof off? Do they mosey around the room or dive into their cell phones?

Or do they know exactly what to expect and come in ready to complete the task?

Our brains love clean beginnings and endings, so having consistency at the beginning of class is key to setting the tone and getting the most out of our time with students. Consider a procedure as they walk in the door or a 2-5 minute review or preview activity at their desk.

Some ideas for starting a psychology class:

Question of the day.

Have students answer a question related to the lesson from last class. Turn it in daily or all together at the end of the week (I prefer the end of the week, so there's less paperwork!)

Inquiry Pair-Share

Put the topic of the day on the board and have students pair-share a question that they have about it. This is great for getting students to practice their inquiry skills and find what's interesting to them in our curriculum.

Today in Psychology

Put an interesting thing that happened on this day in psychology up on the board. Students can write a response, discuss the event with each other, or look up more information about the event or people involved. Check out slides for every day in September .

Mind Teasers

Give your students' brains a mini workout with some mind teasers. Post a riddle or a lateral thinking puzzle on the board. It's like a mental jumpstart that gets everyone's gears turning right from the get-go. These are especially suited for the cognition unit as you can related them to the types of thinking and problem-solving involved.

Quote of the Day

Sprinkle a dose of inspiration with a psychology-related quote of the day. It could be from a famous psychologist, a thought-provoking author, or even a movie character. Discuss its relevance to the day's topic or let your students interpret its meaning. Quotes are like mini thought starters!

"Real-Life Psychology" Stories

Tap into the power of storytelling by sharing a "real-life psychology" anecdote. It could be a news story, a personal experience, or even a scenario from a movie. Connect it to the lesson or topic you're about to cover to show psychology in action.

Would You Rather: Psych Edition

Put a psychological twist on the classic "Would You Rather?" game. Present students with two scenarios related to psychological concepts and ask them to choose. For example, "Would you rather have an exceptional memory but be unable to forget anything or have average memory with a selective forget button?" It's a fun way to get them thinking and laughing.

Quick Polls or Surveys

Get students' opinions flowing with quick polls or surveys. Use platforms like Kahoot, Mentimeter, or even simple hand raising to gauge their thoughts on a topic related to psychology. It's a fantastic way to spark discussion and show that their opinions matter.

Brain Teasers or Optical Illusions

Challenge your students' perceptions with brain teasers or optical illusions. Project an image on the screen that plays tricks on their minds and let them figure it out together. It's not just fun—it's also a way to introduce cognitive psychology concepts like perception and attention.

"What's in the News?"

Connect psychology to current events by discussing a psychology-related news story. It could be something about a new study, a breakthrough in understanding behavior, or even a societal issue related to mental health. This sparks curiosity and shows that psychology is everywhere.

Plan it out:

Having a warm-up to start a psychology class that's consistent in form but shifts in content to match the day works well, so students know what to expect and can follow an established routine. If you're craving more variety, consider rotating through a handful of different types of warm-ups. For example, do a Mind-teaser Monday, "Today in Psychology" Tuesday, "What's in the News?" Wednesday, etc.

These warm-ups not only create an awesome classroom vibe but also set the stage for some seriously memorable learning. You're setting your students up to expect an engaging start to class each day, so pick a few that resonate with you, and watch your students light up with excitement as they walk through your classroom door.

Share in the comments, have you started class with any of these types of warm-ups? Are there other bell-ringers you love to use?

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28 Mental Health Games, Activities & Worksheets (& PDF)

Despite this, increasing mental health awareness is crucial as it can have many positive outcomes.

For example, one study examining a British anti-stigma campaign found that people who were more familiar with the campaign were more likely to feel comfortable disclosing mental health issues to family, friends, or an employer, and were also more likely to seek professional help (Henderson et al., 2017).

Fortunately, there are all sorts of ways to learn about mental health issues, whether one is an introvert, an extrovert, or somewhere in between.

This article will cover tools that can supplement mental health interventions, worksheets and activities that help people learn about mental health, books dealing with mental health for adults and children, Facebook groups for mental health issues, and finally World Mental Health Day activities and events.

Before you read on, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises will explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology including strengths, values and self-compassion and will give you the tools to enhance the mental health of your clients, students or employees.

This Article Contains:

5 tools for mental health interventions.

• 5 Mental Health Worksheets & Awareness Activities (PDF)

5 Most Popular Books About Mental Health

• 5 Most Popular Children’s Books About Mental Health

Facebook Groups for Mental Health

World mental health day ideas for schools and workplaces, a take-home message.

Here are some tools that will help a psychotherapy treatment plan go more smoothly for both the client and the clinician:

1. Thought Record Worksheet

This PDF is a way to record one’s thoughts and reflect on them. It asks the user to log their emotions and thoughts as well as what was going on to make them feel that way, then has the user reflect on whether or not there is evidence to back up their automatic thoughts. This could be a valuable supplement to a psychotherapist-led CBT treatment, but could also help people teach themselves about CBT .

In fact, one study has shown that thought records are an effective way to modify beliefs, even when used by themselves and not in conjunction with a CBT treatment plan (McManus et al., 2012). Find the Thought Record Worksheet here.

2. The Feeling Wheel

The Feeling Wheel is a simple printout with 72 feelings sorted into 6 groups: angry, sad, scared, joyful, peaceful, and powerful. Represented as a colorful pie, it can be an excellent tool for psychotherapy clients who have difficulty articulating or expressing their feelings.

While this can make it easier for clients to describe their relationships and experiences outside of therapy, it can also help them give immediate feedback on how they feel during a session.

This technique is commonly used to help clients identify emotions, expand their emotional vocabulary, and develop their emotional regulation (Kircanski et al., 2012).

3. Daily Mood Tracker

This Daily Mood Tracker was developed for people dealing with anger management issues but can be helpful for anyone who wants to track their mood.

It splits the day up into several two-hour blocks and asks the user to track their emotions, as well as allowing for notes to explain these moods.

This can also be helpful for clients who have trouble expressing themselves but can provide valuable self-reflection opportunities for anybody. Interestingly, some research has even shown that depressed clients can improve their mood by tracking it (Harmon et al., 1980).

4. Self-Care Checkup

This worksheet is a self-report Self-Care Checkup that therapists can give their clients after each appointment, to fill in between the sessions. The client is meant to consider the activities they are engaging in to keep up good mental health and wellbeing.

While many could be considered routine, such as exercising or getting sufficient sleep, they can often be neglected when they matter most – during times of stress.

This way, the Self-Care Checkup invites clients to become more aware of the frequency with which they practice self-care, categorizing these activities into five groups:

• Professional; and
• Spiritual self-care.

By filling it out regularly, clients can compare their self-care practices from week to week, spotting areas for development and brainstorming more activities that might help them maintain their mental health.

5. Preventing Mental Health Relapse

This is a worksheet that can help clients learn more about possible mental health relapse. It can be used near the end of a therapy treatment plan to help the client recognize a relapse when it is coming, but can also teach strategies to avoid relapse.

This would likely be most helpful for mental health issues that flare up at specific times (as opposed to more chronic mental health issues), and can also be helpful during treatment changes.

For example, patients with anxiety disorders receiving both psychotherapy and antidepressants are at risk of relapse when they discontinue their antidepressant treatment (Batelaan et al., 2017).

Download and use this Preventing Mental Health Relapse activity here.

5 Mental Health Games & Awareness Activities (PDF)

One way to get around this is to have them complete worksheets or participate in activities related to mental health awareness, so they can learn in a more hands-on way.

These worksheets and activities are excellent for cultivating mental health awareness:

1. Mindfulness Exercises For Children

This article includes a huge collection of easy mindfulness exercises that children can do to learn more about mindfulness. It includes activities for teachers, parents, caregivers, and teenagers, along with a host of meditation scripts, books, quotes, and more.

Check out the following, too, for some great ways to get children thinking about mindfulness, while subtly introducing them to mental health issues more broadly: 18 Mindfulness Games, Worksheets and Activities for Kids .

2. Mental Illness: Myths and Reality

Mental Illness – Myths and Reality is a helpful lesson plan for teachers who want to educate students about mental illness stigma.

This activity requires less than 30 minutes and very little preparation – it’s also great for any class size and can be a useful talking point to start insightful discussions around mental health.

It includes 8 myths and 8 facts about mental illness for students to sort out in pairs, to distinguish between common misconceptions and objective facts about diagnosis and life with a mental health condition.

3. Exercise and Mental Health

Exercise and Mental Health  introduces younger children to the importance of exercise and physical activity, illustrating how they go hand-in-hand before giving suggestions for students who want to get more active on a daily basis.

This informational resource is a great handout as part of a lesson about mental health.

4. Understanding Mental Health Stigma

Introducing youths to the concept of stigma can be quite tough, but it’s important.

This Understanding Mental Health Stigma sheet can be used as an aid to help raise awareness of the stigma that surrounds mental illness , as well as what it looks like.

5. Mental Health Management Bingo

Mental Health Management Bingo  is a fun classroom game that can be played with slightly older students.

While it aims to raise awareness about the importance of positive coping strategies, it can also be a great way for students to bond with one another and discover new, healthy ways to look after their mental health..

To play, students require a copy of each sheet and a pencil, and each Bingo square worksheet contains 22 positive coping mechanisms that are related to maintaining good mental health. It’s easy for students to play, and just as easy for teachers or parents to join in!

Download 3 Free Positive Psychology Exercises (PDF)

Enhance wellbeing with these free, science-based exercises that draw on the latest insights from positive psychology.

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We suggest picking at least one of these popular to broaden your understanding of mental health.

1. Mental Health Emergencies: A Guide to Recognizing and Handling Mental Health Crises – Nick Benas and Michele Hart

Written by a mental health associate and a social worker, this book aims to help people recognize mental health crises in the people around them.

This book also aims to teach the reader how to support people in the midst of a mental health crisis.

The authors targeted this book to teachers, human resources workers and other professionals who are concerned with the mental wellbeing of other people, but it can be helpful for anyone who wishes to know more about mental health.

Find the book on Amazon .

2. Ten Days in a Mad-House – Nellie Bly

This book details investigative reporter Nellie Bly’s exposé of a New York City insane asylum in the late 1800s.

In the book, the author details how she checked into a boarding house, feigned insanity and was promptly declared insane and sent to an insane asylum.

Bly spent 10 days in the asylum, during which she uncovered the horrific conditions that patients were subjected to, causing the city and the country to reevaluate how they treated the mentally ill.

This book illustrates how horribly mental health patients were treated in the late 1800s, but can also cause the reader to think about how society treats mental health issues today.

3. Stigma: The Many Faces Of Mental Illness – Joy Bruce M.D.

This book, from a doctor with a mood disorder, aims to educate people about mental health issues and ultimately destigmatize mental health issues.

The book describes various mental health disorders and the nuances of them, making it a great educational book.

The author also discusses a wide variety of people with mental health issues, breaking down stereotypes about mental health along the way. This is a great book for someone who wants to understand more about mental health issues in themselves or others.

4. Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s – John Elder Robison

This memoir discusses the author’s experience of living with Asperger’s syndrome.

The author was not diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome until he was 40 years old, so before then he just lived as someone who felt that he could not connect very well with others for some reason but displayed an affinity for machines and electronics.

This book is an excellent way to gain some insight into the world of Asperger’s syndrome and may help the reader better understand someone in their life who deals with Asperger’s syndrome.

5. Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat – Oliver Sacks and Jonathan Davis

This book from Oliver Sacks is a pop psychology classic. In it, Sacks discusses a few different cases of mental health disorders, focusing on the person rather than the disorder the whole way through.

This is an excellent book for learning about mental health disorders in a way that doesn’t necessarily otherize people with mental health issues. The book’s scope also makes it a great introduction to mental health disorders.

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5 Most Popular Children’s Books About Mental Health

Nurturing an understanding of mental health from a young age can be done with these great reads.

1. Can I Catch It Like a Cold?: Coping With a Parent’s Depression – Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Joe Weissmann

This book from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Canada is aimed at children whose parents struggle with depression.

The book describes what depression is and is not, and gives the reader strategies to cope with the situation. It is aimed at children as young as five years old and can be a child’s first official introduction to mental health disorders.

2. Dear Allison : Explaining Mental Illness to Young Readers – Emma Northup Flinn

This book discusses mental health in an adventurous, conversational way that can help children start to understand the subject.

Written from the perspective of the reader’s cousin (who has teamed up with an ant to explore mental health issues across parts of the United States), this is another excellent book for introducing children to mental health.

The book is partially a collection of letters from the narrator to her nine-year-old cousin, “Allison”, so this book is definitely appropriate for children as young as 9 to start learning about mental health.

3. Marvin’s Monster Diary: ADHD Attacks! (But I Rock It, Big Time) – Raun Melmed, Annette Sexton, and Jeff Harvey

This book is an excellent way to teach children as young as 7 years old about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), particularly if they have it.

Aside from helping children understand ADHD, it offers a mindfulness-based solution the author calls ST4 – “Stop, Take Time To Think”.

This book is an excellent resource for children with ADHD to learn more about themselves and strategies they can use every day to focus.

4. How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids – Tom Rath, Mary Reckmeyer, and Maurie J. Manning

This book was written by Tom Rath, an important author in positive psychology and particularly strengths finding (as he wrote StrengthsFinder 2.0).

It is a children’s adaptation of another one of his popular books, How Full Is Your Bucket?, which claims that people can either “fill your bucket” with positivity or “dip from your bucket” with negativity.

This is an excellent book to show kids how social interactions can affect their self-esteem and wellbeing, and how the way they treat people can affect the self-esteem and wellbeing of others.

5. Please Explain Anxiety to Me! Simple Biology and Solutions for Children and Parents – Laurie E. Zelinger, Jordan Zelinger, and Elisa Sabella

This book, co-authored by a play therapist and a child psychologist, aims to explain anxiety to children in a simplified but still accurate way.

This means describing the physiology of anxiety in a way that children as young as 5 can start to understand.

It also includes some actionable exercises that children can use when they are feeling anxious. This book can help children deal with their own anxiety and learn some concrete psychology along the way.

Sometimes, the best thing for someone struggling with mental health issues is the ability to reach out to someone who will understand them.

Facebook is great for this, as people can start community-based groups focused around mental health issues.

That said, as is always the case with the internet, anybody can contribute to these groups, which has the potential to be harmful to members of that group.

For that reason, we have only highlighted closed groups (as opposed to open groups), which require admin approval to join. This way, it is more likely that someone will find a group full of people who only want to help.

Someone looking for a Facebook group to discuss mental health should try joining one of these:

Adult ADHD/ADD Support Group… By Reach2Change

This is a support group for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or attention deficit disorder (ADD).

Anxiety/Depression Mental Health Support Group

This is a support group for people (18+) who struggle with depression or anxiety .

Bipolar Disorder

This is a support group for people with bipolar disorder, people who know someone with bipolar disorder, or people who want to learn more about bipolar disorder.

Mental Health Inspiration (Support & Awareness)

This is a support group for people with all sorts of mental health issues, as well as people who wish to be an ally or learn more about mental health.

PTSD Buddies

This is a support group for people (19+) with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

30 Minute relaxing yoga for mental health – Jessica Richburg

October 10th is World Mental Health Day.

The objective of this important day is to spread awareness about mental health issues, express thanks to mental health care providers, and do more to make mental health care a reality for those who need it. Overall, the day represents a valuable opportunity to start a dialog about mental health with others in your life.

If you’re a teacher, manager, or principal looking for ways to start this conversation in your school or workplace, here are four ideas to get started.

Yoga and pilates have both been shown to reduce a range of mental health symptoms, such as fatigue and feelings of anxiety, while simultaneously increasing feelings of energy (Fleming & Herring, 2018; Hagen & Nayar, 2014).

To leverage these benefits, consider bringing in a yoga or pilates expert (or linking up with a nearby studio) to do a guided class with your staff or students.

Host a charity event

There are many charitable organizations around the world that are working hard to provide mental health support to those who may otherwise not have access to it.

To help, you can work with your students or staff to identify a cause they feel passionate about and run an event to raise money for a worthy cause. For example, consider hosting a raffle, games evening, cake stall, or fete open to the public.

Wellness gift exchange

A simple gift can do a lot to start a conversation, so consider hosting a wellness gift exchange.

To start, randomly assign your students or staff a ‘gift buddy.’ If you like, you can make the identity of gift-givers and receivers anonymous, much like a Secret Santa, by having your staff or students draw names from a hat.

Next, allocate a spending limit and have each person purchase a gift for someone else. The focus of the gift should encourage the recipient to relax and take some time out for him or herself. Examples of good gifts include movie tickets, a pampering face mask, or a soap and candle gift basket.

Information sessions

Teaching children how to start a conversation with someone about mental health is a skill that can serve them for a lifetime. At the same time, the stigma associated with mental illness may act as a barrier for adults to start a conversation with someone they’re concerned about or seek help.

To help, consider bringing in a mental health speaker or expert and host an information session. The aim of the session should be to connect your students or staff to resources and give them the skills to check in with the mental health of those they care about.

Further, you can take this opportunity to remind your students or staff about internal support services in your school or office, such as forms of personal leave or internal counselors.

In addition to the ideas above, it is likely that public spaces around you, such as libraries and community centers, will have planned events around World Mental Health Day. So consider linking up with groups in your local community to support this important cause.

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At the end of the day, nobody can know everything there is to know about mental health issues. The key is constantly being willing to learn, so that you know how to help when someone you love deals with mental health issues, and have the strategies to deal with your own mental health issues if and when they arise.

Some people prefer reading books, others prefer more hands-on learning such as worksheets, and still, others just prefer going out and talking to people. No matter what type of learning you prefer, the important thing is that you make an effort to make this world a better place for everyone, no matter what mental health issues they are or aren’t facing.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• Batelaan, N.M., Bosman, R.C., Muntingh, A., Scholten, W.D., Huijbregts, K.M., van Balkom, A.J.L.M. (2017). Risk of relapse after antidepressant discontinuation in anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis of relapse prevention trials. BMJ, 358(1) , j3927.
• Fleming, K. M., & Herring, M. P. (2018). The effects of pilates on mental health outcomes: A meta-analysis of controlled trials. Complementary Therapies in Medicine , 37, 80-95.
• Hagen, I., & Nayar, U. S. (2014). Yoga for children and young people’s mental health and well-being: research review and reflections on the mental health potentials of yoga. Frontiers in Psychiatry , 5.
• Harmon, T.M., Nelson, R.O., Hayes, S.C. (1980). Self-monitoring of mood versus activity by depressed clients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48(1) , 30-38.
• Henderson, C., Robinson, E., Evans-Lacko, S., Thornicroft, G. (2017). Relationships between anti-stigma programme awareness, disclosure comfort and intended help-seeking regarding a mental health problem. British Journal of Psychiatry, 211(5) , 316-322.
• Kaduson, H.G., Schaefer, C.E. (Eds.). (2003). 101 favorite play therapy techniques. Volume III. Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
• Kircanski, K., Lieberman, M. D., & Craske, M. G. (2012). Feelings into words: contributions of language to exposure therapy. Psychological Science, 23 (10), 1086.
• Lambert, M.J. (2015). Progress Feedback and the OQ-System: The Past and the Future. Psychotherapy, 52(4) , 381-390.
• McManus, F., Van Doorn, K., Yiend, J. (2012). Examining the effects of thought records and behavioral experiments in instigating belief change. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 43(1) , 540-547.

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What this handout is about

This handout discusses some of the common writing assignments in psychology courses, and it presents strategies for completing them. The handout also provides general tips for writing psychology papers and for reducing bias in your writing.

What is psychology?

Psychology, one of the behavioral sciences, is the scientific study of observable behaviors, like sleeping, and abstract mental processes, such as dreaming. Psychologists study, explain, and predict behaviors. Because of the complexity of human behaviors, researchers use a variety of methods and approaches.  They ask questions about behaviors and answer them using systematic methods. For example, to understand why female students tend to perform better in school than their male classmates, psychologists have examined whether parents, teachers, schools, and society behave in ways that support the educational outcomes of female students to a greater extent than those of males.

Writing in psychology

Writing in psychology is similar to other forms of scientific writing in that organization, clarity, and concision are important.  The Psychology Department at UNC has a strong research emphasis, so many of your assignments will focus on synthesizing and critically evaluating research, connecting your course material with current research literature, and designing and carrying out your own studies.

Common assignments

Reaction papers.

These assignments ask you to react to a scholarly journal article.  Instructors use reaction papers to teach students to critically evaluate research and to synthesize current research with course material.  Reaction papers typically include a brief summary of the article, including prior research, hypotheses, research method, main results, and conclusions. The next step is your critical reaction. You might critique the study, identify unresolved issues, suggest future research, or reflect on the study’s implications.  Some instructors may want you to connect the material you are learning in class with the article’s theories, methodology, and findings. Remember, reaction papers require more than a simple summary of what you have read.

To successfully complete this assignment, you should carefully read the article. Go beyond highlighting important facts and interesting findings. Ask yourself questions as you read: What are the researchers’ assumptions? How does the article contribute to the field? Are the findings generalizable, and to whom?  Are the conclusions valid and based on the results?  It is important to pay attention to the graphs and tables because they can help you better assess the researchers’ claims.

Your instructor may give you a list of articles to choose from, or you may need to find your own.  The American Psychological Association (APA) PsycINFO database is the most comprehensive collection of psychology research; it is an excellent resource for finding journal articles.  You can access PsycINFO from the E-research tab on the Library’s webpage.   Here are the most common types of articles you will find:

• Empirical studies test hypotheses by gathering and analyzing data. Empirical articles are organized into distinct sections based on stages in the research process: introduction, method, results, and discussion.
• Literature reviews synthesize previously published material on a topic.  The authors define or clarify the problem, summarize research findings, identify gaps/inconsistencies in the research, and make suggestions for future work. Meta-analyses, in which the authors use quantitative procedures to combine the results of multiple studies, fall into this category.
• Theoretical articles trace the development of a specific theory to expand or refine it, or they present a new theory.  Theoretical articles and literature reviews are organized similarly, but empirical information is included in theoretical articles only when it is used to support the theoretical issue.

You may also find methodological articles, case studies, brief reports, and commentary on previously published material. Check with your instructor to determine which articles are appropriate.

Research papers

This assignment involves using published research to provide an overview of and argument about a topic.  Simply summarizing the information you read is not enough. Instead, carefully synthesize the information to support your argument. Only discuss the parts of the studies that are relevant to your argument or topic.  Headings and subheadings can help guide readers through a long research paper. Our handout on literature reviews may help you organize your research literature.

Choose a topic that is appropriate to the length of the assignment and for which you can find adequate sources. For example, “self-esteem” might be too broad for a 10- page paper, but it may be difficult to find enough articles on “the effects of private school education on female African American children’s self-esteem.” A paper in which you focus on the more general topic of “the effects of school transitions on adolescents’ self-esteem,” however, might work well for the assignment.

Designing your own study/research proposal

You may have the opportunity to design and conduct your own research study or write about the design for one in the form of a research proposal. A good approach is to model your paper on articles you’ve read for class. Here is a general overview of the information that should be included in each section of a research study or proposal:

• Introduction: The introduction conveys a clear understanding of what will be done and why. Present the problem, address its significance, and describe your research strategy. Also discuss the theories that guide the research, previous research that has been conducted, and how your study builds on this literature. Set forth the hypotheses and objectives of the study.
• Methods:   This section describes the procedures used to answer your research questions and provides an overview of the analyses that you conducted. For a research proposal, address the procedures that will be used to collect and analyze your data. Do not use the passive voice in this section. For example, it is better to say, “We randomly assigned patients to a treatment group and monitored their progress,” instead of “Patients were randomly assigned to a treatment group and their progress was monitored.” It is acceptable to use “I” or “we,” instead of the third person, when describing your procedures. See the section on reducing bias in language for more tips on writing this section and for discussing the study’s participants.
• Results: This section presents the findings that answer your research questions. Include all data, even if they do not support your hypotheses.  If you are presenting statistical results, your instructor will probably expect you to follow the style recommendations of the American Psychological Association. You can also consult our handout on figures and charts . Note that research proposals will not include a results section, but your instructor might expect you to hypothesize about expected results.
• Discussion: Use this section to address the limitations of your study as well as the practical and/or theoretical implications of the results. You should contextualize and support your conclusions by noting how your results compare to the work of others. You can also discuss questions that emerged and call for future research. A research proposal will not include a discussion section.  But you can include a short section that addresses the proposed study’s contribution to the literature on the topic.

Other writing assignments

For some assignments, you may be asked to engage personally with the course material. For example, you might provide personal examples to evaluate a theory in a reflection paper.  It is appropriate to share personal experiences for this assignment, but be mindful of your audience and provide only relevant and appropriate details.

Writing tips for psychology papers

Psychology is a behavioral science, and writing in psychology is similar to writing in the hard sciences.  See our handout on writing in the sciences .  The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association provides an extensive discussion on how to write for the discipline.  The Manual also gives the rules for psychology’s citation style, called APA. The Library’s citation tutorial will also introduce you to the APA style.

Suggestions for achieving precision and clarity in your writing

• Jargon: Technical vocabulary that is not essential to understanding your ideas can confuse readers. Similarly, refrain from using euphemistic phrases instead of clearer terms.  Use “handicapped” instead of “handi-capable,” and “poverty” instead of “monetarily felt scarcity,” for example.
• Anthropomorphism: Anthropomorphism occurs when human characteristics are attributed to animals or inanimate entities.  Anthropomorphism can make your writing awkward.  Some examples include: “The experiment attempted to demonstrate…,” and “The tables compare…”  Reword such sentences so that a person performs the action: “The experimenter attempted to demonstrate…”  The verbs “show” or “indicate” can also be used: “The tables show…”
• Verb tenses: Select verb tenses carefully. Use the past tense when expressing actions or conditions that occurred at a specific time in the past, when discussing other people’s work, and when reporting results.  Use the present perfect tense to express past actions or conditions that did not occur at a specific time, or to describe an action beginning in the past and continuing in the present.
• Pronoun agreement: Be consistent within and across sentences with pronouns that refer to a noun introduced earlier (antecedent). A common error is a construction such as “Each child responded to questions about their favorite toys.” The sentence should have either a plural subject (children) or a singular pronoun (his or her). Vague pronouns, such as “this” or “that,” without a clear antecedent can confuse readers: “This shows that girls are more likely than boys …” could be rewritten as “These results show that girls are more likely than boys…”
• Avoid figurative language and superlatives: Scientific writing should be as concise and specific as possible.  Emotional language and superlatives, such as “very,” “highly,” “astonishingly,” “extremely,” “quite,” and even “exactly,” are imprecise or unnecessary. A line that is “exactly 100 centimeters” is, simply, 100 centimeters.
• Avoid colloquial expressions and informal language: Use “children” rather than “kids;” “many” rather than “a lot;” “acquire” rather than “get;” “prepare for” rather than “get ready;” etc.

Reducing bias in language

Your writing should show respect for research participants and readers, so it is important to choose language that is clear, accurate, and unbiased.  The APA sets forth guidelines for reducing bias in language: acknowledge participation, describe individuals at the appropriate level of specificity, and be sensitive to labels. Here are some specific examples of how to reduce bias in your language:

• Acknowledge participation: Use the active voice to acknowledge the subjects’ participation. It is preferable to say, “The students completed the surveys,” instead of “The experimenters administered surveys to the students.”  This is especially important when writing about participants in the methods section of a research study.
• Gender: It is inaccurate to use the term “men” when referring to groups composed of multiple genders. See our handout on gender-inclusive language for tips on writing appropriately about gender.
• Race/ethnicity: Be specific, consistent, and sensitive with terms for racial and ethnic groups. If the study participants are Chinese Americans, for instance, don’t refer to them as Asian Americans. Some ethnic designations are outdated or have negative connotations. Use terms that the individuals or groups prefer.
• Clinical terms: Broad clinical terms can be unclear. For example, if you mention “at risk” in your paper, be sure to specify the risk—“at risk for school failure.”  The same principle applies to psychological disorders. For instance, “borderline personality disorder” is more precise than “borderline.”
• Labels: Do not equate people with their physical or mental conditions or categorize people broadly as objects. For example, adjectival forms like “older adults” are preferable to labels such as “the elderly” or “the schizophrenics.” Another option is to mention the person first, followed by a descriptive phrase— “people diagnosed with schizophrenia.”  Be careful using the label “normal,” as it may imply that others are abnormal.
• Other ways to reduce bias: Consistently presenting information about the socially dominant group first can promote bias. Make sure that you don’t always begin with men followed by other genders when writing about gender, or whites followed by minorities when discussing race and ethnicity. Mention differences only when they are relevant and necessary to understanding the study. For example, it may not be important to indicate the sexual orientation of participants in a study about a drug treatment program’s effectiveness. Sexual orientation may be important to mention, however, when studying bullying among high school students.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

American Psychological Association. n.d. “Frequently Asked Questions About APA Style®.” APA Style. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://apastyle.apa.org/learn/faqs/index .

American Psychological Association. 2010. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Landrum, Eric. 2008. Undergraduate Writing in Psychology: Learning to Tell the Scientific Story . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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• Teaching Tips

Portfolios in Psychology Classes

In this Teaching Tips article, our goal is to share our experience using portfolios in psychology courses and dispel some of the “myths” we encountered along the way. Our hope is that our experience can help others considering the use of portfolios who may be hesitant to implement them due to concerns such as: They are a haphazard collection of student work, are too time-intensive to incorporate into a large course, are independent and non-collaborative projects, or are technologically impossible to implement. The article that follows describes our collective experience implementing portfolios in a course taught by one of the authors (MB). ~Melissa, Linda, and Sue

“By doing this portfolio, I want to continue to learn more about {the topic}, even after the class is over.” Student comment, Fall 2009

What instructor wouldn’t like to see a comment like the one above at the end of the semester?  As an instructor of a sophomore-level Introduction to Neuroscience survey course several semesters ago, I found this comment especially rewarding. That semester, I  decided to implement portfolios for the first time in the course, a decision that I made after much deliberation. Along the way, I encountered a number of portfolio “myths” that could have stopped me in my tracks. Looking back, I’m glad that I did not believe the myths, and that my students and I were able to learn and grow from that first portfolio experience. Now, after using portfolios in the course for nearly three years, I would like to share what I have learned, and help to both dispel some of the more prevalent myths and offer some practical examples and suggestions for other instructors considering a portfolio project for their classes.

Why consider a portfolio project in the first place? In reflecting on my experiences in the survey class, I found myself thinking about some of my conversations with students in the course. Some students were passionate about topics in psychology that related to our course but that were not going to be covered that semester. As I thought more about these students, I realized that all of their topics could not be covered in the course and was disappointed  that these innate interests could not be cultivated and engaged. I wanted a way to allow students to explore a topic of their choice, particularly something they personally connected with or had an interest in as part of the survey course. I decided to try a portfolio project to allow students to pursue these topics in a more focused way than our in-class lectures and activities allowed.

In my course, students developed a working “personal interest” portfolio based on written assignments completed throughout the semester. There was an assignment approximately every two weeks, which involved researching causes, symptoms, and treatments for diseases of the nervous system and how the disease affects various parts of the nervous system. For each assignment, students were provided with a prompt about which aspect of the topic to research, ideas for locating primary or secondary research materials, and expectations about the use of American Psychological Association (APA) style format. Each assignment included a grading rubric available to students as they completed the assignment. Accompanying each assignment, students included a two- to three-paragraph reflection. Students selected three assignments as the focal points of their final portfolios at the end of the semester and wrote a one-page self-assessment of the entire project. This general approach could be used for other areas of psychology as well: for example, stages of development in developmental psychology, disorders in abnormal psychology, statistical techniques in a research methods class, or development of theories in social psychology.

As I designed and implemented the personal interest portfolio in the Introduction to Neuroscience survey course, I grappled with several portfolio myths:

Myth 1: A portfolio is a scrapbook.

Many professors’ understanding of a portfolio is that it is a collection of assignments put together to display student work. Admittedly, when I first thought about using a portfolio for my undergraduate psychology survey course, I, too, thought that it was just a collection of assignments, perhaps loosely woven together with a common research theme. As I discovered, however, portfolios are much more. The lesson artifacts gathered in a portfolio have a specific purpose, and that purpose includes “exhibiting to the student and others the student’s efforts, progress, or achievement” (Johnson & Rose, 1997, p. 6). By engaging in the portfolio process, students and/or professors carefully collect, select, and reflect on their work. While professor feedback is part of the process, student reflection is the key to “promoting student engagement and learning” (Birkett, Neff, Pieper, 2012, p. 49) and allowing students to get a full view of their own learning.

In designing my first portfolio project, I wanted to move beyond a scrapbook approach and guide students in creating an organized and professional presentation of their work, showcasing their reflection, learning, and progress over a semester. Efforts to produce a high-quality, professional product that students could be proud of took a big leap forward this past semester with the help of a teaching assistant. The teaching assistant organized and led APA-format writing workshops for students outside of class and provided additional feedback on APA-formatting on all assignments throughout the semester. She also helped select examples of “professional” work from past semesters to share with students and explained to students the importance of a professional writing style. Together, we implemented more thorough and descriptive rubric categories for “professionalism” for each assignment. These changes resulted in a notable increase in the quality of portfolios this past semester. Taking time to explain the importance of professional presentation and to make expectations explicit helped avoid a scattered scrapbook approach to our portfolios.

Myth 2: The amount of time it takes to provide quality feedback makes it impossible to implement portfolios in a large course.

When I first thought about using portfolios in my classroom, I was a little overwhelmed with the thought of grading 70 written assignments each week, but I was determined to create an environment that promoted student learning and engagement. As a result, I decided to spend a little more time in the planning stages and found that careful planning is one of the first steps to ensuring a successful portfolio project. As a part of this first step, I defined a purpose for the portfolio and then aligned the portfolio project to the course learning objectives. Next, I designed assignments and rubrics with these learning objectives in mind. I had to allocate an appropriate amount of time for each assignment, break assignments into smaller components, and find or build links between what students were learning in class and their port folio assignments.

Once I understood the connections between the assignments and course content, it was much easier to explicitly communicate to students the purpose of the portfolio in a clear, organized, and concise manner. During each class, I demonstrated the connections between the course content and the portfolio assignments. One way I did this was to model the reflection process by showing student assignments and reflection examples. In doing so, I set high expectations where students made connections between portfolio assignments, course/class concepts, student backgrounds, and the real world. As a result, students better understood that the portfolio was not just about organization and presentation, but also about reflection and making connections.

There were six graded portfolio assignments throughout the semester, which made the final portfolio submission easier to grade at the end of the semester. In fact, the total amount of time I spent on grading was equivalent to the time I would typically spend grading homework or disconnected written assignments (Birkett, Neff, & Pieper, 2012, p. 60). One other modification that helped facilitate written feedback while using time efficiently was to allow students to omit one assignment or drop one low writing assignment grade during the semester. This not only reduced the total number of assignments that were graded throughout the semester, but it also allowed students some control over the directions of their portfolios and provided them with the flexibility to modify their schedules/work loads over the course of the semester.

Finally, because individual assignments had already been graded once and students had received feedback to incorporate, with the help of a rubric, grading of the final portfolios was relatively efficient. The final portfolio rubric included weighted components for: the inclusion of required elements, the quality of those elements, and how well the student demonstrated basic principles of neuroscience as determined by the course outcomes. Overall, I provided very few comments on the final portfolios. A copy of the rubric used in past semesters was recently published in the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching (Birkett, Neff & Pieper, 2012). While it does take longer to grade a portfolio than a multiple-choice exam, I believe the benefits of using an authentic, in-depth learning activity far outweigh the loss of time spent grading each assignment. With careful planning and deliberate decisions about where you would like to spend time providing feedback to students, the grading process can be made manageable.

Myth 3: Portfolios are a self-contained course project for students to work on independently.

This myth might only be half-myth. In my experience, it is important for students to work on developing their research and writing for a portfolio independently. However, the portfolio is not a self-contained course project. Creating a successful portfolio experience has involved students collaborating with assessment and technology experts, librarians, and classmates.

Before beginning a portfolio assignment for the first time, I sought advice from campus experts on assessment and technology about the best ways to implement this type of project. These individuals became instrumental in informing decisions about how to structure assignments, how best to use features of the learning management system (LMS) on our campus (e.g., Blackboard Learn or similar systems), and how to develop rubrics and efficiently provide feedback to students. Key questions I asked these experts included:

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using portfolios as opposed to other assignment options?
• What potential portfolio assignment delivery and grading options are available through the LMS at our school?
• What grading rubric options are available and which will best suit the needs of the assignments?
• What types of assessments best align the portfolio project with the learning outcomes for the class?

Next, because this portfolio project involved student use of research resources to investigate self-selected topics, I sought the assistance of librarians. Who better to teach students about the research resources available at your school than the people who specialize in the process? Our university has a librarian dedicated to helping students and faculty in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, from whom I learned that the Association of College and Research Librarians (ACRL) has outlined a set of information literacy standards for undergraduate psychology students, which align closely with the APA’s Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major (see Hughes and Birkett, 2011). The overlapping nature of these guidelines helped us discuss the relevance of a portfolio project involving research in both of our disciplines. As a result, we were able to set goals for the project that could benefit students in a more comprehensive way than I had initially envisioned. Near the beginning of the semester, the librarian visited the class to discuss research strategies and processes with the students. Over the past several semesters, this librarian-led instruction has evolved to include visiting a computer lab during class, leading students step-by-step through the process of selecting keywords and search terms, refining search results, and evaluating the quality of research resources.

Finally, I wanted to give students a personal responsibility over the portfolio projects. I wanted students to see that their work mattered, and to engage them in an authentic effort to create a professional piece of work that could be read by colleagues.  I’ve tried several different approaches over the semesters but most recently found that in order to strive to make a portfolio worthy of being read by colleagues, it must actually be read by them. I did this by organizing small groups of informal student “review panels” at the end of the semester and asked students in each panel to bring their completed portfolios to class and share them with their peers. To facilitate the process, I provided students with short prompts about what aspects of the portfolio to share. In the future, it might be beneficial to establish these reviews periodically throughout the semester so that students can receive peer feedback and suggestions during the portfolio creation process.

Myth 4: E(lectronic)-portfolios are the best solution.

Working with our e-Learning Center, I considered using an e-portfolio, or an online storage system for the course portfolio assignments, but upon further assessment, I decided against it. I was more interested in students learning how to engage in the research process and reflect on their learning than being technically savvy presenters of information. On the other hand, should your portfolio purpose include “learning that involves reflection, community, and making connections” in an online environment (Hyland & Kranzow, 2012, p. 70), then you may want to carefully consider both the challenges and benefits involved in building an e-portfolio.

Introducing an online e-portfolio system takes time. You will need to ensure that either you have the technical competency to answer students’ questions about the system or that you can partner with an instructional technology expert who has the time and expertise to answer these inevitable questions. Another obstacle to consider is the need to provide students “with clear guidance on confidentiality and the use of digital media” (Moores & Parks, 2010, p. 47). Students need to understand how to cite electronic sources and when to acquire consent to avoid plagiarizing or breaching individual confidentiality. E-portfolios may have many benefits in your learning context; however, you need to clearly evaluate “what added value the electronic portfolio can bring to the group of students” (Moores & Parks, 2010, p. 47).

If e-portfolios fit your needs, they offer a number of benefits over paper portfolios. E-portfolios allow students to incorporate multimedia products or research elements into their final portfolios and make it easy for students to link to additional sources or non-traditional resources, such as videos, interviews, animations, or artwork. E-portfolios can facilitate sharing student work outside the classroom, for instance, by posting them on websites to or setting up on-line collaborations with peers to receive feedback. Finally, e-portfolios provide a unique opportunity for students in online or hybrid courses to partake in the benefits of the portfolio process. For those considering e-portfolios, Vigorito (2011) provides a wealth of ideas for beginning to implement them in psychology classes.

My current plans do not include implementing e-portfolios because I still find value in having students bring a physical copy of their work to class on the final day. Anecdotally, students also report that they like to have a final hard copy to share with classmates and a physical representation of what they have learned over the course. However, if I were to develop a fully online section of this course, I would consider many of the unique e-portfolio options available from education companies and new tools or modules being added by learning management systems.

Altogether, my experience with portfolios has been overwhelmingly positive. This brief description of the process illustrates only one form that a portfolio project may take and addresses only a few of the portfolio myths and benefits. Other educators have tailored portfolios to suit the needs of their individual courses and written at greater length about their experiences (see References and Recommended Reading section). Although research about implementing portfolios has been slow to develop (Herman & Winter, 1994), empirical studies are slowly accumulating to help inform this evidence-based practice (see References and Recommended Reading section).

I have now been using this portfolio project in the survey class for nearly three years.

Each semester brings more refinement of the process and new ideas to evaluate. Implementing portfolios and dispelling myths has proven to be a rewarding and engaging process. Our hope is that in thinking about the ideas, examples, and myths raised in this article, you may find an opportunity to consider a portfolio project for your class and realize the benefits too.

Do you have any materials for teachers wanting to implement a portfolio assignment in their classroom that you would be willing to share?

I would be happy to share materials! Please email me directly at Melissa dot Birkett at NAU dot EDU.

Would you still be willing to share examples and rubrics? Thanks

Melissa do you still have materials regarding student portfolios? I would appreciate any help you can provide. Both examples & rubrics would be GREAT! Thanks.

I would appreciate receiving rubrics and handouts on instructions. I am implementing this for a large (over 100) lecture course. Thanks!

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5 Positive Psychology Exercises to Try With Your Students

When we think of psychology, we tend to think of mental illness – such as trying to understand why some people become depressed, or what happens after a trauma.

But positive psychologists say that we also should be looking at what makes people mentally well, not just mentally ill – and that’s exactly what they study. By implementing these positive psychology exercises in your classroom, you can help all of your students start to build a meaningful, happy, and fulfilled life.

Here are 5 positive psychology exercises that you can try with students of all ages.

What is Positive Psychology?

Positive psychology is a relatively new area of study in the field of psychology that focuses on what makes people psychologically healthy (rather than only studying what makes people mentally ill). 

Often, psychological research studies mental health problems – what causes things like depression, anxiety, and so forth. But positive psychologists study what helps humans flourish and build a life of meaning. 

Positive psychology was founded in the 1960s by a psychologist and researcher named Martin Seligman . He wanted to understand what makes people happy and resilient. He focused on identifying traits and skills that could be taught and learned, that help people become happier. Seligman and his colleagues helped the world of psychology understand that focusing solely on illness and pathology does not help us to understand the full spectrum of the human experience.

Seligman defined 5 essential components to a fulfilling life, and used the acronym PERMA to describe them:

• Positive emotions
• Relationships
• Accomplishments

In the school setting, implementing positive psychology means that we focus on improving the happiness, resilience, and psychological strength of all students, not only the ones who need or seek psychological attention. Rather than only intervening when a psychological problem arises, school staff can work towards improving the psychological health of their students and preventing these problems from arising to begin with.

Using the PERMA model, school staff help students find what they are passionate about (engagement), build a strong school community (relationships), and set them up for academic and social success (accomplishments). We can also use SEL activities to help students identify and build positive emotions, like gratitude, within themselves.

Calm Classroom, a school-based mindfulness program, can help your students gain something in all 5 of these areas. Mindfulness has been shown to strengthen relationships, improve self-esteem, and increase emotional self-awareness.

5 Positive Psychology Exercises for Students

Here are 5 positive psychology exercises, adapted from the Calm Classroom curriculum, that can help your students build meaningful and happy lives.

Gratitude journal

One research-backed way to improve positive emotions is by practicing gratitude . Gratitude is a skill that can be taught and learned, and you can help your students develop this skill.

Invite your students to participate in a gratitude journal. Older students can write 3 to 5 things that made them feel happy today. Remind them that these can be big things – like feeling the love of a parent – or small things, like hearing their favorite song. They should write about these things in as much detail as possible. What happened, and how did it make them feel?

Younger students can create drawings of things they feel grateful for.

If you have built a strong classroom community, you can ask your students to share their gratitude lists with one another.

Identifying values and goals

Identifying their core values can help students begin to understand what kind of future life would be meaningful and fulfilling for them. 

Print out a list of values, keeping your students’ developmental level in mind. There are many comprehensive lists that can be found on the internet, or you can create your own.

Next, have your students identify their top 3 most important values. You can start by having them list their 10 most important values, then guiding them to pare this list down until they are left with only 3.

Lead a discussion or a journaling activity about these values. Why did your students choose them? And what would need to change in their lives in order to live a life that’s more aligned with these top 3 values?

Restorative justice circle

One key piece of a happy life is strong relationships. You can help teach your students how to start building (and preserving) these relationships by demonstrating these skills at school. One way that many teachers do this is through restorative justice circles .

Restorative justice circles were designed to repair relationships after harm has been done. For example, perhaps one of your first-grade students pushed another student at recess. There was a third student who tried to intervene. You can hold a restorative justice circle with them to allow the victim to express how hurt they felt, and give the student who did the pushing a chance to apologize.

When conflicts like these addressed head-on and harm is repaired, then strong relationships can build.

Getting into the flow

One key positive psychology concept, identified by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is the concept of “flow.” Csikszentmihalyi defined flow as “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”

For example, you might think of a ballerina who is completely and utterly engrossed in performing a challenging choreography, or an athlete who is 100% focused on the game. Positive psychologists say that intentionally getting into a flow state is key to a fulfilling life.

You can help your students get into a flow state as well. Help each of them identify a task that isn’t easy, but isn’t so challenging as to be frustrating. Set a timer, allow them to listen to music, and encourage them to become engrossed in the task at hand.

Mindfulness meditation

Lastly, any mindfulness exercise can help your students develop deeper self–awareness and nurture positive emotions like gratitude. 

The Calm Classroom curriculum is filled with mindfulness activities that are great for students of all ages. You can use these simple 3-minute mindfulness exercises out at any moment of the day to help your students tune in with themselves and connect with their emotions.

Get in touch with us to learn about all of the options we have available for you.

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Free unit lesson plans for high school teachers of psychology.

APA offers complimentary unit lesson plans to high school psychology teachers. Lesson plans are 3- to 7-day units that include a procedural timeline, a content outline, suggested resources, and activities and references.

These materials were produced by Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) , which represents the needs of psychology teachers at the high school level.

Please contact TOPSS if you have questions about these lesson plans.

Looking for an activity you need tomorrow?

TOPSS has a searchable database of over 100 classroom activities available to teachers. Also posted are 2-day lesson plans from past award winning teachers .

Diversity resources for high school educators

Developed to align with the five pillars of the National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula , these resources, which include research summaries, psychologist profiles, and guiding questions , aim to help educators infuse diversity and representation into their lessons.

Unit lesson plans

Cognition (PDF, 562KB) * Video: Watch the Cognition authors discuss this lesson plan

Gender (PDF, 345KB)

Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology (PDF, 260KB)

Positive Psychology (PDF, 164KB)

Stress and Health (PDF, 453KB) *

* The lesson plans on Cognition and Positive Psychology were published just prior to the revision of the 2022 National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula . We are making them available here, but encourage teachers to use the 2022 National Standards for lesson planning.

Archived Lesson Plans

The APA TOPSS Committee has archived the following lesson plans, most of which are aligned to the 2011 version of APA’s National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula and not the most current (2022) revision. Teachers are encouraged to use the 2022 National Standards for lesson planning. Teachers should note that these lesson plans have not been updated and may not reflect current research in psychological science. They are provided here as background information for teachers to use as needed.

Biological Bases of Behavior (PDF, 333KB)

Careers, Education and Vocational Applications in Psychology (PDF, 290KB)

Consciousness (PDF, 348KB)

Emotion (PDF, 442KB)

Learning (PDF, 320KB)

Life Span Development (PDF, 404KB)

Memory (PDF, 712KB)

Motivation (PDF, 171KB)

Personality (PDF, 395KB)

Perspectives in Psychological Science (PDF, 306KB)

Psychological Disorders (PDF, 305KB)

Research Methods and Statistics (PDF, 624KB)

Sensation and Perception (PDF, 252KB)

Social Psychology (PDF, 429KB)

Treatment of Psychological Disorders (PDF, 108KB)

Teaching Resources

• Resource vetting rubric (PDF, 80KB) The document should be used when vetting resources to use in the high school psychology classroom.
• TOPSS offers a collection of APA resources for teachers of introductory psychology, including curriculum and classroom tools.

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An assignment examples on psychology s is a prosaic composition of a small volume and free composition, expressing individual impressions and thoughts on a specific occasion or issue and obviously not claiming a definitive or exhaustive interpretation of the subject.

Some signs of psychology s assignment:

• the presence of a specific topic or question. A work devoted to the analysis of a wide range of problems in biology, by definition, cannot be performed in the genre of psychology s assignment topic.
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The goal of an assignment in psychology s is to develop such skills as independent creative thinking and writing out your own thoughts.

Writing an assignment is extremely useful, because it allows the author to learn to clearly and correctly formulate thoughts, structure information, use basic concepts, highlight causal relationships, illustrate experience with relevant examples, and substantiate his conclusions.

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Exploring the external development assets of student well-being at secondary schools in Bangladesh

• Published: 26 August 2024

Cite this article

• Saira Hossain   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5549-9174 1 ,
• Iva Strnadová   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8513-5400 2 , 3 &
• Joanne Danker   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9071-1903 2  

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This paper is based on data from a qualitative participatory study with 40 (boy = 18; girl = 22) secondary school students of Grades 7–10 (ages 13–16 years) recruited through snowball sampling from both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. Semi-structured one-on-one and focus group interviews were conducted online with the students to gain an in-depth understanding of an array of external assets typically located in broader ecological, relational contexts of young people’s lives, such as their peers, family, school, and/or community that facilitate their well-being experiences at school. Grounded theory approaches were used to analyse the data. The study found four external assets entailed Support (from parents, school), Empowerment (e.g., sense of safety), Boundaries and expectations (e.g., high expectations from teachers and parents), and Constructive use of time (e.g., extracurricular activities) conducive to students’ positive development and well-being at school. The findings were discussed within the developmental asset conceptual framework. The findings have implications to inform strengths-based interventions for improving students’ well-being experiences at schools in Bangladesh.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [author initials], upon reasonable request. Data for this review may be accessed by contacting the corresponding author.

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Hossain, S., Strnadová, I. & Danker, J. Exploring the external development assets of student well-being at secondary schools in Bangladesh. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06547-8

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