Lee I. McCann

The Most Frequently Listed Courses in the Undergraduate Psychology Curriculum

Continuing research with a 60-year history, we read 400 college catalogs and identified the most frequently listed undergraduate psychology courses for 4 institutional types. Results suggested ongoing segmentation in the research methodology and developmental areas, with an increasing number of courses listed in each. Experimental content courses (e.g., experimental, biological), clinical (e.g., abnormal, personality), and social/developmental courses are listed with about equal frequencies, and no movement toward additional vocational content is evident. We noted emerging subdisciplinary areas and courses.

The Structure of the Psychology Undergraduate Curriculum

A review of 500 college catalogs for 4 institutional types found the modal undergraduate psychology program follows the traditional model. It is taught in the liberal arts tradition as recommended by the St. Marys Conference (Brewer et al., 1993), balancing natural and social science content. The major typically requires 34 credits including introductory, statistics, and a capstone course (either a senior seminar, colloquium or history); at least one content course; and limited laboratory experience. It neither necessarily requires the integrative capstone course nor psychometric methods courses recommended by the St. Marys Conference. Prerequisites for methodology and capstone courses are limited.

A Faculty Perspective on Teaching Assistant Training

The quality and type of instruction teaching assistants (TAs) receive provide basic preparation for a faculty career. We sampled 249 chairs of psychology departments offering doctoral programs. Questionnaire results show that faculty respondents (a) identify TA responsibilities in a variety of pedagoical areas, (b) describe a diverse set of TA training components, and (c) rate TA supervisors as experienced in both working with TAs and as undergraduate teachers. Faculty respondents describe a pedagogical base from which new faculty with TA experience may continue to develop as teachers.

A national survey of the academic minor and psychology

Brewer et al. (1993) recommended the collection of curricular information to support evaluation of undergraduate psychology programs. We gathered basic information on the psychology minor, including national patterns of requirements and recommendations, chairperson opinions about the psychology minor as an academic program, and the minor areas of study that students with psychology majors are advised to select. Surveys were sent to 400 psychology departments; 275 (69%) returned surveys were usable. Discussion focuses on the structure of the minor, the need for advising minors, assessing the minor, and the type of attention psychology departments could give the academic minor, including the minors they recommend for their majors.

Student Grade Expectations at Technical College, 2-, and 4-Year Institutions

Although students’ final course grade expectations have been the focus of several studies, none have looked systematically at students’ expectations for grade distributions for the whole class across institutional types, student year in school, and course levels. This study examined such differences as a function of gender, course level, and year in school at a university, community college, and technical college. Participants indicated average grades students should receive in first-year, sophomore and, for university students, junior and senior level courses. Technical and community college students expected higher grades than university students, and university students expected higher grades for lower level courses as their years in school increased. Expected grades typically increased with course level, and women expected higher grades than did men.

Defensive responding and leverpress topography compatibility: Effects of shock intensity, S-S interval, and lever position

The degree of compatibility between defensive responding and leverpress topography was investigated. Rats were trained to leverpress on a Sidman avoidance schedule for one 60-min session. Measures of defensive responding (jumping and rearing) were recorded during initial training. Shock intensity (.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mA) and S-S interval (1, 3, and 5 sec) were varied in Experiment 1. S-S interval had no effect on defensive responding or on performance. Rate of jumping was an increasing function of intensity only at lower intensities. Both jumping and rearing were significantly correlated with leverpressing. Shock intensity (1.0 and 2.0 mA) and lever position (3.02 and 16.83 cm) were varied in Experiment 2. Response rate was an increasing function of intensity at the high lever position but not at the low position. Correlations between rearing and leverpressing, and between jumping and leverpressing, were not significant for either lever position. Bolles’ (1970) theory of species-specific defense reactions was invoked to account for initial facilitated performance.

The Importance and Interest of Introductory Psychology Textbook Topics Student Opinions at Technical College, 2-, and 4-Year Institutions

Introductory psychology students at a technical college, 2-year community college, and a regional university rated how important textbook chapters or topics were to them now and in the future and how interesting they were. Importance and interest ratings were highly correlated, and the whole course was rated of greater importance and interest than was any individual topic. Most topics were ranked between important and quite important both currently and for the future, and university students typically rated both topic importance and interest higher. Males rated statistics of greater interest than did females; females rated importance of developmental now and in the future higher than did males. Women also rated current and future importance and interest in abnormal psychology and the future importance of therapy higher. Implications for introductory psychology instructors, departments, and advisors are discussed.

Changes in Author, Editor, and Reviewer Genders Over 42 Years in Teaching of Psychology

The present study examined changes in the genders of authors, first authors, reviewers, and editorial staff over 42 years (1974–2015) in Teaching of Psychology. Over the first 6 years of the journal’s publication, 17.67% of authors and 16.5% of first authors were women, increasing to 57.83% and 44% in the most recent 6 years. From the first 6 years to the most recent 6 years, women as reviewers increased from 9.33% to 37.17% and as editorial staff from 28% to 43.5%, and the number of authors per article increased from 1.52 per article to 2.52. Percentages of women authors, first authors, editorial staff, reviewers, and PhDs earned in psychology by women over time were highly correlated.