Psychology Course Research Articles

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE OF PSYCHOLOGY: CREATING AN INTEGRATIVE BILINGUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR TEACHING STUDENTS

Language acquisition and learning play a special part in any child’s cognitive and linguistic development. The younger the children are, the deeper insight into psychology it takes. Academic subject Foreign language learning at young learners’ age is grounded in psychology and psycholinguistics, as one of the EMI-based[1] courses within the ELM programme of the Faculty of Education in Belgrade. We investigated, through focus-group interviews, our students’ (N=32) experience with psychology and language teaching courses to see how they prepare for work with children. The results confirm that integrative courses largely support their personal and professional growth from academic bilinguals to responsible and caring teachers of young learners. [1] English Medium Instruction – the use of English to teach academic subjects other than English itself in countries where the first language of the majority of the population is not English. (https://www.education.ox.ac.uk › research-groups › emi) [Accessed February 2024]

Exploration of the Curriculum Reform Path in the Period of High-Quality Development of University Educational Psychology

The theoretical and applied characteristics of educational psychology courses in colleges and universities are prominent, and actively promoting curriculum reform is more conducive to promoting the implementation of talent training goals, which is in line with the practical needs of social development for high-quality talents. However, curriculum reform is a systematic project, which involves the innovation of curriculum content systems, teaching methods, teaching evaluations, and so on. This paper mainly expounds on the curriculum reform path in the period of high-quality development of educational psychology in colleges and universities, hoping to play a reference role in improving the level of education management.

Distinguishing genuine from simulated dissociative identity disorder using the Morel Emotional Numbing Test.

Few studies have identified validity tests that are appropriate for use in individuals with dissociative identity disorder (DID). This study investigated whether the Morel Emotional Numbing Test (MENT) could distinguish between genuine and simulated DID. Thirty-five participants with DID diagnosed via a semistructured interview were compared to 88 participants taking an abnormal psychology course who were instructed to simulate DID. Group comparison analyses were conducted to examine differences in the MENT errors. Univariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses examined how well the MENT errors discriminated between groups and identified a cutoff optimizing sensitivity while maintaining high specificity. Simulators had significantly more errors across all three MENT sets compared to genuine DID participants. The total number of MENT errors across sets most strongly and significantly predicted genuine versus simulated DID groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated that the MENT could discriminate between genuine and simulated DID with outstanding classification accuracy (area under the curve = .95). A cutoff of ≥ 10 total errors on the MENT yielded an optimal balance of sensitivity (.86) and specificity (.94). However, the previously defined cutoff of ≥ 8 total errors also demonstrated high sensitivity (.87) and specificity (.89). Findings provide preliminary evidence for the MENT as a validity test for DID populations. Although the commonly used cutoff of ≥ 8 errors on the MENT demonstrated excellent psychometric properties, we recommend using a cutoff of ≥ 10 errors for individuals with DID to minimize the risk of false positives while maintaining strong sensitivity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Widening access to older people’s clinical psychology: Piloting a summer shadowing programme in older adults services

Within recent years, there has been an expansion of UK clinical psychology courses, additional psychological professions and increased attention to psychological wellbeing as part of the NHS Long Term Plan (NHS England, 2019). It has been an energetic time for clinical psychology and in turn, older adult clinical psychology. However, despite the expansion of training places, pervasive social inequalities have meant that for some a career in clinical psychology is less accessible, meaning that the psychology workforce is less diverse. This, in combination with lack of parity in investment for Older Adult Services, can mean older adults’ access to more representative psychological professionals remain hindered. The current paper explores a recent shadowing programme that our small psychology team and older adults’ mental health team piloted in the summer of 2023. Eight female students were able to complete the programme and provided insightful feedback on the experience. We reflect on future learnings and recommendations of setting up such projects in older adult services.

Self-Compassion is Associated with Improved Well-Being and Healthier Cortisol Profiles in Undergraduate Students

ObjectivesStress is highly prevalent in college students. Self-compassion, the tendency to respond in a caring manner to one’s own suffering or failures, reduces psychological distress and promotes mental health. Self-compassion may also influence physiological manifestations of stress; however, research is limited. Among undergraduate students over the course of an academic semester, we explored the associations of self-compassion with stress-related psychological variables including measures of affect, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. We also examined daily patterns of salivary cortisol over four days: diurnal slope, mean, and day-to-day cortisol rhythm stability.MethodThis sample of undergraduate students from introductory psychology courses in a large United States Midwestern university was predominantly non-Hispanic White (71.2%) and female (86.4%). All data were collected prior to final exams. After providing baseline psychosocial data, participants engaged in a 2-week mindfulness intervention: They were provided an iPod loaded with audio tracks based on the well-known Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction intervention, but received no face-to-face instruction. Fifty-nine participants provided self-report demographic and medical data and completed the saliva sampling regimen over the first 4 days of the intervention. Diurnal salivary cortisol was assessed immediately after waking and again at bedtime over four consecutive days.ResultsHierarchical multiple regressions replicated previous findings showing that self-compassion is associated with higher positive and lower negative affect, lower perceived stress, and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. Regression models controlling for oral contraception and tobacco use revealed a positive association of self-compassion with healthy cortisol profiles marked by steeper diurnal cortisol slopes and increased regularity of the inter-daily cortisol slope.ConclusionsThese results confirm that self-compassion may be protective against the psychological and physiological manifestations of stress in college. Kind and compassionate responses to one’s own struggles may shield students from the adverse effects of stress. The potential mechanisms underlying these associations are worthy of future research.PreregistrationThis study is not preregistered.

Normalizing Abnormal Psychology: An Anti-Ableist Approach

Introduction A survey course of mental health diagnoses is a commonly taken undergraduate psychology course and presents a critical opportunity for addressing ableism in psychology. Statement of the Problem The presentation of mental health diagnoses is wrought with ableist beliefs, both in the historical and contemporary context. These ableist beliefs are a prime driver of stigma and its associated outcomes including worse mental health and avoidance of treatment professionals. Literature Review The present article presents the ableist context of the course typically titled, “Abnormal Psychology,” and offers an alternative: the building of an anti-ableist curriculum grounded in disability studies. We use the social model of disability and disability identity as guiding principles, while inquiry-based learning is the pedagogical driver. Teaching Implications We review six practical strategies, which include introducing the social model, renaming the class, starting with positive disability identity, complicating the continuum-categorical dichotomy, centering disability representation, and emphasizing consumer rights and direction. Conclusion By leaning on disability studies and Mad Pride, “Abnormal Psychology” can deconstruct its ableist roots and be the foundation for a destigmatized, positive approach towards the study of psychological disorders. We offer future directions, including potential ways to continually assess anti-ableist efforts.

Exploring amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients’ experiences of psychological distress during the disease course in China: a qualitative study

ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the psychological distress course of Chinese amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients after the onset of the disease and to provide targeted nursing guidance.DesignThe interview content...

Inclusive pedagogies for learning the psychology of equality, diversity, and inclusion

Issues of equality, diversity, and inclusion are under increasing scrutiny in Higher Education. This poses an opportunity for educators involved in the delivery of psychology courses to reflect on the inclusivity of their curricula. Though psychology as a discipline has contributed to reproducing social inequalities, it has also brought them to the forefront, and has the potential to improve the landscape for minoritised people. To honour our commitment to building a more inclusive curriculum that could contribute to these efforts, we codesigned with students a final year undergraduate module, Psychology of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. The module employed inclusive pedagogies to explore how a range of EDI issues affect particular groups of people, sustaining an intersectional perspective throughout. Positive feedback from students indicated that they left the module with the confidence to speak about and take action on the inequalities and injustices they see around them, and experience themselves.

A point contingency increased webcam usage in a university classroom

The use of online instruction has increased substantially in the last few years. An important aspect of remote instruction that has received some attention via survey-based research is student webcam usage. There are few empirical strategies to increase students’ webcam usage. In the present study, we replicated a prior study by providing students with points contingent on webcam usage during remote college instruction. An alternating treatments design was used to assess the influence of the contingent point delivery on webcam usage. Twenty-four undergraduate students in a psychology course participated. The contingency enhanced webcam usage and the points served as effective reinforcers. A simple reinforcement contingency can improve webcam usage in a college classroom, but outcomes can likely be enhanced by including additional antecedent operations.

Mapping the Memory Structure of High-Knowledge Students: A Longitudinal Semantic Network Analysis.

Standard learning assessments like multiple-choice questions measure what students know but not how their knowledge is organized. Recent advances in cognitive network science provide quantitative tools for modeling the structure of semantic memory, revealing key learning mechanisms. In two studies, we examined the semantic memory networks of undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology course. In Study 1, we administered a cumulative multiple-choice test of psychology knowledge, the Intro Psych Test, at the end of the course. To estimate semantic memory networks, we administered two verbal fluency tasks: domain-specific fluency (naming psychology concepts) and domain-general fluency (naming animals). Based on their performance on the Intro Psych Test, we categorized students into a high-knowledge or low-knowledge group, and compared their semantic memory networks. Study 1 (N = 213) found that the high-knowledge group had semantic memory networks that were more clustered, with shorter distances between concepts-across both the domain-specific (psychology) and domain-general (animal) categories-compared to the low-knowledge group. In Study 2 (N = 145), we replicated and extended these findings in a longitudinal study, collecting data near the start and end of the semester. In addition to replicating Study 1, we found the semantic memory networks of high-knowledge students became more interconnected over time, across both domain-general and domain-specific categories. These findings suggest that successful learners show a distinct semantic memory organization-characterized by high connectivity and short path distances between concepts-highlighting the utility of cognitive network science for studying variation in student learning.

A call for an expanded self psychology: Incorporating socio–cultural perspectives in teaching and clinical practice

ABSTRACT Recognizing that psychoanalysis needs to change to meet the challenges described by the Holmes Report on American Psychoanalysis, the authors describe their journey to include socio-cultural perspectives in their teaching activities. To widen the lens of course content, they include topics of race, racial trauma, and inequality by bringing additional voices into their Self Psychology course materials including Beverly Stoute and Franz Fanon. Further, they discuss these authors’ contributions in relation to Heinz Kohut’s foundational ideas about development and clinical practice. They describe the features of an anti-racist pedagogical approach to teaching which supports encouraging and appreciating the contributions of all participants in the learning process. They provide several vignettes from their teaching experiences and argue that self psychologically-informed clinicians are particularly well-suited to meet the challenge of expanding psychoanalytic thinking to incorporate socio-cultural perspectives.

Redesigning the introductory psychology course to support statistical literacy at an open-admissions college.

Redesigning the introductory psychology course to support statistical literacy at an open-admissions college.

Translanguaging on an English-medium undergraduate research methods course for Vietnamese psychology students learning in their second language: a practitioner enquiry

PurposeTranslanguaging is a language-related pedagogy drawing upon all resources within a learner’s linguistic repertoire, in contrast to conventional monolingual pedagogy. Most research about translanguaging concerns English-language learning in primary schools and secondary schools and overlooks psychology subject matter, higher education and countries in southeast Asia. This article reports a small-scale practitioner enquiry into translanguaging on an English-medium undergraduate research methods course for psychology students in Vietnam and into the usefulness of the Multimodalities-Entextualization Cycle as a conceptual framework for integrating translanguaging into the course.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through semi-structured interviews with students and reflective journaling by the teacher, and the data were analysed in a hybrid deductive-inductive thematic analysis.FindingsThe first theme about teaching and translanguaging consists of the following subthemes: (a) enhanced communication, (b) increased awareness of language use, (c) supported interaction in class and (d) time and workload issues. The second theme about learning and translanguaging is subdivided into the following subthemes: (a) a new approach to learning, (b) beneficial for learning, (c) developing confidence in learning in English and (d) enjoyment of translanguaging. The conceptual framework underpinning the study was useful for designing and implementing translanguaging activities for the course.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to one course and a small group of students in Vietnam learning English as a second language. It addresses limited research on translanguaging in psychology courses, higher education, and southeast Asia.Practical implicationsThe study makes a valuable contribution to the teaching profession by offering practical insights into the application, benefits, and drawbacks of translanguaging for psychology and research methods subject matter.Social implicationsMoreover, the findings lay the groundwork for potential influences on education policy, aligning with broader societal impacts.Originality/valueThe study makes a valuable contribution to the literature by delving into a relatively unexplored domain.

A New Machine-Learning-Driven Grade-Point Average Prediction Approach for College Students Incorporating Psychological Evaluations in the Post-COVID-19 Era

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence in recent years, intelligent evaluation of college students’ growth by means of the monitoring data from training processes is becoming a promising technique in the field intelligent education. Current studies, however, tend to utilize course grades, which are objective, to predict students’ grade-point averages (GPAs), but usually neglect subjective factors like psychological resilience. To solve this problem, this paper takes mechanical engineering as the research object, and proposes a new machine-learning-driven GPA prediction approach to evaluate the academic performance of engineering students by incorporating psychological evaluation data into basic course scores. Specifically, this paper adopts SCL-90 psychological assessment data collected in the freshman year, including key mental health indicators such as somatization, depression, hostility, and interpersonal sensitivity indicators, as well as professional basic course scores, including mechanical principles, mechanical design, advanced mathematics, and engineering drawing. Four representative machine learning algorithms, Support Vector Machine (SVM), CNN-CBAM, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) that include deep and shallow models, respectively, are then employed to build a classification model for GPA prediction. This paper designs a validation experiment by tracking 229 students from the 2020 class from the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Henan University of Science and Technology, China. The students’ academic performance in senior grades is divided into five classes to use as the prediction labels. It is verified that psychological data and course data can be effectively integrated into GPA prediction for college students, with an accuracy rate of 83.64%. Meanwhile, this paper also reveals that anxiety indicators in the psychological assessment data have the greatest impact on college students’ academic performance, followed by interpersonal sensitivity. The experimental results also show that, for predicting junior year GPAs, psychological factors play more important role than they do in predicting sophomore GPAs. Suggestions are therefore given: the current practice in existing undergraduate teaching, i.e., only conducting psychological assessments in the initial freshman year, should be updated by introducing follow-up psychological assessments in each academic year.

Effectiveness of PBL in Improving Managerial Psychology Learning

Effectiveness of PBL in Improving Managerial Psychology Learning

Gratitude practice helps undergraduates who experienced an earthquake in China find meaning in life

This study was conducted following a magnitude 6.8 earthquake that occurred in early September 2022, coinciding with the commencement of a positive psychology course for the affected students. A sample of 479 Chinese undergraduates was recruited for an intervention focused on weekly gratitude practice. Data were collected through an online questionnaire package at 3 time points: the first week of the course (Time 1), the fifth week (Time 2), and the ninth week (Time 3), assessing gratitude, learning engagement, and the meaning of life. Findings revealed that gratitude significantly predicted meaning in life through learning engagement over time. This highlights the significant mediating role of learning engagement in the context of earthquakes and provides insights for positive interventions aimed at facilitating personal growth among emerging adults in higher educational settings, particularly those who have experienced traumatic events such as earthquakes.

Flipped classroom in higher education. Analysis of a research methods course in Educational Psychology

La necesidad de innovación educativa se fortaleció debido al confinamiento generado por la pandemia. Desde entonces algunas metodologías de enseñanza y aprendizaje existentes mejoraron, como es el caso del Aula Invertida, la cual, a diferencia de un enfoque “tradicional”, permite una participación activa por parte de las/los estudiantes y puede ser aplicada en ambientes presenciales, en línea o híbridos. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar una experiencia de aplicación del Aula Invertida en un curso de métodos de investigación en psicología educativa. Además de la aplicación de este enfoque, esta experiencia incluye la percepción de las/los estudiantes por medio de un cuestionario cuantitativo y entrevistas a través de grupos de enfoque. Participaron 39 estudiantes de licenciatura en Psicología Educativa. Los resultados de la aplicación del aula invertida indican, por parte de las/los estudiantes, que hay mayor participación, se favorece la autorregulación, tienen una percepción positiva del aula invertida considerando tanto ventajas como desventajas de su aplicación. En cuanto a la enseñanza, se consigue la innovación educativa ya que se utilizaron metodologías activas, apoyadas con las nuevas tecnologías y se obtuvieron sugerencias para posterior uso de este enfoque en educación superior.

Assessing Student-Reported Perceptions of Prerequisite Usefulness in Preparation for Didactic Physician Assistant Education.

To gain admittance to a physician assistant (PA) school, applicants must complete program-specific prerequisite courses and experiences. The lack of standardization contributes to complexity, expense, and limits diversity. This research assessed current didactic PA students' perceptions of prerequisite courses, course delivery methods, and direct patient care (DPC) experiences to determine which were perceived as the most useful in preparation for didactic PA education. An online cross-sectional survey was sent to eligible PA students across the United States. The survey collected opinions on the usefulness of commonly required prerequisite courses, course delivery methods, and DPC experiences. Collected data underwent statistical analysis and qualitative analysis for open-response questions. A total of 527 students completed the survey. Greater than 50% reported prerequisite courses in science and psychology as well as speech, ethics, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), medical ethics, medical terminology, and nutrition "prepared them well" or "extremely well." The most frequently recommended educational delivery method was "in person." The DPC experiences reported to best prepare students were Medical Assistant, Certified Nursing Assistant, and Scribe. The reported recommended number of DPC hours was 1000 to 1499. Chi-square tests for courses that prepared students "well" and "extremely well" revealed that in-person delivery had a statistically significant association with anatomy, physiology, ethics, CPR, medical ethics, and Spanish. These significant findings should be considered by PA programs when evaluating their requirements for admission. Furthermore, PA education associations should consider universal requirements to reduce applicant barriers, complexity, and expense, which may lead to improved diversity.

Analysis of the Positive Interaction Development between Mental Health Counseling and Student Management

Objectives: Mental health counseling and student management are separate entities but closely related ones. Student management is an important part of the work of colleges and universities and plays a critical role in promoting students' all-round growth. Moreover, mental health counseling is an important contributor to student management. Methods: An analysis of basic theories and principles of mental health education and student management was undertaken. Results: Successful mitigation of common psychological problems of students is possible through a combination of approaches. Conclusions: Optimization strategies include cultivating a professional team of health counselors and counseling teachers, coordinating the development of mental health education and student management engineering, and offering psychological education courses, aimed at providing some theoretical reference for promoting the positive interaction between mental health counseling and student management.

Newly graduated Australian psychologists’ interest and confidence in psychological approaches for psychosis: what role can psychology training providers play in increasing access to psychological interventions for psychosis?

ABSTRACT Objective Despite recommendations in international guidelines, implementation of psychological therapy for psychosis is limited. Clinician level factors (i.e. attitudes, confidence, and training) are significant barriers to implementation, but have not been investigated within the context of Australian professional psychology graduates. The current study aimed to examine predictors of interest and confidence in working therapeutically with people with psychosis in recent graduates of Australian psychology postgraduate training courses. Method An online survey was completed by 108 recent graduates from Australian postgraduate psychology courses. Participants provided data on hours of training, practicum experience, stigma, therapeutic optimism and levels of interest and confidence in working therapeutically with people with psychosis. Results Participants reported low levels of training and practical experience in psychological therapy for psychosis. Participants with higher training hours and who had delivered an intervention to someone with psychosis during training reported significantly more confidence in their ability to work with people experiencing psychosis. However, stigma was the only significant predictor of interest; psychologists with higher stigmatised attitudes were less interested in working with psychosis. Conclusions Increased opportunities for practicum experience with people with psychosis and interventions that address stigma in professional psychology training may support increased interest and confidence in providing psychological interventions for psychosis.