2012 Assurance of Learning Report - Kennesaw State University

2012 Assurance of Learning Report 

Name of degree program: Psychology B. S. 

Report author(s): Pam Marek, Beth Kirsner, and Tim Martin 

Authors: Submit this report to the department chair no later than January 16, 2012 

Department Chair: Sharon Pearcey 

Date submitted to AOL Council Chair: 

Chairs: Submit this report to the AOL Council Chair no later than January 23, 2012 

Email the report to tpusater@kennesaw.edu 

Directions for Section A: In order to prepare for upcoming reports to SACS and the Georgia Board of Regents, 

AOL Council will begin tracking progress on the university-wide competencies and general education learning 

outcomes that were approved in the 2010-2011 academic year in addition to the global learning outcomes that 

were approved in 2007. To facilitate this tracking, AOL Council requests that report authors for each degree 

program complete Section A of this report with an updated description of the student learning outcomes for the 

degree program, an indication of whether each outcome is an example of any of the outcomes that AOL Council 

is tracking, and a description of where and how each outcome is assessed. 

Section A contains room for up to 10 student learning outcomes, but you may provide fewer outcomes if that is 

appropriate for your degree program. AOL Council requests that you complete Section A by providing a minimum 

of 5 and a maximum of 10 outcomes. If your program regularly assesses more than 10 learning outcomes, you 

need only provide information to AOL Council on 5 to 10 of the most relevant learning outcomes. AOL Council 

recommends the following guidelines for selecting the learning outcomes to include in your report: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Include only those learning outcomes that faculty in the program have agreed to assess and report on a 

regular schedule. AOL Council recommends program faculty develop a schedule that assures that they 

are assessing each of the outcomes at least once in a 4-year period. 

Prefer learning outcomes that are examples of one or more of the university-wide competencies, global 

learning outcomes, or general education learning outcomes listed on the next page. When describing the 

learning outcome in Section A, use discipline-specific language as appropriate. 

Prefer learning outcomes that are potentially assessable for all students in the program (e.g., outcomes 

that are assessed in required courses that all students complete prior to graduation). 

Assess each outcome using at least one direct measure of student learning (e.g., faculty or supervisory 

assessment of student work such as assignments, examinations, or performances). 

For undergraduate programs, include at least one learning outcome for Academic and Professional 

Expertise and at least one for Effective Communication Skills. The assessment of these outcomes 

should occur in upper-level courses or experiences as close as possible to completion of the degree 

program (e.g., senior-level capstone course, internship, exit exam). 

For graduate programs, include at least one learning outcome for Academic and Professional Expertise, 

at least one for Effective Communication Skills, and at least one for Analytical Reasoning/Creative 

Problem Solving. Prefer assessments as close as possible to completion of the degree program. 

Directions for Section B: Respond to the boldfaced questions in Section B, which appears on the last page of 

this report template. Provide supporting materials as appendices or as Web links in your report. 

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DEFINITIONS OF LEARNING OUTCOMES 1 THAT KSU TRACKS 

UNIVERSITY-WIDE COMPETENCIES (APPROVED FY11) 

Academic and Professional Expertise: Graduates will demonstrate knowledge, skills & dispositions at 

an appropriate and effective level of expertise within their field of study as defined by their degree 

program. 

Effective Communication Skills 2 : Graduates will demonstrate the knowledge, skills and dispositions to 

communicate appropriately and effectively in written, oral, graphic/visual and/or interpersonal forms as 

defined by their degree program. 

Analytical Reasoning/Creative Problem Solving 3 : Graduates will demonstrate analytical or creative 

skills that employ appropriate methodologies to address theoretical or practical issues as defined by their 

degree program. 

‘GLOBAL LEARNING FOR ENGAGED CITIZENSHIP’ OUTCOMES (APPROVED FY08) 

Global Perspectives (Knowledge) 4 : Graduating students recognize and incorporate the diversity, 

commonalities, and interdependence of the world’s people, nations, and/or environmental systems into 

their general knowledge, academic specializations and worldviews. 

Intercultural Engagement (Skills): Graduating students demonstrate effective and appropriate 

communication, interaction and teamwork with people of different nationalities and cultures, either locally 

or internationally. 

Global Citizenship (Attitudes): Graduating students demonstrate respect and support for the common 

good of the world community, including its diversity, attention to human rights, concern for the welfare of 

others, and sustainability of natural systems and species. 

KSU’S GENERAL EDUCATION LEARNING OUTCOMES 5 (APPROVED FY11) 

Reading Comprehension: Students articulate comprehension of written material including the author’s 

rhetorical purpose and the strategic use of text features. 

Quantitative Interpretation: Students explain information presented in mathematical forms (e.g., 

equations, graphs, diagrams, tables, or words) at a level appropriate for the complexity of problems in a 

college-level course. 

Quantitative Representation: Students convert information into a mathematical portrayal (e.g., 

equations, graphs, diagrams, tables, or words) at a level appropriate for the complexity of problems in a 

college-level course. 

Social Sciences: Students analyze the complexity of human behavior and how social, historical, 

economic, political, or spatial relationships develop, persist, or change. 

Natural Sciences: Students apply the scientific method to analyze data related to natural phenomena 

found in everyday life. 

U.S. Perspectives: Students articulate the historical, political, social, or institutional developments of the 

United States. 

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3 

4 

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Three General Education (GE) outcomes (indicated in the footnotes below) overlap with some of the University-Wide 

Competencies and Global Learning Outcomes. 

Production of written communication: Students write appropriately for rhetorical situation, audience, purpose, and 

genre; demonstrate appropriate content, organization, syntax, and style; and acknowledge the use of information sources, 

according to convention. 

Critical Thinking: Students articulate a position on an issue and support it by evaluating evidence relevant to the 

position, considering opposing positions or evidence, and documenting sources according to convention. 

Global Perspectives: Students analyze creative works from one or more foreign countries in relation to the historical, 

political, economic, sociocultural, aesthetic, or personal contexts in which those works emerged. 

There are three additional General Education (GE) outcomes, indicated in the footnotes above. 

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SECTION A. 2012 LIST OF STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR 

Psychology B. S. 

Complete at least 5 and no more than 10 distinct learning outcomes for the program. 

Description of Student Learning Outcome 1: 

GSLO1. Our graduates will be able to communicate ideas concerning psychology clearly and effectively 

in both oral and written formats. 

SSLO 1 a Use APA style correctly in research reports and other written assignments. (skill) 

SSLO 1 b Demonstrate effective use of written language in research reports and other written 

assignments. (skill) 

SSLO 1 c Show effective use of spoken language in class presentations. (skill) 

Indicate whether the outcome described above is an example of any of the outcomes KSU tracks. 

Refer to the page of “Definitions of Learning Outcomes that KSU Tracks”. Check all that apply. 

Undergraduate programs: Include at least one outcome for which you check Academic and 

Professional Expertise and at least one outcome for Effective Communication Skills. 

Graduate programs: Include at least one outcome for Academic and Professional Expertise, at least one 

for Effective Communication Skills, and at least one for Analytical Reasoning/Creative Problem Solving. 

Check here only if none of the outcomes listed below apply 

UNIVERSITY-WIDE COMPETENCIES (see notes above) GENERAL EDUCATION LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Academic and Professional Expertise 

Effective Communication Skills 

Analytical Reasoning/Creative Problem Solving 

GLOBAL LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Global Perspectives (Knowledge) 

Intercultural Engagement (Skills) 

Reading Comprehension 

Quantitative Interpretation 

Quantitative Representation 

Social Sciences 

Natural Sciences 

U.S. Perspectives 

Global Citizenship (Attitudes) 

Identify at least one course or 

experience (e.g. out-of-class exam or 

activity) in which program faculty 

assess students on this outcome. 

Senior Seminar (started in Fall 2011) 

Experimental Psychology 

Describe the method(s) by which program faculty 

assess students on this outcome (e.g., questions on 

examinations, papers, presentations, observations by 

a supervisor). 

Written integrative literature reviews (including APA style) 

are evaluated by full-time faculty, who indicate whether 

students' written communication skills are above 

expectations, meeting expectations, or below expectations. 

Oral presentations are evaluated by full-time faculty, who 

indicate whether students' oral communication skills are 

above expectations, meeting expectations, or below 

expectations. 

Full-time faculty evaluate the content and writing of 

students' written research proposals 

Research Methods 

Full-time faculty evaluate the content and writing of 

students' written literature reviews (minimum requirement) 

or research projects. 

Indicate the academic years during which this outcome was assessed and/or will be assessed: 

This outcome was assessed (or is scheduled to be assessed) during: 

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 

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GSLO2. Our graduates will be able to perform and critique empirical research through the use of critical 

thinking and the appropriate statistical techniques. 



Undergraduate programs: Include at least one outcome for which you check Academic and Professional 

Expertise and at least one outcome for Effective Communication Skills. 




UNIVERSITY-WIDE COMPETENCIES (see notes above) 







GENERAL EDUCATION LEARNING OUTCOMES 
















examinations, papers, presentations, observations by a 

supervisor). 

All students complete a comprehensive, multiple-choice 

post-test that includes a set of questions related to 

quantitative reasoning. 

All students complete a comprehensive, multiple-choice 

post-test that includes a set of questions related to 

quantitative reasoning and interpretation of a table and 

graph. 

All students also prepare an experimental proposal that 

typically includes an analysis plan or a section with 

expected results of a quantitative analysis. 



2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 

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GSLO 3. Our graduates will be able to define and use the major theories, constructs, and empirical 

findings in psychology. 

SSLO 3 a Demonstrate understanding of the major areas of psychology: learning and cognition; 

individual differences - clinical, abnormal, and personality; biological bases of behavior; and 

developmental and social. (knowledge) 



























Senior Seminar 



Introductory Psychology 




supervisor). 

Students complete the standardized Educational Testing 

Services’ Major Field Test in Psychology with national 

norms. 

Students complete a series of multiple-choice questions 

related to research methods (applicable to all areas of 

psychology), ethics, and quantitative reasoning (overlap 

with GSLO 2). 

Students complete a multiple-choice posttest related to 

research methods (applicable to all areas of psychology) 

and quantitative reasoning (overlap with GSLO 2). 

Students have completed a posttest but its use for 

assessment purposes has not yet been confirmed. 


For all courses other than Introductory Psychology, this outcome was assessed (or is scheduled to be 

assessed) during: 

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 

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GSLO 4. Our graduates will be able to understand and apply psychological knowledge to personal and 

group issues. 

SSLO 4 a Describe the major applied areas in psychology. (knowledge) 

SSLO 4 c Apply empirically tested psychological principles to personal goals. (knowledge) (skills) 



























Lifespan Developmental Psychology 

(required course for majors that includes a 

large proportion of non-majors) 

Careers (required course for majors) 




supervisor). 

We are beginning to develop a multiple-choice posttest with 

items that will apply principles of developmental psychology 

to personal and group issues. 

Although plans for discussion of an assessment instrument 

have not yet been implemented, we intend to gather input 

from Careers faculty regarding the possibility of assessing 

students’ knowledge of the applied areas of psychology 

(timetable not determined). 


In developmental psychology, this outcome was assessed (or is scheduled to be assessed) during: 

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 

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GSLO 5. Our graduates will be able to understand and apply ethical principles in psychological 

undertakings. 

SSLO 5 c Understand and respect cultural differences in values and how those differences may 

modify the application of psychological findings or techniques.(knowledge) (attitude) 


























Diversity group of courses (one required for 

majors) 

* Cross-Cultural Psychology 

* Psychology of Gender 

* Ethnic-Minority Psychology 





supervisor). 

We have just begun an investigation of measures of 

attitudes (respecting cultural differences) that will be 

applicable across all courses in the diversity group, from 

which all psychology students must complete at least one 

course. 



2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 

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SECTION B 

NARRATIVE REPORT OF AOL ACTIVITIES, FALL 2009 THROUGH FALL 2011 

1. Describe the AOL-related activities that faculty in your program have conducted from Fall 2009 

through Fall 2011. Provide Web links or append supporting materials that summarize these activities. 

The Assessment Committee includes Pam Marek (Chair), Beth Kirsner, and Tim Martin. We present what we 

have done in the context of learning outcomes. We include the same links to assessments in section B.1 and in 

section B.2, which focuses on the results of these assessments. 

Our General Student Learning Outcome (GSLO) 1 (Our graduates will be able to communicate ideas concerning 

psychology clearly and effectively in both oral and written formats) encompasses specific student learning 

outcomes (SSLOs) that relate to both general and discipline-specific (e.g., APA-style) skills. We are formally 

assessing written communication in three required courses: Research Methods (2000 level), Experimental 

Psychology (3000 level), and Senior Seminar (4000 level). In the two research sequence courses, instructors 

report student performance on specific sections of required reports (either literature reviews, empirical studies, or 

proposals). Although requirements differ across sections, examining data in this manner provides a glimpse into 

students’ strengths and weaknesses (see Appendix A). In the Senior Seminar courses, we conducted our first 

assessment in fall 2011 (see Appendix B). Senior Seminar instructors rated each individual student’s 

comprehensive paper and presentation as above expectations, met expectations, or below expectations. Again, 

requirements differ across sections, as does the amount of assistance (e.g., instructor review of drafts). However, 

all instructors require a major paper that integrates at least two psychological perspectives on a topic that has 

been approved by the instructor. All instructors also require an oral presentation. 

Our GSLO 2 (Our graduates will be able to perform and critique empirical research through the use of critical 

thinking and the appropriate statistical techniques) includes specific student learning outcomes (SSLOs) that 

encompass using statistical programs to do basic statistical functions, justifying use of statistical tests, using a 

computerized database to perform a competent literature search, and evaluating the quality of information. We 

do not isolate these outcomes via a specific course-wide assessment. However, they are subsumed in the 

evaluation of other assignments. First, in the laboratory component of our required sequence courses, students 

use SPSS to perform, interpret, and report on a variety of statistical tests embedded in different assignments 

throughout the semester. Second, in empirical reports and proposals, evaluation of the results or analysis plan 

sections encompasses selection of the appropriate statistical test. Third, we have also incorporated questions 

that involve making inferences from statistical results in standardized assessments for all research sequence 

students. Fourth, students’ ability to conduct a competent literature search is a prerequisite for preparing a 

satisfactory introduction for a proposal or empirical report and for preparing a major review paper such as that 

required in Senior Seminar. In our 2009 report, we reported data about the number of students who were 

involved in directed research projects with faculty mentors and the outcomes of those projects; we have 

requested similar information from faculty for 2011. To date, we have received reports from a majority, but not all, 

of our faculty. 

Our GSLO 3 (Our graduates will be able to define and use the major theories, constructs, and empirical findings 

in psychology) seems to relate quite closely to “content knowledge.” We continued to included course-wide 

assessments of content knowledge in our research sequence (standard pretest and posttest, see Appendix C), 

and senior seminar (Educational Testing Services’ Major Field Test, see Appendix D). Each semester, all 

students in all sections take these tests. Sequence assessments for both research methods and experimental 

psychology include subsections related to scientific methodology, quantitative literacy, and formal 

writing/grammar and APA style. The methods assessment also includes a section on ethics. Some sequence 

instructors also require students to complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative’s online ethics 

tutorial for student researchers. The Major Field Test encompasses multiple subtopics. It provides scores for four 

broad content areas (including Learning, Cognition, Language, Memory, and Thinking; Perception, Sensory, 

Physiology, Comparative, and Evolutionary; Clinical, Abnormal, and Personality; and Developmental and Social) 

and assessment indicators for narrower content areas (including Memory/Thinking, Sensory/Physiological, 

Developmental, Clinical/Abnormal, Social, and Methods). These scores illuminate the relative standing of our 

students versus a nationwide sample and allow us to compare students’ content knowledge in different areas. 

However, interpretation is clouded because students are not required to take all of these courses and/or may 

have taken some of the courses prior to transferring to KSU. Students in our introductory psychology (1000 level, 

general education course and basic requirement for psychology majors) courses also completed a standard 

assessment at the end of the fall 2011 semester; however, results are not yet available. Appendix E includes the 

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questions on the assessment; the items were systematically created to address content areas that are 

standardized across sections. 

Our GSLO 4 (Our graduates will be able to understand and apply psychological knowledge to personal and group 

issues) and GSLO 5 (Our graduates will be able to understand and apply ethical principles in psychological 

undertakings) both include SSLOs that encompass diversity issues and sociocultural differences, as does our 

GSLO 3. SSLO 4d (Recognize how sociocultural factors can affect the application of psychological techniques) is 

nested under GSLO 4. SSLO 5c (Understand and respect cultural differences in values and how those 

differences may modify the application of psychological findings or techniques) is nested under GSLO 5. In 

addition, SSLO 3b (Explain how sociocultural differences can affect behavior and cognition) is nested under 

GSLO 3. At present, we are not formally assessing these SSLOs although we did include a cross-cultural 

knowledge component in our fall 2007 through fall 2008 senior survey (results included in 2009 AOL report). We 

discontinued this assessment because students were not required to take a cross-cultural course and the 

questions pertained specifically to cross-cultural psychology. Our students are still not required to take a specific 

cross-cultural course. However, one of the primary changes to our revised curriculum effective Fall 2010 was the 

addition of the requirement that students complete a minimum of one of three courses in a diversity grouping that 

includes Cross-Cultural Psychology (PSYC 3355), Ethnic Minority Psychology (PSYC 3385), and Psychology of 

Gender (PSYC 3425). In 2011, the Assessment Committee had a preliminary discussion regarding how to best 

design and implement a measure to address diversity outcomes. Although sociocultural issues are embedded in 

courses throughout the curriculum, we plan to focus on the diversity grouping. We have collected syllabi from the 

three courses, and we expect to collect input from course instructors in 2012 (as noted in Section B4) regarding 

measurement of learning outcomes. For the purposes of this report, we have included an appendix that indicates 

only enrollment and grades for diversity courses offered in 2011 (see Appendix F). 

Our GSLO 6 relates to the ability to plan for careers. To date, we have not assessed this outcome, which applies 

most specifically to our lower level Careers in Psychology course. We will aim to discuss potential assessment 

with faculty who teach the Careers course. We will also consider adding a question about students’ perceptions 

of their career preparedness to our Senior Survey. 

Appendix G includes a complete listing of our learning outcomes. 

In addition to objective evidence of learning, our survey of senior seminar students also provides us with 

evaluations of specific aspects of our program and students’ perceptions of their learning. Across multiple 

semesters, our response rate has been in the 70% to 75% range, providing a relatively broad base of students’ 

views. Our questions address such topics as lab facilities, teaching, advising, scheduling, perceptions of 

importance of and expertise in written communication, statistical interpretation, and effective interaction with 

diverse populations, strengths and weaknesses of the psychology program, and plans after graduation. Appendix 

H includes a portion of the results from our fall 2011 survey. We also collected contact information from our 

seniors for potential use in an alumni survey. 

Finally, to provide talented students with an opportunity to learn more about teaching via interaction with faculty 

members and other students, the psychology department has introduced undergraduate teaching assistantships 

UTAs). All UTAs complete a confidentiality agreement before beginning their service. As would be expected, the 

responsibilities of UTAs vary across courses and instructors. To evaluate students’ perceptions of the UTAs who 

are assigned to their courses, the assessment committee has developed a UTA evaluation survey for students, 

and instructors have the option of using this form. Appendix I includes an excerpt of quantitative data from this 

form. 

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2. Describe the type of evidence collected from Fall 2009 through Fall 2011 on student achievement of 

the program’s learning outcomes and discuss the extent to which students are meeting, exceeding, or 

not meeting expectations on these outcomes. Provide Web links or append supporting materials 

(e.g., summary tables, charts) that summarize the evidence. 

If you have no evidence to report, indicate “Not applicable” for both Parts 2 and 3; if appropriate, 

provide reasons for not responding to these parts of the narrative. 

In this section, we focus on our most recent evidence for assessments described in AOL Report Section B.1. 

Links connect to the same appendices that were mentioned in Section B.1. 

Appendix A includes the results of the written communication assessment for sequence courses. In fall 2011, fulltime 

faculty evaluated writing assignments completed by 282 research sequence students. Data are listed 

separately for the first (Research Methods) and second (Experimental Psychology) courses in the research 

sequence. Research Methods is the first required psychology course in which students are challenged to prepare 

formal research reports or literature reviews using APA style. In the subsequent course, Experimental 

Psychology, grading criteria are typically more stringent; all students are required to prepare a formal proposal for 

an experiment. In both courses, specific criteria for and components of the formal writing assignment differ 

across instructors. However, there is considerable overlap in the components/sections graded by each faculty 

member. For each report section, Appendix A includes the number of students who were assessed, the mean 

and standard deviation for percentage of points earned, and the percentage of students who earned at least 70%. 

Overall, both Research Methods and Experimental Psychology students demonstrated competence in preparing 

all sections of a report, with particularly noteworthy performance on the title page, method section, and results. 

The method section reflects students’ ability to create or describe a research design, a necessary step in 

performing empirical research (GSLO 2). The overall mean percentages earned on the method section were 81% 

(Research Methods) and 83% (Experimental Psychology). The results section reflects aspects of quantitative 

literacy, including selecting appropriate statistical tests and, for completed projects, actually performing the tests 

and interpreting computer output (SSLO 2a and 2b). The overall mean percentages earned on the results section 

were 89% (Research Methods) and 80% (Experimental Psychology). Overall, students also performed at a 

satisfactory level on other sections linked directly to learning outcomes. For example, preparing an Introduction 

requires a competent literature search (SSLO 2c), and both the introduction and discussion engage students in 

evaluating the quality of information (SSLO 2f) and making usable connections between knowledge at different 

levels (e.g., theories and results, SSLO 2h). 

Insofar as the written communication objectives (SSLOs 1a, APA style, and 1b, written language), some 

instructors considered these items within the context of each section, whereas other instructors provided separate 

grades for APA style, general writing, or APA style/writing combined. Overall, students demonstrated satisfactory 

skill in applying APA style in both Research Methods (M = 74%, SD = 20%) and Experimental Psychology (M = 

84%, SD = 11%). The quality of writing was also satisfactory in both Research Methods (M = 77%, SD = 19%) 

and Experimental Psychology (M = 83%, SD = 13%). 

Although overall results are encouraging, a more detailed analysis of the percentage of students who did not 

achieve at least 70% on a report or proposal section, writing quality, or APA style reveals some weaknesses. For 

example, approximately one third of the Research Methods students did not achieve what may be considered a 

passing grade on APA style, writing quality, and references, and only slightly more than half of the students 

earned 70% or better on the abstract. The abstract is the last section written; it is possible that students received 

less feedback on drafts of this section than on other portions of the report. Among Experimental Psychology 

students, the percentage of students who achieved a 70% or better on APA style and writing quality (when graded 

separately) was quite high (96% for APA style and 88% for writing quality). However, in one section in which 

grades for APA style and writing quality were combined, only slightly more than half of the students earned 70% 

or better. On a more positive note, the vast majority of Experimental Psychology students (89%) earned at least 

70% on the abstract and 85% did so on the discussion. 

Regarding the “perform” component of GSLO 2 (Our graduates will be able to perform and critique empirical 

research through the use of critical thinking and the appropriate statistical techniques), data collected to date for 

research involvement show that 76 different students worked on research projects under the mentorship of 14 

faculty members. Twenty-four of the students participated in more than one project or multiple phases of a 

project across different semesters. Of these 24, 15 worked with more than one faculty member. Overall, 

students worked on approximately 54 different research projects or phases of research projects. As a result, 25 

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poster or paper presentations were completed or accepted at professional conferences (e.g., Southeastern 

Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference in 

Psychology) or at executive meetings of target groups (e.g., AID Atlanta), one manuscript was published, and five 

written reports (e.g., honors project, Dean’s Office) were completed. In addition, eight manuscripts are being 

prepared or revised for publication, and seven conference presentations are planned for the future. Note that the 

data in this paragraph include both research conducted for directed research course credit and research 

involvement for which students did not receive course credit. 

Appendix B includes the results of the assessment of communication skills in the four Senior Seminar sections 

from fall 2011, together with enrollment and performance data for these sections. In each course section, the 

Senior Seminar instructor checked one of the three options for each skill. In one course section, APA style was 

evaluated as part of written language rather than separately. Of the 63 students on the final roster, the three who 

received a grade of W or WF were not included in the communication skills analysis. As shown in the Appendix 

B, a clear majority of students met or exceeded expectations in all three areas evaluated: written language, 

75.9%; APA style, 81.8%; and spoken language, 78.1%. The weight of the paper in the final grade (M = 50.1%, 

SD = 4.3%) ranged from 45% to 56%. The weight of the presentation in the final grade (M = 20.2%, SD = 5.0%) 

ranged from 13% to 25%. Other course components that varied across seminar sections included activities and 

assignments, such as article reviews, quizzes, and discussions. 

Appendix C includes the results of the assessments for our Research Methods and Experimental Psychology 

courses together with the actual test instruments used. The multiple-choice tests, administered via Survey 

Monkey, include subareas focusing on methodology, ethics, quantitative reasoning, and formal grammar/APA 

style. At the beginning of the semester, students complete a pretest that can serve as an overview of topics that 

will be discussed in the course. Students take the same test again during the last laboratory period of the course. 

As shown in the Summary of Methods assessment posttest results, as might be expected, responses from the 

135 Research Methods students who had completed both the pre- and posttest showed that overall percent 

correct for the 20-question assessment was significantly higher on the posttest (M = 70.2%, SD = 12.9) than on 

the pretest (M = 58.4%, SD = 12.5), t(134) = 10.14, p < .001. For the purposes of assessment, our focus is on the 

level of posttest performance. Students performed particularly well on questions related to key aspects of ethics 

(93.8%), including coverage of plagiarism, informed consent, and the role of the IRB. Students achieved 

satisfactory performance on items about scientific methodology (75.1%) and quantitative literacy (74.9%), but had 

difficulty with questions related to technical aspects of APA style (e.g., use of that versus which, while versus 

although) and formal grammar (e.g., pronoun antecedent agreement, use of apostrophes, punctuation of 

compound sentences) (44.4%). 

Again, as might be expected, responses from the 83 Experimental Psychology students who had completed both 

the pre- and posttest showed that overall percent correct for the 28 question assessment was significantly higher 

on the posttest (M = 64.3%, SD = 12.3) than on the pretest (M = 50.3%, SD = 12.3), t(82) = 10.66, p < .001. 

Students improved in all three topic areas (scientific method, posttest 71.8%), quantitative literacy (posttest, 

61.0%), and APA style and formal grammar (70.4%). Clearly, although students grasped some of the key 

concepts of inferential statistics, (e.g., the meaning of statistical significance, 89%, and purpose of ANOVA versus 

multiple t tests, 82%), they struggled with drawing conclusions from experimental descriptions and with 

interpreting a line graph with multiple variables (highest percent correct on these questions, 45%). 

Appendix D presents the results of the ETS Psychology Major Field Test (MFT), which has been required of 

graduating seniors since 2002. As noted in the previous AOL report (2010), percentile averages on this test 

declined from 2002 to 2006, and then began a recovery from 2006 to 2009. For the past two years, these scores 

have been stable at somewhat above the 50 th percentile. The tendency of students to exhibit better performance 

on the clinical and social/developmental subtests than the cognitive/perceptual subtests also continued. 

Appendix E presents the questions asked on the Introductory Psychology assessment. Results are not yet 

available. 

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Appendix F includes information about 2011 enrollment and performance in the three diversity courses, all of 

which are open to students who are not majoring in psychology. Although Cross-Cultural Psychology had the 

largest enrollment, the difference may be attributable to variation in course enrollment caps (e.g., the number of 

seats available for Cross-Cultural was triple the number available for the other courses in the spring and fall 2011 

semesters). Ethnic Minority Psychology and Psychology of Gender seemed to have a higher proportion of 

psychology majors than did Cross-Cultural Psychology. Among psychology majors, the percentage who earned a 

C or better (required to avoid retaking the course) seemed lower in Ethnic Minority Psychology (68%) than in the 

other courses, in which 86% to 94% of those enrolled successfully completed the course. The difference appears 

to be attributable to the relatively larger proportion of psychology majors (approximately 22%) who withdrew from 

Ethnic Minority courses. 

Appendix H includes self-reported information from Senior Seminar students about their involvement in and 

perceptions of various aspects of the psychology department. For example, 18% of 50 respondents participated 

in directed research and 20% served as undergraduate teaching assistants, rating the experiences as 4.33 and 

4.20 respectively on a scale ranging from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). Quality of teaching was rated highly (4.40), 

and, on a scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (to a very great extent), students indicated that they are using what 

they have learned in the psychology program in their lives (5.72). Open-ended comments about their use of 

knowledge are included in the appendix. Considering our diversity-related outcomes, we asked students about 

the perceived importance of, and their competence in, interacting effectively with individuals from a variety of 

cultural backgrounds in their potential careers. Students also responded to similar items related to writing highquality 

reports and interpreting and drawing conclusions from statistical information. Students’ (N = 39) ratings of 

importance for the three skills on a 1 to 7 scale (with a higher score indicating a more positive rating) were 

statistically similar (6.21 for interacting effectively, 5.95 for report writing, and 5.67 for interpreting statistics). 

Students’ ratings of personal proficiency for the three skills on a 1 to 7 scale (with a higher score indicating a more 

positive rating) were also statistically similar (5.97 for interacting effectively, 5.44 for report writing, and 5.41 for 

interpreting statistics). Self-ratings of skill were significantly correlated with self-reported GPA for report writing, 

r(35) = .49, p = .002, and statistical interpretation, r (35) = .38, p = .02, but not for effective interaction, r (35) = .06, 

p = .70. 

Appendix I includes quantitative excerpts from students’ evaluations of UTAs in five courses. For each 

dimension, only students who indicated that they saw or interacted with a TA on a particular dimension (e.g., 

received help in class, received assistance with computers, attended study session, etc.) were asked to provide a 

rating. All ratings were on a scale from 1 (very low quality) to 10 (very high quality). These ratings were gathered 

to provide input for instructors to discuss various aspects of the UTA assignment with the UTAs themselves. 

Ratings suggest that students generally reacted quite positively to UTAs’ contributions to their courses. 

12

3. Discuss whether and how the department has used the evidence of student learning described in Part 

2 to improve the program. Include discussion of changes that are scheduled to be implemented in 

the future or are currently being considered. Include Web links or append supporting materials that 

illustrate these program improvements. 

Our new curriculum, which included a diversity grouping (see Appendix J), went into effect in fall 2010. We have 

no plans for further changes at present. Regarding communication-related learning outcomes, it is possible that 

the department will begin to consider potential ways (e.g., tutorials or workshops) to enhance students’ writing 

skills, which, in part, may relate to challenges in comprehending readings from professional literature. In a similar 

vein, we may begin to discuss ways to build or reinforce basic quantitative skills for those students who need such 

scaffolding prior to tackling more complex statistical analyses. However, these issues have not yet been brought 

up for discussion at a faculty meeting, so it would be premature to provide a timeline or further speculation on how 

those who need assistance would be encouraged to attend. 

4. Provide a plan and timeline from Spring 2012 through Fall 2013 for (a) collecting evidence of student 

learning and (b) conducting supporting activities related to the assessment process. 

For the purposes of parsimony, we have opted to organize this information by learning outcome because several 

of our assessments will continue to be implemented in all semesters or on an annual basis. A summary table of 

the planned timeline is presented in Appendix K. 

GSLO1 (Our graduates will be able to communicate ideas concerning psychology clearly and effectively in both 

oral and written formats). We are formally assessing written communication in three required courses: Research 

Methods (2000 level), Experimental Psychology (3000 level), and Senior Seminar (4000 level). Senior Seminar 

(PSYC 4499) assessment data for both written and oral communication skills will continue to be collected each 

semester. Research Methods (PSYC 2300/L) and Experimental Psychology (PSYC 3301/L) will continue to be 

collected at least at the end of every spring semester. In all cases, all sections will be asked to participate. 

GSLO 2 (Our graduates will be able to perform and critique empirical research through the use of critical thinking 

and the appropriate statistical techniques). As noted in section A of this report, specific SSLOs are subsumed in 

the evaluation of other assignments. We do not foresee any immediate change in this procedure. However, we 

will aim to collect data annually regarding the extent of student participation in directed research and other 

structured research-related activities together with information on the outcomes (e.g., reports, conference 

presentations); this data will address most specifically “performing empirical research” at a somewhat higher level 

than would work on class projects. 

GSLO 3 (Our graduates will be able to define and use the major theories, constructs, and empirical findings in 

psychology). We are formally assessing content knowledge in Research Methods and Experimental Psychology 

each semester and plan to continue to do so. Similarly, we currently plan to continue to have Senior Seminar 

students complete the Major Field Test each semester. We are also planning to design an assessment for the 

Developmental Psychology course (PSYC 3305 – required of all majors although the course is populated by 

many non-majors as well). Because we do not have an individual designated to coordinate these sections and 

because many sections are not taught by tenure track faculty, it will take time to develop a feasible procedure for 

implementation. We will target a “trial run” no later than fall 2012. We will also discuss the possibility of 

continuing our posttest assessment of Introductory Psychology students across all sections of this general 

education course. In fall 2011, such an assessment was initiated as part of a research project regarding the 

association between offering incentives (e.g., a small number of points dependent on score) and the results of an 

Introductory Psychology posttest. The findings of this project have not yet been compiled, and no timeline has 

been developed for continuing posttest administration. 

As noted previously, our diversity related outcomes (SSLO 3b, Explain how sociocultural differences can affect 

behavior and cognition; SSLO 4d, Recognize how sociocultural factors can affect the application of psychological 

techniques; and SSLO 5c, Understand and respect cultural differences in values and how those differences may 

modify the application of psychological findings or techniques) are nested under three GSLOs. These diversity 

outcomes encompass a combination of knowledge and attitudes. In 2012, the Assessment Committee plans to 

focus its attention on finding and implementing an instrument to assess, at the least, the attitudinal component of 

these outcomes among students who are taking courses in our diversity grouping. We are aiming to complete our 

first assessment no later than the end of the fall 2012 semester. 

We also plan to continue our senior survey and UTA evaluations each semester. 

13

APPENDICES 

Letter Topic 

A Sequence Writing Assessment (Fall 2011) 

B Senior Seminar Courses: Enrollment, Student Performance, and Communication Assessment 

(Fall 2011) 

C Sequence Assessment Report: Fall 2011 

D Average Percentile Ranks for the Major Field Test, 2002-2011 

E Introductory Psychology Assessment: Posttest Questions (Fall 2011) 

F Diversity Area Courses: Enrollment and Student Performance (Spring 2011 - Fall 2011) 

G Psychology B. S.: Student learning outcomes (from 2006 AOL Report) 

H Senior Survey Results Fall 2011 (Excerpts for AOL 2012 report) 

I Evaluation of UTAs: Fall 2011 

J Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology (Fall 2010 - Present) 

K Summary Table of Planned Assessment Activities 

Back to Section B1 




14

Appendix A 

Sequence Writing Assessment (Fall 2011) 


Report 

Section N M SD 


% earning 

≥ 70% N M SD 

% earning 

≥ 70% 

Title 134 89% 19% 80% 28 93% 7% 100% 

Abstract 131 74% 23% 56% 76 81% 13% 89% 

Introduction 191 83% 14% 82% 93 76% 17% 73% 

Method 164 81% 18% 77% 94 83% 19% 77% 

Results 76 89% 20% 86% 87 80% 21% 76% 

Discussion 120 82% 21% 75% 72 79% 12% 85% 

References 132 79% 22% 66% 85 79% 19% 72% 

Figure 39 90% 20% 87% 49 77% 21% 82% 

Writing 

Components 

APA Style 80 74% 20% 65% 26 84% 11% 96% 

Writing 

quality 79 77% 19% 68% 26 83% 13% 88% 

APA/Writing 

Combined 58 74% 28% 69% 16 75% 13% 56% 



Back to Appendices 

15

Appendix B 

Senior Seminar Courses: Enrollment, Student Performance, and Communication Assessment (Fall 

2011) 

Grade Distribution For Fall 2011 Senior Seminar Courses (4 Sections) 

Grade Frequency Percent 

63 100.0 

A 27 42.9 

B 16 25.4 

C 11 17.5 

D 1 1.6 

F 5 7.9 

WF 1 1.6 

W 2 3.2 

I 0 0.0 

Communication Skills Assessment for Fall 2011 Senior Seminar Courses 

Frequency 

Percent 

Written language 58 100.0 

Exceeded expectations 16 27.6 

Met expectations 28 48.3 

Below expectations 14 24.1 

APA style 44 100.0 




Spoken language 55 100.0 







16

Appendix C 

Sequence Assessment Report: Fall 2011 

Prepared by: Pam Marek (12/25/2011) 

This report using the same tentative operational definition of satisfactory (70%) as was used in the spring 2011. 

As noted previously, 70% is not considered a “universal” standard, but it may serve to focus discussions of ways 

to improve students’ learning of and reasoning about the more difficult subtopics. In addition, it seems important 

to note that, although sequence faculty collaborated to develop questions aligned with learning outcomes, items 

differ in complexity. For example, some questions were intentionally designed to require inference and thinking 

about multiple aspects of a topic rather than to evaluate more basic definitional or factual knowledge. A detailed 

listing of all questions and student responses (indicating the percentage of students who selected each answer 

option) for both the research methods and experimental assessment follow the summary of results. 

Research methods assessment 

Sample information 

In fall 2011, there were nine Methods sections, with a total enrollment according to the final roster of 262. 

Students from all sections participated in the pretest and posttest. For the pretest, 204 (77.9%) students provided 

identifying information and answered questions. For the posttest, 168 (64.1%) students provided identifying 

information and answered questions. For the pre-post comparisons, 135 students (51.5%) provided identifying 

information and took both tests. 

The grade distribution for the 262 Research Methods students listed on the final rosters is shown below. The 

percentage of students who earned a C or better (required to avoid repeating the course) was 68.3%, which 

seems somewhat comparable to the 70.2% for Research Methods students (N = 121) in spring 2009 

(included in the January 2010 Comprehensive Program Review) and in fall 2009 (N = 190, 64.7%, included in 

the January 2010 AOL Report). 

Grade N % 

262 100.0 

A 45 17.2 

B 74 28.2 

C 60 22.9 

D 30 11.5 

F 26 9.9 

WF 2 0.8 

W 23 8.8 

I 2 0.8 

 

Among Methods students with an ID who responded to the fall 2011 pretest question about whether they had 

taken Methods previously (N = 204), 174 (85.3%) indicated that this was the first time they were taking 

Methods, and 30 (14.7%) indicated that this was not the first time they had taken Methods. 

Students from one experimental section, with a final roster of 31 students, also participated. For the pretest, 23 

(74.2%) students provided identifying information and answered questions. For the posttest, 24 (77.4%) students 

provided identifying information and answered questions. For the pre-post comparisons, 20 students (64.5%) 

provided identifying information and took both tests. 

Topics on assessment 

The multiple-choice assessment included 20 questions that encompassed four broad areas: methodology (6 

questions), ethics (3 questions), quantitative literacy (6 questions), and grammatical writing/APA style (5 

questions). The grammatical/APA style items included complex sentences, use of which versus that, use of 

apostrophes and pronoun antecedent agreement, compound sentences, and use of although versus while. 

Relationship between grades and topics on assessment 

For the research methods students who provided IDs for the posttest, final grade, on a scale from 0 (F) to 4 

(A), was positively correlated with overall percent correct on the posttest, r(166) = .38, p < .001, and with the 

17

percent correct on the methodology (.29), ethics (.17), quantitative literacy (.32), and writing (.18) sections, all 

ps ≤ .032. 

For the experimental students who provided IDs for the posttest, final grade, on a scale from 0 (F) to 4 (A), 

was positively correlated with overall percent correct on the posttest, r(21) = .49, p = .02, and with the percent 

correct on the writing section (.50, p = .01). However, final grade was unrelated to percent correct on the 

methodology, ethics, or quantitative literacy components of the posttest, all ps > .23. 

Summary of Methods assessment posttest results: Overall 

 

For Research Methods students who provided IDs for both the Methods pretest and posttest, as would be 

expected, students’ (N = 135) overall percent correct for the 20 question assessment was significantly higher 

on the posttest (M = 70.2%, SD = 12.9) than on the pretest (M = 58.4%, SD = 12.5), t(134) = 10.14, p < .001. 

Scores for each of the four broad areas are shown below. Students improved in all areas across the 

semester but did not reach a 70% level for identification of correctly written sentences. 

Topic 

Number of 

questions N 

% 

Posttest M (SD) 

% 

Pretest M (SD) T 

Scientific method 6 135 75.1 (16.4) 69.8 (18.5) t(134) = 3.00, p = .003 

Ethics 3 135 93.8 (13.6) 78.3 (22.4) t(134) = 6.63, p < .001 

Quantitative literacy 6 135 74.9 (21.9) 52.8 (21.3) t(135) = 10.13, p < .001 

Writing 5 135 44.4 (25.7) 39.6 (21.8) t(134) = 2.14, p = .03 

For Experimental students who provided IDs for both the Methods pretest and posttest, students (N = 20) 

overall percent correct for the 20 question assessment was significantly higher on the posttest (M = 79.2%, 

SD = 10.7) than on the pretest (M = 70.5%, SD = 9.30), t(134) = 10.14, p < .001. Scores for each of the four 

broad areas are shown below. Students improved in quantitative literacy and writing across the semester but 

did not reach a 70% level for identification of correctly written sentences. Pretest and posttest scores for the 

scientific method and ethics were similar (which, for Ethics, appears to be a ceiling effect). Although no 

statistical tests were conducted and the sample for Experimental students was small, the pretest scores for 

the Experimental students seem remarkably similar to the posttest scores for the Research Methods students 

in the table above. 

Topic 


questions N 

% 

Posttest M (SD) 

% 

Pretest M (SD) T 

Scientific method 6 20 79.2 (16.1) 75.8 (14.8) t(19) = 1.28, p = .21 

Ethics 3 20 95.0 (12.2) 93.3 (13.7) t(19) = 0.57, p = .58 

Quantitative literacy 6 20 85.0 (19.4) 76.7 (15.7) t(19) = 2.24, p = .04 

Writing 5 20 63.0 (26.2) 43.0 (24.5) t(19) = 3.56, p = .002 

 

 

Methods-Experimental pretest comparison (for all students who provided identification on the pretest): As 

would be expected, the overall score on the Methods pretest was significantly higher for Experimental 

students (N = 23, M = 72.2%, SD = 10.0) than for Research Methods students (N = 204, M = 57.8, SD = 

12.9), t(225) = 5.14, p < .001. Experimental students’ scores were significantly higher on the ethics (p = .001) 

and quantitative literacy (p < .001) components, but not on the methodology or writing items. Means differ 

somewhat from those shown in the preceding prepost comparisons because this analysis also includes those 

students who only took the pretest. 

Methods-Experimental posttest comparison (for all students who provided identification on the posttest): As 

might be expected, the overall score on the Methods posttest was significantly higher for Experimental 

students (N = 24, M = 78.1%, SD = 11.0) than for Research Methods students (N = 168, M = 68.5, SD = 

14.4), t(190) = 3.15, p = .02. Experimental students’ scores were significantly higher than those of Methods 

students on the writing items (p < .001) and marginally higher on for statistical literacy (p = .08). Scores on 

methodology and ethics items were similar for the two groups. Means differ somewhat from those shown in 

the preceding prepost comparisons because this analysis also includes those students who only took the 

posttest. 

18

Summary of posttest results: Subtopics (For each item mentioned, when two percentages in parenthesis are 

separated by a comma, the first percentage is for research methods students and second is for experimental 

students.) 

 

 

 

 

Scientific method 

o Strengths: Students were able to identify an example of naturalistic observation (99%, 100%), to discern 

why a conclusion was not scientific (86%, 92%), recognize that correlational research enables prediction 

but not causation (86%, 92%), and, to a possibly lesser extent, identify a dependent variable in an 

experimental description (79%, 88%). 

o Weaknesses: Students in research methods did not realize that it is inappropriate to draw a cause-effect 

conclusion if groups are not equivalent prior to an experiment (52%, but 79% for experimental) nor was 

either group able to infer an appropriate operational definition for an independent variable (36%, 21%). 

Ethics 

o Strengths: Students readily recognized the multiple functions of an IRB (97%, 92%), information included 

on an informed consent (95%, 96%), and two possible types of plagiarism (84%, 92%). 

Quantitative literacy 

o Strengths: Students knew how to interpret a standard deviation (82%, 92%) and a negative correlation 

(82%, 92%). Experimental students knew how to calculate measures of central tendency for a small set 

of numbers (92% for experimental compared to 70% for methods) and how to interpret a z score (88% for 

experimental compared to 68% for methods). 

o Weaknesses: Neither group did particularly well insofar as identifying a variable that was not continuous 

(68%, 63%) or identifying nominal and interval variables (77%, 67%). 

Writing 

o Strengths: Experimental students did well in identifying correct usage of “although” rather than “while” 

(84% compared to 51% for methods). 

o Weaknesses: Students had difficulty recognizing correct use of possessives and agreement of pronouns 

with nouns (30%, 33%), proper construction and punctuation of a sentence containing two independent 

clauses (41%, 75%), appropriate use of “that” versus “which” (58%, 63%), and proper punctuation when a 

dependent clause follows the main clause (47%, 67%). 

19

Experimental assessment 

Sample information 

In fall 2011, there were four Experimental sections, with a total enrollment according to the final roster of 114. 

Students from all sections participated in the pretest and posttest. For the pretest, 96 (84.2%) provided identifying 

information and answered questions as did four students whose names were not included on final rosters. For 

the posttest, 92 (80.7%) students provided identifying information and answered questions. For the pre-post 

comparisons, 83 students (72.8%) provided identifying information and took both tests. 

 

The grade distribution for the 114 students listed on the final fall 2011 rosters is shown below. The 

percentage of students who earned a C or better (required to avoid repeating the course) was 76.3%, which 

seems comparable to the 71.2% for Experimental students (N = 155) in spring 2009 (included in the January 

2010 Comprehensive Program Review) and in fall 2009 (N = 116, 77.6%, included in the January 2010 AOL 

Report). 

Grade N % 

114 100.0 

A 18 15.8 

B 30 26.3 

C 39 34.2 

D 9 7.9 

F 7 6.1 

WF 2 1.8 

W 6 5.3 

I 3 2.6 

 

 

Among students with an ID who responded to the Fall 2011 pretest question about whether they had taken 

Experimental previously (N = 100), 79% indicated that this was the first time they were taking Experimental, 

and 21% indicated that this was not the first time they had taken Experimental. 

When Methods was taken: The data below includes information that students reported on the pretest plus 

additional information that was filled in for all students with an ID on either pretest, posttest, or roster who did 

not answer the question. Approximately half (51.7%) of these students indicated that they had taken Methods 

in spring 2011. Another 30.5% reported taking Methods in fall 2010. 

Frequency Percent 

Cumulative 

Percent 

1-11Spring 61 51.7 51.7 

2-10Fall 36 30.5 82.2 

2.5-10Summer a 1 .8 83.1 

3-10Spring 13 11.0 94.1 

4-09Fall 4 3.4 97.5 

6-08Fall 2 1.7 99.2 

8-07Fall 1 .8 100.0 

Total 118 100.0 

a Transfer credit 

Topics on assessment 

The multiple-choice assessment included 28 questions that encompassed three broad areas: methodology (7 

questions), quantitative literacy (16 questions), and grammatical writing/APA style (5 questions). The 

grammatical/APA style items included complex sentences, use of which versus that, use of apostrophes and 

pronoun antecedent agreement, compound sentences, and use of although versus while. These were the same 

grammatical/APA style topics used on the methods assessment but the examples differed. 

Relationship between grades and topics on assessment 

Final grade, on a scale from 0 (F) to 4 (A), was positively correlated with overall percent correct on the 

posttest, r(87) = .45, p < .001, and with percent correct on the methodology, r(87) = .44, p < .001, and 

quantitative literacy, r(87) = .34, p = .001, sections. However, final grade was unrelated to percent correct on 

the writing component of the posttest, r(87) = .10, p = .33. 

20

Summary of Experimental assessment posttest results: Overall 

For Experimental students who provided IDs for both the pretest and posttest (N = 83), as might be expected, the 

overall percent correct for the 28 question assessment was significantly higher on the posttest (M = 64.3%, SD = 

12.3) than on the pretest (M = 50.3%, SD = 12.3), t(82) = 10.66, p < .001. Scores for each of the three areas are 

shown below. Students improved in all areas across the semester but did not reach a 70% level for quantitative 

literacy. 

Topic 


questions N Posttest M (SD) Pretest M (SD) T 

Scientific method 7 83 71.8 (19.9) 57.8 (22.7) t(82) = 5.84, p < .001 

Quantitative literacy 16 83 61.0 (13.5) 46.3 (14.2) t(82) = 8.74, p < .001 

Writing 5 83 70.4 (23.2) 56.9 (23.5) t(82) = 4.45, p < .001 

Summary of results: Subtopics 

Scientific method 

o Strengths: Students identified an example of external validity (83%), recognized that researchers use 

counterbalancing to reduce carryover effects (84%), and differentiated between reliability and validity 

(84%) but seemed somewhat less successful at recognizing possible confounds (71%) and identifying 

multiple criteria for causation (73%). 

o Weaknesses: Students had difficulty distinguishing between the purposes of random assignment and 

random sampling (37%) and identifying an example of regression to the mean (58%). 

 

 

Quantitative literacy 

o Strengths: Students recognized the meaning of statistical significance (89%) and identified why 

researchers use ANOVA instead of separate t tests (82%). They seemed somewhat less successful at 

defining a Type II error (77%), indicating the meaning of the critical region (73%), and identifying potential 

significant main effects and an interaction from tabular data (72%). 

o Weaknesses: Students had difficulty identifying multiple influences on statistical power (69%), identifying 

influences on the size of an inferential statistic (66%), identifying the use of a 2 x 2 independent samples 

ANOVA based on an experimental description (65%), and identifying why effect size measures are used 

(64%). 

• They seemed to have greater difficulty identifying multiple factors that influenced significance (55%), 

distinguishing a quasi-independent and independent variable (53%), and selecting a particular test 

based on a description of a two-group, dependent-samples design (50%). 

• Students found it extremely challenging to draw a conclusion from an experimental description that 

did not include inferential statistics (45%), that related to one variable with three levels (40%), and 

that involved a hypothesis about an interaction (32%). Students seemed to have the most difficulty 

when asked to interpret a line graph illustrating two main effects and an interaction (18%) in contrast 

to their ability to interpret tabular data with similar (but not directly parallel) information (72%, as 

mentioned above). 

Writing 

o Strengths: Students identified proper punctuation when a dependent clause follows the main clause 

(74%) and correct usage of “although” rather than “while” (73%). 

o Weaknesses: Students had difficulty identifying correct use of possessives and agreement of pronouns 

with nouns (69%), distinguishing between the use of “that” and “which” (68%), and determining proper 

construction and punctuation of a sentence containing two independent clauses (67%). 

21

F11 RESEARCH METHODS POSTTEST QUESTION BY QUESTION RESULTS 

Correct answers highlighted 

Percentages for methods sections first, Ns for questions ranged from 161 to 168 

Percentages for experimental section next, in parentheses, Ns for all individual questions = 24 

Percentages rounded to total 100% 

Note: Results start with Q5 because preliminary questions included identifying information (e.g., name, section). 

F11 Research methods posttest: Scientific method questions 

5. Stanley has been chased by a dog twice in his life. Based on these two episodes, Stanley has concluded that, in general, 

dogs are aggressive towards people. Stanley’s conclusion is not a scientific one because _____. 

0% ( 0%) a. it is common knowledge that dogs are aggressive 

4% ( 4%) b. Stanley has not compared the number of dogs that have chased him versus the number 

of dogs that have not chased him 

10% ( 4%) c. Stanley’s experiences with dogs may not be representative of other people’s experiences 

with dogs 

86% ( 92%) d. His conclusion is not scientific because of both (b) and (c) 

6. To determine if people arriving at the library alone would be more likely o hold the door open for a person coming in 

immediately after them than would people who arrived in pairs, researchers watched people entering the library from a 

window of a nearby building. This investigation best 

illustrates _____. 

0% ( 0%) a. a case study 

99% (100%) b. naturalistic observation 

1% ( 0%) c. archival research 

0% ( 0%) d. a longitudinal design 

7. A research study indicated that men who were married for a longer period of time were more likely to be bald than men who 

were married for a shorter period of time. This type of result best illustrates that _____. 

3% ( 0%) a. people responding to surveys might not always provide accurate answers 

1% ( 0%) b. experimental research is more practical than correlational research 

10% ( 8%) c. random sampling is necessary to equalize differences between groups 

86% (92%) d. correlational research enables prediction but does not indicate causation 

8. Suppose Nathan wanted to study the effect of stress on performance during public speaking. He designed an experiment in 

which all speeches would be made on a similar topic, in the same room, at a similar time of day, and to a similar 

audience. Which of the following best illustrates a possible operational definition for his independent variable? 

36% (21%) a. whether or not the speech was "just for practice" or for 20% of a course grade 

42% (71%) b. the number of three-second pauses and "uuhhs" that participants made during a speech 

12% ( 0%) c. a small auditorium with comfortable seats and good lighting 

10% ( 8%) d. how the audience ranked the clarity of speeches 

9. A researcher studying sensory processes asks participants to press the space bar as quickly as possible after a dot is 

flashed on the computer screen. The dot flashed is either green, blue, or yellow. Each participant completes 60 trials in a 

15 minute time period, with a 2-minute rest period after 30 trials. The computer records how quickly the participants press 

the space bar. What is the dependent variable in this experiment? 

5% ( 0%) a. the number of trials 

4% ( 4%) b. the length of the rest period 

79% (88%) c. the time it takes to press the space bar 

12% ( 8%) d. the color of the dot 

10. To evaluate the influence of caffeine on memory, Dr. Christopher recruited 100 participants and scheduled an experiment 

at 6:00 p.m. The first 50 students who showed up drank a non-caffeinated (placebo) drink ("No Caffeine" group) and then 

completed a memory task. The next 50 students who showed up drank a highly-caffeinated drink (“Caffeine” group) and 

completed the same memory task. An appropriate statistical analysis revealed that memory was significantly poorer in 

the Caffeine group. Can Dr. Christopher confidently conclude that caffeine impairs (hurts) memory? 

30% (17%) a. Yes. There was a manipulated IV and a measurable DV, and the experiment was 

conducted in a laboratory. 

16% ( 0%) b. Yes. Statistical analysis indicated that memory was poorer in the Caffeine group. 

52% (79%) c. No. Random assignment to groups was not used, so the groups may not have been 

equivalent prior to the experiment. 

2% ( 4%) d. No. Personal experience suggests that caffeine helps rather than hurts memory because 

it makes people more alert. 

22

F11 Research methods posttest: Ethics questions 

11. Which of the following is considered plagiarism? 

4% ( 4%) a. substituting synonyms for several words in the original source, maintaining the original 

sentence structure, and including a citation in your text 

11% ( 4%) b. putting ideas from the original source entirely into your own words, using your own 

sentence structure, and not including a citation in your text 

1% ( 0%) c. putting ideas from the original source entirely into your own words, using your own 

sentence structure, and including a citation in your text 

84% (92%) d. Both (a) and (b) are considered plagiarism. 

12. An informed consent form is designed to do all of the following except _____. 

2% ( 0%) a. state that the participants have the right to withdraw their participation at any time 

95% (96%) b. explain the hypothesis of the project 

1% ( 0%) c. inform participants that no penalties will be invoked if they choose not to participate 

2% ( 4%) d. give a general description of the project 

13. In evaluating whether or not to approve a proposed psychological research project, reviewers from the IRB would consider 

whether _____. 

1% ( 0%) a. participation in the research was voluntary 

2% ( 8%) b. benefits outweighed costs or risks 

0% ( 0%) c. vulnerable populations were protected 

97% (92%) d. all of the above criteria were met 

F11 Research methods posttest: Quantitative literacy questions 

14. All of the following are continuous variables except _____. 

68% ( 63%) a. number of children in a family 

4% ( 8%) b. temperature 

9% ( 12%) c. height 

19% ( 17%) d. time to solve a problem 

15. Although he was wearing his lucky Little League baseball shirt with number 27 on it, Rich did not do well in the game, 

possibly because the temperature was 84 degrees Fahrenheit. In this sentence, "shirt with number 27" is an example of a 

variable measured on a _____scale, and "84 degrees Fahrenheit" is an example of a variable measured on a _____ 

scale. 

10% (21%) a. interval; ratio 

2% ( 4%) b. ratio; ordinal 

77% (67%) c. nominal; interval 

11% ( 8%) d. ordinal; nominal 

16. Seven members of a Girl Scout troop reported the following individual earnings from their sale of cookies: 

$1, $2, $4, $6, $7, $7, $8 

In this distribution, the mean is _____ than the mode and _____ the median. 

70% (92%) a. less than; less than 

22% ( 8%) b. less than; greater than 

5% ( 0%) c. greater than; less than 

3% ( 0%) d. greater than; greater than 

17. If the standard deviation for a set of test scores is large, you can conclude that _____. 

7% ( 4%) a. most students performed very well on the test 

6% ( 4%) b. most students performed very poorly on the test 

82% (92% c. the scores were quite variable (some students performed very well and others very 

poorly) 

5% ( 0%) d. the scores clustered together (many students performed at about the same level) 

18. Suppose you find a negative correlation of - .63 between the frequency of church attendance and how open-minded 

people are. This correlation suggests that _____. 

5% ( 0%) a. people who attend church more often are more open-minded 

82% (92%) b. people who attend church more often are less open-minded 

4% ( 0%) c. attending church more often causes people to be more open-minded 

9% ( 8%) d. attending church more often causes people to be less open-minded 

23

19. On his last Experimental Psychology exam (class M = 70.00, SD = 5.00), Michael’s standardized score (z score) was 

+3.00. What was Michael's raw score on his exam? 

68% (88%) a. 85 

13% ( 4%) b. 78 

4% ( 0%) c. 75 

15% ( 8%) d. 73 

F11 Research methods posttest: Writing questions 

20. Which of the following statements is grammatically correct? 

47% (67%) a. The wording of a question can influence people’s decisions because wording can lead people to focus on 

some options more than others. 

33% (25%) b. The wording of a question can influence people’s decisions, because wording can lead people to focus on 

some options more than others. 

11% ( 4%) c. Both (a) and (b) are correct. 

9% ( 4%) d. None of the above is correct. 


58% (63%) a. Misinformation may create a memory that is false. 

27% (29%) b. Misinformation may create a memory which is false. 




2% ( 0%) a. An individual’s set weight is the weight at which they stay most of the time. 

60% (59%) b. An individual’s set weight is the weight at which he or she stays most of the time. 

1% ( 0%) c. Individuals’ set weight is the weight at which they stay most of the time. 

7% ( 8%) d. Individuals’ set weight is the weight at which he or she stays most of the time. 

30% (33%) e. Both (b) and (c) are correct. 


4% ( 0%) a. There are two sides to every argument and one side of the argument is that willpower is of primary 

importance. 

12% ( 4%) b. There are two sides to every argument, one side of the argument is that willpower is of primary importance. 

21% ( 8%) c. There are two sides to every argument, and one side of the argument is that willpower is of primary 

importance. 

22% (13%) d. There are two sides to every argument; one side of the argument is that willpower is of primary importance. 

41% (75%) e. Both (c) and (d) are correct. 

24. Which of the following statements is correct according to the APA Publication Manual? 

15% ( 8%) a. While most people consider themselves religious, only a small percentage actually attend religious services 

regularly. 

51% (84%) b. Although most people consider themselves religious, only a small percentage actually attend religious 

services regularly. 



Back to beginning of sequence assessment 

24

Correct answers highlighted 

Ns for individual questions were 91 or 92 

Percentages rounded to total 100% 

F11 EXPERIMENTAL POSTTEST QUESTION BY QUESTION RESULTS 

Note: Results start with Q5 because preliminary questions included identifying information (e.g., name, section). 

F11 Experimental posttest: Scientific method questions 

5. What is accomplished by randomly assigning participants to groups? 

35% a. It increases your ability to generalize the results of your study beyond your sample by making the sample 

representative of the population. 

23% b. It gives everyone in the population of interest an equal chance of being selected to participate in the 

experiment. 

37% c. It reduces the likelihood that individual differences will confound your results. 

5% d. It increases the likelihood that there will be a statistically significant difference between groups. 

6. Suppose a researcher assessed which of two self-paced instructional methods (computerized tutorial or printed worksheets) 

was more effective for teaching students about statistical power. Each of the sessions took 45 min to complete. Students 

were randomly assigned to sessions. One experimenter conducted computerized tutorial sessions in the morning, and 

another experimenter conducted sessions with printed worksheets in the afternoon. Which of the following are possible 

confounds in this experiment? 

3% a. Length of session 

25% b. Time of day sessions were conducted 

1% c. Experimenter personality 

71% d. Both (b) and (c) are possible confounds 

7. To establish that X causes Y, which of the following is necessary? 

9% a. X and Y covary. 

12% b. X occurs before Y. 

6% c. A third variable does not fully explain the X-Y relationship. 

73% d. All of the above are necessary to establish that X causes Y. 

8. Which of the following techniques is used to reduce carryover effects? 

10% a. Random assignment 

84% b. Counterbalancing 

6% c. Increasing sample size 

0% d. Using a one-tailed hypothesis test 

9. If Cynthia’s watch is working correctly (consistently indicating the number of minutes and seconds that have passed), but it 

gives the wrong time, then the watch is _____. 

7% a. reliable and valid 

84% b. reliable but not valid 

9% c. not reliable but valid 

0% d. not reliable and not valid 

10. The scoring percentage of basketball players was measured during the first week of the season. Those with the lowest 

scoring percentage were required to participate in a special training session before the next week of practice. The players 

who participated in the special training session had higher scoring percentages the next week. What is the name for the 

threat to internal validity that makes it difficult to say whether or not the training session was responsible for the improved 

performance of these players? 

17% a. instrumentation 

4% b. attrition (experimental mortality) 

58% c. regression to the mean (statistical regression) 

21% d. diffusion of treatments 

11. Suppose you conduct a study about how technology (e.g., taking classes online) affects academic performance. In your 

discussion section, you state, “these results provide a framework instructors can use to adjust course design to enhance 

college students’ achievement of learning outcomes.” Your friend questions this statement, arguing that because different 

universities use different types of technology, it is not appropriate to imply that your results will be applicable to the 

performance of all college students. Your friend's question most directly relates to one aspect of _____. 

5% a. internal validity 

83% b. external validity 

3% c. demand characteristics 

9% d. test-retest reliability 

25

F11 Experimental posttest: Quantitative literacy questions 

12. Finding a statistically significant difference between two groups indicates that _____. 

3% a. the difference is important in the real world 

89% b. the difference is unlikely to be due to chance 

1% c. the difference is very large 

7% d. the same difference would definitely occur if another researcher attempted to replicate the study 

13. An experimenter obtains a result that is not statistically significant but is fairly certain that result was attributable to a lack of 

statistical power. To increase power in a future study, the experimenter could _____. 

29% a. increase the sample size 

1% b. refine the dependent variable (DV) to decrease measurement error 

1% c. increase the range (strength) of the independent variable (IV) 

69% d. do all of the above 

14. In a hypothesis test, the rejection region (“critical region”) consists of _____. 

17% a. sample values that are highly likely to be obtained if the null hypothesis is true 

73% b. sample values that are very unlikely to be obtained if the null hypothesis is true 

2% c. sample values that provide proof that the null hypothesis is true 

8% d. sample values that provide proof that the null hypothesis is false 

15. A Type II error occurs when ______. 

13% a. there is no significant effect of the IV on the DV, but you claim that there is, rejecting the null hypothesis 

10% b. there is no significant effect of the IV on the DV, and you retain (fail to reject) the null hypothesis 

77% c. there is a significant effect of the IV on the DV, but you claim that there is not, retaining (failing to reject) the 

null hypothesis 

0% d. there is a significant effect of the IV on the DV, and you reject the null hypothesis. 

16. Assuming that the difference between two sample means does not change, which set of sample characteristics is more 

likely to produce a significant value for the independent-samples (between-subjects) t test? 

9% a. n 1 = n 2 = 25 and small sample variances 

17% b. n 1 = n 2 = 25 and large sample variances 

55% c. n 1 = n 2 = 100 and small sample variances 

19% d. n 1 = n 2 = 100 and large sample variances 

17. As the difference in mean scores between groups in an experiment grows larger, the inferential statistic resulting from a 

test of this difference becomes _____. Large values of an inferential statistic (such as t) _____ occur by chance. 

66% a. larger; seldom 

3% b. larger; frequently 

24% c. smaller; seldom 

7% d. smaller; frequently 

18. Why are measures of effect size (such as Cohen's d) used if we already know the p value? 

7% a. because effect size measures provide information about the width of the confidence interval 

24% b. because effect size measures provide information about the likelihood that a result is due to chance 

64% c. because effect size measures provide information about standardized differences between treatment means or the 

percentage of explained variance 

5% d. because effect size measures provide information about whether the p value is accurate 

19. An experimenter measured working memory capacity in two conditions (focused, distracted) for every participant in an 

experiment. To determine whether working memory capacity differs between the focused and distracted conditions, an 

appropriate test would be the _____. 

4% a. single-sample t test 

50% b. dependent/related-sample t test 

37% c. independent-samples t test 

9% d. 2 x 2 mixed factorial ANOVA 

20. Dr. Jackson held an optional study session before Exam 2. On Exam 2, the mean score for students who did attend the 

study session was 82.50 (SD = 9.25) and the mean score for students who did not attend the study session was 85.60 

(SD = 7.37). Dr. Jackson offered another optional study session before Exam 3. Based ONLY on the information 

provided and on your knowledge of statistics, would you suggest that students attend the second study session? 

3% a. No, because attending the study session caused the students to get lower scores on the exam. 

30% b. No, because inferential statistics reported in the question indicate that students who did attend the session 

scored significantly lower than those who did not attend the session. 

22% c. No, because scores for those who attended the study session were more variable than scores for those who 

did not attend. 

45% d. I don’t know, because the information reported in the question does not include inferential statistical tests 

and does not indicate whether there was a difference in ability between the students who did and those who did 

not attend the study session. 

26

21. For an experiment comparing more than two treatment conditions, researchers use analysis of variance rather than 

separate t tests because _____. 

1% a. they cannot calculate an effect size measure for t tests 

9% b. it is easier to compute a single ANOVA than it is to compute two t tests 

82% c. ANOVA reduces the risk of Type I error by computing several means in one test 

8% d. ANOVA does not assume homogeneity of variance 

22. To determine the effect of color on problem solving performance, Diana conducted an experiment in which she varied only 

the color of anagrams (red, green, or black) and measured the number of anagrams solved. When analyzing data, she 

used an alpha level of .05. The results section of her report included the following statistical information about the effect 

of the color variable on anagrams solved: F(2, 57) = 7.35, p = .006. Based only on this description of the experiment and 

its results, you could most appropriately infer that the _____. 

14% a. effect size was large 

16% b. null hypothesis was not rejected 

30% c. interaction effect was significant 

40% d. analysis involved a one-way ANOVA 

A hairbrush manufacturer tested the satisfaction of a panel of consumers with its new brush. Some members of the 

panel had fine hair, others had medium hair, and others had coarse hair. Half of each group was instructed to brush 

with low pressure on the brush, and half of each group was instructed to brush with high pressure on the brush. The 

graph illustrates the results of the research. 

23. Although researchers cannot determine significance from a graph, the graph suggests that statistical analyses may reveal 

_____. 

18% a. main effects of both hair thickness and of pressure but no interaction between hair thickness and brushing 

pressure 

18% b. main effects of both hair thickness and of pressure and an interaction between hair thickness and brushing 

pressure 

54% c. a main effect of brushing pressure but no main effect of hair thickness and an interaction between hair 

thickness and brushing pressure 

10% d. a main effect of hair thickness but no main effect of brushing pressure 

27

To determine whether time of day and age relate to reading comprehension, a researcher recruited similar numbers of older 

and younger individuals. In each age group, one third of the participants attended sessions in the morning, one third attended 

sessions in the afternoon, and one third attended sessions in the evening. All participants read the same passage. Shortly 

after reading the passage, all participants took the same comprehension test (with possible scores ranging from 0 to 50). The 

table below shows hypothetical mean test scores for each group. 

24. Although researchers cannot determine significance from a table, the data suggest that statistical analyses may reveal 

_____. 

10% a. main effects of both time of day and of age but no interaction between time of day and age 

pressure 

72% b. main effects of both time of day and of age and an interaction between time of day and age 

15% c. a main effect of time of day but no main effect of age and an interaction between time of day and age 

3% d. a main effect of age but no main effect of time of day and no interaction between time of day and age 

To investigate how driving conditions influence perceived responsibility for accidents, Julie prepares brief scenarios. Each 

scenario describes a driver who is driving at one of two times (day or night) and who is involved in an accident (either 

swerving and hitting a light pole to avoid hitting another car or being hit in the rear by another car while slowing down 

for a traffic light). Julie randomly assigns an equal number of participants to each condition. Each participant reads one 

of the four scenarios and responds to a question about perceived responsibility for the accident. Julie hypothesizes that 

participants will perceive that drivers are less responsible for hitting a light pole at night than during the day, but that 

There will be no differences in perceived responsibility related to time for being hit in the rear by another car. Use the 

information about Julie's study to answer Questions 25 through 27. 

25. Time of day is a(n) _____ variable. The researcher is using a(n) _____ design. 

27% a. quasi-independent (subject); independent-samples (between-subjects) 

53% b. independent; independent-samples (between-subjects) 

5% c. quasi-independent (subject); dependent-samples (within-subjects) 

15% d. independent; dependent-samples (within-subjects) 

26. What statistical test should Julie conduct to test her hypotheses? 

11% a. 2 x 2 mixed ANOVA 

65% b. 2 x 2 independent-samples (between-subjects) ANOVA 

11% c. 2 x 2 dependent-samples (within-subjects) ANOVA 

13% d. 1-way independent-samples (between-subjects) ANOVA 

27. Suppose Julie found a significant main effect of time of day and a significant main effect of type of accident on perceived 

responsibility, but no significant time of day x type of accident interaction. Would her hypotheses be supported? 

34% a. Yes, because both time of day and type of accident influenced results. 

4% b. Can't tell - must look at means to determine the direction of differences for time of day. 

30% c. Can't tell - must look at means to determine the direction of differences for the two types of accident. 

32% d. No, because the interaction was not significant. 

28

F11 Experimental posttest: Writing questions 


74% a. The Big Five Personality Inventory does not have a specific author because researchers in multiple countries 

developed it. 

16% b. The Big Five Personality Inventory does not have a specific author, because researchers in multiple countries 

developed it. 

9% c. Both (a) and (b) are correct. 

1% d. None of the above is correct. 


68% a. Ambiguity may lead to conclusions that are illogical. 

22% b. Ambiguity may lead to conclusions which are illogical. 




4% a. A child’s academic development is influenced by their environment and genetics. 

22% b. A child’s academic development is influenced by his or her environment and genetics. 

3% c. Children’s academic development is influenced by their environment and genetics. 

2% d. Children’s academic development is influenced by his or her environment and genetics. 

69% e. Both (b) and (c) are correct. 

31. Which of the following is grammatically correct? 

13% a. The control group showed no change in depression and the experimental group showed a decrease in 

depression. 

0% b. The control group showed no change in depression, the experimental group showed a decrease in depression. 

11% c. The control group showed no change in depression, and the experimental group showed a decrease in 

depression. 

9% d. The control group showed no change in depression; the experimental group showed a decrease in depression. 

67% e. Both (c) and (d) are correct. 

32. Which of the following statements is correct according to the APA Publication Manual? 

7% a. While results supported the primary hypothesis, it is difficult to generalize the findings beyond a student 

population. 

73% b. Although results supported the primary hypothesis, it is difficult to generalize the findings beyond a student 

population. 



Back to beginning of sequence assessment 




29

Appendix D 

Average Percentile Ranks for the Major Field Test, 2002-2011 




30

Appendix E 

Introductory Psychology Assessment: Posttest Questions (Fall 2011) 

1. Which of the following events is considered the formal beginning of psychology as scientific discipline? 

a. Freud’s publication of Interpretation of Dreams 

b. Hall’s establishment of a psychological laboratory at John Hopkins 

c. James’ publication of the textbook Principles of Psychology 

d. Wundt’s establishment of a psychological laboratory in Germany 

2. Professor Lopez believes that severe depression results primarily from an imbalanced diet and abnormal 

brain chemistry. Which of the following schools of thought is consistent with Professor Lopez’s perspective 

on depression? 

a. cognitive 

b. psychoanalytic or psychodynamic 

c. biological or neuroscience 

d. evolutionary 

3. Suppose Professor Barnes finds a positive correlation between how religious people are and how openminded 

people are. This positive correlation indicates that _____. 

a. people who are more religious are more open-minded. 

b. people who are more religious are less open-minded. 

c. being more religious causes people to be more open-minded. 

d. being more religious causes people to be less open-minded. 

4. To study the effect of alcohol consumption on physical coordination, Dr. Chu asked a sample of men, all 21 

years old, to drink a beverage. The men were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (the beverage 

they drank contained either 0, 2, or 4 ounces of alcohol). Ten minutes after drinking the beverage, all men 

were given a series of physical coordination tests. Dr. Chu computed a physical coordination score for each 

participant. In this study, the independent variable was _____ and the dependent variable was _____. 

a. age; physical coordination score 

b. physical coordination score; amount of alcohol consumed 

c. amount of alcohol consumed; physical coordination score 

d. time between consumption and test; age 

5. During neuronal transmission, incoming information is received by _____ and an electrical impulse travels 

down ____ en route to other neurons. 

a. axons; axons 

b. axons; dendrites 

c. dendrites; axons 

d. dendrites; dendrites 

6. Compared to communication with neurotransmitters, communication by the endocrine system is ____; the 

_____ gland is considered the master or most influential gland because many of its hormones influence the 

activity of other glands. 

a. slower; thyroid 

b. slower; pituitary 

c. faster; thyroid 

d. faster; pituitary 

7. When President John F. Kennedy was hit by a sniper’s bullet in the back of the head, he died almost instantly, 

because the bullet destroyed the part of his brain that controls breathing, heartbeat, and other vital bodily 

functions. Which part of the brain was most likely injured? 

a. cerebellum 

b. medulla 

c. amygdala 

d. thalamus 

31

8. In the eye, light energy is converted into neural impulses by _____. In the ear, sound energy is converted into 

neural impulses by _____. 

a. lens; hair cells 

b. lens; eardrum 

c. rods and cones; hair cells 

d. rods and cones; eardrum 

9. In order to answer this test question, you must read the words on this page. Detecting the black marks on the 

page relies on the process of _____ and the ability to interpret these black lines as curves, letters, and words 

involves the process of _____. 

a. sensory threshold; sensory receptors 

b. sensation; perception 

c. writing; reading 

d. sensory capacity; sensory reception 

10. Angela went to the obstetrician for her seven week prenatal check-up. During the exam, Dr. Smith told her 

that her baby’s heat has just begun to beat. Angela is in what stage of prenatal development? 

a. teratogenic 

b. embryonic 

c. fetal 

d. zygotic 

11. Little Andrew has just begun to realize that his toy continues to exist even when he cannot see it, which 

suggests that he is in Piaget's _____ stage. Young Cynthia has limited ability to share another’s point of view 

and does not recognize that actions can be reversed (e.g., pouring liquid back into its original container), 

which suggests that she is in Piaget’s _____ stage. 

a. sensorimotor; concrete operational 

b. sensorimotor; preoperational 

c. preoperational; concrete operational 

d. preoperational; sensorimotor 

12. Carlos, a 70-year-old retired accountant, feels that his life has been worthless and meaningless. According to 

Erikson, Carlos has failed to achieve a sense of _____. 

a. integrity 

b. intimacy 

c. initiative 

d. autonomy 

13. Nature is to nurture as ________ is to ________. 

a. behavior; mental processes 

b. environment; genetics 

c. heredity; experience 

d. reason; emotion 

14. Ever since she foolishly drank too much beer at a Lady Gaga Concert in Chastain Park, and vomited all over 

her new boyfriend, Sharon becomes nauseous at the smell of beer. In this example, the conditioned stimulus 

is ___ and the conditioned response is____. 

a. her boyfriend; nausea 

b. nausea; loud noise 

c. nausea; the smell or taste of beer 

d .the smell or taste of beer; nausea 

15. Toddlers taught to fear speeding cars may also begin to fear speeding trucks and motorcycles, best 

illustrating _____. An animal trainer teaching a dog to perform a trick reinforces successively closer 

approximations of the trick, best illustrating _____. 

a. latent learning; observational learning 

b. secondary reinforcement; primary reinforcement 

c. shaping; discrimination 

d. generalization; shaping 

32

16. Memory acquisition is to memory retention as _____ is to _____. 

a. recall; recognition 

b. rehearsal; relearning 

c. interference; repression 

d. encoding; storage 

17. Research on memory construction reveals that memories _____. 

a. are stored as exact copies of experience. 

b. reflect a person's biases and assumptions. 

c. may be chemically transferred from one organism to another. 

d. even if long term, usually decay within about five years 

18. Miss Jan De Jong is orderly, neat, fairly quiet, and shy. She enjoys reading in her spare time and belongs to a 

social club that includes three librarians, nine real estate agents, and eight social workers. A tendency to 

conclude that Jan must be one of the three librarians would illustrate the powerful influence of _____. 

a. insight. 

b. mental set 

c. the representativeness heuristic. 

d. the availability heuristic. (stem pm, changed answer options so that all are in both books. 

19. Prior to deciding on the use of an intelligence test, Mr. Johnson determines whether the test provides a 

consistent measurement, indicating _____. He also determines whether the test measures what it was 

designed to measure, indicating _____. 

a. heritability; reliability 

b. reliability; validity 

c. validity; heritability 

d. validity; reliability 

20. Jeremy felt irritated with his performance on the soccer field. When he arrived home, he yelled at his brother. 

Which of the following reflects Jeremy's behavior? 

a. projection 

b. repression 

c. reaction formation 

d. displacement 

21. Susan is careless and disorganized suggesting that she ranks low on the Big Five trait dimension known 

as_____. Research suggests that the Big Five personality traits are effective for describing people ______ 

cultures. 

a. openness; only in Western 

b. conscientiousness; in a variety of 

c. openness; in a variety of 

d. conscientiousness; in a variety of 

22. Asch’s conformity studies indicated that _____ was an important influence on conformity. When the 

experiments were replicated in a diverse range of societies, findings indicated a greater conformity in 

societies that emphasized _____. 

a. group unanimity; collectivism 

b. group unanimity; individualism 

c. experimenter gender; collectivism 

d. experimenter gender; individualism 

23. Prejudice is likely to develop as a response to _____. 

a. self-serving bias 

b. groupthink 

c. social inequalities and competition 

d. role playing 

33

24. Which of the following describes the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-IV or DSM-V)? 

a. A comprehensive manual of statistical techniques published by the American 

Psychological Association. 

b. A comprehensive manual of statistical techniques published by the American Psychiatric 

Association. 

c. A comprehensive manual for diagnosing psychiatric disorders published by the American 

Psychological Association. 

d. A comprehensive manual for diagnosing psychiatric disorders published by the American 

Psychiatric Association 

25. Which of the following characterizes major depressive disorder? 

a. delusions of persecution. 

b. alternations between extreme hopelessness and unrealistic optimism. 

c. a persistent irrational fear of other people. 

d. feelings of personal worthlessness. 




34

Appendix F 

Diversity Area Courses: Enrollment and Student Performance (Spring 2011 - Fall 2011) 

Cross 

cultural 

Ethnic 

Minority 

Gender 

Total enrollment 254 126 116 

A 31.9 10.3 50.9 

B 37.4 31.7 33.6 

C 15.0 26.2 8.6 

D 3.9 7.9 2.6 

F 7.5 4.0 1.7 

W 3.5 18.3 2.6 

WF 0.8 0.8 0.0 

I 0.0 0.8 0.0 

Psychology majors 

N enrolled 146 104 97 

% total enrollment 57.5 82.5 83.6 

% earning C or better 85.6 68.3 93.8 




35

Appendix G 

Psychology B. S.: Student learning outcomes (from 2006 AOL Report) 

General Student Learning Outcomes 

GSLO 1. Our graduates will be able to communicate ideas concerning psychology clearly and effectively in both 

oral and written formats. 

SSLO 1 a Use APA style correctly in research reports and other written assignments. (skill) 

SSLO 1 b Demonstrate effective use of written language in research reports and other written assignments. 

(skill) 

SSLO 1 c Show effective use of spoken language in class presentations. (skill) 

GSLO 2. Our graduates will be able to perform and critique empirical research through the use of critical thinking 

and the appropriate statistical techniques. 

SSLO 2 a Use a statistical program or spreadsheet to do basic statistical functions and tests. (skill) 

SSLO 2 b Describe the justifications for and limitations of statistical techniques for summarizing data and 

making inferences. (knowledge) 

SSLO 2 c Use computer or other databases to perform a competent literature search. (skill) 

SSLO 2 d Apply basic probability principles to practical and statistical problems. (knowledge)(skill) 

SSLO 2 e Recognize ethical and non-ethical research situations. (knowledge) (attitude) 

SSLO 2 f Evaluate the quality of information. (knowledge) (attitude) 

SSLO 2 g Recognize the possibility of errors in thinking and the situations in which they will likely occur. 

(knowledge) 

SSLO 2 h Make usable connections between knowledge at different levels such as theories, experimental 

results, correlational results, and observations. (skills) 

SSLO 2 i Develop logical arguments for conclusions. (skills) 

GSLO 3. Our graduates will be able to define and use the major theories, constructs, and empirical findings in 

psychology. 

SSLO 3 a Demonstrate understanding of the major areas of psychology: learning and cognition; individual 

differences - clinical, abnormal, and personality; biological bases of behavior; and developmental and social. 

(knowledge) 

SSLO 3 b Explain how sociocultural differences can affect behavior and cognition. (knowledge) (attitude) 

SSLO 3 c Explain how psychology’s empirical findings can be used for practical purposes. (knowledge) 

(skills) 

GSLO 4. Our graduates will be able to understand and apply psychological knowledge to personal and group 

issues. 

SSLO 4 a Describe the major applied areas in psychology. (knowledge) 

SSLO 4 b Describe techniques used in applied areas in psychology. (knowledge) 

SSLO 4 c Apply empirically tested psychological principles to personal goals. (knowledge) (skills) 

SSLO 4 d Recognize how sociocultural factors can affect the application of psychological techniques. 

(knowledge) (attitude) 

GSLO 5. Our graduates will be able to understand and apply ethical principles in psychological undertakings. 

SSLO 5 a Understand ethical principles in applied psychology and in psychological research. (knowledge) 

(attitude) 

SSLO 5 b Understand the limitations of applying untested theories or therapeutic techniques. (knowledge) 

(attitude) 

SSLO 5 c Understand and respect cultural differences in values and how those differences may modify the 

application of psychological findings or techniques.(knowledge) (attitude) 

GSLO 6. Demonstrate ability to plan for a career in psychology or other fields. 

SSLO 6 a Be able to state how the information gained by obtaining a degree in psychology can be used in 

careers inside and outside of the field of psychology. (knowledge) 

SSLO 6 b Describe the requirements for the major professional fields within psychology. (knowledge). 


36

Appendix H 

Senior Survey Results Fall 2011 (Excerpts for AOL 2012 report) 

Prepared by Pam Marek, on behalf of the Assessment Committee, December 23, 2011 

[DataSet1] V:\Users\Pam Marek\Documents\My Dropbox\Assessment\Senior survey\11 Fall\F11 Senior survey.sav 

Topic 

CONTENTS 

Directed research 

UTA experience 

Teaching and advising 

Psychology lab and website 

Scheduling and online courses 

Use of learning 

Strengths of psychology major (open ended comments) 

Weaknesses of psychology major (open ended comments) 

Career-related skills: Perceived importance and proficiency 

Long term career goal (10 years from now) 

Comments about KSU or career plans 

Current employment and plans to change after graduation 

Immediate post graduation plans and graduate school info 

Demographics 

Sample information: Of the 60 students who received a grade other than W (2) or WF (1) on the final rosters, 50 (79.3%) 

responded, at least in part, to the Fall 11 senior survey. In addition, 41 responded on the contact information form although 

only 36 (60.0%) actually provided contact information. 

DIRECTED RESEARCH 

Participation in directed research 


Did directed research 9 18.0 

Did not do directed research 41 82.0 

Total 50 100.0 

Rating of directed research (1 = poor, 5 = excellent): Descriptive Statistics 

N Minimum Maximum Mean SD 

9 3 5 4.33 .71 

UTA EXPERIENCE 

Participation as UTA 


Served as UTA 10 20.0 

Did not serve as UTA 40 80.0 

Total 50 100.0 

Rating of UTA experience (1 = poor, 5 = excellent): Descriptive Statistics 


10 3 5 4.20 .79 

Back to Contents of Senior Survey 

37

TEACHING AND ADVISING 

Ratings (1 = poor, 5 = excellent) Descriptive Statistics 


Rating of teaching quality 50 3 5 4.40 .57 

Rating of advising about program 50 1 5 3.96 1.05 

Rating of advising about career 50 1 5 3.96 1.09 

Number of Visits Descriptive Statistics 


Number of visits with advisor 50 0 10 3.80 2.23 

PSYCHOLOGY LAB AND WEBSITE 

Use of psychology lab 


Used psychology lab 48 96.0 

Did not use psychology lab 2 4.0 

Total 50 100.0 

Number of visits to Psychology lab: Descriptive Statistics 


48 2 80 12.83 14.82 

Rating of lab assistance (1 = poor, 5 = excellent): Descriptive Statistics 


48 1 5 3.98 .93 

Use of psychology website 


Visited website 49 98.0 

Did not visit website 1 2.0 

Total 50 100.0 


38

SCHEDULING AND ONLINE COURSES 

Rating of satisfaction with scheduling (1 = not at all, 5 = extremely) Descriptive Statistics 

N 49 

Mean 3.78 

Median 4.00 

Mode 4.00 

SD 0.82 

Minimum 2.00 

Maximum 5.00 

Ratings of interest in one day a week classes (1 = not at all, 5 = extremely): Descriptive Statistics 


Interest in classes one weekday (M-Th) 47 1 5 3.68 1.43 

Interest in Friday only classes 47 1 5 2.13 1.54 

Interest in Saturday only classes 47 1 5 1.55 1.16 

Extent to which program limited by scheduling (1 = not at all, 5 = extremely): Descriptive Statistics 


Program limited 48 1 5 1.83 1.06 

Experience with online and hybrid courses 


Have taken online or hybrid courses 41 85.4 

Have not taken online or hybrid courses 7 14.6 

Total 48 100.0 

Interest in online or hybrid courses if more available 


Yes, would have taken 26 55.3 

No, would not have taken 13 27.7 

Don’t know 8 17.0 

Total 47 100.0 


39

COMMENTS ABOUT USE OF LEARNING 

1. I'm more sensitive to diversity and delicate issues than I was before completing the program, although some of that could 

be attributed to maturation. The knowledge gleaned from the program will prove very useful in grad school. 

2. I began with Research methods. I now work in statistics. I am an analyst for a software company. I would say that 

psychology helps me a great deal in my job. Many times I get data and the company really doesn't know what variables 

they need to gather data for. With psychology I can go back and create reliable surveys for them to use. This makes my 

models much more accurate when I know what information (data) works best and how to form and phrase the questions. 

3. I have a better understanding of my family and friends 

4. Using what I learned in my I/O classes to analyze what’s wrong with where I work. Using the info from my "social issues 

classes" to better myself. 

5. The knowledge I've gained helps me to better understand people's attitudes, personalities, and behaviors. Personally, I 

have been able to come up with methods to help myself cope with situations, because I can analyze and better 

understand the situation. I believe, I am more empathetic. I am able to identify aspects of conditioning, reinforcement, and 

motivation that I was previously unaware of. Also, I am a more selective and critical of my reading material. 

6. I am going to graduate school for occupational therapy and working with pediatrics and special needs children. This is 

used every day when working in a pediatric occupational therapy office. 

7. I have come to understand that behavior is so complex and can be due to multiple factors. It helps me be more patient 

with others and it helps in understanding myself. 

8. I don't have time to tell you all the ways, as I have to do some writing for my senior seminar class. 

9. Understanding why people do what they do on a daily basis. 

10. Relationship skills, family interaction, parenting skills, and customer service in retail 

11. I am applying to grad school in a Speech Language Pathology program. Speech Language Pathologists use aspects of 

Psychology in their job duties. 

12. I use learned people skills in my job and in all social aspects of my life. I'v elearned to be more understanding and 

tolerant of differences 

13. organization of thoughts 

14. As a montessori teacher I have used much of what I have learned in the social, cultural, and developmental classes I 

have taken. I am better able to communicate with my students as well as their parents. I am also better able to see what is 

developmentally appropriate, good behavioral techniques, best for learning for the children in my classroom. I will most 

definitely say what I have learned in the psychology program has helped me become a much better teacher. 

15. The psychology program at KSU has encouraged me to explore my real dreams, which means I'm learning and exploring 

all kinds of psychological concepts in my life outside of school. I am currently looking for jobs that involve working with 

children with autism; I am currently in the learning and behavior course with Dr. Tag, and I am using all sorts of things I 

have learned in that class to help find a job. 

16. It has helped me to be more open to people and not have beliefs that are one-sided. 

17. Different pieces, mostly info from physiological psych. The neurotransmitters role in dysfunction and medication. I have a 

friend who has schizophrenia and have found it useful with her. A little of Learning and Behavior, reinforcement and 

operant learning. Statistics, like probability. 

18. I use most of what I have learned from psychology in my personal life, such as changing the way I think and relieving 

stress. 

19. I have learned to understand why people behave the way they do and I have also shared my knowledge with people 

around me 

20. I plan on applying what I have learned in the psychology program to a career in nursing. 

21. mentoring high school students...trying to help them to understand why they may be doing or possibly acting the way they 

are.... 

22. Many aspects of psychology apply to everyday life. I find myself using the knowledge I have learned about behavior on a 

constant basis. 

23. I have a deeper appreciation of diversity, better communication skills, less anxiety speaking in front of a crowd, better 

critical thinking skills, and a much better understanding of published research. 

24. I use it every day in my human interactions. I also use much of the skills from research to gather information and to even 

evaluate other studies and the claims that are made. 

25. I am not planning on using the degree necessarily for a particular job. I am going into the animal medicine field. But what I 

have learned in regards to dealing with people and understanding how individuals think will help me with interpersonal 

skills. I will be able to understand and attempt to relate to people more easily. 

26. I think what I have learned has just changed my way of thinking about many social situations. 

27. I used in all my relationships between family friends or anyone else I meet on daily basis. It helps me understand why 

some people are the way they are. 

28. Information is invaluable to parenting and relationships. 

29. n/a 

30. I use Abnormal Psychology all the time. I am Type A so it helps to know more about my personality and how to modify 

my behavior so that I do not run into situations that could produce disorders later in life. Knowing what I know has also 

helped me know how to work with different types of people and understand them from a psychology perspective. 

40

31. I am not really using much of what I learned from the Psychology program in my life because I am not employed yet. 

32. I use psychology in all my daily interactions as well as when gathering and evaluating information. 

33. I work in human resources and the practical applications of psychology are useful to me there 

34. Most importantly I use it to avoid the advertisement that uneducated people do everyday to sell something. For example, 

when somebody comes up with something new I usually ask if they did a study, how many participants, etc. Also when I 

find surveys of something I usually research to see where they get the information and statistics. 

Back to Contents of Seminar Survey 

STRENGTHS OF PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR 

1. As I mentioned, the teaching is excellent. Best on campus, in my opinion. The professors are willing, able and excited to 

help students with research. 

2. Perceptual / Cognitive / Physiological / Research / Statistics 

3. Some of the professors are awesome and enjoy teaching others and you are need more professors like them who care 

and are willing to help the students who really want to learn and succeed. 

4. Open-mindedness of some of the courses. 

5. 1. The number of knowledgeable professors willing to help 2. The professor's availability and response time 3. The 

consistent rigidity when it comes to the APA guidelines 4. The psyclab 

6. Knowing which classes to take is stressed greatly which is very helpful. 

7. The strengths of the psychology program are its focus on continuing education to masters and/or PhD program and its 

faculty. I have been blessed to have had passionate teachers that enjoyed teaching the material. Also, the mentor/mentee 

program. 

8. Excellent professors and the staff is always available. Dr Pearcey has been an enormous source of support for 

me...always available when I ask. The psych professors really want you to succeed, or at least that's how I felt. 

9. cognitive, perception, lifespan, research methods, experimental psych 

10. The professors at ksu seem extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their field. This is helpful to our learning 

experience 

11. Strengths are the quality of teaching and availability of help in APA formatting. 

12. teaches you good skills for every day life 

13. Overall I really liked all my professors in the psychology program. I did have one particular professor that I did not like. 

Although, I feel like only having one professor I did not like our of a whole department is pretty good. 

14. I like how the program is highly research and science based. I am much happier earning a B.S. in psychology than I am a 

B.A. in psychology. I think this gives my degree stronger value. I also like how personal the program is. I appreciate how 

willing the professors are to meet with me and work with me one-on-one with my particular issues. 

15. The wonderful teachers 

16. There is a good faculty overall and the mix of classes are, for the most part, a good variety. 

17. I think the psychology department has some great professors that are very willing to help students. I also think the 

mentoring program is a great strength, especially to incoming freshmen or transfer students who are not sure were to turn. 

18. Faculty are helpful; research is great good clubs a lot of cross cultural consideration 

19. Emphasis on cross-cultural awardness. 

20. very strong writing practices 

21. The KSU psych dept. is very strong and the faculty very helpful. 

22. Opportunities to write research papers and understand published literature Classes related to my personal interests 

Wide variety of psychology-related courses Faculty willingness to answer questions Faculty involvement of students in 

class discussions 

23. There are a number of strengths in the psychology department. For example students are taught a number of critical 

thinking tactics, as well as a variety of tools to use in human interactions. 

24. This is a great program that offers a wide range of opportunities. I would definitly recommend it to anyone interested in 

psychology. 

25. overall the teaching quality is very good. 

26. I believe that it is a very broad area that doesn’t restrict you from concentrating on other subjects. 

27. Excellent, accessible faculty who have an interest in their students. 

28. n/a 

29. The hybrid courses are great. Overall, the professors (will not name names) were really great. There were moments 

where they seemed too tough, but each and every professor was open to suggestions as to how they could make 

something better. 

41

30. Diverse classes from many different fields, mentoring programs, and professors' willingness to advise. 

31. Human interactions and even applying psychology knowledge to marketing. 

32. The education of the Psychology professors and their passion towards teaching. 

Back to Contents of Seminar Survey 

WEAKNESSES OF PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR 

1. I am a double major in biology and psychology, and am interested in neuroscience for graduate study. Determining what 

classes to take, how to go about managing my double major, and figuring out various other logistical nuances of studying 

biopsychology at KSU was, in no uncertain terms, a pretty big pain in the ass. Neuroscience is the future of psychology. 

I would love to see some coordination between the psychology and biology departments concerning neuroscience. 

2. Abnormal / Clinical / Theories / Social / Cross-Cultural. I list these not because the teaching was sub par but because 

these were not my interests. 

3. You all need more evening classes and better professors teaching those classes. You all have to understand that some 

people work and have families and some of the professors act like they don't care. You also need better people assisting 

in the Psychology Lab. 

1. The workload 2. The heavy insistence on making students work together. I know that sounds bad, but I had at least 

two group assignments every semester. KSU has a very diverse student population, with differing goals, and varying 

perspectives on the importance of a GPA. Personally, I totally disagree with any part of my grade depending on the work 

of another. I used to be a proponent for group activities, because it encouraged students to interact and hopefully foster 

some long lasting relationships. Inevitably, there was always one; however, that did not get the work in on time, did not do 

the work, did not meet with the group, was not a team player, or something. Then, one of my groups got five points 

deducted because the lack of group effort due to one person's insistence on being disagreeable. That semester I was one 

point shy of an "A". You have lost my vote with the KSU group project staple. 

4. Research should be stressed much more than it is. 

5. It should have more of a variety in scheduling options. 

6. I wish I had had more of an opportunity to interact with other psych majors. My senior seminar is the first chance I have 

had to do that during my time at KSU, and I love that seminar format. It really helps you to understand the material better 

when you get to talk with classmates and other psych majors. More seminar style classes would be better. Also, there are 

lots of psych classes in the catalog that were never offered that I would have loved to take. Wish there were more 

learning community type options for psych majors. Also, I was never told anything about the Psi Chi honors society until 

almost the end of my time here. Wish I could have joined. Wish there were more chances for students to be mentored by 

faculty. I had that experience my last year and it was great, but wish it had been available from the beginning. "Careers" 

(the class) should be forced on everyone as a very early class in the psych curriculum. Didn't get to take it until I was a 

senior and it really needed to come earlier than that. Lots of useful info in that class that it was too late for me to take 

advantage of. 

7. ethnic minority psychology 

8. More times should be available for senior seminar 

9. A weakness of the Psych dept is the advising. The process needs to have input from both the student and the adviser. 

They should then collaborate together for an agreement for a schedule. 

10. Careers is a course that is required to graduate. I could not get into the class until I was a junior. There was information 

that I needed before that to know what the next step would be. There needs to be more of that class offered. 

11. We need more industrial/organizational classes. Also, we should have a graduate program for psychology. 

12. more help on finding careers with a bachelors in psych 

13. I would like to see more focus on getting student more involved with psychology related activities. 

14. I think that some of the professors are too hung up on the act of being a teacher and not the art. Two professors I've had 

have completely taken the heart out of teaching, and the class became so unenjoyable. It just seemed like they didn't 

even care about the material or the students. I know it's hard to eliminate that, but I think caring is important. 

15. The extreme emphasis on research 

16. Could use more options for elective psych courses. 

17. I wish to see advising done in a different way. I think it would be more beneficial to a student to be assigned to one 

advisor instead of fighting over spots from the most coveted professors. Or another is to have a students determine what 

they want to specialize in and then assign them to professors in that particular field of psychology. I also would like to see 

more opportunities for research. I know this university is not to the level of other schools but I hope that one day KSU will 

be known more for its own psychology research. 

18. Some teachers are horrible. they expect you us to be professional writers and yet we are just learners. 

19. Interpersonal relationships between professors and students. 

20. n/a 

42

21. Include more online classes. I don't mean hybrid, but actual classes that allow you to take them and continue working as 

you manage it. 

22. Limited opportunities for research or lack of communication about opportunities Lack of interactive/hands-on experience 

in psychology-related activities (i.e. mock counseling, understanding research funding, workshops for graduate school 

applications or career choice development) 

23. I honestly do not really see one other than the fact that it would be nice if there were more opportunities for students to go 

on to graduate school. 

24. Can’t really think of anything. 

25. There is not enough information for students who do not plan on going to graduate school. 

26. I think Senior Seminar should not be based on one huge paper. Some people are good writers and some are not. Even 

when you use the lab and get people to read your paper, it is still not enough assurance to know that you are going to 

pass the class. The professor may not like your paper and you do not know if you are going to pass the class or not the 

entire semester because you are waiting on that one grade. 

27. My only poor experience was an online class, "Careers in Psychology". Comments to students and teaching style were 

demeaning, sarcastic and caustic. I dropped the class. I have heard repeatedly the same evaluations from students in 

my time at KSU. 

28. n/a 

29. The major weakness within the Psychology program is the Psych lab. I was provided with incorrect information several 

times and the individual working in the lab was more interested on grading professors' papers and working on their 

graduate-related work than they were with helping students. 

30. There are not many opportunities for students to participate in studies. 

31. Limited jobs when one graduated 

32. At the moment nothing Back to Contents of Senior Survey 

CAREER-RELATED SKILLS: PERCEIVED IMPORTANCE AND PERSONAL PROFICIENCY 

Perceived importance of specific skill in career (1=not at all important to 7=extremely important) 

There was a marginally significant difference in ratings of skill importance, F (2, 76) = 2.72, p = .07, partial η 2 = .07, a small 

effect. Bonferroni post hoc tests indicated that students considered themselves marginally more skilled in effective interaction 

with diverse groups than on their ability to interpret statistics (p =.07); ratings on other comparison pairs did not differ 

significantly. 

Descriptive Statistics 

N Minimum Maximum Mean SE SD 

Writing a high quality report 40 2 7 5.97 .18 1.16 

Interpreting and drawing meaningful conclusions 

from reports containing statistics 

Interacting effectively with individuals from a variety 

of cultural backgrounds 

39 1 7 5.67 .22 1.34 

39 3 7 6.21 .17 1.08 

Self-rating of personal specific skill (1=not at all skilled to 7=extremely skilled) 

There was a significant difference in ratings of personal skills, F (2, 76) = 4.21, p = .02, partial η 2 = .10, a small effect. 

Bonferroni post hoc tests indicated that students considered themselves marginally more skilled in effective interaction with 

diverse groups than on their ability to write a high quality report (p = 06) or interpret statistics (p =.07); ratings on these latter 

two skills did not differ (p =1.00). 

Writing a high quality report 

Descriptive Statistics 

N Minimum Maximum Mean SE SD 

39 3 7 5.41 .18 1.09 

Interpreting and drawing meaningful conclusions 

from reports containing statistics 39 3 7 5.44 .20 1.25 

Interacting effectively with individuals from a variety 

of cultural backgrounds 39 3 7 5.97 .17 1.06 

Self-rating of skill was significantly correlated with ratings of importance on all three dimensions: report writing, r 

(37) = .44, p = .005, statistical interpretation, r (36) = .46, p = .004, and effective interaction, r (36) = .53, p = .001. 

Self-ratings of skill were significantly correlated with self-reported GPA for report writing, r (35) = .49, p = .002, 

and statistical interpretation, r (35) = .38, p = .02, but not for effective interaction, r (35) = .06, p = .70. 


43

LONG TERM CAREER GOAL (10 YEARS FROM NOW) 

1. I plan on obtaining my masters than my Ph.d then I would like to educate women, children, and difference races on the 

importance of mental health. I would love to write a book and a stage play as well as travel the world and do research on 

other cultures. 

2. I hope to be employed as a diagnostic medical sonographer. 

3. I plan to become a high school counselor. In the next ten years, I hope to finish graduate school and find a job as a 

counselor. 

4. I would like to get a masters degree in speech therapy 

5. I would like to get my MSW and work as a Marriage and Family Therapist 

6. I would like to get my LCSW and council people. 

7. I would like to obtain a Masters in some field of counseling, but I'm not sure yet which specific field it will be. 

8. My long-term career goal is to become an Art Therapist and then later return to school and study neuropsychology. I 

eventually would like to start my own practice specializing in children with needs. 

9. To have my own pediatric occupational therapy clinic. 

10. Neuropsychologist 

11. I plan to either be in graduate school or already have my doctorate in health psychology. I plan to be working with kids 

with chronic illnesses and helping them cope with those illnesses. 

12. Board certified clinical neuropsychologist. I plan to work for a hospital and conduct neurological evaluations of traumatic 

brain injury patients. 

13. In two years I will graduate with a second undergraduate degree as a registered nurse. I plan on immediatly working in the 

NICU and later specializing with a masters or doctorate. 

14. Masters degree in public health with a concentration in epidemiology. Principle Investigator. 

15. To work for Customs for a few years and then go back to school to seek a masters in either clinical psychology or I/O 

psychology. 

16. I would like to have completely a graduate program in I/O or Clinical Psychology and be working for the Department of 

Homeland Security 

17. I aspire to obtain a position with the GBI. If that did not work out for me, I would still like to work for some sort of 

government agency. If I stayed with my current employer, I would like to become a victim advocate with the DAs office. 

18. I would like to be a professor at a middle sized university working toward his tenure. I would like to continue research at 

the institution where I am employeed. 

19. Statistician, data analyst, Plan on being active in the university program 

20. I want to be in a classroom teaching young children. I also wish to get my masters in montessori education. If I get my 

masters in montessori education then I can begin teaching adults to become montessori teachers. I would also like to own 

a school one day. 

21. I plan to study later on when I can afford it. I plan to work at a school being the director of discipline for middle school 

children. 

22. I would like to be an HR Director. 

23. I plan to be involved within the pharmaceutical industry in some capacity. I will either work on the clinical side developing 

and managing Phase 2-4 trials or I will still be a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep. 

24. Hopefully, I will be employed with a law enforcement agency or firm conducting interviews or doing legal research, and 

writing reports or writing proposals. 

25. Work right after graduation to save some money. Go to graduate school and hopefully get a job at a high paying 

accounting firm 

26. I do not know at this time and it is extremely stressful. 

27. I am uncertain. For now, employment is most important. In about two years, I hope to attend graduate school. I won't 

attempt further education until I've decided on a career choice this time. In the meantime, I will attempt to learn more 

about graduate school options for psychology majors and the careers available for people in the many fields of 

psychology. I will do this by reading about the careers, visiting the Career Center, and meeting with faculty members. 

28. undecided. 

29. I will need to work after graduation for several years. I intend to go to graduate school to pursue a PhD. 

30. I do not know. 

31. doctorate with steady pay and job, paid off loans Back to Contents of Senior Survey 

44

COMMENTS ABOUT KSU OR CAREER PLANS 

1. I would like to see KSU professors be more diverse and treat everyone equally. I would also love to see the campus get a 

lot more parking areas. The parking is horrible. I also would like to see an on campus daycare for students who have 

children. 

2. One thing that I did not care for (although I do understand the importance behind it) was the stress on skills for graduate 

school and the assumption that everyone majoring in psychology was going to need those skills. Whenever I felt like 

certain information or skills were irrelevant to my future goals, i seemed to perform poorer on those tasks/assignments. 

3. I plan to go to grad school 

4. KSU is a fantastic school that is only getting better. Keep up the good work! 

5. I am thankful for my education at KSU and extremely thankful for the way it has prepared me to be a confident teacher. 

6. I am very pleased with my experience as a psychology major at KSU. I feel very ready to enter graduate school from my 

education here. 

7. I liked KSU and I feel like the students take classes seriously which is a big help and adds greatly to the learning 

experience. 

8. I hated the bursars office. They suck. I enjoyed KSU and the psychology classes. One of my main complaints was not the 

teaching but the other students. At times, I felt like I was not pushed. I felt as if other students were incompetent. Some of 

the stories other students would tell detracted from useful time in class. I am paying for the teachers ability to convey 

knowledge and I detested other students idiotic stories detracting from class time. I fell like for certain classes at KSU 

(Social Psych) the school should have subsidized some of the pay for the time students would steal from class. 

9. I have had a wonderful experience at KSU, and I am constantly recommending this program to other potential students. 

10. I have really enjoyed my time at KSU. 

11. KSU have given me great opportunities to expand upon my career. I have enjoyed every minute of my time there. I would 

recommend this school to anyone interested in pursuing a degree. 

12. positive experience academically. 

13. I liked KSU. I've been to several colleges and KSU was my second favorite. I didn't participate in the traditional college 

student lifestyle, so I can only comment on the quality of the professors, classroom appearance, etc. I will say that, 

although it has improved, parking is a nightmare at KSU. 

14. I loved my experience at KSU, there were great professors and great students to study with. 

15. I am glad the KSU experience is almost over. I am optimistic about the future and look forward to it. 

16. I love Kennesaw State and all the faculty in the psych department. 

17. I truly had a blast studying Psychology. And I love it! The best part of all is that I can (and do) apply it to every day life. 

18. None 

19. none 


CURRENT EMPLOYMENT AND PLANS TO CHANGE AFTER GRADUATION 

Current employment 


Yes, employed for pay 39 79.6 

No, not employed for pay 10 20.4 

Total 49 100.0 

Plan to change employment after graduation (all who answered question) 


Plan to change 40 80.0 

Do not plan to change 9 18.0 

Total 49 98.0 

45

IMMEDIATE POSTGRADUATION PLANS AND GRADUATE SCHOOL INFO 

Immediate postgraduation plans 


Employment only 13 27.1 

Graduate school only 4 8.3 

Both employment and 

graduate school 

26 54.2 

Other 5 10.4 

Total 48 100.0 

Graduate school applications and acceptances (if immediate plans are not "employment only") 

Submitted graduate school application 


Yes 9 25.0 

No 27 75.0 

Total 36 100.0 

At this survey was completed in December 2011, it was not surprising that none of the applicants indicated that an acceptance 

had been received. In the Spring 2011 survey, 15 of 42 respondents (35.7%) indicated that they had applied to graduate 

school, and six of those who applied indicated that they had received at least one acceptance (40%). In the Summer 2011 

survey, four of 22 respondents (18.2%) indicated that they had applied to graduate school, and two of those who applied 

indicated that they had received at least one acceptance (50%). 


46

DEMOGRAPHICS 

Age: Descriptive Statistics 

N Mean Median Mode SD Variance Min. Max. 

Age 46 25 23 23 4.92 24.2 20 45 

Sex 


Male 10 21.7 

Female 36 78.3 

Total 46 100.0 

Year entered KSU 


2001 1 2.1 

2005 3 6.4 

2006 5 10.6 

2007 8 17.0 

2008 14 29.8 

2009 10 21.3 

2010 5 10.6 

2011 1 2.1 

Total 47 100.0 

Transferred credits 


Yes 30 62.5 

No 18 37.5 

Total 48 100.0 

Number of Credits Transferred Statistics (for those who transferred credits): Descriptive Statistics 

N Mean Median Mode SD Variance Min. Max. 

Transfer credits 30 48.2 45 60 a 19.98 398.99 8 91 

a Multiple modes: 6 students indicated that they transferred 60 credits, and six students indicated that they transferred 70 

credits. 

Planned semester of graduation 

Frequency Valid Percent 

Fall 2011 39 81.2 

Spring 2012 7 14.6 

Summer 2012 1 2.1 

Fall 2012 1 2.1 

Total 48 100.0 





47

Appendix I 

Evaluation of UTAs: Fall 2011 

Item 

Human 

Sexuality Experimental 

Methods 

1 Methods 2 Methods 3 

N Rate N Rate N Rate N Rate N Rate 

Presentation 5 9.6 15 7.9 14 8.5 

Assistance in class 20 9.8 21 8.8 17 9 22 8.4 15 8.7 

Study session 19 9.9 14 8.4 13 8.4 

Computer 

assistance 8 9.6 13 9.23 15 9.3 18 9.3 10 8.8 

Assignment 

feedback 18 9.6 22 8.6 12 8.5 16 8.2 15 8.9 




48

Appendix J: BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY 

Fall 2010 – present 

NAME: __________________________________ 

KSU Entry Year: ___________ 

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS 

Area A: Essential Skills 

KSU Entry Semester: ___________ 

Req’d 

Hours 

45-46 

Earned 

Hours 

______ 

ENGL 1101 Composition I (Must earn ‘C’ or better) 3 ______ 

ENGL 1102 Composition II (Must earn ‘C’ or better) 3 ______ 

MATH 1101 Math Modeling; MATH 1111 College Algebra; 

MATH 1112 College Trigonometry; or MATH 1113 Precalculus * 

Choice: __________________ 3 ______ 

*MATH 1190 or 2202 may be used here. 

Area B: Social Issues (Institutional Option) 

ANTH 2105, CRJU 2105, GEOG 2105, PSYC 2105, or SOCI 2105 * 

Choice: __________________ 2 ______ 

*ANTH 2201, CRJU 1101, GEOG 1101, or SOCI 2201 may be used here. 

COM 1109, PHIL 2200, or FL 1002 or higher 

Choice: __________________ 3 ______ 

Area C: Humanities/Fine Arts 

ENGL 2110 World Literature 3 ______ 

ART 1107, DANC 1107, MUSI 1107, or TPS 1107 

Choice: __________________ 3 ______ 

Area D: Science, Mathematics, and Technology 

MATH 1106 Elem. App. Calculus; MATH 1107 Statistics; MATH 1190 

Calculus I; or MATH 2207 Data Analysis and Probability for Teachers * 

(NOTE: MATH 1107 recommended) 

Choice: __________________ 3-4 ______ 

*MATH 2202 or 2203 may be used here. 

SCI 1101 Science Principles and Process I * _____________ 4 ______ 

SCI 1102 Science Principles and Process II * _____________ 3 ______ 

*Most lab-based science courses may be used here. Anatomy & Physiology 

and Fundamental Microbiology courses cannot. 

Area E: Social Sciences 

POLS 1101 American Government in a Global Perspective 3 ______ 

ECON 1100 Global Econ. or ECON 2100 Prin. of Microecon. * 

Choice: __________________ 3 ______ 

*ECON 2200 may be used here. 

HIST 1110 Introduction to World Civilization 3 ______ 

HIST 2112 America Since 1890 * 3 ______ 

*HIST 2111 may be used here. 

HPS Requirement 

HPS 1000 Fitness for Living 3 ______ 

LOWER DIVISION MAJOR FIELD REQUIREMENTS 

Reminders: 

Must earn a “C” or better in all courses in this area. 

Must earn a “C” or better for prerequisites to be satisfied. 

Req’d 

Hours 

18 

Earned 

Hours 

______ 

PSYC 1101 Introductory Psychology 3 ______ 

PSYC 2210 Careers in Psychology 3 ______ 

(Prereq: PSYC 1101 & you must be a psychology major) 

PSYC 2300 and 2300L Research Methods in Psychology & Lab 4 ______ 

(Prereq: PSYC 1101; ENGL 1101; & MATH 1101, 1111, 1112, or 1113 ) 

Any 1000-2000 level courses in MATH, STAT, CS, IS, IT, BIOL, 

CHEM, PHYS, & SCI * 

Choices: __________________ __________________ 6 ______ 

*Courses at the 3000-4000 level may substitute. See an advisor. 

KSU ID#: ___________________________ 

UPPER DIVISION MAJOR FIELD REQUIREMENTS 

Req’d 

Hours 

36 

Earned 

Hours 

______ 

Reminders: 

Must earn a “C” or better in all courses in this area. 

Must earn a “C” or better for prerequisites to be satisfied. 

24 of the 36 required hours in this category must be completed at KSU. 

A minimum of 39 upper-level semester hours must be completed to graduate. 

Lower-level courses used to satisfy upper-level requirements cannot count 

toward these 39 hours. 

Must choose one course from each of the five areas. 

PSYC 3301 and 3301L Experimental Psychology & Lab 4 ______ 

(Prereq: PSYC 2300 & 2300L) 

Developmental Area (Prereq: PSYC 1101) 

PSYC 3305 Life-Span Developmental Psychology 3 ______ 

Diversity and Multicultural Area (Prereq: PSYC 1101) 

PSYC 3355 Cross-Cultural Psychology 

PSYC 3385 Ethnic Minority Psychology 

PSYC 3425 Psychology of Gender 

Choice: __________________ 3 ______ 

Personality and Social Area (Prereq: PSYC 2300 & 2300L) 

PSYC 3325 Social Psychology 

PSYC 3335 Theories of Personality 

Choice: __________________ 3 ______ 

Biological Bases Area (Prereq: PSYC 2300 & 2300L) 

PSYC 4410 Physiological Psychology 

PSYC 4415 Perception 

Choice: __________________ 4 ______ 

Learning and Cognition Area (Prereq: PSYC 3301 & 3301L) 

PSYC 4345 Learning and Behavior 

PSYC 4455 Cognitive Psychology 

Choice: __________________ 4 ______ 

Senior Capstone Experience 

PSYC 4499 Senior Seminar in Psychology * 3 ______ 

(Prereq: “C” or better in PSYC 2300/L, PSYC 3301/L, and one course from 

each of the five areas. Any one of the five area courses may be completed 

concurrently with PSYC 4499.) 

*Students must take the ETS Major Field Test as part of the course requirements. 

Psychology Electives 

Any 3000-4000 level courses in PSYC 

Choices: __________________ __________________ 12 ______ 

__________________ 

ELECTIVE REQUIREMENTS 

__________________ 

Req’d 

Hours 

24 

Earned 

Hours 

______ 

Related Studies 

Any 3000-4000 level courses in the university curriculum 

other than PSYC 

Choices: __________________ __________________ 12 ______ 

__________________ 

__________________ 

Free Electives 

Any courses in the university curriculum. 

__________________ 

__________________ 

Choices: __________________ __________________ 12 ______ 

__________________ 

__________________ 

Any 1000-2000 level course(s) in the university curriculum * 

Choice: __________________ 2 ______ 

*May be met with one 2-hour course, one 3-hour course, or two 1-hour courses. 

__________________ 

__________________ 

__________________ 

__________________ 

Extra Courses: __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ 

NOTES: A minimum 2.0 GPA and 123 hours must be earned to graduate. Courses retaken to raise grades (e.g., from a D to a C) can only count once toward graduation. 

A minimum of 30 hours must be completed at KSU. At least 20 of the last 30 hours must be completed at KSU. CPC and Developmental Studies hours do not count toward the 

required 123 hours. Final decisions regarding completion of requirements for graduation always rest with the Registrar. 


49

Appendix K 

Summary Table of Planned Assessment Activities and Courses 

Semester GSLO1 GSLO2 GSLO3 

Spring 2012 PSYC PSYC PSYC 

2300, 3301, 2300, 3301 2300, 3301, 

4499 

4499 

GSLO4/5 

(diversityrelated) 

Summer 2012 PSYC 4499 PSYC 

2300, 3301 

Fall 2012 PSYC 4499 PSYC 

2300, 3301 

PSYC 

2300, 3301, 

4499 

PSYC 

2300, 3301, 

3305, 4499 

PSYC 

3355, 

3385,3425 

Spring 2013 

PSYC 

2300, 3301, 

4499 

PSYC 

2300, 3301 

PSYC 

2300, 3301, 

3305, 4499 

PSYC 

3355, 

3385,3425 

Summer 2013 PSYC 4499 PSYC 

2300, 3301 

Fall 2013 PSYC 4499 PSYC 

2300, 3301 

PSYC 

2300, 3301, 

3305, 4499 

PSYC 

2300, 3301, 

3305, 4499 

PSYC 

3355, 

3385,3425 

PSYC 

3355, 

3385,3425 



50

2012 Assurance of Learning Report - Kennesaw State University

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