Examining and Promoting Sleep Health in the Undergraduate Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Approach

Objective: Although college students are at heightened risk for sleep disturbances, healthy sleep is associated with positive physical, cognitive, psychological, and academic benefits for this group. The goals of the current study were to (1) describe sleep health in an undergraduate college sample and (2) examine the role of a class activity using self-determination theory to promote better sleep health in this group. Methods: A cohort study was conducted using data drawn from class activities conducted in two undergraduate Introduction to Psychology courses. Students were undergraduates at a mid-Atlantic public university in the United States. Total sample size was N = 224 (intervention class [n = 98], and the control class [n = 127]). Both the intervention and control classes completed the RU SATED sleep health questionnaire at the beginning and the end of the semester. The intervention class also completed a self-determination activity focused on sleep health mid-semester. Both the RU SATED questionnaires and the self-determination activities were completed via in-class responder technology. Data were de-identified and downloaded from the responder technology at the end of the semester. Mixed methods were used for data analysis including quantitative analyses and a qualitative approach using a phenomenological, inductive, and reflexive qualitative method whereby themes were allowed to emerge from the data. Results: Overall, almost 25% of the students reported never or rarely obtaining healthy sleep on average. The majority (76%) said they sometimes have healthy sleep and no students reported usually or always obtaining healthy sleep. The components of sleep health the entire sample scored highest on were timing (sleeping between 2 and 4 AM), sleep duration (between 7 and 9 h), and staying awake during the day. The areas they scored the lowest on were maintaining regular bed and wake times, spending less than 30 min awake at night, and feeling satisfied with their sleep. Qualitatively, the most frequently obtained sleep health behaviors of the intervention class were rhythmicity, prioritizing sleep, timing of sleep, and tech hygiene. The intervention class had significantly better sleep health across the entire semester and significantly better daytime alertness post-intervention. The most commonly chosen sleep health behaviors to change were sleep hygiene, tech hygiene, and stimulus control. Conclusion: We examined the classroom environment as a venue for promoting sleep health among college students. Given the popularity of Introduction to Psychology courses, this class is a promising avenue to deliver sleep health promotions to a large number of students. The implementation of a self-determination framework, as part of sleep health promotion, shows potential for creating a person-centered, strengths-based approach to health behavior change within this population.

Motivação e aprendizagem autorregulada

A motivação tem-se destacado como um construto importante para o ensino eficaz e aprendizagem significativa. A busca dos profissionais da educação é por estratégias e procedimentos mais eficazes para que os estudantes aprendam e apliquem os conhecimentos adquiridos nas universidades. Nesse sentido, este estudo consistiu na aplicação da Escala de Motivação Acadêmica (EMA), baseada na Teoria da Autorregulação, em 814 universitários paulistas e mineiros, sendo 70,3% do gênero feminino, com faixa etária de 18 a 62 anos, dos cursos de administração (57,3%), psicologia (27,2%) e pedagogia (15,5%). Constatou-se que os estudantes apresentaram menor média para o fator motivação extrínseca por recompensas sociais e média maior no fator motivação intrínseca, demonstrando ser esta a motivação que os alunos entendem como a que melhor proporciona aprendizagem. Verificou-se, também, uma alteração no continuum de autorregulação; que as mulheres balizam mais seu estudo pela motivação intrínseca; que quanto mais os universitários avançam em idade, mais a motivação intrínseca sobressai. Olhando-se para os semestres, concluiu-se que a motivação permeia todos eles, sendo fator importante para a didática. Verificou-se também que o curso de administração mostrou-se mais dependente da motivação extrínseca para o estudo, enquanto os cursos de pedagogia e psicologia se aproximaram muito mais da motivação intrínseca. A hipótese da necessidade de refinamento dos itens que medem a motivação extrínseca e a ampliação e diversificação da amostra oportunizariam o aprofundamento da investigação. Motivation has stood out as an important construct for effective teaching and meaningful learning. The search for educational professionals is for more effective strategies and procedures for students to learn and apply the knowledge acquired in universities. In this sense, this study consisted in the application of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), based on the Theory of Self-Regulation, in 814 college students from São Paulo and Minas Gerais, being 70.3% female, with ages ranging from 18 to 62 years old, from business administration (57.3%), psychology (27.2%) and pedagogy (15.5%). It was verified that the students presented a lower average for the extrinsic motivation factor due to social rewards and a higher average in the intrinsic motivation factor, demonstrating that this is the motivation that the students understand as the one that best provides learning. It was also verified that there was a change in the continuum of self-regulation, that women are more motivated by intrinsic motivation, and that the older the students get, the more intrinsic motivation stands out. Looking at the semesters, it was concluded that motivation permeates all of them, being an important factor for didactics. It was also verified that the business administration course proved to be more dependent on extrinsic motivation for study, while the pedagogy and psychology courses were much closer to intrinsic motivation. The hypothesis of the need for refinement of the items that measure extrinsic motivation and the expansion and diversification of the sample would provide an opportunity to deepen the investigation.

Back to the Source: Moving Upstream in the Curricular Rivers of Coloniality

This article shares choices made as part of an introductory decoloniality curriculum in a non-clinical community psychology M.A./PhD program where the authors are faculty members. We focus on the basics of decoloniality and decolonial pedagogies in two first-year foundational psychology courses: one course on implications of decoloniality for studying differing psychological paradigms, ontologies, and epistemologies, particularly relational ontologies that might reframe community environments, and another course on implications of decoloniality for post-humanist and indigenous qualitative research methodologies. We present currently emerging forms of theory, content, pedagogy, dialogue, artivism, and methodology in process in our work, as well as responses from students and our own reflections.

Intent Matters: Resolving the Intentional vs Incidental Learning Paradox in Episodic Long-term Memory

Decades of research have established that the intent to remember information has no effect on episodic long-term memory. This claim, which is routinely taught in introductory cognitive psychology courses, is based entirely on pure-list between-subject designs in which memory performance is equal for intentional and incidental learning groups. In the current ten experiments, participants made semantic judgements about each word in a list but they had to remember only words presented in a specific color. We demonstrate that in such mixed-list designs there is a substantial difference between intentionally and incidentally learned items. The first four experiments showed that this finding is independent of the remember cue onset relative to the semantic judgement. The remaining six experiments tested alternative explanations as to why intent only matters in mixed-list designs but not in pure-list between-subject designs – inhibition of incidentally learned items, output interference, selective relational encoding, and a novel selective threshold-shifting account. We found substantial support for the threshold-shifting account according to which the intent to remember boosts item-context associations in both mixed- and pure-list designs; however, in pure-list between-subject designs, participants in the incidental learning group can use a lower retrieval threshold to compensate for the weaker memory traces. This led to more extra-list intrusions in incidental learning groups; incidental learning groups also showed a source memory deficit. We conclude that intent always matters for long-term learning, but that the effect is masked in traditional between-subject designs. Our results suggest that researchers need to rethink the role of intent in long-term memory.

Teaching Behavior Analysis in Brazil: An examination of syllabus in undergraduate courses

The aim of this research was to examine the teaching of Behavior Analysis (BA) in undergraduate Psychology courses in Brazil. For this purpose, syllabus of course units related to BA, provided by federal universities with Psychology courses or higher education institutions that had postgraduate programs in the area, were examined. 82 course units related to BA were identified in the 52 undergraduate courses examined (average of 1.6). The results indicated that the average class hours of the BA course units (116h) represents a small portion (2.9%) of the minimum class hours of the undergraduate courses in Psychology (4,000h). Regarding the syllabus description items, an emphasis on basic concepts and the experimental method was identified. In relation to learning objectives, a high frequency of "false learning objectives" was identified. These results reaffirm long-standing concerns about the limited access to BA in undergraduate Psychology courses.

Predicting Beliefs in Psychological Misconceptions with Psychology Knowledge and the Critical Reflection Test: A Replication and Extension

Background Psychological misconceptions permeate our culture, with many people endorsing these erroneous beliefs. Objective The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend previous findings that reported psychology knowledge and cognitive thinking style predict undergraduates’ beliefs in psychological misconceptions. Method Two hundred and ninety-six undergraduates participated in an online survey in which they completed a psychological misconceptions questionnaire and the Critical Reflection Test (CRT). Participants’ academic information (i.e., number of psychology and non-psychology courses taken and overall psychology GPA) was retrieved via institutional data. Results Number of psychology courses, psychology GPA, and CRT score were all positive correlates of rejecting psychological misconceptions. Conclusion Students who took more and attained higher grades in psychology courses and engaged in more reflective and analytical thinking are less likely to affirm psychological misconceptions. Teaching Implications Psychology courses, particularly those that include activities and assessments to bolster reflective and analytical thinking skills, could be effective means to reduce students’ beliefs in psychological misconceptions.

Teaching in a Lonely World: Educating Students About the Nature of Loneliness and Promoting Social Connection in the Classroom

Introduction: Loneliness is an epidemic in the modern world, putting millions of people at risk of serious mental and physical health problems. Statement of the Problem: Despite its relevance to many domains within psychology, the topic of loneliness receives little to no coverage in most psychology textbooks. Also, many students struggle with loneliness and may benefit from teachers prioritizing social connection in their classrooms. Literature Review: I briefly review the research on loneliness. I also provide a quick overview of the research on students’ sense of connection and its relationship to academic motivation and performance. Teaching Implications: I discuss ways to incorporate the topic of loneliness into psychology courses and explain how teachers can promote social connection in their classrooms. Conclusion: Psychology teachers should consider educating students about the topic of loneliness (as it relates to the courses they teach) and designing their courses with students’ fundamental social needs in mind.