What Do Introduction to Psychology Textbooks Have to Say About Older Adults?

Introduction to Psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate courses, an entry course for psychology majors and also popular with students from other disciplines. Consequently, the content in introductory psychology textbooks has the potential to influence undergraduates’ knowledge, attitudes, and interests, including those related to aging. The purpose of this study was to analyze aging-related content in introductory psychology textbooks to understand the topics to which students are exposed in this important course. We analyzed the indices of 21 best-selling Introduction to Psychology textbooks for both advanced and intermediate audiences, published between 2018 and 2020. We extracted and aggregated 275 unique, aging-specific index terms from the textbooks and analyzed their relative frequency. We identified 61 superordinate index terms corresponding to general terms (e.g., “aging,” “death”). The indices also included 214 unique subordinate terms that were more specific (e.g., “aging, and cognition”). Across textbooks, the most frequent topics reflected negative consequences of aging (e.g., “Alzheimer disease” = appeared in 100% of textbooks, “death” in 52%). In contrast, positive aspects of aging appeared less often (e.g., “generativity” in 47%, “longevity” in 10%). Terms describing career opportunities were rare (e.g., “gerontology” in 5%, “geropsychology” in 5%), as were modern theories (e.g., “socioemotional selectivity theory” in 28%). Advocacy for comprehensive and balanced representation of aging in introductory psychology textbooks is critical for educating students and promoting interest in the field.

“Oh, the Places You Can Go” Gen Z Psychology Students’ Perceived Career Options and Interests

Background: Career options available to psychology graduates are often underestimated despite psychology being a marketable and versatile degree with hundreds of career options. Objective: This article identifies which career options students perceive as available to psychology graduates and assesses student interest in psychology-related careers. Method: In Study 1, 12 focus groups consisting of 59 psychology majors were asked to list the career options available to psychology graduates. In Study 2, 430 psychology students rated their interest in 273 psychology-related careers. Results: Study 1 revealed careers perceived as available to psychology graduates were most often in counseling (92%) and applied-settings (50%) with child-related (42%), business (25%), and research (25%) careers listed less often. Study 2 revealed psychology majors were most interested in counseling and child-related careers, with 18 of their top 20 careers of interest involving mental health or working with children. Conclusion: Students are often unaware of career options in psychology beyond counseling. Consequently, they tend to be most interested in careers related to counseling and children, particularly careers involving the mental healthcare of children. Teaching Implications: Findings may encourage psychology departments to communicate the broad range of psychology career options for the recruitment and advising of psychology majors.

"Oh, the Places You Can Go" Gen Z Psychology Students' Perceived Career Options and Interests

Background: Career options available to psychology graduates are often underestimated despite psychology being a marketable and versatile degree with hundreds of career options.Objective: This article identifies which career options students perceive as available to psychology graduates and assesses student interest in psychology-related careers. Method: In Study 1, 12 focus groups consisting of 59 psychology majors were asked to list the career options available to psychology graduates. In Study 2, 430 psychology students rated their interest in 273 psychology-related careers. Results: Study 1 revealed careers perceived as available to psychology graduates were most often in counseling (92%) and applied-settings (50%) with child-related (42%), business (25%), and research (25%) careers listed less often. Study 2 revealed psychology majors were most interested in counseling and child-related careers, with 18 of their top 20 careers of interest involving mental health or working with children. Conclusion: Students are often unaware of career options in psychology beyond counseling. Consequently, they tend to be most interested in careers related to counseling and children, particularly careers involving the mental healthcare of children.Teaching Implications: Findings may encourage psychology departments to communicate the broad range of psychology career options for the recruitment and advising of psychology majors.

Teaching Research in Principle and in Practice: What Do Psychology Instructors Think of Research Projects in Their Courses?

Psychology majors typically conduct at least one research project during their undergraduate studies, yet these projects rarely make a scientific contribution beyond the classroom. In this study, we explored one potential reason for this - that student projects may not be aligned with best practices in the field. In other words, we wondered if there was a mismatch between what instructors teach in principle and what student projects are in practice. To answer this, we asked a psychology instructors (n = 111) who regularly teach courses involving research projects questions about these projects. Instructors endorsed many of the commonly assumed pitfalls of student projects, such as not using rigorous methodology. Notably, the characteristics of these typical student projects did not align with the qualities instructors reported as being important in research practice. We highlight opportunities to align these qualities by employing resources such as crowdsourced projects specifically developed for student researchers.

Entering the Workforce or Going to Graduate School: Themes in Psychology Alumni Decision Making

The goal of the current study was to explore how psychology majors decide whether to enter the workforce or attend graduate school. Thirty-two psychology alumni, including 22 women and 10 men ( Mage = 28.88 years, SD = 5.25) participated in semi-structured interviews about their ending time as an undergraduate and figuring out next steps. Using consensual qualitative research (CQR) themes emerged related to gaining experience, relationships, uncertainty, and self-knowledge. Alumni entering the workforce reflected on internship experiences, uncertainty, and finances, while alumni entering graduate school emphasized first-hand experiences, self-knowledge, goals, and location. Additional differences emerged for alumni identifying as first-generation students. Results highlight diverse factors influencing the decision to enter the workforce or attend graduate school.

Development of the Motivation to Participate in Psychological Research Scale

In a series of four studies, I developed and found evidence supporting the validity of a new measure, the Motivation to Participate in Psychological Research Scale (MPPRS). Based upon the tenets of Self-Determination Theory and aimed at measuring motivation in undergraduate students, the scale demonstrated a three-factor structure in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (Study 1: N = 238, Study 2: N = 264, Study 3: N = 297). Factors corresponded to autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and amotivation. Preliminary evidence supported the validity of MPPRS scores, and subscales differentiated psychology majors from non-majors, as well as associated with the timing of research participation during the semester. Examining student motivation with the MPPRS has possible implications for data quality, as a moderator of research findings, and might be used to track changes in students’ interest regarding psychological research. However, future research is needed to assess the predictive validity of the MPPRS.