The Implicit Association Test in Introductory Psychology Textbooks: Blind Spot for Controversy

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) has been widely discussed as a potential measure of “implicit bias.” Yet the IAT is controversial; research suggests that it is far from clear precisely what the instrument measures, and it does not appear to be a strong predictor of behavior. The presentation of this topic in Introductory Psychology texts is important as, for many students, it is their first introduction to scientific treatment of such issues. In the present study, we examined twenty current Introductory Psychology texts in terms of their coverage of the controversy and presentation of the strengths and weaknesses of the measure. Of the 17 texts that discussed the IAT, a minority presented any of the concerns including the lack of measurement clarity (29%), an automatic preference for White people among African Americans (12%), lack of predictive validity (12%), and lack of caution about the meaning of a score (0%); most provided students with a link to the Project Implicit website (65%). Overall, 82% of the texts were rated as biased or partially biased on their coverage of the IAT. The implications for the perceptions and self-perceptions of students, particularly when a link to Project Implicit is included, are discussed.

Distance Teaching of Psychology in Europe: Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Practice Examples During the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic has affected many areas of our lives including education. In the time of designing this study most schools, colleges, and universities across Europe were closed and psychology educators were expected to change their teaching methods rather quickly. This study investigates how they coped with this situation, which technology and methods they used to teach psychology distantly, and which barriers and outcomes they found in this situation. Participants were N = 660 secondary school and university teachers from 28 European countries. The results showed that the participants across Europe face similar challenges in adopting distance teaching methods, which were technical and organizational rather than pedagogical. Despite the fact they found distance teaching of specific psychological contents challenging, psychology teachers also described positive aspects of distance teaching, examples of good practice and lessons learned that could be generally implemented in the teaching of psychology beyond the pandemic situation.

Artificial intelligence in psychology: How can we enable psychology students to accept and use artificial intelligence?

Psychologists with their expertise in statistics and regarding human perception and behavior can contribute valuable insights to the development of innovative and useful artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Therefore, we need to raise attention and curiosity for AI and foster the willingness to engage with it among psychology students. This requires identifying approaches to integrate a general understanding of AI technology into formal psychological training and education. This study investigated to what extent psychology students currently accept and use AI and what affects their perception and usage. Therefore, an AI acceptance model based on established technology acceptance models was developed and tested in a sample of 218 psychology students. An acceptable fit with the data was found for an adapted version. Perceived usefulness and ease of use were most predictive for the students’ attitude towards AI; attitude itself, as well as perceived usefulness, social norm, and perceived knowledge, were predictors for the intention to use AI. In summary, we identified relevant factors for designing AI training approaches in psychology curricula. In this way, possible restraints regarding the use of AI can be reduced and its beneficial opportunities exploited in psychological contexts.

Supporting students during the transition to university in COVID-19: Five key considerations and recommendations for educators

As coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) continues to disrupt pretertiary education provision and examinations in the United Kingdom, urgent consideration must be given to how best to support the 2021–2022 cohort of incoming undergraduate students to higher education. In this paper, we draw upon the “Five Sense of Student Success” model to highlight five key evidence-based, psychology-informed considerations that higher education educators should be attentive to when preparing for the next academic year. These include the challenge in helping students to reacclimatize to academic work following a period of prolonged educational disruption, supporting students to access the “hidden curriculum” of higher education, negotiating mental health consequences of COVID-19, and remaining sensitive to inequalities of educational provision that students have experienced as a result of COVID-19. We provide evidence-based, psychology-informed recommendations to each of these considerations.

The Misconceptions About Multimedia Learning Questionnaire: An Empirical Evaluation Study With Teachers and Student Teachers

In this study, we present the newly developed Misconceptions about Multimedia Learning Questionnaire (MMLQ), we evaluate its psychometric properties (item difficulties, scale reliabilities, and internal structure), and we use it to examine the prevalence of four different misconceptions about multimedia learning in student teachers and teachers. A total of 311 participants (176 teachers and 135 student teachers) responded to the items of the MMLQ. The results revealed moderate reliabilities of the MMLQ scales. Moreover, an a priori assumed four-factor structure of misconceptions about multimedia learning was most compatible with teachers’ and student teachers’ answers to the MMLQ items. These four factors were learning styles (multimedia instruction needs to be adapted to students’ learning styles [visual or auditory]), hemispheric isolation (multimedia instruction enables hemispheric communication), naïve summation (multimedia instruction is more effective the more sensory channels are used), and motivation primacy (multimedia instruction is mainly effective because it is motivating). The majority of teachers and student teachers endorsed three of the four misconceptions about multimedia learning (i.e., learning styles [78.1%], hemispheric isolation [58.8%], and naïve summation [81.4%]) as assessed by the MMLQ. This finding may provide valuable information for teacher education and training regarding this specific issue.

Supporting Peer Feedback on Learning Strategies: Effects on Self-Efficacy and Feedback Quality

The study focused on supporting the distinct processes of assessment and providing feedback within a peer feedback setting in teacher education and investigates the effects on student teachers’ self-efficacy and feedback quality in a quasi-experiment. Student teachers ( n = 129) were asked to repeatedly provide peer feedback on learning strategies and were supported by a digital tool. The support was varied: support in assessment (A; realized by rubrics), in formulating the feedback (F; by providing sentence starters), in both components (A+F), or no support (Control). We conducted a 2 × 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) to measure the effect on feedback quality and 2 × 2×2 mixed ANOVAs to investigate the effects on self-efficacy. Results revealed that student teachers perceived higher self-efficacy regarding assessing learning strategies and giving feedback after repeatedly giving and receiving peer feedback. While supporting feedback-writing (F) was immediately beneficial for students’ self-efficacy, the combination (A + F) was most advantageous in the long run. In addition, feedback quality was higher when students were supported in writing the feedback. The findings show that competencies to assess and to give feedback seem to be distinct components that should be fostered individually. The developed support by the digital tool seems to be one beneficial approach here.

Fostering Self-Regulated Learning in Primary School Students: Can Additional Teacher Training Enhance the Effectiveness of an Intervention?

Teachers play a key role in the development of self-regulated learning (SRL), especially in primary education. However, current results indicate that teachers are either inadequately or only moderately fulfilling this key function, as they spend little time in the instruction of SRL strategies. The objective of the current study was, therefore, to develop an intervention that guides teachers to provide students with SRL strategies and investigate if additional teacher training (ATT) can enhance the intervention effects. Data of 607 fourth-graders were used to analyze their SRL within a pretest/posttest control-group design using a questionnaire and a learning diary. Contrasting the data of the groups actively participating in the intervention (simple intervention group and trained-teachers intervention group) with the data of a passive control group revealed positive effects of the intervention in terms of an increase in their reported use of SRL strategies (questionnaire and diary data). However, we found no transfer effects on achievement, as well as that the ATT had no beneficial effect on results at the student level. For fourth-graders, the developed intervention seems appropriate to impart SRL strategies to them. For teachers, it represents a potential opportunity to instruct SRL strategies to their students in their classes.