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To determine the effectiveness of 20- to 30-min workshops on recognition of errors in American Psychological Association-style writing, 58 introductory psychology students attended one of the three workshops (on grammar, mechanics, or references) and completed error recognition tests (pretest, initial posttest, and three follow-up tests). As a comparison condition for the work- shops, an additional 47 students attended one discussion session about the reasons for style rules. Workshop participants improved from pretest to initial posttest for all topics (whereas comparison groups did not) and retained their proficiency in follow-up tests. Feedback and note taking enhanced improvement. By providing students with supplementary training in basic writing skills, workshops may conserve course time in methodology courses, allowing for greater conceptual emphasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article cites a study that examined the relation of rapport to student attitudes and behaviors toward teachers and classes. The researchers surveyed undergraduates to learn the extent to which they experience rapport with their instructors, assess the relation between rapport and student attitudes and behaviors, and determine instructor qualities and behaviors that appear related to establishing rapport. Most students indicated that rapport is positively related to their enjoyment of the teacher and subject matter. They also reported that rapport motivates them to engage in several proacademic behaviors.

To explore the relationship between materialism and money attitudes, 204 American college students completed Richins and Dawson's (1992) Materialism Scale and Fumham's (1984) Money Beliefs and Behaviors Scale (MBBS). Correlational analyses revealed that materialism was positively related to feelings of inadequacy about money and the tendency to use money as a means of self-aggrandizament. Materialism was negatively related m the conservative approach m money, and was unrelated to negative emotions toward money. We discuss how the link between money and possessions may be mediated by materialism and raise questions about a possible relationship between materialism and compulsive shopping. Further research is suggested to illuminate the interplay between materialism, the acquisition of money, and dysfunctional money behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a method for helping students learn about stereotype formation and prejudice by having them watch and discuss characters and scenes in the movie The Breakfast Club (Tanen & Hughes, 1985). We identify clips that address specific principles, notably the contact hypothesis. Students' positive evaluations of this method suggest the film is an effective way to teach about stereotyping and prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embracing an active learning approach, a semester research methods course with a statistics laboratory component described herein provided sophomore students with their initial and only required exposure to research methods. Techniques used overcame constraints of limited library resources, restricted interlibrary loan procedures, and lack of a formal participant pool. The instructor selected the theme for a single class project. Students participated in design, data collection, analyses, and report writing. Discussion focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of involving all students in the same project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a forum to aid teachers in the selection of psychology reference textbooks in the United States. Examination for selecting cognitive psychology textbooks.

The introductory course often ends up only a hurried survey because current introductory psychology textbooks are too long for the normative 1-term course. This problem is aggravated by the soaring costs of these texts. As a remedy for this situation, some teachers have recently proposed teaching the course without a standard textbook. In lieu of no text, we urge teachers to consider using an inexpensive core text. Adopting such a text would provide students with some exposure to the core introductory course content and still allow teachers to use other specialized texts and readings. We provide information on length, cost, content, organization, and pedagogical programs for the available core texts and discuss some caveats with respect to using such texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research probed the influence of participant sex, Protestant work ethic (PWE) endorsement, and target affluence level on the acceptance of ethically questionable travel-related (extra-organizational) and office (extra-organizational) behaviors (Jones, 1990). American undergraduates (N = 228) read one scenario about a person of greater or lesser affluence, completed the Jones (1990) scale pertaining to the target, and the Mirels and Garrett (1971) PWE scale. Extra-organizational bebaviors were more acceptable for affluent than less affluent targets, low than high PWEs, with these effects qualified by an interaction between these two variables. Intra-organizational behaviors were more acceptable to low than high PWEs and to men more than women. We relate our results to previous contradictory findings in the area of business ethics, as well as research concerning PWE endorsement and affluence cues. Future research directions are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]