QUARTER RESEARCH PROJECTS:   BOTH PLAN A & B            DEC 14/JAN 18

*1.  SCIENCE FAIR COMPETITION        Paperwork must be in Nov. 29th.
Using last quarters experiment as a pretest, enter the science fair under
behavioral science category --need to fill out special form for human
subjects immediately!!  See Mrs. Curtis in Science Office, back hall.
    Fix those confounds, add a literature search/review and bibliography
        Get help with statistical analysis of new subject pool.
You may also enter science fair with a new project, but all ideas must be
approved before any testing can be started.


*2.  ThinkQuest Project  www.thinkquest.org       Commit by Dec 14
For those of you who have  a. lots of time  b. love to do web pages and are
pretty sophisticated in them   c.  able to use internet from home and willing
to cooperate with students from other parts of the country/world!
    Applications are due in February--must have a general topic selected and
submit a layout proposal and a Research paper/draft of key components/topics
in your proposal.  By Dec. 14, you should have a minimum of three articles on
a topic you are interested in formatted in a paper.  Members of a team project
must  have separate articles on sub topics of the general theme.

*3.  Research paper on a limited topic in experimental psychology/Experiment
Sensation/Perception, Learning, Memory, Thought, Problem Solving, Language
Development and Intelligence Testing.  You need to include a minimum of three
journal articles describing experiments that have already been done on a topic.
You may turn this into a group experimental proposal, but literature search
is individual and due Dec. 14.  For those wishing to do another experiment,
group proposals due by Jan. 10 and final paper then by last day of quarter.

4.  Web Page Research Paper/Project
by Dec 14, you will have researched the content base of your page--annotated
bibliography of sources due.
Actual web page should include: links to other information on your topic from
this quarters subjects; Glossary of key terms, graphics, something
interactive (minimally a quiz) content based on a specific topic in one
specific area.  Good research base, accurate and esthetically pleasing and
creative.   Student projects from prior years can be seen at my web site and
www.tjhsst.edu/Psych.

5.  TOPSS ESSAY CONTEST: due Jan 25 Win $1000
THE QUESTION (Complete all three parts)
I. One of the most exciting areas in psychology is exploring how to improve
learning in the classroom. Your task in this contest is to select a
psychological variable that affects learning and use that concept as a basis
for a research proposal and speculation about application of the results.
This theme addresses one of the initiatives-Psychology across the
Curriculum--of Phil Zimbardo, PhD, the incoming APA president.

Consider the following ten psychological variables that have been found to
influence learning. Choose one of these variables as a basis for your
proposal.
I. Intrinsic motivation     II. Self-fulfilling prophecy
III. Sleep deprivation          IV. Study habits
V. Learning disabilities        VI. Divorce in the family
VII. Learned helplessness       VIII. Conformity
IX. Optimistic world view       X. Collaborative learning
A. Provide an application of relevant psychological findings from a minimum
of 3 sources
B. Include a reference list in APA style.  (1000 words)

II. Based on your literature review, design a program to better inform
teachers of the important relationship between the psychological factor and
learning.   (500 words)

III. Design a research proposal to test the effects of the psychological
factor on learning in elementary school students. Your research proposal
should include:  (500-1000 words)
   A. A statement of the problem
   B. A research hypothesis
   C. A specific description of the methodology
         1. identify the proposed methodology (experiment, etc.)
         2. specify the population and participant pool
         3. define of the independent and dependent variables operationally
         4. describe control technique for relevant extraneous variables
         5. explain how the data will be collected and analyzed
   D. A discussion of how your research proposal meets APA ethical guidelines
   E. A prediction and discussion of potential results


6.  Sleep Foundation essay contest.             due in March
The site is: www.srssleep.org/essay_rules.html
They have yet to post this year's competition deadlines, but for past five
years the rules have remained same.  This contest consists of writing a 1000
word essay about an area of sleep that has been scientifically researched.
You need to use at least 3 resources, one of which must be primary.

Each entrant receives a "sleeping brain" T-shirt which is kind of cute, but
those did not arrive at the students' homes until late October this year and
there are 5 winners who receive $250.
TJ had three of the national winners last year.  Samples of essays are
available at the site for prior years.


*7.  ExploraVision Awards:  $5,000--$10,000   www.Toshiba.com/tai/exploravision
This is a team based project of 2-4 students and a coach and/or mentor.
2000-2010 has been dubbed the Decade of Behavior by the American
Psychological Association.  Each team should select a current problem or
issue of interest to them.  Next the team selects a technology, or an aspect
of a technology, that is relevant to the possible solution to that problem or
issue. Look at how this technology works, research its past history and then
project into the future what that technology could be like 20 years from now.
 

The team prepares a  1-10 page(s)  written description of  its project combining
text and artwork.  The sections of the report include:
Present Technology:
overview of present form & principles involved in its functioning
History:
research and describe the history of the technology from its inception
Future Technology:
the teams vision of what the technology will be like in 20 years
Breakthroughs:
breakthroughs  necessary to make the future technology design a reality.
Consequences:
Recognizing that all technologies have positive and negative consequences,
describe the potential positive and negative consequences of the new
technology on society.

 Last year students designed PAT-Post Mortem Technology which allowed
communication with a body/brain after its demise.  Forensic psychologists
could ask questions about the person who had murdered the victim.


8.  Positive Psychology High School Essay Contest 2002                   due in March
Positive Psychology is an exciting new perspective focusing on human strength
and optimal functioning. High school students are encouraged to explore
issues in positive psychology by entering the 2002 Positive Psychology High
School Essay Contest. The contest is open to all high school students who
either are taking or have taken psychology. Two overall contest winners will
receive a $500 cash prize each. The following criteria should be followed
when entering the contest:

a. Essays will address the following prompt:
Discuss how optimism, flow, and one other positive psychology concept of your
choice help to make people's lives better.
(other examples include "the good life", subjective well being, hope, happiness--etc.)

b. Essays should be 600 words in length or less.

c. Identifying information should only be included on a cover page for the
essay or at the beginning of an email message. The following information
should be included:
a.. Name    b.. Age/Grade    c.. Home Address
d.. Home phone number with area code       e.. Email address
f.. School/Psychology Teacher       g.. School Address
h.. School phone number with area code

d. For more information about positive psychology, check out the web site at
www.positivepsychology.org.  If you look at the Site Map you will find articles
and bibliography sources which should be helpful.
 
 
 

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