A primary goal in our Introductory Psychology classes is to foster an appreciation and understanding of psychological research. All students will receive 1 credit per hour of participation in experiments. ALL students enrolled in Psychology 1200 will be required to participate in a minimum of three hours of research experiments with the first one hour of credit being the completion of the screening surveys available to the student when he/she signs up for the online Sona System (memphis.sona-systems.com).

Although you should check with your professor, usually it is possible for you to receive extra credit above and beyond the two-credit hours needed for the class. This extra credit is earned in exactly the same way as the regular credit (an hour of participation in research for one hour of research credit). Typically, 1200 students have the opportunity to receive up to 10 extra credit hours.

If you have any questions concerning these requirements, it is best to ask your instructor for specifications. The experimenters may not know how your instructor will tally the points for grading.

The primary means for satisfying this requirement will be for each student to serve as a participant in department research projects. All schedules for research projects can be found on the online Sona System, and occasionally sign-up sheets are provided in class. An alternative is provided for students that wish not to participate in research studies (see Alternatives to Experiments).

It is the responsibility of the experimenters to provide a debriefing for each subject in his or her experiment, that is, to describe and discuss the project with each participant. You should feel free to ask any questions about the project. Please note that it is unlikely that a psychology project will make you feel uncomfortable, and any participation is voluntary.