JMU Department of Psychology
Directed Study / Independent Study Application Form
Student(s)
Instructor:
JMU ID Number(s)
E-Mail Address(es)
__Richard F West__________________________
Semester / Block:
Project Title:
20 characters
__Spring 2015_________________________
C
Project Type:
Options:
R
I
T
I
C
A
L
T
H
I
Credit Hours:
Practicum
Readings
Teaching
Research*
Behavior Analysis Concentration (400 level only)
Sociocultural Awareness (400 level only)
N
K
I
N
G
1 - credit
2 - credit
3 - credit
4 - credit
Project Level:
Psyc 202 – Directed Study: Practicum, Readings, Or Teaching
Psyc 203* – Directed Study: Research
Psyc 402 – Independent Study: Practicum, Readings, Or Teaching
Psyc 403* – Independent Study: Research
Attach a syllabus that includes each of the following sections:
Course Information, Learning Objectives, Description of Project, Required Activities, Method of Evaluation,
& Academic Honesty.
*Note: Students registering for Psyc 203 or 403 Research will be assessed a $25 lab fee for each section
enrolled, which will be added to the tuition bill.
SIGNATURES REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL
Instructor
Date
Department Head
Date
For Department Head signature, submit this form to one of the secretaries in Miller 1120.
Signed copies of this form and the attachment are retained by the Department Office.
Copies of the attachment should be retained by the Instructor, & Student as these serve as the syllabus for this course.
To be completed by Psyc Office: Override Entered By: _______
Date: ________
Section Number: ______
Index Number: ____________
Psychology 403, Critical Thinking, Spring 2015
Fridays, 2:30-4:00 PM [or 1:30-3:00 PM if it works for everyone], Johnston Hall 204
Instructor:
Office Hours:
Office:
Phone:
Email:
Web:
Richard F West
Friday: 1:00-2:00 PM; or by appointment
206 Johnston Hall
540-568-6502
westrf@jmu.edu
http://www.rfwest.net
The Seminar & Topic
Critical Thinking, Judgment, and Decision Making Research:
Topic: Myside Bias and People’s Thinking About Environmental Problems
Learning Objectives
1. to obtain practical experiences as a result of working with a successful researcher and mentor.
2. to obtain of the sense of excitement and satisfaction that results from participating in research that advances
psychological science.
3. to increase collaborative skills that develop through participation on research team.
4. to heighten sensitivity to ethical considerations, responsibilities, and procedures.
5. to increase understanding of practical considerations that influence a study’s design and procedures.
6. to increase understanding of factors that make a study scientifically productive.
7. to increase understanding of important theoretical issues in critical thinking research.
Description of Project
General Program of Research:
The general goal of this program of research is to advance our understanding of what critical thinking is and the
factors that influence its development. Critical thinking is reflective of effective, adaptive thinking. It is the kind of
thinking that is characterized by open-mindedness and examination of the thinking process. It includes a
willingness to examine new information, a willingness to examine one’s own beliefs, and the ability to identify
underlying patterns and principles. Critical thinking is an active, dynamic, process of questioning evidence,
definitions, actions, and beliefs. Critical thinking results in judgments and decisions that optimize goal satisfaction
and accuracy of our representations of the objective world. In application, critical thinking entails taking in
information and apprehending its relevance.
Specific Project: Psyc 403:
Myside Bias and People’s Thinking About Environmental Problems:
(Topic and method are tentative and will evolve as the seminar progresses)
We will examine the relationship between various judgment and decision making skills, myside biases, and
thinking dispositions (thinking styles), and people’s decisions about things such as environmental problems and
dilemmas. People frequently must make decisions that pit large, resource depleting gains, against more modest,
resource sustaining gains. Commercial fishermen often face such dilemmas. We will examine the thought processes
and moral dilemmas people face when their decisions involve a variety of tradeoffs. An informal seminar will be
held on Fridays from 2:30-4:00 p.m. [unless better alternative time can be found] (Johnston-204) to discuss the our
research project and related theoretical issues. For more information on this Psych 402 (3 credits) opportunity,
contact Dr. West.
Method
Participants will be recruited from the Psychology Participant Pool. Small groups of participants will be asked to
complete a battery of questionnaires and critical thinking tasks designed to assess demographic characteristics,
decision making and problem solving skills, and tendency to value the use of these skills.
Required Activities
1. Weekly seminar (Friday, 2:30-4:00 p.m. [unless better alternative time can be found], Johnston-204): This
informal seminar will discuss various aspects of the study and related theoretical issues. The meetings will
focus on general issues related to critical thinking and decisions related to natural resource usage. Specific
theoretical questions and issues relevant to the present study will be explored. Ethical considerations,
responsibilities, and procedures will be discussed. Various practical considerations that influence the study’s
design and data collection procedures will be examined. Data collected by previous research teams will be
explored. In addition, factors that make a study scientifically productive will be discussed.
2. Preparations for seminar: Students are expected to prepare for the weekly seminar. A small number of articles
relevant to the study will be part of this preparation.
3. Regular seminar attendance and regular data collection are a required part of this course.
Academic Honesty
All activities in this course, including data collection and analysis, writing, and other assignments, attendance and
participation, are to be completed in accordance with the JMU Honor Code.
Inclement weather policy
If the University is closed due to inclement weather, the course’s Blackboard Discussion Board activities will
continue as planed. An announcement will be posted on Blackboard with additional details concerning alternative
course activities. Contact the instructor via e-mail for additional information.
The readings will include some of the following:
Text (which one will be determined at a later date):
Either:
Ariely, D. (2010). Predictably irrational, revised and expanded edition: The hidden forces that shape our
decisions. Harper Perennial.
Or:
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
Articles may include:
Myers, D. G. (June/July, 2007). Intuition: Understanding the nature of our gut instincts. Scientific American
Mind, 24-31.
Schwartz, B. (2007). When words decide. Scientific American Mind, August/September, 36-43.
Stanovich, K. E. (2009). Rational and Irrational Thought: The thinking that IQ tests miss, Scientific American
Mind, 34-39
Stanovich, K. E., Toplak, M. E., & West, R. F. (2010). Contaminated mindware: Thinking biases of the cognitive
miser, Rotman Magazine, Winter, 16-21.
3. Data collection: Student members of this research team will have primary responsibility for data collection. Data
collection responsibilities will require approximately 4 hours per week. Data collection will involve activities
such as stimulus preparation, introduction of self and study to participants, management of participation credit
documents and informed consent forms.
4. Written assignment: The exact nature of this assignment will be determined through a group decision process
that involves the instructor and student members of research team. The format for this assignment is likely to
take the form of either short, individually-written papers, or a single, larger and more comprehensive groupwritten paper.
Method of Evaluation
Approximate contribution to course grade:
70% Data collection (factors such as conscientiousness, reliability, etc.)
20% Attendance, preparation, and participation in weekly seminar
10%
Written assignment