The purpose of this assignment is to enable you to experience first-hand what it is like to be a participant in a cognitive psychology experiment. Numerous experiments are now being presented on web pages. These offer a convenient opportunity to see how data is collected and to observe your own cognitive processes as you complete such tasks. This experience is important if you will be designing your own studies, but it is also important as a consumer of psychology to understand where the data reported in the textbook or in journal articles comes from. By participating as a subject, you will better understand how cognitive processes are measured and how theories about complex mental behavior can be tested using simple tasks.

To complete this assignment:

1. Visit one of the websites listed below and follow the instructions given to participate in a study of your choice.

2. Write a brief paper (3-5 pages) answering the questions listed below, describing your experience as a subject. Format for the paper is described below.

Websites

http://psych.hanover.edu/research/exponnet.html (do studies in sensation & perception or cognition only)
http://psychexps.olemiss.edu/index.html (requires download of plug-in, see "What you Need" menu option)
http://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
http://psiexp.ss.uci.edu/
http://surf.to/experiments
http://surveys.dualtask.org/ (requires multiple short sessions a week apart)
http://www3.usal.es/~nonverbal/varios.htm#experiments

Please see me if you are having technical difficulties completing this assignment.

Paper Content

After participating in the experiment of your choice, write a brief paper answering the following questions

1. What was the research question being explored by the study? What theory was being tested and what were the researchers’ hypotheses? (This information may not be provided by the website until the end of the trials, to avoid biasing participants.)
   
2. Describe the task you performed. What did you have to do in the study?
   
3. What was being manipulated in the experiment (what was the independent variable or variables)?
   
4. What was being measured in the study (what was the dependent variable or variables)?
   
5. Were the instructions provided clear? If not, what was confusing?
   
6. Were there any practice trials before you began the actual study? Would practice have helped you understand the task better?
   
7. Briefly describe the strategy you found yourself using while doing the task.
   
8. What was it like to do the task (e.g., was it difficult or easy, boring or interesting, stressful)?
   
9. Which topics discussed in our textbook was this experiment most relevant to?

The information you need to answer these questions should be available on the website you visit – you may need to go back to the website more than once in order to find the information. If you cannot find some of this information, you can send an email to the person administering the study and ask them about it. This is what researchers do when they wish to know more about studies others have done.

Paper Format

In your paper, clearly indicate which experiment you have selected (give the URL and the experimenter's name) and relate your answers clearly to each question as you answer it. It is helpful to number your paragraphs to correspond to the question numbers, or to use subheadings to organize your paper. Your grade will be based primarily on successfully completing the experiment participation, thinking about the experience, and displaying your understanding in your answers to the questions about it. Your grade will also be partially based on language use (spelling & grammar count). It is not necessary to use APA style, but please double space your paper and produce it using a computer or typewriter (no handwritten papers). No folders or title pages are needed. It would be appropriate to include printed copies of the stimuli or tables showing the experimental design, to illustrate your description of the experiment.

Due Date

This paper is due on or before Thursday, March 8, as noted on your syllabus. Late papers will be given a reduced grade. The later the paper, the lower the grade.

Important Note About Academic Honesty

Copying another person’s paper is academic dishonesty. Describing an experiment that does not exist is academic dishonesty. It is also academic dishonesty (plagiarism) to copy phrases or text from the experimental websites without enclosing the copied portions in quotation marks and citing the source. Anyone engaging in academic dishonesty in completing this assignment will be given an F for the assignment and will be reported to the Cal Poly Pomona Office of Judicial Affairs.