each of the first 14 chapters are periodic Learning Checks to help assure you’re understanding the material up to that point in the chapter. The answers to these questions appear in each Learning Check, so you don’t need to flip around the book to locate the answers. Please don’t just look at the answers and say “Yeah, I get it.” Test yourself because if you don’t get the correct answer, that is a signal to go back and reread that section.4 At the end of each of these chapters are Chapter Application Questions that help you integrate the information in that chapter. This feature is like a massive Learning Check that we just discussed. These end-of-chapter questions provide a good way to make sure you “get it” after reading each chapter. They contain a variety of short-answer and multiple-choice questions.
5 After the Chapter Application Questions are Questions for Class Discussion. Try to answer these questions, as your teacher can use them to help you make sure you understand the material and work with you in case there is any confusion that needs to be ironed out.
Suggestions welcomed!
If you have any comments or suggestions that could improve this book, I would very much like to hear them. Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with any ideas and observations that you have. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great course!
* SPSS is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
Acknowledgments
A couple of years ago, I went to a Kansas City Royals baseball game at Kaufman Stadium. A young Royals fan was wearing a shirt that read something to the effect of, “Play for the name on the front of the uniform, not the name on the back of the uniform.” That there is only one name on the cover of this book is misleading. Any of the people mentioned here could claim a piece of this work. Indeed, there are many people who played a role of some sort in this product, and I am sorry I cannot detail all of them here.
Working with the people at SAGE has been such a pleasure in all phases of this project. Reid Hester, Morgan Shannon, and Nathan Davidson have each helped throughout this undertaking, from the initial idea through the product we have now. Their efforts to mentor me as a first-time book author have greatly enhanced the quality of this product. Indeed, teaching through writing a book is different than teaching in a classroom, and working with Reid, Morgan, and Nathan has made me a better all-around teacher.
My department colleagues, Barbara Keyes, Jeff Wilson, Mareike Wieth, Holger Elichberger, Tammy Jechura, Eric Hill, Andrea Francis, Schara Swan, and Ben Beirmeier-Hanson, are great sources of support, ideas, and laughs on everything from teaching to research to campus life. I particularly want to thank Barbara not only for hiring me when she was department chair but also for her perpetual support on this project. Her gentle check-ins and encouragement kept me going when I was “hitting the wall.” In addition, Mareike has been a great office suitemate over the years, enduring my random thoughts and ideas on almost any topic imaginable. I’ve lost track of all the situations she’s helped me think through during the past 11 years. Finally, Eric has been a constant source of ideas and advice on this project and on teaching research-based classes more generally.
I would not be able to enjoy such a great job and place to work if not for many people who guided me to this point. Most obviously, many thanks and much love to my parents, Margaret and Raymond Christopher. My younger brother, Jim Christopher, deserves thanks for simply putting up with me as his big brother while growing up. Professionally, Dan Hale, my undergraduate mentor, showed me that people really need to make their careers out of something “cool,” which for me was psychology. In graduate school, Barry Schlenker and Richard Griggs provided me with the best role models a graduate student could ask for, although I know I did not appreciate their efforts as much as I should have at that time. Since coming to Albion, I’ve relied not only on Barbara Keyes but also on Emeritus Professor David Hogberg for counsel on what now feels like countless situations. Outside of my department, I have benefitted from excellent mentoring from other campus colleagues, including Lynne Chytillo, Geoffrey Cocks, Lisa Lewis, Bindu Madhok, and Ruth Schmitter.
Of course, without my students, this book and my professional life in general would be of little value. I first want to thank Jordan Troisi, Ori Shewach, Ryan Walker, Laura Wendt, and Kevin Zabel, each of whom provided me with valuable ideas and feedback on this project before I wrote a single word of it. These five former students continued to provide perspectives and ideas as the book evolved. Great colleagues bring out the best in those around them, and these five people certainly attest to that fact. Indeed, I have had the pleasure of teaching so many excellent students over the years, and those listed here are only a small sample from this population: Kristen Abraham, Alexis Ahee, Jeremy Benton, Travis Boyd, Casey Dexter, Darcy Crain, Kris Gauthier, Liz Haas, Jess Hauser, Heather Holleman, Jason Jones, Maggie Keller, Zach Kribs, Adam Kudirka, Vicki Kuo, Kendra Malcomnson, Dave Mendrygal, Kim Mutch, David Nelson, Ross O’Hara, Lindsey Peterson, Katie Pickworth, Andrew Rush, Sarah Storbeck, Danielle Wesolowicz, Dan Westerhof, Mark Wojda, Keith Zabel, and Lauren Zabel.
Finally, I want to thank the following reviewers who provided a wealth of helpful suggestions throughout the developmental process. Many of their ideas I have already integrated into my classes.
Melanie S. Anderson, Argosy University–Phoenix
Steve Bounds, Arkansas State University
Lillian Campbell, Humber College Institute of Technology
Mary Jo Carnot, Chadron State College
Linda R. Cote, Marymount University
Andy Dattel, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Catherine Diaz-Asper, Marymont University
Jimmeka Guillory, Spelman College
Karl N. Kelley, North Central College
Larry Maucieri, Governors State University
Courtney McManus, Colby-Sawyer College
Robert Sheehan, Costal Carolina University
Royce Simpson, Spring Hill College
Jeanette Stein, University of Michigan–Flint
Patricia Tomich, Kent State University–Trumbell Region
About the Author
Andrew (Drew) N. Christophergrew up in Plano, Texas. He received his undergraduate degree from Stetson University in 1992 with a major in economics and finance and a minor in psychology. He holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University and his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. Drew has taught at Albion College since 2001. In addition to teaching courses in research design and analysis, he also teaches “Introductory Psychology,” “Industrial/Organizational Psychology,” “Senior Research Seminar,” and an honor’s college course called “Black Swans and Everyday Life,” and is developing a new first-year seminar titled “Football and American Society.” He has published more than 30 peer-reviewed papers with 28 undergraduate authors since arriving at Albion. Many more undergraduate collaborators have presented their work at venues such as the International Society for the Scientific Study of Individual Differences (ISSID), Association for Psychological Science (APS), Michigan Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference (MUPRC), and Albion College’s Elkin Isaac Research Symposium. Drew has twice been named Albion College’s Phi Beta Kappa Scholar of the Year. In recognition of his work
