Talking points for advocating psychology as a science course

These talking points enable high school psychology teachers, students, parents, alumni and allies of high school psychology (e.g., college and university psychology faculty, psychologists) to convey that psychology is a science course and to advocate that students be allowed to apply their psychology course towards satisfying the social studies or science requirements as it advantages the student.

These talking points may also be used as a guide for high school psychology teachers to infuse more scientific practice into their courses.

The audience to be addressed includes policy makers informed of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) as well as in curriculum mapping and course development at the high school level. This includes, but is not limited to state commissioners of education, state and local school board members, district superintendents, principals and curriculum supervisors.

The talking points were based on the following premises:

A. Advocacy for psychology as a science course provides the opportunity at the district and state level to present the high school psychology course as a science option.

B. We do not want to risk psychology being removed from the course of study due to what are seen as mandatory requirements, but instead encourage the state departments of education to strengthen teachers’ level of competency through a variety of achievable options, with the support of the APA, TOPSS and other allies.

C. The talking points are based on the eight practices from the three dimensional framework of the Next Generation Science Standards and are essential pieces of evidence for high school psychology to be considered a science.

Psychology classes employ scientific inquiry to examine content and enhance the process of learning. Scientific literacy helps students understand how to distinguish rigorous, empirically sound science from less rigorous science, a skill which is transferable to all scientific disciplines. The National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula (APA, 2011) provide the framework for high school psychology teachers to develop a course to include units of study from each of the seven main domains of psychological concepts. Included in these domains are Scientific Inquiry, Development and Learning, Biopsychology, Cognition and Applications of Psychological Science which directly relate to several of the Next Generation Science Standards.

In psychology classes students learn and apply the scientific process of inquiry to theoretical models via multiple research methods in which they collect data. Students then engage in argument from evidence obtained. In psychology, models are used to represent theories, show cause and effect, explain psychological processes and communicate research findings to others.

Psychology analyzes data statistically using mathematics and computational thinking, interprets results and communicates them through the laboratory report. The research results are peer reviewed and shared in research journals as well as with the general public. Students read journal articles and participate in research in the classroom as well as through science fair participation.

Psychological experiments are included in science fairs at local, regional, national, and international levels, often categorized as behavioral and social sciences. Psychological research is sponsored and supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institutes of Health.

Higher education recognizes psychology as a science. On many college and university campuses in the United States, departments of psychology—many of which are called departments of psychological science—are aligned with natural sciences, STEM fields, and/or allied health disciplines. Additionally, X (number of students in the state) have passed the Advanced Placement Psychology test (see APA Program Participation and Performance Data 2018opens in new window for state specific data). A score of three or more on this test is accepted for credit as an introductory psychology course by most colleges. High school students taking International Baccalaureate (IB) Psychology courses toward an IB diploma can also be offered credit at the college level. These students are therefore taking psychology as a high school course that frequently is recognized as a science course at the college level.

Sixteen percent of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) includes questions derived from the content of the introductory psychology curriculum. These questions also involve scientific reasoning about psychological concepts, not simply knowing the content.

Some example questions are available at MainTests.comopens in new window.

Sample questions include:

• Which area of the brain is responsible for coordinating complex motor functions?
  
  A. Frontal lobe.
  B. Occipital lobe.
  C. Reticular activating system.
  D. Cerebellum.
• A five-year-old boy has formed a habit of writing on his parents' living room walls. Based on operant conditioning principles, which of the following types of punishment would be least effective in stopping this behavior?
  
  A. Giving the child a time out immediately after he writes on the wall, every time the child writes on the wall.
  B. Providing the child with a cookie at the end of each day that he abstains from writing on the walls.
  C. Spanking the child (an intense punishment) every time that the child writes on the wall.
  D. Punishing the child occasionally, when the parents happen to notice writing on the wall.
• A researcher studying several patients gives each of them the same maze to solve. Although each works independently on it for 30 minutes — with varying degrees of success — none of them recalls seeing the maze when presented with it the next day. Nonetheless, their overall speed and success in solving it has improved significantly. These patients are likely experiencing impairment in: I. procedural memory, II. episodic memory, III. echoic memory.
  
  A. I only.
  B. II only.
  C. I and II.
  D. II and III.