Day 1 · What Is Psychology?
Choose a broad psychological question.
Student Workspace
Research Notebook
Develop one bounded research question across 13 weeks while tracking measures, alternatives, limitations, ethics, and revisions.
Week 01
Psychology as a Science
Day 2 · Psychological Perspectives & Scientific Explanation
Add several plausible levels of explanation.
Day 3 · Research Methods & Measurement
Operationalize at least two variables.
Day 4 · Data, Correlation & Causal Reasoning
Predict a data pattern and state why correlation does not establish cause.
Day 5 · Ethics, Replication & Scientific Judgment
Complete ethics, design, limits, and conclusion.
Week 02
Brain, Nervous System & Consciousness
Day 1 · Neurons & Neural Communication
Identify one possible biological contributor without calling it the cause.
Day 2 · The Nervous System & Endocrine System
Identify a plausible physiological measure.
Day 3 · Brain Organization & Neural Networks
State what a brain comparison would actually measure.
Day 4 · Consciousness, Sleep & Biological Rhythms
Consider whether sleep, alertness, or attention state matters.
Day 5 · Studying the Brain, Neuroplasticity & Evidence
Select an appropriate biological method and state a limitation.
Week 03
Sensation, Perception & Attention
Day 1 · Sensation & Transduction
Identify direct measurement versus inference.
Day 2 · Vision, Hearing & the Other Senses
Classify useful measures as sensory, behavioral, or physiological.
Day 3 · Perception: Building Meaning
Identify possible expectations or interpretations.
Day 4 · Attention & Awareness
Consider attention as mediator or alternative explanation.
Day 5 · Context, Experience & Perceptual Reality
Decide whether context or experience belongs in the research model.
Week 04
Learning & Behavior
Day 1 · Classical Conditioning
Could learned stimulus associations plausibly contribute to the semester research question?
Day 2 · Operant Conditioning
Could consequences or environmental contingencies plausibly maintain or change the behavior in the semester research question?
Day 3 · Shaping, Schedules & Habit Formation
Could repeated measurement establish a useful baseline for the semester research question?
Day 4 · Observational Learning, Modeling & Cognition
Could models, peers, observed consequences, or social norms contribute to the semester research question?
Day 5 · Learning Systems, Applications & Ethical Behavior Change
Compare all Week 4 learning explanations for the semester question.
Week 05
Memory & Language
Day 1 · Encoding, Attention & Working Memory
What would participants need to notice, understand, or remember for the semester phenomenon to occur?
Day 2 · Long-Term Memory Systems & Organization
If the semester question involves memory, specify which kind of memory or retrieval process is actually relevant rather than using the broad word “memory.”
Day 3 · Retrieval, Forgetting & the Science of Studying
If participants must learn or remember something in the semester question, decide when performance should be measured: immediately, after a delay, or both.
Day 4 · Reconstructive Memory, Misinformation & Source Monitoring
Could retrospective self-report create a measurement problem in the semester question?
Day 5 · Language, Meaning & Communication
Could wording, translation, language background, or linguistic context influence how variables in the semester question are measured?
Week 06
Thinking, Intelligence & Decision-Making
Day 1 · Concepts, Categories & Problem Solving
Does the semester question contain a category, construct, or judgment that needs a clearer definition?
Day 2 · Heuristics, Probability & Judgment
Could availability, category expectations, anchoring, or base-rate neglect distort how participants answer or interpret the semester research question?
Day 3 · Confirmation Bias, Framing & Decision-Making
Audit the wording of the semester research question and any proposed survey items.
Day 4 · Intelligence & Psychological Measurement
Does the semester question use a construct requiring a standardized measure?
Day 5 · Metacognition, Calibration & the Critical Thinking Lab
Add a confidence rating to the current working explanation for the semester question.
Week 07
Emotion & Motivation
Day 1 · What Is Emotion?
If emotion is relevant to the semester research question: - define the emotional construct precisely; - identify at least two possible measures; - explain why neither measure is identical to the emotion itself.
Day 2 · Appraisal, Expression & Emotion Regulation
If emotion or motivation is relevant to the semester question, ask: - Could appraisal mediate the relationship between the situation and behavior?
Day 3 · Motivation, Needs & Goals
If motivation is relevant to the semester research question: - define the motivational construct; - identify a behavioral measure and a self-report measure; - identify at least one non-motivational factor that could affect performance.
Day 4 · Self-Efficacy, Persistence & Feedback
Ask: - Could expectations of success influence the behavior in my research question?
Day 5 · Emotion–Motivation Systems
Update the semester model: - Is emotion relevant?
Week 08
Human Development
Day 1 · Studying Development Across Time
Ask: - Is age or developmental stage relevant to my semester question?
Day 2 · Early Development: Biology, Relationships & Experience
If early experience or developmental history is relevant to the semester question: - specify what developmental variable would be measured; - avoid vague statements such as “childhood caused it”; - identify at least one later-life factor that could also matter.
Day 3 · Cognitive & Language Development
Ask: - Could developmental differences in language, executive function, or prior knowledge affect my research question?
Day 4 · Adolescence, Identity & Social Development
If the semester question involves adolescents: - identify which developmental process is actually relevant; - distinguish age from social context; - identify whether peer, family, school, or cultural variables should be measured; - state one claim that would be too deterministic.
Day 5 · Adulthood, Aging & Lifespan Synthesis
Update the semester model: - Is development or age relevant?
Week 09
Personality & Individual Differences
Day 1 · What Is Personality? Traits, Patterns & Temperament
Ask whether stable individual differences are relevant to the semester question.
Day 2 · The Big Five & Dimensional Thinking
If the semester question proposes a trait or individual-difference variable, define it as a dimension and identify how it would be measured.
Day 3 · Person × Situation: Why Behavior Changes Across Contexts
Add a context audit to the semester question: - In which settings would the proposed relationship be measured?
Day 4 · Measuring Personality: Reliability, Validity & Self-Report Limits
Choose the best measurement strategy for any proposed individual-difference variable in the semester question.
Day 5 · Self-Concept, Values, Culture & Personality Without Labels
Add the Week 9 individual-differences audit: - Is personality relevant to the semester question?
Week 10
Social & Cultural Psychology
Day 1 · Social Influence, Norms & Conformity
If social influence may affect the semester question, define the social variable precisely.
Day 2 · Attribution: Person, Situation & the Stories We Tell
Add both a person-level and a situation-level explanation to the semester question when relevant.
Day 3 · Groups, Cooperation, Conflict & Bystander Processes
If the semester question involves groups, specify whether the unit of analysis is the individual, dyad, group, classroom, organization, or community.
Day 4 · Stereotypes, Prejudice, Discrimination & Social Identity
If a social-group variable appears in the semester project, justify why it is scientifically necessary, how it will be defined, and how the project will avoid essentializing or stigmatizing participants.
Day 5 · Culture, Context & the Social Influence Report
Add the Week 10 social-context audit: - Is social influence relevant to the semester question?
Week 11
Mental & Physical Health Psychology
Day 1 · Stress as a Psychophysiological Response
If stress is relevant to the semester question, define: - the stressor; - the proposed appraisal; - the response measure; - one alternative explanation.
Day 2 · Stress, Sleep, Health & Cumulative Load
If relevant, specify whether sleep or recovery is: - an independent variable; - dependent variable; - mediator; - moderator; - confound; - or not justified.
Day 3 · Coping, Control & Social Support
If coping is relevant, specify: - strategy; - target demand; - outcome measure; - actual constraints; - potential social-support variable; - one rival explanation.
Day 4 · Health Behavior, Habits & Environmental Opportunity
Audit whether the semester question confuses: - intention with behavior; - behavior with motivation; - access with preference; - correlation with causal effect.
Day 5 · Resilience, Flourishing & Evaluating Wellness Claims
Add a Health Interpretation Boundary: - What can the project say about health-related behavior?
Week 12
Psychological Disorders, Treatment & Ethics
Day 1 · Classification Without Diagnosis
Replace any accidental diagnostic language in the semester question with measurable, non-clinical wording unless a professionally diagnosed population is actually part of the evidence.
Day 2 · Disorder Families as Maps, Not Labels
If the semester project refers to a clinical population, identify how that population was established and one remaining source of heterogeneity.
Day 3 · Biopsychosocial Model & Stigma
Complete a Language & Stigma Audit of the semester project.
Day 4 · Treatment Evidence in Pictures & Tables
If the semester project discusses intervention, record the target outcome, evidence level, population, follow-up, burden, and one reason the project cannot provide personal treatment advice.
Day 5 · Professional Ethics Case Conference
- Does the project diagnose anyone?
Week 13
Applied Psychology & Research Synthesis
Day 1 · Applied Psychology Across Real-World Settings
Identify the most realistic application of the semester question.
Day 2 · External Validity, Effect Size & Implementation
For the semester project, state: - the population actually represented; - the setting represented; - the strongest justified generalization; - one population or setting that remains uncertain; - whether a pilot would be appropriate before broad application.
Day 3 · Human Factors, Technology, Persuasion & Ethical Design
If the semester application involves technology or persuasion, add: - target behavior; - mechanism of influence; - transparency requirement; - privacy risk; - accessibility concern; - one design alternative with less coercive pressure.
Day 4 · Evidence Synthesis & Psychology Research Brief Workshop
Complete the Evidence Convergence Map: - strongest evidence; - weakest evidence still retained; - conflicting evidence; - source dependency/overlap; - evidence that changed the working conclusion; - evidence still missing.
Day 5 · Research Symposium, Final Brief & Scientific Reflection
Complete the Research Integrity Audit: - What did I originally think?