If you’ve landed on this page, you are most likely a current or prospective student in PSY 101 – Introduction to Psychology. Psychology is a scientific discipline. The principles of behavior you will be studying are grounded in research findings. Understanding these findings is the basis of psychology.

Most professors in the Department of Psychology are active researchers. Results from these research studies – the very ones you may participate in – shape current and future developments in psychology. Your textbook likely contains results from faculty here at ASU.

The best way to learn about research is to directly participate in research or – as an alternative – to review published research findings. Such experiences provide you with insight into the research process.

• Participating in research will enhance your knowledge of psychology while maintaining the continued development of theory in psychology. When you choose to participate in one of the approved studies or experiments, you will see the process from within and will be able to ask questions about the research. Virtually all principles in psychology – applied, as well as theoretical – can be traced to research findings obtained from such research labs.
• Writing a report on a published study will show you how researchers translate theoretical questions into testable hypotheses while contributing new knowledge to the field. If you decide to write a report instead of participating in research, you will be summarizing scientific research of interest to you in a curated list of articles from peer-reviewed psychology journals. These studies contain research findings that have followed sound and established principles of science.

All students enrolled in PSY 101 – whether or not they are psychology majors – are expected to become familiar with the scientific method, either through participation in active research studies or by writing reports about published research.  Your instructor will specify the deadline(s) for your section of PSY 101 – and grant extra credit for your work!