SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN THE PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR: WHAT DO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS EXPECT?

The present study examined undergraduate students' expectations for how well psychology majors develop 60 skills corresponding to five of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Undergraduate Psychology Major Competencies (APA, 2002) suggested learning goals. We also examined where st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	College Student Journal Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 540 - 553
Main Authors:	Gaither, George A., Butler, Darrell L.
Format:	Article
Published:	Project Innovation Austin LLC Sep2005
Subjects:	Psychology education College students United States education system Curriculum Learning goals
Online Access:	View this record in EBSCOhost

Description
Summary:	The present study examined undergraduate students' expectations for how well psychology majors develop 60 skills corresponding to five of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Undergraduate Psychology Major Competencies (APA, 2002) suggested learning goals. We also examined where students expect psychology majors to get the majority of their training in each skill as a means of assessing the Task Force's concern that people generally view psychology as a service-delivery field, not a science. Analyses revealed that students' expectations were aligned with APA goals according to both where and how well they expect psychology majors to develop skills. We discuss similar methods for departmental outcomes assessment as well as implications for psychology curricula.