| Product Name: |
Psyche: Experiments that Changed Psychology |
| Level: |
First Year Tertiary |
| Platform: |
Macintosh® / PC - Windows® |
| Supplied Information: |
Psyche: Experiments that changed Psychology is a multimedia CD-ROM designed to support the teaching of first year psychology by giving students hands-on experience with classic experiments. It is a generic product consisting of 16 interactive laboratory experiments in a range of areas covered in introductory psychology courses. Each experiment ends with an interview with an expert in the field covered, plus a list of references. Other features include: a hot-linked glossary; a 'brainlinks' section, which presents a three-dimensional image of the brain and demonstrates the functional link between each experiment and the corresponding part of the brain; and a bookmark function. |
| Possible Use: |
This product is suitable for First Year Tertiary courses for use by students without supervision. |
| Developer/s: |
The University of Queensland, ICE T Multimedia. |
| Review: |
Psyche: Experiments that Changed Psychology is a multimedia CD-ROM that provides "hands-on" experience for first year psychology students to some of the most famous experiments in psychology. There are 5 experiments from social psychology (including attitudes, personality and communication) and 11 experiments from cognitive psychology (including perception, attention, memory and learning). After each experiment, the student's data is compared with the real data. The experiments are supplemented by an accurate, though moderate, amount of background material, discussion of results, references, and further questions. Vital terms are highlighted so that the student may obtain a definition with a click of a button. Psyche could be used by students working independently at their own pace. Alternatively, the package could be used in a group setting for administering the experiments with background information and follow-up discussion supplied by the instructor.
Psyche has a colourful interface which should be mastered by students with even modest computer experience. Cartoon characters also adorn the display, although some instructors may find them a little "childish" for a university setting. The fact that the "brainlinks" section begins with zooming in on a dog's head only to show a human brain inside, may be disconcerting to some. Nevertheless, this brainlink section is a highlight as it lets students perform virtual lesions to pinpoint which brain areas are relevant to each experiment (excluding social psychology).
The final feature is a discussion of report writing. Though the discussion is brief, it is wonderful to see this important topic included in a package aimed at introductory psychology students. Psyche does contain some limitations. For instance, it is not possible to print out the text from each section. It is also unfortunate that a wider cross section of experiments were not sampled as courses often include other topics, such as development and psychopathology. Nevertheless, Psyche is a quality product that has the potential to improve the quality of teaching in first year psychology. |
|
Dr David Neumann, University of Western Australia |
| |
| Supplier: |
Jacaranda Wiley, PO Box 1226, Milton Qld 4064 |
|
headoffice@jacwiley.com.au |
|
http://www.wiley.com/products/worldwide/jacaranda/ |
|
phone: (07) 3859 9755 |
|
fax: (07) 3859 9715 |
| Date Record Last Modified: |
13/10/98 |
