The Open Education Journal

2009, 2 : 78-81
Published online 2009 November 5. DOI: 10.2174/1874920800902010078
Publisher ID: TOEDUJ-2-78

Active Learning Exercises for Teaching Classic Research on Impression Formation in Social Psychology Courses§

Terry F. Pettijohn II , Terry F. Pettijohn and Lauren A. McDermott
Department of Psychology, Coastal Carolina University, P.O. Box 261954, Conway, South Carolina, 29528-6054, USA.

ABSTRACT

Educators are incorporating more active learning experiences in courses to demonstrate concepts and engage students. In the current study, college students (N = 278) enrolled in 10 sections of social psychology completed two survey exercises on impression formation, replicating classic research by Asch (1946) and Kelley (1950). Results confirmed the primacy effect and the warm-cold variable classic research findings in the field of social psychology. These exercises were easy to incorporate into teaching lessons, providing an interesting and interactive class demonstration of impression formation and person perception.

Keywords:

Active learning, attribution, social psychology.