Each student taking introductory psychology is required to become familiar with psychological research and research techniques during the semester.
Psychology is primarily an experimental and laboratory science.
Exposure to research is an essential part of learning to appreciate principles obtained from laboratory work. The student's ability to grasp many important methodological concepts in psychology is often enhanced by exposure to tangible research settings and examples. This is equivalent in spirit and rationale to the concept of laboratory courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. Students may attend research colloquia in the Psychology Department. Seven such colloquia will occur, and they typically require slightly more than an hour of the student's time.