This course has been designed with the focus on learning psychophysiological methods and tools. Even though we will mainly focus on psychophysiological measures, students will still learn about additional contemporary tools used in biopsychological research.

Psychophysiology “is concerned with the measurement of physiological responses as they relate to behavior” (Andreassi, 2007). Historically, the main tools used to measure physiological processes in this discipline have involved surface electrodes that collect electrical activity in the body. There are several reasons that these research tools and methods are useful for you to gain exposure to. First, research in psychology has increasingly included the use of biological measures. These tools can be useful for providing additional insight into social, cognitive, developmental, and personality processes. Second, classic psychophysiological tools are some of the least expensive and most accessible for biopsychological research. Therefore, gaining a basic understanding for the theoretical and methodological considerations underlying this research will better able you to critically assess a larger body of literature related to your primary topics of interest.

The design of this course will typically involve a classroom component where the biological measures will be explained and their application in psychological research will be discussed. This will be followed by a laboratory portion where the biological tools and/or associated software will be used. Most of the lab lessons will entail measuring electrical signals indicative of human physiological processes. You will learn how to use physiological equipment to measure things like breathing and heartbeats and learn how these measures relate to neural and psychological function. In addition to the laboratory lessons, you will also execute a semester-long research project with several of your classmates. Groups will be formed based on shared interests and the actual research design will need to be approved by me. Your groups will be expected to collect at least 10 human participants. Through these laboratory lessons and your own research projects, you will become familiar with each stage of the research process, including: research design, literature review, data collection, data analysis, and data interpretation. Finally, you will further your understanding of how to communicate research results in both a written and an oral format. After your projects have been approved of, your group MUST meet with me once a week to discuss the progress of your study. This will likely happen before, during, or after class. If this is not possible, then we can set up out-of-class times to meet. Lastly, the research projects in the class are meant for pedagogical reasons, but I do encourage motivated students to take the findings a step further for presentation if they would like. However, IRB approval will then be required if your goal becomes to disseminate data in any public or printed format.