Teaching Critical Thinking in Psychology: A Handbook of Best Practices

Statistics and research methods courses are constants in psychology curricula (Perlman &

McCann, 2005; Stoloff, Sanders, & McCarthy, 2005) because they function as the glue

that binds together other areas of psychology (Stanovich, 2007) and serve as the building

blocks on which psychologists construct, verify, and extend what they know about

psychological phenomena. The American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on

Psychology Major Competencies echoed this sentiment, listing knowledge of science in

general and research methods in particular as primary goals for undergraduate education

(APA, 2007). In fact, some psychologists have even argued that the primary goal of under-

graduate education in psychology is to teach students to think like scientists (e.g., Brewer

et al., 1993).

Many statistics and research methods instructors also strive to teach critical thinking,

which APA lists as one of its primary goals for undergraduate education as well (APA,

2007). However, although most faculty would vigorously endorse statistics and research

methods as courses that help promote these goals, we would be remiss if we did not

recognize that students often fail to appreciate what they can learn in these courses. For

example, it is not uncommon for students in these courses to “go through the motions,”

learning course content—or at least retaining it long enough to do well on an exam—but

failing to see how knowledge of statistics and research methods can make them better

consumers of information or better decision makers once they leave the classroom.

Similarly, many students, especially those whose interests lie in the area of applied

psychology (e.g., clinical psychology, industrial/organizational psychology), fail to

comprehend how knowledge of statistics and research methods will make them better

practitioners. In essence, students who take statistics and research methods often do not

think critically about the information they encounter in these courses. As a result, although

they may have a basic understanding of statistical and methodological concepts, they fail

to grasp how thinking critically about this information can, at the least, make them better

consumers of information and maybe even better psychologists. Thus the primary purpose

Chapter 13

Teaching Critical Thinking in Statistics

and Research Methods

Bryan K. Saville, Tracy E. Zinn, Natalie Kerr

Lawrence, Kenneth E. Barron, and Jeffrey Andre

Teaching Critical Thinking in Psychology: A Handbook of Best Practices Edited by D. S. Dunn, J. S. Halonen, and R. A. Smith