Not Quite on the Same Page: Comparing Key Terms in Introductory Psychology Textbooks

IF 0.7 4区心理学 Q3 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Teaching of Psychology Pub Date : 2022-07-04 DOI:10.1177/00986283221111749

Joseph J. Slade, R. Gurung

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Textbooks shape the content and structure of most introductory psychology courses. It is important to compare the content of textbooks to assist educators in making the best textbook choice. The purpose of this study was to conduct an analysis of five commonly used introductory psychology textbooks and examine the extent of overlap in their content coverage. Two trained readers identified 3878 key terms after performing a page-by-page content analysis. Commonality among texts was assessed by determining how many textbooks included each term. Coverage of psychology topics differed significantly across textbooks with 2766 terms (71%) unique to a single textbook. There were 494 terms (163%), 263 terms (73%), and 201 terms (5%) appearing in two, three, and four books, respectively. Only 154 terms (4%) were common to all five. Given our results and how reliant course instructors are on textbooks, it appears introductory psychology students may not be exposed to similar vocabulary. Introductory psychology textbooks may be similar at a chapter and topic level but do not share as much specific content as may be commonly believed. Instructors should take the time to check if the content matches course goals and expectations.

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不完全在同一页:比较心理学入门教科书中的关键术语

教科书塑造了大多数心理学入门课程的内容和结构。对教材内容进行比较，有助于教育工作者选择最好的教材。本研究的目的是对五种常用的心理学入门教科书进行分析，并检查其内容覆盖的重叠程度。两位训练有素的读者在逐页进行内容分析后确定了3878个关键术语。通过确定每学期包含多少本教科书来评估文本之间的共性。不同教科书对心理学主题的覆盖范围存在显著差异，单本教科书共有2766个术语(71%)。共有494个术语(163%)、263个术语(73%)和201个术语(5%)分别出现在第二本书、第三本书和第四本书中。只有154个术语(4%)是这五个国家共有的。鉴于我们的研究结果以及课程教师对教科书的依赖程度，似乎心理学入门课程的学生可能不会接触到类似的词汇。心理学入门教材在章节和主题层面上可能是相似的，但并不像人们普遍认为的那样分享那么多具体的内容。教师应该花时间检查内容是否符合课程目标和期望。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Teaching of Psychology Multiple-

CiteScore

2.40

自引率

22.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： Basic and introductory psychology courses are the most popular electives on college campuses and a rapidly growing addition to high school curriculums. As such, Teaching of Psychology is indispensable as a source book for teaching methods and as a forum for new ideas. Dedicated to improving the learning and teaching process at all educational levels, this journal has established itself as a leading source of information and inspiration for all who teach psychology. Coverage includes empirical research on teaching and learning; studies of teacher or student characteristics; subject matter or content reviews for class use; investigations of student, course, or teacher assessment; professional problems of teachers; essays on teaching.