The Marcolian Online

Apr. 5 , 2007

Dr. Sibicky’s article published in Teaching of Psychology

Dr. Mark E. Sibicky, McCoy Professor of Psychology, published his article, “The Automatic Sweetheart: An Assignment in a History of Psychology Course,” in Teaching of Psychology.

Teaching of Psychology is aimed at improving teaching and learning at all educational levels. It is also the American Psychological Association’s foremost national journal on teaching.

Sibicky’s article, describes an assignment used in his History of Psychology course to enhance student retention of material and increase student interest and discussion of the long-standing debate between humanistic and mechanistic perspectives in psychology.

The assignment is based on the writings of philosopher and psychologist William James. It asks students to imagine if they could love “their sweetheart” after finding out he or she was not a conscious human being but a technologically advanced machine.

The Automatic Sweetheart also includes empirical research demonstrating the effectiveness of the assignment for student retention, as well as a discussion of how the assignment stimulates student debate and interest in issues relating to human consciousness.

Thanks to the publicity in Teaching of Psychology, Sibicky has been receiving many inquiries from psychology instructors across the country who have expressed interest in using his assignment in their own classes.

Information courtesy of Tom Perry,
College relations.


• Campus News • Viewpoints • Sports • Arts & Living • Greek wrap-up • Ask Marc • Spotlight • New faces at MC • Meet our staff • Staff profiles • Letters to the editor policy • History of the newspaper • Benefits of advertising • Ad rates		Apr. 5 , 2007 Dr. Sibicky’s article published in Teaching of Psychology Dr. Mark E. Sibicky, McCoy Professor of Psychology, published his article, “The Automatic Sweetheart: An Assignment in a History of Psychology Course,” in Teaching of Psychology. Teaching of Psychology is aimed at improving teaching and learning at all educational levels. It is also the American Psychological Association’s foremost national journal on teaching. Sibicky’s article, describes an assignment used in his History of Psychology course to enhance student retention of material and increase student interest and discussion of the long-standing debate between humanistic and mechanistic perspectives in psychology. The assignment is based on the writings of philosopher and psychologist William James. It asks students to imagine if they could love “their sweetheart” after finding out he or she was not a conscious human being but a technologically advanced machine. The Automatic Sweetheart also includes empirical research demonstrating the effectiveness of the assignment for student retention, as well as a discussion of how the assignment stimulates student debate and interest in issues relating to human consciousness. Thanks to the publicity in Teaching of Psychology, Sibicky has been receiving many inquiries from psychology instructors across the country who have expressed interest in using his assignment in their own classes. Information courtesy of Tom Perry, College relations.
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