Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2025
Publication Title
Teaching of Psychology
Keywords
advanced placement psychology, high school, research skills, research knowledge, psychology persistence
Abstract
Background
Recent changes to Introductory Psychology curricula emphasize the importance of building research skills, but instructors may need additional support.
Objective
This paper examines outcomes of the Ready Through Research (RTR) program in which research mentors from local universities guide Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology students to design, conduct, analyze, and present their research projects.
Method
Studies 1 (N = 72) and 2 (N = 124) compare changes in students’ research skills and science/psychology persistence self-efficacy and examine student perceptions of RTR outcomes across two program iterations.
Results
RTR students’ research skill self-efficacy grew significantly in both studies. Further, RTR students in both studies reported that the program made them more interested in pursuing research and psychology in the future. In Study 1, students’ science persistence self-efficacy did not change over time, but in Study 2, RTR students’ psychology persistence self-efficacy increased.
Conclusion
RTR programming benefits AP Psychology students’ research understanding, skills, and persistence, but students may not consider psychology a science discipline.
Teaching Implications
To meet new curriculum standards, teachers should engage students in psychological research and emphasize that psychology is a science.
Funding Source
This article was published Open Access thanks to a transformative agreement between Milner Library and Sage Journals.
Recommended Citation
Cerda-Smith, J., Winter, K., Koch, A., & Mulvey, K. L. (2025). Getting Advanced Placement Psychology Students “Ready Through Research”. Teaching of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283251335984
DOI
10.1177/00986283251335984
Comments
First published in Teaching of Psychology (2025): https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283251335984
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.