Psychology

• Evolution of Scientific Communication:

  • History of Science Communication
  • Psychology has a lot to contribute to humanity
  • Knowledge is to be shared
  • Scientists love sharing their findings and learning from others
  • Sharing knowledge drives civilizations
• How knowledge was shared in the past:

  • Infographic available in Doc-2
  • Formal channels like journals are still important
  • Scientists used to be the consumers, producers, and gatekeepers of knowledge
• Challenges to Communicating Science:

  • Information is not communication
  • I know so much, I don't know where to begin
  • It's not about the PowerPoint (visual aids)
  • Great communication means saying something in a way that cannot be misunderstood
  • Start with the end in mind
  • Don't confuse features and benefits
  • Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler
• Challenge #1 Information Is Not Communication:

  • Just the 'facts' is not enough in science
  • Tell a story and build a compelling case
  • Establish relevance
  • Make an emotional connection
• Challenge #2 I Know So Much, I Don't Know Where To Begin:

  • Be concise and clear
  • Prioritize information
  • Figure out what is essential and how to help your audience learn
  • Timing issues: 2 mins per slide is a good heuristic
• Challenge #3 It's Not About the PowerPoint:

  • Visual aids are supplements for your presentation, not replacements
  • Supportive visuals should help you tell your story, explain the data, build on the information, and put the findings into perspective
• Challenge #4 Great Communication = Saying Something in a Way Which Cannot Be Misunderstood:

  • Understand your audience
  • Be mindful of language and jargon
• Challenge #5 Start With the End in Mind:

  • Understand the message for the audience
  • Use verbs strategically to convey your message effectively
• Challenge #6 Don't Confuse Features & Benefits:

  • Features are facts, benefits are implications
  • Address the doubt of "What's in it for me?" that the audience may have
• Challenge #7 Make Everything As Simple As Possible, But Not Simpler:

  • Strike the right balance between simplicity and complexity
  • Keep the audience in mind and consider attention capacity and working memory
• Passing Rate:

  • 80% - 90%
  • Reasons for failing the course: DNS and plagiarism
• Purpose of Module:

  • Develop foundational academic communication skills
  • Translate technical, scientific information into usable and accessible content for the general public
• Assessment Structure:

  • Written Literature Review (50%)
  • Group Task: Scientific Poster (20%)
  • Oral Presentation: Research Pitch (30%)
• Unstated Goal for the Course:

  • Communicating psychology and your worth as a psychology major
• Reflection Questions:

  • Rate your own communication skills in written and verbal form
  • Identify areas for improvement
  • Analyze how scientific information is distilled and compressed for a non-scientific audience
• 7 Features of Academic Writing:
• Precision:

  • Be precise with the use of pronouns (I, Me, We, You, Us, They, Them, He, She)
  • When in doubt, write in 3rd person neutrally
  • Example: "I found the results meaningful" vs "The results were found to be meaningful"
• Complexity:

  • Demonstrate contextual influence on visual perception
  • Simplify complex thoughts when possible
• Formality:

  • Use formal language and avoid colloquial expressions
  • Example: "Depression may be triggered by sudden losses such as the loss of a job, the death of a spouse, the loss of a promotion, etc."
• Objectivity:

  • Reasoned opinions are valued in academic writing
• Do not overstate your claims
• Omit unnecessary words for brevity
• Proper paragraph development:

  • Avoid one-sentence paragraphs
  • Include topic sentences
  • Aim for paragraphs of around 6 sentences
• Incorporating Visual Aids to Assist in Presenting:
• Visual aids can be used for procedures, graphs, processes, and conditional effects
• Illustrating Procedures:

  • Methods section should explain what was done, to whom, by whom, when, how, and occasionally why
  • Visualize and understand the experiment process
• Graphs:

  • Complement written results
  • Use simple black and white graphs for print
  • Beware of colorblindness and line thickness
• Examples of Illustrations:

  • Use reliable sources for visual aids
  • Ensure graphs are clear and easy to interpret
• Revision True/False:
• It is not okay to have a one-sentence paragraph

  • Sometimes, we need to overstate claims to convince the audience
  • Complex thoughts are valued in academic writing
• Visual aids can be used for academic presentations to assist in presenting information effectively
• In APA style, the American Psychological Association regulates stylistics, in-text citations, and references
• APA uses a system of five heading levels for structuring documents
• APA citations should be requested using Google Scholar and edited for accuracy
• Avoid citing textbooks, vlogs/blogs, TED Talks, lecture slides, and self-help books in academic work as they are not peer-reviewed
• APA formatting errors commonly include wrong upper and lowercase of journal titles and incomplete page numbers
• APA 7 checklist is a useful resource for ensuring correct APA formatting