Introductory Psychology courses do more than introduce foundational concepts; they invite students into psychological inquiry, our central “big questions,” questions that seek to examine human behavior and experience. Yet the answers we find to these questions depend on the perspectives—or lenses—we choose to employ. This talk describes how traditional perspectives do offer insights, but also how emerging lenses allow us to understand more nuanced experiences. As the landscape of psychological inquiry broadens, such changes in perspectives will help to make the field relevant for our diverse student bodies, equipping them to think critically, inclusively, and dynamically about psychology’s role in everyday life.

Ken Carter is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology at Oxford College of Emory University and the founding director of the Emory University Center for Public Scholarship. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. He is the author of several textbooks including Psychopathology: Understanding Psychological Disorders (Cambridge University Press) and the forthcoming Living Psychology (SAGE Publications). He has published in both academic and lay publications, translating psychology research into engaging everyday language. His articles have been published in magazines such as Psychology Today and Women’s Health, and he has appeared on news programs such as CNN Tonight, NPR’s: ShortWave, All Things Considered, and NBC’s Today show. The psychology of thrill-seeking is the current focus of Dr. Carter’s research. He has delivered TEDx talk on thrill-seekers and is the host of Mind of a Motorhead an NBC Sports web series that examines the personalities of motorsport athletes. His most recent book is Buzz!: Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers, Daredevils, and Adrenaline Junkies (Cambridge University Press). When not teaching, speaking, or writing, Dr. Carter prefers reading and relaxing on the beach rather than wingsuit flying or BASE jumping.

Our moral world is divided. People disagree on the morality of abortion, gay rights, and gun control, and there are many different acts that people judge as immoral, ranging from murder to religious blasphemy. Decades of research assumes that differences in moral judgment require a set of distinct moral mechanisms—a divided moral mind. However, my work demonstrates that, despite moral disagreement and diversity, the moral mind is ultimately unified by a common currency of harm. I present studies revealing that interpersonal harm serves as the cognitive template of moral judgment. My research also provides a new understanding of harm, demonstrating that it is neither objective nor reasoned, but rather subjective and intuitive. A unified, harm-based moral mind argues against the psychological existence of "harmless wrongs" while embracing moral diversity and cultural pluralism. In addition to changing our understanding of moral cognition, this work reveals a practical application of a unified moral mind: sharing personal experiences of harm provides an effective means of bridging moral divides.

Kurt Gray is a Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. He received a PhD in Social Psychology from Harvard University. With over 120 published scientific papers, he explores the psychology of morality, politics, religion and AI. Gray is the recipient of numerous early-career and best paper awards, and his findings has been featured in New York Times, the Economist, Scientific American, Wired, and Hidden Brain. He is a regular guest on podcasts and has spoken at multiple TEDx events. Gray is the author of the book Outraged: Why We Fight about Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground (Pantheon). He was almost a geophysicist, but a night trapped in the Canadian wilderness convinced him otherwise.

In this session, we will briefly look at the twists and turns the assessment movement in higher education has taken and then we will focus on wide-ranging, potentially innovative strategies we can adopt for giving evidence of learning in introductory psychology. Consideration will be given to the course as an introduction to psychological ways of thinking, as a gateway to the major, and as a popular general education offering. Assessment strategies will focus on how to bring IPI (Introductory Psychology Initiative) outcomes to life. Assessment, done properly, should be fun for both psychology students and teachers.

Jane Halonen is a Professor of Psychology at the University of West Florida. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. has dedicated her academic career to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Her academic interests include improving student learning, assessing undergraduate programs, helping good departments become great ones, and helping the public understand the discipline of psychology. She is co-author of The Psychology Major’s Companion: How to Get You Where You Want to Go with Dana Dunn, and primary author of Critical Thinking Companion for Introductory Psychology, now in third edition, with Cynthia Gray. Her service to the teaching of psychology includes helping the American Psychological Association develop guidelines and standards on academic performance from high school through graduate levels of education; serving as chief reader for the Psychology Advanced Placement Reading from 2004 through 2009, and presenting at almost every regional teaching conference in psychology. She has been recognized for her commitment to the profession. In 2013, she received the Applications in Education and Training Award, and named an “Eminent Woman” in Psychology from the American Psychological Association (2003). She won the American Psychological Foundations Distinguished Teaching Award in 2000. In 2009, the Society for the Teaching of Psychology designated their Early Career Award in her honor in recognition of the generations of psychology faculty whom she has mentored.