Controversy in the Psychology Classroom: Using Hot Topics to Foster Critical Thinking

One of the hallmarks of a quality liberal arts education is providing undergraduates the opportunity to wrestle with controversial issues. Yet many teachers feel ill-equipped when it comes to broaching disagreeable topics, managing the resulting heated debates, or helping students to separate their personal feelings from scientific evidence.

This book provides frameworks for teaching controversial topics and skills for handling disruptions, so teachers can help students evaluate evidence and develop testable questions.

Specific teaching topics covered include:

• evolutionary psychology
• childrearing
• sexual orientation
• animal experimentation
• evil
• diversity and social justice
• gender and ethnicity
• religion
• disability
• healthcare policy

Dana S. Dunn, PhD, is assistant dean for special projects and professor of psychology at Moravian College. He is the author or editor of 14 books and over 120 journal articles, chapters, and book reviews, his scholarship examines teaching, learning, and liberal education, as well as the social psychology of disability. Dr. Dunn served as president of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2) in 2010.
 
Regan A. R. Gurung, PhD, is the Ben J. & Joyce Rosenberg Professor of Human Development and Psychology at the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay. He is the author or editor of 11 books and has a research program focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning. Dr. Gurung served as president of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2) in 2011.
 
Karen Z. Naufel, PhD, is currently teaching at Georgia Southern University. Her research interests include ethics in science, motivation, and stigma. She is the 2010 winner of the Society of Teaching Psychology's Jane S. Halonen teaching award.
 
Janie H. Wilson, PhD, has been teaching at Georgia Southern University since 1994. Her research interests include rapport in teaching, social buffering, and ego depletion. Dr. Wilson currently serves as the program director for the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2); she becomes vice president for programming in 2012.