PSYC 386 Course Syllabus - Spring 2019 1

PSYC 386 – Advanced Research in Sleep

Course Information Day & Time: Monday, 1:20PM-4:10PM Location: Judd 106 (Conference Room)

Contact Information Royette Tavernier, Ph.D. E-mail: rtavernier@wesleyan.edu Tel: (860)-685-2206 (office) Office hours: Tuesday 9:30PM – 11:30PM, or by appointment (please e-mail to schedule). Office location: Judd Hall (Room 106-A)

Course Description Why should I take this course? This advanced research course is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of how to design, critique, and conduct psychological research. Specifically, we will focus on research within the field of sleep and psychosocial functioning. This seminar course takes an intensive lab-based approach. Students will have access to a comprehensive dataset that includes assessments of various psychosocial constructs (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression, physical activity, nomophobia, personality, procrastination, and chronotype). Students will commit to a semester-long project, which involves formulating research questions, proposing testable hypotheses, analyzing data, and reporting and presenting findings on a self-selected topic within the scope of the available data set. Students will be provided with guidance and support (both during and outside of class time) but must be diligent about working independently on their assignments and final research project. Upon completion of this course, students will have a strong working knowledge of the field of sleep and psychosocial functioning. This course also provides opportunities for students to develop analytical, writing, critical thinking, and presentation skills. Additionally, students will gain data analytic skills using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program.

Course Expectations/Objectives How will this course help me grow in my knowledge and understanding of psychological research? Upon Completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand the various methods used to measure and study sleep. 2. Understand the characteristics of various research designs (e.g., correlational vs experimental). 3. Understand the procedures and limitations of conducting longitudinal survey research. 4. Summarize key findings from past research on sleep and psychosocial functioning. 5. Critically evaluate past research (identify gaps in the field). 6. Generate original research questions and propose testable hypotheses. 7. Conduct hypothesis testing using basic statistical analyses (e.g., t-tests, bivariate correlations, Analysis

of Variance tests, and hierarchical regressions). 8. Present a summary and critique of empirical research to an audience.

@spalabwesleyan

PSYC 386 Course Syllabus - Spring 2019 2

Course Policies Disabilities: Students with disabilities who would like to request 504/ADA reasonable accommodations are expected to self-disclose and register with the Office for Disabilities Services by making an appointment with the associate dean for student academic resources. The purpose of the meeting is to review documentation of your disability, to discuss your disability in the context of your academic and non-academic plans and, at your request, to assist you with arranging appropriate accommodations with your instructors and other university offices as needed. For more information, please review http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/disabilities/ and contact the associate dean for student academic resources at disabilitiesservices@wesleyan.edu or call 860-685-2332 to make an appointment. Make-ups: Make up-exams may only be arranged in cases of documented emergencies. In all cases the instructor must be contacted before the scheduled exam. In the case of a medical condition, a signed physician note must be presented. Academic Dishonesty: Academic integrity is vital to the well-being of the Wesleyan university community. As such, academic misconduct is taken very seriously. The penalties for academic misconduct can be very severe. A grade of zero may be given for the assignment or even for the course. The Honor Code A. The Pledge The pledge is an affirmation of each student’s agreement to adhere to the standards of academic integrity set by Wesleyan’s Honor Code. The pledges read as follows: FOR PAPERS AND SIMILAR WRITTEN WORK: In accordance with the Honor Code, I affirm that this work is my own and all content taken from other sources has been properly acknowledged. FOR TESTS AND OTHER ACADEMIC EXERCISES: In accordance with the Honor Code, I affirm that this work has been completed without improper assistance. B. Violations of The Honor Code 1. The attempt to give or obtain assistance in a formal academic exercise without due acknowledgement. This includes, but is not limited to: cheating during an exam; helping another student to cheat or to plagiarize; completing a project for someone and/or asking someone to complete a project for you. 2. Plagiarism (http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/studenthandbook/StudentHandbook.pdf) —the presentation of another person’s words, ideas, images, data, or research as one’s own. Plagiarism is more than lifting a text word-for-word, even from sources in the public domain. Paraphrasing or using any content or terms coined by others without proper acknowledgment also constitutes plagiarism. 3. The submission of the same work for academic credit more than once without permission. 4. Willful falsification of data, information, or citations in any formal exercise. 5. Deception concerning adherence to the conditions set by the instructor for a formal academic exercise. Click here for the university’s policies regarding Academic Integrity in the student handbook.

PSYC 386 Course Syllabus - Spring 2019 3

Course Etiquette What can I do to facilitate my learning in this course?

▪ Attend all class meetings on time, and ▪ Complete readings prior to the class for which the readings are assigned. ▪ Participate actively in class discussions and activities. ▪ Help create a respectful learning environment by minimizing distractions (e.g., use of electronic

devices*, talking amongst each other while someone else is talking, browsing social media during class time). *Any student whose cell phone vibrates or rings during class must answer the call on speaker/read the instant message aloud OR immediately leave for the remainder of that class.

▪ Set a reminder for all course assignment deadlines in your calendar. ▪ Attend office hours or book an appointment with me to get feedback on class assignments and discuss

plans for your final research project. ▪ Schedule time outside of class meetings to familiarize yourself with the data set and practice running

various statistical tests.

Course Evaluation

Course component Percentage of final grade

Class assignments 60%

Assignment #1 (10%)– Literature search (10%) – due February 11

Assignment #2 (10%) – Article Summaries I – due February 25

Assignment #3 (10%) – Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Plan of Analysis – due March 8

Assignment #4 (20%) – Plan of Analysis and Results – due April 1

Assignment #5 (10%) Article summaries II – due April 29

Research presentation 10%

Psychology Poster Session Presentation 5%

Final Research project 25%

Extra credit (Psychology Colloquium) 4%

Class assignments (60%) Class assignments are designed to assist you in completing your final research project. You will complete a total of 5 class assignments for this course. Each assignment focusses on one component of your final research project. Students are expected to use the feedback on each assignment towards their final research project. The topics, weighting, and due dates for each assignment are posted in the table above. A detailed grading rubric for each class assignment is available in Moodle.

Research presentation (10%) The goal of the research presentation is to provide you with an opportunity to summarize and evaluate a seminal article that relates to your topic of interest. A second goal is to allow you to propose an overview of your topic of interest and to receive peer feedback. Presentations should be 30-minutes in length. A document outlining the grading rubric for the research presentation is available in Moodle.

PSYC 386 Course Syllabus - Spring 2019 4

Psychology Research Poster Session (5%) Students will have the opportunity to showcase and present their research as part of the annual Psychology Department’s Research Poster Session on Thursday April 25 (11:40AM – 1:20PM, Beckham Hall). Students may choose to work independently or in groups.

Final Research Project (25%) The goal of the research project is to provide students with an opportunity to develop skills in preparing an empirical manuscript. Students will decide on a topic of their choice (within the boundaries of the course data), generate research questions, propose testable hypotheses, conduct statistical analyses, and report and discuss their findings in a written report. Your research project should include the following headings: Introduction, Methods, Data Analysis, Results, and Discussion. You are encouraged to decide on a topic for your project very early in the semester. Your research project is due (via Turn It In in Moodle) on Thursday May 16, 2018 at 11:55PM.

• Late papers will NOT be accepted.

A grading rubric for your final research project is available in Moodle.

Extra credit (4%) Students can earn up to 4% extra credit by attending the psychology department’s colloquium series (2% per

colloquium) – Click here for schedule. Students should sign-in to confirm attendance and support a 2-page

summary reflection of the colloquium.

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PSYC 386 Course Syllabus - Spring 2019 5

Course Schedule

Week 1: Introduction & Overview of ‘Battle of the Clocks’ study

January 28 No assigned readings

Week 2: Ethics in Research and Measuring Sleep

February 4 • The Belmont Report

• Bastien, C. H., Vallières, A., & Morin, C. M. (2001). Validation of the Insomnia Severity Index as an outcome measure for insomnia research. Sleep Medicine, 2, 297-307.

• Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Research, 28(2), 193-213.

• Carney, C. E., Buysse, D. J., Ancoli-Israel, S., Edinger, J. D., Krystal, A. D., Lichstein, K. L., & Morin, C. M. (2012). The consensus sleep diary: standardizing prospective sleep self-monitoring. Sleep, 35(2), 287-302.

Week 3: Mental health, Personality, Nomophobia, and Impulsivity

February 11 (Assignment #1 due) • Antony, M. M., Bieling, P. J., Cox, B. J., Enns, M. W., & Swinson, R. P. (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-

item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological assessment, 10(2), 176.

• Duggan, K. A., Friedman, H. S., McDevitt, E. A., & Mednick, S. C. (2014). Personality and healthy sleep: The importance of conscientiousness and neuroticism. PloS one, 9(3), e90628.

• Yildirim, C., & Correia, A. P. (2015). Exploring the dimensions of nomophobia: Development and validation of a self-reported questionnaire. Computers in Human Behavior, 49, 130-137.

• Anderson, C., & Platten, C. R. (2011). Sleep deprivation lowers inhibition and enhances impulsivity to negative stimuli. Behavioural Brain Research, 217(2), 463-466.

Week 4: Research Questions and Plan of Analysis

February 18 • Kearney, M. W. (2017). Cross Lagged Panel Analysis. In M. R. Allen (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of

Communication Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

• Tavernier, R., & Willoughby, T. (2014). Bidirectional associations between sleep (quality and duration) and psychosocial functioning across the university years. Developmental Psychology, 50(3), 674.

• Adachi, P., & Willoughby, T. (2015). Interpreting effect sizes when controlling for stability effects in longitudinal autoregressive models: Implications for psychological science. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12(1), 116-128.

Week 5: Data Analysis I (T-tests and Analysis of Variance Tests)

February 25 (Assignment #2 due) • Eliasson, A. H., Eliasson, A. H., & Lettieri, C. J. (2017). Differences in sleep habits, study time, and academic

performance between US-born and foreign-born college students. Sleep and Breathing, 21(2), 529-533.

• Daniela, T., Alessandro, C., Giuseppe, C., Fabio, M., & Cristina, M. (2010). Lack of sleep affects the evaluation of emotional stimuli. Brain research bulletin, 82(1-2), 104-108.

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Week 6: Data Analysis II (Correlation and Regression)

March 4 (Assignment #3 due on March 8 at 8:00PM) • Brand, S., Kalak, N., Gerber, M., Kirov, R., Pühse, U., & Holsboer-Trachsler, E. (2014). High self-perceived exercise

exertion before bedtime is associated with greater objectively assessed sleep efficiency. Sleep medicine, 15(9), 1031-1036.

• Sibley, B. A., Hancock, L., & Bergman, S. M. (2013). University students' exercise behavioral regulation, motives, and physical fitness. Perceptual and motor skills, 116(1), 322-339.

Mid-semester break begins on March 8 at 10:00PM and end on March 25 at 8:00AM

Week 9: Data Analysis III (Mediators and Moderators)

March 25: • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological

research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173.

• Schutte, N. S., & McNeil, D. G. (2015). Athletic identity mediates between exercise motivation and beneficial outcomes. Journal of Sport Behavior, 38(2), 234.

Week 10: Data Analysis IV (Psychology Poster Session Projects)

April 1 (Assignment #4 due) No assigned readings

Week 11: Research presentations

April 8 1. ________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. _________________________________

Week 12: Research presentations

April 15 1. ________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. _________________________________

Week 13: Independent Data Analysis I

April 22: NO CLASS • This week, you will spend your time working with your own data. You will have access to the data file and can

work on your data in the lab on your own time. I strongly encourage you to book an appointment with me so that I can plan to be in the lab and assist you with your analyses.

• Thursday April 25: Psychology Poster Session (11:40am – 1:20pm, Beckham Hall)

Week 14: Independent Data Analysis II

April 29: NO CLASS (Assignment #5 due)

Week 15: Research project workshop

May 6 No assigned readings

*** Research Project is due (via Turn It In in Moodle) on Thursday May 16 at 11:55PM***

PSYC 386 Course Syllabus - Spring 2019 7

Things I learned as a student that may help you excel in this (and other) course(s)

❖ Attend class. You may not always feel like it, but it is a good idea to attend all your classes. In this course, lecture content may include material not covered in the assigned readings so skipping out on lectures means that you will miss important information.

❖ Come to class prepared – do your assigned readings before class. Completing your readings beforehand gives you a chance to think about some of the concepts that will be covered in lecture and allows you to seek clarification on aspects of the readings that were unclear.

❖ Find a study-buddy. Your peers are a great resource – use them! Use your peers to exchange ideas and test yourself on the definitions of key concepts covered in class. Your peers can also help to remind you of upcoming deadlines.

❖ Make connections. Generally, learning is more efficient when we can make connections between the material being taught and our personal lives. Draw on your personal experiences (or that of friends and family) to help you learn the concepts covered in class. Use the terms and concepts that you have learned in class in your everyday conversations with your peers, friends, and family (it’s a great way to assess your understanding of the material).

❖ Seek help. Life can get overwhelming sometimes. Don’t go through those challenging times alone. If your challenges are specific to class material, drop in to see me for a chat during my office hours (or by appointment). For more personal challenges, there are counseling resources available to you. Your academic advisors and class deans are also great resources. Remember, the sooner you can identify the need to get assistance, the better.

❖ Make a plan to manage procrastination.

o Set limits to technology use o Create a schedule and reward yourself for sticking to it o Ask friends to hold you accountable o Schedule study groups

❖ Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep (or a power nap!) It is tempting to sacrifice sleep especially during high stress times, but there are many cognitive and psychological benefits to getting sufficient and good quality sleep.