Emergent Technologies: New Opportunities to Advance Psychological Research and Science Education

Wesleyan University, Middletown CT

Investigators

Abstract

The Social Psychology Network (SPN) has become one of the most international and heavily used online networks for research and teaching in the social sciences. Most of its web resources, however, were designed before the widespread adoption of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile computers, which are now the most common devices used to access the Internet. To address this problem, the proposed project will advance psychological research and education by redesigning SPN so that its pages, interactive features, databases, and partner sites work with mobile devices. In addition to advancing research and science education through mobile technology, this project will also build on SPN's 18-year record of "giving psychology away," informing social issues, and broadening the participation of underrepresented groups. For example, the creation of mobile-friendly web pages will facilitate usage of the SPN Mentorship Program, in which more than 600 volunteers with doctoral degrees offer free career assistance to students from underrepresented groups. It will also increase access to SPN partner sites such as the Stanford Prison Experiment (PrisonExp.org), the Jigsaw Classroom (Jigsaw.org), and UnderstandingPrejudice.org, each of which focuses on social issues such as protecting human rights, preventing school violence, and reducing prejudice. By refactoring SPN with a "mobile first" design approach, this project will ensure that the Network is interoperable and responsive across a wide array of computing devices, thereby making SPN more accessible and better equipped to serve the field as new mobile technologies continue to claim the future of social networking. This work will be completed in phases, beginning with the recruitment of a mobile design specialist and a technical audit to review elements including SPN's social media usage, search engine optimization, web hosting, server configuration, and choice of programming tools. The redesign and conversion of SPN sites will then begin with relatively small sites such as PrisonExp.org and eInterview.org before developing a new mobile design and programming for SocialPsychology.org. Next will come a redesign of SPN's system of 10,000+ user profiles and member pages, followed by a conversion of other SPN pages and features. In the end, this project will leave the Network well positioned to harness the power of the mobile revolution to advance psychological research and education.