Teaching Applied Experimental Psychology Using a Living Laboratory

Abstract

Five principles of high-performance skill training were integrated into our undergraduate engineering psychology/human factors laboratory. This was accomplished by applying what we refer to as a living laboratory concept. The living laboratory is a focused field experience that practices the skills of a human factors professional. The skills exercised by this living laboratory included information gathering, analyzing practical problems, generating solutions and communicating with clients. The students learned to utilize tools such as task analyses, function analyses, function allocations, traffic flow analyses, and questionnaires. Their project was to design an educational and user-friendly instructional system for a popular exhibit at a local zoo. The zoo's education staff played the role of the “client” for the students and required the students to report on their solutions in relation to the zoo's goals and the exhibit's purpose. These same general skills can transfer to other living laboratories. The advantages of the living laboratory model include the exercise of high performance skills along five criteria as suggested by training research.