PSYCH 490.001
Spring 2025 • TTh 9:05a-10:20a
Themes
If a picture’s worth a thousand words (Wikipedia contributors, 2024), what exactly does it say? This course will focus on the psychology of data visualization—how to read, critique, and generate meaningful figures that inform but don’t mislead. We’ll take inspiration from recognized classic figures and unpack what makes them exemplary. We’ll critique figures that deliberately or inadvertently mislead or confuse. We’ll learn what 150 years of vision science, the foundation of experimental psychology, has to say about data visualization. And we’ll learn how to build our own reproducible figures using Python, R, and JavaScript. No prior programming experience is required.
Instructor
Rick O. Gilmore, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
rog1 AT-SIGN psu PERIOD edu
Schedule an appointment: https://doodle.com/mm/rickgilmore/book-a-time
Lab web site: https://gilmore-lab.github.io
Teaching Assistant
Sara He
Graduate Student in Social Psychology
cfh5558 AT-SIGN psu PERIOD edu
Meetings by appointment over Zoom
Meeting time & location
Tuesday & Thursday, 9:05-10:20 am
009 Sparks Building
Canvas site
We will use Canvas to submit assignments and grade them. The Canvas site may be found here:
https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2381584
Most of the course content will be found on this site.
Course structure
This is a discussion-focused course. On most days we will discuss readings assigned prior to class. On many days, we will work together or individually on the assigned exercises, the final project, or another assignment.