Motivating your science

PSYC 11: Laboratory in Psychological Science

Jeremy R. Manning
Dartmouth College
Spring 2026

Why does science matter?

  • Science is how we move from "I wonder..." to "Here's evidence that..."
  • But evidence alone isn't enough; you need to motivate people to care
  • This is exactly what the Introduction section of a paper does!

Discussion: what's an interesting scientific study you've read or heard about recently?

  • What's a recent finding that stuck with you?
  • Where did you hear about it? What made it interesting? Why'd you care about it?
  • Did something about it make you want to learn more? Or share it?
  • Do you remember the details of the study? Or just the big idea?

What makes a question interesting?

  • People can relate to it
  • The logic is clear and easy to follow
  • It's communicated in an engaging way
  • It feels new (or puts a new spin on something familiar)
  • You trust it

Leaders vs. ideas

  • Good leaders get people to follow them; good ideas do the same
  • Think about: a time someone changed your mind — what made their argument effective?
  • A scientific finding that has "stuck with you" — why?

Want help with stats and/or analysis?

  • Stats tutorials on Canvas
  • "Vibe coding" tutorial: X-hour this week!
  • Office hours with me or your TAs

Pitch session lab

  • We'll separate the class into 4 groups
  • Each group's job: come up with a science-related idea to "pitch" to the class
  • Wednesday: present pitches (5 min each + 10 min discussion)
  • Everyone evaluates each pitch; Friday we dig into the data
  • Secretly, we're learning about Introduction sections of scientific articles

Questions? Want to chat more?

📧 Email me
💬 Join our Slack
💁 Come to office hours
  • Today: create your pitch
  • Wednesday: present your pitch and fill out ratings
  • Thursday (X-hour): Data wrangling and vibe coding tutorial
  • Friday: analyze the data and discuss