*Contact your local representative for details.

What are ZAPS: The Norton Psychology Labs?

Perfect for introductory psychology or cognition courses, ZAPS: The Norton Psychology Labs is a set of 56 interactive computer experiments that allow students to experience psychological phenomena and classical experiments in exciting and interactive online environment. Each ZAP is designed to be completed in 15 to 30 minutes.

ZAPS cover a wide range of topics in psychology. There are ZAPS that cover biological and physiological phenomena, such as the gate-control theory of pain, and ZAPS that cover findings from social psychology, such as cognitive dissonance and stereotypes.

What makes ZAPS unique is that they focus on active learning. ZAPS puts students in the role of the subject to experience the phenomena themselves or places them in the role of the researcher to learn by discovery. All ZAPS begin with an Introduction, starting with a concrete example from everyday life, so that students can easily identify themselves with the experiment. The Introduction is followed by the Activity, the interactive component in which the student learns by experiences, experiments or discoveries. A Theory section follows the activity in which students read about the theoretical basis used in the activities. ZAPS end with a Further Info section that offers additional examples from everyday life or discussion of similar phenomena or experiments in which the theory plays a role.

There are three types of ZAPS: Experiment, Experience, and Discovery.

Experiment ZAPS allow a student to participate as a subject in an experiment (a mental rotation task, for instance). Students are able to view the data for their individual interaction with the experiment afterwards as well as aggregate data for their class or group.

Experience ZAPS give students the opportunity to directly experience a psychological phenomenon such as the Ponzo Illusion.

Discovery ZAPS put students in the role of a researcher performing experiments on a virtual human or animal. For example in the Gate Control Theory ZAP, the student simulates a painful situation such as bumping your head and then observes the brain’s neural reaction to the pain.

Package the ZAPS with any Norton psychology text for free or add them to your class for $28 without a package.

A package discount is available only when ZAPS registration materials are shrinkwrapped or bound with a W.W. Norton textbook. Please contact your W.W. Norton representative for a special package ISBN.