Who would survive the Titanic today? A classroom exercise
Abstract
We describe a classroom exercise that emphasizes the subjectivity and complexity associated with generalizing psychological knowledge to different points in time. The exercise used a well-known historical event: the sinking of the Titanic. Specifically, students attempted to determine if previously obtained psychological knowledge (i.e., the characteristics of the survivors) would generalize to the present. Students indicated they found the exercise interesting, and they recommended it for future classes.