Abstract
The history of the development of MacLaboratory for Psychology offers insights into both problems and solutions in academic software creation and implementation. Superficially, MacLaboratory for Psychology has been very successful, having garnered numerous acclamations, including two EDUCOM awards. It is used on thousands of Macintoshes at universities, hospitals, schools, and other institutions worldwide. However, there have also been some shortcomings to its use. In a candid discussion, successes, failures, the economics of software development, and student outcomes are addressed. Specific examples from the software as it has been used by over 10,000 undergraduates at Drexel University provide guidelines for future academic software in such domains as multimedia use, psychological and scientific education, classroom implementation, faculty research, and software support and maintenance.
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For their commentary and ideas, I thank Professors Tom Hewett, Walter Schneider, and Seth Roberts. MacLaboratory software has been supported by Apple Computer, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Solon Foundation, the Hanspeter Albisser Stiftung, and Drexel University.
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Chute, D.L. MacLaboratory for Psychology: Successes, failures, economics, and outcomes over its decade of development. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 25, 180–188 (1993). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204492
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204492