Teaching with clarity
Classroom testing
← Extended experiences

AP Psychology / Branching simulation

Study Lab

Direct a fictional research project from question to peer review. Design decisions change what your findings can support.

Four levels · Twelve consequential decisions · Included with educator membership.

AP Psychology / Branching simulation

Study Lab

Direct a fictional research project from question to peer review. Design decisions change what your findings can support.

W A S D / arrow keys to walk · E to speak
Click a path to walk. Meet all three characters.0/3 conversations
Loading progress…0/4 levels complete
Learning goals, teacher guide & model limits

Goal: Evaluate operational definitions, sampling, assignment, ethical safeguards, and causal claims.

Supporting course connections: AP Psychology: research methods, data interpretation, argumentation. These identify practice opportunities, not full standards coverage, guaranteed learning gains, or official AP endorsement. Exact local pacing may differ.

  1. The research question: consult three authored NPC guides, complete the practical mission, and write a claim, evidence-based explanation, and limitation.
  2. Recruit and assign: consult three authored NPC guides, complete the practical mission, and write a claim, evidence-based explanation, and limitation.
  3. Collect and protect: consult three authored NPC guides, complete the practical mission, and write a claim, evidence-based explanation, and limitation.
  4. Interpret and replicate: consult three authored NPC guides, complete the practical mission, and write a claim, evidence-based explanation, and limitation.

Use approximately one session per level, with time for discussion and revision. Actual playing and writing time has not been measured with students. Students can complete the mechanical actions more quickly; the explanation and comparison are part of the task.

Simulated project only. No experiments on people, sensitive data, diagnosis, or real participant recruitment. Scores describe model tradeoffs, not real validity coefficients.

Completion checks verify practical requirements and minimum writing length. They do not grade the argument. Review the portfolio for accurate concepts, specific evidence, reasoning, and limits. Downloads do not submit automatically to Google Classroom. A browser save is editable and must not be used as a verified assessment result.

Progress saves locally when available. Students can export and import a campaign file. On shared computers, export and then clear the campaign. No real financial, medical, political-preference, or identifying student information is required.

Compare two campaigns after exporting the first. Ask students to trace an early decision, a delayed effect, a later option, and the ending. The 0–100 resource indices and ending thresholds are invented teaching models. A desirable ending is not evidence that a political or personal viewpoint is correct.