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For Teachers of Introductory Psychology
APA EDUCATION DIRECTORATE
September-October 1998 • Volume 8 • Issue 4
PTN
PSYCHOLOGY TEACHER NETWORK
1998 Society for the
Teaching of Psychology Award
Winners Announced
The Society for the Teaching of Psychology
(Division Two) celebrated the 19th year of its annual Teaching Awards Program at the August
convention of the American Psychological Association in San Francisco, California. The 1998
winners were announced during the Division’s
social hour; the winners received a plaque and a
check for $500 at that time. Recognition for outstanding teaching was given in each of the
following categories: (a) Robert S. Daniels Award
(4 year college or university professor), (b) Two
Year College, (c) Moffett Memorial Award (high
school teacher), and (d) McKeachie Early Career
(graduate student).
Robert S. Daniels Award
Inside:
Briefing . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
A New Trend in
Teaching Introduction
to Psychology. . . . . . . . .
6
Goodies for Psychology
Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
Alternatives to the
Use of Animals in
Education . . . . . . . . . . . .
PRISM II Conference . . .
Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dear Doctor . . . . . . . . . .
Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New TOPSS Members. .
8
9
11
12
13
14
The winner of the Robert S. Daniels Award
for outstanding teaching in a 4-year College or
University is William G. Graziano, Professor
of Psychology at Texas A&M University. Dr.
Graziano earned a B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology
from the University of Minnesota.
While at the University of Georgia, Dr.
Graziano won three Psi Chi teaching awards.
He also has won the Sandy Beaver Teaching
Award, an honor given by the Franklin College of
Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia,
and several other awards. Dr. Graziano’s nomination materials highlight his many characteristics:
accessible, prepared, supportive, energetic, professional, a scholar with breadth and depth. He
nurtures careers by collaborating with young re-
searchers; Dr. Graziano
has prsented over
40 papers that have
been
co-authored
with undergraduate
or graduate students
and he has published
A
over 20 articles with
FPO
students.
William Graziano, Ph.D.
Dr. Graziano’s research credentials are
stellar; he has numerous publications, has
received major grants from the National Science
Foundation and the National Institute of Mental
Health, and has served or is serving on editorial
boards for several major journals in psychology.
Yet as his work with students makes clear, his
research can not be easily separated from his
teaching; both are central to his identity as a
professor. While teaching graduate students, for
example, he often points to research papers and
topics that would appeal to undergraduates, thus
concurrently teaching the discipline itself and
how to teach it to others. One nominee ended his
letter as follows: “...One of his singular contributions to psychology is the energy he puts into his
teaching and the model of scholarship he
provides his students. I am honored to know Bill
as a friend and colleague and to nominate him
for this much deserved award.” For these
qualities and more, we recognize Dr. Graziano
with the Robert S. Daniels Award.
See Awards, Page 5
BRIEFING
Recent Developments in
Close Relationships Theory
and Research
By John H. Harvey, Ph.D., University of Iowa
Paper presented at the 1998 American Psychological Association annual convention, San Francisco, CA.
Background
In the following paper, I provide a general, selective
review of some major developments in the field of
close relationships (CRs). Particular attention is given
to ideas and findings that might be incorporated into
lectures on CRs in secondary school offerings of
psychology.
As a social psychologist, I have taught CR courses
for 20 years, beginning at Vanderbilt University in
1978—a course that was one of the first formal
undergraduate offerings on this topic in a psychology
department in the U.S. The reason that CRs was not
a part of psychology curriculum before the late 1970s
was that the area of work did not develop until close
to the 1980s. It had not developed prior to that point
because, I believe, the discipline of psychology
ironically enough demurred in viewing this topic as
scientific enough. By contrast, the field of family sociology had been in existence almost half a century
before psychology began to study close relationships
in earnest. Now there are two interdisciplinary scholarly organizations and two related journals focusing
on close relationships. A recent, comprehensive review
of the field may be found in Duck (1997).
My close relationships class at Iowa each term
subscribes a maximum enrollment of 125 juniors and
seniors. It involves two months of lectures and
one month of group presentations (with about
9 presentations, presented by groups of 10 to 12
students each) on books such as Bernard’s (1982)
The Future of Marriage. The students seem to appreciate this format, and in the presentations can teach
one another. Presentations involve videos, panels, and
skits drawn from peer interaction, family dialogue,
and the media.
I am convinced that my relationship course has
had such a strong following over the years because relationships dynamics are so vital a part of the lives of
people in their twenties—not to say they are not vital
in all of our lives. According to a recent Gallup survey
(USA Today “snapshot” 4-14-98) of young adults’
(ages 18-34) priorities, 83% rated a close-knit family
as their highest priority—greater than the 68% who
rated a career the highest. This elevated focus on relationships has evolved from the turbulence so many
2
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
young people have seen in their own families, personal lives, and friends’ lives for so many generations.
Census Bureau statistics concerning flux in relationships and the family over the last four decades
attest to the changes from some of this turbulence,
including: (1) Since 1960, the number of divorces has
tripled. It is estimated that there will be 1 million
divorces in 1998, involving more than 1 million children. There are 70 million people in the U.S. who
have been divorced at least once. (2) Today the average marriage lasts 7 years, and there are approximately 27 million children under 18 living with only
their mothers, up from 8 million in 1960. (3) At least
150,000 divorces, or 1 in 7, will involve custody battles. (4) The number of single-parent families has
more than quadrupled since 1960. (5) Several million
grandparents in the U.S. now are recycling as parents
due to their children’s need to have childcare due to
divorces, work-situations, being in prison, or for other
reasons. Also, family sociologists have given us the
term “starter marriage” for all the beginning
marriages that end in divorce after a few years and in
which no children are involved—the idea being that a
first marriage is somewhat like a first home, from
which one usually moves on!
Definition
I define a CR as “a relationship that has extended
over some period of time and involves a mutual understanding of closeness and mutual behavior that is
seen by the couple as indicative of closeness.” According to this definition, empty shell and convenience
marriages do not constitute CRS, nor do perceptions
or acts by only one party. Implied as a key part in this
definition of CRs is an emphasis on interdependence
in people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; their
lives are intertwined in myriad ways.
A Revolution: Gender and The Family
Since the late 1960s, a revolution in how CRs are carried out, the nature and functioning of the family, and
in sexuality has occurred in the West and many parts
of the world. The hallmarks of this revolution are
greater equality between women and men, greater
freedom, and consent-mutual decision-making.
Writers & scholars such as Jessie Bernard, Barbara
Eichenreich, and Pepper Schwartz have been
pioneers in advocating egalitarian relationships and in
effecting this revolution. More specifically, Bernard
(1982) in The Future of Marriage argued that traditional marriage made women psychologically sick
because it typically kept them at home and unfulfilled, both professionally and personally. She also
argued that such marriages contributed to men’s
health and success. Eichenreich and colleagues in a
1986 book Re-making Love denounced the sexual
double standard. They advocated and foresaw sexual
behavior patterns among women that were as open
and pluralistic as found among men both in and out
of marriage. Sexual behavior data over the last 2
decades attest to Eichenreich et al.’s prescience in
predicting women’s much greater sexual activity
pre-maritally and extra-maritally.
In her (1994) book Peer Marriage, Schwartz
contends that couples in the U.S. increasingly are
adopting versions of egalitarian relationships and trying to balance each partner’s needs and abilities,
whether in work or family life. Schwartz based her
argument on a sample of 56 peer, role-sharing marriages spread across the U.S. She found four
common features for peer marriages: (1) the division
of household labor stayed within a 40/60 split for
labor and responsibility; (2) both spouses believed
they had equal influence over important and disputed
decisions; (3) both partners felt each had equal control over family economic resources and equal access
to discretionary spending; and (4) each partner’s
work was given equal weight in the couple’s life
plans. Schwartz described deep friendship and primacy of the relationship as rewards of peer relations.
She also said that social support still is rare for such
intense commitment to each other and to sharing.
Coontz’s (1992) valuable work took issue with
some people’s belief or memory that the 1950s
represented a time of stability and happiness in the
family and marriage because, in part, the divorce rate
was lower in that decade relative to the WWII years
and subsequent decades. She pointed to the high incidence of drinking among men in relationships in the
1950s and the frequency of abuse that often went
unreported. In effect, she suggested that there may
have been some secret dark recesses in the “Leave It
To Beaver” families of those years.
The debilitating effects of divorce on many
children and families have led to some states’
development of the covenant marriage law. This law
makes divorce more difficult, and presumably is in
the interests of creating stronger families. As critics
have argued, however, the issues of abuse and
deeply problematic patterns in relationships and
whether covenant marriages will make it more
difficult to divorce have yet to be addressed
adequately by lawmakers supporting such laws.
The Development of Close Relationships
People are using whatever ways they can to meet
others for closeness in the 1990s. Consider this advertisement from the Washington Post about a woman
seen for a split second: “1225 Connecticut Ave. lobby
Friday afternoon, 1/30, you tall, beautiful brunette,
long skirt, talking to security, work for building?
Me: blonde, male, black/brown leather jacket, our
eyes locked. Nobody knows who you are, please
call—” (Washington Post ad, 2-22-98).
What are the early variables in determining
whether people start the courting process? At the top
of the list for relationship development in early dating
is physical attraction and matching our
physical
attraction with those with whom we
might be close. The matching hypothesis
“The
says that while we may prefer a more attractive person in the abstract, in reality
debilitating
we end up choosing someone who is close
effects of
to our own level of attractiveness
(Berscheid & Walster, 1978).
divorce on many
The physical attractiveness variable
children and
often acts like a filtering variable and,
after it is fulfilled, other variables such as
families have led
similarity of attitudes and backgrounds
to some states’
become important. Indeed, this filter idea
was presented by Bernard Murstein
development
(1970) as the way relationships often
of the covenant
develop: passing through the physical
attractiveness filter to the similarity in
marriage law.”
values and attitudes filter, and then to a
role filter in which people may play complementary roles in relationships.
Hendrick and Hendrick (1993) show in their
book Romantic Love that romance is a valued part of
relationships, especially early and then at different
points throughout the history of relationships. The
Hendricks have done considerable work showing that
people exhibit romantic love styles, including: eros
(strong sexual desire), storge (companionship), ludus
(game-playing), mania (jealousy), and pragma (practical considerations). Berscheid & Walster (1978)
distinguish between romantic or passionate and companionate love. The former is filled with feelings of
lust for other, that other is the one and only other
partner for you, and that you cannot live without
other; the latter is oriented toward friendship and
companionship.
Another love style model has evolved from Hazan
and Shaver’s (1987) influential linking of adult love
and early attachment patterns. They argue that early
attachment experiences with mothers and parents
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
3
carry over to latter adult relationships and that some
people are successful because they have learned to
be secure, while others are less successful because
they have learned to be ambivalent or avoidant in
social relations.
The Maintenance/Enhancement
of Close Relationships
What do we know about how to maintain and grow
close relationships over long periods? There is strong
evidence that people are healthier, happier, and
live longer if they have satisfying CRs (Argyle, 1987).
In a valuable research program concerned with examining the process
of conflict, John Gottman (1995) argues
that what he calls the “4 horsemen of
“In a valuable
the apocalypse,” contempt, criticism,
defensiveness, and stonewalling conresearch program
tribute to the endings of most CRs. More
concerned with
recently, Gottman and colleagues (1998)
have compared several models of
examining the
predicting marital happiness among
process of conflict,
newlyweds and concluded that most
couples who are satisfied figure out ways
John Gottman
to gently raise issues and de-escalate
argues that what
negativity.
In addition to therapy and effective
he calls the
address of ongoing problems, a lot of
‘4 horsemen of
work now concerns prevention programs.
An example of a successful prevention
the apocalypse,’
counseling program is the PREP apcontempt, criticism, and
proach (Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) created by Howard
defensiveness,
Markman and colleagues at the Univerand stonewalling
sity of Denver. They have shown the
value of premarital counseling aimed at
contribute to
inducing young persons to be more open
the endings of
in expressing their desires in relating and
in discussing their pasts (Markman,
most CRs.”
Stanley, & Blumberg, 1994).
Julia Omarzu and I have proposed a
theory we refer to as “minding the close
relationship” (1997). This theory posits that in order
for two committed people to achieve relationship
closeness, it is necessary to have: a never-ending reciprocal pattern of behavior aimed at knowing one’s
partner and allowing one’s partner to know you, attribution (i.e., interpretive inferences) about a partner’s
traits, motives, and behavior that is fair and positive,
and acceptance of and respect for what one discovers
about one’s partner.
Endings of Close Relationships,
Grief, and Recovery
Amato and Booth (1998) conclude from their survey
research that only one-third of marriages with high
4
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
levels of conflict end in divorce. They suggest
that there are broad negative impacts on
children of divorce, and that too many parents are
unnecessarily getting divorced—even though grounds
such as hate and discord do not exist. They say that
children sometimes benefit from divorce if parents
are constantly quarreling. For the majority of
marriages ending in divorce that they studied, the
parents were getting along fairly well. Thus, divorce
in such marriages may contribute to children’s
increased psychological distress and lesser ties with
kin. These effects, therefore, are not necessary if the
marriage could have been readily salvaged. Amato
and Booth speculate that Americans are leaving
“nonconflicted marriages” earlier because of their
acceptance of divorce, unrealistic expectations
regarding marriage, and for a virtual “kitchen sink”
of reasons.
Amato and Booth’s argument, however, requires
careful scrutiny. As Gottman (1995), Harvey (1995),
and other theorists and therapists have argued and
shown, many marriages involve subtle, difficult-toobserve types of negativity, such that children and
partners are damaged by the processes unfolding.
Further, even with the archival data provided by
Amato and Booth, it is difficult to conclude that only
one-third of all divorces occurring involve prolonged,
intense conflict.
In his book Marital Separation, Weiss (1975)
published a classic study of the role of people’s
reliance on similar others and telling their stories of
marital separation as a mean of coping with such loss.
This work, as well as research on nonmarital
romances (Harvey, 1995), suggests that recovery
from a dissolved close relationship can be a laborious
process, not unlike recovering from the death of a
close other. Work on adaptation to such losses points
to the value of people’s private emotional-cognitive
work to recognize and understand their losses, and
the confiding of their stories of loss to close, highly
empathic others (Harvey,1996).
The Future of Research on and Teaching
about Close Relationships
Given the problems inherent in relating and achieving
closeness, the future of the CR field of scholarship is
one in which the fervor of theory, research, and
debate is ensured for decades to come. Recognizing
the value of this topic and this fervor, I hope that
educators will be encouraged to bring the work of this
field to the high school classroom for students to consider. It may not be too much to hope that our close
relationships will be enhanced via such dialogue and,
in effect, our families and institutions will be more
thoughtfully appraised and constructed in the
twenty-first century.
Awards, from page 1
Two Year College
The recipient of the award for outstanding teaching in a two year
college is Mark W. Vernoy, Associate Professor of Behavioral
Sciences at Palomar College in San Marcos, California. Dr. Vernoy
earned his B.A. in psychology from
Occidental College and his Ph.D.
in psychology from University of California, Irvine.
Dr. Vernoy’s skills as an excellent
teacher have been apparent since
graduate school, where he taught labB
oratory sections in Experimental PsyFPO
chology and his own course in perception. His innovative classroom demonstrations, such as using magic to teach
Mark W. Vernoy, Ph.D.
classical conditioning, have been published in Teaching of Psychology and
reprinted in several instructor’s manuals. His teaching excellence is
appreciated by both colleagues and students and has led to
national recognition: Dr. Vernoy is the recipient of the 1997 Excellence Award from the National Institute of Staff and Organizational
Development (NISOD) and was also named a Master Teacher in
1986 by that group.
Dr. Vernoy teaches a variety of courses, including statistics,
experimental psychology and methodology, cognitive psychology,
and physiological psychology. He is noted for his ability to present
difficult material in an engaging, accessible way.
Dr. Vernoy has translated his engaging presentation style into
his written work as well. He publishes regularly in teaching
journals, is a frequent presenter at national teaching conferences,
and has co-authored several editions of two successful textbooks,
Psychology in Action (4th ed.) and Behavioral Statistics in Action.
The integration of technology into teaching has been
Dr. Vernoy’s longstanding goal. As early as 1986, Dr. Vernoy was integrating computers into his physiological psychology course.
A 1994 Teaching of Psychology paper outlines a computerized
Stroop experiment for demonstrating a 2 X 3 factorial design. In
1987, he co-authored PsychAid: Computer tutorials for psychology
in action, a computer program published by John Wiley and Sons.
He has also developed a statistical package for introductory statistics courses.
Although this award focuses on Dr. Vernoy’s teaching, his colleagues are quick to point to his excellence in research and his
exemplary service to Palomar College. Dr. Vernoy is an exceptional
professor and colleague and has well earned the recognition provided by the Society’s Teaching Award.
Moffett Memorial Award
The 1998 Moffett Memorial Award winner for outstanding psychology teaching in high schools is Margaret Davidson of L. V. Berkner
High School in Richardson, Texas. Ms. Davidson earned her B.S. in
Education Curriculum and Instruction—Sociology/Social Studies
Composite from Texas A & M University. She has taken graduate
course work at New Mexico State University, University of North
Texas and Texas A & M University.
Although in the past Ms. Davidson
taught geography, history, economics
and government, since she took over
the course at Berkner High School, student interest has grown and psychology
classes now fill her teaching schedule.
Evidence of her teaching excellence has
been echoed by supervisor evaluations,
C
indicating that her performance is
FPO
“clearly outstanding” and by local
Margaret Davidson
awards such as being recognized as Applebee’s Teacher of the Month each of
three consecutive years. From a district with some 3000 teachers, she
was named one of the RISE Teachers of the Year.
Ms. Davidson’s influence on high school psychology extends far
beyond the classroom. Locally, she is a member of such organizations
as the Texas Council for the Social Studies and the Richardson Council for the Social Studies, which work for the advancement of the
field. Regionally, she is working to form the Texas Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (T-TOPSS). Nationally, she represents
high school teachers of psychology as a teacher consultant with the
Education Testing Service. Through this affiliation, she has presented
workshops for new and experienced AP Psychology teachers. She has
also been a test reader for several years, working to score the free
response section of the AP test. She is currently a high school representative of the steering committee for the American Psychological
Association’s (APA) Psychology Partnerships Project, a new initiative
of the APA Board of Educational Affairs and the Education Directorate. Another important way Ms. Davidson has contributed at the
national level is through her work on the Teaching of Psychology in
Secondary Schools (TOPSS) Executive Board.
By recognizing her creative teaching, advocacy for high school
psychology, strength as a role model for teachers teaching teachers,
and service to psychology, we are pleased to confirm the belief that
Ms. Davidson is the ideal candidate for the Moffett Memorial
Teaching Award.
McKeachie Early Career Award
The recipient of the McKeachie Early Career Award for outstanding teaching by a graduate student is Amy T. Galloway, who
recently earned a Ph.D. in Biopsychology at the University of Georgia. Dr.
Galloway earned her B.A. in Psychology
from FurmanUniversity and her M.S.
in Animal Behavior from Bucknell University. Dr. Galloway is currently on a
teaching post-doc at Northern Michigan
University.
Dr. Galloway’s three years as
D
instructor of Experimental Design,
FPO
Statistics, and Comparative Animal
Amy Galloway, Ph.D.
Behavior earned her both departmental
and university wide recognition from
the University of Georgia. These awards were preceded by the
Marshall C. Prevost Medal for Excellence in Psychology, presented at
See Awards, page 11
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
5
The Experimental Lab: A New Trend in
Teaching Introduction to Psychology
By Ann T. Ewing, Ph.D., Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
This update is provided
courtesy of APA’s Two-Year
Working Group
6
There is a trend in the teaching of the introductory
course in psychology that is proving to be exciting
and very beneficial to the educational experience of
thousands of students who take this course every
year. The trend referred to is the inclusion of an experimental laboratory as a course requirement for
Introduction to Psychology. The experimental laboratory experience enhances the learning of students
and reinforces the perception of psychology as a
scientific field. Psychology is a scientific field and
therefore it should be taught as a scientific field in
much the same way as biology, chemistry and
physics, which are traditionally taught with a
laboratory component.
Usually during the first few chapters and lecture sessions of the semester, students are informed
that psychology is defined as the scientific study of
behavior. They are instructed that psychology is a
science as the scientific method is strictly employed.
There is no better way to teach concepts such as independent variable, dependent variable, extraneous
variable, experimental and control group, etc., than
to have students set up an experiment, identify these
elements, and run the experiment. Many experiments can easily be run during a single class hour.
The laboratory experience allows students to gain a
much better understanding of difficult concepts such
as experimenter bias and the confounding of variables. Students find they learn a lot by replicating
original research from a journal article and comparing their findings or doing some variation of the previous research. Many times the data can be collected
on campus or by students between class sessions,
then analyzed and discussed during the following
lab session. This also provides a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate how statistics are used to analyze research findings. I have found that taking students off campus on a field trip to gather data, early
in the semester, greatly facilitates group interaction
and the formation of affiliative bonds. This has lasting effects on student satisfaction and retention.
The laboratory component of the Introduction
to Psychology course affords the opportunity for students to gain a good understanding of various types
of research methods used by psychologists. Students
can conduct correlational research, surveys, naturalistic observations, and personality inventories as well
as experimental research. This opportunity exposes
students to many different ways that behavior can
be studied and under what circumstances each
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
methodology is most appropriate.
One common complaint, voiced by teachers
and students alike, is that there is too much material
to be effectively covered in the Introduction to
Psychology course. The inclusion of a laboratory requirement provides extra hours every week during
which some of the many concepts can be introduced, demonstrated and reinforced in a memorable
way. There are many demonstrations and exercises
that we longingly think would be fun and valuable
to do with our students but there simply is not
enough time to incorporate them into our available
class time. The experimental lab course provides the
opportunity to effectively demonstrate difficult principles such as classical conditioning, operant conditioning and schedules of reinforcement. There are
many exciting ideas for experimental labs that can
be found in Teaching of Psychology, a journal published by Division Two of APA, and the three volumes of Activities Handbook for the Teaching of
Psychology, also published by APA. Students can be
given the opportunity to condition a live rat in a
Skinner box or to condition a simulated rat using a
computer. Many laboratory exercises require little or
no equipment. Using lemonade powder or Pixie
Stix, I have had my students classically condition
each other to salivate at the sound of the word
“Pavlov”. Even though the demonstration doesn’t
always work perfectly, students make a strong connection between Pavlov’s name and the concept of
classical conditioning and its inherent elements. I
have had students come back years later and claim
that they still salivate at the word “Pavlov”. The experience is enjoyable and makes the concepts memorable.
In summary, the inclusion of a laboratory component in the Introduction to Psychology course can
greatly enhance the learning experience of students.
The lab will make it very evident to students that
psychology is truly a scientific field. Students will
have a much better appreciation of how data is collected and analyzed when they have first hand experience with the methods used by psychologists. Students are much better able to learn the terminology of
the field when they are given the opportunity to utilize it in an interactive setting. Finally, an experimental lab course for Introduction to Psychology makes
the study of psychology more understandable, more
memorable and more enjoyable for the student.
Goodies for Psychology Teachers
By Alan Feldman, Perth Amboy High School, Perth Amboy, NJ
Demonstration of a visual cliff. If you
don’t have the visual cliff on video here
is a neat way to represent the visual cliff
to students. Take a clear videotape
holder that can be bought in many
stores. Make a black and white
checkerboard design. Measure the
surface of the videotape container-they
are approximately 8 inches by 5 inches.
Cut the black and white checkerboard
design in half and glue half to the inside
top of the container, and glue the other
half to the bottom of the other side of
the container. You have just made a
miniature visual cliff!
If you want to show your class the
spectrum of light using a prism, place
the prism on an overhead projector(practice before you show the
students) and you will be able to project a clear bright visual spectrum on
the wall. Use two prisms to recreate
Newton’s famous experiment in making white light again. For more information on prisms see the recently published, The Fire Within the Eye: A
Historical Essay on the Nature and
Meaning of Light by David Park, published by Princeton University Press.
ISBN: 0-691-04332-9.
Check out the Freud Toy Company at
(800) 255-8371. This neat company
sells a Freud tie, a working Freud watch
(has a fifty-minute hour), Freudian slip
writing pads, a Freud pillow doll, a
Freudian sleeper T-shirt, Freudian slippers and other items. Ask for the Unemployed Philosophers catalog as well.
A set of after-dinner Freud cards is
available. These are 100 cards printed
on thick glossy paper with a question
about Freud’s life on the front and the
answer on the back. A set of Shakespeare cards is also available. They are
both published by Viking-Penguin,
originally Becker & Mayer, LTD produced them. The ISBN for the Freud
deck is 0-670-86325-4
Optical illusion playing cards and other
optical illusion materials are available
from Y and B Associated Inc., 33 Primrose Lane, Hempstead, New York
11550. Two new audiotape series on
psychology are available from The
Teaching Company. One series is by Professor Richard Gerrig of Yale University,
and the other series is by Professor
Daniel Robinson of Georgetown. Both of
these series are outstanding. Call The
Teaching Company at 1-800-TEACH12 for more information and a catalog.
The owl-lark questionnaire is published
in Bodyrhythms: Chronobiology and
Peak Performance by Lynne Lamberg,
published by William Morrow and Co.
N.Y. ISBN: 0-8779-5991-9
Some recent psychology related
videos follow:
A Science Odyssey: In Search of Ourselves (this is volume 3 of the series)
available from PBS at 1-800-828-PBS.
This is a two-hour tape on the history
of psychology.
Born To Rebel: Birth Order & The Revolutionary Personality featuring Dr.
Frank Sulloway, and For Whom The
Bell Curve Tolls: IQ, Race, & The Nature of Intelligence featuring Dr.’s. Vincent Sarich, Diane Halpern, and Daniel
Kelves. Both of these videos are available from The Skeptic Society at
1-818-794-3119. Buy an issue of the
Skeptic Magazine for other psychologyrelated audio and videotapes.
Four videotapes concerning sleep are
available from Dr. James Maas, 210
Uris Hall, Department of Psychology,
Cornell University 14853. Phone:
1-607-255-6266. The tapes are
1) Sleep Alert 2) Asleep in the Fast
Lane: Our 24 Hour Society, 3) Keep Us
Awake 4) When Nights Are Longest.
Two tapes produced by the Cerebellum
Corporation that may be useful follow:
1) The High Stakes World Of Statistics
and 2) The Stimulating World Of Psychology. They are narrated by the
Standard Deviants and are available in
bookstores or from 1-800-238-9669.
An interview with Dr. Stephen Pinker
entitled “Language and Consciousness”
is available from Thinking Allowed Productions at 5966 Zinn Drive, Oakland
California 94611.
A video version of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat (with commentary by Oliver Sacks) is available from
Facets video at 1-800-331-6197.
Facets also have the Francois Truffat
film The Wild Child.
Recent printed materials follow:
Freudian Slips: Cartoons on Psychology
by Sidney Harris, published by Rutgers
University Press-ISBN: 0-8135-2478.
These cartoons are wonderful and funny.
Welcome to the World: A Celebration of
Birth and Babies from Many Cultures,
is a beautiful book of poetry and pictures depicting childbirth and parenting
from around the world. Compiled by
Nikki Siegen-Smith and published by
Orchard books in NY. ISBN:
0-531-36006-7.
Two recent review books helpful for the
AP Psychology test are: 1) Introduction
to Psychology by Robert Sternberg,
published by Harcourt Brace (as part of
their College outline series). ISBN: 0-15502071-4. 2) Test Yourself: Introduction
to Psychology by Deborah Winters published by NTC Learning Works. ISBN:
0-8442-2366-2.
Three books on being a successful psychology student including information
about careers in psychology follow:
1) A Student’s Guide to Studying
Psychology by Thomas Heffernan published by Psychology Press. ISBN:
See Goodies, page 13
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
7
Alternatives to the Use of Animals
in Education
By Paul F. Cunningham, Ph.D. and Mary Lou Randour, Ph.D.
Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Psychologists’ attitudes toward using animals in
research seems to be changing in the direction of more
qualified and less enthusiastic support. For example,
according to a survey sponsored by the National
Science Foundation of 3,982 randomly selected
psychologists, psychologists have very mixed feelings
about using animals in research (Plous, 1996). While
there is general support for animal research, a majority of respondents disapproved of experiments involving pain or death. Specifically, even when research
was described as “institutionally approved and
deemed of scientific merit,” 62.1% of psychologists indicated that research was unjustifiable if it involved
pain or death to primates; 44.4% of psychologists indicated that research was unjustifiable if it involved
pain or death to rats. (Plous, 1996, p. 1171-1172).
Generational and gender differences also were
found: less than a quarter of psychologists who
received doctoral degrees in psychology during the
1990s voiced strong support for animal research,
compared to 48 percent of those who earned their
degrees before 1970, and female psychologists were
significantly less supportive of animal research than
were male psychologists.
There are, of course, many reasons for these
shifting attitudes. One significant one is that in the
last decade there have been significant advances
made in the use of technology. Human cell tissue,
organ culturing, imaging, and computer modeling are
rapidly replacing animal use, rendering it unnecessary
and inefficient.
Supporting such a shift are the APA Guidelines
for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Animals
(1996), developed by the Committee on Animal
Research and Care (CARE), which encourage the
consideration of alternatives to the use of animals in
research. Additionally, the APA’s Principles for Quality
Undergraduate Psychology Programs endorse both a
discussion of the ethics and value of animal use in the
classroom and the development of independent critical thinking and decision-making in students.
Computers as an Alternative to Animal Use
Particularly in education contexts, most of the
many attractive and useful alternatives to animals
are, not surprisingly, computer-based. Each successive generation of students grows more sophisticated
in computer technology, not only in the field of psy-
8
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
chology but many other disciplines as well. There are
good reasons for the popularity of computers. All of
the computer-learning programs have proven to be
educationally effective as well as economic. They not
only preserve the integrity of scientific psychology
education, but enhance it (Dewhurst, Hardcastle,
Hardcastle, Stuart, 1994; More and Ralph, 1992;
Phelps, Nilsestuen, and Hosemann, 1992).
The computer-based programs in teaching
psychology cover four areas: learning, animal behavior, physiological psychology, and experimental
psychology. For those unfamiliar with what a computer-based program might look like and accomplish,
we offer the following brief description of one popular
computer-based learning program.
Sniffy the Virtual Rat
Born in 1992 in a psychology department at Erindale
College in Toronto, Sniffy the simulated rat quickly
became the star attraction of the introductory psychology students there. (His “parents” are Jeff Graham, who was a young laboratory tutor in psychology
at Erindale, Tom Allowsay, the associate chair of the
Department of Psychology, and Greg Wilson, an independent programming consultant.) Because of
Sniffy’s popularity with students and educational effectiveness, Sniffy the Virtual Rat is now distributed
by Brooks/Cole Publishing (Todd, 1993).
By interacting with Sniffy, students can learn
about shaping, response acquisition, schedules of
reinforcement and other phenomena in operant conditioning. Sniffy introduces students to the vagaries of
the scientific process, helping them appreciate the
complexity of it. Professor Lester Krames observed
that “Many of the students end up conditioning Sniffy
to do things they don’t want him to do. Many of them
are being conditioned by Sniffy. The experience
they’re getting is analogous to what would happen if
they were doing it in a real lab” (Todd, 1993, p. 11).
Sniffy isn’t alone; there are numerous other
programs on the market. For example, Op-Rat adds
discrimination learning to its repertoire of operant
principles. Classical conditioning software also is
available. Laboratory Classical Conditioning, the creation of James Benedict of James Mason University,
simulates salivary conditioning suppression, block
effects and taste aversion.
See Alternatives, page 11
Two and Four-Year Psychology
Faculty Attend PRISM II Conference
By Sherry Lynn Kinslow, Ph.D., PRISM-Project Director and Mary Helen Spear, Ph.D.,
PRISM-Project Co-Director, Department of Psychology
Prince George’s Community College, Largo, MD
At the beginning of the summer, a group of
dedicated psychology faculty from two year and small
four year colleges met at Prince George’s
Community College (PGCC) to attend PRISM II
(the Psychology Retooling Institute and Seminar
of the Mid-Atlantic). Like its predecessor, PRISM,
which was held at PGCC last summer, PRISM II
was funded by a grant from the Division of
Undergraduate Education of the National Science
Foundation. For four days from May 17th to 20th,
PRISM II participants immersed themselves in a series
of workshops and activities designed to help them
update their knowledge and skills and exchange their
best teaching ideas with fellow participants.
In the words of one PRISM participant, “I can’t
begin to tell you how much I have learned and how
honored I feel to have been a part of this. My tool box
is overflowing.”
Many of the presenters so popular with last
year’s participants returned for PRISM II including
Dr. Douglas Bernstein, Professor of Psychology at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and Program Chair for the National Institute on
the Teaching of Psychology. Dr. Bernstein demonstrated activities to teach research methods and
critical thinking. Dr. F. Scott Hall, a research postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health
discussed new developments in biopsychology
including his own research which addresses, in part,
the relative importance of nature vs. nurture on
certain aspects of behavior. This issue was also
addressed by returning presenter, Professor Peter P.
Panyon of PGCC, whose presentation challenged
conventional thinking on the nature-nurture question.
Professor Panyon also guided this year’s participants
through a new session during which they dissected the
brain of a sheep and discussed parallels with the
human brain. Many of the teachers thought this
activity would be an excellent hands-on way of teaching brain structure and functioning to introductory
psychology students.
Dr. Patricia Wallace, Associate Vice-President and
Chief Information Officer at University of Maryland
University College who served as a panel member at a
session at PRISM, conducted her own session at
PRISM II on using the world wide web to teach psy-
chology. Also returning for a second year to the institute were Dr. Alan Kraut, Executive Director of the
American Psychological Society, who discussed psychology as a research based discipline, and Dr. Lester
Lefton, Dean of the Columbian School of Arts and
Sciences at George Washington University, who gave a
presentation on gender and ethnic issues in the classroom.
Several new presenters joined the ranks
of PRISM II faculty including the keynote speaker, Dr.
Jane Halonen, Psychology Department Head at James
Madison University. Dr. Halonen used an interactive
format to answer the question: “What Can I Do With
Psychology?” by having participants examine what
they most want their students to learn from taking
their introductory psychology course. Dr. Robin Hailstorks, Psychology Chair at PGCC and past-President
of Psi Beta, was a panel member last year and returned to serve as a panelist for a session on “Connecting With the Discipline.” Dr. Hailstorks also discussed the two year honorary for psychology students.
She was joined on the panel by Dr. William Southerly,
an Associate Professor of Psychology at Frostburg
State University who discussed connecting with each
other electronically and by Dr. Martha M. Ellis,
Provost of Spring Creek Campus, Collin County
Community College District in Texas. Dr. Ellis discussed APA’s Community College Working Group as
well as the Partnerships in Psychology Project that investigates ways to link psychology educators at all levels from high school to two-year and four-year colleges. APA, particularly Dr. Jill Reich, Executive Director of Education, has been very supportive of both
PRISM and PRISM II.
Dr. Nancy Felipe Russo, Regents Professor
of Psychology and Women’s Studies at Arizona State
University, was also a featured presenter at
PRISM II. She addressed “Teaching Diversity:
The ABC’s.” Like last year’s participants, PRISM II
attendees also visited the AT & Teaching Theater at
the University of Maryland where Dr. Kent Norman
introduced them to the paperless classroom in a
presentation designed to explore teaching psychology
in the digital age. Following this visit, PRISM II
participants were feted at a reception at PGCC
See PRISM II, page 11
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
9
ACTIVITY
Inquiries, Demonstrations, Experiments and Activities
Emotion Perception and Field of Vision
By Melissa Doubek, Alpena High School, Alpena, MI
Concept:
Emotional perception tends to be specialized in the right hemisphere of the brain. This can be shown using odd pictorial
images of faces referred to as chimeric stimuli (Temple, 1993). Chimeric faces are constructed with one half of the mouth
appearing to smile and the other appearing sad or glum (see Figure 1). Subjects are asked to report whether each face
looks happy or sad.
Typically a right handed person will say the face in his left field of vision (on his left side) appears happier.
Remember, our eyes are wired so the information coming from our left side is projected to our right brain hemisphere. Further evidence comes from stroke victims. Right hemisphere damage in neurological patients can interfere with their ability
to make judgments about emotional expressions and to make facial expressions (Temple, 1997). All of this evidence tends
to support the Right Hemisphere Dominance theory. The Right Hemisphere Dominance theory suggests that the right
hemisphere of the brain is mostly responsible for all emotional processing.
The other predominate theory of localization of emotional functioning is the Valence Theory. The valence theory suggests that the right and the left hemisphere each have responsibilities for processing information about different emotions.
The right hemisphere is believed to be responsible for negative emotions, such as sadness and the left hemisphere is responsible for positive emotions. The evidence for this theory comes from observations of people with brain damage. People
with right hemisphere brain damage sometimes lack negative emotions and people with left brain damage seem to lack
positive emotions. This investigation will test the Right Hemisphere Dominance theory and open many questions.
Figure 1
(Temple, 1993)
Materials:
Procedure:
Discussion:
1) Take photographs of happy, smiling people. (Ask your subjects if it is OK to use their photo for this experiment). Another
option is to use magazine or newspaper pictures.
2) Make three transparencies of the photo(s).
3) Cut two of the three transparencies directly down the center of the face. Keep one transparency as the original with the
unaltered photograph.
4) Tape the two left sides transparencies of the face together to make a complete face (L/L). Repeat with the two
right sides (R/R).
1)
2)
3)
4)
Place the unaltered transparency on an overhead projector.
Instruct students to write down which of the next two faces look most like the 1st picture on the overhead (the original).
Present one of the other transparencies (either the R/R or L/L), then present the other transparency.
Compile the class data on the blackboard.
Discuss with the students, the source of their preference for one picture. Typically the R/R is chosen as the match for the
original transparency since it matches the side of the face of the original in their left field of vision. To reinforce this phenomena, turn the original transparency over on the overhead projector so you view the face in reverse. Now, subjects typically choose the L/L face as the face that most closely resembles the reversed original.
See Activities, page 12
Psychology Teacher Network is looking for good ideas, activities and experiments to share with our
readers. Please submit any activities to Psychology Teacher Network, Education Directorate.
10
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
Awards, from page 5
Furman University in 1991.
Teaching excellence programs supported by The University of
Georgia have fueled Dr. Galloway’s desired to pursue an academic
career. Last year, she was selected to participate in a year-long
Teaching Assistant Mentor Program designed to address both the
theory and technique of teaching. Another University of Georgia
program provided Dr. Galloway with a Graduate School Teaching
Support Seminar Assistantship; as the first student from the Department of Psychology to receive this award, she was funded to design a
course for new teaching assistants.
Narrative evaluations provided by students highlight her
strengths in the classroom. Comments about her teaching style highlight her willingness to answer questions, her knowledge, her concern
for students, and her enthusiasm. Students reported being stimulated
by her teaching style and appreciated her willingness to give them a
voice and a choice about how the course proceeded.
It is obvious that Dr. Galloway has touched the lives of both
undergraduates and peers at the University of Georgia. As one referee
put it “Amy has excelled at teaching from the very beginning. I can
tell you as a direct observer that she truly loves the teaching process,
in both the traditional classroom setting and outside the classroom, in
the laboratory and field. She has been the most outstanding graduate
instructor of her cohort.” We are pleased to have the opportunity to
recognize such an outstanding individual and look forward to her future success as a psychology faculty member.
Note: This article was adapted from Teaching of Psychology.
The Society for the Teaching of Psychology (Division Two) of APA is taking nominations for the 1999 program
of awards. For more information, please contact Dr. Mary Kite, Chair, The Society for the Teaching of Psychology
Teaching Awards Committee, Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306;
(765) 747-6058; mkite@bsu.edu. All Nominations must be postmarked no later than January 4, 1999.
Alternatives, from page 8
In the areas of animal behavior, physiological psychology, and experimental psychology, there also are a variety of computer-based programs, as well as other alternatives. (Request a copy of the appendix
for a listing of some of these programs.)
Because of Sniffy, and many of his virtual kin and other computer programs, there
is evidence that educational institutions have
reduced their use of animals in teaching. For
example, over 50% of medical schools no
longer have “dog labs.” And all of the 125
U. S. civilian medical schools offer alternatives to students who decline to participate
in live animal laboratories, a choice supported by the American Medical Student Association (Cunningham, 1997).
Psychology departments also are discontinuing the use of animals for teaching.
Currently from 32% to % 53% of under-
graduate departments and 19% of graduate
programs do not use animals in teaching
(Benedict & Stoloff, 1991; Hull, 1996).
Others are entering serious discussions about
the discontinuation of animals for a variety
of educational, social, political, and scientific
reasons (Cunningham, 1997).
Conclusion
The increased use of computer technology solves a lot of problems. First, it satisfies
the goal of the “3R’s”—replacement, refinement, and reduction—a standard supported
by the scientific community for a number of
years by replacing live animals with technology. Second, computer-based technology is
fun for students with proven educational
efficiency. A third benefit is that it satisfies
the requirement of student choice—the
ability of students to decline to participate in
classroom activities that are ethically unac-
PRISM II, from page 9
hosted by representatives from several publishing companies.
Publishers sponsored the appearances of several of the presenters.
Like their predecessors, PRISM II participants are now working
ceptable to them—a choice affirmed by
the Ethical Guidelines for the Teaching of
Psychology in the Secondary Schools.
Educators recognize that student choice is
one of the characteristics of a quality psychology program (McGovern & Reich,
1996) at both undergraduate and secondary
education levels (Ernst & Petrossian, 1996;
McGovern, 1993).
In addition to their education effectiveness, a fourth advantage is that computerbased programs also are economic since
they offer reusable tools that become
cost-effective in the long run, resulting in
cost savings. Finally, they offer they allow
students more of an opportunity to pace
their own learning, as well as the opportunity for repeated use.
References and appendix available upon
request to Psychology Teacher Network.
in groups of three to create teaching modules appropriate for teaching
introductory psychology. Modules created by last year’s participants
are available this fall as a teaching resource. Just visit:
http://www_STRC.PG.CC.MD.US/PSY/PRISM2.HTML.
Psychology Teacher Network September-Pctober 1998
11
DEAR DOCTOR
QUESTION: I was wondering about the term “working memory” in relation to another or second part of shortterm memory? Could you tell me how this working memory is different from short-term memory? Who is doing
the research on it and which part of the brain might account for its function?
Submitted by: Elaine Solomon, Old Mill High School, Millersville, MD
PHOTO E
FPO
Martha Ellis, Ph.D
Answered by Martha Ellis,
Ph.D., Collin County Community College, Plano, TX
A panel of noted clinical, experimental and academic
psychologists has graciously
agreed to reply in this column to questions submitted
by teachers and students.
We invite you to send your
questions to:
DEAR DOCTOR, PTN,
Education Directorate, 750
First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
Most of us are familiar with the Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory involving sensory, short-term, and longterm memory stores. According to this
model, these three stores are distinct,
and information moves directly from
short-term to long-term memory and
from long-term to short-term but is
never in both locations at once. An
alternative to the traditional model is
a parallel-processing model with an
emphasis on working memory. Alan
Baddeley (1986) delineated the architecture of this multistore model in his
book Working Memory.
Working memory is conceptualized as an active system for temporarily storing and manipulating information needed in the execution of cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning,
and comprehension. Sometimes people do use the terms working memory
and short-term memory interchangeably. There is a difference. Working
memory is involved in such tasks as
holding an address in your mind just
long enough to write it down. Working
memory also is involved in higher
cognitive functions such as planning,
organizing, and reasoning. A significant feature of working memory is
that it moves activated elements of in-
formation into and out of short-term
memory from long-term memory.
Working memory is the part of memory that comprises all the knowledge
of facts, processes, and procedures
that has recently been activated from
long-term memory as well as the contents of the brief short-term memory.
Baddeley’s tripartite model of
the working memory system is comprised of two storage and one central
executive functions. The two storage
systems, the articulatory loop (AL)
and the visuospatial scratchpad
(VSSP), are fairly passive systems responsible for temporary storage. The
articulatory loop is composed of a
phonological memory store for speech
based material which lasts about two
seconds unless it is maintained by the
second part of the AL which is a
rehearsal mechanism. The VSSP is responsible for the temporary storage
and manipulation of visual and spatial information. The most important
part of working memory is the central
executive which is proposed to be responsible for the selection, initiation,
and termination of processing such as
encoding and retrieval. This component provides control and flexibility of
processing routines for tasks involving
decision making, novel situations,
trouble shooting, and reasoning.
Recent research using functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
has found that the frontal lobes are
the part of the brain involved in
working memory (NIMH, 1997). The
neurons in the prefrontal lobes, just
behind the forehead, appear to be the
neural basis of working memory.
These cells retrieve and temporarily
hold information pulled from longterm memory stores that are dispersed throughout the brain. According to Yale psychologist GoldmanRakic (1997), “working memory is
the mental glue that links a thought
through time from its beginning to its
end.” Patients with damage to the
frontal lobes have a number of deficits
in working memory and make reasoning errors. A clinical implication
from research on working memory includes a better understanding of some
schizophrenia symptoms, such as the
inability to continue a train of thought
or line of reasoning.
To find more information on
working memory, visit the website
“Academic articles on working memory” (http://psyserver.pc.rhbnc.ac.uk/
events/wmfullist.html).
Activity, from page 10
Discussion:
(continued)
References:
Harris, Lauren (1997).
Michigan State University
Professor of Psychology.
Personal interview.
Temple, Christine (1993).
The Brain. England: Penguin
Books.
12
Why did more people choose one transparency over the other? (Show them the original.) From where do your emotions
originate? What are emotions? What does our data suggest about emotion expression? Brain hemispheres?
Recent research has shown that mothers usually cradle their babies in their left arms. Scientists suggest that this
behavior lends evidence to the fact that the mother’s left field of vision is better able to judge the infant’s emotional communication. Researchers have also found that schizophrenic mothers cradle their infants in their right arms (Harris, 1997).
People suffering from schizophrenia often lack emotional judgment. Data was collected from my classes by Michigan State
University researcher Timothy Carbary to investigate whether there is any correlation between a bias for left field of vision
for emotional perception and left side baby cradling. From a sample size of 121 students, 76% said their degree of handedness was strong right, 19% moderate right, 2.5% strong left, 1.7% moderate left. There was significantly more left-attention biased subjects for the emotional judgment of faces when the question posed was, “Which face is happier? (p<.05).”
There was also significantly more left cradlers than right cradlers (p<.05).
Unfortunately there was not a correlation between the two. So what could this mean? This would lead to a good
discussion with your students for other possible explanations rather than right hemispheric dominance for emotional
perception. Scientists are still researching this question. Possible questions to consider may include: What is the role of
handedness? Do learning and experience influence cradling? Does learning to read from left to right influence left field of
vision emotional perception? Future tests for scientists could include testing very young children who have not yet learned
to read or testing people from other countries who read from right to left. Some people argue that we cradle a baby in our
left arm to keep our dominant hand free. Again, we could test young children before they find comfort in a dominant hand.
Another investigation could be devised to test adults by asking them to hold a grocery bag equal to a baby’s weight in their
arm to see if they hold it in their dominant arm or leave their dominant arm free for other activities. Students should
generate further research questions.
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
REVIEW
Teaching Modules: THE BRAIN, Second Edition —
Even Better Than The First!
Publisher:
The Annenberg/CPB Multimedia Collection & Worth Publishers, Inc.
901 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004-2037;
(800) 532-7637
Students remember Phineas Gage long after
they forget other names from psychology
courses when they have witnessed a reenactment of the tragic accident that hurled a railroad spike through his brain. More importantly,
viewers grasp the concept that structure is
related to function by seeing how his brain injury affected his behavior. Updated modules
from the award-winning series The Brain not
only depict favorite excerpts such as Gage’s, but
also seamlessly integrate new sequences and
“cutting edge” information in 32 segments
keyed to introductory psychology units in
Teaching Modules: The Brain, Second Edition.
The new edition of The Brain can motivate and
facilitate learning in the psychology classroom.
Noted psychologist Frank Vattano, PhD
with Thomas Bennett, PhD and Michelle
Butler, PhD from Colorado State University
authored and compiled ten all-new modules,
extensively revised seven, slightly revised twelve,
and omitted three of the original (first edition)
modules. They essentially replaced the
eliminated material with different sequences
that better represent current concepts in
psychology. George Page continues his clear
narration of added video. The companion
Faculty Guide organizes contents in topical units
consisting of module clusters: “Foundations”;
“Cortical Organization and Specialization”;
Goodies, from page 7
0-86377-473-3; 2) The Handbook of
Psychology by Drew Appleby published
by Longman-Addison-Wesley. ISBN:
0-673-98455-9; 3) Career Paths In Psychology: Where Your Degree Can Take
You edited by Robert Sternberg published
by APA. Available at (800) 374-2721.
Two recently edited books published
by APA every teacher should own are:
1) Close Up On Psychology: Supplemental Readings From the APA Monitor; 2) The Evolution of Psychology:
Fifty Years of the American Psychologist. This book is full of wonderful articles including “Freud and The Image
of Man” by Jerome Bruner; “What is
Psychology?” by Jean Piaget; and
other articles by Roger Brown, Albert
Bandura, and an article on the teach-
Date of Publication: 1997
Length: 32 modules on 3 cassettes; each module is 3 to 15 minutes long
Cost: $149.95; Faculty Guide: $15.00
Reviewed by: Laura Lincoln Maitland, Mepham High School, Bellmore, NY
“Vision and Movement”; “Circadian Rhythms,
Sleep, and Dreaming”; “Memory and
Amnesia”; “Stress and Coping”; “Personality
and Aggression”; “Psychological Disorders”;
“Treatment of Brain Disorders”; which simplifies appropriate use for inexperienced teachers.
The guide also links modules to chapters of
a popular textbook which is similar to many
others. More seasoned educators may choose to
regroup modules to maximize effectiveness for
their own students.
In the new module “Living with Amnesia:
The Hippocampus and Memory,” affable Mike
exemplifies a memory-impaired individual who
describes how he has developed compensatory
strategies that help him function successfully.
Mike’s mother and employer characterize his
abilities and deficiencies whereas Dr. Bennett relates Mike’s memory difficulty to damage of his
hippocampus. The last few minutes of the module shifts to research of long-term potentiation
(LTP) that results in facilitation of synaptic
transmission hypothesized to be responsible for
memory storage. The organization of this and
other modules enables each instructor to adapt
the series for a variety of courses. An Introduction To Psychology or A.P. Psychology educator
might show the complete module whereas a
high school psychology teacher might select only
the first part of the module featuring Mike; a
college physiological psychology professor might
use only the second part to focus on experimental research with rats in the Morris water maze.
Other new modules spotlight Dr. Nancy
Wexler’s research on Huntington’s Disease, brain
functions during sleep, a super-memorist’s
advice on how to study, Dr. Temple Grandin’s
reflections on her own autism, etiology and
pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia,
treatment of epilepsy, transplants in Parkinson’s
patients, and neurorehabilitation. Each of these
engaging additions features real people, not
actors, and communicates new knowledge in
digestible form.
Of course the authors retained excellent
modules from the first edition. Unforgettable
encounters with Tony/DeDe/Richard who exhibits dissociative personality disorder, Vicki, a
split-brain patient, young aborigines who
display “natural” intelligence, Charles Landry
who is aphasic, Susannah who adapts to an
upside-down world, and hair-twirling Jerry who
manifests multiple symptoms of schizophrenia
remain part of the video set.
Owners of the first edition of Teaching
Modules: The Brain concerned that much of the
information is out-of-date may want to acquire
the new edition. For Introduction to Psychology
and AP Psychology teachers not in possession of
either set, this is on my list of “must haves.”
ing of psychology by Henry Gleitman
entitled “Introducing Psychology”. According to Charles Brewer, former Editor of Teaching of Psychology, “This is
the best article on teaching psychology
ever written.”
practices. I found that my high
school and psychology students were
fascinated by the information that
Dr. Small reports.
A new collection of articles and personality tests can be found in an edited
book entitled, Experiences in Personality: Research, Assessment, and Change
edited by Matthew Merrens and Gary
Brannigan. John Wiley publishes the
book and the ISBN is 0-471139378.
This book is a gem.
Look for the book entitled, Our Babies,
Ourselves by Meredith Small and an article by Meredith Small in the October
1997 Natural History. This work is a
cross-cultural account of child rearing
Get a hold of the beautiful and amazing
book, Babies: History, Art, and
Folklore. This book discusses the history
of childcare from antiquity to the present in regards to pregnancy, birth,
feeding, washing, dressing, carrying,
rocking and understanding babies. It is
full of beautiful illustrations concerning
these topics.
The first volume of the official journal of
Division 26 (History of Psychology) has
just been released. It is published quarterly and is $30.00 to APA members and
affiliates. For further information or to
order call APA.
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
13
NEWS FROM TOPSS
New TOPSS Members
Alabama
Ms. Gamard, Birmingham
Shirley Horton, Sylacauga
California
Ann Ban-Weiss, Laguna Creek
High School, Elk Grove
Connie Barker, Stockton
Joe Barron, Fresno
Lisa Boenitz, Academy of
Our Lady of Peace, San Diego
Ann Bon-Weiss, Davis
Deborah Brown, Ahwahnee
Judith Cameron, Fullerton
June Cochran, Manteca
Elaine Culerwell, Freemont
Karen Elitzky, Drew College Prep,
San Francisco
Daurice Graves, Menlo Park
Terry Hodges, Immaculate
Conception Acad., San Francisco
Gloria Joe, Pacifica
Jim Leduk, Corona
John Lowe, Dana Point
Juliet Mohit, San Anselmo
Ed Neugebauer, Pueblo
Shawn Parker, Aptos
Ruth Peterson, Sunland
John Prirto, East Union
High School, Manteca
Phil Reddish, Banning
Mike Reeske, Valley Center
Laura Roth-Shofron
Windward School, Los Angeles
Susan Schmitt, St. Joseph
High School, Santa Maria
Barbara Simon, Exeter Union
High School, Exeter
Linda Williamson, Camarillo
Colorado
Patrick Lang, Englewood
Thomas Lukich, Evergreen
Connecticut
Kathy Finch, Moreno Valley
Peter Wells, New Haven
Florida
Charles Gartrell, North Lauderdale
Joseph Saraceno, Jacksonville
Idaho
Laurie Hoss, Boise
Illinois
Carmen Gonzalez, Van Steuben
Metro Science Center, Chicago
Cynthia Krause, Naperville
Nick Romano, Lockport
Fricke Thomas, Chicago
Becky Wulf, Nashville
High School, Nashville
Cheryl Ann Zygadlo, Downers Grove
Iowa
Nancy Marks, Ames
Fred Vanderlay, East High School,
Des Moines
Kansas
Judith Buback, Maple Hills
Tenny Dewey, Overland Park
Sheila Norton, Shawnee
Kentucky
Eva McGowan, Hopkinsville
Maryland
John Newby, Silver Spring
Massachusetts
Judith Brenner, Montague
Jennifer Carey, North Andover
Michigan
David Bihl, Clarkston
LJ Lamreaux, Clarkston
Ann Lehman, Ferndale
Minnesota
Stuart Lasky, Minneapolis
Kyle Smith, Livonia
Angela Tucci, New Baltimore
Nebraska
Linda Bosshamer, Kearney
Detta Holscher, Smithfield
Ruth Slominski, Holdrege
Dixie Torres, Lincoln
New Jersey
Janice DeLorenzo, Nutley
Patrick Kiernan, Hopelawn
Vincent McGowen, Madison
Paul Mueller, Florham Park
Susan Morton, Morris Knolls
High School, Rockaway
Lisa Reda, Pequannock
New York
Cynthia Garcia, Brooklyn
Caroline Lipnicki, Melville
Sharien Muhammad-Cordero,
New York
North Carolina
Paul Deal, Manteo
Richard Murphy, Charlotte
Ohio
Nina Goforth, Middletown
Oklahoma
Ronald Foore, Owassa
Eric Spaulding, Broken Arrow
Jan Votravis, Quinton
Oregon
Linda Christianson, Portland
Brian Fenderson, Salem
Todd Nickerson, Medford
Pennsylvania
Mary Donecker, E. Petersburg
Spencer Morrison,
Cranberry Township
Christopher Rumbaugh, Hanover
Rhode Island
Ann Nevola, Cranston
South Carolina
James Carbaugh, Taylors
Texas
Robin Goodson, DeSoto
Stacy Lynn Hays, Denton
Susan Highfield, Arlington
Thomas Mitchell, Flower Mound
Ron Montgomery, Garland
Jennifer Owens, Dallas
Fred Sidneider,
Ursuline Academy, Dallas
Janice Strubbe, Baytown
Russell Taylor, Smyer
Melissa Walston, Lubbock
Theresa Wilson, Orange
Utah
Travis Leifeste, Sunset
Kimberly Searle, Copper Hills
High School, W. Jordan
Virginia
Clyde Harrell, Berryville
Veronica Moore, Norfolk
Washington
Steve Berq, Lake Stevens
Tracey Bromley, Mansfield
High School, Mansfield
Matthew Ellis, Tacoma
Scott Morrison, Lynnwood
Susan Schmitt, St. Joseph
High School, Santa Maria
Thomas Weaver, Olympia
West Virginia
Janice Huter, Hurricane
Wisconsin
Roberta Grimm, Madison
Mary Harker, Middleton
Sharon Kuckan, Pewaukee
Brain LeCloux, Richland Center
Robert Peterson, Eau Claire
Aaron Sadoff, Lincoln High School,
Manitowoc
Wyoming
Cece O’Keefe, Casper
Brian Yoder, Laramie
International Affiliates
Jean Atkinson, British Columbia
Leonard Coastis,
Melbourne, Australia
Stephanie Cox, Hants,
United Kingdom
Salvarej Grapragasem, Malaysia
Judith Hayes, New Zealand
Winston Hulme, Surrey,
United Kingdom
Rae Neilson, Vancouver,
British Columbia
Megan Waring, Conway,
United Kingdom
Heather Watson, Vancouver,
British Columbia
Ninka Watts, Our Lady of Sion
College, Roxhill, Australia
Rena Zayit, Ontario, Canada
Are your students interested in personality & social psychology?
14
Then join the Society for Personality and Social Psychology! With
nearly 3,000 members, SPSP is the world’s leading organization for social and personality psychology teachers and researchers.
To join, send this form with a check for $28 to: SPSP, Dept. of
Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627.
For just $28 per year, members and affiliates receive monthly
issues of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (now in its 24th
year, ranked #2 for impact by Science Citation Index); our quarterly
journal of theory and reviews, Personality and Social Psychology
Review, our newsletter, Dialogue; and special member rates at SPSP’s
annual conferences. Want more information? Check out our website,
www.spsp.org.
Address ______________________________________________
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
Name ________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Highest Degree ________________________________________
Courses Taught ________________________________________
ANNOUCEMENTS
October Teacher Workshop
To Be Held in Rhode Island
The APA’s Education Directorate is sponsoring a one
and a half day workshop for high school teachers
of psychology at the University of Rhode Island,
Providence, RI, October 23-24, 1998. Presenters will
be Bill Addison, Ph.D., Eastern Illinois University,
Charleston, IL, and Carol Dean, Lake Park High
School, Roselle, IL.
The workshop will provide teachers with an
opportunity to: gain a greater knowledge and
understanding of psychology; develop new concepts
and skills; explore scientific ways of thinking;
engage in problem-solving and decision-making
activities; and, exchange ideas and experiences with
other teachers. Participants will be involved in many
exciting hands-on activities and demonstrations, and
receive numerous handouts for use in their classrooms, as well as information about the Advanced
Placement (AP) program.
To sign up for the workshop, please complete the
form below and return it to APA by October 9, 1998.
Space is limited! For additional information, contact
Martha Braswell, APA Education Directorate,
750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002,
(800) 374-2721, extension 6140.
Rhode Island Teacher Workshop
Registration Form
(please print or type)
FEE: (check one)
❒ $35.00 for High School Teacher
Affiliates, TOPSS members and
APA members
❒ $45.00 for non-affliates and
non-members
Name:
Home Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
State:
Zip:
School:
School Address:
City:
Daytime telephone number:
APA High School Teacher Affliliate
APA Member
Yes ❒
Yes ❒
No ❒
No ❒
PAYMENT: (check one)
❒ Check payable to APA enclosed
❒ School Purchase Order enclosed
Charge to:
❒ American Express
❒ Visa ❒ Mastercard
Credit Card #:
SPECIAL OFFER FOR NON-AFFILIATES:
Join APA as a High School Teacher Affiliate and register
for the workshop for only $60. For a High School
Teacher Affiliate application call the APA Membership
Office at (202) 336-5580 or the Education Directorate
at (202) 336-6076.
Send completed form and payment to APA, Attn: Workshop
Accounting, 750 First Street, NE, Washingon DC 20002-4242.
Registration paid by P.O. or credit card may be faxed to
(202) 336-5693.
Exp. Date:
Name as it appears on card
Cardholder Signature
Billing Address
City
State
Zip
✯ Don’t forget to vote in the TOPSS Executive Board elections ✯
Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1998
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