FACULTY FORUM
Brief Introductory Psychology Textbooks:
A Current Analysis
Richard A. Griggs
Cynthia S. Koenig
three revisions. This dramatic change in the brief text
segment of the introductory text market testifies to the
growing popularity of such texts and thus the value of this
study to psychology teachers.
University of Florida
Given the 1-term nature of introductory psychology courses and
the increasing length and encyclopedic nature of introductory textbooks, many psychology teachers may opt to use a brief introductory text. To aid such teachers in the text selection process, we
compared 15 brief introductory psychology textbooks presently
available for adoption. We analyzed their length, pedagogical aids,
and topic coverage. The variability observed in these analyses will
help teachers find brief texts that best fit their individual preferences
and course needs.
Although the number of introductory textbooks has decreased over the past two decades (Griggs, Jackson, Christopher, & Marek, 1999), the process of selecting the
appropriate text for the introductory course is nonetheless
far from being an easy task. Not only are there still over 40
regular textbooks to consider (Jackson, Griggs, Koenig,
Christopher, & Marek, 2000), but these texts have also increased in length by an average of 117 pages during the past
decade (Griggs et al., 1999). This increase is clearly at odds
with the one-term nature of the vast majority of introductory courses, usually estimated to be 85% to 95% (e.g.,
Miller & Gentile, 1998). Numerous recent reviewers of introductory texts have made this point. For example, Nallan
(1997) argued that introductory psychology books have
“too many chapters, topics, and pages” (p. 446) to cover in
a one-semester course. The situation is so problematic that
an entire workshop at the 1999 National Institute on the
Teaching of Psychology was devoted to this introductory
psychology dilemma of so much material but so little time
(Hendersen, Goss, & Lebie, 1999).
One option that instructors have is to adopt a brief introductory psychology textbook. These books tend to be shorter
in length, abbreviated in depth and breadth of coverage, and
less costly to purchase than the regular texts (Griggs, Jackson, & Napolitano, 1994). Thus, brief texts might constitute
a better fit to the one-term length of most introductory
courses. In addition, there are fewer brief texts, which would
also help to simplify the text selection process.
The purpose of this study was to facilitate such text selection by providing comparative analyses of the current
brief introductory psychology textbooks. The majority of
the brief texts presently available for adoption were not included in or even published at the time of the last examination of such texts (Griggs et al., 1994), and those that were
included in that study have typically undergone two or
36
Method
We selected 13 books listed as briefer versions of regular
length texts in A Compendium of Introductory Psychology Textbooks: 1997–2000 (Jackson et al., 2000) as the initial set of
texts.1 We also included Pettijohn (1998) and Wallace and
Goldstein (1997) because they were originally designed to be
brief introductory texts. References for these 15 texts appear
in the Appendix.
We compiled comparative data on three dimensions important in text selection: length, pedagogical assistance, and
content coverage. We assessed length by noting the number
of text pages, total pages, and chapters and by computing the
average number of pages per chapter (see Table 1). Because
brief texts vary greatly in length (Griggs et al., 1994), these
data should prove beneficial to teachers truly looking for a
shorter text.
We next inspected each textbook for its inclusion of the
15 aids (see Table 2) examined in Marek, Griggs, and Christopher’s (1999) study of pedagogical aids in regular introductory texts. In addition, because almost all texts use
end-of-text glossaries, we noted only texts that did not include this feature.
Last, we conducted a content analysis to determine the
percentage of text devoted to the 18 traditional chapter topics in introductory texts (see Table 3). The counting process
was straightforward for topics given chapter-length coverage.
For topics paired together in a chapter but considered as separate topics in the content analysis (e.g., introductory material and methods), we first counted the pages, or portions of
pages (in one-quarter page increments), devoted to each
topic and then we proportionally allocated the chapter’s
1
We did not include 3 of the 16 brief texts listed in Jackson,
Griggs, Koenig, Christopher, and Marek (2000) in our text sample.
First, we included only one of the 2 brief versions of Wade and Tavris
(2000). For comparative analysis reasons, we opted to include the
more traditional version (Wade & Tavris, 1999) with an organizational structure centered around standard chapter topics rather than
the atypical version (Tavris & Wade, 1997) with an organizational
structure centered around the five major theoretical perspectives in
psychology. Second, we did not include the new version of the
Rathus (2000) brief text because it is only available in a customized
“build your own book” format. Thus, length and content analysis
would not be possible. Third, we did not include Santrock (2000) because it was not available at the time of this study.
Teaching of Psychology
Table 1.
Textbook
Length Data for Individual Brief Textbooks
Average Chapter Lengtha
Total Pages
Text Pages
No. of Chapters
Baron
Bernstein & Nash
Coon
Feldman
Gleitman, Fridlund, & Reisberg
Hockenbury & Hockenbury
Morris & Maisto
Myers
Pettijohn
Sternberg
Wade & Tavris
Wallace & Goldstein
Weiten
Wood & Wood
Zimbardo, Weber, & Johnson
635
628
810
660
917
636
616
664
458
661
565
590
583
b
584
659
570
541
700
550
737
532
540
536
408
571
463
536
498
b
489
575
14
14
18
14
20
14
14
14
15
15
13
16
16
14
14
41
39
39
39
37
38
39
38
27
38
36
34
31
b
35
41
M
644.40
549.73
15
36.80
Note. The full references for the textbooks are in the Appendix.
a
b
Average chapter lengths have been rounded to nearest whole number. The Wood & Wood text includes 69 pages of built-in study guide material.
pages devoted to preview or summary materials among the
relevant topics.
Results and Discussion
The data for the length, pedagogical aids, and content
analyses appear in Tables 1, 2, and 3, respectively. With respect to length, the brief texts vary greatly, allowing substantial leeway for instructor preferences. For example, Pettijohn
has only 408 text pages compared to 700 for Coon and 737
for Gleitman et al., and Wade and Tavris have only 13 chapters whereas Coon has 18 and Gleitman et al. have 20. Overall, the brief texts average 15 chapters and 550 pages of text.
Current regular-length texts average 17.6 chapters and 674
pages of text (Griggs et al., 1999), almost 3 chapters and 124
pages of text more than the average brief text. However,
Coon and Gleitman et al. are actually longer than the average regular-length text. Thus, referring to these two texts as
brief would seem to be a misnomer.
The number of pedagogical aids used in individual texts varies from 4 in Pettijohn to 11 in Wood and Wood, with a mean of
8 aids per text. Although almost all the brief texts employ
chapter outlines, chapter summaries, and boldface and italic
type for emphasis, there is considerable variability in the use of
the other aids. Surprisingly, there is not much use of chapter review exercises and self-tests (13% and 33%, respectively), two
aids that students value (Marek et al., 1999).
Chapter glossaries are essentially nonexistent in brief
texts. Only one text (Wallace & Goldstein) has chapter glossaries, and these are not in standard format. Rather than listing terms and definitions, Wallace and Goldstein use an
“action” format in which students match items with definitions. Most (73%) brief texts use running glossaries, and 87%
(all but Bernstein & Nash and Wallace & Goldstein) provide
glossaries at the end of the text.
As with the pedagogical aids data, there is much variability in content coverage for individual brief texts (see Table
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
3). Particularly noteworthy is the coverage of developmental and social psychology. Coverage of developmental
ranges from 6% for Sternberg to 13% for Wallace and
Goldstein, and social coverage varies from 6% in three texts
to 13% in Gleitman et al. Similarly, whereas eight texts provide only 4% coverage of cognition, Gleitman et al. devote
11% to this topic. In addition, consciousness is not a chapter topic in two texts (Gleitman et al. and Wade & Tavris).
Such differences highlight the value of these data to psychology teachers who emphasize specific topics in their respective courses.
In conclusion, our goal in conducting this study was to
provide teachers with objective information to facilitate selecting a brief textbook for their introductory psychology
course. Our detailed comparative analyses should enable
teachers to narrow the number of textbooks they need to
examine closely during the selection process. The variability
we observed between brief texts will assist teachers in finding texts that best fit their individual preferences and
course needs.
References
Griggs, R. A., Jackson, S. L., Christopher, A. N., & Marek, P. (1999).
Introductory psychology textbooks: An objective analysis and update. Teaching of Psychology, 26, 182–189.
Griggs, R. A., Jackson, S. L., & Napolitano, T. J. (1994). Brief introductory psychology textbooks: An objective analysis. Teaching of
Psychology, 21, 136–140.
Hendersen, R., Goss, S., & Lebie, L. (1999, January). Roundtable:
So much material, so little time: What should be included in introductory psychology? Workshop conducted at the meeting of the
National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Pete
Beach, FL.
Jackson, S. L., Griggs, R. A., Koenig, C. S., Christopher, A. N., &
Marek, P. (2000). A compendium of introductory psychology texts:
1997–2000. Retrieved November 22, 2000 from the World Wide
Web: http://www.lemoyne.edu/OTRP/introtexts.html
37
Table 2.
Textbook
Pedagogical Aids in Individual Brief Textbooks
Total
Use
Questions
Chapter Chapter
Chapter
of
Running
Chapter
Self
Demon- Pedagogical
As
Chapter
Section
Use of
Pronunciation Learning Discussion Review
Chapter Learning
a
Aids
Guide
Checks Questions Exercises Tests strations
Outlines Objectives Organizers Summaries Summaries Boldface Italics Glossary Glossaries
Baron
•
Bernstein &
Nash
•
Coon
•
•
•
•
•
6
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
9
•
•
•
•
•
•
9
•
6
Feldman
•
•
•
Gleitman,
Fridlund, &
Reisberg
•
•
•
•
•
Hockenbury &
Hockenbury
•
•
•
•
•
•
Morris &
Maisto
•
•
•
•
•
•
Myers
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pettijohn
•
•
•
•
Sternberg
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wade &
Tavris
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wallace &
Goldstein
•
•
•
•
Weiten
•
•
•
•
Wood & Wood
•
•
•
•
•
•
Zimbardo,
Weber, &
Johnson
•
•
•
•
•
•
Brief texts
including
c
aid
93
73
100
100
100
73
•
20
20
•
•
•
9
•
8
•
•
•
•
8
9
4
•
•b
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
7
20
60
67
13
•
9
•
9
•
9
•
6
•
•
11
•
•
9
33
27
Note. The full references for the textbooks are in the Appendix. A bullet indicates the presence of a pedagogical aid in a specific textbook.
a
b
Baron; Bernstein and Nash; Hockenbury and Hockenbury; Morris and Maisto; Wade and Tavris; and Weiten do provide a list of key terms at the end of each chapter. This textbook provides an action glossary at the
c
end of each chapter. Instead of listing the terms with their definitions, students must match each term with its definition. Given in percentages.
Table 3.
Textbook
Baron
Bernstein &
Nash
Coon
Feldman
Gleitman,
Fridlund, &
Reisberg
Hockenbury &
Hockenbury
Morris &
Maisto
Myers
Pettijohn
Sternberg
Wade &
Tavris
Wallace &
Goldstein
Weiten
Wood & Wood
Zimbardo,
Weber, &
Johnson
M
Percentage of Text Devoted to Traditional Chapter Topics for Individual Brief Textbooks
Social
Stress
DevelopCognition
Sensation
Psychol- Human
&
Disormental
Person(Thought & Intelli- Emotion &
&
States of
IntroBiologogy
Sexuality Applieda
Health ders Therapies
ality
Perception Consciousness Learning Memory Language) gence Motivation Psychology
duction Methods ical
3
4
7
8
7
7
7
4
4
7
8
7
7
7
6
7
0
0
3
3
4
4
3
4
6
4
7
9
10
8
6
6
7
6
5
7
6
5
7
6
4
6
6
2
6
8
6
9
9
12
10
6
6
6
5
5
0
6
7
7
4
5
6
9
7
7
0
5
0
0
3
0
1
0
7
10
0
6
5
11
4
7
11
10
4
7
4
13
0
0
3
4
8
8
8
7
7
4
4
8
8
8
6
7
6
6
0
0
6
3
3
4
3
4
3
4
7
7
6
7
8
8
7
6
7
7
6
6
7
5
7
6
6
7
7
7
4
4
4
7
4
4
3
6
7
11
12
7
10
9
7
6
6
7
7
7
5
3
7
6
7
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
7
9
8
7
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
6
8
8
0
8
7
4
5
8
9
7
4
8
7
8
2
0
4
5
3
2
5
3
8
6
6
9
8
7
7
6
7
6
7
7
6
6
7
5
5
4
2
6
4
7
6
7
13
8
10
5
6
7
5
6
7
5
7
7
4
6
6
6
8
7
0
0
0
5
0
0
4
2
7
8
6
5
3
7
6
7
8
7
8
7
8
6
0
0
3
3
7
8
6
6
6
5
4
8
9
7
5
7
6
8
1
1
Note. The full references for the textbooks are given in the Appendix. Totals for each row may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
a
Applied topics include primarily industrial/organizational and environmental psychology.
Marek, P., Griggs, R. A., & Christopher, A. N. (1999). Pedagogical
aids in textbooks: Do college students’ perceptions justify their
prevalence? Teaching of Psychology, 26, 11–19.
Miller, B., & Gentile, B. F. (1998). Introductory course content and
goals. Teaching of Psychology, 25, 89–96.
Nallan, G. B. (1997). Introductory psychology textbooks: Four encyclopedic tomes. Contemporary Psychology, 42, 445–446.
Pettijohn, T. F. (1998). Psychology: A connectext (4th ed.). Guilford,
CT: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill.
Rathus, S. A. (2000). Psychology: The core. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College.
Santrock, J. W. (2000). Psychology: Brief edition. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Tavris, C., & Wade, C. (1997). Psychology in perspective (2nd ed.).
New York: Longman.
Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (1999). Invitation to psychology. New York:
Longman.
Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2000). Psychology (6th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Wallace, P. M., & Goldstein, J. H. (1997). An introduction to psychology (4th ed.). Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark.
Appendix
Brief Introductory Psychology Textbooks
Baron, R. A. (1999). Essentials of psychology (2nd ed.). Needham
Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Bernstein, D. A., & Nash, P. W. (1999). Essentials of psychology.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Coon, D. (2000). Essentials of psychology: Exploration and application
(8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Feldman, R. S. (2000). Essentials of understanding psychology (4th
ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Gleitman, H., Fridlund, A. J., & Reisberg, D. (2000). Basic psychology
(5th ed.). New York: Norton.
Hockenbury, D. H., & Hockenbury, S. E. (1998). Discovering psychology. New York: Worth.
Morris, C. G., & Maisto, A. A. (1999). Understanding psychology (4th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Myers, D. G. (1999). Exploring psychology (4th ed.). New York:
Worth.
Pettijohn, T. F. (1998). Psychology: A connectext (4th ed.). Guilford,
CT: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill.
Sternberg, R. J. (2000). Pathways to psychology (2nd ed.). Fort Worth,
TX: Harcourt College.
Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (1999). Invitation to psychology. New York:
Longman.
Wallace, P. M., & Goldstein, J. H. (1997). An introduction to psychology (4th ed.). Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark.
Weiten, W. (2000). Psychology: Themes and variations, briefer version
(4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Wood, S. E., & Wood, E. G. (2000). The essential world of psychology.
Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Zimbardo, P. G., Weber, A., & Johnson, R. L. (2000). Psychology
(3rd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Useful Analyses for Selecting a Cognitive
Psychology Textbook
Pam Marek
St. Michael’s College
Richard A. Griggs
University of Florida
Our examination of cognitive psychology texts with copyright dates
between 1995 and 1999 revealed considerable differences among
the 17 offerings. Beyond deviations in length and recency of reference citations, we noted substantial variability in the proportion of
coverage devoted to general and specific content areas. The texts also
diverged in the extent to which they incorporated pedagogical devices
and in their use of illustrative material. Knowledge of similarities and
differences among the available books will facilitate instructors’
search for a text that meshes with their specific course objectives.
With 63% of 4-year institutions offering cognitive psychology, it is one of the top 10 courses in the psychology curriculum (Perlman & McCann, 1999). However, extant
analyses of cognitive psychology texts are limited to indexes
and subheadings (Holley & Stack, 1992) or overlap of references (White, 1985). Paralleling recent analyses of introductory psychology textbooks (e.g., Griggs, Jackson,
Christopher, & Marek, 1999), the study reported here facilitates cognitive psychology textbook selection by illuminating
comparisons of text length, reference citations, content, pedagogy, and illustrative material.
Method
We obtained copies of all undergraduate cognitive psychology textbooks (N = 17) published in the United States with
copyright dates between 1995 and 1999 designed for a
broad-based survey course. References appear in the Appendix.
First, we tabulated data concerning authors, edition, number of pages, chapters, references, and reference dates. Our
page count excluded front matter (i.e., preface, notes to instructors or students, and visuals) and back matter (i.e., appendixes, glossaries, indexes, references, photo credits, and
answer keys). We tallied all references and classified them by
publication date. If a reference represented a republication of
a previously published work, we counted it as a single entry
and classified it using the earlier date.
Second, we designated each topic area receiving full-chapter coverage in at least four texts as a category and calculated
the percentage of content allocated to each category.1 If a
chapter contained material from more than one category, we
assigned text pages to the appropriate category and propor-
Notes
1. We thank all of the publishers who supplied us with the texts used
in this study.
2. Send correspondence concerning this article to Richard A.
Griggs, Department of Psychology, PO Box 112250, University of
Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611; e-mail: griggs@psych.ufl.edu.
40
1
To economize presentation, we grouped into larger units: perception, attention, and consciousness; short-term memory, memory,
imagery, and categorization; language, language structure, language
comprehension, and language production; and problem solving and
reasoning.
Teaching of Psychology
Table 1.
Edition, Length, and Reference Data for 17 Cognitive Psychology Texts
References (%)
Edition
No. of Text
Pagesa
No. of
Chapters
No. of
References
Prior
1970
1990 or
Later
Anderson
Ashcraft
Benjafield
Best
Galotti
Guenther
Haberlandt
Hunt & Ellis
Jahnke & Nowaczyk
Kellogg
Matlin
Medin & Ross
Payne & Wenger
Reed
Reisberg
Solso
Sternberg
4
1
2
5
2
1
2
6
1
1
4
2
1
4
1
5
2
448
419
413
470
584
438
441
333
470
456
475
531
483
445
607
534
506
13
12
14
12
16
b
11
15
11
14
14
12
16
14
14
14
17
14
742
784
1,030
668
1,002
1,383
678
534
1,141
927
1,634
1,170
1,281
637
1,469
1,414
1,322
18
15
21
18
14
12
12
12
24
15
4
11
23
15
11
28
15
10
32
15
25
27
29
27
20
15
16
51
24
29
17
29
11
30
M
2.6
473.7
13.7
1,048.0
15.9
23.9
Textbook
Note. The full references for the textbooks are in the Appendix.
a
Does not include front matter (i.e., preface, notes to instructor, notes to students, and visuals) or back matter (i.e., appendixes, glossaries, indexes,
references, photo credits, and answer keys). bGuenther included a 12th chapter (an epilogue of 3.3 pp.) excluded from the chapter count because of
its brevity.
tionately divided introductory (e.g., chapter outline) and concluding (e.g., chapter summary) material between categories.
Third, we determined whether texts included each of seven
pedagogical features: chapter outlines, summaries, glossaries,
key term listings, demonstrations, review questions, and suggested readings. If applicable, we determined the location
(e.g., at the end of the chapter or the end of the book) of glossaries and key term listings, the number of terms, and the number
of demonstrations. The number of key terms was the count of
the items in the glossary or, if the text had no glossary, the number of items in the end-of-chapter listings, not counting duplications. If a text did not contain a glossary or key term listing,
we summed the boldface terms, not counting duplications.
Additionally, if a text included regularly-appearing discussion
features (e.g., on applications), we noted the number and types
of features.
Fourth, we categorized illustrative material, counting all
numbered tables and figures in each text and classifying each
figure as a graph, photo/cartoon, or other.2 Then, we classified illustrations not included in numbered figures or tables as
a photo, cartoon, or other. If a diagram was fully integrated in
the text flow, we did not count it as an illustration. Such integration was most common in language chapters.
Results and Discussion
Table 1 reveals that texts varied considerably in length
and inclusion of references. One text included over 1,500 ref2
We broadly defined the term graph to include items such as
speech spectrograms and normal distributions in signal detection
theory. The “other” category included a mix of flow charts, verbal
and numerical material, and line drawings.
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
erences; five between 1,250 and 1,499; four between 1,000
and 1,249; two between 750 and 999; and five less than 750.
The significant positive correlation between the number of
references and the number of pages, r(15) = .58, p = .02, reflects the clear association of text length and reference count.
However, two texts with only 470 pages (Best and Jahnke &
Nowaczyk) contained 668 and 1,141 references, respectively,
suggesting different author perspectives regarding breadth
and depth of coverage.
Some authors appeared to highlight more recent studies,
whereas others included more historical material. More than
half (51%) of the references in Matlin were from 1990 or
later, as were 32% of the references in Ashcraft. In contrast,
references from the 1990s comprised less than 20% of all references in six texts. Pre-1970 citations of what might be considered classic works comprised more than 20% of all
references in Solso; Jahnke and Nowaczyk; Payne and
Wenger; and Benjafield. As further evidence that the distribution of citations coincided with authors’ objectives, Matlin
emphasized a “very current overview of the discipline” (p. ix)
in the preface, whereas Payne and Wenger considered the
importance of placing “contemporary research and theorizing
in an appropriate historical perspective” (p. xvi). We found
no significant correlations between the most recent copyright
year and the number or percentage of references in any particular time period.
Given between-text differences in the organization of
memory-related and language-related material across multiple chapters, our content analysis included a single category
for general memory-related material and a single category for
language. Table 2 presents the results of our content analysis
for typical and specialized topics to reveal the distinctiveness
of various texts. For typical topics, Kellogg (23%) and Payne
and Wenger (23%) most emphasized perception, attention,
and consciousness; Reed (48%) and Reisberg (47%) most
41
Table 4 indicates that Solso included the most illustrative
items (280), whereas Guenther included the least (50).
Ashcraft, Hunt and Ellis, and Matlin relied more heavily on
graphs, whereas Guenther and Benjafield included relatively
few graphs. Sternberg emphasized comprehensive tables that
summarized details relating to major sections. Among texts including unnumbered illustrative material, photographs were
the primary focus. Solso, Sternberg, and Payne and Wenger
consistently displayed photographs of prominent figures in
psychology (45, 27, and 20, respectively). In Matlin, virtually
all unnumbered illustrative items were diagrams incorporated
in demonstrations. Ashcraft included primarily photographs
(40) and cartoons (12).
emphasized memory; Kellogg (22%) and Best (21%) most
emphasized language; and Medin and Ross (26%) and
Benjafield (25%) most emphasized problem solving and reasoning. For specialized topics, cognitive development received full-chapter coverage in six texts (Galotti; Guenther;
Kellogg; Payne & Wenger; Solso; Sternberg), neuroscience
in five (Ashcraft; Haberlandt; Payne & Wenger; Solso;
Sternberg), and intelligence in four (Galotti; Guenther;
Kellogg; Sternberg).
From Table 3, Payne and Wenger and Sternberg incorporated all seven pedagogical aids, whereas Guenther,
Haberlandt, and Reisberg utilized only two. Most texts included some type of summary (88%) or suggested readings
(76%), whereas only about one third (35%) incorporated
demonstrations. The number of key terms, typically organized into either a glossary or chapter listing, ranged from 139
(Hunt & Ellis) to 396 (Guenther).
Five texts provided discussion features related to either
applications (Reed; Sternberg) or explorations of research
(Best; Matlin; Payne & Wenger). Payne and Wenger also included a section about the historical underpinnings of current topics in 10 of the 14 chapters. Five texts (Ashcraft;
Haberlandt; Hunt & Ellis; Kellogg; Solso) incorporated
boxes (without a specific designation) to emphasize varying
types of material. Solso included 48 such boxes, whereas
Hunt and Ellis included 18.
Table 2.
Conclusions
Despite similarities in overall organization, cognitive psychology textbooks diverge considerably in their topical emphasis. Besides content, texts vary in their historical focus
and pedagogy and in their balance of figures, tables, and
other illustrative material. Knowledge of these differences
should assist instructors in narrowing the range of texts that
they examine prior to selecting a textbook.
Our study did not extend to an investigation of level of
difficulty, a critical factor in the textbook selection process.
Percentage of Text Devoted to Specific Topics in Individual Texts
Typical Topics
Textbook
Anderson
Ashcraft
Benjafield
Best
Galotti
Guentherd
Haberlandt
Hunt & Ellis
Jahnke &
Nowaczyk
Kellogg
Matlin
Medin &
Ross
Payne &
Wenger
Reed
Reisberg
Solso
Sternberg
M
Specialized Topics
Language
Problem
Solving/
Reasoning
29
33
33
38
33
22e
30
35
16
19
8
21
8
13
17
17
24
17
25
19
18
18
14
9
17
23
8
35
22
42
14
22
18
9
13
36
6
4
3
6
5
23
14
20
19
17
6.3
15.7
Introduction/
History
Perception/Attention/
Consciousness
5
6
10
9
7
6
7
10
16
16
5
11
14
17
16
18
3
6
5
Intelligence
Development
Otherc
3
8
0
1
2
9e
9
2
4
0
6
0
6
8
0
0
4
0
0
2
7
7
0
0
0
0
13
0
7
0
8
10
14
21
20
5
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
6
13
0
0
10
26
1
0
0
6
29
48
47
24
25
15
14
8
10
12
14
22
24
11
16
7
0
0
13
10
0
0
0
3
8
7
0
0
5
7
0
0
0
8
0
33.0
14.2
18.4
2.4
2.6
3.8
Memory
a
b
Neuroscience/
Physiology
4.1
Note. The full references for the textbooks are in the Appendix. Percentages may not total to 100% due to rounding.
a
b
The memory category includes the categories of short-term memory, memory, imagery, and categorization. The language category includes the
categories of language, language structure, language comprehension, and language production. cThe titles of “other” chapters are “Personal
Cognition” and “Applied Cognitive Psychology” (Benjafield); “Cognition in Cross-Cultural Perspective” (Galotti); “Applications of Cognitive
Psychology” (Haberlandt); “Cognition, Emotion, and Memory” (Hunt & Ellis); “Social Cognition” and “Animal Cognition” (Jahnke & Nowaczyk);
“Learning” (Medin & Ross); and “Artificial Intelligence” (Solso). dGuenther included a 12th chapter (an epilogue of 3.3 pp.) excluded from the
content analysis because of its brevity. eThe sixth chapter of Guenther, entitled “Physiology of Learning and Memory,“ contained a major section
devoted to neural nets. To maintain consistency with similar coverage related to connectionism, we included the content of this section in the
memory category and the content of the remainder of the chapter in the neuroscience/physiology category.
42
Teaching of Psychology
Table 3.
Pedagogical Aids in Individual Texts
Key Terms
Glossary
Located
at End of
Total
Pedagogical
Aidsa
No. of
Outline
Levels
Summary
Located at
End of
Anderson
Ashcraft
Benjafield
Best
Galotti
Guenther
Haberlandt
3
5
4
5
5
2
2
—
—
2
2
2
—
2
Hunt & Ellis
Jahnke &
Nowaczyk
Kellogg
Matlin
Medin &
Ross
Payne &
Wenger
Reed
Reisberg
Solso
Sternberg
4
3
Section
Section
—
Chapterc
Chapter
Chapter
Section &
Chapter
Chapter
—
Book
3
4
6
—
1
2
Chapter
Chapter
Section
5
2
7
5
2
6
7
3
—
2
2
2
M
4.5
2.1
Textbook
c
Book
Book
Chapter
Book
Book
—
Listed at
End of
Chapter
No.b
No. of
Demonstrations
No. of
Open-End
Review
Questions
Suggested
Readings
•
•
•
•
•
•
—
—
•
—
—
—
—
—
240
307
323
331
231
396
287
—
3
—
7
—
—
—
—
—
47
—
119
—
—
—
139
—
44
—
—
—
•
•
•
304
302
372
—
—
85
47
—
120
—
•
•
Chapterc
Book
•
291
—
—
•
Section
Chapter
—
Chapter
Chapter
Book
Booke
Book
Book
Book
•
•
—
•
•
345
330
247
261
349
18
—
—
21
32
184
137
—
—
110
•
•
—
•
•
297.4
27.7
101.0
d
—
Note. The full references for the textbooks are in the Appendix. A bullet indicates the presence of key term listing or suggested readings. A dash
indicates that a specific aid was not present in the text.
a
Each of the following pedagogical aids counted as 1: chapter outline, chapter or section summary, glossary, key term listing, demonstrations,
review questions, and suggested readings. Thus, the maximum possible count was 7. bThe number of key terms was the count of the items in the
glossary or, if the text had no glossary, the number of items in the end-of-chapter listings, not counting duplications. If a text contained neither a
glossary nor key term listing, we summed the boldface terms, not counting duplications. cIn Anderson, 8 of 13 chapters also contained concluding
comments. In Best, 6 of 12 chapters also contained at least one section summary. In Medin and Ross, 11 of 16 chapters also contained at least one
section summary. dHunt and Ellis also included 67 multiple-choice and 64 true–false questions. eReed also included a running glossary.
Developing an index assessing levels of difficulty for cognitive psychology texts remains an area for future research.
However, we urge instructors to carefully consider the fit
between their assessments of textbook difficulty and student abilities.
Given the cycle of textbook revisions, shifts in coverage
and pedagogy will occur. However, consecutive editions of
the same text are typically characterized by continuity,
heightening the relative stability of cross-text comparisons.
Thus, we trust that this study will facilitate instructors’ efforts now and in the future to select a textbook based on
congruency between course objectives and text content.
References
Griggs, R. A., Jackson, S. L., Christopher, A. N., & Marek, P. (1999).
Introductory psychology textbooks: An objective analysis and update. Teaching of Psychology, 26, 182–189.
Holley, P., & Stack, J. (1992). Do cognitive psychologists share a
paradigm? A second look. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 30,
65–66.
Perlman, B., & McCann, L. I. (1999). The most frequently listed
courses in the undergraduate psychology curriculum. Teaching of
Psychology, 26, 177–182.
White, M. J. (1985). On the status of cognitive psychology. American
Psychologist, 40, 117–119.
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
Appendix
Cognitive Psychology Textbooks
Anderson, J. R. (1995). Cognitive psychology and its implications (4th
ed.). New York: Freeman.
Ashcraft, M. H. (1998). Fundamentals of cognition. New York: Addison Wesley.
Benjafield, J. G. (1997). Cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Best, J. B. (1999). Cognitive psychology (5th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.
Galotti, K. M. (1999). Cognitive psychology in and out of the laboratory
(2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Guenther, R. K. (1998). Human cognition. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Haberlandt, K. (1997). Cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). Needham
Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Hunt, R. R., & Ellis, H. C. (1999). Fundamentals of cognitive psychology (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Jahnke, J. C., & Nowaczyk, R. H. (1998). Cognition. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kellogg, R. T. (1995). Cognitive psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Matlin, M. W. (1998). Cognition (4th ed.). Ft. Worth, TX: Harcourt
Brace.
Medin, D. L., & Ross, B. H. (1997). Cognitive psychology (2nd ed.).
Ft. Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace.
Payne, D. G., & Wenger, M. J. (1998). Cognitive psychology. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin.
43
Table 4.
Illustrative Material in Individual Texts
Numbered Figures
Other Illustrative
a
Material
% Including
Cartoon/Photo
Total
Numbered
Tables
Total
% Including
Photos
38
42
9
30
23
8
27
46
34
31
52
27
32
32
19
25
11
5
3
3
0
1
0
1
2
2
5
1
3
9
2
2
2
10
38
48
11
54
19
0
70
8
39
20
11
22
20
30
10
13
48
0
54
1
1
40
0
0
0
0
0
15
0
29
0
0
88
37
0
74
0
0
97
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
97
0
0
63
89
28.6
3.0
27.1
15.6
70.8
Total All
Items
Total
Graph
Anderson
Ashcraft
Benjafield
Best
Galotti
Guenther
Haberlandt
Hunt & Ellis
Jahnke & Nowaczyk
Kellogg
Matlin
Medin & Ross
Payne & Wenger
Reed
Reisberg
Solso
Sternberg
214
225
111
167
219
50
237
74
167
104
95
129
219
138
166
280
201
176
123
99
112
160
50
167
66
128
84
69
107
170
108
156
179
116
M
164.5
121.8
Textbook
b
Note. The full references for the textbooks are in the Appendix.
a
Other illustrative material includes all illustrations that were not contained in numbered figures or tables, with the exception of diagrams that were
fully integrated in the text flow. bMultiple graphs within a single figure were counted as one graph.
Reed, S. K. (1996). Cognition (4th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA:
Brooks/Cole.
Reisberg, D. (1997). Cognition: Exploring the science of the mind. New
York: Norton.
Solso, R. L. (1998). Cognitive psychology (5th ed.). Needham
Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Sternberg, R. J. (1999). Cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). Ft. Worth,
TX: Harcourt Brace.
Notes
1. We thank all of the publishers who supplied us with the texts used
in this research. We thank Randolph Smith, four anonymous reviewers, and Andrew Christopher for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.
2. Send correspondence to Pam Marek, Department of Psychology,
Box 388, St. Michael’s College, One Winooski Park, Colchester,
VT 05439; e-mail: pmarek@smcvt.edu.
When Allport Met Freud: Using Anecdotes
in the Teaching of Psychology
James C. Kaufman
Adam S. Bristol
Yale University
We propose using anecdotes to illustrate and emphasize key points,
principles, and people in the teaching of psychology. Research findings suggest that different students have different thinking and
learning styles, thus necessitating varied teaching approaches.
44
Memory research reveals that people understand and remember
information better when it is presented in a social context. We believe that the use of relevant anecdotes, such as the story of when a
young Gordon Allport met Sigmund Freud, will not only make a
lecture more enjoyable but also help students learn and remember
the information.
Teaching introductory psychology is difficult because of
the educational diversity of the students and the large
amount of material that instructors must cover. One unfortunate consequence of a survey course is that entire topics
can be only covered superficially, thus making important
theories and experiments appear disjointed and lifeless. Although few professors would favor lectures consisting of dry
facts and poorly illustrated ideas, most are not aware of the
potential benefits of a well-timed, well-placed anecdote. In
this article, we provide theoretical and empirical support for
the use of anecdotes as effective teaching tools and illustrate this idea with the story of Gordon Allport’s meeting
with Sigmund Freud.
The history of psychology contains many interesting
characters and poignant events. Recently, Thorne (1999)
presented a strong case for the use of humorous and ironic
stories in teaching the history of psychology. However, we
believe that in addition to understanding psychology’s past,
the use of anecdotes can help teach psychology’s present
and future. Although humor and irony are useful ingredients to a good anecdote, they are not essential; many psychology-related stories that do not contain irony can also be
instructional. Psychology anecdotes can be educationally
useful if they aid in teaching course material and enhancing
student interest.
Teaching of Psychology
When Allport Met Freud
Anecdotes as Teaching Tools:
Theoretical and Empirical Support
Evidence from cognitive theory and research support the
notion that anecdotes can serve as teaching tools. For example, Bruner (1986) proposed that two modes of thought exist:
paradigmatic and narrative. Paradigmatic thought is logical
and scientific—it focuses on capturing “what is.” In contrast,
narrative thought is information in the context of a story—it
pertains to “what might be” and “what could be.” Bruner
(1996) argued that the primary goal of education should be
the acquisition of cultural “meanings,” an understanding of
the self and the world in a culture. Furthermore, he suggested
that narratives facilitate the acquisition of meanings by conveying aspects of individuals in culture. The use of anecdotes
in a lecture appeals to narrative thought and, in Bruner’s
(1996) framework, promotes the formation of meanings.
In addition, instructors tend to overlook thinking styles as
an important determinant of learning. Teachers often overestimate how much their own thinking styles correspond
with those of their students (Sternberg, 1995). In fact, studies
have shown that students perform better when taught in a
variety of ways (Sternberg & Grigorenko, 1997; Sternberg,
Torff, & Grigorenko, 1998). Thus, insofar as different students employ different thinking styles, a subset of students
(i.e., those who think narratively) will benefit in particular
from the use of anecdotes.
Numerous theoretical and empirical investigations have
suggested that information presented through anecdotes may
be more comprehensible to students and also better remembered. For example, work by Cosmides (1989) showed that
social information is more readily understood and interpreted
than context-free information. When she asked participants
to solve a logical cognitive puzzle called the Wason card selection task, she found that more participants arrived at the
correct solution when the task was posed as a real-life situation (being a bouncer at a bar and checking student identifications) instead of when the task was a standard puzzle
(simply turning over cards with letters and numbers).
Additional work has shown that individuals are more
likely to remember the interactional content rather that the
propositional content of conversations (Keenan,
MacWhinney, & Mayhew, 1977; Murphy & Shapiro, 1994).
Similarly, Kintsch and Bates (1977) showed that what students remembered best from a lecture were the extraneous
asides, such as jokes and announcements. These results further suggest that anecdotes may be easily remembered, but
they also point to a potential danger in the misuse of anecdotes. If an anecdote is provided merely for entertainment
value and does not also deliver pertinent information, then
students may focus on the wrong information and not remember the actual point of the lecture. An anecdote must be
relevant to the material at hand.
Collectively, these findings suggest that appropriate anecdotes, as social accounts of lives in context, are more easily
understood than isolated facts. Moreover, the interactional
quality of delivering anecdotes in a lecture makes them more
memorable. We present an anecdote that we believe is interesting and memorable—and one that helps convey an important educational point.
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
Professors often ask students to compare and contrast competing theories in an area of psychology. However, simply
learning who believes what can be devoid of the reasons why
the theories came about in the first place. This story describes
an early meeting between Gordon Allport and Sigmund Freud,
two prominent figures in the history of personality theory. Not
only does the description bring to life the individuals behind
the ideas, it illustrates the germination of a competing theory.
In 1920, Gordon Allport, a recent graduate in psychology
at Harvard, traveled to Vienna, Austria. He assumed that
Sigmund Freud would be interested in meeting with another
psychologist and contacted him. Although Freud was a renowned figure in psychology at that time, he graciously
agreed to meet with the young Allport. When they met,
Allport was soon greeted with silence as Freud waited for him
to state the purpose of his visit. Thinking fast for something
to say, Allport told of a little boy he saw on the tram ride to
Freud’s office. The boy, he said, seemed to have a fear of dirt
and was very concerned with staying clean. The boy’s
mother, nearby, appeared quite imposing and authoritarian,
and Allport quickly made a connection. On the story’s completion, Freud leaned forward and asked Allport, “And was
that little boy you?” Allport was taken aback by the way
Freud had so quickly interpreted his attempt at small talk as
being an expression of unconscious personal motivations
when, in fact, it was not (Allport, 1967; Evans, 1971).
This anecdote works on several levels. Most basically, it is
amusing and entertaining; it evokes an image of the young
Allport, nervous in the presence of the eminent Freud. In addition, it reinforces the notion that psychology does not develop in a vacuum—legendary psychologists met and
interacted with each other. Also, most important for educational purposes, the anecdote provides a vivid illustration of
the fundamental differences in Freud’s and Allport’s approaches to understanding human personality. Whereas
Freud searched deep into a patient’s unconscious past for answers, Allport preferred to examine manifest motives to interpret behavior. Indeed, Allport later considered his
meeting with Freud as being influential to the development
of his own ideas (Allport, 1968; Evans, 1971).1
Summary
In our experience, we find that effective lecturers frequently use anecdotes, often without being fully aware of
1
Perhaps another educationally useful side to the Allport–Freud
story is the reaction of a number of psychoanalyists. Several authors
have reinterpreted the meeting from a Freudian perspective (i.e.,
Elms, 1972; Faber, 1970; Morey, 1987). For instance, using biographical accounts of Allport’s childhood, Elms concluded that
Allport chose to tell that particular story because he was “the dirty
little boy” as a child and that his reaction and subsequent philosophical rebuke of Freudian psychology are consistent with a Freudian defense mechanism. As is often the case, the same data are open to
multiple interpretations.
45
the benefits of doing so. Utilizing anecdotes in a lecture
may do more than hold an audience’s interest; cognitive
theory and research support the notion that anecdotes are
potentially valuable teaching tools. A short story that provides content as well as amusement can help students remember the facts and help them understand and
contextualize the material. Unfortunately, there is no “master source” of psychology-related anecdotes, but we find
that introductory textbooks, biographies, psychology history
books, and colleagues are good resources. The effort spent
compiling useful anecdotes is likely paid back in educational benefits.
References
Allport, G. W. (1967). Gordon W. Allport. In E. Boring & G.
Lindsay (Eds.), History of psychology in autobiography (Vol. 5, pp.
1–25). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Allport, G. W. (1968). The person in psychology. Boston: Beacon.
Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Bruner, J. S. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cosmides, L. (1989). The logic of social exchange: Has natural selection shaped how humans reason? Studies with the Wason selection task. Cognition, 31, 187–276.
Elms, A. C. (1972). Allport, Freud, and the clean little boy. Psychoanalytic Review, 59, 627–632.
Evans, R. I. (1971). Gordon Allport: The man and his ideas. New York:
Dutton.
Faber, M. D. (1970). Allport’s visit with Freud. Psychoanalytic Review, 57, 60–64.
Keenan, J. M., MacWhinney, B., & Mayhew, D. (1977). Pragmatics
in memory: A study of natural conversation. Journal of Verbal
Learning and Verbal Behavior, 16, 549–560.
Kintsch, W., & Bates, E. (1977). Recognition memory for statements for a classroom lecture. Journal of Experimental Psychology:
Human, Learning, and Memory, 3, 150–159.
Morey, L. C. (1987). Observations on the meeting between Allport
and Freud. Psychoanalytic Review, 74, 135–139.
Murphy, G. L., & Shapiro, A. M. (1994). Forgetting of verbatim information in discourse. Memory and Cognition, 22, 85–94.
Sternberg, R. J. (1995). Styles of thinking in the school. European
Journal for High Ability, 6, 201–219.
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (1997). Are cognitive styles still
in style? American Psychologist, 52, 700–712.
Sternberg, R. J., Torff, B., & Grigorenko, E. L. (1998). Teaching
triarchically improves school achievement. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 90, 374–384.
Thorne, B. M. (1999). Using irony in teaching the history of psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 26, 222–224.
Notes
1. James C. Kaufman is now at Educational Testing Service.
2. We thank Alan S. Kaufman, Randolph A. Smith, and three
anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.
3. Send correspondence to James C. Kaufman, Associate Research
Scientist, Educational Testing Service, MS 16–R, Rosedale
Road, Princeton, NJ 08540; e-mail: jkaufman@ets.org.
46
Who Would Survive the Titanic Today?
A Classroom Exercise
Todd C. Riniolo
Lorenzo I. Torrez
Adams State College
Louis A. Schmidt
McMaster University
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.
Students often perceive psychological knowledge as stable, but relations change as historical context influences human behavior (Baltes, 1987). Thus, psychological knowledge
may or may not generalize to future (or past) generations because of changes in such variables as culture, economy, family structure, and societal perceptions. As Cronbach (1975)
pointed out: “Generalizations decay. At one time a conclusion describes the existing situation well, at a later time it accounts for rather little variance, and ultimately it is valid only
as history” (pp. 122–123). Furthermore, evaluating the stability of psychological knowledge at different points in time is
often a subjective and complex process (Campbell & Stanley,
1966)—an important point that is often not adequately emphasized in psychology textbooks. For example, would the
psychological knowledge obtained from Milgram’s (1963) famous obedience study generalize to a generation having less
respect for authority figures?
In this article we present an exercise used in an undergraduate experimental psychology course. We designed this exercise
to demonstrate the subjectivity that can accompany generalizing psychological knowledge to different historical eras (i.e.,
different points in time). Specifically, the demonstration is
based on the tragedy of the famous ship, the Titanic.
Exercise Rationale
The Titanic’s tragedy provides psychological knowledge
obtained from a previous historical era. First, the Titanic provides psychological knowledge of human behavior during a
life-and-death situation. As lifeboats were available for approximately one half of the passengers, the characteristics of
the survivors provides a quantifiable outcome variable. Survivors (see Table 1) were more likely to be women and children (i.e., adherence to the rule of the sea: women and
children first). Also, members of the upper class were more
likely to survive (i.e., class precedence prevailed). Thus, the
Titanic provides real-life data to an interesting psychological
Teaching of Psychology
Table 1.
First Class
Men
Women
Children
Total
Percentage of Surviving Passengers
Second Class
Third Class
Crew
Total
%
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
No.
33
a
97
b
100
62
57/175
140/144
6/6
203/325
8
86
100
41
14/168
80/93
24/24
118/285
16
46
34
25
75/462
76/165
27/79
178/706
22
71
—
24
192/862
20/28
—
212/890
20
73
52
32
338/1,667
316/430
57/109
711/2,206
Note. Results are from the British inquiry cited in Lord (1987).
a
b
Three of the four women who died did so by choice. Lorraine Allison was excluded because her family remained together by choice.
question (i.e., who will survive during a life-and-death crisis?). Second, the passengers of the Titanic were of the Edwardian era. The Edwardian era was characterized by rigid class
distinction, formality, a sense of duty, strict adherence to
rules and authority, and highly traditional gender roles. As
Lord (1956, 1987) wrote, the crew and passengers exemplified Edwardian characteristics (e.g., male role as protector of
women and children) as the Titanic was sinking. Thus, the social climate aboard the Titanic in 1912, contrasted with current society, makes the historical era highly relevant when
evaluating the generality of psychological knowledge. Specifically, would the characteristics of Table 1 generalize from
the Edwardian era to the present?
Instructions for Using the Exercise
We performed the classroom demonstration using the following steps:
1. Approximately 2 weeks before the demonstration, inform students that a classroom exercise will take place
based on the Titanic. Instruct students to familiarize
themselves with the Titanic and the historical context
of the time (i.e., the Edwardian era). Books, videos, and
Internet sites are widely available on this topic (see the
Appendix for recommendations). Also, encourage students to browse through newspaper articles that document the Titanic’s tragedy (starting on April 16, 1912).
Students can accomplish this task using microfiche at
most college and university libraries.
2. At the beginning of class, review the Titanic’s tragedy
and pass out Table 2 providing students with a timeline
of events that transpired the night the Titanic sank.
Next, discuss the characteristics of the Edwardian era
and discuss the similarities and differences with current
society.
3. Pass out Table 1 and discuss the characteristics of the
survivors.
4. Pose the following question to the class: “Would the
characteristics of the survivors from Table 1 generalize if
a similar accident occurred today? Please justify your answer.” Instruct students to assume that during the hypothetical accident in recent times (a) the ship will sink in 2
hr and 40 min, (b) lifeboats will be available for only one
half of the passengers, (c) help will not arrive in time to
save those not in lifeboats, and (d) those not in lifeboats
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
Table 2.
Review of the Titanic Tragedy
2,207 people on board, with room for 1,178 in the lifeboats
April 14, 1912
10:30 p.m.: Sea temperature 31 degrees
11:40 p.m.: Titanic collides with an iceberg
April 15, 1912
12:05 a.m.: Orders given to muster the passengers and uncover
lifeboats
12:45 a.m.: First lifeboat is lowered, and the first distress rocket
fired
2:05 a.m.: Last lifeboat is lowered
2:18 a.m.: Titanic’s lights fail
2:20 a.m.: Titanic founders
4:10 a.m.: Carpathia picks up first lifeboat
8:30 a.m.: Carpathia picks up last lifeboat
Note. See Lord (1956).
will perish. (These instructions are designed to focus
students on the question of who would survive.)
5. Break the class into small groups and allow (a) approximately 15 to 20 min for each group to prepare an answer
and (b) several minutes for each group to present their
speculation of who would survive today.
We have performed variations of this demonstration in
several classes and consistently found that students provide
varying answers with justifiable explanations based on their
interpretations of the characteristics of current society. For
example, answers have included the following: (a) A greater
emphasis today would be given to ensure all of the children
survive, (b) many of the elderly (independent of gender)
would volunteer to stay on the ship increasing the number of
young adults (independent of gender) who would survive, (c)
families would be kept together, (d) no differences in gender
would occur, (e) chaos would ensue and relatively few would
survive, (f) chivalry would prevail and primarily women and
children would survive, and (g) class would not play as important a role as in 1912.
Student Evaluation
We examined students’ perceptions (n = 20; 15 women) of
the classroom exercise using a 5-point scale ranging from 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Results indicate that
most found the exercise interesting (M = 4.40; SD = .50),
would recommend the exercise for future classes (M = 4.65;
47
SD = .49), and believed the exercise highlighted the complexity associated with generalizing psychological knowledge to
different points in time (M = 4.60; SD = .50). Several subsequent evaluations were consistent with these results.
Discussion
We presented a classroom exercise promoting the lesson
that generalizing psychological knowledge to different historical eras can be a subjective and complex process. We believe
this demonstration is effective because (a) there is no verifiable answer to the question of who would survive today, (b)
many predictions of who would survive today are plausible,
and (c) societal changes since the Edwardian era make historical context highly relevant. Many students commented that
listening to the wide range of predictions during the discussion
emphasized that generalizing psychological knowledge from
different points in time is an important issue that can be
highly subjective.
We believe this classroom exercise has two primary
strengths. First, it is simple to implement. However, we recommend that instructors familiarize themselves with the Titanic and the Edwardian era prior to performing this
demonstration (see the Appendix for resources). Second, the
exercise is in a format that students enjoy. Many students
commented in the course evaluation at the end of the semester that this exercise was the most interesting class of the semester. Creating interest in the subject material is important
as many psychology students perceive experimental psychology as uninteresting (Forsyth, 1977).
Finally, we recommend that instructors end this exercise
by discussing types of psychological knowledge that traditionally have greater (e.g., classical conditioning) and less
(e.g., attitudes toward women in the workplace) stability
across time. However, exclusively relying on “obvious” examples may inadvertently mislead some students to perceive that evaluating the stability of psychological
knowledge to different eras is straightforward. We believe
our demonstration gives instructors an interesting and
user-friendly tool to point out the subjectivity inherent in
generalizing certain types of psychological knowledge across
time.
Appendix
Books
Bryceson, D. (1997). The Titanic disaster: As reported in the British national press April–July 1912. New York: Norton.
Caren, E., & Goldman, S. (1998). Extra Titanic: The story of the disaster in the newspapers of the day. Edison, NJ: Castle.
Geller, J. B., & Eaton, J. P. (1998). Titanic: Women and children first.
New York: Norton.
Hyslop, D., Forsyth, A., Jemima, S., & Lawrence, J. (1997). Titanic
voices: Memories from the fateful voyage. New York: St. Martin’s.
Lord, W. (1956). A night to remember. New York: Bantam.
Lord, W. (1987). The night lives on. New York: Avon.
Lynch, D., & Marschall, K. (1998). Titanic: An illustrated history.
New York: Hyperion.
Spignesi, S. J. (1998). The complete Titanic: From the ship’s earliest
blueprints to the epic film. Secaucus, NJ: Carol.
Videos
Cameron, J. (Producer & Director). (1997). Titanic [Film]. (Available from Twentieth Century Fox & Paramount Pictures).
Peltier, M. (Producer & Director). (1994). Titanic [Video]. (Available from A & E Home Video).
Internet Sites
http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/ (Encyclopedia Titanica)
http://www.titanic1.org/ (Titanic Historical Society)
http://titanic.eb.com/ (Encyclopedia Britannica)
http://www.discovery.com/area/science/titanic/titanicopener.html
(Discovery channel online)
http://www.historychannel.com/ (History channel online)
http://www.southampton.gov.uk/ (Southampton City Council)
Notes
1. Special thanks to Michael P. Augello II and Jane Doussard-Roosevelt for their helpful input with this article.
2. Send correspondence to Todd C. Riniolo, Department of Psychology, Adams State College, Alamosa, CO, 81102; e-mail:
tcriniol@adams.edu or tcriniol@yahoo.com.
References
Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline.
Developmental Psychology, 23, 611–626.
Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Cronbach, L. J. (1975). Beyond the two disciplines of scientific psychology. American Psychologist, 30, 116–127.
Forsyth, G. A. (1977). A task-first individual-differences approach
to designing a statistics and methodology course. Teaching of Psychology, 4, 76–78.
Lord, W. (1956). A night to remember. New York: Bantam.
Lord, W. (1987). The night lives on. New York: Avon.
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 371–378.
48
Theory Into Practice: Cases As
Illustrations of Developmental Theories
Catherine McBride-Chang
Lei Chang
Chinese University of Hong Kong
We describe a technique using short stories about individuals to reinforce students’ knowledge of developmental theories. Such vignettes, which promote critical thinking about developmental
theories, can be used as lecture tools, homework assignments, or
exam questions.
Teaching of Psychology
In her life span developmental textbook, Bee (1998)
mused: “Students often tell me that they hate reading about
theories. What they want are the facts” (p. 26). We have
heard similar sentiments among our students in a variety of
developmental psychology classes. Because the study of developmental psychology requires that students grasp broad
theories of human development, we illustrate these theories
within a “real-world” context by using cases.
The style of cases is constant across all stories. Each presentation contains a vignette, and we ask the students to consider which theory is implied by the description. Each case
describes an individual who is identified by age and gender. In
addition, every case consists of a situation (e.g., Mary, age 17,
wants to be a doctor. She studies hard to attain that goal.). It
also contains an explanation (e.g., Mary wants to be a doctor
because her father is a doctor. Her parents have encouraged
her to study medicine, she believes her parents are correct
that she should study medicine, and she has never considered
alternative occupations.). Each case also has a proposed theory
and elaboration.
The students themselves must generate the proposed theory and elaboration. In this case, students should identify our
case as an elaboration of Erikson’s (1959) theory of
psychosocial development, Stage 5 (identity vs. role confusion), specifically the identity status of foreclosure (e.g., Marcia, 1980). We expect students to identify the theory
(typically, most students shout it out) and to explain why this
theory applies to this story (a few sentences about the fact that
Mary has never considered alternative occupations would be
key in establishing the status of foreclosure in this case). One
full vignette, written to appeal to a Hong Kong audience, appears in Table 1. Other vignettes are available on request.
We use this case illustration approach to strengthen students’ ability to distinguish among theories. We have introduced cases relating to a variety of developmental theories,
including Freud’s (1905/1938) psychosexual theory of development, Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological approach to development, Maslow’s (1968) hierarchy of needs, social
cognitive theory (Bandura, 1989), a theory of epigenetic programs (Plomin, DeFries, & Loehlin, 1977), and Levinson’s
(1990) life structure development. Following our discussion
of these theories, we present cases representing each of these
theories (typically two cases per theory) to the students. Because students need to use their newly acquired knowledge to
identify theories and justify their responses, such cases promote critical thinking (McDade, 1995).
Evaluation
We have noted increased participation in the class during
this exercise relative to the standard theory lecture. All students can recognize and relate to many of the situations presented. Nearly all students in the class can provide a label for
each story (e.g., social cognitive theory). Most students appear fairly comfortable offering an explanation for why they
selected the theory that they did once they believe they have
the correct answer (based on interstudent agreement as evidenced by shouts and mumbles).
To assess the usefulness of this approach across three classes
of adolescent psychosocial development, we administered a
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
Table 1.
Sample Case Used to Illustrate
Developmental Theories
Situation
Mike, age 25, is happy and excited by his life. He
has just been promoted in his business and has
moved from his parents’ apartment to his own
small place in Kowloon Tong. His mother
complains that they never see Mike anymore,
but this doesn’t bother Mike. He is enjoying his
new freedom.
Explanation
Mike believes that at his age, he should strike out
on his own and start thinking about making a life
for himself. Eventually, he plans to marry and to
have a family. He feels the need to separate
himself somewhat from his parents and to
reorganize his concept of himself from primarily
that of “son” to that of “independent adult.”
Theory
Levinson’s (1990) theory of the life structure
development in adulthood is intended here,
because the explanation focuses on Mike’s
decision to separate himself from his parents
and enter into the adult world by moving out on
his own and concentrating on his work life, key
elements in adult development for this age
range, according to Levinson.
postlecture quiz to graduate students in the school of education on four theories relevant to adolescence:
Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological approach to development, social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1989), a theory of
epigenetic programs (Plomin et al., 1977), and Erikson’s
(1959) theory of psychosocial development. Catherine
McBride-Chang was the lecturer in all classes, which fell on 3
consecutive days. In the first and last classes, 26 and 32 students, respectively, took the quiz; in the second class, 58 students took the quiz. In all classes, we administered the same
5-item, multiple-choice quiz in which the students had to
identify the theory that best fit each of the five situations presented. Students from the second class took the quiz following
our case-study presentations, whereas students from the other
classes took the quiz before we presented the case studies.
Students from the second class scored a mean of 3.2 (SD =
1.5) on the quiz, whereas the other group of students scored a
mean of 2.6 (SD = 1.5) on the quiz, a significant difference,
t(114) = 2.05, p < .05. These results indicate that the
case-study presentations may have been effective in improving students’ understanding of the theories, increasing their
scores on our quiz. In future research, we intend to follow up
on the long-term consequences of our case-study approach
for theory presentation by examining whether case studies
improve long-term retention of developmental theories.
Uses of the Case-Study Method
Our case-study exercise also serves to highlight the interpretations students bring to the theories. Inevitably, some
students will identify one or another vignette as representing
a theory that we did not originally intend to portray. In most
of these situations, students have reasonable explanations for
how this story depicts an alternative theory. Typically, their
explanations involve an extreme focus on one detail of the
49
story to the exclusion of other story details (e.g., Mary’s case
might represent social cognitive theory because she has observed her father modeling the doctor role and because her
parents reinforce her for studying to be a doctor). During our
lectures, we point out the links between alternative interpretations of each case relative to its theory representation when
offered, to reinforce students’ recall of as many of the theories
presented as possible and to link the concrete details of each
vignette to different theories. However, following such discussions, we consistently emphasize the ways in which our interpretation of the case study best illustrates the theory we
had originally intended it to represent.
Instructors can use this case-presentation technique in
three ways. First, it can facilitate reinforcement of the lecture
materials, as we discussed. Second, instructors may assign
students to write their own cases and justify how their cases
best represent the theory they identify. When we score such
homework assignments, we focus particularly on the extent
to which the explanation the students write fits with the theory they identify. Thus, critical thinking about developmental theories is central to this assignment, similar to the
case-based method described by Cabe, Walker, and Williams
(1999). However, in this assignment, students must first create their own cases, rather than finding them other places,
such as the newspaper (Cabe et al., 1999). Third, case vignettes may be useful for instructors to use as multiple-choice
or short-answer questions in their exams.
This exercise has three major benefits for any class in which
theories of development are taught. First, instructors can easily change the vignettes from year to year to maximize their applicability to current events, facilitating student interest.
Second, this technique can be used to discriminate both
among theories, as described previously, or within theories
(e.g., one could write short stories to describe each of Erikson’s
eight stages). Third, this is a quick and enjoyable exercise that
allows students to make an immediate connection between
theories and real-world contexts.
References
Bandura, A. (1989). Social cognitive theory. Annals of Child Development, 6, 1–60.
Bee, H. (1998). Lifespan development (2nd ed.). Sydney, Australia:
Longman.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Cabe, P. A., Walker, M. H., & Williams, M. (1999). Newspaper advice column letters as teaching cases for developmental psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 26, 128–130.
Erikson, E. H. (1959). Identity and the life cycle. New York: International Universities Press.
Freud, S. (1938). The basic writings of Sigmund Freud (A. A. Brill,
Trans.). New York: Modern Library. (Original work published
1905)
Levinson, D. J. (1990). A theory of life structure development in
adulthood. In C. N. Alexander & E. J. Langer (Eds.), Higher stages
of human development: Perspectives on adult growth (pp. 35–53).
New York: Oxford University Press.
Marcia, J. E. (1980). Identity in adolescence. In J. Adelson (Ed.),
Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 159–187). New York:
Wiley.
50
Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
McDade, S. A. (1995). Case study pedagogy to advance critical
thinking. Teaching of Psychology, 22, 9–10.
Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., & Loehlin, J. C. (1977). Genotype-environment interaction and correlation in the analysis of human behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 309–322.
Note
Send correspondence and requests for additional vignettes to
Catherine McBride-Chang, Department of Psychology, Chinese
University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong; e-mail:
cmcbride@psy.cuhk.edu.hk.
An Alternative Approach to the Ill-Defined
Problem of Teaching Problem Solving
Catherine McBride-Chang
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Unlike traditional cognitive textbook coverage, students’ interests
in problem solving tend to focus on ill-defined problems that are
context dependent. In this article, I present an approach to teaching
problem solving that incorporates both cognitive and social approaches to problem solving, thinking, and decision making.
In my first semester as a professor, I found myself teaching a course ominously titled Problem Solving. Hunt (1994)
said, “Problem solving is a bit like beauty, morality, and
good art. We are in favor of it, we know it when we see it,
but we cannot define it” (p. 215). I felt the same way about
teaching the course: How could I possibly define the scope
of this daunting topic?
I initially opted for the safety of conformity, tailoring my
lectures to topics that professors had covered in previous semesters of Problem Solving according to old syllabi, from syllogisms to schema theory, from mnemonic techniques to
decision making. Cognitive psychology (e.g., Mayer, 1992)
was the sole focus of the course.
However, I soon discovered two difficulties with the
course content as traditionally presented: First, much of the
content was a more detailed version of cognitive concepts already covered in other core courses, particularly Memory and
Cognition I and II. Problem Solving is an elective course, and
the content needed to be altered to attract good students.
Second, and more pertinent, the content largely failed to address what the students conceptualized as most central to
problem solving as a discipline—solving ill-defined problems.
This lack of fit between course content and student expectations of problem solving is best illustrated by my students’
responses when I asked them anonymously to write a problem
and pass it in. Problem descriptions varied widely, but only
one student presented a well-defined problem of the type traditionally contained in a cognition textbook. Rather, problems tended to be real-life issues relevant to these Hong Kong
Teaching of Psychology
students (e.g., “How can we settle the Diaoyu Islands dispute
peaceably?” “How can I get more money?”).
From these problem examples, I began to reconceptualize
problem solving more broadly by integrating cognition, social
understanding, and context specificity into the course content. The course, available to any student who has had introductory psychology, consists of discussions and tutorials on
problem-solving themes (see the Appendix for a list of readings and themes). Students take midterm and final exams
and complete a research project. Although this course is
taught in Hong Kong, its content is suitable to college students in any region of the world.
I begin the course by exploring Newell and Simon’s (1972)
original conceptualization of the problem state and problem-solving strategies (e.g., means–ends analysis, heuristics).
The students and I also discuss generalizable steps in problem
solving, such as identify, define, explore, act, look at the
problem and possible solution strategies (IDEAL) described
by Bransford, Sherwood, Vye, and Rieser (1986).
We then talk about problem solving in diverse areas. We
note that experts solve problems in and out of their domains of
expertise quite differently. We also consider the extent to
which computers solve problems in ways similar to human beings, beginning with the breakthrough publication of Human
Problem Solving (Newell & Simon, 1972), which brought legitimate status to the discipline of problem solving. Notions of intelligence, including multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983)
and tacit knowledge (Sternberg, Wagner, Williams, &
Horvath, 1995), stimulate the class to explore problem solving
within particular contexts. For example, having a PhD in history (possibly indicating linguistic intelligence) in no way suggests that one may be successful at finding one’s way to an
unfamiliar location (a mark of spatial intelligence). Gardner’s
(1983) concepts of personal intelligences segue nicely to the
theme of emotional intelligence (EQ), which we discuss in the
context of marriage (Gottman, 1994), business (Goleman,
1995), and mediational skills training (Levine, 1994).
Thus, the focus of the course is on problem solving from
multiple perspectives. We consider ways to solve various categories of problems (e.g., additive, compensatory, disjunctive) as individuals and in groups. Students practice
brainstorming techniques to deal with larger societal issues
(e.g., how to prevent teen smoking) and then refine their solutions using techniques described by Ruggiero (1995).
Gardner’s (1993) chapter on the “Eminent Creator” affords a
broad consideration of creativity in reference to ill-defined
problems. Throughout the semester, students discover that
problem solving is largely domain dependent. A computer genius is not necessarily a good diplomat. A superior mathematician may not be able to program a VCR.
This liberal interpretation of problem solving has both disadvantages and advantages. One difficulty with this approach is that there is no basic textbook. Thus, students
sometimes complain that the readings are too variable in
their difficulty levels and coherence from topic to topic. I
monitor the readings by having students rate each reading
and justify their reactions, for extra credit. Pressure to change
the readings somewhat every semester helps keep the problem-solving themes current and dynamic. A second danger in
teaching problem solving in this manner is that basic cognitive aspects of problem solving (e.g., Bransford et al.’s
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
IDEAL, 1986) may get lost in the wide variety of topics covered. On the other hand, I am often struck by the extent to
which problem-solving themes reemerge and reinforce each
other in each lesson. For example, Sternberg’s (1998) recent
work on intelligence reinforced previously learned concepts
about expertise. By identifying the central problem-solving
subject in each lesson, students maintain a solid understanding of the basic issues in problem solving.
This way of teaching problem solving has had benefits as
well. First, the class has profited from nonpsychology majors
from disciplines as diverse as business, philosophy, physics, finance, English, and statistics bringing fresh perspectives to
the course. Guest lectures by a doctor working in an emergency room and a new Internet company president on problem solving in their respective disciplines enhanced the
variety of the course this past semester.
Second, an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving
has afforded students new ways to go about their research
projects. Each group of up to four students completes a
data-based project on an aspect of problem solving, using
computer simulations, case studies, or standard psychological
research paradigms. Last year, group projects included the effects of (respectively) aroma, music (Mozart; traditional Chinese), and mood on solving well-defined problems;
differences between novice and expert swimmers in their approaches to lap swims; and ways to enhance children’s second language learning.
Third, the course has become more favorably received by
students, although the student ratings reported admittedly
only cover a 3-year period. The first year I offered this course,
the overall evaluation of the course was 3.20, and the “intellectual stimulation rating” was 3.33, on a scale ranging from 1
(poor) to 5 (very good). Over the next 2 years, the average ratings of each were 3.72 and 3.93. Enrollment has also increased from 16 students the first year, when the course had
been offered every other year, to an average of 19 students
over the last 3 years, with the course being offered annually.
An additional benefit of changing the course to be fairly
broad is that it has become much more fun to teach. I thoroughly enjoy the interaction of social and cognitive themes
across lectures, and students’ participation has increased as a
result of this interaction. A problem-solving course would be
a worthwhile addition to the curriculum of any psychology
department because it addresses basic issues of critical thinking applicable to students from a variety of backgrounds.
References
Bransford, J., Sherwood, R., Vye, N., & Rieser, J. (1986). Teaching
thinking and problem solving: Research foundations. American
Psychologist, 41, 1078–1089.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind. New York: Basic.
Gardner, H. (1993). Creating minds: An anatomy of creativity seen
through the lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. New York: Basic.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.
Gottman, J. M. (1994). What predicts divorce: The relationship between
marital processes and marital outcomes. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Hunt, E. (1994). Problem solving. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Thinking
and problem solving (pp. 215–232). San Diego, CA: Academic.
51
Levine, M. (1994). Effective problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Mayer, R. E. (1992). Thinking, problem solving, cognition (2nd ed.).
New York: Freeman.
Newell, A., & Simon, H. A. (1972). Human problem solving.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Ruggiero, V. (1995). The art of thinking: A guide to critical and creative
thought (4th ed.). New York: HarperCollins.
Sternberg, R. J. (1998). Abilities are forms of developing expertise.
Educational Researcher, 27, 11–20.
Sternberg, R. J., Wagner, R. K., Williams, W. M., & Horvath, J. A.
(1995). Testing common sense. American Psychologist, 50,
912–927.
Appendix
Topics covered in the current problem-solving course and
assigned readings for each topic (Fall 1999)
1. Introduction to the Study of Thinking and Problem Solving
Kahney, H. (1993). Introduction. Problem solving: Current issues (pp. 15–55). Buckingham, England: Open University
Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (1996). Problem solving and creativity (pp.
346–384). Cognitive psychology. Tokyo: Harcourt Brace.
2. Adult Problem Solving
9. Defining and Using Intelligence
Gardner, H. (1983). What is an intelligence? Frames of mind
(pp. 59–70). New York: Basic.
Sternberg, R. J. (1998). Abilities are forms of developing expertise. Educational Researcher, 27, 11–20.
10. Creativity and the Ill-Defined Problem
Finke, R. A., Ward, T. B., & Smith, S. M. (1992). Creative
strategies for problem solving. Creative cognition (pp.
167–187). London: MIT Press.
Gardner, H. (1993). Creativity across domains. Creating
minds (pp. 359–390). New York: Basic.
11. EQ and Dealing With Adversity
Goleman, D. (1995). Intimate enemies/managing with heart.
Emotional intelligence (pp. 129–163). New York: Bantam.
Stolz, P. G. (1997). A new view of success/the science of AQ.
Adversity quotient (pp. 5–35; 53–84). New York: Wiley.
12. Children As Problem Solvers
Bjorklund, D. F., & Green, B. L. (1992). The adaptive nature
of cognitive immaturity. American Psychologist, 47, 46–54.
Note
Send correspondence to Catherine McBride-Chang, Psychology Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N. T., Hong
Kong; e-mail: cmcbride@psy.cuhk.edu.hk.
Anderson, J. R. (1993). Problem solving and learning. American Psychologist, 48, 35–44.
3. Expert Problem Solving
Bedard, J., & Chi, M. T. H. (1992). Expertise. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1, 135–139.
Kahney, H. (1993). Developing expertise. Problem solving:
Current issues (pp. 82–91). Buckingham, England: Open University Press.
4. The Role of Computers in Problem Solving
Sternberg, R. J. (1996). Simulations of intelligence: Artificial-intelligence approaches. Cognitive Psychology (pp.
481–490). Tokyo: Harcourt Brace.
Thagard, P. (1996). Rules. Mind: Introduction to cognitive science (pp. 43–57). Cambridge, MA: Bradford/MIT Press.
Thagard, P. (1996). Connections. Mind: Introduction to cognitive science (pp. 107–126). Cambridge, MA: Bradford/MIT
Press.
5. Teaching Problem Solving
Bransford, J., Sherwood, R., Vye, N., & Rieser, J. (1986).
Teaching thinking and problem solving: Research foundations. American Psychologist, 41, 1078–1089.
Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking for transfer
across domains. American Psychologist, 53, 449–455.
6. Problem Solving in Context
Mayer, R. E. (1992). Everyday thinking: Thinking as based on
social contexts. Thinking, problem solving, cognition (pp.
490–507). New York: Freeman.
7. Individual Decision Making
Halpern, D. F. (1997). Decision making. Critical thinking
across the curriculum (pp. 188–217). London: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
8. Social Decision Making
Plous, S. (1993). Social influences/group judgments and decisions. The psychology of judgment and decision-making (pp.
191–214). Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
52
The “Small Talk” Activity: An Interactive,
Applied Learning Technique
Tracie L. Stewart
Bard College
The “small talk” activity helps students gain a comprehensive overview of course material and encourages them to apply course content to situations outside the classroom. Students in a course on the
psychology of stereotyping and prejudice applied their knowledge of
course material in generating responses to comments about gender
and ethnic bias that ostensibly might be heard at social gatherings
(e.g., “Women are all alike”). The comments were related to theoretical and research articles assigned throughout the semester, and
students were instructed to respond to these comments from a psychological perspective. Students alternated playing the roles of
commentator and respondent. I include a discussion of variations
of the activity and an application of the activity for other courses.
Many people have strong opinions on sexism and racism
and are eager to discuss them. After an evening conversing
about these topics at a faculty gathering, it occurred to me
that a dinner party “small talk” simulation might be the
end-of-semester teaching tool that I had been seeking for one
of my classes. In my advanced undergraduate Stereotyping
and Prejudice research seminar, I base students’ grades on
their class participation and two term papers. Over the
course of the semester, students read more than 40 research
articles from journals such as Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. I was
Teaching of Psychology
concerned that, without a final examination, students would
not have the opportunity to consolidate what they had
learned from the readings. The small talk activity that I introduced on the last day of class proved to be effective in remedying this concern.
I constructed a list of comments and questions concerning
stereotyping and prejudice that ranged from the innocuous
(e.g., “If people just felt better about themselves, I think that
stereotyping and prejudice would go away on their own.”) to
the politically charged (e.g., “In my company, I am colorblind
to race. That’s why I don’t believe in affirmative action.”) to
the blatantly rude (e.g., “Women are all alike.”). I drew these
items in part from my past experiences as a stereotyping researcher at social gatherings. I generated other items by scanning the course syllabus and creating statements that were
either consistent or inconsistent with the positions espoused
in the course readings. I printed each comment on a slip of
paper and placed them in a large envelope.
In the final class session, I informed students that they
would be participating in an activity in which they would
read comments they might hear at social gatherings on disclosing that they had recently completed a course on stereotyping and prejudice. I instructed them to draw from
knowledge gained in the course in formulating empirically
based responses to these comments. I explained that the
objective of the activity was to assist students in consolidating what they had learned from the readings throughout the
semester. I facilitated a low-pressure environment by bringing snacks to the class and by assuring students that they
would receive credit for participating in the activity but
would not be graded on the quality of their individual answers.
Each student drew three questions and outlined responses
to them in the 7 min allotted. I encouraged them to mention
specific psychological experiments and theories in their responses whenever possible (even though such tactics might
be perceived as arrogant at an actual dinner party). Students
had their course syllabus available during the activity. Because the syllabus included a complete reference list of the
course readings, students were able to “name drop” researchers and dates in their replies.
In the second phase of the activity, I selected one student
to be the first respondent. This student handed one of the
comments that she had drawn to another student who played
the role of commentator. The student commentator then addressed the comment to the student respondent, often providing a colorful interpretation of the imagined author of the
comment in her role-playing. The student respondent then
gave her reply. The activity proceeded in this manner with
students taking turns playing commentator and respondent
(see Table 1).
The activity was even more fun than anticipated. Students
played their roles with increasing drama and outrageousness.
During occasional instances of students encountering difficulties in their responses, other students in the class joined in
the discussion. In general, I was impressed by the insightful
and appropriate connections to the course texts reflected in
the students’ responses. The success of the activity may have
been aided by the discussion-oriented nature of the class and
the students’ experience participating in a few previous class
activities.
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
Since the initial success of the activity, I have employed it in
other courses such as an introductory Intergroup Relations
course as well as in later sections of my Stereotyping and Prejudice seminar. Table 1 provides samples of activity comments
and student responses. It is important to note that the sample
student responses are just a few of many possible correct responses to the comments. Whereas the “women are all alike”
comment usually elicits mention of the “out-group homogeneity effect,” other comments prompt connections to different
theories and empirical findings each time the activity is conTable 1. Sample Items and Student
Responses from the “Small Talk” Activity
Statement
Response
Statement
Response
Women are all alike [usually role-played by students
as someone with a surly, condescending, or deeply
bitter personality].
Well, sir, you may not be aware that you are
displaying the out-group homogeneity effect, a
psychological tendency to perceive people in your
own group as more unique than people in other
groups. But research by Macrae suggests that
relying on superficial processes like you’re doing
requires fewer cognitive resources than deeper
thought processes. Since you seem to need all the
brainpower you can get, you should probably just
go right on thinking about things the way you do
(Macrae, Milne, & Bodenhausen, 1994; Park &
Rothbart, 1982).
In my company, I am colorblind to race. That’s why I
don’t believe in affirmative action.
There’s a lot of debate about what’s the best strategy
to deal with racism. Some psychologists say it’s
contact that will help, if the situation for the contact
is right. According to the psychologist James
Jones, some approaches focus on dealing with the
victims of racism, and others say you should deal
with the people who are prejudiced. But the one
thing that almost all psychologists agree on is that
it isn’t possible to be colorblind. And also, there’s a
lot of research by people like Patricia Devine that
shows that unconscious stereotyping is rampant in
this country. So if we don’t even acknowledge it’s
there, it’s (stereotyping) even more dangerous
(Devine, 1989; Jones, 1997).
Other statements and selected corresponding references include:
“Stereotyping may be annoying, but it doesn’t really hurt
anybody.” (Jones, 1997)
“But you can’t really measure things like racism and sexism. The
concepts are just too big.” (McConahay, Hardee, & Batts,
1981)
“I’m not sexist. I think that women are beautiful. They’re
wonderful. In fact, I think that women are the superior gender!
They should be cherished.” (Glick & Fiske, 1996)
“Whenever I think a stereotypic thought, I just force it out of my
head. Isn’t that a good strategy?” (Macrae, Bodenhausen,
Milne, & Wheeler, 1996).
“People are really all basically the same and that’s what we
should focus on.” (Phillips & Ziller, 1997)
“I think it’s good to talk to kids about race early on.” (Burnette,
1997)
“Do you think that something like the Holocaust could happen in
the U.S.? And if so, would there be any warning signs?”
(Staub, 1989)
“What’s so bad about being proud of your own ethnicity? Just
because I’m proud to be White doesn’t mean I’m some kind of
bigot.” (Brewer & Miller, 1996)
“What has psychology really done to help stop things like racism
and homophobia? What can it really do?” (Williams, 1987)
53
ducted. Students’ individual differences and creativity in interpreting and responding to the comments keep the activity
exciting for the course instructor as well as the students.
Variations on the Activity
The small talk activity could be adapted for a number of
courses in which an entertaining review of course material
would be helpful, including courses such as general psychology (“I’ve never understood how illusions work,” “Last night I
dreamed my cat was dean of the college. What do you think
that means?”), social psychology (“I am always attracted to
people completely different from me,” “How can I get my
roommate to do the dishes?”), and cognitive psychology (“My
cousin says that he has photographic memory. Is that really
possible?”). In addition, many variations on the activity are
possible. I have occasionally conducted the activity in the
student union rather than the classroom, and students sometimes invite friends passing by to join in the role-playing (with
the change in location enhancing the festive nature of the activity and providing the added bonus of spreading interest in
the course to other students who might not previously have
considered taking a course in this area). The activity might
also be implemented to assess students’ comprehension of
course material midway through a semester or to help students identify their strengths and weaknesses before preparing for final examinations (Maki, 1996). One variation that I
would not recommend is grading students on the quality of
their responses, as this might create a stressful environment
for students equivalent to that of taking an oral examination
in front of a jury of one’s peers. Students are generally motivated to showcase their knowledge of course material in this
activity, even without the added pressure of performance assessment. However, the activity might be adapted for graded
written examinations.
Descriptive Statistics Concerning
the Activity’s Usefulness
I recently conducted the small talk activity during a midterm review class session in my Intergroup Relations course.
The 12 student participants were White and Latino men and
women of diverse urban and rural regional backgrounds (e.g.,
Baltimore; New York City; small towns in Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Florida). Eleven students were of traditional college age and one was a nontraditional
continuing-studies student. On completion of the activity,
students anonymously rated their degree of agreement with
various statements concerning the activity on a scale ranging
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Ten of the 12
students agreed or strongly agreed (i.e., gave ratings of 4 or 5)
that the activity was “an appropriate use of class time” and
that the activity “should continue to be conducted in the Intergroup Relations class.” In addition, 9 students agreed or
strongly agreed with the following four statements: “I would
like to participate in this activity during the review session for
the final examination”; “This activity was worthwhile”; “After participating in this activity, I have a better sense of my
strengths and weaknesses in the course”; and “After partici54
pating in this activity, I feel more confident about the
knowledge that I have gained in this course.”
A number of students in other courses have commented
positively on the activity on their course evaluations. They
often relate that they were surprised at their ready knowledge
of the material and that they found the activity to be a confidence-enhancing endeavor. The activity also has benefits for
course instructors. It is gratifying to observe students demonstrating their comprehension of the course material and making connections between lessons learned in class and
real-world situations.
References
Brewer, M. B., & Miller, N. (1996). Intergroup relations. Pacific
Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Burnette, E. (1997, June). Talking openly about race thwarts racism
in children. APA Monitor, p. 33.
Devine, P. G. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic
and controlled components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 5–18.
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory:
Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491–512.
Jones, J. M. (1997). Prejudice and racism. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Macrae, C. N., Bodenhausen, G. V., Milne, A. B., & Wheeler, V.
(1996). On resisting the temptation for simplification:
Counterintentional effects of stereotype suppression on social
memory. Social Cognition, 14, 1–20.
Macrae, C. N., Milne, A. B., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (1994). Stereotypes as energy-saving devices: A peek inside the cognitive toolbox. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 37–47.
Maki, R. H. (1996, May). Knowing what you know. Presidential address presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago.
McConahay, J. B., Hardee, B. B., & Batts, V. (1981). Has racism declined in America? It depends on who is asking and what is asked.
Journal of Conflict Resolution, 25, 563–579.
Park, B., & Rothbart, M. (1982). Perception of out-group homogeneity and levels of social categorization: Memory for the subordinate attributes of in-group and out-group members. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 1051–1068.
Phillips, S. T., & Ziller, R. C. (1997). Toward a theory and measure
of the nature of nonprejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 420–434.
Staub, E. (1989). The roots of evil: The origins of genocide and other
group violence. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Williams, J. (1987). Eyes on the prize: America’s civil rights years,
1954–1965. New York: Penguin.
Notes
1. I thank the student participants in my Intergroup Relations and
Stereotyping and Prejudice courses for helping to make this activity successful and for allowing me to reproduce their responses
in this article. I also thank Fabian Novello of Purdue University–Calumet and Sandi Stewart of Fountain Lake Schools for
their many helpful suggestions, particularly in regard to possible
variations of the activity. Finally, I thank the editor and three
anonymous reviewers for their beneficial comments.
2. Send correspondence to Tracie L. Stewart, Department of Psychology, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504–
5000; e-mail: stewart@bard.edu.
Teaching of Psychology
An Active Learning Approach
to Teaching Statistics
Beverly Dolinsky
Endicott College
In this article, I provide practical suggestions on creating a collaborative environment in which to use active learning strategies as the
primary method to teach statistics. I describe the use of computer
applications and discuss methods of incorporating writing-intensive assignments within a statistics course.
When first teaching statistics, I was a lecturer who emphasized statistical theory. Over time, I found I wanted to shift
the focus of the course so students became more involved in
their learning. I also wanted students to learn how to interpret the meaning of statistics rather than memorize abstract
mathematical concepts. In this article, I provide suggestions
to create a collaborative teaching environment in which active learning is the primary method used to teach statistics.
The suggestions in this article have come from my own experiences, discussions with colleagues, teaching conferences,
and literature on the teaching of psychology (e.g., Becker,
1996; Dunn, 1996; Oswald, 1996; Smith, 1995; Ware &
Chastain, 1989, 1991).
Classroom Use of SPSS
For several years I have been moving away from a lecture-based course by refining active learning strategies (as defined in Bonwell & Eison, 1991). One of these active learning
strategies is the consistent use of SPSS Base 7.5 for Windows
(1997). The course meets in a computer lab and a classroom.
I structure the course so that 15 to 30 min of every 75-min
session consists of lecture material. The remaining class time
is devoted to computer work, group work, verbal and written
presentation, and assessment.
I create assignments that require students to discover statistical principles independently. For example, students explore the concepts of central tendency and variation by
creating frequency distributions of five ratio variables using
data sets provided by SPSS. Students examine their data to
estimate the means, medians, modes, and standard deviations. They then calculate measures of central tendency and
variation using SPSS. Students describe the statistics’ meanings and decide whether their results support their original
estimates.
Teaching the concept of an interaction is much easier and
more enjoyable using SPSS. Last year, my students enjoyed
making predictions about who watches X-rated movies using
data sets provided by SPSS. They were shocked to see that
the percentage of people having seen such a movie was much
lower than they expected. I immediately took advantage of
this teaching opportunity and asked the class why this result
might be true. Students began to hypothesize how age and
gender might influence this result. After a quick lesson on the
crosstab option in SPSS, they were able to see that male, colVol. 28, No. 1, 2001
lege-age students are much more likely to view X-rated films
than older men or women of any age. The remainder of the
class period was spent having students develop their own interaction hypotheses. The group exercise allowed students to
independently explore complex behaviors that interested
them. Their interest in the topic led them to enjoy the assignment and spend more time attempting to master the concept.
Active Learning Strategies
The students spend a significant portion of class time completing inductive reasoning assignments. For example, I introduce the concepts of correlation and regression by
showing students three scatterplots that I create prior to class
using SPSS data sets. The graphs clearly demonstrate positive, negative, and zero correlations. By examining the graph,
students describe the relations between pairs of variables. I
ask them how and why the graphs are different. Students
write their answers and then present them to the class. This
assignment allows an introduction to predictor and criterion
variables, scatterplots, types of associations, Pearson correlation, and regression. Following an in depth presentation of
these statistical concepts, students then use other data sets to
predict additional linear relations.
Other active learning strategies used include course periods devoted to answering open-ended, student-generated
questions (e.g., Why is power important? When do you use
the ANOVA instead of the t test?). I avoid the tendency to
immediately respond to student questions. Instead, I first attempt to have other students answer the question or to provide questions that guide the students to the correct answer.
Initially, my students tend to be frustrated when I do not automatically give them a response. They find the questions difficult, and some believe that I am not teaching because I am
not giving them the solution. However, over the course of the
semester, students begin to enjoy the challenge of collaboratively finding the answers.
There is significant classroom discussion and debate regarding the use, meaning, and value of statistical tests. I frequently give immediate tests to assess mastery of a day’s topic.
These tests have little overall bearing on the grade but allow
me to adjust the next class period’s lesson.
Writing Intensive Assignments
All homework and class assignments, as well as exams, require written interpretation of data. Some of these writing assignments ask students to interpret the meaning of generated
statistical data. For example, I have asked students to describe opinions regarding homosexuality by presenting a variety of frequency and crosstab distributions. Other questions
ask students to explore the veracity of a hypothesis by performing the appropriate statistical operations. For example, I
have asked them to determine whether women believe more
in life after death than men, using data from SPSS. Students
always provide written interpretations of the data. Simply
calculating the correct answer is not sufficient to achieve a
passing grade.
55
I require a second form of writing assignment called the
“one-page press release” (Beins, 1993). Periodically, I ask students to read a preselected refereed journal article. The article includes statistical analyses currently being taught in the
class. I ask students to summarize the article into a one-page
press release using no statistical terminology. The assignment
helps to develop students’ reading and writing skills as well as
their understanding of professional literature.
Another form of writing assignment consists of a learning assessment journal (Qualters & Dolinsky, 1995). The journal assignment asks students to monitor their own learning processes.
About every 2 weeks, I assign students a general topic to write
about. Topics include their feelings toward statistics, experience
with computers, strategies to solve problems, and studying strategies. The journal entries typically range in length from 100 to
250 words. The entries are supposed to be evaluative and demonstrate perceptions of learning in the course. I read and comment on their entries. The purpose of the journal is to allow
students to develop self-knowledge of their learning, not only in
the statistics course but other courses as well. From my perspective, the journal is also helpful in monitoring student mastery of
topics. It allows me to advise students on effective learning strategies and to act as a motivator for students who admit to having
frustrations and difficulties.
Conclusions
My goal in creating an active learning environment is to
have students become more involved in their learning and
develop their critical thinking skills. Is this a better method?
Student grades still fit a normal distribution and teaching
evaluations remain some of the highest in the college. Student comments, however, are considerably different. Students speak of understanding the material rather than just
memorizing facts. They describe feelings of pride and
self-confidence at being able to independently solve problems. They also describe insights regarding strengths and
weaknesses in their learning styles. I firmly believe these
learning achievements were the result of using an active
learning approach to teaching statistics.
References
Becker, B. J. (1996). A look at the literature (and other resources) on
teaching statistics. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics,
21, 71–90.
Beins, B. C. (1993). Writing assignments in statistics classes encourage students to learn interpretation. Teaching of Psychology, 20,
161–164.
Bonwell, C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom (ASHE ERIC Higher Education Report No.
1). Washington, DC: George Washington University Press.
Dunn, D. S. (1996). Collaborative writing in a statistics and research
methods course. Teaching of Psychology, 23, 38–40.
Oswald, P. A. (1996). Classroom use of the personal computer to
teach statistics. Teaching of Psychology, 23, 124–126.
Qualters, D., & Dolinsky, B. (1995, September). Active learning in a
cooperative, reflective classroom environment. Paper presented at the
LILLY–New England Conference, Durham, NH.
56
Smith, P. C. (1995). Assessing writing and statistical competence in
probability and statistics. Teaching of Psychology, 22, 49–50.
SPSS base 7.5 for Windows: User’s guide. (1997). Chicago: SPSS.
Ware, M. E., & Chastain, J. D. (1989). Computer-assisted statistical
analysis: A teaching innovation? Teaching of Psychology, 16,
222–227.
Ware, M. E., & Chastain, J. D. (1991). Developing selection skills in
introductory statistics. Teaching of Psychology, 18, 219–222.
Notes
1. An earlier report of this article was presented at the American
Psychological Association meeting, San Francisco, August 1998.
2. Send correspondence to Beverly Dolinsky, Division of Arts and
Sciences, Endicott College, 376 Hale Street, Beverly, MA 01915;
e-mail: bdolinsk@endicott.edu.
Statistically Lively Uses for Obituaries
Betsy Levonian Morgan
University of Wisconsin–La Crosse
I describe the benefits of using a real data set comprised of local
obituaries to illustrate a variety of research issues, such as missing
data, outliers, comparing means, and hypothesis testing. The inherent flaws in this type of data set give students hands-on experience
with the concerns encountered in analysis of actual data.
Illustrating common principles with hands-on activities
(e.g., Weaver, 1992; Zerbolio, 1989) and generalizing underlying principles to new situations (Evans, 1976) are two effective pedagogical approaches to promote the learning of
statistical concepts. The activity described in this article
combines both approaches by having students analyze a data
set they constructed from information contained in obituaries. This activity also addresses several areas of concern to
faculty who teach statistics, such as illustrating statistical
concepts and developing students’ skills while reducing their
fears (Ware & Brewer, 1999). By collecting obituaries over
several days, I created a set of real data that students could
easily enter into a computer program, analyze, and interpret.
I have used this activity with psychology undergraduates designing independent research projects and with secondary
education math teachers as part of a continuing education
program. All of these students had completed a course in statistics, but most were new to data sets and statistical software.
Students’ summary appraisals of the activity were highly positive. Obituaries are rich in detail and represent a wide range
of variability. The human-interest factors inherent in obituaries make them salient to students.
The Data Set
Students received a set of obituaries that I photocopied
from a local newspaper. They assigned an identification numTeaching of Psychology
ber to each entry and then tried to identify and code the gender, age at death (in years), and the deceased’s number of
children. Instructors who wish to use this activity should find
approximately 50 obituaries, including one for an infant and
some incomplete entries (e.g., no age at death or gender). The
resulting data set comes rife with selection problems to solve.
After resolving these problems and entering the data into
SPSS for Windows 8.0 (1997) statistical software, the students
answered a series of research questions requiring data analysis.
Data entry and analyses took approximately 2 hr and occurred
in an instructional computer laboratory.
Using obituaries may upset students. I forewarned students about the activity and gave them the dates of the newspapers in advance so that I could delete entries that a student
wished to have removed. However, an instructor could use
obituaries from another city or another time period or could
change to an alternative data source such as wedding announcements or interest rates.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Statistical software is user friendly. Many of my students
showed traditional computer hesitancy, but the small
sample size and small number of variables simplified
data entry and made the entire process hands on. For
data analyses, I posed a series of questions (e.g., “What
is the average age at death for the women in this sample?”) rather than providing step-by-step instructions.
The handouts had the questions on one side with detailed instructions on the other side for students who
had difficulty.
2. Real data are messy. Obituaries give incomplete information. Students realized that they had to take into account the date of the newspaper to calculate the age at
death if it was not given. There were duplicate data if a
short obituary ran on one day and a fuller one ran the
next day. Some obituaries did not include the information necessary to compute an age at death. All of these
problems were frustrating to my students. Furthermore,
obituaries that did not specifically state gender (by use
of pronoun) and included a gender-neutral first name
(e.g., Jan) forced students to make decisions. The students individually decided how to handle the gender issue. Most students chose to make educated guesses, but
a few coded the variable as missing. Inevitably, these
two groups produced different results from their analyses, and we talked about the impact of missing data and
the issues involved in guessing.
3. Outliers matter. The inclusion of an infant’s obituary
provided two strong lessons. First, students had to decide how to code the infant’s age at death because it was
unclear if it was a matter of days or months (we had an
obituary that merely stated “the infant daughter of”).
After we discussed the issues, students arbitrarily entered the infant’s age at death as 1 year. Second, the infant’s age skewed the age distribution for this sample.
Students calculated the mean and standard deviation
for the age at death, with and without the infant, to see
how extreme numbers can influence these statistics.
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
Students also calculated the mean and standard deviation of age at death on one half of the obituaries
(including the infant) and then repeated the analysis
for the whole sample. These results illustrated how a
smaller sample is more affected by extreme scores than
a larger sample, leading to a discussion of sampling distributions. For hypothesis testing, we dropped the infant as an outlier using the quick rule of thumb of 3 SDs
below or above the mean (e.g., Devore & Peck, 1997).
The data set also had a young person (20 years old) who
affected the analyses, but was not a classic outlier, that
provided a nice lesson in variance.
4. Real questions are answered. The central analysis for this
data set was a gender comparison on age at death. Unlike many research questions, there are population data
available on this topic that allowed us to hypothesize
that women should be significantly older at death than
men. Instructors can discuss null and alternative hypotheses. Students found means and standard deviations for the total sample. They also learned how to use
the software to separate the two groups and find the
means for women and men separately. Finally, they performed a t test for significance testing and ran a one-way
ANOVA to illustrate the relation between t tests and
ANOVA. These data also could be used to review
one-tailed versus two-tailed tests.
5. Correlations can be meaningful or nonsensical. The adage
“correlation is not causation” was well illustrated by
computing the correlation of the deceased’s number of
children with age at death. Students enjoyed generating
a variety of theories to support either a positive or negative relation. Number of children as a variable also provided another lesson in the problems with missing data or
inaccurate data collection: It was unclear whether an individual in an obituary did not have children or whether
children were just not mentioned. Finally, students created a nonsensical correlation (e.g., between identification number and age at death) to help show that statistical procedures and the software that compute them are
tools that must be used wisely.
6. Results are summarized in a variety of ways. As a follow-up project, the undergraduates used the data
analyses to write a method section including the handling of missing data and a series of result statements.
They wrote two results sections, one with a table and
one without, to explore how information in tables
should not be redundant with text. They consulted
the American Psychological Association (1994) Publication Manual to correctly report statistical results and
format their paper.
Conclusions
I encourage instructors who introduce students to data entry, statistical software, and basic statistical analyses to consider obituaries as a data set. I believe that the activity would
work well in a variety of teaching situations involving statistical principles. Instructors could reduce, expand, or modify
this activity for use in introductory psychology, research de57
sign, or statistics courses. Overall, obituaries provide an interesting and flawed data set to help students explore some
basic principles in data entry and analysis.
References
American Psychological Association. (1994). Publication manual of
the American Psychological Association (4th ed.). Washington, DC:
Author.
Devore, J. L., & Peck, R. (1997). Statistics: The exploration and analysis of data (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Duxbury.
Evans, J. S. B. (1976). Teaching statistics: Some theoretical considerations. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 29, 172–174.
SPSS for Windows 8.0 [Computer software]. (1997). Chicago:
SPSS.
Ware, M. E., & Brewer, C. L. (Eds.). (1999). Handbook for teaching
statistics and research methods (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Weaver, K. A. (1992). Elaborating selected statistical concepts with
common experience. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 178–179.
Zerbolio, D. J., Jr. (1989). A “bag of tricks” for teaching about sampling distributions. Teaching of Psychology, 16, 207–209.
Notes
1. I thank Randolph Smith and three anonymous reviewers, all of
whom played a substantive role in framing the layout of this article and improving the quality of its contents.
2. Send correspondence to Betsy Morgan, Psychology Department,
1725 State Street, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, WI
54601; e-mail: morgan.bets@uwlax.edu.
An Informal Seminar to Prepare the Best
Undergraduates for Doctoral Programs
in Psychology
William J. Lammers
University of Central Arkansas
Rationale for the Informal Seminar
As noted, several authors have described the type of information that can be presented via informal meetings of a
psychology club or via a formal course. A long-term,
noncredit seminar for this purpose has not been described
in the literature. My department chose this approach for
several reasons. Our faculty knew that even our best students were not aware of the highly competitive nature of
graduate admission or the factors that strengthen an application. Students with strong academic credentials and the
motivation to pursue a doctoral degree needed specific information before their senior year and needed individualized attention and encouragement to achieve a higher level
of involvement in the discipline.
Each method for imparting information about doctoral
programs has advantages and disadvantages. Offering a formal course for credit provides much information with structure and incentive for students to learn. Possible
shortcomings can include an inability to target the relatively
small group of students who can succeed in doctoral study,
lack of a long-term mentor, and resistance on some campuses
to offering such a course for credit (for a brief discussion of
the latter issue, see Ware, 1988). Offering informal sessions
hosted by a psychology club provides important information
requiring few department resources. However, these sessions
are typically infrequent, offer no mentoring, draw few students, and do not produce peer support groups.
I wanted a small, selective, and informal group. Without a
formal course, I could personally invite a small number of our
best students to become part of a group with common academic ambitions; I could be flexible with meeting times and
places; I would not worry about grades; and I could mentor
the students for the remainder of their undergraduate years. I
hoped that a long-term commitment by such a small group
would lead to strong support and friendships among the students, individualized attention to each student’s interests,
and a system of peer advising whereby upper level students
could give advice to lower level students. I did not believe
that these goals could be effectively obtained with other
modes of advising described in the literature.
In this article, I describe an informal seminar to prepare the best
psychology undergraduates for application to and success in graduate school, with particular emphasis on doctoral programs. Student
feedback, both formal and informal, suggests that this seminar can
be an effective component of an overall advising program.
Student Selection
There are many components to undergraduate advising
(Ware, 1992) and a variety of ways that undergraduate students can learn about graduate school and subsequent careers. Psychology departments use different strategies to
prepare their undergraduates for graduate school and employment. Some departments rely on the students themselves, on individual advisors, on meetings and workshops
offered by Psi Chi chapters or Psychology Clubs (e.g.,
Satterfield & Abramson, 1998), on courses or seminars specifically designed to accomplish this task (Buckalew & Lewis,
1982; Buskist, 1999; Davis, 1988; Dodson, Chastain, &
Landrum, 1996; Oles & Cooper, 1988; Ware, 1988), and
many rely on a mix of strategies.
At the beginning of the academic year, I review a list of all
psychology majors that shows students’ classification, American College Testing scores, high school grade point average
(GPA), cumulative college GPA, and psychology GPA. Beginning with the best set of scores, I select the top 20 students
and send them a letter of invitation describing the purpose of
the program.
From among the 20 invitations, several students typically
have no plans for pursuing a doctoral degree. Several others
are interested but do not follow through by attending meetings. Each year, approximately 6 students, who are primarily
freshmen and sophomores, join the 8 to 12 students who are
continuing their involvement.
58
Format for the Informal Seminar
Teaching of Psychology
Schedule and Objectives of Meetings
The group meets for 1 hr on two afternoons each month
throughout the fall and spring semesters. The meetings for
the academic year include the following topics: resources for
psychology students, surfing the Internet for information, deciding on a field, deciding on prospective schools, the value of
research and ways to get involved, the value of practical experience, preparing for and taking the Graduate Record
Exam, getting good letters of recommendation, writing a personal statement, financial considerations, and life in graduate
school. In addition, there are often one or two meetings with
a topic selected by the students. The last meeting of each semester includes a potluck dinner at my house.
The schedule reflects several objectives. The topic for
each meeting represents an issue that is important for ultimate acceptance into a quality doctoral program, and I usually provide a one-page handout that summarizes important
points. Discussion topics are issues not typically discussed in
formal courses that students might take. There is also time
during each meeting to find out what students have been doing to improve their applications to graduate school and to
answer questions specific to their interests.
mation via a system of advising that includes their advisor,
psychology club meetings, other students, department resource materials, and the department Web site.
Conclusions
There are a variety of ways to provide career-related information to undergraduate students. The informal seminar described here provides one method for preparing a select group
of the best students for graduate application and graduate
study. This seminar represents a compromise between more
formal courses and less formal sessions with an advisor or student group. Based on personal observations and student feedback over several years, this type of informal seminar has
been very effective. I recommend that psychology departments regularly evaluate how they prepare their students for
graduate education in psychology and institute programs to
provide needed information.
References
I have enjoyed the long-term mentor relationships, and informal feedback suggests that it is much appreciated by the
students. For the last 2 years, I have administered a brief survey to assess student perceptions about the seminar. Although the data are based on a small and select group,
students reported on a 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much so) scale
that the informal seminar was very effective in preparing
them for graduate school (M = 4.74). I have also attempted
to track whether students have been successful in entering
graduate school and receiving a graduate degree. During the
past 8 years, 43 students participated in the program; 11 are
currently continuing. Twenty-eight students have received a
bachelor’s degree from our university. Of those students, 25
(89%) applied to graduate programs, and all were accepted.
Of the 25, 8 (32%) were accepted into doctoral programs, including clinical, industrial/organizational, neuroscience, experimental, school, counseling; 17 (68%) were accepted into
master’s programs, including school, counseling, and student
personnel. Only 1 student who applied to doctoral programs
was not accepted into a doctoral program. Of the 25, all have
either received a graduate degree or are currently in graduate
school.
Buckalew, L. W., & Lewis, H. H. (1982). Curriculum needs: Life
preparation for undergraduate psychology majors. Psychological
Reports, 51, 77–78.
Buskist, W. (1999). Teaching an undergraduate course in preparing
for graduate study in psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 26,
286–288.
Davis, S. F. (1988). The professional psychologist: A course designed
to introduce students to the profession of psychology. In P. J.
Woods (Ed.), Is psychology for them? A guide to undergraduate advising (pp. 75–78). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Dodson, J. P., Chastain, G., & Landrum, R. E. (1996). Psychology
seminar: Careers and graduate study in psychology. Teaching of
Psychology, 23, 238–240.
Oles, H. J., & Cooper, R. G., Jr. (1988). The professional seminar: A
new method for student advisement. In P. J. Woods (Ed.), Is psychology for them? A guide to undergraduate advising (pp. 61–63).
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Satterfield, C. D., & Abramson, C. I. (1998). The undergraduate
psychology club: Possibilities and suggested activities. Teaching of
Psychology, 25, 36–38.
Ware, M. E. (1988). Teaching and evaluating a career development
course for psychology majors. In P. J. Woods (Ed.), Is psychology for
them? A guide to undergraduate advising (pp. 64–74). Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.
Ware, M. E. (1992). Collegiate career advising: Status, antecedents,
and strategies. In A. E. Puente, J. R. Matthews, & C. L. Brewer
(Eds.), Teaching psychology in America: A history (pp. 39–69).
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Shortcomings
Notes
I keep the number of students involved in the informal
seminar small to achieve the stated objectives. Some readers
may consider the strict selection criteria as elitist, although I
have not experienced such criticism. Some students with an
interest in doctoral programs, and others interested in master’s programs, are not included in the group. Although those
students may not receive the personalized attention offered
by the informal seminar, they can obtain the necessary infor-
1. A version of this article was presented at the meeting of the
Southwestern Psychological Association, New Orleans, LA,
April 1998.
2. I thank Randolph Smith and three anonymous reviewers for their
comments on earlier drafts of this article.
3. Send correspondence and requests for the seminar schedule and
handouts to William J. Lammers, Department of Psychology &
Counseling, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR
72035; e-mail: billl@mail.uca.edu.
Student Outcomes and Feedback
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
59
A Summer Undergraduate Psychology
Internship in Scotland
C. D. Fernald
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
A month of psychology internship and travel in Scotland provides
students with hands-on experience with people with disabilities and
expands their global perspectives. Students assist staff in many aspects of client intervention at a day-treatment center, and daily
seminars cover clinical training issues. Evenings and weekends are
devoted to cultural events and travel for which students earn credit
in a cultural enrichment course. Many students have reported that
the experience is life changing in terms of both personal and professional growth.
Psychology internships that provide practical experience
for undergraduates are valuable for graduate school applications and for building résumés. As the globe shrinks with
increased cross-cultural communication and international
travel, students increasingly seek study abroad experiences.
In this article, I describe a program that combines a summer
psychology internship with study abroad—apparently a rare
combination. A review of resources in the teaching of psychology (e.g., Fulkerson & Wise, 1995; Johnson &
Schroder, 1997, 1998; Wise & Fulkerson, 1996) revealed
no articles on internships abroad. Handbooks on summer
internship programs abroad (e.g., Gliozzo & Tyson, 1998;
Steen, 1999) listed only two or three programs related to
psychology. Started in 1995, this Scotland internship program has been highly successful with the students, the faculty leader, and the internship site.
Course Development
History
The idea for this course emerged from several personal experiences. Having spent a semester teaching in Scotland, I
was interested in continuing to visit Scotland and in heightening student interest in travel. While in Scotland, I developed contacts at an excellent day-treatment center for adults
with mild to severe developmental disabilities. I routinely
teach the undergraduate psychology internship course and
courses in the University Honors program that require students to complete a community service project and a cultural
enrichment course. The plan for this program was to combine
the internship experience, community service project, and
enrichment activities from my home university and transplant them to Scotland. The psychology department, the
study abroad program at the university, and the disability
center in Scotland were excited about the plan and have enthusiastically supported the program for the past 5 years. Students can earn 3 course credits in an individualized
combination of courses in Honors community service,
Honors enrichment, psychology practicum, and Arts and
Sciences “nonresidential studies.”
60
Funding
Student fees (approximately $2,300 for airfare, local
travel, tuition, medical insurance, and lodging for 3½ weeks)
cover most expenses with modest additional support from the
university. Using group rates for air travel and an inexpensive
youth hostel minimizes costs. Program fees cover faculty
travel, living expenses, and a small salary.
Participants
Selection
Enrollment is open to all students, although most have
been from psychology, social work, education, and nursing. I
screen students to ensure that they are committed to working
with adults with developmental disabilities; open attitudes
and an interest in human service are more important to me
than specific courses or experiences. We need a minimum of
6 students to make the program financially feasible, and 12 is
the maximum that the center and I could handle. Although
the program is inexpensive compared to other trips, the cost
seems substantial to students accustomed to paying low state
tuition. We recruit participants through a campus study
abroad fair, and I prepare brochures and place posters around
campus. The program is also listed in some national handbooks (e.g., Steen, 1999) on study abroad. Forty-two students
have participated during the past 5 years.
Orientation
Participants enroll by mid-February. During an initial orientation meeting, students meet each other, see slides from
previous years, begin to learn about clients with disabilities,
and gather travel information. I pass out an itinerary, a list of
what to bring, a British–American phrase dictionary that I
wrote, and a course pack of readings and instructions for
working with clients. At the end of the spring semester, the
Office of International Programs conducts an orientation session for all university students studying abroad.
Once in Scotland, the director of the disability center and I
match students and staff. For example, we might pair a dance
minor with a dance therapist, and a student athlete might assist the sports director. Students assist staff in a variety of activities: art, music, movement, and gardening therapies; sports
and recreation; field trips; and self-help training. The day before work begins, there is an orientation at the center, a tour of
the facility, and a buffet reception with the staff.
Programming
Internship Activities
A van from the center picks up students at the youth hostel each morning. We have brief training sessions before students meet clients, but I emphasize learning by observing and
Teaching of Psychology
by doing, rather than waiting for detailed instructions.
Throughout the day, I float among different areas of the center, monitoring and coaching students. During a midday
meeting, we review events of the morning and resolve any
problems that are developing.
During evening seminars, we review readings and discuss
clinical issues such as ethics and safety, helping and listening
skills, positive attitudes toward disabilities, management of
seizures, positioning and lifting of immobile clients, causes of
mental retardation, behavioral programming, and treatment
planning. Students take turns leading discussions of
course-pack readings, and I require them to share insights,
develop activities to use with their clients, maintain a daily
journal of reflections on their experiences, and write a summary paper on the whole experience. Grading is on a
credit–no credit basis; all students have received course
credit during the past 5 years.
An annual group project at the center involves the students and clients working collaboratively. One year a student artist designed a mural that students completed with
clients—even those with profound disabilities. Other client–student partnerships have included creating a
minimusical, a wheelchair-friendly garden, and a
“day-in-my-life” photography project.
most meaningful experiences of their lives. Students
frequently report major positive changes in their attitudes
toward handicapped people, in their interest in working in
the human service professions, and in their personal values.
Course evaluations are quite positive. During the past 3
years, on the course evaluation item, “Overall, this course is
among the best I have ever taken,” 95% of students have
agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. The cumulative mean rating on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) has been 4.48 (SD = .60) versus a comparable mean for all psychology courses at our
university of 3.90 (SD = 1.10). On returning home, students regularly stop by my office to visit, attend annual reunions, and encourage their friends to enroll in the
program.
Aside from the effects on students, the program has had
powerful impacts on the clients and the staff at the agency.
Clients are excited about the arrival of students for weeks
ahead of time. Staff members usually feel enriched by the
presence of students and take pride in mentoring students.
The center has received favorable publicity from the media
and with local politicians.
Conclusions
Social Activities
Unlike tours in which participants visit many places
briefly, working for 3 weeks at the center allows students to
develop friendships with local people. Students may visit
homes of individual staff members or clients and will participate in many group social activities. A psychologist (a
friend of mine) always hosts a wonderful dinner for students
at his home. We have a traditional Scottish ceilidh (pronounced KAY lee) at the center with a live band playing
traditional Scottish music for dancing and singing and
plenty of food for clients, families, staff, and spouses. Lunch
on the last day consists of a barbecue picnic and involves
cooking on charcoal grills for over 150 people. On the final
evening, staff and students get together for a meal at a local
pub.
Travel and Enrichment
In addition to the internship course, students earn credit
for an Enrichment Seminar, a required course for University
Honors students, but open to other students as well. During
evenings, students attend and then write critiques of cultural
events such as art exhibits, concerts, historical sites, and theater performances. My psychologist–friend, who is also a local
politician, gives tours and assists with cultural events. During
the last 4 days, we visit the museums, theaters, and tourist attractions of London.
Impact and Evaluation
Evaluation of the program has been uniformly positive.
Participants often say that the program has been one of the
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
Combining study abroad with a psychology internship
and an enrichment course has been a fruitful program for
students, faculty, and the staff and clients at the Scottish
disability center. This program provides a useful model for
other faculty members to develop similar programs at other
overseas sites.
References
Fulkerson, F. E., & Wise, P. S. (1995). Annotated bibliography on the
teaching of psychology: 1994. Teaching of Psychology, 22, 248–253.
Gliozzo, C. A., & Tyson, V. K. (1998). Directory of international internships (4th ed.). East Lansing: Michigan State University, Career Services and Placement Office.
Johnson, D. E., & Schroder, S. I. (1997). Annotated bibliography on
the teaching of psychology: 1996. Teaching of Psychology, 24,
287–293.
Johnson, D. E., & Schroder, S. I. (1998). Annotated bibliography on
the teaching of psychology: 1997. Teaching of Psychology, 25,
307–314.
Steen, S. J. (1999). Vacation study abroad, 1999/2000. The complete
guide to summer and short term study. New York: Institute of International Education.
Wise, P. S., & Fulkerson, F. E. (1996). Annotated bibliography on the
teaching of psychology: 1995. Teaching of Psychology, 23, 257–264.
Notes
1. I thank Randolph A. Smith and two anonymous reviewers for
helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.
2. Send correspondence to C. D. (Denny) Fernald, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University
City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223–0001; e-mail: cdfernal@
email.uncc.edu; Web site: http://www.uncc.edu/cdfernal.
61
Recent Developments in High School
Psychology Education: An Extension
of Hakala (1999)
Adam S. Bristol
Yale University
Jennifer M. Gillis
State University of New York, Binghamton
Hakala (1999) described recent developments in the effort to improve high school psychology education, such as the establishment
of a psychology Advanced Placement exam and the efforts of
Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools. We expand on
Hakala’s article by describing additional developments in high
school psychology education, namely the initiation of the Psychology Partnership Project, the creation of national teaching standards, and the increased usefulness of the Internet and other
computer technology. Like Hakala, we advocate a new national
survey to evaluate the improvement of high school psychology education and to identify areas that remain deficient.
By current estimates, nearly 900,000 high school students take a course in psychology each year (Ernst &
Petrossian, 1996). Despite such substantial enrollment, psychology is not considered a central component of the high
school curriculum (Ragland, 1992). In addition, past reports on high school psychology have cited deficiencies in
areas such as teacher training and course content (Ragland,
1992; Ware & Johns, 1990).
When recent efforts are considered, however, it seems
that today’s high school psychology education might be
better than the available literature suggests. Hakala (1999)
identified two important examples: the introduction of the
Advanced Placement (AP) exam in psychology and the organization of the Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools
(TOPSS), each in 1992 (Ernst & Petrossian, 1996). Additionally, continuing education for high school psychology
teachers has improved with the growth of teaching workshops sponsored by the American Psychological Association
(APA), TOPSS, and other institutes (Ernst & Petrossian,
1996; Hakala, 1999; Nelson & Stricker, 1992).
In this article, we describe an additional development in
high school psychology education, the Psychology Partnerships Project (P3), and elaborate on two issues that Hakala
(1999) underemphasized, the establishment of national
teaching standards and innovations in computer technology.
Lastly, we join with Hakala in recommending a new national
survey to assess the current state of high school psychology.
P3
Teaching a high school course in psychology requires an
extensive knowledge base and an adeptness for presenting diverse subject matter. Unfortunately, the most recent surveys
on high school psychology noted that teachers were not
well-trained in psychology (fewer than 20 college credit
hours), devoted more of their time to teaching other subjects,
62
and were often the only member of faculty teaching psychology (Ragland, 1992; Ware & Johns, 1990). Thus, eliminating
professional isolation, providing opportunities to develop
ideas, and improving course content appear to be necessary
steps toward improving high school psychology education.
As Hakala (1999) noted, the success of TOPSS has done
much to address these issues by connecting high school psychology teachers nationwide, providing teaching materials,
and organizing teaching conferences. More recently, the
APA initiated P3, a large-scale effort to establish collaborations among psychology instructors working at different educational levels and among psychology teachers and
professionals (Clay, 1997; http://www.apa.org/ed/p3.html).
One goal of P3 is to facilitate collegiality among psychology
instructors, thereby enhancing consultation and resource-sharing opportunities and enabling different levels of
instruction to evolve together.
We believe that the structure of P3 will be particularly
beneficial for high school psychology teachers. One way in
which high school psychology instructors will benefit from
P3 through interactions with college instructors. Collaborations linking high school and college teachers have proven
to be an effective way of enhancing high school curricula in
other disciplines, primarily by providing a source of continuing education and insight into course construction (Di
Sibio & Gamble, 1997; Henderson, 1994; Weiten et al.,
1993). In fact, the American Association for Higher Education has actively promoted programs that unite local college
instructors with high school teachers (Weiten et al., 1993).
High school–college teacher collaborations in psychology
have been successful, but few. Two notable examples are
the North Carolina Association of Psychology Teachers, a
collaboration between Western Carolina University psychologists and area high school teachers (see Henderson,
1994), and the Syracuse University Project Advance course
in psychology (http://supa.syr.edu). P3 should fill the need
for more collaborations between high school and college
psychology instructors and, in so doing, provide substantial
resources for high school psychology teachers. Through P3,
high school teachers will also have opportunities to communicate with psychology professionals, thereby providing additional resources and perhaps opening the door for guest
lectures or student internships.
National Teaching Standards
Hakala (1999) correctly identified the advent of the AP
course and exam in psychology as a definitive improvement
in high school psychology education; AP course content is
qualitatively similar to that of a first-year college psychology
course and is comparable in difficulty. Although the number
of students taking the AP exam in psychology has grown dramatically, it still represents a small fraction of the total number of students who take a high school course in psychology
annually (i.e., in non-AP courses; Ernst & Petrossian, 1996;
Hiller & Collins, 1996). For this reason, the success of
TOPSS and APA in establishing national teaching standards
is also an important development (Sleek, 1999). At the urging of TOPSS members, the APA commissioned a Task
Force on National High School Psychology Standards in
Teaching of Psychology
1995 to devise a comprehensive program for the teaching of
high school psychology. Recently adopted in August 1999
and now available through the APA Education Directorate
or the APA Web site (http://www.apa.org/ed), the program
includes course content recommendations (i.e., unit plans,
supplementary texts, technology resources) as well as suggestions for teaching approaches and student evaluation (Azar
& Martin, 1999).
The importance of the national teaching standards cannot
be overstated. The comprehensive and carefully reviewed
national standards program provides a framework for current
high school psychology teachers, AP or not, to expand their
course content. In addition, future high school psychology
teachers will be able to use the standards when they construct
their courses. Thus, the national standards have the potential to affect the majority of high school psychology students.
For students interested in pursuing a career in psychology,
the breadth of the national standards will provide an accurate
introduction to the field and allow for a smoother transition
to the study of psychology at the college level. However, it remains to be seen how quickly and widely the standards are
adopted by high school instructors.
The Use of Computer Technology
The past 20 years have seen computers become a central
part of education (Beins, 1989; Moulder, Maarse, Sjouw, &
Akkerman, 1991). More recently, the Internet and the Web
have become essential communication and information
tools. In theory, effective use of computer technology could
allow high school psychology teachers to maintain contact
with colleagues and to access a wide variety of teaching resources (Trapp, Hammond, & Bray, 1996). For example, as
Hakala (1999) mentioned, high school psychology instructors can now utilize Internet mail, message boards, and news
groups to maintain contact with colleagues. Additionally, the
Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology, an initiative of
the APA’s Division Two (Society for the Teaching of Psychology), now offers peer-reviewed teaching materials that
are accessible directly through their Web site
(http://www.lemoyne.edu/OTRP). The Internet’s greatest
assets, however, are the volume and diversity of information
that it contains. There are searchable databases of the psychological literature as well as online editions of major newspapers, magazines, and library catalogs. Multimedia
capabilities make computers effective in the classroom as
well. Although all of these benefits are promising, it is not
known to what extent high school psychology teachers use
computer technology.
Conclusions
With significant developments in high school psychology
education over the last 10 years, it is important to determine
the effectiveness of these initiatives with the administration
of an updated national survey. A new national survey could
also gather information necessary for shaping future initiatives, such as assaying computer use among high school
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
teachers. Lastly, it might be possible to use a national survey
to alert high school teachers of the new national teaching
standards and P3, thus collecting valuable data and promoting new initiatives simultaneously.
References
Azar, B., & Martin, S. (1999, October). APA’s Council of Representatives endorses new standards for testing, high school psychology.
APA Monitor, 30, 11.
Beins, B. C. (1989). A survey of computer use reported in Teaching of
Psychology: 1974–1988. Teaching of Psychology, 16, 143–145.
Clay, R. A. (1997, November). New project seeks to foster collaboration among teachers. APA Monitor, 28, 34.
Di Sibio, R. A., & Gamble, R. J. (1997). Collaboration between
schools and higher education: The key to success. College Student
Journal, 31, 532–536.
Ernst, R., & Petrossian, P. (1996). Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS): Aiming for excellence in high school
psychology instruction. American Psychologist, 51, 256–258.
Hakala, C. M. (1999). Some observations of the current state of high
school psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 26, 122–123.
Henderson, B. B. (1994). The role of psychology departments in supporting secondary school teachers of psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 21, 107–108.
Hiller, R. B., & Collins, D. (1996). School district wealth and participation in college preparatory courses. The High School Journal, 80,
49–59.
Moulder, L. J. M., Maarse, F. J., Sjouw, W. P. B., & Akkerman, A. E.
(Eds.). (1991). Computers in psychology: Applications in education,
research, and psychodiagnostics. Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
Swets & Zeitlinger.
Nelson, P. D., & Stricker, G. (1992). Advancing the teaching of psychology: Contributions of the American Psychological Association, 1946–1992. In A. E. Puente, J. R. Matthews, & C. L. Brewer
(Eds.), Teaching psychology in America: A history (pp. 345–364).
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Ragland, R. G. (1992). Teachers and teacher education in high
school psychology: A national survey. Teaching of Psychology, 19,
73–78.
Sleek, S. (1999, February). Board favors broader high school curriculum. APA Monitor, 30, 45.
Trapp, A., Hammond, N., & Bray, D. (1996). Internet and the support of psychology education. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 28, 174–176.
Ware, M. E., & Johns, R. L. (1990). Teaching psychology in high
school: The Nebraska experience. Psychological Reports, 67,
984–986.
Weiten, W., Davis, S. F., Jegerski, J. A., Kasschau, R. A., Mandel, K.
B., & Wade, C. (1993). From isolation to community: Increasing
communication and collegiality among psychology teachers. In T.
V. McGovern (Ed.), Handbook for enhancing undergraduate education in psychology (pp. 123–159). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Notes
1. We thank Heather L. Gitlin, Virginia A. Andreoli Mathie, and
Peter Petrossian for providing information on AP psychology, P3,
and TOPSS, respectively. Thanks also go to James C. Kaufman,
Randolph A. Smith, Robert J. Sternberg, and three anonymous
reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript.
63
2. Send correspondence to Adam S. Bristol, Department of Psychology, Yale University, PO Box 208205, New Haven, CT
06520–4844; e-mail: adam.bristol@yale.edu.
Offering a Course in Humanistic
and Transpersonal Psychology
in a Traditional Psychology Department
Edward W. L. Smith
William D. McIntosh
Georgia Southern University
We introduced a humanistic and transpersonal psychology course
into a traditional undergraduate curriculum. The course addressed
metaneeds, consciousness, altered states of consciousness, Eastern
and Western meditative practices, mytho-poetic wisdom, and metaphoric epistemology. Classes included both didactic and experiential teaching methods. Quantitative data from standardized course
evaluations and qualitative data from open-ended questionnaires
provided converging lines of evidence of high student satisfaction.
In addition, quantitative data from the Personal Orientation Inventory (Shostrom, 1963) provided evidence that students grew
personally from the course. With all 14 scales changing in the predicted direction, 6 reached significance.
Humanistic and transpersonal psychology, the “third” and
“fourth” forces in psychology, offer a view of the person that
goes beyond that offered by behavioral theory or by classical
psychoanalytic theory. They were created not as replacements for behaviorism and psychoanalysis, but as positions
that add a dimension lacking in behaviorism with its mechanistic and partitive view of the person and also in psychoanalysis with its maladjustment bias.
Humanistic psychology draws on the long tradition of linking psychology with the humanities and sees the necessity of
studying the person from a holistic perspective. It explores
people’s potential for psychological growth and happiness,
whereas transpersonal psychology extends this exploration
by focusing on the contour between psychology and spirituality. Humanistic and transpersonal psychology bring the ideas
from many ancient traditions into a psychological language
and scientific framework. According to Maslow (1971),
transpersonal psychology addresses “the farther reaches of
human nature.”
It is not uncommon for undergraduate psychology majors
to have little or no exposure to humanistic and
transpersonal psychology unless they are in one of the few
psychology departments that specializes in these approaches. This omission is unfortunate for a number of reasons. First, humanistic and transpersonal approaches to
psychology are important and influential perspectives. The
existence of the Division of Humanistic Psychology (Div.
32) within the American Psychological Association, representing humanistic and transpersonal interests, reflects this
importance. Second, humanistic and transpersonal psychology afford students a unique opportunity for self-explora-
64
tion and personal growth. Third, based on our experience,
students are eager to learn about humanistic and
transpersonal psychology.
One of the challenges that may face an instructor who
wishes to teach a course in humanistic and transpersonal psychology is skepticism from colleagues. The proposed course
may be criticized as lacking substance or rigor. Although any
course can lack substance and rigor if the instructor makes it
so, a course in humanistic and transpersonal psychology is no
more likely to suffer these faults than any other course. Although the course did provide students with the opportunity
for personal growth, students reported in their course evaluations that it was also an intellectually challenging course.
Lectures and readings addressed such issues as the historical
and theoretical underpinnings for a humanistic and
transpersonal approach to psychology, the connection between psychology and existential philosophy, and the distinctive research approaches often used. Research in humanistic
and transpersonal psychology tends to rely on qualitative
methodology. It is a rigorous methodology, but it sometimes
faces bias in a field dominated by quantitative methodology
(Giorgi, 1992).
We developed a course in humanistic and transpersonal
psychology in our department and team taught it for the
first time in the fall semester of 1998. It was offered as a
midlevel, 3-credit elective course, and 30 students enrolled.
Course Goals and Structure
In designing the course, we sought a balance of scholarly
content and opportunities for personal growth. Thus, our
goals were to (a) familiarize students with the history and basic philosophy of both humanistic and transpersonal psychology as well as with various content areas within these schools
of thought, (b) expose students to Eastern and Western
methods of personal and transpersonal growth, and (c) present the course in a style consistent with the content. We attempted to cultivate a positive and supportive environment
in the class, and we relied heavily on experiential approaches
to teaching and learning.
The class format included lectures, theme-centered discussions (e.g., comparing and contrasting Maslow’s, 1971, hierarchy of needs and the chakra model from the Hindu
tradition, and the costs and benefits of using hallucinogenic
drugs in a spiritual context), and experiential exercises both
in and out of class. Often, we reserved the second half of the
class period for experiential exercises to bring the material to
life in a personally relevant manner. When students did experiential exercises out of class, we used the second half of
the class period to discuss their experiences.
Course Description
Course Content
The topics covered in the course appear in Table 1. Students read Joseph Campbell’s (1990) Transformations of Myth
Teaching of Psychology
Through Time, plus 17 shorter readings from journals and
books. These readings included a diverse array of material,
including articles on consciousness and its alterations
(Huxley, 1954; James, 1890/1973; Ludwig, 1966; Smith,
1992), meditation (Hanh, 1988), near-death experience
(Wren-Lewis, 1994), enlightenment (Kapleau, 1965), spiritually guided sexuality (Watts, 1968), and a humanistic perspective on psychology (Schneider, 1998). We chose to cover
foundational thinkers such as Maslow, Rogers, May,
Bugenthal, and Heidegger in lecture rather than through
readings so that students could spend their time reading more
specific or advanced material.
A major component of the course was a term paper. Students could choose any appropriate topic, subject to our approval. Because transpersonal psychology involves the
psychological study of spirituality and religion, it lends itself
to a wide range of interesting and interdisciplinary topics.
This breadth was reflected in the topics our students chose,
which included “sex and the Christian faith,” “altered states
of consciousness in Norse mythology,” “yoga,” “the Egyptian
afterlife,” “templates of consciousness,” “shamanism and psychotherapy,” “origins of the Arthurian legend,” and “the use
of hallucinogenic drugs.” Of course, students had to address
all topics from a psychological perspective.
Experiential Component
A vital component of humanistic and transpersonal psychology is an emphasis on lived experience in addition to traditional intellectual exploration. Therefore, the course
included approximately 20 experiential exercises. Students
tried a number of different types of meditation: Zen Buddhist
sitting meditation, mandala meditation (gazing at geometric
patterns) and mantra meditation (chanting) from the Hindu
tradition, a guided visualization meditation, and listening to
joik (chanting) from the Western Sami (Lapp) tradition. On
a temperate afternoon, students participated in Zen walking
meditation outdoors. Also outdoors in a wooded setting, students participated in a “journey” mediated by traditional shamanic drumming in the Native American tradition. We also
used a strobe light and repetitious taped auditory input to induce an altered state of consciousness. Students formed pairs
and took turns being blindfolded and led around campus by
their partners in the classic humanistic exercise known as the
“blind walk” (Stevens, 1971). Students always had the option
to decline to participate if they were not comfortable, but
most were willing if not eager to take a chance in the supportive environment we created. After each exercise, we allotted
time to process the experience.
Table 1
Outline of Topics Covered in the Course
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Overview of humanistic and transpersonal psychology
Self-actualization and the fully-functioning person
Introduction to mythology
Native American mythology
The self and ego
Consciousness and altered states of consciousness
Peak experiences and enlightenment
Western mythology
Death and afterlife
Love and relationship
Being-in-the-world (humanistic and transpersonal
perspectives on money, ecology, social ills)
the 38 undergraduate psychology courses offered during the
same semester was 3.80 (SD = 0.53). Students’ open-ended
comments included on the course evaluation form were consistent with the positive quantitative evaluation. Some of the
comments were “by [taking] this course, my life has
changed;” “this class teaches you to think for yourself;” “it
has been a wonderful, eye-opening experience;” “it changed
my perspective on some life-long beliefs;” “(it) has opened my
mind in a very good way;” “my grades in other courses have
increased this semester because of the new insight I have on
life;” “I’ve never had a class interest me so much while also
pushing the limits of my way of thinking;” “I was faced with a
lot of great intellectual readings;” and “this course actually
made me think.”
Objective Measure of the Course’s Benefit to Students
We were interested in whether the course had any growth
effect on the students. To assess this question, we administered the Personal Orientation Inventory (Shostrom, 1963),
a scale designed to measure “self-actualizing tendencies,” at
the beginning and again at the end of the course. Scores on
all 14 of the subscales changed in the direction indicating
greater self-actualizing tendencies; 6 were statistically significant, reflecting focus on the present, independence from others’ views, inner directedness, sensitivity to one’s feelings,
spontaneity, and capacity for intimate contact. Of special interest, the subscales Inner Directed and Capacity for Intimate Contact were not only significant but showed
movement from outside the optimal range to inside the optimal range of actualization. None of the subscales on
posttesting were above the self-actualizing range, which suggests that the results do not reflect an attempt to “fake good.”
Conclusions
Course Evaluation
Quantitative Student Evaluations and Comments
On the standard evaluation form used by our university,
students rated the course 4.80 (SD = 0.58) on a 5-point scale
ranging from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). The average rating for
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2001
Based on student response, we would not make any major
revisions to our course. Both the quantitative and the qualitative course evaluations reflect high student satisfaction. In
addition, the Personal Orientation Inventory (Shostrom,
1963) provided evidence for personal growth on the part of
the students. From our experience, we conclude that an elec-
65
tive course in humanistic and transpersonal psychology is a
viable option in the undergraduate psychology curriculum.
References
Campbell, J. (1990). Transformations of myth through time. New York:
Harper & Row.
Giorgi, A. (1992). The idea of human science. The Humanistic Psychologist, 20, 202–217.
Hanh, T. N. (1988). The sun my heart. San Francisco: Parallax.
Huxley, A. (1954). The doors of perception. New York: Harper & Row.
James, W. (1973). The stream of consciousness. In R. Ornstein
(Ed.), The nature of human consciousness (pp. 153–166). San Francisco: Freeman. (Original work published 1890)
Kapleau, P. (1965). The three pillars of Zen. New York: Doubleday.
Ludwig, A. M. (1966). Altered states of consciousness. Archives of
General Psychiatry, 15, 225–234.
Maslow, A. H. (1971). The farther reaches of human nature. New
York: Viking.
66
Schneider, K. J. (1998). Toward a science of the heart: Romanticism
and the revival of psychology. American Psychologist, 53, 277–289.
Shostrom, E. L. (1963). Personal Orientation Inventory (POI). San
Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Service.
Smith, E. W. L. (1992). The sweat lodge experience from a Gestalt
neo-Reichian perspective. Voices, 28(4), 37–43.
Stevens, J. O. (1971). Awareness: Exploring, experimenting, experiencing. New York: Bantam.
Watts, A. W. (1968). Cloud-hidden, whereabouts unknown. New
York: Random House.
Wren-Lewis, J. (1994). Aftereffects of near-death experiences: A
survival mechanism hypothesis. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 26, 107–115.
Note
Send correspondence to Edward W. L. Smith, Department of Psychology, Box 8041, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA
30460–8041; e-mail: esmith@gasou.edu.
Teaching of Psychology