Heinemann

psychology
behaviour
attitudes
research

psychology

one
second edition

Helen Skouteris
Maren Rawlings
Michael J Platow
David Rawlings
Colin Barry
with contributions by
Elizabeth Pizarro

Heinemann
HARCOURT EDUCATION
22 Salmon Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria 3207
World Wide Web hi.com.au
Email [email protected]
Reed International Books Australia Pty Ltd 2004
First published 2004
2007 2006 2005 2004
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copying for educational purposes
The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or
10% of this book, whichever is the greater, to be copied by any educational
institution for its educational purposes provided that that educational institution
(or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright
Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
For details of the CAL licence for educational institutions contact CAL, Level 19,
157 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, tel (02) 9394 7600, fax (02) 9394 7601,
email [email protected].
Copying for other purposes
Except as permitted under the Act, for example any fair dealing for the purposes
of study, research, criticism or review, no part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without
prior written permission. All enquiries should be made to the publisher at the
address above.
This book is not to be treated as a blackline master; that is, any photocopying
beyond fair dealing requires prior written permission.
Publisher: Malcolm Parsons
Editor: Sara Creasy
Text designer: Leigh Ashforth
Cover designer: Leigh Ashforth
Illustrations: Dimitrios Prokopis, Nahum Ziersch, Guy Holt, Alan Laver,
Paul Knye, Rebecca Harrison
Photograph researchers: Gil Birnstin, Helen Mammides, Dan Nicholls
Typeset in 11/13 pt Garamond by Leigh Ashforth
Film supplied by Splitting Image
Printed in China by H & Y
National Library of Australia cataloguing-in-publication data:
Rawlings, Maren and Skouteris, Helen
Heinemann Psychology One.
2nd ed.
Includes index.
For year 11 students.
ISBN 1 74081 054 6 (Pack).
ISBN 1 74081 115 1 (Textbook).
1. Personality. 2. Psychology Research.
3. Psychology. 4. Behaviourism (Psychology). I. Rawlings, Maren.
II. Title.
150
Reed International Books Australia Pty Ltd

ACN 001 002 357

Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright. The publisher
would welcome any information from people who believe they own copyright to
material in this book.

contents

contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Heinemann Psychology One, Second Edition and the Study Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

UNIT 1

Area of Study 1

Introduction to psychology
CHAPTER 1 What is psychology?

Psychology as a discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

CHAPTER 2 History of psychology

10

Major events in the history of psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

CHAPTER 3 Research in psychology

18

The scientific nature of psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

An example of psychological research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Writing an empirical research activity report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Empirical research activity: Are jokes funnier when told in a group? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

CHAPTER 4 Ethics

35

Ethical principles in psychological research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Ethical principles in the use of animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

UNIT 1

Area of Study 2

Social relationships
CHAPTER 5 Anti-social behaviour

46

Characteristics of anti-social behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Bullying and harassment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Learning and anti-social behaviour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Empirical research activity: Assisting and defending against bullies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

CHAPTER 6 Pro-social behaviour

63

Characteristics of pro-social behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Factors that influence pro-social behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Factors that influence reluctance to help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Empirical research activity: Pro-social behaviour in lifts and hallways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

CHAPTER 7 Social influence

78

Definition of social influence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

How groups influence individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Factors affecting conformity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Factors affecting obedience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

iii

iv

heinemann psychology one

Effects of status and power within groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Ethical principles related to studies of conformity and obedience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Empirical research activity: Social influence in gawking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Evaluation of a research design: Conformity to members of ones own group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

UNIT 1

Area of Study 3

Development of individual behaviour

CHAPTER 8 Perceptual development

98

Why study perceptual development? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Research methods used to study perceptual skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Infants visual perceptual abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Development of depth perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

CHAPTER 9 Cognitive development

112

Piagets principles and theory of cognitive development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Sensori-motor stage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Pre-operational stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Concrete and formal operational stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Empirical research activity: Investigating concrete operational thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

CHAPTER 10 Self-esteem

137

Self-concept and self-esteem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Development of self-esteem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Evaluation of a research design: Self-esteem in overweight children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

UNIT 2

Area of Study 1

Introduction to neurons
and nervous system
CHAPTER 11 Role of the neuron

148

The structure of the neuron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Direction of information transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
The synapse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Ethical principles in psychological research of the nervous system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Empirical research activity: The effects of exercise on reflex action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

CHAPTER 12 The central nervous system

169

The hindbrain and midbrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

The forebrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
How the brain functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
The spinal cord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

contents

Ethical principles in psychological research of the nervous system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Empirical research activity: Temporal and spatial summation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

CHAPTER 13 The peripheral nervous system

195

The somatic nervous system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

The autonomic nervous system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Research design methods and ethical principles in psychological studies of the nervous system . . . 207
Empirical research activity: The effects of coffeea double-blind experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Evaluation of a research design: The effects of dream deprivation on adaptation to stress . . . . . . . . 212

UNIT 2

Area of Study 2

Individual differences
CHAPTER 14 Normality and individual differences

214

Normality and abnormality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

The statistical approach to normality and abnormality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Testing intelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Testing personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Ethical principles in psychological testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

CHAPTER 15 Intelligence and intelligence testing

237

Early concepts of intelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Cattells fluid and crystallised intelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Wechslers empirical approach to intelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Sternbergs hierarchical model of intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Gardners theory of multiple intelligences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Empirical research activity: A child and adolescent intelligence scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

CHAPTER 16 Theories of personality

260

Freud and psychoanalysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Empirical approaches to personality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
The trait theory of Eysenck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Rogers and the humanistic approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Skinner and the learning approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Empirical research activity: Relating extraversion and neuroticism using the M-37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

CHAPTER 17 Mental illness and mental health

287

A modern diagnostic system for mental disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Classification of anxiety disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
What causes anxiety disorders? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Criticisms of the current diagnostic system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Evaluation of research design: The effects of anxiety on Stroop performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

vi

heinemann psychology one

UNIT 2

Area of Study 3

Social attitudes
CHAPTER 18 Attitudes and how they are measured

308

What do we mean by attitudes?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Measuring attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Evaluating methods used to measure attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Correlation between attitudes and behaviours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Ethical principles appropriate to conducting questionnaire research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Empirical research activity: Measuring attitudes towards after-school study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

CHAPTER 19 How attitudes are formed and changed

324

Forming attitudes by direct interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

The Message Learning Approach to persuasion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
The Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Empirical research activity: Learning attitudes through association. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

CHAPTER 20 Prejudice

339

Relationship between attitudes and prejudice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Forms of prejudice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Development of prejudice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Empirical research activity: Examining attitudes towards women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

CHAPTER 21 Reducing prejudice

356

Intergroup contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Superordinate goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Cognitive interventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Empirical research activity: Experiences with intergroup contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Evaluation of a research design: Reducing prejudice in a jigsaw classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Appendix: Code of ethics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

introduction

Introduction
The second editions of Heinemann Psychology One and Heinemann Psychology Two
have been fully revised and upgraded to match the new VCE Psychology Study Design.
In line with current developments in communication technology, the new editions are
presented as a student pack consisting of a textbook and interactive CD-ROM.
These new editions have been developed in consultation with teachers, students and
psychologists over the last three years, and the changes reflect the feedback and input
generated. The texts have been fully redesigned and structured. Recent developments
in psychology are included, and new contexts and case studies add appeal. Where possible, modern Australian case studies have been used.
Each book is divided into Areas of Study corresponding to the syllabus, and these
are further divided into chapters. Each chapter opening page lists the Key knowledge
and Key skills addressed in that chapter. Research methods are integrated throughout the chapters, and Heinemann Psychology Two also contains a full chapter on this area
to increase flexibility of use so it can be used for introduction, review or easy reference.
The texts are aimed at making the study of psychology interesting, enjoyable and
meaningful. To this end, much thought has gone into their layout and design. A more
open and visual layout has been adopted, and special attention given to language level,
expression and non-written communication. Other features include:
Each chapter is divided into clear-cut sections that finish with a set of key questions to assist students in consolidating the key points and concepts of that section.
Greater use of subheadings within sections break the text up into manageable
chunks.
Exam style-questions are provided at the end of each chapter, consisting of multiple
choice and short answer questions.
Each chapter also finishes with a projectan essay, poster or multimedia presentation.
This provides students with practice on these important assessment tasks. Further
examples of these tasks are available on the Teachers Resource and Assessment Disk.
Empirical research activities and Evaluation of a research design activities
throughout the texts address the remaining assessment tasks. Chapter 1 in Heinemann
Psychology Two also includes a model empirical research activity.
Enjoyable and achievable activities assist in the understanding of key concepts.
Classic study boxes feature landmarks in psychology.
Psychology in action boxes look at psychology in real-life situations.
Case study boxes relate actual case studies to concepts in the text.
Extension boxes contain material that goes beyond the core content of the syllabus.
These are intended for students who wish to expand their depth of understanding in
a particular area. The material may be conceptual or contextual.
Running glossary in the margin and full glossary at the end of the book.
Chapter summaries.

Heinemann ePsychology features:

a complete electronic copy of the textbook
interactive tutorials, which model and simulate key psychology concepts.

vii

viii heinemann psychology one

Support material
Heinemann Psychology One Teachers Resource and Assessment Disk makes planning, structuring and implementing the new syllabus easy. It provides strong support
for the second edition of the student pack, and features:
comprehensive work program, which integrates all aspects of the series and is set out
in an easy-to-use week-by-week format
worksheets and extra activities that cater for different learning styles, and indicated
by icons in the textbook where they are most suitable to undertake
W

WORKSHEET 1

detailed suggested answers to all textbook questions

OHTs/PowerPoint slides of key diagrams
two complete tests for each Area of Study

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1

sample assessment tasks

full copy of ePsychology.

Note to students and teachers:

essays, posters and multimedia presentations
At the end of each chapter is a project that will allow students valuable practice in
writing essays and creating posters and multimedia presentations.

Essays
Each essay should include a heading, at least one reference other than the textbook, and a
reference list or bibliography at the end of the essay (see referencing guide in chapter 1).
Remember that an essay has three sections: an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
There must also be a clear flow of ideas from paragraph to paragraph. A suggested
guideline for each section is provided. Being guidelines only, they may be modified and
rearranged. A list of main ideas is given, to be incorporated into the body of the essay.
Some of these may require more than one paragraph to be addressed adequately. Each
chapter essay should be between 400 and 600 words in length.

Posters
Posters should be on A3 or A2 poster paper. They should not be an essay redistributed
to look like a poster. Include a large, clear heading, and well-labelled and relevant
diagrams, tables and images. Length should be between 250 and 350 words. Included
is a suggested way of organising the information.

Multimedia presentations
Multimedia presentations may be presented as a PowerPoint slides or as a website. They
should not be an essay redistributed to look like a multimedia presentation. Make use
of summarising tools such as headings, subheadings, dot points, tables, diagrams and
other images. Length should be between 250 and 350 words, and the presentation
should include between 6 and 8 slides. Included on the Teacher Resource Disk is a
suggested way of organising the information from slide to slide.

syllabus grid

Syllabus grid
Heinemann Psychology One, Second Edition
and the Study Design
Note: A more detailed mapping grid is available on the Heinemann Psychology One
Teachers Resource and Assessment Disk.

Unit 1

Chapters

Area of Study 1
Introduction to psychology
Outcome 1

1
2
3
4

What is psychology?
History of psychology
Research in psychology
Ethics
Reseach methods are also integrated throughout the
other Areas of Study, exactly as specified in the
Study Design

Area of Study 2
Social relationships
Outcome 2

5
6
7

Anti-social behaviour
Pro-social behaviour
Social influence

Area of Study 3
Development of individual
behaviour
Outcome 3

8
9
10

Perceptual development
Cognitive development
Self-esteem

Unit 2

Chapters

Area of Study 1
Introduction to neurons and
nervous system
Outcome 1

11
12
13

Role of the neuron

The central nervous system
The peripheral nervous system

Area of Study 2
Individual differences
Outcome 2

14
15
16
17

Normality and individual differences

Intelligence and intelligence testing
Theories of personality
Mental illness and mental health

Area of Study 3
Social attitudes
Outcome 3

18
19
20
21

Attitudes and how they are measured

How attitudes are formed and changed
Prejudice
Reducing prejudice

ix

heinemann psychology one

Acknowledgements
Authors acknowledgements
Maren and David Rawlings
We would like to thank their psychology students at the University of Melbourne and
Methodist Ladies' College (1991 to 2003) for their inspiration and enthusiasm.
We should like to dedicate this book to our children, Andrew and Katherine, who
are mastering different disciplines.

Helen Skouteris
I would like to thank my husband, Argiri, for running the show, so to speak, when I
was busy writing chapters for this book, and my children, Chrisoula and Dimitri, for
reminding me constantly that there is more to life than work.

Michael Platow
I would like to thank my wife, Diana Grace, for her continued support and encouragement while I worked on the many chapters for this book. Without her support, I would
not have been able to complete this project.
I would like to dedicate this book to my parents, Dr Joseph Platow and Clara Platow.

Publishers acknowledgements
The authors and publisher would like to thank Elizabeth Pizarro, Maria SpackmanWilliams, Jody Koerner, Colin Barry, Leonie Fryer and Georgia Smith for their
invaluable input during the development of this series.
AAP: pp. 73, 180 (top), 300, 341, 351, 357 (bottom); ANT Photo Library: pp. 237, 249
(left); Austral: pp. 5, 80, 105 (top left), 128, 160 (top), 162, 174, 201 (top), 241, 273, 274,
275 (both), 349; Australian Picture Library/Corbis: pp. 8 (top), 36, 41, 54, 56 (top), 64,
70, 89, 91, 114, 95, 116 (top left), 118, 152, 172 (left), 173 (top), 189, 196 (top), 201
(bottom), 214, 216 (bottom), 238 (top), 342, 345 (bottom), 347 (top), 350 (top), 359
(top), 367; Australian Psychological Society: p. 38; Australian Sports Commission: p. 6;
Malcolm Cross: p. 121, 112, 116 (top right, bottom left); Mary Evans: p. 218; Fairfax
Photos: pp, 2, 12, 13, 33, 47, 79, 170, 295, 345 (top); Getty: pp. 10, 279, 286; Merrilyn
Hooley, Deakin University: p. 106; Imagen/Bill Thomas: pp. 46, 48, 49 (left), 52, 67
(both), 68, 82 (top), 88 (top), 142, 143, 333 (top), 357 (top), 358, 356, 359 (bottom), 368;
Lonely Planet: pp. 159, 289; Newspix: pp. 69, 184, 220, 226, 230, 265, 325 (top), 343,
344; Northside: pp. 66, 77, 78, 85, 86 (top), 100, 169, 182, 186, 193, 254, 299;
Nubots/Newcastle University Robotics Team: p. 149; Photodisc: pp. 1, 3, 15 (right), 18,
21, 35, 42, 45, 49 (right), 56 (bottom), 57, 65, 82 (bottom), 87, 97, 99, 101, 102, 104,
105 (top right), 105 (bottom), 113, 115, 116 (bottom right), 130, 132, 138, 139, 140,
146, 148, 158, 160 (bottom), 172 (right), 173 (bottom), 177, 178 (bottom), 181, 196
(bottom), 197, 198, 199, 200 (both), 195, 204, 205 (both), 206, 210 (both), 212, 213, 216
(top), 217, 221 (both), 222, 223, 228, 229, 247, 248, 249 (right), 252, 258, 261, 262,
263, 264 (right), 266, 269, 270, 278 (both), 296, 297, 303 (both), 307, 309, 310, 315,
323, 324, 330, 331, 333 (bottom), 334, 338, 340, 346, 347 (bottom), 355, 360 (both);
Photolibrary.com: pp. 8 (right), 40 (both), 61, 86 (bottom), 147, 178 (top), 234, 287, 291,
293; Science Photo Library: p. 180 (botom); Scope Features: p. 155; Sport the Library: pp.
339, 350 (bottom), 361; The Art Archive: p. 268; The Picture Desk: p. 292; TAC: p. 329;
Smith Family: p. 64; VicHealth: p. 334 (top).
The publisher would also like to thank and acknowledge Sara Creasy for her outstanding
editorial work and management of this project.

UNIT 1 |

Area of Study 1
psychology
behaviour
attitudes
research

Introduction
to psychology
outcome1
On completion of this unit the student
should be able to explain how the field of
psychology provides scientific explanations
of behaviour with particular principles,
procedures and approaches to data.

00

01

02

03

04

chapter
psychology

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:

What is
psychology?

the systematic study of behaviour and

mental processes, including perception,
cognition and emotion
the distinction between psychology
and psychiatry and the diverse fields
of psychology as a discipline and a
profession.

key skills
To come???

00

01

02

03

04

chapter 1 what is psychology?

FIGURE 1.1
What can a baby perceive?
How do we know what
someone is thinking?
Can behaviour be predicted?
How does personality develop?
The study of psychology
investigates these and other
questions.

Psychology is the study of the nature and development of mind and behaviour in both
humans and animals, including the biological structures and processes that underpin and
sustain both.

VCE Study Design, 2003

Why do people join groups? When do infants first perceive depth? Which part of the
brain is responsible for relaying information about vision to other areas of the brain for
further processing? What is personality?
These are the sorts of questions you will be examining in your study of VCE Year 11
psychology. We hope you enjoy reading this book and learning about this subject!

Psychology as a discipline
Psychology can be broadly defined as the systematic study of behaviour and mind (see
Figure 1.2).
FIGURE 1.2
The domains of psychology.

Psychology
Behaviour

Mind

talking, walking, eating,

laughing, sleeping

perceiving, thinking, feeling,

reasoning, remembering

directly observable

indirectly observable;
controlled and regulated by
the brain

heinemann psychology one

Mind and behaviour are not separate entitiesthey are closely linked, with behaviour frequently serving as an indicator of mental processes.
The term systematic in this definition means scientific, which implies that psychological enquiries are carried out using accepted scientific methodscareful, systematic
observations, controlled conditions and, where necessary, statistical analysis of the data
collected to ascertain its significance.
Psychology is not confined to the study of the human species. Since its inception as
an observational science, the mental processes of other species have attracted considerable interest. The results of this research not only tell us about the psychological
character of particular species but also throw light on human behaviour and mental
processes. Indeed, a good deal of what is now known about human learning is derived
from carefully controlled experiments on learning in pigeons, rats and primates.
Psychology encompasses a broad spectrum of problems and issues and so, like all
modern sciences, it overlaps with other scientific fields. It is both a biological and a
social science and uses methods common to both.

Psychology

FIGURE 1.3
Psychology embraces a
spectrum of sciences.

Biological sciences
(physiology, pharmacology, neurology)

Social sciences
(anthropology, sociology)

Psychology is both a basic and an applied science. It is concerned with fundamental

processes such as memory and the development of skills, and also with problems of
human endeavour and concern such as personal adjustment, mental disorders, education, sport, driving and industry. A problem for psychological enquiry may be driven
by curiosityfor example, the ways in which language develops in early childhood; or
a problem may be tackled because of its relevance to societyfor example, why men
between the ages of 18 and 25 are over-represented in road and industrial accidents, and
why men are more likely than women to be stalkers.
The article on page 5 introduces you to the topic of psychology by showing how psychologists are involved in understanding human behaviour.

The diverse fields of psychology

The definition of psychology at the beginning of the chapter was expressed in terms of
studying behaviour and mental processes. As an extension to that definition, psychology is also a profession that applies the scientific knowledge it derives to practical
problems.
In general terms there are two types of psychologists: those who are interested in
research and teaching, and those who work outside the laboratory as practising psychologists. The former usually work in tertiary institutions such as universities, whereas the
latter usually work in private practice or in public or private agencies. However, many
practising psychologists maintain research interests, and the distinction between the
two types of psychologists is not always clear.
Many people are confused about the distinction between a clinical psychologist and
a psychiatrist. While both are involved in analysing and treating psychological disorders, the difference between these two professions can be summarised in terms of the
approach taken.

chapter 1 what is psychology?

active psychology
Stalking the stars
Stardom has always guaranteed wealth, media attention and, it would seem, stalkers
The tactics employed by celebrity stalkers can vary, from sending letters to full-scale break-in of their homes. But,
according to one UK psychologist, in nearly all cases, their extreme behaviour is a perversion of an otherwise natural
and healthy interest in well-known figures.
Fans who become stalkers are trying to satisfy a drive to become totally immersed in whoever they are into,
regardless of the consequences and the risk of dangerous isolation, says Dr Sandy Wolfson, Principal Lecturer in
Psychology at the University of Northumbria.
Dr Wolfson says that normal fan worship can have a number of positive results, including reducing tension and
aiding social interaction. When things go wrong, however, the opposite becomes true, as the fan-turned-stalker
removes themselves from reality into an imaginary world populated solely by the star
[A]ccording to forensic psychologist Ian Steven, the type of obsession that compels a stalker can escalate.
It is very difficult to treat because the reason for it is often rooted so far in the past. It can be treated and managed
but often the root of the problem remains and can reappear as is shown when a stalker re-offends on release from
prison, Steven said in a recent interview
Dr Wolfson also believes that the seeds of stalking are deep-rooted and
that it need only take something small, like a minor family conflict, to tip a
potential obsessive over the edge. She adds that the line between threats and
causing real harm is just as easily crossed.
When an obsessed fan becomes violent, it is because something has
ultimately led them to completely lose their grip and control of what is
happening around them, she explains
In the UK, anti-stalking legislationthe Protection from Harassment Act
was introduced in June 1997. In the US, different degrees of anti-stalking
legislation have been introduced from state to state over the last decade.
BBC news website, 18 October 1999

Activity
Search on the Internet for information on forensic psychology. Prepare a brief
description of the discipline of forensic psychology, and share these
descriptions with the class.

FIGURE 1.4
In 1995, a fan of Madonna was
prosecuted after scaling the wall
of her Hollywood Hills home.

Clinical psychologists take a non-medical approach to psychological problems. In

contrast, psychiatrists have been trained as medical practitioners and then decide to specialise in the area of psychiatry. Psychiatry is a branch of medicine, and psychiatrists
take a medical approach to treating psychological problems and disorders.

Clinical psychologists
A minimum of six years training is required in order to become registered as a psychologist with the Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria. A person is not permitted
to call him- or herself a psychologist unless they are eligible for registration.
This training includes an accredited four-year undergraduate course majoring in
psychology, followed by two years of training that is acceptable to the Boardeither an
accredited two-year postgraduate degree in psychology (such as Masters) or two years of
supervised experience as a probationary psychologist working under the guidance of a
registered psychologist.
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) is the national association that represents
the professional interests of psychologists. In order to be eligible for full APS membership a person needs, as for registration, an accredited four-year undergraduate course
majoring in psychology and an accredited two-year postgraduate degree in psychology.
The APS is divided into two interest groups: the Division of Independently
Practising Psychologists, and the Division of Research and Teaching. Within these
divisions there are a number of colleges that represent the major areas of professional
interest in Australian psychology, such as the Colleges of Clinical Psychologists,

heinemann psychology one

Clinical Neuropsychologists, Community Psychologists, Counselling Psychologists,

and Educational and Developmental Psychologists.
In order to become a member of one of the colleges representing forensic psychologists,
health psychologists, organisational psychologists and sport psychologists, a further two
years of supervised experience is needed in addition to the requirements above.
You can find out more about the APS by visiting their website.

FIGURE 1.5
Sports psychology as a field of
study applies the principles of
psychology in a sports setting.
Here, a sports psychologist
discusses with a swimmer
how to improve performance.

Psychiatrists
If a disorder requires both medical and behavioural intervention, the services of a psychiatrist may be needed. Psychiatrists are medical practitioners who have decided to
specialise in psychopathology. Unlike psychologists, psychiatrists can prescribe drugs.
It takes at least nine years to become a psychiatrist in Australia. An accredited sixyear undergraduate medical degree is completed, and then the medical practitioner
works in a clinical setting under supervision for at least three-and-a-half years before sitting an entrance examination for admittance to the Royal Australian and New Zealand
College of Psychiatrists.
Because of their training, psychiatrists often use the medical model in their approach
to treating disorders. This approach is most useful for disorders such as schizophrenia,
depression and anxiety, but it may be too extreme for many other problems that people
facesuch as marriage difficulties, phobias, sleep disorders, grief, alcoholism and
weight control.

Major fields of psychology

It is not possible to be an expert in every area of psychology because its subject matter
is vast. Psychologists therefore differ widely in their professional interests. Ten major
fields of psychology are described below.
Developmental psychology is the study of physical, perceptual, cognitive, social
and emotional development from birth until death.
Social psychology is concerned with how people affect one anothers thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and the behaviour of groups.
Cognitive psychology is the study of higher mental processes such as memory,
thinking, reasoning, language and problem solving.
Behavioural neuroscience is the study of the biological bases of behaviour.
Industrial and organisational psychology is the study of factors that influence
productivity in businesses, industries and government agencies.

chapter 1 what is psychology?

Educational psychology is the study of factors that influence the educational process
from childhood through to adulthood.
Clinical and counselling psychology is concerned with the assessment and treatment of a wide range of psychological and general health problems affecting adults
and children.
Forensic psychology is concerned with applying psychological principles to the
legal system.
Sport psychology is concerned with athletic performance and factors that may
influence this type of performance.
Health psychology is concerned with the prevention and treatment of physical illness.

7
W

WORKSHEET 1
Major fields of
psychology

WORKSHEET 2
Careers in psychology

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Registration
requirements

Level 1

Level 2

Training requirements:
Year 12 and degree/diploma

Training requirements:
Year 12 and associate diploma/certificate, on-the-job training

anthropologist

author

criminologist

corrections officer

market researcher

disability services instructor

general nurse

psychiatric nurse

secondary teacher

guide dog instructor

psychologist

personnel officer

sociologist

recreation officer

social worker

public relations officer

speech pathologist

sports coach

training officer

welfare worker

university/college
lecturer

youth worker

Level 3

Level 4

Training requirements:
Year 10 or 11 and part-time
study or on-the-job training

Training requirements:
Usually on-the-job training
youth worker

childcare worker
rehabilitation counsellor
youth worker

FIGURE 1.6

KEY QUESTIONS
1 Which type of psychologist would be most interested in studying the
changes in perceptual abilities of babies?

2 Which type of psychologist would a company need to consult in order to

find ways of improving employee job satisfaction and productivity?

3 Draw up a table to illustrate the differences between the training and

approaches of psychologists and psychiatrists.

Some of the careers available

in fields related to psychology,
but not necessarily requiring
full training as a psychologist.

heinemann psychology one

chapter
summary
06

07

08

Psychology is the study of behaviour and mental processes.

Psychology is both a biological and a social science, and is both a basic and
an applied science.
Today psychologists work in many fields, incorporating both research and
clinical work.
Psychologists and psychiatrists differ in their training and in their approach.

multiple choice
questions

1 Which of the following is the best definition of psychology?

A Psychology is the study of the mind (psyche).
B Psychology is the study of human behaviour but not animal behaviour.
C Psychology is the systematic study of thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
D Psychology is the study of how to help people.
2 Psychology is an observational science. This means that psychology is
A concerned only with things that can be seen and touched.
B built on the scientific methodsystematic observations made under controlled conditions.
C not relevant to the individual because you cannot observe yourself.
D distinct from other sciences that are not based on observation.
3 John is 8 years old and is having problems with his school work. The psychologist who could
assist him is a ________________ .
A student welfare coordinator
B forensic psychologist
C educational psychologist
D sport psychologist

4 Psychiatrists can prescribe drugs, but psychologists cannot. The key reason for this difference
is that
A psychiatrists are qualified medical practitioners.
B psychologists believe that almost all problems can be assisted without resorting to drugs.
C drugs usually encourage dependence and can lead to drug addiction.
D the Government wants to keep the cost of Medicare down.

09

10

chapter 1 what is psychology?

short
answer
question
W

1 Psychology is the systematic study of behaviour and mind. Rephrase this sentence so that
a year 7 student could understand what you will be learning about in psychology.

WORKSHEET 3
Crossword

poster
Difference between psychology and psychiatry
Components to include:
Define and describe the psychology profession. Include the key features relevant to distinguishing
psychology from psychiatry (e.g. educational requirements and approach to treatment).
Define and describe the psychiatry profession. Include the key features relevant to distinguishing
psychiatry from psychology.
Major fields of psychology table.

multimedia
Careers in psychology
Components to include:
major fields of psychology
different careers involving psychology
training required for each type of career.

chapter
psychology

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:

History of
psychology

the historical development of psychology,

for example, Wilhelm Wundt, William
James, Herman Ebbinghaus, Alfred Binet,
John B Watson.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
to come

00

01

10

02

03

04

chapter 2 history of psychology

11

Psychology as a science has had only a short history. Its roots lie in philosophy and
physiology. As you will see throughout your study of VCE Psychology, this science
subject is concerned with theories of mental process and behaviour, and in understanding the role of the brain in making behaviour possible.

Major events in the history

of psychology
As with all sciences, it is possible to identify major events in the history of psychology
that have shaped its character and determined its direction. We will look at three
schools of psychologystructuralism, functionalism and behaviourismand will
briefly discuss some other important psychologists.

Three schools of psychology

Wundt and structuralism
William Wundt (18321920) established the first laboratory of psychology in about
1879 in Leipzig, Germany. A few years earlier he had published his highly acclaimed
and influential Principles of Physiological Psychology. The term physiological referred to
the fact that the methods of experimental enquiry originated from physiology. However,
the books content was entirely psychological.
For Wundt, psychology was the study of conscious experiencethat is, the study of
ones awareness of self and the environment. He tackled this subject experimentally
rather than philosophically. His research and that of his students involved sophisticated
equipment, carefully designed and conducted experiments, and the development of a
body of theory.
Wundts primary concern was with the structure of consciousness. His work led to
structuralismthe school of psychology that broke down the conscious experience
into components, such as sensations and feelings. The main concern of structuralists was
to describe the rules that determine how these basic components of consciousness come
together to form mental structures.
While Wundt used experimental methods to study consciousness, his main tool was
introspection. He asked participants to examine their own sensations and report them
when looking at an object or taking part in an activity. Figure 2.2 provides and example of Wundts experiments using introspection.
By all accounts, Wundt was an outstanding and exciting lecturer, held in high
regard by his students who flocked to hear his ideas. Many of his senior students came

FIGURE 2.1
Professor R H Day is
an eminent Australian
psychologist who has
investigated human
perception for more than
50 years. He is also
interested in exploring the
history of psychology, and
lectures to students on
this topic at La Trobe
University.

GLOSSARY
structuralism
the school of psychology that was
concerned with determining the
structure of consciousness;
structuralists broke down
conscious experience into
components, such as sensations
and feelings

introspection
observation or examination of
ones own mental processes

FIGURE 2.2

juicy
green
sweet
cold

A subject is shown a pear and asked to

describe the sensations that the pear
evokes. The subject says: juicy, green,
sweet, cold. The description of a pear as
a pear is not acceptable to structuralists,
because the conscious experience must be
described using its most basic elements.

conscious elements

pear
p
eea
a

12 heinemann psychology one

to the University of Leipzig from other countries, in particular the United States. As a
consequence, his ideas quickly spread to American universities.
At the time, psychology was seen as the study of consciousness. Wundt placed psychology on a sound scientific footing and demonstrated that sensations, perception,
attention and feelings can be studied experimentally.

James and functionalism

In 1890 William James, a prominent American philosopher and theorist, published his
major and widely acclaimed two-volume book, The Principles of Psychology, in which he
considered human consciousness. James, unlike Wundt, took the view that consciousnessour awareness of the environment and of ourselvesis essentially a continuous
stream of thought rather than discrepant bits that add together. James also proposed
that consciousness has evolved from simpler forms and, like other characteristics of
humans, has an adaptive and survival function.
It is very generally admitted that consciousness grows the more complex and intense
the higher we rise in the animal kingdom. That of a man must exceed that of an oyster.
From this point of view it seems [to be] an organ, superadded to the other organs which
maintain the animal in the struggle for existence

James (1890, pp. 1389)

GLOSSARY
functionalism
the school of psychology that
was concerned with the
function of consciousness

behaviourism
theory that emphasises only
observable events, like the
connections between the
stimulus and the response
in an organism

Structuralists
Ian Thorpe uses
introspection to describe
what conscious elements
are evoked when he
swims. He would probably
not be able to describe the
skills he uses to swim
recent research shows that
the more skilled we
become at an activity, the
less likely we are to
use introspection to
describe it.

FIGURE 2.3
How would Ian Thorpes
success have been be
analysed by structuralists
and functionalists?

James was therefore interested not in the structure of consciousness but in its function. Although not strictly part of the school of functionalism, James was considered
a functionalist. Functionalists ask questions about how our minds help us to behave and
function in our everyday existence.
James established the first psychology laboratory in America and studied how
consciousness helps us to adapt to our environment and hence survive.

John B Watson and behaviourism

An outline of psychologys past as a scientific discipline would not be complete without
a brief comment on behaviourism, which emerged in the early part of the twentieth
century. This approach to psychology was developed by John Broadus Watson
(18781958). In a famous article entitled Psychology as a behaviourist views it,
published in the Psychological Review in 1913, Watson stated:

Functionalists
Thorpes goals, desires,
and beliefs help him to
keep swimming at an
exceptional level, even
after a negative situation,
such as losing a race or
being disqualified for
breaking.

chapter 2 history of psychology

13

Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of

natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior.
Introspection forms no essential part of its methods

Watson (1913, p. 158)

Watson firmly rejected consciousness as the primary subject matter of psychology

and argued that the behaviour we are able to observe should be the target for enquiry.
He came to this conclusion after conducting experiments with animals, such as dogs,
cats and monkeys, and noticing that they could learn simple behaviours. These simple
behaviours could be explained by the basic laws of learning, and reference to the mind
or mental processes was not necessary.
Watsons research had a marked effect on the development of modern psychology. To
this day, behaviourism is evident in psychology. However, psychologists have now
moved away from the strict behaviourism of Watson.

A behaviourist approach

ACTIVITY

How might a behaviourist explain Ian Thorpes success as a swimmer?

Think about the behaviours involved, and how a swimmer might learn to
improve his performance. Discuss your answers as a class.

FIGURE 2.4

Other famous psychologists

Herman Ebbinghaus and the study of human memory
Herman Ebbinghaus (18501909) was the first researcher to show that the cognitive
processes of remembering and forgetting can be studied by precise experimental methods.
Using himself as a participant, Ebbinghaus learned lists of meaningless nonsense
syllablessuch as bok, waf and geduntil he could recall them perfectly. He then
tested his recall over extended intervals by finding out how many trials it took to relearn the lists of syllables to perfection (see Figure 2.5).
Ebbinghauss contribution to psychology opened the way for the experimental study
of human memory and forgetting.

Alfred Binet and the measurement of human intelligence

Percentage of syllables remembered

In 1904, the French governmentconcerned over children whose progress in the new
education system was limitedappointed a commission to investigate the problem.
They were seeking a fair means of identifying children who gained little benefit from
teaching in the normal education system. Alfred Binet (18571911), a psychologist of

100

immediate recall

90
80
70
60

20 minutes

50

1 hour
9 hours

40
30

FIGURE 2.5

20
10
0
1

5
10
15
Elapsed time since learning (in days)

20

Results from Ebbinghauss

(1885/1913) study in which
he memorised nonsense
syllables and then tested
how well he could recall
them. Most forgetting
occurred in the first few
hours, and then levelled off.

Systematic desensitisation
is a behavioural therapy
that involves the patient
entering a relaxed state
(via relaxing exercises) and
then imagining the feared
object or event. Eventually,
the patient is exposed to
the actual feared object or
event while in a relaxed
state. This type of
treatment has been useful
for overcoming phobias
(such as fear of spiders).

14 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 2.6
Alfred Binet.

wide-ranging interests who had already begun research on individual

differences in mental ability, was invited to investigate the matter.
He and his colleague Theodore Simon (18731961) developed a test
consisting of thirty tasks of varying difficulty to assess human intellectual ability. Their test, first published in 1905, was designed to
establish the mental age of school children. For example, the test might
show that a 6-year-old child had a mental age of 5 years.
The test and the concept of mental age proved to be highly effective
in identifying children with developmental problems, and after numerous revisions and refinements it was widely adopted as a measure of
intelligence in both children and adults. The concept of intelligence
quotient (IQ)the ratio of mental to chronological agewas introduced in 1912 to provide a single measure of intellectual ability.
Alfred Binets test is still being used after nearly a century.
However, although there is no doubt about the usefulness of Binets
test, the nature of intelligence has yet to be clearly defined and continues to be debatable. It is true to state that intelligence is what
intelligence tests measure. This is further discussed in chapter 15.

Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis

extension

extension

In turning to the work of Sigmund Freud (18561939), the originator of psychoanalytic theory and practice, we immediately run into
controversy. While psychoanalysis is held in high regard by some, it
is derided by others. Nevertheless, it has played a major part in psychological and social thought throughout the late-nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, and warrants a place in a history of psychology.
Psychoanalysis is a threefold system:
a theory of adult personality
a theory of psychosexual development
a method for treating psychologically disturbed individuals.
Freud was originally a research physiologist in Vienna until he
decided to become a medical practitioner specialising in neurology. Early in his career he became interested in individuals with
psychological problems. On the basis of clinical observations,
Freud developed a theory of the human mind that he believed
could help explain the disorders.
The central concept of Freuds theory is the unconscious
minda repository of thoughts, feelings and emotions that are
unacceptable to the individual. Such taboo material finds its way
into the unconscious through a mechanism called repression. Even
though this material is not part of normal consciousness, it exerts
a strong influence on the individuals behaviour. The repressed
material is expressed in symbolic form during dreaming, or in errors
in speech and writing.
Freud proposed that sexual thoughts and feelings constitute a
large proportion of the repressed material, and can deeply affect
personal adjustment. Psychoanalytic therapy involving free association and the recounting of dreams is intended to bring this
material into consciousness where, with help, the individual learns
to come to terms with it.
Freud also took the view that psychosexual development of
the individual begins in infancy and passes through various

FIGURE 2.7
Sigmund Freud.

stages. Traumatic events during the developmental years, including sexual experiences, may be repressed and give rise to severe
disturbances of personality and behaviour.
There are numerous problems with this clinically based view
of the human mind and its development. One problem is devising
appropriate tests of its validity. Another problem is its basis in
middle-class Western culture. Could the theory apply equally, for
example, to tribal groups that have vastly different codes of moral
behaviour? As a form of treatment, psychotherapy based on this
view of the human mind is no more effective than other talking
cures for psychological disorders.
For many, psychoanalytic theory is a collection of unproven
conjectures awaiting scientific support. It is by no means an
accepted theory of the human mind.

Question
Outline the main principles of psychoanalysis and describe some
of the problems associated with the theory.

chapter 2 history of psychology

15

Why is the history of psychology important?

Why bother about the history of contemporary psychology? After all, it is the present
and the future of the discipline that are of importance in practical terms. There are two
answers to this question.
In the first place, psychology is an extraordinarily broad discipline that covers a vast
range of problems concerned with human and non-human mental processes and behaviour. A close knowledge of its history helps explain why it is so broad, and how the
major issues with which it is concerned arose in the first place. An understanding of its
history will lend perspective to what may at first appear to be a sprawling landscape of
unrelated problems and issues.
In the second place, a number of those problems and issuesthe nature of human
intelligence, the relationship between body and mind, and the manner in which genes and
experience interact in determining human natureextend back into the early history of
psychology. To study their history helps us better understand the present state of affairs.

Development of psychology as a scientific discipline

FIGURE 2.8
How do a babys perceptual
abilities develop? What factors
affect the productivity and job
satisfaction of workers on an
assembly line? Through direct
observation and experimental
studies, psychologists
investigate and try to answer
questions as diverse as these.

ACTIVITY

As a class, devise a historic chart to outline clearly the development of psychology as a scientific
discipline. Use the Internet to find out more about the scientists discussed in this chapter.

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What are the differences between William Jamess and William Wundts ideas about
consciousness?

2 How did Ebbinghaus test his memory? What were his findings?
3 What did Alfred Binet develop? What is meant by the term mental age?
4 Why is the study of the history of psychology important?
W

WORKSHEET 1
Major figures in the
history of psychology

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Poster: major figures in
psychology

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 2
Celebrity head: which
psychologist are you?

16 heinemann psychology one

chapter

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

2
08

09

The history of psychology has links to Jamess and Wundts ideas about the nature of consciousness, Ebbinghauss studies of memory, Binets measures of intelligence, and Watsons
theories about behaviourism.
William Wundt established the first laboratory of psychology in about 1879 in Germany. He
believed psychology was the study of conscious experience. His method was experimental
rather than philosophical. Wundt was a structuralist, concerned with the basic elements that
make up consciousness.
William James took the view that consciousnessour awareness of the physical and social
environment and of ourselvesis essentially a continuous stream of thought. James was a
functionalist, concerned with how our minds help us to function in our everyday existence.
J B Watson, a behaviourist, firmly rejected consciousness as the primary subject matter of
psychology and argued that the behaviour we observe should be the target for enquiry.
Herman Ebbinghaus was the first to show that the cognitive processes of remembering and
forgetting can also be studied by precise experimental methods.
Alfred Binet was responsible for developing and testing a measure of intelligence that could
be used with both children and adults.

10

chapter 2 history of psychology

17

multiple
choice
questions
1 When Anisha is asked what motivates her to study hard,
she replies: Reinforcementwhen I do well my teacher
praises me, and this makes me want to achieve again.
This is the type of response you would expect from a
A structuralist.
B functionalist.
C behaviourist.
D None of the above.

2 When asked to describe a soccer ball, Louisa says, I am

3 When Cameron is asked to describe what he sees when

watching a cartoon, he replies, I see motion in a
cartoon, but he does not describe the cartoon as a
frame-by-frame sequence. This is the type of response
you would expect from a
A structuralist.
B functionalist.
C behaviourist.
D None of the above.

aware of its roundness and solidity. This is the type of

response you would expect from a
A structuralist.
B functionalist.
C behaviourist.
D None of the above.

short
answer
question

WORKSHEET 2

1 Explain what is meant by an IQ test. What does this test measure?

multimedia
Historical figures in psychology and their contributions
Select up to three historical figures in the field of psychology, such as Wundt, James, Ebbinghaus,
Binet and Watson. For each figure, include the following:
Provide brief personal details (such as name and date of birth).
Explain how they came to be interested in their particular area of research.
Describe their major contributions to psychology.

Crossword

chapter
psychology

Research in
psychology

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
steps involved in psychological research:
identification of the research problem,
formulation of a hypothesis, designing the
method, collecting, analysing and interpreting
the data and reporting research
reliability and validity in psychological research
independent and dependent variables.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
recognise the importance of reliability and
validity in empirical evidence used in
psychological research
use examples from research studies to
identify and explain the differences between
independent and dependent variables
describe the research methods involved in
psychological research.

00

01

18

02

03

04

chapter 3 research in psychology

19

A handyman went down to

the hardware store and asked
for some bolts.
How long do you want them?
enquired the salesman.
Well, to tell you the truth, replied
the handyman, I was hoping to
keep them.

Is this joke funny? How might you measure how funny is it? You could assess the joke
yourself and come to a conclusion. Or you could ask a few of your friends and then come
to a conclusion. Yet another way to find out is to ask people to rate how funny the joke
is by assigning a numerical value to its funniness. This last method provides you with
a quantitative measure of funniness and is a more useful and more scientific way of
obtaining an answer.
We all make personal observations of behaviour and derive conclusions based on
these observations. What makes our observations and conclusions different from those
of scientific researchers is that ours are usually based on personal opinion, whereas those
of researchers are, to the best of their abilities, derived precisely and objectively.

The scientific nature of psychology

A key feature of any science is its reliance on empirical evidence. Psychology is
empiricalthat is, psychologists rely on systematic observations to examine their
questions about behaviour.
In order to achieve their goal of discovering the nature and causes of behaviour,
psychologists use the scientific method. The scientific method consists of a set of
rules that dictate how research should be undertaken. The procedure must involve the
use of objective, systematic and precise observation and measurement. The rules of
the scientific method can be summarised as a series of systematic steps:
1 Identify the research problem and formulate a hypothesis.

2 Design the method.

3 Collect the data.

4 Analyse and interpret the data.

5 Report the results.

GLOSSARY
empirical evidence
information that is obtained by
observation, experimentation or
experience

scientific method
method of gaining knowledge
based on following the
established steps of scientific
enquiry

20 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
data
information collected by
scientific inquiry

statistics
mathematical tool used to
summarise and analyse data

descriptive statistics
statistics that describe or
summarise data, and typically
include a measure of central
tendency and dispersion

inferential statistics
statistics that use mathematical
procedures to measure how
likely it is that the results
obtained in an experiment
came about by chance

In order to analyse data and draw conclusions, psychologists first need to organise
and summarise their data in a meaningful way. The tool used to summarise and analyse
data in psychological research is known as statistics. Descriptive statistics are employed
when the purpose is merely to describe a set of data with the aim of organising and summarising the observations so that they are easier to comprehend. Inferential statistics
involve using mathematical procedures to measure how likely it is that the results
obtained came about by chance. If the results are unlikely to have come about by chance,
we may be able to infer that it was the experimental treatment that caused the observed
results.
The final step in the scientific method is a very important one. Psychologists publish
the findings of their research in journals and present their findings at conferences around
the world. Researchers are obliged to communicate their findings so other investigators
can repeat, or replicate, their studies. Such replication ensures the results obtained are
carefully checked and are therefore more likely to be accurate and meaningful.

Real-world benefits
Communicating the results of research also leads to real-world benefits. As an example, lets consider the topic of television comedy shows. Most sitcoms (situation comedy
programs) and variety programs have live audiences (see Figure 3.1), while dramas do
not. Why do you think this might be so?
People who have taken part in the audience for sitcom productions will tell you that
the show usually commences with a warm-up. Someone will do a monologue to get
everyone laughing. Many of the skits are pre-recorded and played to the audience via
monitors. During the skits and live acts, there are signs displayed telling the audience
to laugh, applaud, shout, and so on. Providing seating and all these facilities is very
expensive. Why does the production company do it?
The producers of comedy programs have done their research. Their decision is based
on empirical evidence showing that home viewers find comedy programs funnier
when they hear other people laughing. Laughing is a communal activitywe like to
do it with other people. Whether you
watch these shows on your own or with
company is beyond the control of the
television stations, so their intention is
to make you feel like a member of the
audience even though youre at home.
The basic premise for using a studio audience for comedy programs is
that the laughter in the background is
used by many people as a cue to laugh.
Home viewers pay greater attention
and laugh more when their attention
is drawn to the funny bits. The findings of an experiment by Cupchik and
Leventhal (1974) will illustrate this
point more clearly. The description of
this research will teach you more
about the steps involved in psychological research.
FIGURE 3.1
A live audience watches the filming of a
television comedy show. Why do television
producers go to this expense?

chapter 3 research in psychology

21

KEY QUESTIONS
1 Psychologists rely on their personal opinions to make judgments about human behaviour. True or false?
Explain your answer.

2
3
4
5

Define what is meant by the scientific method.

What are the steps involved in psychological research?
How do psychologists fulfil their goal of providing conclusions about the research questions they pose?
How do descriptive and inferential statistics differ?

An example of psychological research

Identify the research problem and formulate
a hypothesis
The first step in any study is to identify what it is you want to study. Previous work or
a theory may guide your investigation. A hypothesis is a tentative explanation of the
observations you make. A key point in the scientific method is developing a hypothesis that is testable.
Cupchik and Leventhal (1974) wanted to know whether canned laughter (taped
laughter) helps or hinders peoples appreciation of humour. They hypothesised that
canned laughter would make cartoons appear funnier.

Design the method

The experimental method should contain sufficient detail so that if another researcher reads
it, he or she will be able to replicate the experiment. The method contains details about the
participants in the experiment, the materials or apparatus used, and the procedure followed.

Participants
There were eighty-eight participants: thirty-five university psychology students and
fifty-three volunteers who were recruited by phone. If we want to find out whether
canned laughter helps or hinders peoples appreciation of humour we should ideally
test the entire population of young adults. This is clearly not possible, so a subset or
sample of eighty-eight participants from this population was selected.

Materials/apparatus

GLOSSARY
hypothesis
tentative and testable proposal
regarding the expected outcomes
of a piece of research

population
complete set of individuals or
participants under consideration,
from which a sample may be
drawn

sample
subset of the population under
investigation

experimental group

One hundred cartoons were taken from three magazines (New Yorker, Punch and Playboy).
A panel rated these cartoons and a sample of twenty-four cartoons was selected.

group for which the level of the

independent variable is changed
or manipulated

Procedure

control group

The participants were divided into two groupsthe experimental group, which heard
canned laughter, and the control group, which heard no canned laughter. All participants were asked to rate the cartoons for funniness using a 7-point scale: 1 indicated that
the cartoon was not at all funny, and 7 indicated that it was extremely funny. The participants were also observed during the experiment through a one-way screen, and their
reactions were rated using a 4-point scale: 1 for no response, 2 for slight smile, 3 for full
smile, or 4 for laughter.

group for which all conditions are

identical to those of the
experimental group except that
participants are not exposed to
the manipulation of the
independent variable

independent variable
factor or characteristic, set by
the researcher, that is being
investigated as a possible cause
of a change in behaviour

Independent and dependent variables

As with all experiments, this experiment has an independent variable and a dependent
variable. The independent variable is the variable that could influence, cause or change
the behaviour. This variable is systematically manipulated by the experimenter. In this
experiment, the independent variable is the canned laughterits presence or absence.

WORKSHEET 1
Independent and
dependent variables

22 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
dependent variable
factor or characteristic being
measured that is thought to be
affected by a change in value
of the independent variable

reliability
quality of a measure relating to
its relative consistency in
measurement, such as
between different
measurement times

validity
quality of a measure relating to
whether it measures what it is
intended to measure

mean
average, calculated by adding
up a set of scores and dividing
the total by the number of
scores

standard deviation
measure of variation calculated
by finding the square root of
the average of all the squared
deviations from the mean

The dependent variable is a measurement of an aspect of the participants behaviour that is thought to be affected in some way by the independent variable. There were
two dependent variables is this experiment:
rating of cartoon funniness
rating of participant reactions.

Reliability and validity in psychological research

Cupchik and Leventhal manipulated their independent variable and observed the effects
on the participants behaviourboth the rating of cartoon funniness and the rating of
participants reactions. Researchers aim to produce the best manipulation of their independent variable and the best measure of participants behaviour. But how can we rate
the quality of the variables that researchers choose as their independent and dependent
variables? We do this by assessing the reliability and the validity of these variables.
Reliability is the consistency with which results can be reproduced. If Cupchik and
Leventhals experiment were conducted by other researchers, would the same findings
be repeated? If findings are stable and consistent when experiments are repeated, the
measures employed are said to be reliable.
Validity is the degree to which the variables measure what they are intended to
measure, and so lead to an accurate conclusion or assumption. If we interpret participants reactions, such as smiling and laughing, as an appreciation of humour, and if
such reactions really do indicate appreciation of humour, then the dependent variable is
said to be valid.

Collect the data

WORKSHEET 2
Control group and
experimental group

During this step, the experiment is conducted and the results recorded.
In Cupchik and Leventhals experiment, each participant sat in a booth and wore
headphones. The cartoons were converted into slides and projected onto a screen in
front of the participant.
At the start of the experiment, the two groups heard different sets of instructions:
Experimental group: We have found in earlier work that subjects have difficulty reading the captions at the bottom of the cartoons. To get round this problem we have
tape-recorded a session from our earlier experiments during which these same cartoons were shown to a larger group. One of the experimenters read the captions
aloud for them.
What this group actually heard was the experimenter reading the captions and
then some canned laughter.
Control group: We have tape-recorded one of our experimenters reading the captions.
The slides were then presented, the participants heard the captions with no
canned laughter, and their reactions were recorded.

Analyse and interpret the data

After completion of the experiment, the data is interpreted or analysed with reference
to the hypothesis. Means and standard deviations can now be calculated. The mean is
the average score, and is calculated by adding up all the scores and dividing the total
by the number of scores, referred to as n.
The standard deviation is a measure of variability. It takes into account every
participants score and provides an indication of how much, on average, scores in a distribution differ from the mean. If all the scores were the same, the standard deviation
would be zero. However, it is unlikely that any experiment will produce an identical
set of scores. The higher the standard deviation, the more variability there is among
scores. The lower the standard deviation, the more similar the scores are. You can learn
more about the mean and standard deviation in chapter 14.

chapter 3 research in psychology

Cupchik and Leventhal found that the experimental group produced more laughter
and smiling than the control group.
When they chose the cartoons, Cupchik and Leventhal knew that some cartoons
were better than others. The data was further analysed to look at the quality of the
cartoons and at sex differences. Figure 3.2 shows the results of the observations. People
smiled and laughed more frequently when the cartoons were shown with canned laughter. Good cartoons elicited more laughter than poor cartoons. There were no differences
between the sexesthe expressive behaviours of both males and females were the same.
Figure 3.3 shows the results of the participants evaluations of the cartoons. For poor
cartoons, the canned laughter raised peoples judgments of how funny they thought the
cartoon was. For good cartoons the results were markedly different with respect to gender: females used the canned laughter as a guide and raised their evaluation; conversely,
males slightly downgraded their ratings of funniness. Cupchik and Leventhal suggested
that women were more heavily influenced by social settings while men were more
independent.
good cartoons

females

good cartoons

females

poor cartoons

males

poor cartoons

males

28

14

27

13

26
25
Funniness

Mirth

12
11
10

24
23
22

21
20

8
Canned
No canned
laughter
laughter
Audience condition

Canned
No canned
laughter
laughter
Audience condition

FIGURE 3.2

FIGURE 3.3

Results of Cupchik and Leventhals (1974)

experiment, showing how much participants laughed.

Graph to show how funny the participants in Cupchik and

Leventhals (1974) experiment thought the cartoons were.

Report the results

One of the aims of science is to share ideas and findings. Cupchik and Leventhal wrote
up their work and it was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
By clearly explaining the procedures, experiments can be replicated or can be used as
a starting point for further research. For example, a further experiment could examine
the question of why women appear to be more heavily influenced by a group than men.

KEY QUESTIONS
6 Suppose you wanted to investigate the causes of aggression in 13-year-old boys by asking them to watch a
violent movie and then observe their interactions with other boys immediately afterwards. What might your
hypothesis be for this study?

7 What might the independent and dependent variables be in the study described in question 6?
8 Imagine you are a researcher who wants to find out how violent cartoons affect Aussie kids. Describe your
sample and note from which population your sample was taken.

9 Describe your experimental and control group for the experiment described in question 8.
10 Why do psychologists report the findings of their work?

23

24 heinemann psychology one

Writing an empirical research

activity report
This section introduces you to the skill of writing research reports, and will help you
prepare an empirical research activity (ERA) report. An ERA report is a summary of:
why you undertook the research activity
what you expected to find
how you conducted the research
what you found (the results)
how you interpreted what you found
the conclusions that you made about your results.

Reports of psychological research follow a set format. The standard report always
contains the following sections in the order presented below.

Title
The title should give a clear indication of the main idea of the report. It should be simple, concise andas a general guideno more than twelve words long. For example:
A replication of the Prisoners Dilemma gamecooperation and competition
Left brain functioning versus right brain functioning
Recognition of emotions from facial expressions

Abstract
The abstract is a single paragraph of about 100150 words that provides a summary
of every section of the report. It should contain enough information to enable the
reader to understand the aim and main findings of the research without having to read
the entire report. The abstract should tell the reader why you did the study, what you
did, what you found and what you concluded. Although this section appears at the
start of the ERA, you should write it last.

Introduction
The introduction outlines the theoretical aspects of the research topic, gives details
about past research that has been conducted in the area, and explains the ideas to be
tested in the present investigation. The introduction should begin from a very general
perspective and then gradually become more specific to focus on the present research
activity.
At the end of this section you should state the aim and the hypothesis (or hypotheses) of your empirical research activity. The aim is a very broad statement that outlines
why you are conducting the research. The hypothesis is a more specific statementit
is a prediction based on theory about the expected results of the experiment.

Method

GLOSSARY
variable
any factor that can change or
take different values

The method section of your report describes exactly how the experiment was conducted.
It is important to provide sufficient detail so that the experiment can be repeated by
another investigator.
In designing the method, you need to decide which factors will be directly manipulated and which factors will be examined for possible changes. These factors are
known as variables and constitute the most basic notion in scientific research. A
variable is anything that can change or take different values. Colour is an example of
a variable because it can take different values (red, blue, black, etc.). Height, age,

chapter 3 research in psychology

number of siblings, favourite food and level of aggression are also variables. As noted
above, there are two types of variables in experimentsindependent and dependent
variables.
The method section is usually divided into three subsections:

Participants
For most VCE experiments, the participants are psychology students. The description
of participants needs to explain how the participants were chosen, their motivation for
participating and key features that might influence the results, such as gender, age,
class, education level or racial group. The ethics involved in selecting participants is
discussed in chapter 4.

Materials/apparatus
This section provides a detailed description of the apparatus used to conduct the experiment. A thorough description is needed to enable other researchers to repeat your
experiment.

Procedure
The procedure section outlines the steps followed to carry out the investigation. This
usually includes a verbatim copy of the instructions given to participants. In some circumstances the instructions may appear in the appendix of the report, or they may be
obtained directly from the researcher if they are not provided in sufficient detail. This
section should also identify the independent and dependent variables, and provide
details of what provisions were in place to minimise or control other variablesfor
example, fatigue and motivation.

Results
This section contains a summary of the main findings of your study. Numerical data
should be presented as a table or graph. Raw data should be included in the appendix.
The type of graph will depend on the nature of the data collected. Each graph or
table must have a title, which runs along the bottom of a graph and along the top of a
table. Graph axes must be labelled, and a legend or key may be needed.

Discussion
The discussion section begins with a summary of the findings and a statement as to
whether or not the hypothesis was supported. Note that the findings of an experiment
cannot prove the hypothesisthey merely support or do not support it. If the results
of your research activity are not conclusive, you may still be able to note any trends in
the findings.
In this section you should also evaluate whether the experiment was a fair test of the
research question or aim. Discuss any methodological problems (problems with anything relating to the method of the study) that may have interfered with the results of
the experiment. Common problems include:
Are the two samples comparable? Is there a bias in the way the participants were
chosen? Are psychology students typical of the students at your school?
Is the test a good measure of what you want to measure?
Is the sample too small to make a valid judgment?
Are there other explanations for what happened?
Finally, in this section you should provide suggestions for future research based on
the findings of your study.
Most of the ERAs in this book will provide guided questions to assist you through
these methodological issues.

25

26 heinemann psychology one

References
All science reports have a standard way of referencing books and articles. The references
section lists every source you have used in the report. This is not a bibliography or reading list. The references listed are only the works you have cited or referenced in your
report and should be presented in alphabetical order by author.
The format for referencing different kinds of publications is given in Table 3.1. Note
the punctuation used between each part of the reference, and the use of italics. If you
are handwriting your references, underline the words that should be in italics.
Whenever you use the work of someone else to form an argument or explain a
point, you must provide the source of that workthat is, give credit where credit is
due! This is called citation. You will find many examples of citation throughout this
book. The following box gives some examples to illustrate how you should cite your
references.
Citing the reference within the sentence
One author
In a classic study by Steiner (1979), thirty neonates were tested soon after birth before any exposure
to breast or bottle milk.

Two authors
In a study by Meltzoff and Moore (1994), 6-week-old babies watched while an adult opened her
mouth or stuck out her tongue.

Two or more authors the first time you cite in text

Elbers, Wiegersma, Brand and Vroon (1991) showed that children aged between 4 and 7 years
demonstrated conservation of number when given the appropriate questions to answer.

Two or more authors the next time you cite in text

Elbers et al. (1991) concluded that children of this age group do understand the principle of
conservation of number, contrary to what Piaget thought.

Citing the reference at the end of the sentence

One author
More than 34 000 studies on attitudes have been published since 1974 (Kraus, 1995).

Two authors
By 6 months, infants discriminate two objects on the basis of the haptic properties of temperature,
hardness and texture (Bushnell & Boudreau, 1993).

Two or more authors

People are more likely to exhibit attitude-consistent behaviour when they have perceived control or
a belief that they can perform the desired behaviour (Madden, Ellen & Ajzen, 1992).

Two or more references

(note that references are cited in alphabetical order)
Strong fear arousal can be very effective in changing attitudes if people believe that the dangers
shown are real and could happen to them (Leventhal & Nerenz, 1983; Mewborn & Rogers, 1979).

Citing primary and secondary sources

You may also need to cite a source (the primary source) that you did not actually read. That is, you
read about an experiment or theory in another source (the secondary source). In this situation you
need to give credit to the author of the primary source and also to the author of the secondary source
(in brackets).
McGarrigle (as cited in Donaldson, 1978) showed children four toy cowsthree black and one
whiteall lying asleep on their sides.
Whenever you copy exactly the words of another author rather than using your own words, you
must use quotation marks to indicate this. Insert an ellipsis () where you have missed out words. At
the start or end of the quotation, provide the reference and page number.
Fantz (1961) concluded that there can be no question of the importance of visual pattern in
everyday life. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that the early interest of infants in form and pattern
in general plays an important role in the development of behaviour by focusing attention on stimuli
that will later have adaptive significance (p. 72).

chapter 3 research in psychology

Appendices
As a final section of your report, you might include an appendix or several appendices.
Any material that is not essential to the understanding of the research activity, but to
which a future investigator may wish to refer, should be included in this section. For
example, you might include a copy of a questionnaire that was administered, and the
raw data collected from the questionnaires. You must append a letter of information and
a copy of a blank informed consent form when you use participants who are not enrolled
in psychology classes.
TABLE 3.1 Format for referencing publications.

Type of publication

Format

Example

Book

authors surname and initials

year of publication
title of publication (in italics)
edition
place of publication
publisher
page number(s) if necessary

Book with one author:

Goleman, D (1996). Emotional Intelligence.
London: Bloomsbury, 5562.
Book with two or more authors:
Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D. & Akert, R.M. (1997).
Social Psychology (2nd ed.). New York: Longman.
Text book editors:
Frydenberg, E. & Walker, G. (1993) (Eds).
Psychology and You. Melbourne: Hawker Brownlow.

Article in journal

authors surname and initials

year of publication
title of article
title of publication (in italics)
volume number (if applicable, in italics)
page number(s)

One author:
Fantz, R. (1961). The origin of form perception.
Scientific American, 204, 6672.
Two authors:
Gibson, E. J. & Walk, R.D. (1960). The visual
cliff. Scientific American, 202, 6471.
Two or more authors:
Skouteris, H., McKenzie, B.E. & Day, R.H. (1992).
Integration of sequential information for shape
perception by infants: A developmental study.
Child Development, 63, 116476.

Newspaper or magazine

authors surname and initials

date of publication
title of article
title of publication (in italics)
page number(s)

If you know the author:

Lally, G. (1999, April 7). Beware: bogus
collectors ahead. The Herald Sun, p.11.
If you do not know the author:
Dont inhale the grass (1999, April 7). The
Herald Sun, p.32.

Film, TV, video, audio

name of producer and/or director

date of recording
title (in italics)
format
place of recording
publisher
any special credits

Klaus Toft (Producer). (1993). Natures

Landscapes (video). Melbourne: ABC.

Computer programs

author(s) (if known)

date
program name
format
publisher

Krames, L., Graham, J. & Alloway, T. (1995).

Sniffy the Virtual Rat (computer program).
Brooks/Cole.

Full text CD-ROMs

author
date
title/name of CD-ROM (in italics)
format
publisher

Herscovici, C. (1996). Symbols, The mystery

of Magritte (CD-ROM). Virtuo.

World Wide Web sites

authors name
date of Web page publication
title of Web page (in italics)
title of complete work
full http address
date of access

Newbold, M. (1999). Mark Newbolds Animated

Necker Cube. Mark Newbolds Page,
http://www.sover.net/-manx/necker.html (5 Jan
1999)

Personal communication
or interview

Personal communications are cited in text, not

the reference list. Provide the initial(s) and
surname of the communicator, and the date and
year of communication.

H. Skouteris (personal communications,

21 May 1999).

27

28 heinemann psychology one

ACTIVITY

Reference check!

The following references appear in a reference list, but they have been written incorrectly.
Make the necessary corrections.

1 Nielsen, M., Dissanayake, C. and Kashima, Y. (2003). Selfother discrimination and the emergence of mirror self
recognition: A longitudinal investigation through the second year. Infant Behaviour and Development, 26, 21326.

2 Troseth, G. L. TV guide: Two-year-old children learn to use video as a source of information. Developmental
Psychology, 39, 14050. (2003).

3 Nelson, K. (1992). Emergence of autobiographical memory at age 4. Human Development, 35, 1727.
4 Troseth, G. L. & DeLoache, J. S. (1998). The medium can obscure the message: Young childrens understanding
of video. Child Development, 69, pages 95065.

5 Finch, A. J., Lipovsky, J. A. & Casat, C, D. (1989). Anxiety and depression in children and adolescents:
Negative affectivity or separate constructs? In Anxiety and Depression: Distinctive and Overlapping Features.
P. C. Kendall & D. Watson (Eds.), (pp. 171202). New York: Academic Press.
6 Jones, P. (2005, January 1, personal communication).

ACTIVITY

Sections of an ERA

What section of an ERA contains the following information:

a description of participants
directions for future research
graphs and tables
materials/apparatus used
steps taken to carry out the study
information about past research conducted in the
area under investigation

raw data
hypotheses
simple twelve-word summary
a single paragraph up to 150 words in length
summary of findings
list of references
a questionnaire
interpretation of findings
aims of study
methodological issues

From your answers, create a summary of the

information needed in each section of an ERA report.
Compare your summary to pages 2425.

KEY QUESTIONS
11 Why do experimental reports have a method section?
12 What usually are the three parts to a method section?
13 If you want to quote another person in your
report, how would you go about this?

14 You have already cited Wertheim, Paxton and

Tilgner (2004) in your report once. How would you
cite this reference the next time you mentioned it?

15 When you cite a reference in brackets at the end

of a sentence and there are three authors, do you
use and or &? (Zinga, Leon & Carmichal, 2005)
or (Zinga, Leon and Carmichal, 2005)?

Psychology and pseudopsychology

The theme of this chapter has been that psychology is empirical. As
a science it attempts to describe, explain, predict and control human
behaviour. There are, however, other ways of studying behaviour.
Pseudopsychology is the broad name given to all systems that
attempt to explain behaviour but do not have a scientific basis.
Some common examples are phrenology, palmistry, astrology and
clairvoyance.

16 Which of the following is correct? Explain your

answer.
To date, most researchers contend that it is during
the preschool period, at around 4 years of age, that
children first construct an extended self (Zelazo &
Somerville, 1999; Povinelli & Simon, 2001).
or
To date, most researchers contend that it is during
the preschool period, at around 4 years of age, that
children first construct an extended self (Povinelli &
Simon, 2001; Zelazo & Somerville, 1999).

extension

extension

Extra-sensory perception
Extra-sensory perception (ESP) is the name given to clairvoyant or
telepathic capabilities. Telepathy is the ability to read other peoples minds, while clairvoyance means clear seeingthe ability to
perceive information about the past, present and future. Psychics
claim to have this ability. They may go into a trance, use crystal
balls or consult tarot cards to help them channel this information.

chapter 3 research in psychology

29

The study of ESP has become known as parapsychology. There has been considerable research done
to try to establish the existence of paranormal phenomena. These phenomena challenge the known laws
of physics. There is no scientifically plausible explanation for how a clairvoyant can sense the past, present and future, read minds or channel the spirits of the dead.
J B Rhine (1953) is famous for his studies of ESP using Zener cards. Zener cards are a pack of twentyfive cards, each bearing one of five symbols, and can be obtained from novelty stores. The clairvoyant is
asked to try to predict the symbols on the cards as they are turned up from a shuffled deck, or to try to
read the mind of a person who is concentrating on the symbols on the cards.
Rhines early studies showed that some people were predicting the cards better than would be
expected by chance. Closer examination revealed that the cards were poorly printed and some symbols
could be identified through the back of the card. Participants would also mark the cards with their fingernail to give themselves an aid. Some experimenters also assisted the subjects by smiling and
nodding. Clear experimental evidence is hard to find.

Astrology
Almost every magazine or newspaper carries horoscopespredictions about daily events based on the
position of various planets and other heavenly bodies. Almost everyone knows their star sign (based
on date of birth) and some people believe they act in the way that is typical for their star sign.
It was the Greeks who codified the system of astrology. The planets were thought to be gods and
it was not surprising, therefore, that they could influence peoples lives.
Like all pseudopsychology, astrologys credibility is threatened by new scientific discoveries.
Copernicus caused problems in 1543 by changing how we perceive the nature of the universe: he discovered that the sun, not the earth, was the centre of our solar system. The discovery of the outer
planetsUranus, Neptune and Plutoalso threatened astrologys closed system of prediction.
There have been numerous studies showing that astrology has no scientific validity, and that the
predictions work only because they are often vague or easily guessedfor example, this week you
will meet a dark stranger.

FIGURE 3.4
How scientific is this?

GLOSSARY
pseudopsychology
any explanation of behaviour that
is based on a false or unscientific
system of beliefs and practices

TABLE 3.2 The differences between psychology and pseudopsychology.

Psychology

Pseudopsychology

Welcomes new ideas

Established, immovable set of beliefs

Theories and ideas are measurable and testable

No way of testing beliefs/ideas

Based on empirical evidence

Based on tradition and superstition

Falsifiablelooks for examples that contradict the current theory

Cannot accommodate failures or negative instances

New research and knowledge is produced in open forums

An elite protects the core information; little or no discussion of other ideas

Settles disputes by experimentation or collection of new data

Settles disputes by referral to an authority or tradition

Seeks criticism

Suppresses criticism

Reports results of experiments so that they are easy to replicate

Methods of study obscure and not open to independent verification

Questions
1 Describe the origins of one form of pseudopsychology.
2 How does this way of studying human behaviour differ from psychology?

Do horoscopes predict the future?

Devise your own test of how well horoscopes predict
your future. For example, collect several sets of
horoscopes from last weeks magazines and
newspapers. Number each horoscope twicewrite the
same number on both the heading and the
descriptionthen cut off the headings so no-one
knows which star sign the descriptions belong to.

ACTIVITY

Everyone in the class should then read the

horoscopes and write down the numbers of the ones
that most accurately describe last weeks events.
Then pair the horoscopes up with their headings and
find out if each persons star sign was connected to
the predictions that they selected.

30 heinemann psychology one

chapter

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

3
08

09

Psychology is a scientific discipline and relies on empirical evidence.

The scientific method involves a series of steps: identify the research problem and formulate
a hypothesis, design the method, collect the data, analyse and interpret the data, and report
the results.
Psychologists organise and summarise their data in a meaningful way.
The tool used to summarise and analyse data in psychological research is known as statistics.
A key point in the scientific method is developing a hypothesis that is testable.
In designing the method, we need to also decide which factors will be directly manipulated by
ourselves, the investigators, and which factors will be examined for possible changes. These
factors are known as variables, that is anything that can change or take different values.
In any experiment there are two types of variablesthe independent and dependent
variables.
The independent variable is the variable that could influence, cause or change the behaviour.
The dependent variable is a measurement of an aspect of the participants behaviour that is
thought to be affected in some way by the independent variable.
Researchers report the findings of their studies because they want to share their ideas and
findings with other researchers and the general community.
By clearly explaining the procedures, experiments can be replicated or can be used as a
starting point for further research.
A scientific report has a set format: title, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion,
references, appendices.

10

chapter 3 research in psychology

multiple
choice
questions
1 Psychological research puts great importance on
replication of experiments. This is because
A the results need to be checked on more than one
group of people.
B psychologists are untidy people who often get things
wrong.
C many psychologists have been guilty of faking their
results to fit a certain theory.
D evidence is often subjective and therefore not
reliable.

2 The purpose of an abstract in an empirical research

activity report is to
A explain why the study was done.
B provide a summary of the report.
C explain how the experiment was performed.
D explain what the study is expecting to find.

3 When you are referencing a book with a number of

authors, you should
A list all the authors with their surname first. For
example: Dreikurs, R., Pepper, F. & Grunwald, B.
B use et al. to show that there are other authors. For
example: Dreikurs, R. et al.
C list all the authors in alphabetic order. For example:
Dreikurs, R., Grunwald, B. & Pepper, F.
D use the first name if it is used on the title page of
the book. For example: Rudolf Dreikurs, Floy Pepper
& Bernice Grunwald.

4 All empirical research reports have a participant

section. This section is important because
A if all the participants are psychology students the
results are suspect. Psychology students would not
act normally.
B it lists how many people were studied. If a sample is
smaller than fifty then the results should be viewed
with caution.
C it indicates whether people were paid for their
participation. Paying people means that they will try
to please the experimenter and give him the results
he wants.
D it lists how people were chosen and other key
features, such as age and gender, that could
influence the study.

5 Cupchik and Leventhal (1974) wanted to know whether

canned laughter helps or hinders peoples appreciation
of humour. This is an example of a ________________.
A hypothesis
B research finding
C generalisation
D research question

6 Which of the following best describes the experimental

group in a psychological study?
A The group that is used as a comparison for the
control group.
B The group that needs treatment.
C The group that is exposed to the factor that may be
the cause of a change in behaviour.
D The group of people who are ready to try new things
and who like to experiment.

7 Descriptive statistics are

A statistics that summarise a set of data.
B statistics that allow you to estimate population
values.

C statistics that allow you to prove that an idea or

theory is correct.

D statistics that describe how people behave.

8 The discussion of a report begins with
A a summary of the findings.
B methodological issues.
C the analyses conducted.
D suggestions for future research.
9 The introduction of a report provides the following
information:
A the theoretical aspects of the research topic.
B past research that has been conducted in the area.
C the aims and hypotheses of the study.
D All of the above.

10 In a report, quotation marks are used when

A you reference information.
B instructions for questionnaires are provided.
C you paraphrase the words of another author.
D you copy exactly the words of another author.

31

32 heinemann psychology one

short
answer
questions
1 In an experiment examining exercise participation during pregnancy and its effect on body concerns, two
groups of womenthose who exercised during pregnancy and those who did not exercisewere asked to
rate how they felt about their bodies on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = have negative feelings and wish I could
make changes; 5 = have positive feelings and consider myself fortunate).
a What is the independent variable in this experiment?
b What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
c Define the term independent variable.

2 a Define the term hypothesis.

b At the end of what section of a psychological report does the hypothesis appear?
3 Provide two methodological issues that might be included in the discussion of a psychological report.
4 Amys title for her ERA report on child development was: The difference in ability of 3- and 7-year-old
children to understand that people have minds of their own and therefore opinions may differ.
a Is this an appropriate title? Explain you answer.
b Provide a description of the section that comes after the title in a report.

5 What information is missing from each of the following references?

a McKenzie. (7 Aug 1999). Genes to the rescue. Age.
b Howe, I. Does intelligence exist? The Psychologist, 49093.
c Bethlehem, D. W. (1985). A Social Psychology of Prejudice. London.

multimedia
Steps involved in psychological research
Provide a description and illustrative example of each of the steps of psychological research:
identification of the research problem and formulation of a hypothesis
designing the method
collecting the data
analysing and interpreting the data
reporting the results
You may choose a piece of research described in the textbook as your illustrative example.

WORKSHEET 3
Crossword

chapter 3 research in psychology

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Abstract
This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,
but appears immediately under the title.

Introduction
Cupchik and Leventhal (1974) have shown that canned
laughter has the psychological effect of making cartoons
appear funnier. Canned laughter is used extensively in
American television comedies to make the show appear
funnier than it really is, by making the viewers feel like
they are participating in a group audience. The aim of
this empirical research activity is to test whether jokes
appear funnier when they are told in a group.
It is hypothesised that jokes will be rated as funnier
when they are read in a group than when read by one
person alone. The independent variable (the variable
being manipulated) is being in a group or being alone.
The dependent variable (the thing being measured) is
rating the jokes on a scale from 1 to 10, to indicate
funniness.

Are jokes funnier when told in a group?

and the other half to the control group. The control
group should leave the room with a list of jokes each,
so that they cannot hear the jokes being read to the
experimental group. Each group is given a different set
of instructions, as follows:
Control group: Read the jokes to yourself quietly.
Once you have read each joke, rate it out of ten. One
means not funny at all, and ten means extremely
funny. Are there any questions?
Experimental group: A list of jokes will be read by
[pick a student]. After hearing each joke, rate it out
of ten. One means not funny at all, and ten means
extremely funny. Are there any questions?
Collect the ratings for the ten jokes from both groups.

Method
Participants
The participants are year 11 psychology VCE students
completing the activity as part of their course
requirements. Students are randomly divided into two
groups. In the control group (the group not subjected
to the independent variable) students read jokes alone
and rate their funniness. In the experimental group
students hear the jokes being read to them as a group,
and rate their funniness.

Materials
one list of ten jokes for the experimental group
(each student could provide one appropriate joke
and the teacher could pick the ten best ones)
enough copies of the same list of jokes so everyone
in the control group has their own copy
pen and paper for each student

Procedure
Students are allocated randomly into two groups. One
way to do this is to write down all the students names
and draw them at random from a container. Half the
students are then allocated to the experimental group

FIGURE 3.5
Do people laugh more when they watch
comedy as a group?

Results
Present your results in a table as shown in Table 3.3,
which compares average ratings for each joke, as well
as an overall average.
Determine the mean, median and mode of ratings of
funniness for each group. Summarise in words the main
trends in the data.

TABLE 3.3 Average rating of funniness for ten jokes

Joke number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Overall average rating

Control group

Experimental group

33

34 heinemann psychology one

Discussion
1 Was the hypothesis supported? Are jokes funnier in groups?
2 The randomising procedure meant that some of you were separated from your friends. Are jokes funnier when
you know the people you are with?

3 Jokes are usually presented orally. Comedians use accents and gestures to help convey atmosphere. Could the
mode of presentation be improved?

4 Did the rating scale work? Would a rating of 1 to 5 be a better scale?

5 Could the members of the control group see what was happening with the experimental group? If so, could that
have influenced the results?

6 Was there anyone in your class who was offended by the jokes in any way, and therefore found it difficult to
rate the jokes objectively? If so, what could you do about that?

7 Are there any other methodological problems with this study?

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter 3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
A list of the jokes used in this experiment should be included, together with your own rating responses.

chapter
psychology

Ethics

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
ethical principles in the conduct of
psychological research: role of the
experimenter, protection and security of
participants rights, confidentiality,
voluntary participation, withdrawal rights,
informed consent procedures, deception in
research, debriefing, professional conduct.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
describe ethical principles applied to
the conduct of research.

00

01

02

03

04

35

36 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 4.1
In Australia, practising
psychologists must abide by
the Code of Ethics outlined
by the Australian Psychological
Society.

Ethical principles in psychological

research
Psychologists must be aware that in all scientific research with human participants,
there is a need to balance the welfare of others who ultimately may benefit from the
findings of the investigation against any discomfort or risks to participants.

Article 3, Research section, Code of Ethics, Australian Psychological Society, 1997.

In chapter 7 you can read about Milgrams (1963) experiment in which he led participants to believe that, under instruction from the experimenter, they were delivering
painful electric shocks to a person in the next room. Milgram wanted to test whether
people would blindly follow an authority figure, and his results showed that they
would. As the strength of the shocks was increased and the recipient (actually a taperecording) groaned, moaned and shrieked out in pain, the participants in Milgrams
study were not comfortable with their role. They were observed to sweat, stutter, tremble, groan, bite their lips and dig their nails into their flesh. Full-blown seizures were
observed for three [participants] (Milgram, 1974).
After this study was published in 1963, Milgrams membership in the American
Psychological Association (APA) was suspended, pending an inquiry. The main criticism
was that Milgram could have predicted the results of his experiment without actually
having to perform it, thus sparing his participants the stress. Milgram claimed that he
had outlined the nature of his study to a number of experts, and they all believed that
the participants would not continue to administer shocks. At the inquiry, Milgrams
defence was accepted and he was exonerated.
The two main ethical considerations in Milgrams study were the use of deception
and the use of physical or psychological pain. Some researchers would argue that if you
inform participants about the nature of the experiment they will change their behaviour and the results will not be meaningful. It is often necessary to practise some sort
of deception in order to measure what you want to study. Milgrams studies took deception to new heights: his participants volunteered for an experiment on memory and
learning, and had no idea what they would be required to do. You can read more about
the problems with Milgrams experiment in chapter 7.

chapter 4 ethics

Article 23 of the Research section of the Code of Ethics from the Australian
Psychological Society (APS) suggests that researchers cannot put participants under
psychological or physical stress unless they are fully informed, the stress is temporary,
and the effects are fully reversible. The APS also gives guidelines on how research is to
be carried out (see Appendix A). All Australian universities have an ethics committee
that examines research involving humans or animals. No experiment can be performed
until approval is received from this committee.

Participating in psychological research

Most psychology students volunteer to participate in psychological experiments as
part of their course work. The APS Code of Ethics also covers these situations. All students should be aware of how the experimenter is required to act, and of their rights
as participants.

Role of the experimenter

In Milgrams study, whenever a participant showed a reluctance to administer shocks
the experimenter would say, Please continue, and insist that the participant continue.
Experimenters are in a powerful position in an experiment. Most participants trust the
experimenter and try to do what is required. Experimenters should not abuse this trust.

Participants rights
In Milgrams study, participants were not given the opportunity to withdraw from the
experiment. Researchers must now:
inform participants about the nature of the research so that they can decide to participate or not participate in the study
give participants the option of withdrawing from the experiment if they find it difficult
record the participants informed consent on a signed form.

Statement of informed consent

Draft a statement of informed consent for the
following hypothetical study.
The study is an examination of time-use by 16year-olds. The researcher wants to know how 16-yearolds spend their leisure time to establish whether
certain activitiestelevision, the Internet and video
gamesdisplace educational activities, such as
reading and general homework. Participants will be
asked to fill in time-use diaries every day for one
week. The diaries ask for information about leisure
activitiesthe type of activity, the amount of time
spent in the activity, and who else was involved in
the activity.

ACTIVITY

Include in your statement the following:

a title describing the study
a brief description of the study, including the aim
and what is required of the participant
an outline of the participants rights in terms of
withdrawal
an outline of how confidentiality will be maintained
contact details of the researchers and the
institution that has approved the ethics
application (refer participant to these numbers if
he or she has any concerns)
a statement that can be signed by the participant
to provide permission to be included in this study.

Deception
Most researchers give participants a broad idea of their research. If participants anticipate what the study is about, they may change their behaviour and this may affect the
results. A psychologist who deliberately misleads participants must inform them of
the true nature of the experiment at the end of the research. Researchers should also
actively intervene to reverse any negative effects of the experiment.
Christensen (1988) reviewed a number of studies that involved deception and
found that participants do not seem to mind as long as the deception is not extreme.

37

38 heinemann psychology one

Milgrams participants were all debriefed after their involvement. Most were extremely
relieved that they had not actually administered any real shocks. Milgram also sent
them follow-up questionnaires. No participant recorded any long-term negative effects
and most were proud that they had participated in such important research.

Confidentiality
Article 11 of the Research section of the APS Code of Ethics requires that procedures
for establishing confidentiality must be explained to participants at the outset of the
research. Potential participants may not volunteer to be involved if they feel that they
can be identified later, when the work is published.
Psychological research sometimes involves people with psychological problems
mental health problems, educational and school problems, marital and interpersonal
problems, drug addiction and so on. People volunteer for these studies in the hope that
their problem will be alleviated in the future. It would be irresponsible to jeopardise
their trust by making their condition public. Participants in psychological research
should feel safe that they will remain anonymous. For example, researchers can use
numbers and codes instead of names.

Professional conduct
Members of the APS are expected to comply with the APS Code of Ethics. Appendix A
outlines the ethics of research methods. There is an expectation that everyone who conducts psychological research will comply with this code.
Undergraduates are usually expected to complete a minor thesis that involves
research. Their supervisors are responsible for checking that the experiment complies
with the research guidelines. As possible future psychologists, they are also expected to
behave in accordance with the general Code of Ethics.
Most secondary school teachers of psychology are not members of the APS. However,
they are expected to act in a professional way. All Australian States have an authority that
supervises the behaviour of teachers.

FIGURE 4.2
The APS homepage
provides ethics
information under
The APS in the top
left-hand corner.

chapter 4 ethics

By implication, this code of conduct is also expected of students. If students are

completing investigations in class there is an obligation to follow these guidelines:
be sensitive to cultural, gender and role differences between class members
respect the confidentiality of material collected within the class
do not engage in any activity that could lead to a student suffering distress
allow students to have participants rights.

Code of Ethics

ACTIVITY

Ask your teacher if your school has a Code of Ethics for teachers and research. If no, devise
a code as a class. If yes, compare your Schools code to that of the APS Code of Ethics
outlined in the Appendix. What similarities and differences exist between the two codes?

Ethics a summary
The following points should be taken into consideration when performing psychological
experiments at school or in any other situation:
Do no harm.
Inform participants of the risks.
Ensure that participation is voluntary.
Treat participants with dignity and respect.
Minimise discomfort.
Maintain confidentiality.
Do not invade privacy.
Use deception only when absolutely necessary, and debrief participants afterwards.
Provide participants with results and interpretations.

KEY QUESTIONS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

What is the role of the experimenter in psychological research?

Should a participant be coerced to stay in a study? Explain your answer in terms of ethical guidelines.
What is a statement of informed consent? What information is included in this statement?
What does the APS Code of Ethics say about confidentiality?
Describe one way of ensuring a participants data remains confidential.
What is meant by the term debriefing? Why is it important to debrief participants?
If you carry out a research project what are the main points that you should always keep in mind?

Ethical principles in the use

of animals
Institutions have animal ethics committees that supervise how animals are used. The
APS Code of Ethics requires that researchers should try to minimise the discomfort, illness and pain of animals. Most universities and schools have tried to minimise the use
of animals. Introductory psychology courses used to include practical activities involving ratsfor example, Skinners learning principles, devised by American behaviourist
BF Skinner (190491), were based on the training of rats in special boxes called Skinner
boxes (see Heinemann Psychology Two, Second Edition). Students learned about Skinners
learning principles by doing these studies. There are now computer simulations that
allow students to learn the same thing, so there is no need to use real animals.
There are still excellent reasons for using animals in research. Animal research may
be considered justified in certain situations, and there are both advantages and disadvantages to this kind of research.

39

40 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 4.3
American behaviourist B F
Skinner introduced the Skinner
box to study the learning
behaviour of rats.

Observing in the wild and in zoos

There are many good reasons to study animal behaviour as a
worthwhile area of investigation by itself. One of the best-known
researchers into naturalistic studies of animal groups is Jane
Goodall, who studied chimpanzee behaviour in the wild
(Goodall, 1971). The behaviour of other primates and monkeys
has also been studied. Sometimes this research leads to conservation initiatives. For example, the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist
tells the story of Dian Fossey, who studied the behaviour of
mountain gorillas and concluded that they were under threat.
Her actions resulted in many gorilla conservation programs and
changes of government policy.
Another area of research is the study of animal behaviour in
zoos and reserves. The native environment of some animals
tigers and elephants, for exampleis under threat. The
survival of the species may well depend on the reproduction of
animals kept in captivity. Australian zoos have been
redesigned so that the animals are kept in a more natural environment and are more likely to act naturally. The only way to
find out how these animals behave is to study them.

FIGURE 4.4
The long-term survival of
endangered species may
depend on breeding programs
in zoos. Studying the animals
behaviour is an important part
of such programs.

Genetic studies
Genetic studies often require a large number of subjects of the same age and genetic
background. A humans life expectancy is more than 70 years. Rats usually live for only
24 months and are capable of producing many offspring in that time. Because of their
faster generation times, inherited changes can be studied more quickly using animals.
For example, Hall (1951) demonstrated that emotionality has a genetic basis. He measured the emotionality of 145 rats by putting them in a novel situation and observing their
reactions. Those rats that froze, urinated and defecated more were judged to be more emotional. By selective inbreeding, Hall was able to demonstrate that emotionality is inherited.

Restricted or controlled environment studies

In some investigations, the experimenter has to restrict the nature of the environment.
This is often not ethical using human participants, even if the results could be most
beneficial. For example, a common punishment used in prisons is solitary confinement.

chapter 4 ethics

41

There are no experimental studies on the effects of solitary confinement on people. The
effects have to be inferred from other sources.
Sometimes, restricting the environment actually helps the organism. Weindruch
(1996) reported that restricting the number of calories an animal eats can increase its
lifespan. For example, rats on a restricted diet increased their life expectancy from 23
months to 33 months. His studies include work on rats, mice, water fleas, guppy fish,
spiders and Rhesus monkeys. It would be unethical and extremely time-consuming to
perform this study with humans, even if the consequence of their participation was that
their life expectancy increased.

Looking at animal anomalies

Animal case studies can give new research directions to human
research. Siamese cats have a unique pattern of fur colouring,
with brown patches on their paws, ears and tails. If you look
closely you will find that they are also slightly cross-eyed (see
Figure 4.5). Both effects are due to genes they possess. The
colouring comes from melanin (skin pigment), which breaks
down in the warm areas of the body. The brown is found in the
cooler areasthe paws, ears and tail. They are cross-eyed because
they do not have normal visual pathways between the retina and
the brainsome of the neurons develop incorrectly and connect
on the wrong side of the brain. The cats become cross-eyed trying to match up the images they receive from each eye. Our
knowledge of the visual system is largely based on physiological
studies using cats, and specifically cats with such anomalies.

Do animals show participant effects?

One problem with experiments is that participants may know
they are being observed or monitored and may change their
behaviour. Participants have their own ideas and opinions about
what is being tested and may therefore act accordinglythis is called the participant
effect. One argument for animal testing is that animals will not have such expectations
and will therefore behave naturally. A key problem here is defining natural behaviour.
Many athletes and sports people achieve their personal best at major sporting
events. Is their normal behaviour that which occurs in training, or when they compete?
Animals may also show this change in behaviour in the presence of others. Zajonc,
Heingartner and Herman (1969) taught cockroaches to learn a maze. They found that
cockroaches learned the maze more quickly when there were other cockroaches also in

FIGURE 4.6
Do animals show participant
effects? Do they learn
differently when other animals
are present?

FIGURE4.5
Studying Siamese cats, with
their unique characteristics,
can help us understand
human physiology.

42 heinemann psychology one

the maze. The animals may not know what the experimenter wants to test, but animals
may change their behaviour in the presence of other animals. It can be difficult to assess
which kind of behaviour is natural and which is being influenced by the experimental
set-up, even when using animals.

Problems with animal research

The main problem with animal studies is whether findings can be generalised to human
behaviour. For example, chimpanzees and humans share a large proportion of similar genes.
Chimpanzees have promiscuous mating habits, so it could be argued that promiscuity is
inherent in humans, too. However, this argument ignores the fact that other primates with
whom we also share many genes (gorillas, baboons and so on) have very different mating
patterns from chimpanzees. The inherent human pattern could be quite unique.
Some people object to the use of animals in research because it implies that humans
have the right to dominate other species. This is a philosophical issue that everyone has
to resolve for themselves.
A researcher who wishes to use animals must apply to the ethics committee at their
university or research institute. The researcher must present a costbenefit analysis of why
the research is necessary. As a consequence, there is a general reluctance to use animals,
and computer simulations have largely replaced the need for them. In Britain, Germany
and Australia the number of animals being used in research is dropping each year.
FIGURE 4.7
In studying animal behaviour, it
is important to take care when
generalising their behaviour to
that of humans.

WORKSHEET 1
Ethics in psychological
research

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Comparison: research
ethics for animals and
humans

KEY QUESTIONS
8 One reason that experiments are written up in a standard form is so they can be replicated. Why would
Milgrams studies not be replicated now?

9 Why is observing animals in the wild or in a zoo a good way to research their behaviour?
10 How did Hall (1951) show that emotionality has a genetic basis?
11 Could humans have been used as participants in Weindruchs (1996) study on increasing life expectancy?
Explain your answer.

12 What have we learnt about the visual system by studying Siamese cats?
13 Do animals show participant effects? Provide an example with your answer.
14 What is the main problem with studying animals?

chapter 4 ethics

chapter
summary
06

Psychologists must gather their data ethically. In Australia, psychologists are bound by the
Australian Psychological Societys Code of Ethics.
The three main ethical issues in psychological research involve the use of deception of
participants, the use of psychological or physical pain, and ensuring that the participants
confidentiality is maintained.
Research involving animals is very carefully supervised. The APS Code of Ethics requires
that researchers should try to minimise the discomfort, illness and pain of animals.
Researchers observe animals in natural environments as well as in zoos and reserves.

43

07

08

09

10

44 heinemann psychology one

multiple
choice
questions
1 The two main ethical considerations in Milgrams study were:
A the use of deception and the use of a statement of
informed consent.

B the use of a statement of informed consent and

participant withdrawal.

C the use of deception and the use of physical or

psychological pain.

D participant withdrawal and the use of physical or

psychological pain.

2 In Milgrams study participants

A were asked to withdraw by the experimenter.
B were comfortable with their role.
C were not deceived in any way.
D were debriefed after their involvement.
3 Researchers must
A inform participants about the nature of the research
participants can decide to participate or not
participate in the study.
B give participants the option of withdrawing from the
experiment if they find it difficult.
C record the participants informed consent on a
signed form.
D All of the above.

4 Deception should be used in experiments only when

A absolutely necessary and when participants are
debriefed afterwards.

B they involve animals and so the participants are

aware of the deception.

C the participants are psychology students, who are

more tolerant of this form of experimentation.

D the confidentiality of all participants has been

guaranteed.

5 School psychology teachers are expected to act in

accordance with the Code of Ethics for psychologists
because
A most psychology teachers are also psychologists.
B the teachers code of ethics is identical to the
psychologists code of ethics.
C teachers are expected to model the practices and
ethics of other professional groups.
D they are paid by the Australian Psychological Society
to do so.

essay
Ethical standards in Milgrams study
Milgrams study would not be considered ethical according to current ethical research standards. Discuss.

Introduction
Define and explain the importance of ethics in research. Introduce Milgrams study, and allude to the
fact that it did not adhere to the ethical standards currently expected of research.

Body
Summarise Milgrams study.
Discuss which ethical principles were not applied to the research, and how the research is impaired
as a result.
Discuss how the research would benefit from considering all ethical principles, as well as the
challenges that may arise as a result of stringently applying ethical standards.

Conclusion
Highlight the importance of adhering to ethical principles in psychological research, and point out the
benefits and drawbacks as highlighted by this particular study.

UNIT 1 |

Area of Study 2
psychology
behaviour
attitudes
research

Social
relationships

outcome2
On completion of this unit the student
should be able to identify the characteristics
of pro-social and anti-social behaviour and
evaluate the factors that influence them.

00

01

02

03

04

45

key knowledge

chapter
psychology

After studying this chapter you should

demonstrate knowledge of:
characteristics of anti-social
behaviour, for example, bullying
and harassment
qualitative and quantitative data,
scales of measurement (nominal,
ordinal, interval, ratio)

Anti-social
behaviour

descriptive and inferential statistics in

the study of social behaviour, including
line graphs, box-and-whisker plots,
scatter plots, histograms and
frequency distributions (polygons).

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
collect quantitative data and use it to
determine mean, median and mode
use and interpret graphical
representations of data in
psychological research.

00

01

46

02

03

04

chapter 5 anti-social behaviour

47

FIGURE 5.1
Unruly crowds set flares
alight after a soccer match
in Melbourne, February 2004.
What are the causes of the
anti-social behaviours that
make headlines almost
every day?

As unpleasant as it is, the realities of human social interaction include various forms
of anti-social behaviour, such as physical and verbal aggression, harassment and
ostracism (excluding someone from a social group). We are confronted with these
behaviours on a daily basison television, radio and the Internet, and in newspapers,
as well as through direct experience. One days reporting in the daily newspaper includes
articles about a member of parliament physically assaulting another member, a
Melbourne doctor convicted of rape and assault, the arrest of two Sydney men over
a shooting, and more.
Unfortunately, for some of us, we dont have to go to the newspaper to find out
about anti-social behaviour. Instead, we may find ourselves to be the daily victims of
bullying and harassment that can make our lives seem unbearable.
Although we may have values and aspirations to view ourselves, our neighbours and
other people as fundamentally kind and cooperative, it would be nave and potentially
dangerous to ignore the anti-social realities around us.
In this chapter, we will consider two forms of anti-social behaviourbullying and
harassmentand discuss some of the causes of anti-social behaviour.

Characteristics of anti-social behaviour

What does anti-social mean?

ACTIVITY

Before reading the rest of this chapter, discuss in groups what you think anti-social behaviour
means.
After you have agreed on a definition, read the definition below that social psychologists
use. In what ways are the definitions similar? In what ways are they different? Why might
social psychologists use the definition given below?

Anti-social behaviour is voluntary behaviour that is intended to harmeither physically

or psychologicallyanother person or group. There are three important components of
this definition, as shown in Figure 5.2.

GLOSSARY
anti-social behaviour
voluntary behaviour, enacted with
the intention of harmingeither
physically or psychologically
another person or group

48 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 5.2
The three components
of anti-social behaviour.

WORKSHEET 1

Voluntary
A person choses to engage
in anti-social behaviour.
Accidental injury, even in
cases where the injury
occured due to illegal actions,
is not defined as anti-social.

Harmful
The other person is harmed, either
physically or psychologically.

Anti-social
behaviour

Intentional
People who engage in anti-social
behaviour have the goal of injuring,
in some way, someone else.

Physical
aggression
Includes direct bodily
harm (such as
hitting), or harm
directed at another's
possessions (such as
destroying property).

Relational
aggression
Refers to
psychological
harm resulting
from verbal
harassment
and ostracism.

Mean girls

active psychology
Relational aggression among Australian girls

FIGURE 5.3
Girls may express relational
aggression due to simple
boredom.

GLOSSARY
relational aggression
psychological harm caused by
verbal harassment and
ostracism

physical aggression
direct bodily harm, or harm
directed at anothers
possessions

bullying
repeated, ongoing anti-social
behaviour by a more powerful
person towards a less powerful
person; includes relational
aggression (harassment,
ostracism) and physical
aggression

harassment
continued verbal abuse,
taunting and teasing

Owens, Shute and Slee (2000) interviewed 15year-old Australian girls to learn more about the
relational aggression that the girls may express.
There were three categories that fit most
clearly within the relational aggression description:
talking about othersspreading rumours,
breaking confidences, and general bitching
exclusionary behavioursignoring and
ostracism
nonverbal aggressionnegative looks and
gestures.
A fourth category combined both relational
and physical aggressionthis was called indirect harassments, and included prank phone
calls, getting boys to be actively anti-social so that
the girls appear innocent, and moving personal
property. There was also some direct physical
aggression expressed.
When the girls described their reasons for
doing these behaviours, they included not only

such things as direct reinforcement (for example,

friendship from others), but also simple boredom!
Not surprisingly, the victims reported feeling pain,
confusion and fear.
These negative responses by the victims
highlight how even non-physical aggression can
be severely detrimental.

Activity
Think about the three types of relational aggression described in this study.
1 Which form of relational aggression do you
think would have the worst impact on you,
and why?
2 Compare your answer with classmates and
discuss where you agree or disagree. What
conclusions can you draw from your ministudy on the impact of relational aggression
on the victims?

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What is anti-social behaviour, and what are the three components of it?
2 What is the difference between physical aggression and relational
aggression?

Bullying and harassment

Lets begin by focusing on the specific forms of anti-social behaviour of bullying and
harassment. Unfortunately, they are forms of anti-social behaviour that many people
experience, either as victims or offenders. Because of their frequency, they demand
special attention.
A recent study of more than 5000 11- to 15-year-old Norwegian students (male and
female) found that nearly 32 per cent reported being bullied at least once or twice.
Nearly 34 per cent of students reported bullying others. With only 1.6 per cent saying

chapter 5 anti-social behaviour

49

FIGURE 5.4
One-third of children report being bullied,
and one-third report having bullied others.

FIGURE 5.5

they were both bully and victim, that means that nearly two out of every three students
had been involved in bullying (Solberg & Olweus, 2003).
In a similar analysis of the frequency of bullying in an Australian high school,
researchers found that 23.5 per cent of the students reported being the victim of bullying
on a weekly basis (Peterson and Rigby, 1999). And bullying is not confined to the schoolyard. Bullying in the workplace has been referred to as the silent epidemic by physicians
concerned about its negative health consequences (such as stress) on working adults.

Bullying in the workplace

has been called the silent
epidemic.

Defining the problem

You may have common sense ideas about what bullying and harassment are, especially if
you have been a victim. However, different researchers tend to use different definitions.
This makes it more difficult to identify exactly how widespread bullying is (see Table 5.1).
The first three definitions in Table 5.1 were used in studies of bullying among children and adolescents, whereas the last definition was used in a study of bullying among
working adults. All the definitions share important components, including the point
that this behaviour takes place between people of unequal power, with the victim always
being the less powerful. Two of the definitions include the notions of repeated and
longstanding, suggesting that one-off forms of this behaviour are not really bullying.
TABLE 5.1 Different definitions of bullying.

Definition

Author(s)

Bullying occurs when someone is deliberately hurting or frightening someone weaker than themselves for no
good reason. This may be done in different ways: by hurtful teasing, threatening actions or gestures, name-calling
or hitting or kicking.

Petersen & Rigby (1999, p. 482)

Bullying is longstanding violence, physical or mental, conducted by an individual or group and directed against an
individual who is not able to defend himself [or herself] in the actual situation.

Roland (1989, p. 143)

A student is being bullied when another student or several other students:

say mean and hurtful things or make fun of him or her or call him or her mean and hurtful names
completely ignore or exclude him or her from their group of friends or leave him or her out of things on purpose
hit, kick, push, shove around, or threaten him or her
tell lies or spread false rumours about him or her or send mean notes and try to make other students dislike
him or her
other hurtful things

Solberg & Olweus (2003, p. 246)

Bullying is negative behaviour that occurs repeatedly over time, and causes distress. It includes:
threat to professional status (e.g. public humiliation)
threat to personal status (e.g. name-calling, intimidation)
isolation (e.g. physical / social exclusion)
destabilisation (e.g. failure to give credit when due)
unwanted physical contact.

Jennifer, Cowie & Ananiadou (2003)

50 heinemann psychology one

bullying

physical aggression

FIGURE 5.6

relational aggression

ostracism

harassment

excluding someone
from a social group

continued verbal abuse,

taunting, and teasing

Types of bullying.

A useful definition comes from Espelage and Swearer (2003): bullying is repeated
behaviour (including both verbal and physical behaviours) that occurs over time in a
relationship characterised by an imbalance of strength and power (p. 368).
With this definition, continued verbal abuse, taunting and teasingwhich are
much more typical of harassmentare all included in bullying. The definition also
includes the deliberate non-inclusion of others in social relationships, which is more
typical of ostracism. Both harassment and ostracism are forms of relational aggression
(see Figure 5.6).
Of course, physical aggression is also included within bullying. For us, however,
the key features are the power imbalance and the long-term nature of this anti-social
behaviour that place it in the unique category of bullying.

Research into bullying

Pellegrini and Long (2002) conducted a longitudinal study following American boys and
girls through grades 5, 6 and 7. Since grade 5 was the final year of primary school, the
researchers were able to follow these children through the transition to middle school.
The researchers found that boys more than girls reported being bullies. For both
boys and girls, there was an increase in self-reports of being a bully from grade 5 to
grade 6, with a slight decrease and levelling-off in grade 7 (see Figure 5.7). This is
interesting because there was also an increase in self-reports of being a victim from grade
5 to grade 6, again with a slight decrease and levelling-off in grade 7 (see Figure 5.8).

boys
girls

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

boys

2.5
Average self-report of being a victim

Average self-report of being a bully

girls

2
1.5
1
0.5
0

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

FIGURE 5.7

FIGURE 5.8

Average self-report of being a bully for boys and girls across

different grade levels (from Pellegrini & Long, 2002).

Average self-report of being a victim for boys and girls

across different grade levels (from Pellegrini & Long, 2002).

chapter 5 anti-social behaviour

51

In interpreting these results, the authors

point out that many American schools do not
provide support for children during important
transitions and that schools often stress competition between students instead of cooperation.
In Australia, there has been a great deal of
effort directed towards helping students in the
transition from primary to secondary school.
School passports, orientation programs, professional days, SRCs and student mentors are only
some of the measures that almost all schools
adopt today. In addition, schools have programs to help combat bullying.

FIGURE 5.9
Schools need to foster cooperation during transitions, and to offer support.

active psychology
Schoolwhere most bullying occurs
A VicHealth study released as part of yesterdays first
national conference on school bullying found that 81 per
cent of bullying cases took place in schoolsmore than
double the cases that occurred in the workplace, on the
street, during sport, or from neighbours.
The study, based on 600 households, also found that
women were more likely to report bullying than men, while
nearly 50 per cent of Australians said they had seen
bullying at some stage and been unable to help. The
findings came as the Federal Government yesterday
announced that all schools may soon conform to a
uniform standard to tackle bullying, instead of having
separate approaches in each state and territory.
Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson said legislation would be introduced next year requiring schools to
adhere to a national safe schools framework, to streamline the way bullying is dealt with across the board.
The government has committed $4.5 million to deal
with the issue in schools.
Adapted from Farrah Tomazin, Age, 3 November 2003

Activity
In groups, come up with three different recommendations
you would give to the government on how best to spend
the $4.5 million allocated to deal with bullying in schools.

FIGURE 5.10
The government funds programs to tackle
bullying in schools.

Bullying and cooperativeness

The point about cooperation turns out to be an important one. Rigby, Cox and Black
(1997) conducted a study among 700 13- to 17-year-old South Australian students.
The research showed that the less cooperative the students described themselves as
being, the more likely they were to be bullies or victims. So cooperativeness is an
important variable in bullying behaviour, and is one that schools can directly reinforce
or undermine.

52 heinemann psychology one

Bullying and self-esteem

FIGURE 5.11
Researchers have found no
correlation between bullying
and low self-esteem.

The importance of interpersonal cooperation should not be underestimated, especially

in light of other research on another variable we might think is related to bullying:
self-esteem.
You may have heard that people who bully others have low self-esteem, and that
bullying behaviour is done to make the bullies feel better. The research is inconclusive
on this matter. OMoore and Kirkham (2001), in their sample of Irish 8- to 18-yearolds, found that bullies had lower self-esteem than non-bullies. A similar pattern was
suggested by Salmivalli et al. (1999) in their sample of Finish teenagers. Rigby and Cox
(1996) found a small relationship between bullying behaviour and self-esteem among
Australian teenaged girls, although only 3 per cent of their bullying behaviour was
related to their relatively low self-esteem.
On the other hand, Rigby and Cox found no relationship between bullying behaviour and self-esteem among their Australian teenaged boys. Other researchers have also
found no difference in overall self-esteem levels between bullies and non-bullies in
schools and prisons. Roland (2002) found no relationship between bullying and depression (indicating very low self-esteem) when appropriate controls were made. At best,
the research suggests that pointing the finger at self-esteem is not likely to be useful in
explaining bullying behaviour.

Learning to bully

WORKSHEET 1
Mean girls

WORKSHEET 2
Bullyingno way!

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Bullying and harassment:
student presentation

FIGURE 5.12
Children may learn to bully
from watching their peers
engage in bullying.

The research suggests that one reason people bully is because they learn this behaviour,
in the same way any other behaviour is learned.
Sutton and Smith (1999) found that 60 per cent of those described as bullies by others actually described themselves as defenders of the victims. This shows that people
who bully can continue to see themselves and their behaviour in a positive light (that
is, a direct self-reward) rather than a negative light (a self-punishment).
Another study found that, when asked to imagine themselves as a bully, actual bullies reported more pride (another direct reward) and egocentrism than non-bullies. The
egocentrism meant that they did not see the situation from the victims perspective
(avoiding a punishment), and they thought that they would gain positive attention
from others (another direct reward) (Menesini, Sanchez, Fonzi, Ortega, Costabile & Lo
Feundo, 2003).
Espelage, Hold and Henkel (2003) found that teenagers whose friends were described
as bullies were more likely to engage in bullying behaviour themselves six months later.
This finding suggests that learning is occurringthrough direct reinforcement, observation or social norms. We will look at these factors in the next section.

chapter 5 anti-social behaviour

53

KEY QUESTIONS
3
4
5
6

What is bullying?
What is harassment?
Does bullying occur only among school children?
What is one situational factor discussed above that might lead to bullying
behaviour?

7 What is the role of self-esteem in bullying?

8 In what ways is learning related to bullying?

Learning and anti-social behaviour

It turns out that bullying and harassment are not the only anti-social behaviours that
people learn. In fact, most anti-social behaviour can be seen as the result of learning, in
the following ways:
we may be directly reinforced for our aggression
we may observe aggression in our parents and peers
we may be taught aggression directly by our parents and through social norms.
In this section, we will consider the role of these three causal factors, with our primary focus on observation. Read the extension boxes to learn about common myths
people hold about the causes of anti-social behaviours.

Direct reinforcement
Learning aggression through direct reinforcement is simple: the more people get
what they want through the expression of anti-social behaviour, the more likely they are
to continue engaging in this behaviour.
Parents or peers may directly praise us for our aggressive behaviours. We may also
find that our aggressive behaviours actually pay offwhen we are aggressive, we may
get what we want.

GLOSSARY
direct reinforcement
directly receiving a reward for
engaging in a specific behaviour,
such as aggression

FIGURE 5.13
Direct reinforcement from
parents and peers for
aggressive behaviour will lead
to more aggressive behaviour.

One study showed that aggressive children expected more tangible rewards, and less
aggression from their peers, than did non-aggressive children (Perry, Perry &
Rasmussen,1986). Another study found that aggressive children valued controlling the
victim, and worried less about the victims suffering, than did non-aggressive children
(Boldizar, Perry & Perry, 1989).
Overall, these two studies show that expected outcomestangible rewards, control
over othersdo guide peoples aggressive behaviours. If people think that they will
somehow gain a reward from aggression, they are likely to be aggressive.

54 heinemann psychology one

Observational learning
People may also learn to be aggressive through observing the aggressive behaviours of
others. This is an important lesson learned by social psychologists, because it suggests
that anti-social environments can breed new generations of anti-social individuals.

classic study
Early research on aggression
The observational learning of aggression was first shown by
Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961). In their study, children aged 3 to 5
years old observed an adult engaging in one of two different
behaviours. Some children observed the adult playing with toys in a
non-aggressive manner, while other children observed the adult
hitting and kicking a punching doll called Bobo.
After observing either the aggressive or the non-aggressive adult,
the children were led into another room filled with toys, and were told
they could play with any toy they wanted. Children who had
observed the aggressive adult behaved more aggressively toward
another Bobo doll than children who observed the non-aggressive
adult. This observational learning of aggression occurred regardless
of the childs sex or the adults sex. The researchers found similar
results in a later study, where aggressive and non-aggressive adults
were observed on a television screen (rather than live), including an
actress dressed as a cat in a fantasy-type setting.

FIGURE 5.14
If young children copy the anti-social
behaviour of adults, might they also
copy violent acts they see on TV?

GLOSSARY
observational learning
learning a particular behaviour
through watching someone
else engage in that behaviour

Bandura et al.s studies (see Classic study box above) showed that children can learn
anti-social behaviour by watching it on television. This prompted McCann and Sheehan
(1985) to find out just how much violence is shown on Australian television. The
researchers sampled programs shown on all free-to-air television channels in Brisbane
during hours of the day that grade 3 children could be at home to watch them.
In total, out of 80 different programs, 51 per cent could be classified as violent, and
53 per cent of the total program hours contained violence. These numbers were smaller for non-fiction than for either fiction or cartoons. In fact, 78.6 per cent of the cartoon
hours contained violence.

ACTIVITY

Anti-social behaviour on TV

This activity requires you to watch television!

Watch commercial television for two 1-hour periods during
the evening: the first hour as soon as you get home from
school, and the second hour between 7.30 and 8.30 p.m.
During each hour, note:
the total number of physically and relationally aggressive
acts in the programs and commercials
the total number of helping, cooperative and kind acts in
the programs and commercials.
Was there more anti-social behaviour or pro-social
behaviour? What are the implications of your results for the
observational learning of anti-social behaviour in Australia?
FIGURE 5.15
One study found that over half
the total program hours shown
on TV during the hours when
children might be watching
contained violence.

Sanson and Di Muccio (1993) sampled children from two Melbourne pre-schools.
They showed the children violent cartoons (Voltron), non-violent cartoons
(GummiBears), or no cartoons. The children were then allowed to play with toys from
either the violent cartoons or the non-violent cartoons.

chapter 5 anti-social behaviour

55

The number of violent acts with the violent toys among the children who watched
no cartoons increased more than seven times from a baseline (measured before watching
the program). This is interesting because it suggests that the presence of the violent toy
itself increases overall violence. However, among the children who watched the violent
cartoon, the number of violent acts with the violent toys increased more than thirteen
times. Finally, among the children who watched the non-violent cartoon, the number
of violent acts with the violent toys increased only 1.3 times. This last finding suggests
that watching non-violence can actually inhibit the tendency towards anti-social behaviour that specific violent toys may elicit. Overall, however, the data clearly show that
watching violence leads to increased violent acts.

case study

Learning aggression at home

In a study in the USA with nearly 600 families, researchers
showed that parents whose beliefs about parenting
included the value of spanking and other aggressive
acts were more likely to use these aggressive forms of
behaviour to discipline their children (Pinderhughes,
Dodge, Bates, Pettit & Zelli, 2000).
This is important in light of an earlier study by Straus
and Yodanis (1996) with more than 1800 men and more
than 2500 women. They showed that physical assault
against ones spouse was more likely if the aggressors

parents had used some form of corporal punishment

(such as spanking) against them as children. This was
shown to occur either directly (for example, through
observational learning) or indirectly by making peoples
attitudes towards violence more favourable.
Consistent with the early Bandura et al. (1961)
observational learning research, physical assault was
more likely to occur against a partner if there had been
violence between the aggressors parents.

FIGURE 5.16
The government and other organisations
provide assistance for victims of domestic
abuse crimes.

Teaching anti-social behaviour

A third way that people can learn to engage in anti-social behaviour is when it is explicitly taught to them, such as when parents or peers say that doing so is good. For example,
Neapolitan (1981) sampled more than 200 male high school students. The more these
boys said their parents supported aggressive behavioursuch as teaching fighting and
the importance of self-defencethe more aggressive these boys actually were.
Another study among primary school children showed that the more strongly the
childrens peers supported the use of aggression, the more the children themselves also
supported the use of aggressionwhich, in turn, led to actual aggressive acts by the
children (Henry, Guerra, Huesmann, Tolan, van Acker & Eron, 2000).

56 heinemann psychology one

These studies show that we can learn to be aggressive simply because the people we
value teach us that it is acceptable.

GLOSSARY
social norms
community expectations about
appropriate forms of behaviour

catharsis
theory that the expression of
an emotion (such as anger)
leads to a lessening of the
emotion

frustrationaggression
hypothesis
proposal that all frustration
leads to aggression and all
aggression comes from
frustration

FIGURE 5.17
In some families, gun
possession is normal.
Children learn from
their parents what is
and is not acceptable.

Myths about aggression

extension

extension

extension

The myth of catharsis

The myth of frustrationaggression

Catharsis refers to the lessening of an emotion typically

angerupon the expression of that emotion, such as aggression.
This view assumes that emotions, especially negative ones, can
well up within people, and ultimately must be expressed for any
relief to be gained.
As intuitive as this idea sounds, it is not supported by the
evidence. A positive emotion, such as love, does not lessen after
expressing the love (for example, by saying I love you). The
emotion may, in fact, intensify in such a situation.
Researchers have found that the same goes for negative
emotions. A laboratory study found that aggression in response
to anger occurred primarily among people who believed that
catharsis would work, but that the expression of hostility made
them feel worse (Bushman, Baumeister & Phillips, 2001). The most
likely outcome of the expression of anger is more anger, not less.

The frustrationaggression hypothesis states that aggression is

caused by personal frustration, and that all frustration eventually
leads to aggression (Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mowrer & Sears, 1939).
The hypothesis has been researched for over 60 years but has not
been substantiated.
People express aggression for many reasons, only one of which
may be frustration. And while frustration may sometimes lead to
aggression, this is not always the case. It may lead to resignation,
depression or even fear.
Social psychologists currently believe that negative feelings
in general may create aggressive inclinations. The frustration
aggression link is weak, at best, and frustration is not a good
explanation for aggression.

FIGURE 5.18
These people are not
more likely to behave
aggressively simply
because they are in a
crowd.

chapter 5 anti-social behaviour

57

The myth of deindividuation

Questions

Deindividuation is a psychological state in which people are

assumed to lose their unique sense of self in social situations,
such as crowds. Deindividuation theorists assume that in this condition, peoples personal and social values are no longer important
to them. They become irrational and impulsive, and aggression is a
likely outcome.
Zimbardo (1969) conducted a study in which participants were
deindividuated by wearing hoods over their heads. When given the
opportunity to administer a shock to someone (in fact, no shocks
were given), they gave longer shocks when they wore the hoods
compared to when hoods were not worn. While this study seems
to confirm the deindividuationaggression relationship, other
researchers found that participants who were deindividuated by
wearing nurses uniforms had lower levels of aggression than individually identifiable participants (Johnson and Downing, 1979).
Most research demonstrates that deindividuation causes a shift
from seeing yourself as a unique individual to seeing yourself as a
group member. Once this happens, people tend to follow group
norms, whether those norms are for kindness (for example, nurses)
or aggression (for example, wearing hoods like the Ku Klux Klan).

1 What is catharsis? Give one logical and one experimental reason why this theory is not supported.

2 What is the frustrationaggression hypothesis? What are some

causes of aggression, other than frustration, given in this
chapter?
3 Does deindividuation always make people aggressive?
4 What is needed in addition to alcohol to lead people to become
aggressive?

The myth that alcohol always causes aggression

Although aggression may increase with increasing alcohol levels,
aggression is not the inevitable consequence of intoxication. An
analysis of thirty experiments compared the role of peoples expectations that alcohol will make them aggressive with the actual
physiological effects of alcohol (Bushman & Cooper, 1990). The
conclusions were that both the physiological effects and psychological effects (that is, peoples expectations) of drinking alcohol
are needed to produce aggression.
The alcoholaggression link therefore appears to require
psychological expectations of a link. This suggests that changing
peoples expectations and stereotypes regarding the alcohol
aggression relationship could reduce the amount of alcohol-related aggressive incidents outside of laboratory contexts.
The lesson is that, if people drink, they do not have to be
aggressive. Being drunk is not an excuse for anti-social behaviour!

FIGURE 5.19
Drinking does not necessarily lead to aggression.

KEY QUESTIONS
9 What are two ways in which people can learn aggression through direct
reinforcement?

10 How do people learn aggression through observational learning?

11 What are the implications of observational learning for the programming

GLOSSARY
deindividuation
psychological state in which
people are assumed to lose their
sense of themselves as unique
individuals; this was thought to
lead to aggression

of television shows?

12 How are preaching and social norms related to aggression?

Why might they be important?

WORKSHEET 3
Research into bullying:
summary table

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 2
Develop an anti-bullying
school policy

58 heinemann psychology one

chapter

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

5
08

09

Anti-social behaviour is voluntary behaviour that deliberately causes physical or psychological harm to another person.
Physical aggression can be both direct bodily harm or harm directed against anothers possessions.
Relational aggression is expressed through verbal harassment and ostracism.
Bullying is a common form of anti-social behaviour in schools and the workplace. It is
characterised by repeated, ongoing aggression by a more powerful person towards a less
powerful person.
There is no clear relationship between self-esteem and bullying. Bullying may stem from a
social structure that encourages competition rather than cooperation. It is likely to emerge,
like other forms of anti-social behaviour, through learning.
People learn aggression through direct reinforcement, observational learning and social
norms.
There is no support for the view that expressing anger through aggression will alleviate the
angerreferred to as catharsis.
Not all frustration leads to aggression, and not all aggression is caused by frustration.
Deindividuation refers to the loss of a sense of personal identity and values that results from
being in a group. The deindividuation theory assumes this leads to aggression, but the evidence does not support this theory. When in groups, peoples identities tend to shift from
personal to social, and they behave in accordance with group norms.
Although aggression increases with increasing alcohol levels, it is not inevitable. The alcohol
aggression link appears to require psychological expectations of a link.
Data can be nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio. It can be graphically represented as line
graphs, box-and-whisker plots, scatter plots, histograms or frequency polygons.

10

chapter 5 anti-social behaviour

multiple
choice
questions
1 Anti-social behaviour
A can be unintentional.
B is always based on low self-esteem.
C is the decision to remain isolated from others, thus
not being very sociable.

D is voluntary behaviour that has the intention of

harming another person.

2 Bullying is a behaviour that

A is always the outcome of low self-esteem.
B is learned, like other anti-social behaviours.
C only children engage in.
D only males engage in.
3 Harassment is
A continued verbal abuse, taunting and teasing.
B deliberate non-inclusion of others in social
relationships.

C only directed at females by males.

D the opposite of bullying.
4 Studies have shown that up to ________________ of
students report being bullied on a weekly basis.
A 3.5 per cent
B 13.5 per cent
C 23.5 per cent
D 33.5 per cent

5 When people are rewarded for aggressive behaviour

A they are more likely to engage in this behaviour in
the future.

B they will be unaffected by the rewards because of

their personal values.

C they will behave aggressively only if they are not

rewarded, because of frustration.

D this is known as observational learning.

6 One of the most important lessons of research into
observational learning is that
A children become aggressive because they have low
self-esteem.
B children can learn aggression through direct preaching.
C children can learn aggression through direct
reinforcement.
D children can learn aggression through watching
television.

7 Which of the following is true?

A Catharsis works, but only when people are frustrated
and deindividuated.

B The expression of hostility upon being angry

generally makes people feel better.

C The expression of hostility upon being angry can

make people feel worse.

D The expression of positive emotions tends to

alleviate those emotions and makes them go away.

8 Regarding the frustrationaggression hypothesis,

A frustration sometimes leads to aggression.
B aggression sometimes follows from frustration.
C the best that can be said is that negative feelings
may create aggressive inclinations.

D All of the above.

9 When people are in a group or a crowd,
A anti-social behaviour is an almost certain outcome.
B they are less likely to adhere to social norms.
C they experience a shift from their personal identity
to a group identity, and follow group norms.

D they lose their personal identity and become more

emotional, impulsive and irrational.

10 Aggression
A is an inevitable outcome of alcohol consumption.
B is completely unrelated to alcohol consumption.
C may follow from alcohol consumption if people
believe it will.

D may follow from alcohol consumption if people do

not realise they are drinking alcohol.

59

60 heinemann psychology one

short
answer
questions
1 What is the difference between physical aggression and relational aggression? Give
examples in your answer.

2 a Imagine that you have been hired by the State government to study bullying in schools.
What are three things you would look for in students behaviours?

b Imagine that you find a high degree of bullying behaviours. What variables would you
study to consider the causes of this behaviour? Why these variables and not others?

3 Imagine that you are working on a project for the State government to decrease the
amount of anti-social behaviour in schools. Given your understanding of the role of
learning in aggression, describe two strategies you might recommend to reduce aggression.
Why do you recommend these strategies?

4 Imagine that you work for a large advertising company that has been hired by an alcohol
producer. Given that you want to make sure that your work does not increase the overall
amount of anti-social behaviour in Australia, what message might you build into your
advertising strategies that would help reduce the alcoholaggression relationship?
Why would you do this?

essay
What causes bullying behaviour?
Consider research into bullying. Develop an opinion, supported by research, regarding
what factors are most likely to lead to bullying behaviour.

Introduction
Define the term bullying and mention the main variables correlated with this behaviour.

Body
Discuss research findings into the associations between bullying and cooperation,
self-esteem and learning.
Question the validity of the weaker arguments. Develop support for any of the above
variables that are most likely to lead to bullying.

Conclusion
Reiterate your opinion on which variables most likely lead to bullying, and why.

WORKSHEET 4
Crossword

chapter 5 anti-social behaviour

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Abstract
This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,
but appears immediately under this title.

Introduction
Research on bullying behaviour has shown that it
occurs in relatively high frequencies in both schools
(Peterson & Rigby, 1999; Solberg & Olweus, 2003) and
workplaces (Einarsen, 2000). At the same time, the
roles people describe themselves as taking in bullying
situations have been found to vary. For example, Sutton
and Smith (1999) found that some people will describe
themselves as bullies and victims, but others will
describe themselves as reinforcers (they laugh at the
people being bullied), assistants (they help the bully
catch the victim), defenders (they support the victims)
and outsiders (they dont even know bullying exists).
Interestingly, people may place themselves in more
than one of these categories (see Figure 5.20).
You will survey people to find out how they describe
themselves, using the above categories. Your hypothesis should relate to the percentage of people you
expect to find in each category.

Assisting and defending against bullies

rate each role from 1 to 7 for how much it describes
them, with 1 meaning not at all like me and 7
meaning very much like me
indicate the percentage of time during an average
day they would engage in each behaviour (from 0%
to 100%).
It is essential that all responses are completely
anonymous. You should not be able to match what each
person writes to that persons name. This kind of
personal data can be potentially very damaging to a
persons personal image and career. To ensure
anonymity, ask each participant to place his or her
completed questionnaire in an envelope, and do not
open any of the envelopes until all of your data has
been collected. All raw data should be confidential. Do
not share any of the questionnaires with anyone else
(other than specific students you are working with and
your teacher).

Results
Your results will be three different types of data:
The rank orderings are an ordinal scale of measurement. For ordinal scales, you can say one thing is
FIGURE 5.20

50

Frequency distribution showing the

percentage of people who describe
themselves as playing a role in relation
to bullying behaviour (from Sutton &
Smith, 1999).

45

Percentage

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

61

bully

reinforcer

assistant

defender

Role

outsider

victim

did not
describe self
in these ways

Method
Participants
Sample approximately ten males and ten females of
different ages for your study. If you go to public places
to gain your sample, make sure you have permission to
be there. You will need to collect information on each
participants age and sex.

Materials and procedure

Develop a questionnaire to collect your data. Provide a
definition of bullying for your participants, based on
the information in Table 5.1, so they know what you
mean by the term. List the four different roles in
bullying, described in the introduction.
Ask participants to:
rank the four roles in terms of how much each one
describes them, with 1 for the most accurate and 4
for the least accurate

FIGURE 5.21
You may need permission
to conduct your study in
public places.

62 heinemann psychology one

more, bigger, greater, etc. than the next, although

you cannot say by how much.
The ratings are an interval scale of measurement.
This scale will give you similar information to
rankings, but also gives some sense of how much
greater one thing is than another. The difference
between a score of 1 and 2 is exactly the same as a
difference between a score of 6 and 7. However, it
does not always make sense to average these
numbers because they are arbitrarily chosen (you
could have asked your participants to respond on a
scale from 99 to 105).
The percentage estimates are a ratio scale of
measurement. Not only can we get a relative rank
ordering of the information and see how much
responses differ from each other, but because we
know exactly what 0 means, we can multiply and
divide these figures to find averages.
A final type of scale measurement is a nominal scale.
Unlike the previous three types of scales, nominal
scales have no meaningful orderingthey are just
different categories with different names. In this
ERA, the categories males and females represent
two different categories along a nominal scale.
Ordering one of these categories 1 and the other 2,
for example, would make no quantitative sense.
Calculate the frequency of number 1 rankings for each
category and draw a frequency distribution. Describe the
trends shown in the graph. Now draw separate frequency
distributions for males and females, and describe any
similarities and differences.
Draw a scatter diagram of the rating and percentage
data for one category only (such as defender). Plot
each participants rating on the y-axis and his or her
percentage on the x-axis. Does there appear to be a
relationship between the two forms of measurement?
Draw box-and-whisker plots for each of the four
categories using the percentage data (see Figure 5.22).

FIGURE 5.22

To do this, first place all the percentage results in

numerical order and note the following numbers:
Find the middle numberthis is the median.
Find the middle number of all the scores lower than
the medianthis is the lower quartile.
Find the middle number of all the scores greater
than the medianthis is the upper quartile.
Find the smallest and the largest numbers.
On a scale from 0 to 100, place a dot at the median,
and at the upper and lower quartiles. Draw a box around
the median with the quartiles as the ends. Then draw a
dot for the largest and smallest numbers, and a line (or
whisker) from each end of the box to these dots.
The boxes tell you where 50 per cent of your participants are, and each whisker tells you where another
25 per cent of your participants are.

Discussion
1 Are your hypotheses supported?
2 Interpret your graphs by considering how the
frequencies of bullies differ from those reported by
Sutton and Smith (1999). What do you think any
differences between your results and the previous
studys results mean? What do any similarities mean?

3 Were there any problems with how you conducted

your study? What improvements could be made to
the procedure?

4 Suggest some ideas for further research, based on

the results of your study.

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter
3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
You should include a photocopy of your questionnaire
in the appendix.

lowest
score

Sample box-and-whisker plot.

10

20

lower
quartile

30

40

50

median

60

70

upper highest
quartile score

80

90

100

chapter
psychology

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:

Pro-social
behaviour

characteristics of pro-social behaviour, for

example, helping behaviour
factors influencing pro-social behaviour, for
example: situational (bystander intervention
and effect), social norms (reciprocity principle,
social responsibility norm), personal (empathy,
mood, competence), altruism
factors influencing reluctance to help, for
example, diffusion of responsibility, audience
inhibition, social influence, costbenefit
analysis.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
collect quantitative data and use it to
determine mean, median and mode.

00

01

02

03

04

63

64 heinemann psychology one

Studying helping behaviour, from cooperation and assistance to charity and aid work, is one of the more pleasurable
aspects of being a psychologist. The research tells us that
people can, will, and do help. Of course, most of us dont
need psychologists to tell us this. We can see it on a daily
basis in ourselves, our families and friends, and in unknown
strangers on the streets. Nevertheless, the psychological
research remains important because it informs us not only
that people will help, but also when they will help and,
importantly, when they wont.
Some questions that social psychologists ask when studying helping include:
Are there reasons, other than being a good person, that
cause people to help others?
Is there something psychologically wrong with people
who fail to offer help?
Why do the same people help in one situation, but not
in another?
In this chapter, we will focus on features of helping
behaviour that relate to both the situation and the person.
We will also consider factors that lead people not to help.

FIGURE 6.1
Homeless people line up for a
free Chrismas dinner at a
charity-run kitchen.

GLOSSARY
pro-social behaviour
voluntary behaviour, enacted
with the intention of benefiting
another person or group

helping
giving assistance in a situation;
you may also gain, even if your
intentions are solely to benefit
another

altruism
giving assistance in a situation
where you do not gain any
benefits; a social value

Characteristics of pro-social behaviour

For social psychologists, pro-social behaviour is a general term that includes various
acts of kindness and helping. Pro-social behaviour is voluntary behaviour, enacted with
the intention of benefiting another person or group.
Like our definition of anti-social behaviour in the last chapter, there are three important components of the definition of pro-social behaviour (see Figure 6.2). The behaviour
must be intentional and voluntary, and someone else must benefit from it. Although we
may benefit from our own pro-social behaviour, if we are the only one to benefit from it,
then the behaviour is more appropriately called pro-self.
The various types of pro-social behaviour include:
helping: giving of assistance, aid or charity to others. The person engaging in the
behaviour may also gain even if his or her intentions are to benefit another.
altruism: giving of assistance, aid or charity to others, where there is no benefit to the
person engaging in the behaviour. There may even be a loss to the altruistic person.
cooperation: behaviour enacted to benefit everybody involved in a particular situation, including the person engaging in the behaviour.

cooperation
striving to gain as much as
possible for all members in
a social context, including for
yourself

FIGURE 6.2
The three components of
pro-social behaviour.

Someone else
benefits
The person engaging
in pro-social behaviour
may also benefit,
but not necessarily.

Pro-social
behaviour

Voluntary
The person engaging in the behaviour is
doing so because they choose to.

Intentional
Accidentally benefiting
someone else is not
pro-social behaviour.
The person engaging
in the behaviour must
have the goal of benefiting
someone else.

chapter 6 pro-social behaviour

65

FIGURE 6.3
Pro-social behaviour is
voluntary. Giving valuables to
others because they threaten
us is not pro-social behaviour.

Cooperation, therefore, is aimed at promoting collective welfare (that is, benefiting

others and self), whereas helping and altruism are aimed only at promoting the welfare
of others.

WORKSHEET 1
Types of pro-social
behaviour

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What is pro-social behaviour?
2 How does helping differ from altruism?
3 What is cooperation?

Factors that influence

pro-social behaviour
What leads people to behave pro-socially? In this section, we will consider situational
factors that lead to pro-social behaviour, and personal factors that cause a person to
behave this way. These factors may operate together in a given situation, but we will
look at them separately.

Situational factors
Bystander intervention and effect
You are walking through a quiet shopping mall and come across an elderly woman who
seems to be unable to stand up from the bench where she has been resting. What do
you do? If you decide to help, your behaviour is called bystander intervention.
Studies of bystander intervention are ones in which unsuspecting passers-by
encounter someone in need of help, and social psychologists observe whether or not the
help is given. One of the most dramatic findings of this research is that, on average,
helping decreases as the number of other people available to help increases (Latan &
Nida, 1981). This finding, sometimes referred to as the bystander effect, is often
counter-intuitive. We might expect that the likelihood of receiving help will increase
as the number of people available to provide the help increases. Unfortunately, this is
generally not true unless other factors come into play, such as competence to help (discussed later in this chapter).
For example, Latan and Darley (1968) observed participants reactions to smoke
billowing under a door as participants completed experimental questionnaires. After
three minutes, 60 per cent of participants who were alone reported the smoke, whereas
only 10 per cent of participants reported the smoke when there where two other people
present who could possibly do so.

GLOSSARY
bystander intervention
in potential help-giving contexts,
a situation in which passers-by
provide assistance to someone
in need

bystander effect
in potential help-giving contexts,
a situation in which the more
potential helpers there are
available, the less likely is any
one individual to give help

66 heinemann psychology one

In another study, Latan and Rodan (1969)

staged a person falling in another room and
calling out for help. After two minutes, nearly
70 per cent of participants who were alone
responded, but less than 10 per cent did so
when another person was available to help.

FIGURE 6.4
The bystander effect means that when there
are more people available to provide help, it is
less likely that anyone will do so.

case study
Ethical concerns in the study of pro-social behaviour
Studies of pro-social behaviour often use experimental
deception by staging elaborate false emergency
situations.
On the positive side, this procedure allows researchers
to observe behaviour as it really occurs. However, when
deception is used, experimenters must consider its
possible negative effects on the participants themselves.
As always, researchers must be guided by ethical
principles (National Health and Medical Research Council,
1999).
After learning that the emergency is a fake, do
participants feel angry and embarrassed? Does the
experience make them suspicious and perhaps less likely
to help others in the future? Social psychologists are not
unaware of these problems and have tackled them in the
way they know best: through research.
When measuring participants attitudes after being
informed that they had been deceived in a range of

socialpsychological experiments, Gerdes (1979) and

Epley and Huff (1998) found that evaluations were
positive rather than negative. Participants, on average,
dont seem to mind the deception.
What about causing people to help less in the future?
To answer this question, Schwartz and Gottlieb (1980b)
contacted participants who had previously been in a
helping behaviour experiment. In a second experiment,
participants again encountered a person in need of help.
This second study was conducted either 6 to 10 months
after the first (early phase), or 11 to 20 months after the
first (late phase).
The results showed that less help was offered by
participants in the early phase of the second experiment
than in the late phase. However, participants in the late
phase offered more help than a separate sample of
participants who had never participated in the first
experiment.
The authors concluded that people may, indeed,
become suspicious of potential help-giving situations in
the short run. However, in the long run, the actual act
of being in a helping-behaviour experiment is likely to
heighten peoples awareness of the importance of
helping.

Activity
In groups, discuss this case study and the ethical
implications of doing research on pro-social behaviour.
Also consider the ethical implications of not doing such
research: is it ethical of social psychologists not to learn
what leads people to help or not?
Form some conclusions and report back to the class.

GLOSSARY
deception
procedure used in experimental psychology in which
participants are led to believe that the purpose of the
experiment is different from its true purpose; this sometimes
requires an elaborate ruse on the part of the experimenters

chapter 6 pro-social behaviour

The importance of similarity in helping

Our pro-social behaviours are influenced by the similarity between
ourselves and those in need of help.
In a classic study of help-giving in New York subways,
researchers staged a situation in which a person fell to the floor
of a subway car (Piliavin, Rodin & Piliavin, 1969). When the
researchers measured the rates of helping, they found that people
were nearly twice as likely to help someone of their own race
than someone of another race.
More recently, Platow et al. (1999) worked with the Salvation
Army to collect money outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground
before and after six AFL games. The researchers wore Salvation
Army bibs and carried clearly labelled Salvation Army collection
cans, but also wore scarves of one of the two teams playing that
day.
The results showed that nearly one-and-a-half times as many
fans contributed money to the Salvation Army if the collector
supported the same team as they did.

extension

67

extension

Question
What is the role of similarity between the potential helper and
the person in need of help?

FIGURE 6.5

Social norms
Social norms are community expectations about appropriate forms of behaviour. They
are prescriptive rules about how to behave in certain situations. Several social norms are
associated with pro-social behaviour.

Research suggests that this

single mother is more likely to
receive help from others who
are similar to her.

The reciprocity principle

The reciprocity principle, or norm of reciprocity, encourages people to behave in a
pro-social manner towards someone who has helped them in the past, or who may help
them in the future.
In an experimental study by Krishnan and Carment (1979) among a sample of
Canadian university students, an actor working for the researchers first offered help to
a participant on an experimental task. Later, when the actor supposedly needed help on
a different task, 66 per cent of those who had previously received help helped the actor
in return. In contrast, none of the participants who had not previously been helped by
the actor offered to help the actor later.

GLOSSARY
social norms
community expectations about
appropriate forms of behaviour

reciprocity principle (norm of

reciprocity)
social norm directing people
to provide help or assistance to
others who have done so to them
in the past, or who may do so to
them in the future

FIGURE 6.6
The social responsibility
norm directs us to help
people who are
dependent on us.

68 heinemann psychology one

Social responsibility norm

The social responsibility norm directs people to help others who are somehow
dependent on them. For example, parents have the responsibility to help children, and
teachers have the responsibility to help students.
Berkowitz and Daniels (1964) paired university student participants with supervisors,
and told the participants that the supervisors would be judged on the participants abilities. The best supervisor would win a prize. There were two conditions in the experiment:
high-dependence condition: participants were told that the supervisors would be
judged, in part, on how well the participants completed experimental tasks
low-dependence condition: participants believed that their own task performance
would not affect the judgments of the supervisors.
As expected by the social responsibility norm, participants helped the supervisor
more by completing more tasks when the supervisor was dependent on them than when
he or she was not dependent on them.
GLOSSARY
social responsibility norm
a social norm directing people
to provide help or assistance
to others who are dependent
on them

empathy
experience of a potential helpgiver of the emotional plight of
the person or people in need

Personal factors
Studying factors within the person who engages in pro-social behaviour can also help
us understand the behaviour.

Empathy
Over the past two decades, social psychologists have tested the hypothesis that potential help-givers are more likely to help if they can experience the emotional plight of
othersif they experience empathy for others. This is known as the empathyaltruism
hypothesis (Batson, 1998).

FIGURE 6.7
If we experience the emotional
plight of others in need, we will
be more likely to help.

Support for this hypothesis was found in a study by Batson et al. (1991). In this
study, participants listened to a tape-recording by a girl whose parents and sister had
supposedly been recently killed in a car crash. There were two experimental conditions:
high-empathy condition: participants were asked to take the perspective of the girl
and to imagine how she was feeling
low-empathy condition: participants were asked to be as objective as possible.
Participants in the high-empathy condition felt more compassionate, moved, softhearted, sympathetic, tender and warm than those in the low-empathy condition.
Importantly, when later asked whether they would spend time with the girl, 75 per cent
of the high-empathy participants volunteered to help, but only 42 per cent of the lowempathy participants volunteered to help.

chapter 6 pro-social behaviour

69

Mood
Social psychologists have studied how peoples different emotional states, or moods, are GLOSSARY
related to pro-social behaviour.
mood
Job (1987) conducted an interesting study examining the role of mood and helping temporary, situation-specific
among sports fans during a Rugby League Grand Final. Lost letters were placed on the emotional state
cars of fans from each rugby team (identified by scarves, stickers, etc.), and the competence
in potential help-giving situations,
researchers waited to see which letters would be forwarded on. The posting of the let- the ability of a potential helpter served as the measure of pro-social behaviour. Fifty-eight per cent of the letters were giver to give assistance
returned from fans of the losing team (those in a negative mood), but only 38 per cent
of the letters were returned from fans of the winning team (those in a positive mood).
In another study of more dramatic proportions, Amato
(1986) surveyed nearly 400 Melbourne residents after bushfires destroyed more than 2000 homes and killed forty-six
people. Greater contributions to relief funds were made by
those respondents who reported emotions such as horror,
shock, sickness and terror.
These studies on mood and helping seem to suggest that
negative moods lead us to help more. However, understanding moods is a complicated business. The research in general
shows that if our negative mood is caused by bad events that
were targeted at us personally, we are less likely to help others (Carlson & Miller, 1987). For example, if we are in a bad
mood because we failed a test (a bad event that was targeted at us personally) we will be less likely to help others. But
if our negative mood is a result of bad events not targeted at
us personally (such as a bushfire), we may very well help.
In contrast, our good mood is likely to lead us to help
others if we believe the good events were targeted at us
personally. The Rugby League fans of the winning team,
although feeling good, probably did not believe that the good
FIGURE 6.8
event (their team winning) was targeted specifically at them.
When our team wins, we are not likely to believe that this
Our competence to administer help is a third personal factor that affects whether or not we will help. Our intuitions
tell us that people who are better able to administer help
will be more likely to do so, and the research confirms this.
For example, Cramer, McMaster, Bartell and Dragna
(1988) staged a fake emergency situationsomeone falling
off a ladder in the next roomin which participants had
either no formal medical training or were registered nurses.
When no one else was available to help, most people went
to assist the person in need. However, when other potential
helpers were available, only about one-third of non-trained
participants helped, while the rate for nurses remained high
(see Figure 6.9).
Pantin and Carver (1982) conducted a similar study using
a completely untrained sample of participants. Half of the
participants watched a movie on how to provide assistance in
emergency situations. Three weeks later, the same participants overheard someone in another room pretending to
choke on food. As with the previous study, when fewer
people were available to help, more than 70 per cent of

event was targeted at us personally. Our good mood is

therefore not likely to lead us to help others.

100

with other bystanders

90
Percentage of bystanders helping

Competence

alone

80
70
60
50

356P_HPO2e

40
30
20
10
0

no formal
medical training

registered nurses

FIGURE 6.9
The percentage of medically trained and non-trained
bystanders helping when alone and with other bystanders
(from Cramer et al., 1988).

70 heinemann psychology one

participants went to the aid of the person in need. However,

when others were available to help, only 36 per cent of the
untrained participants helped, while the helping rate
remained at more than 70 per cent in the trained group.

Altruism
A final factor that leads people to behave pro-socially is
their set of social values relating to interacting with others. People can hold various social valuesfor example,
people with altruistic social values think about others
without concern for compensation for themselves personally, and people with cooperative social values think about
both others and themselves.
In contrast, people can hold more selfish social values,
with individualists thinking only of themselves, and competitors always trying to outdo others (see Figure 6.11).
FIGURE 6.10
In the case of an accident, people
with greater competence to help are
more likely to offer that help.
altruistic

cooperative

individualistic

competitive

FIGURE 6.11
The spectrum of social values.

social values
relatively stable individual
differences in peoples prosocial (altruistic and
cooperative) and selfish
(individualistic and competitive)
ways of interacting with others

A survey of nearly 800 New Zealand university students found that the majority held
individualistic social values (45 per cent) and competitive social values (17 per cent).
Nearly a quarter held cooperative social values (24 per cent), but only about 1 per cent
held altruistic social values (Platow, 1993).
A separate study directly compared rates of helping among altruistic and selfish
American university students (Romer, Gruder & Lizzardro, 1986). The studentswho
had previously participated in a study and were identified as more altruistic or more
selfishwere asked by a researcher for help to participate in another study. The students were either promised some personal compensation (such as credit for their class)
or given no compensation at all. Figure 6.12 shows the percentage of selfish people
helping was quite low, regardless of the compensation. More altruistic people helped
overall, but offering a personal reward to altruists seemed to undermine dramatically
their intrinsic willingness to help others.
100

selfish

90

FIGURE 6.12
Percentage of altruists and
selfish people helping in
the absence and presence
of personal compensation
(from Romer, Gruder, &
Lizzardro, 1986).

Percentage of people helping

GLOSSARY

altruistic

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

absent

Compensation

present

71

chapter 6 pro-social behaviour

KEY QUESTIONS
4 What are some ethical concerns about the study of pro-social behaviour, and how have social psychologists
sought to understand them?

5
6
7
8
9
10

What is a typical bystander intervention situation? What is the bystander intervention effect?
What are social norms?
What is the reciprocity principle, and how is it related to pro-social behaviour?
What is the social responsibility norm, and how is it related to pro-social behaviour?
What is the relationship between empathy and pro-social behaviour?
When will a positive mood enhance pro-social behaviour?
When will a negative mood enhance pro-social behaviour?

11 Does competence matter when it comes to engaging in pro-social behaviour?

12 What are four social values that have been observed by social psychologists?
13 Which social value has been observed to predict helping?

Factors that influence reluctance to help

Why does the bystander effect occur? That is, why are we less likely to offer help when
there are others around? Social psychologists have studied the reasons for this, and we
will look at their conclusions below. We will also look at an additional factorcalled a
costbenefit analysisthat researchers have shown to be related to our helping and our
reluctance to help.

Diffusion of responsibility
Diffusion of responsibility refers to situations in which people can make a decision
not to help because they believe other people can and will do so. In this manner, the
responsibility for helping is diffused between the potential helpers.
As we saw in the section on the social responsibility norm, if only one person is
available to help, then all of the responsibility falls on him or her. If two people are
available to help, then each persons responsibility isat least psychologically50 per
cent. If three people are available, the responsibility is now one-third, and so on.
These ideas suggest that:
the likelihood of helping should decrease systematically with increasing numbers of
people to help
with each new person added, the decrease in the
60
helping rate gets smaller (that is, the biggest impact
happens when just one other person is present).

FIGURE 6.13
Graph showing the systematic
decrease in the percentage of
people providing help with
increases in the number of
others available to help
(Latan & Dabbs, 1975).

50
Percentage of participants giving help

This is exactly what research has shown. For example, Latan and Dabbs (1975) entered lifts in three
American cities and proceeded to drop a handful of
coins or pencils after the doors closed. As you can see
from Figure 6.13, the percentage of people helping
decreased in the predicted manner as the number of
others available to help increased.

GLOSSARY
diffusion of responsibility
psychological dispersion of
accountability in potential helpgiving situations, allowing people
to make decisions not to help
because they believe others can
and will do so

male subjects
female subjects

40

30

20

10

2
3
4
Number in elevator

72 heinemann psychology one

Audience inhibition

GLOSSARY
audience inhibition
self-conscious embarrassment
emerging from the possibility
that providing assistance to
another may not be needed or
wanted, resulting in a failure to
provide the assistance

In a situation where bystanders are present, we may feel embarrassed about rushing to
someones aid when it is unclear whether that person really needs help. We may say to
ourselves, What if I rush out to help, but the person doesnt really need my help?
Then Ill really feel foolish in front of all these people. This reluctance to help is called
audience inhibition.
Schwartz and Gottlieb (1980a) tested these ideas. Participants were either the only
potential helper or there was one other person who could help. At the same time, participants were either anonymous to the others or had been identified.
In one study in which the need to help was more ambiguous, participants who were
alone and anonymous responded the fastest to the victim. In contrast, participants who
were identifiable and were not alone responded the slowest. In another study in which
the need to help was very clear (a violent attack), the speed of helping was the same for
these two groups of participants.
These results are consistent with the audience inhibition hypothesis. In an ambiguous help-giving situation when the participants could be embarrassed by potentially
inappropriate helping (that is, they were not anonymous), the rate of helping was relatively slow. In a clear-cut help-giving situation, however, even when participants could
be embarrassed, their rate of helping was relatively fast. There was no inhibition because
the clarity of the situation reduced the fear of embarrassment.
FIGURE 6.14
People may not offer help if
they are concerned about
looking foolish by doing so.

Social influence

GLOSSARY
social influence
process by which we change
our own attitudes, values and
behaviours in response to the
attitudes or behaviours of other
people

Opportunities to provide help to a person in need may not happen every day. In a given
situation, we may not know whether it is appropriate to help, or how to help. We may
look around to see if anyone else intends to help. However, everyone else is probably
thinking exactly the same thing, and as a result, no one helps. This is a type of social
influencewhere our behaviours are affected by others (see chapter 7)and can lead
to people following the inaction of others.
To test this hypothesis, Bickman (1972) conducted a study in which participants
heard over an intercom a potential victim exclaim, Its falling on me! followed by a
yell and a crash. Another person who was present (and who was working for the experimenter) expressed to the participant one of three views:
there was really no emergency
there may be an emergency, but it was unclear
there definitely was an emergency, and help was needed.
As expected, the fastest rates of helping occurred when the other potential helper
clearly stated that it was an emergency, while the slowest rates occurred when the other
potential helper stated that there was no emergency.
Overall, there is strong evidence that people look to others, and are influenced by
them, in potential help-giving situations.

chapter 6 pro-social behaviour

73

Costbenefit analysis
In the definition of pro-social behaviour given at the start of the chapter, we saw that
it is behaviour enacted with the goal of benefiting others, and not the helper. Although
we may like to think that all acts of helping are done without regard to the costs and
benefits to the helper, this is simply not realistic. People are thought to engage in a
costbenefit analysis before providing assistance to others.
The assumption underlying this idea is that we calculate the costs and benefits to
the person in need if we do not help, and the costs and benefits to ourselves if we do
help (Dovidio, Piliavin, Gaertner, Schroeder & Clark, 1991).
Maslanka (1996) surveyed volunteers working with AIDS sufferers. She found that
the more stress (cost) the volunteers experienced, the more likely they were to stop
volunteering. At the same time, however, the more the volunteers felt like they gained
a sense of community and new positive values (benefits), the less likely they were to
stop volunteering.
Clark (1976) conducted a study in which the costs to the potential helper and the
costs to the victim were both systematically varied. University students were asked to
help a (fictitious) blind student who had been in a car crash, by reading his homework
assignments to him for a total of five hours.
To manipulate the costs to the helper, the experimenter said the
blind student was either:
in a hospital on campus (low cost, because it was nearby), or
in a hospital several kilometres away (high cost, because it was
farther away).

GLOSSARY
costbenefit analysis
calculations made prior to
behaving in which both the costs
and the benefits of behaving and
not behaving are assessed; the
behaviour is enacted if the
benefits outweigh the costs

The experimenter then manipulated the costs to the blind student by

saying that he either:
had three exams next week (high cost for not helping), or
just needed to keep up with his homework (low cost for not helping).
The highest rate of helping (40 per cent) occurred when the blind
student had three exams the next week and was in a campus hospital
(high cost to blind student for not helping; low cost to helper for helping). The rate of helping in the other three situations was 20 per cent
or lower.
This study shows that if the costs to ourselves for helping are low, and
the costs to the person in need for not helping are high, we are more likely to give help (see Table 6.1).
TABLE 6.1 Likelihood of helping when the cost of helping or not helping is low or high.

Cost of helping
Low
Cost of not
helping

Low
High

High
Lowest rates of helping

FIGURE 6.15
If the costs of helping are too high, people
may no longer offer help.

Highest rates of helping

KEY QUESTIONS
14
15
16
17
18

What is diffusion of responsibility? How does it affect the likelihood of someone helping?
What is audience inhibition? How does it affect the likelihood of someone helping?
What is social influence? How does it affect the likelihood of someone helping?
What is the costbenefit analysis of pro-social behaviour?
Under what circumstances are people most likely to help under the costbenefit analysis?

WORKSHEET 2
Research into pro-social
behaviour: summary table

74 heinemann psychology one

chapter

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

08

09

Pro-social behaviour is voluntary behaviour, enacted with the intention of benefiting another
person or group of persons.
The bystander effect is a situation in which the likelihood of any one person providing help
to a victim decreases with increases in the number of other people available to help.
The reciprocity principle directs people to help others who have helped them in the past.
The social responsibility norm directs people to help others who are dependent on them.
People are more likely to help if they empathise with the victim.
People in good moods are more likely to help if they believe that they have been the targets
of positive events. People in bad moods are less likely to help if they believe that they have
been the targets of negative events.
People are more likely to help if they are competent at doing so.
Although more people hold selfish (individualistic and competitive) social values than prosocial (altruistic and cooperative) social values, altruistic people are more likely to offer help
to others than selfish people.
Diffusion of responsibility, audience inhibition and social influence are all reasons the
bystander effect occurs.
People are most likely to engage in pro-social behaviours if the costs to themselves for doing
so are relatively low, and the costs to others in need for not doing so are relatively high.

10

chapter 6 pro-social behaviour

multiple
choice
questions
1 Pro-social behaviour
A is voluntary.
B must benefit a person or persons other the one
performing the behaviour.
C must be performed with the intention of benefiting
another person or persons.
D All of the above.

2 The presence of others in a potential help-giving

situation
A will reduce our likelihood of helping if we think we
could be embarrassed by our behaviour.
B will have no effect on our likelihood of helping.
C will increase our likelihood of helping because we
want to gain notoriety.
D will reduce our likelihood of helping only if we are
in a bad mood.

3 When parents help their children, this is an example of

A diffusion of responsibility.
B the social responsibility norm.
C costbenefit analysis.
D mood effects.
4 When people help others who have helped them in the
past, this is an example of the norm of _______________.
A responsibility
B social justice
C reciprocity
D audience inhibition

5 Our likelihood of helping someone is increased if

A we are in a situation where others are also available
to help.
B we can empathise with the emotional plight of the
person in need of help.
C we think that the persons plight was caused by his
or her own doing.
D we have had no training in emergency assistance.

6 Good moods will increase the likelihood of helping

A if our good mood stems from positive events that
we think were targeted at us personally.

B if our good mood stems from any positive event.

C under all circumstances.
D None of the above.
7 In a large survey of university students, which social
value was the most common?
A altruistic
B individualistic
C cooperative
D competitive

8 If other people in a potential help-giving situation are

not helping,
A we are more likely to help because someone has to.
B we are less likely to help unless we are in a good
mood.
C we are less likely to help than if the other people
were not present.
D we will be influenced by them if the situation is
unambiguous.

9 When we fail to help because we think others will do

so, this is a result of
A audience inhibition.
B negative emotions.
C diffusion of responsibility.
D social responsibility.

10 Costbenefit analysis of pro-social behaviour suggests

that
A help will be provided regardless of the cost to self.
B help will be provided regardless of the cost to the
victim.
C diffusion of responsibility is one of the causes of not
helping.
D the most help will be provided if the cost for helping
to the helper is low, and the cost to the victim for
not helping is high.

75

76 heinemann psychology one

short
answer
questions
1 What is pro-social behaviour? How do helping, altruism and cooperation differ from
each other?

2 What are the relationships between mood and helping, empathy and helping, and
competence and helping?

3 A person has fallen down on a Melbourne train, and no one goes to help. The
newspapers and police are now claiming that people are no longer kind, have lost
their positive social values and no longer adhere to social norms. As a student of
social psychology, how might you explain why the potential help-givers behaviours
were understandable (albeit unpleasant)?

4 You have been hired as the chief executive officer of a charity organisation. Your goal
is to increase the number of people providing assistance to the organisation. Given
your knowledge of costbenefit analyses of pro-social behaviour, what kind of strategy
would you undertake to increase the pro-social behaviour to your organisation?

5 Describe the reciprocity principle and the social responsibility norm. In what way are
they the same, and in what way are they different? Can you think of other social
norms that would lead people to help or not help others?

poster
Pro-social behaviour
Components to include:
three components of pro-social behaviour
summary table showing factors that influence pro-social behaviour
summary of a piece of research relevant to the study of pro-social behaviour
(include hypothesis, method, results and conclusions).

WORKSHEET 3
Crossword

chapter 6 pro-social behaviour

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Abstract
This is a summary of the whole report. It is written
last, but appears immediately under this title.

Introduction
The bystander effect suggests that the likelihood of
people helping decreases with an increasing number
of others available to help. This has been shown in
responses to billowing smoke (Latan & Darley,
1968), calls for help (Latan & Rodan, 1969) and
dropping of pencils and coins in lifts (Latan &
Dabbs, 1975). Processes to explain the bystander
effect include diffusion of responsibility, audience
inhibition and social influence.
For this empirical research activity, you will
replicate the Latan and Dabbs (1975) study.
Conduct the study either in public lifts or in building
hallways by dropping a handful of pencils on the
floor and counting how many people offer to help.
Be sure to formulate a hypothesis about what you
expect to happen.

Pro-social behaviour in lifts and hallways

Method
Participants
Sample bystanders in public lifts, building hallways or
shopping malls. The procedure should be repeated
several times so that you have at least five trials with
one other person in the vicinity, five trials with three
other people, and five trials with six other people.

Materials and procedure

You will first need to obtain permission from the
owners or managers of the building in which you will
be conducting your study. Ask your teacher about how
to obtain this permission. You will need a handful of
pencils and a notebook to record your data.
At various times of the day, enter the lift or hallway, making sure that there are bystanders present who
could be potential helpers. You should then accidentally drop your pencils (if in a lift, wait for the doors
to close), make a sound of exclamation and wait three
seconds before starting to pick up the pencils.
Count the number of people who help you, and the
total number of people present. Write down these
figures after you have exited the lift or hallway.

Results
Draw three frequency distributions for each experimental condition (that is, one potential helper, three
potential helpers and six potential helpers) and find the:
mean percentage of people helping
median percentage of people helping
modal percentage of people helping (see chapter 5).
Are the distributions bimodal, negatively skewed, positively skewed or bell-shaped? (See chapter 14 for more
on frequency distribution.)

Discussion
1 Was your hypothesis supported or not?
2 Are your results different or similar to those of
Latan and Dabbs (1975)? How might you explain
any similarities or differences between your results
and those of previous studies?

3 What are the implications of your results?

4 Were there any problems with how you conducted
your study? Make suggestions for improving the
design.

5 Suggest a possible area for future research, in light

of the results you obtained.

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter
3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
You should include a copy of your notebook records in
the appendix.
FIGURE 6.16
How many people will help?

77

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:

chapter
psychology

Social influence

ways in which a group may influence

others to change their behaviour, for
example, peer pressure, risk-taking
behaviour
effects of status and power within
groups, for example, Zimbardo (1970)
factors affecting conformity, for
example, normative influence and
culture, informational influence,
unanimity and group size as illustrated
in conformity experiments, for
example, Asch (1951, 1956), Smith
and Bond (1998)
factors affecting obedience, for
example, social proximity, legitimacy
of authority figures and group pressure
as illustrated by Milgram (1963) or
Kilham and Mann (1974)
ethical principles related to studies
of conformity or obedience.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
use evidence to explain when
conformity or obedience is likely
to occur
identify factors influencing pro-social
or anti-social behaviour.

00

01

78

02

03

04

chapter 7 social influence

79

FIGURE 7.1
Religious protestors confront a
delegation outside the Chinese
embassy. This behaviour is one
way people may try to
influence others.

When we talk about social influence, we often assume it means something bad, such as
pressures and manipulations from other people that we should resist. We may associate
this term with following the crowd like mindless sheep, or falling victim to a con-artist,
while believing that we should try to be independent thinkers, assessing each new situation for ourselves.
Of course, thinking for ourselvesindependently and critically assessing new information and situations that we encountercan often keep us from being tricked by
unscrupulous people. In fact, much of our school education is geared to giving us the
intellectual abilities to think for ourselves, both as students and later as independent
adults.
We can use these same critical thinking abilities to assess whether social influence
is always a bad thing. In this chapter we will take a scientific look at social influence,
assuming from the start that it is a normal form of human behaviour, is not mindless,
and can lead to both good and bad outcomes.

Definition of social influence

When we change what we believe, or how we behave, after observing the attitudes or
actions of others, we are making this change because of social influence. It is a process
of changing our attitudes, values and behaviours in response to the attitudes and behaviours of others (see Figure 7.2).

Social influence
changing our behaviour in response to:
many people

anti-social | pro-social

one person

take risks | be cautious

FIGURE 7.2
Different forms and
outcomes of social
influence.

80 heinemann psychology one

Because change can occur in many different ways, sometimes it can lead us to be
anti-social (see chapter 5) and sometimes it can lead us to be pro-social (see chapter 6).
As we will discuss below, it will sometimes lead us to take more risks, but at other
times will lead us to be more cautious. The change may come in response to the attitudes or actions of many people (like a group of peers), or only one person (like an
authority, such as your teacher).

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What is social influence?
2 Is social influence always bad?

How groups influence individuals

Importance of the group
The key way in which a group influences us to change our behaviour relates to the relative importance of the group to us. If groupswhether peers, family, schools, political
parties, religions or nationsare important to us, if we
identify with them and see ourselves a being a current
or future member, then we are more likely to be influenced by them (refer to the discussion about social
identity in chapter 20). On the other hand, we are
more likely to resist influence from groups that are not
important to us.
A recent Australian experiment shows how people
are influenced by groups that are important to them.
University students listened to a tape-recording of a
stand-up comedian telling jokes. Half the participants
heard a recording with canned laughter dubbed after
each joke, while the other half heard the same recording with no canned laughter (Platow et al., in press).
The researchers added an important twist: half of
the students in each group were told that the comedian was performing in front of fellow students from
their university that is, a group that was important
to the participants. The other half were told that the
comedian performed in front of an audience from an
unpopular political partya group unimportant to
the student participants.

FIGURE 7.3
Sitcoms are filmed before a live studio audience.
Research shows that viewers find the show funnier
if they hear a laughter track.

chapter 7 social influence

81

The greatest levels of laughter and most positive ratings of the jokes occurred only
after students heard the canned laughter supposedly from their fellow students.
Hearing laughter supposedly from the unpopular political party did not influence their
own levels of laughter. Participants were influenced only by the group that was important to them.

Peer pressure
Our peers usually form a group that is very important to us. Peers are others who are
like ourselves, particularly in terms of status. As we will see below in the section on
obedience, people with relatively high status are often quite influential over people
with lower status.
Within our society, people differ in status for many reasons. Some reasons are their
skills and abilities in particular situationsat school, your teachers have higher status
than students because teachers, by definition, have greater skills in school-related
issues than students. Another reason people vary in status is simply because of social
norms about who has a legitimate right to ask others to do thingsfor example, parents, police officers, and again teachers have legitimate rights to ask you do to things
and to expect that you will do them (clean your room, dont break the law, do your
homework).
Peers are people who are the same status as we are. For high school students, other
high school students are your peers. Interestingly, we are influenced not only by people
who have higher status than us, but by people who have the same status as us too (that
is, our peers). Our peers are important to us no matter what age we are, and people of
all ages are often influenced by their peers.

GLOSSARY
status
relative social rank or position of
one person to another in a
particular situation, based on
such things as skills, abilities and
legitimate authority

peer pressure
social influence from peers,
sometimes viewed negatively
when the influence leads people
to behave in ways they might not
behave when alone

FIGURE 7.4
The social influence of our
peers can have many positive
outcomes, such as for this
group of young volunteers
who are helping to pack Smith
Family food hampers for
people in need.

Social influence from peers is often given the negative label of peer pressure, which
refers to peers encouraging or urging us to behave in a certain way, regardless of whether
we personally want to. Peer pressure also suggests, wrongly, that we are helpless against
the influence of our peers. Describing social influence as peer pressure is one reason
many people assume social influence is a bad thing, or that peer social influence is
responsible for bad behaviour among young people.
In fact, social influence from our peers often has positive outcomes that can contribute to healthy living, including learning social norms and gaining a sense of identity.

82 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
risk-taking behaviour
behaviour in which the positive
or negative outcome is far from
certain

FIGURE 7.5
How far are people influenced
by their peers into risk-taking
behaviour?

GLOSSARY
risky shift
outcome of group social
influence when individual group
members become more risky

cautious shift
outcome of group social
influence when individual group
members become more
cautious

FIGURE 7.6
Group decisions tend to be
risky if the individuals are
already risk-takers, but
cautious if the individuals are
already cautious.

Risk-taking behaviour
One reason many people are troubled by peer social influence is because they see it as
leading people, both young and old, into unnecessary risk-taking behaviour.
Researchers have studied the role of peer social influence on young peoples behaviours
relating to smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol and substance abuse. These are risky behaviours because they increase the chances that the outcomes will be negative (such as
developing lung cancer from smoking, or the transmission of HIV from unsafe sex).
Such studies seem to confirm our worst fearsthat the more people
believe it is important to conform to their peers, the more likely they
are to engage in some undesired behaviours. However, it is not necessarily the case that the behaviours are more risky. A recent study showed
that while so-called peer pressure does seem to lead adolescents to start
having sex at a younger age, this same peer pressure does not lead to
more unsafe sexual behaviour (Raffaelli & Crockett, 2003).
Another study found that perceived pressures to conform to their
peers predicted a tendency to smoke among pre-adolescents, but this
was true only among children who already had a tendency to engage in
other risk-taking behaviours (Feummeler, Taylor, Metz & Brown, 2002).
Children who did not like risky behaviour were no more likely to smoke
when they felt pressure to conform than children who did not feel the
pressure to conform (regardless of their liking for risk).
These studies show that wanting to conform to your peers does not
mean you will necessarily take more risks.
Further evidence against the idea that peer social influence is more
likely to lead people to engage in risky behaviours comes from a long
history of well-controlled laboratory research. While some research in
the 1960s indicated that the decisions of a group were more risky than
the average decision made by individuals within those groups, more
recent research does not always demonstrate this risky shift. Instead,
research has shown that groups sometimes make less risky decisions than
individuals within the groupsthis is called a cautious shift (Fraser, Gouge & Billig,
1971; Hogg, Turner & Davidson, 1990; Hong, 1978).
Individual-to-group shifts have been discovered in attitudes unrelated to risk, as
well as negotiations and jury decisions. Social psychologists now know that groups do
not necessarily influence others to be more risky. Instead, group decisions tend to be
more extreme or polarised in the direction that the individuals were already leaning. So,
while groups will become more risky if the individual group members are already somewhat risky, groups will become more cautious if the individual group members are
already somewhat cautious.

chapter 7 social influence

83

KEY QUESTIONS
3 The key way in which a group influences people to change their
behaviour relates to what?

4 What is peer pressure?

5 Do groups always lead people to take risks?

GLOSSARY
conformity
when one person is influenced by
many, and goes along with the
many

Factors affecting conformity

In the Classic study box below, you can read about an important study demonstrating
that people will be influenced when a majority of others expresses a particular view,
even if this may otherwise be considered wrong. When someone is influenced by a
group of people, and goes along with them, this is called conformity. In this section,
we will look at five factors that affect whether, and how much, people will conform to
a majority opinion in a situation (see Figure 7.7).

unanimity

group size

culture
conformity

informational
influence

normative
influence

FIGURE 7.7
Factors affecting conformity.

classic study

Studying conformity in the laboratory

Some classic experiments in social psychology examining social influence in groups were conducted by Asch (1956). Aschs studies specifically examined whether, and under what
conditions, individuals would conform to a majority opinion.
Although Asch conducted many different experiments, they all had a similar structure.
Several actors, posing as participants, were seated in a laboratory, along with one real participant (who did not know the others were actors).
The researcher presented a series of three line segments varying in length, with a fourth, standard line segment equal in length to one of the other three (see Figure 7.8). Participants had to
state publicly for eighteen trials which of the three segments was the same length as the standard one. The actors gave the wrong answer on twelve of the trials. The dependent variable was
whether the real participants publicly agreed with the majority by also stating the wrong answer.
Participants on average conformed with the groups wrong answer about 37 per cent of the
time, with 5 per cent always giving an incorrect answer, and only a quarter of participants never
giving an incorrect answer (see Figure 7.9). In a control condition, where participants judged
the lines by themselves, less than 1 per cent gave incorrect answers.
Two important conclusions can be drawn from this study:
People may conform to a majority opinion even in a situation in which they are likely to
behave differently when alone.

standard
line

FIGURE 7.8
An example of the stimuli that
participants judged in Aschs studies.

84 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 7.9

People are not likely to conform blindly in this

situation, as more than 95 per cent of experimental participants did not completely
conform on all trials.

Results from Aschs (1956) study on conformity.

100

control group (no actors)

Percentage

90

experimental group

80

Questions

70

60
50
40
30
20

10
0

giving at least
one wrong answer

never giving
a wrong answer

always giving
a wrong answer

Think back to the discussion of bystander

intervention in chapter 6. If you observe
someone who you think might be in need of
help, will you offer help if other people are
around but are not helping? How is the helping situation similar to and different from the
conformity study conducted by Asch?
Before reading below, think of some factors
that might affect whether or not people will
conform in a study like Aschs.

active psychology
Beyond Asch (1956): clarifying who the others are
We have seen that people are influenced by groups that
are important to them. Researchers tested this idea using
the methods of the Asch line conformity study (Abrams,
Wetherell, Cochrane, Hogg & Turner, 1990). University
psychology students were the participants. For half of the
participants, the actors were introduced as fellow
psychology studentsa group assumed to be relatively
important to the participants. For the remaining
participants, the actors were introduced as students of
ancient historya group assumed to be relatively
unimportant to the participants.
The results showed that participants conformed an
average of 5.23 times to fellow psychology students, but
only 0.75 times to the history students. Once again, we
see that it is primarily groups that are important to people
that exert social influence.

But how can we explain Aschs (1956) original data?

While Asch did not control for group importance, the
people who did conform probably either identified in
some important way with the actors and wanted not to be
excluded, or actually believed the others were correct
(or both).

Questions
1

Given the more recent findings of Abrams et al. (1990),

are there any qualifications we might place on the
conclusions drawn from Aschs (1956) studies? If so,
why is it important to look beyond Asch?
Are there any implications of Abrams et al.s (1990)
findings for understanding the bystander intervention
effects discussed in chapter 6?

Unanimity
GLOSSARY
unanimity
complete agreement

The first factor affecting conformity, as demonstrated by Asch (1956), is that there is
unanimity in the opinions of the group to which people conform. In Aschs study, if
several other people all expressed one view, then the remaining lone individual was also
more likely to express that view than if he or she were alone. But does there have to be
unanimity in others views, or are we equally likely to conform if there is a simple
majority?
Asch (1951) tried to answer this by placing a new actor into the experimental situation who would express a different view from the six actors present, but the same view
as was expected from the lone (real) participant. With just one other person expressing
the same view, the participants conformity dropped from about 37 per cent to just 10
per cent.
A minority of one does not always decrease conformity rates. A more recent study examining false memoriesthat is, saying you remember seeing something when it did not
actually occurshowed that conformity was not reduced when even two other people disagreed with a majority of eight (Walther, Bless, Strack, Rackstray, Wagner & Werth,

chapter 7 social influence

FIGURE 7.10
Even though there is no formal
uniform, the more unanimity there
already is in this group, the more
likely any one of these students is
to conform to the way the others
in the group dress.

2002). When others fail to conform and break the unanimity of the group, people may not
conform, but it still depends on additional factors. We will discuss some of these below.

Group size
A second factor that could affect conformity rates is the size of the group. Asch (1951)
examined groups of varying size. Figure 7.11 shows the average number of errors in
judgment that people made in Aschs experimental task, with errors representing conformity to the incorrect others. As you can see, the amount of conformity peaked with
a group size of about four.
4.5

Average number of errors

4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

2
3
4
Number of other people

16

FIGURE 7.11
Results from Aschs (1951)
study on conformity.

Stang (1976) also showed conformity peaking at around four others when the conforming behaviour was signing a petition. Milgram, Bickman and Berkowitz (1969)
showed conformity peaking with groups of five (they did not study groups of four) in
an experiment in which actors looked up to a sixth-floor window and researchers noted
whether or not the participant also looked up (see the Empirical research activity at the
end of this chapter).
In contrast, Mann (1977) showed the influence of groups greater than four people
in a study of queuing behaviour. You have probably noticed when waiting at a bus or

85

86 heinemann psychology one

420P_HPO2e

FIGURE 7.12
Whether or not people form an
orderly queue depends on how
many people are already
waiting.

tram stop that people may or may not form orderly queues. In this study, more people
queued at a bus stop behind groups of six (58%) and eight (83%) than behind groups
of two (17%) and four (also 17%). Manns study highlights how there is no absolute
group size at which conformity peaks. In fact, another study of petition signing showed
no effects at all for groups that varied in size from one to eight (Reis, Earing, Kent &
Nezlek, 1976).

Normative influence
GLOSSARY
normative influence
social influence that occurs
because people believe that
others expect them to behave
in a particular way or to hold a
particular attitude

FIGURE 7.13
We are more likely to engage
in pro-social behaviour, such
as donating blood, if it
conforms with the positive
expectations of others.

Normative influence is social influence to conform with the positive expectations of

others (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955). Of course, while following social norms can lead to
aggressive behaviour (see chapter 5), we have also seen that it can lead to enhanced helping (see chapter 6).
LaTour and Manrai (1989) conducted a study to evaluate the pro-social outcomes of
normative influence. All participants in their study received letters informing them of
a blood donation drive. As a manipulation of normative expectations, half of the participants were also contacted by phone and individually asked to donate blood. These
people thus believed others had an expectation of them to donate blood. The other half
were not phoned. As a result, the percentage of people who showed up to donate blood
was five times greater with normative influence (that is, the phone call) than without
normative influence (no phone call).

chapter 7 social influence

87

Informational influence
Informational influence occurs when people accept information from others as the
truth (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955). This happens because people believe that the information is truthful, and not because they want to conform to others expectations.
In the blood donation study described above, the researchers also examined how
informational influence would affect peoples likelihood of donating blood. Some letters
sent to potential donors explained that there was a chronic shortage of blood, that blood
donations can save lives and that the act of donating was short and painless. Such informational influence increased rates of donating by up to three times.
Of course, both normative and informational influence often exist at the same time.
In fact, the rate of blood donations increased by up to 36 times in this study when
there was both normative and informational influence, compared to when there was no
influence at all.

Considering public and private conformity

Deutsch and Gerand (1955) hypothesised that
normative influence would be strongest when
peoples conformity or non-conformity could be seen
by the rest of the group. If others can watch what we
do, we should be more likely to do what they expect.
Although intuitive, this hypothesis is not really
supported. When Bond and Smith (1996) conducted
a statistical analysis of the 133 replications and
extensions of Aschs (1956) social influence

GLOSSARY
informational influence
social influence that occurs
because people believe in the
truthfulness of the content of a
communication

ACTIVITY

experiments, they made an important discovery.

The amount of conformity to the group was not
related to whether the participant had to behave
publicly or privately. Levels of conformity were no
different.
In groups, discuss the following question:
If conformity to the group does not change from
public to private situations, then how can we tell if
there has been normative or informational influence?

Culture
We have seen that social influence comes primarily from
others in groups that are important to us. That leads us to
ask the question of whether there are cultural differences
in how important groups are to people, and whether there
are cultural differences in patterns of social influence.
In an analysis of 133 social-influence studies that
replicated and extended Aschs (1951, 1956) conformity
studies in seventeen countries, researchers found that
levels of conformity did vary across cultures (Smith &
Bond, 1998). There was more conformity in cultures
that place more emphasis on groupssuch as Japan, Fiji
and Ghanathan in cultures that place more emphasis
on individualssuch as the USA. Note, however, that
Aschs original research was conducted in the USA, so
that even in individualistic cultures, people will still be
influenced by fellow group members.
FIGURE 7.14

KEY QUESTIONS
6
7
8
9
10
11

What are the effects of a unanimous majority on a minority of one?

How does conformity change when the majority is not unanimous?
What are the effects of group size on conformity?
What is normative influence?
What is informational influence?
How does culture affect conformity?

There is more conformity in

cultures that place emphasis
on groups than in cultures
that place emphasis on
individuals.

88 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
obedience
response to social influence
exerted by a single person
typically someone with higher
statuson others

Factors affecting obedience

Obedience is the response to the social influence exerted by a single persontypically
someone with higher status, such as an authorityon others. When your parent,
teacher, a police officer or other authority asks you to do something, and you do it, then
you are obedientespecially if you do it only because the other person is an authority.

Milgrams obedience experiments

FIGURE 7.15
Doing something because a
person in authority tells you to
is called obedience.

Milgram (1963) conducted one of the most important social-psychological studies on obedience to authority. He led male participants to
believe that he was studying learning, and that they would act as
teachers. Participants believed that another participant (who was an
actor) was a learner. The teachers job was to read a word list to the
learner, and the learners job was to memorise the words. If the learner made an error (which was pre-arranged by Milgram), then the
teachers were instructed to administer an electric shock to the learner.
The learner never actually received a shock, but the teacher did not
know this. With every mistake, the teachers were instructed to administer ever-greater shocks, ranging from 15 volts (slight shock) all
the way up to 450 volts (labelled XXX), with voltages in between
labelled moderate shock, strong shock, extreme intensity shock,
and danger: severe shock.
Milgram wanted to see just how much shock a normal person would
administer to another human simply because he or she was instructed
to by an authorityin this case, the researcher. When the shocks
reached 300 volts, the learner pounded on the wall and then went
silent, never again responding. Because this was a study on obedience,
the researcher insisted that the teachers continue when the teachers
wanted to stop.
Out of forty participants, only five disobeyed the authority and stopped administering
the shock when the learner pounded on the wall. However, 65 per cent of participants
obeyed completelyalthough some of them showed signs of distressgoing all the way
to the top voltage of 450 volts. Some people, then, will obey an authority even in an
extreme situation that causes harm to another.

FIGURE 7.16

FIGURE 7.17

In later versions of Milgrams obedience to authority study, the

teacher had to hold the learners hand on a shock plate.

The teachers in Milgrams study believed they were

using this machine to give electric shocks to a learner.

chapter 7 social influence

Comparing obedience to authority between men and women

In a similar study by Milgram (1974), the learner
mentioned to the teacher a minor heart problem
before beginning the experiment, and began to moan
at 75 volts, ending in hysterical screaming and then
silence at 330 volts.
In this version, 65 per cent of males and 65 per
cent of females were totally obedient and continued
delivering shocks. And for both men and women, the
average final shock level was between 360 and 375

89

ACTIVITY

volts (with 375 labelled danger: severe shock).

You may be surprised by the finding that there
were no differences in behaviour between men and
women, since people often stereotype women as
being kinder than men. Remember, though, that this
was not a study on aggression, but on obedience.
In groups, discuss why you think Milgram found no
difference between obedience levels of men and
women in this study.

Social proximity

Percentage of people totally

obeying the authority

Milgram (1974) reports many different versions of this basic study. In some, he varied
the social proximity, or closeness, of the learner to the teacher. For example, in the
original study, the learner was in another room, could not be seen and mostly suffered
in silence. In another, the learner was still in another room, but protested and screamed
more. In still another, the learner was in the same room. And in a fourth, the learner
was right next to the teacher, and the teacher physically had to hold the learners hand
on a supposed shock plate. Across these four conditions, total obedience to the apparently malevolent authority dropped as the apparent victim was closer (see Figure 7.18).

GLOSSARY
social proximity
relative closeness of two or more
people

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
learner in another
room, could not be
seen, mostly
suffered in silence

learner in another
room, protested
and screamed

learner in the same

room, protested
and screamed

Legitimacy of authority figures

Milgram (1963) conducted his first study at Yale University,
an institution held in high regard by the community. An
authority from Yale would be regarded with great legitimacy. When Milgram (1974) moved the study to a simple
storefront office, with no affiliation to Yale, total obedience
dropped from 65 per cent to 47.5 per cent. In another condition, Milgram reduced the authoritys legitimacy by having
two separate authorities who contradicted each other. This
in-fighting among the authorities resulted in no participant
administering the maximum shock of 450 voltsthe highest anyone went was 180 volts.
FIGURE 7.19
Milgram (1963) found that obedience was higher
when he conducted his studies at Yale University,
an institute with authority.

learner next to the

teacher who physically
held learner's
hand on a shock plate

FIGURE 7.18
Graph: people obeying
authority

90 heinemann psychology one

In yet another condition (Milgram, 1974), the instructions were no longer given by
the researcher, but by another supposed participant. This person lacked much of the
legitimacy of the researcher authority, and total obedience dropped to 20 per cent.
Kilham and Mann (1974) replicated this last condition with male and female
Australian participants. For this study, the decrease in legitimacy had a stronger impact
on women than men, with only 16 per cent of women being totally obedient, but 40
per cent of men being totally obedient.

Group pressure
Milgram (1974) reports an interesting experimental condition in which he studied both
obedience to authority and conformity to the group. In this condition, participants still
were administering the supposed shocks to a learner in another room. There were also
two other participants (actors) assisting the real participant teacher.
At two points during the study, one actor and then the other refused to continue
with the study by disobeying the experimenter authority. The participant therefore had
the choice of continuing to obey the authority or conforming to the group. Most participants conformed to the group and were disobedient, with only 10 per cent fully
obeying the authority.

ACTIVITY

Following peer pressure

In one of Milgrams (1974) studies, so-called peer pressure led people to disobey a
legitimate authority (the researcher). In groups, discuss the following:

1 In this study, was following peer pressure to disobey the authority good or bad?
2 Are there any circumstances outside of the laboratory where group social influence to
disobey an authority is good?

KEY QUESTIONS
12
13
14
15

What is obedience?
How does social proximity affect obedience?
How does the legitimacy of authority figures affect obedience?
How can group pressure affect obedience?

Effects of status and power

within groups
GLOSSARY
power
ability to make people behave
in a particular way or to
express a particular attitude
through the control of
punishments and rewards

Any discussion of peer social influence and obedience to authority leads us to consider
the effects of status and power within groups. Recall that our peers are others who have
equal status to us, while authorities have greater status than us (unless the authorities
are our peers). We are thus influenced by both equal-status and higher-status individuals within groups that are important to us.
Zimbardo (1970) analysed behaviour in crowd situations, showing how people are
influenced by their peers in the crowd. Although Zimbardo considered only the negative aspects of crowd social influence, this influence can lead us to both enhance and
decrease our aggressive behaviour (see chapter 5).
But sometimes, both our peers and authorities can have power over us, leading us to
do things because of threats of punishment or promises of reward. It is likely that some
people in Milgrams (1963) study obeyed the authority because they believed he held
power over them.

chapter 7 social influence

91

Two studies of status and power

in simulated prisons
Haney, Banks and Zimbardo (1973) conducted an analysis of
status and power over several days in a simulated prison.
Participants were randomly assigned to be prison guards (high
status) while others were prisoners (low status). Within a few
days of their study, some of the prison guards became aggressive towards the prisoners. The researchers referred to this as
the pathology of power, and suggested that once we have high
status and power, we will necessarily be trapped into an aggressive use of it.
Fortunately, further research has shown that this conclusion
is wrong. Haslam and Reicher (2003) replicated key features of
Haney et al.s original study. This time, however, none of the
brutal aggression observed in the original study occurred. In
fact, the low status, powerless prisoners revolted! The
researchers concluded that tyranny is not the inherent consequence of power.
This is an important lesson. Of course we will be influenced
by others control of rewards and punishments, but neither
power nor status will be used inevitably for tyranny.

FIGURE 7.20
In the Haslam and Reicher (2003) prison study, the
inmates revolted.

Ethical principles related to studies

of conformity and obedience
As with all psychological research, we must remain vigilant to uphold ethical treatment
of participants in our studies of conformity and obedience. Leading people to believe
they are shocking another person, or placing people in a simulated prison for several
days, can be extremely traumatic. Even simple conformity studies, like Aschs (1956),
can leave people feeling foolish.
As researchers, we need to remember four key ethical practices:
We must always treat people politely and with respect, and consider their welfare
and rights.
We must obtain informed consent from participants. Unless the research involves
simply observing normal public behaviour, participants must know about and agree
to be in the study.
The potential knowledge gained by conducting the study must outweigh any
anticipated hardships to participants. For example, knowing how people will
behave when given high status and power, as in the prison studies described in this
chapter, is valuable knowledge in a world that is characterised by status and power
inequalities.
Before conducting the research, an independent panel must review the procedures as
a separate check on the appropriate treatment of participants.

KEY QUESTIONS
16 What are the effects of status and power within groups?
17 What are four key ethical principles social psychologists must address
when conducting research on conformity and obedience?

WORKSHEET 1
Zimbardos simulated
prison

92 heinemann psychology one

chapter

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

7
08

09

Social influence is the process by which we change our own attitudes, values and behaviours in response to the attitudes or behaviours, or both, of other people.
The most important feature of a group that influences us to change our behaviour is the
relative importance of the group to us.
The social influence from our peers is often given the negative label of peer pressure.
Research on peer social influence shows that groups do not necessarily lead people to
become more risky in their behaviour. In fact, sometimes groups can lead people to be more
cautious.
When one person is influenced by many, and goes along with the many, this is called
conformity.
Although people are likely to conform to a unanimous majority, the conformity will drop (but
not disappear) when the majority is no longer unanimous.
Conformity to others is likely to increase as the number of people in the group also increases.
There is no exact group size at which conformity will always peak.
Other factors that affect conformity are normative influence (social influence to conform with
the positive expectations of another) and informational influence (social influence to accept
information from another as the truth).
People in cultures that place more emphasis on group memberships will be more likely to
conform to a group than people in cultures that place less emphasis on group memberships.
Obedience is the response to the social influence exerted by a single persontypically
someone with higher statuson others.
Milgram (1963) showed that people will obey an authority even if it means harming another
person. He found that people become increasingly disobedient to an apparently malevolent
authority as the apparent victim gets closer, as the authoritys legitimacy decreases, and
when others are disobedient first.
People will be influenced by others control of rewards and punishments, but neither power
nor status will be used inevitably for tyranny.
When conducting research on conformity and obedience, it is important to treat people
with respect, to ensure they consent to participate, to ensure that the value of the research
is high, and that an independent committee reviews the procedures before the research is
conducted.

10

chapter 7 social influence

multiple
choice
questions
1 Conformity is
A always bad.
B when one person is influenced by many, and goes
along with the many.

C when people are influenced by one other individual,

and go along with that individual, because he or she
is an authority.
D All of the above.

2 Obedience is
A always bad.
B when one person is influenced by many, and goes
along with the many.

C when people are influenced by one other individual,

and go along with that individual, because he or she
is an authority.
D All of the above.

3 Peer pressure is
A conformity to people who are not important to us.
B always bad.
C obedience to authority.
D social influence among equal status individuals.
4 Which of the following is correct?
A Groups can influence people to become more risky in
their behaviours.
B Groups can influence people to become more
cautious in their behaviours.
C Groups lead people to become more extreme in their
attitudes and behaviours in the direction they were
already leaning.
D All of the above.

5 When a majority is no longer unanimous

A conformity always decreases, but does not disappear.
B conformity disappears.
C conformity remains as high as it was when the group
was unanimous.

D conformity sometimes decreases, and sometimes

does not.

6 When people conform to others because they are trying

to meet the others expectations, this is called
A culture.
B informational influence.
C normative influence.
D social proximity.

7 Which of the following is true in terms of the effects of

culture on conformity rates?
A Culture has no effect at all on conformity because
conformity is a very personal experience.
B There are higher levels of conformity in the United
States than in Japan.
C There are higher rates of conformity in cultures that
place more emphasis on groups.
D There are higher rates of conformity in cultures that
place more emphasis on individuals.

8 Obedience to an apparently malevolent authority

A decreases as the potential victim gets closer.
B increases as the potential victim gets closer.
C is unaffected by the closeness of the potential
victim; all that matters is the authoritys legitimacy.

D None of the above.

9 When people are in positions of high status and power,
A they will always act for the benefit of all.
B they will inevitably become tyrants.
C they will not be influenced by their peers.
D tyranny is not the only possible outcome.
10 Which of the following is not an essential ethical
principle related to the conduct of research?
A Ensuring participants are paid for their time.
B Ensuring participants provide consent for their
participation.
C Having an independent committee evaluate the
ethics of the research before it is conducted.
D Treating participants with respect.

93

94 heinemann psychology one

short
answer
questions
1 What are the ways in which a group may influence others to change their behaviour?
2 What are three factors affecting conformity? Describe the results of an experiment when
answering this question.

3 What are three factors affecting obedience? Describe the results of an experiment when
answering this question.

4 What are the effects of status and power within groups?

5 What are four ethical principles related to studies of conformity and obedience?

multimedia
Social influence
Components to include:
Describe the effects of groups on individual behaviour.
Conformity: use experimental findings to illustrate the factors affecting conformity.
Obedience: use experimental findings to illustrate the factors affecting obedience.
Reflect on the ethical principles relating to studies of conformity and obedience.

WORKSHEET 2
Crossword

chapter 7 social influence

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Social influence in gawking

Abstract

Results

This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,

but appears immediately under this title.

Your data about numbers of people who gawk is

quantitative data, because it is numerical. You will use
descriptive statistics to analyse it.
Calculate the total number of people stopping to
gawk in each condition. To report your data, draw a bar
graph for each experimental condition (see chapter 14).
Read through the verbal explanations people gave for
their behaviour. This data is qualitative datayou cannot quantify it, but by reading through it you will gain
a better picture of peoples behaviours.
Extension: Your teacher may lead you in a more complicated exercise of calculating inferential statistics,
such as a
2; inferential statistics will allow you to gain
greater or lesser confidence that the pattern you
observe in your sample represents the entire population.

2 analyses are conducted on nominal data like your
frequency data. Nominal data can not be averaged (i.e.,
you cant have 1.38 people stopping!).

Introduction
Social influence can occur even when people are not
actively trying to persuade others to their view. This
certainly was the case in Aschs (1951, 1956)
conformity studies. A clever extension of this was done
by Milgram et al. (1969) in their study of looking up
and staringor gawkingfrom a footpath to a sixthfloor window.
For this empirical research activity, you will replicate
the Milgram et al. study. You should conduct a study in
public places either by looking up to the window of a
tall building or peering around the corner of a building.
You will need to work with other students so that you
can have one, two, three, four and five actors gawking
as pedestrians pass by. Formulate a hypothesis before
you begin.

Method
Participants
Sample pedestrians in footpaths in public places. You
will need to conduct the study enough times to have at
least five trials with each of the different conditions
(that is, group sizes of one to five). If you can have
more, that would be even better.

Materials and procedure

You will need a pencil and paper to note your results
during the study.
At various times of the day, have your actors stop on
a footpath and look up to a window in a tall building
(or around the corner of a building). When someone
passes by, note whether that person stopped to look in
the same direction as your actors. Ask the people who
stop why they did so, and note the responses.

95

Discussion
1 Is your hypothesis supported?
2 Are your results different or similar to those of
Milgram et al. (1969)? How might you explain any
similarities or differences? What are the implications
of your results?

3 Were there any problems with how you conducted

your study? What improvements could be made to
the procedure?

4 Suggest some ideas for further research, based on

the results of your study.

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter
3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
You should include a photocopy of your observational
records in the appendix.

FIGURE 7.21
How many people will look up
when you do?

96 heinemann psychology one

EVALUATION OF A RESEARCH DESIGN Conformity to members of ones own group

Abrams, Wetherell, Cochrane, Hogg and Turner (1990) own group and the other group. Participants, on average,
replicated and extended the research on conformity expressed more pride and greater belongingness to the
originally conducted by Asch (1956). They recruited group of psychology students than the group of ancient
fifty Scottish university psychology students as their history students.
participants.
Each participant entered the laboratory alone, fol- Questions
lowed by three actors working for the experimenters. 1 What was the purpose of the research conducted by
Participants were led to believe that the actors were
Abrams et al. (1990)?
also real participants. Participants were allocated to 2 What was the design of their study?
separate groups, and the actors were introduced to
3 What was the independent variable?
them either as psychology students from a neighbouring university (in-group, or same group as the 4 What were the dependent variables?
participants), or as students of ancient history from the 5 Write a hypothesis for the study.
same neighbouring university (out-group, or different 6 Based on the results of other studies presented in this
group from the participants).
chapter, do you think the results of Abrams et al.s
The experimenter then proceeded with eighteen trials
study would have been different if they had used:
of line-segment presentation, following the procedure
a a different number of actors
of Asch (1956). The three actors always publicly preb actors who were not unanimous?
sented their responses prior to those of the actual
7 In light of the results of this study, how might
participant in each session. Nine of the eighteen
psychologists interpret the original research by
responses from the actors were incorrect, with the three
Asch (1956)?
actors being unanimous in their supposed judgments.
Participants own public responses, as well as their 8 Abrams et al. (1990) used psychology students and
ancient history students as the in-group and the
post-experimental ratings of their pride in their group
out-group. What are the implications of using these
(psychology students) and their sense of belonging in
groups and not others (for example, Scots and
their group, were measured.
Australians, Whites and Blacks, Protestants and
The results of the experiment are graphed in Figure
Catholics)?
7.22. Participants tended to conform with the incorrect
majority when that majority comprised members of their 9 In the context of this study, what does a statistiown group. In contrast, participants rarely conformed
cally significant difference in the percentage of
with the incorrect majority when that majority comconformity mean?
prised members of the other group. This difference was 10 Why is this research considered a replication and
statistically significant.
extension of Aschs (1956) work?
Statistically significant differences were also found in
the pride and belongingness ratings of the participants
100

FIGURE 7.22
Results of the conformity experiment
by Abrams et al. (1990) showing
percentage of participants who
conformed with the incorrect in-group
and out-group majorities.

Percentage of conformity

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

in-group

out-group

UNIT 1 |

Area of Study 3
psychology
behaviour
attitudes
research

Development
of individual
behaviour
outcome 3

On completion of this unit the student

should be able to outline the key
developmental stages in perception,
cognition and understanding of self,
and describe the main developmental
theories in these areas.

00

01

02

03

04

97

chapter
psychology

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
research methods used to study early
perceptual skills, for example, preferential
looking and habituation/dishabituation

Perceptual
development

infants visual perceptual abilities using

the study of Gibson and Walk (1960),
and a more recent study, for example
Campos and associates (1992)
implications of sample size and
population on research conclusions.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
compare one historical study with one
recent method used to study the
development of perception
use secondary data to explain the effects
of sample size on research conclusions
in studies of human development.

00

01

98

02

03

04

chapter 8 perceptual development

99

FIGURE 8.1

Do you remember what you were like as a child, say at the age of 5 years? There is no
doubt that you were different in many important ways from the way you are today. There
was a time you could not talk, walk, tie shoe laces, swim, ride a bike, read or write.
Developmental psychologists study how people grow and change psychologically
over the entire lifespan, from conception and birth to old age and death. They are interested in two types of change:
qualitative (changes in kind)
quantitative (changes in amount).

Developmental psychologists
study changes in the way
babies perceive their world.

As an example, 2-year-old children are likely to play by themselves rather than with
friends, whereas 5-year-olds are more likely to play with their friends. This difference
can be thought of as qualitativethe change is in kind, from being uninterested in
peers to being interested. The difference can also be thought of as quantitativethat
is, there is a change from no friends to some friends.
Of course, some changes are obvious, such as a crawling infant learning to walk;
others are much more subtle, such as the growth of the brain or learning to speak in
grammatically correct sentences.

Why study perceptual development?

Perception refers to the extraction of meaningful information about objects, situations
and events in the environment and our own activity. Related to our senses, perception
refers to what we can see, smell, taste, hear and feel.
Scientific data on perceptual development has become available only since the
1960s. Even though it was assumed that infants perceive some aspects of their
surroundings, little research was carried out before the 1960s.
There are several reasons for studying perceptual development. It is essential to
know what is normal in order to detect abnormalities in development. By studying
samples of infants from different backgrounds, we can build up our knowledge base and
understanding of typical development. This provides normative data (data about normal development) that psychologists can use when assessing the development of a baby.
Infant perception sheds light on other areas of development. For example, perception provides the foundation for cognitive development (all forms of knowing,
including thinking, reasoning, understanding, problem-solving, and a wide variety of

GLOSSARY
developmental psychologists
researchers who study how
people grow and change
psychologically over the entire
lifespan, from conception to old
age and death

perception
organising, interpreting and giving
meaning to what the sense
organs initially process

perceptual development
changes in perception from birth
onwards

normative data
data about normal development

100 heinemann psychology one

smell of flowers

sound of parents voices

sight of parents faces

FIGURE 8.2

smell of parents

Babies are bombarded with a

wealth of perceptual
information from the time they
leave their mothers womb and
enter our world. In order to
make sense of this information
babies have to discriminate
between voices, faces, smells,
touches, objects, and tastes.

taste of mums breast milk

touch of parents

mental abilities such as reading, language acquisition and attention) since knowledge
about the world is first obtained through the senses.
The study of perceptual development has also been significant because of its contribution to the issue of nature versus nurturethe debate over whether development is
shaped by our genes (nature) or the environment (nurture). Which do you think it is?
For more information about the naturenurture debate in development, see the extension box below.

Nature versus nurture

extension

Developmental psychologists are not only concerned with describing behaviour, but with explaining it. In doing so, the issue of
nature versus nurture is almost always considered.
Nature refers to the influence of genetic make-up on development. Nurture refers to the influence of experience and learning on
development. More formally known as the debate between heredity
and environment, or nativism and empiricism, the naturenurture
controversy is among the oldest and most critical theoretical issues
in psychology. Are developmental changes simply an issue of genetics, or does the environment also have an influence?
Lets consider an example. My daughter Chrisoulas sleeping patterns changed over the first year of her life. When she was first born,
she did not sleep through the entire night. She woke every 3 hours
or so to be fed. By about 6 weeks of age, she would stay awake during the day for longer stretches at a time and would wake only once
during the night. By 4 months Chrisoula was sleeping through the
night and had established a day/night sleeping pattern.
If, as a psychologist, you were to comment on Chrisoulas
sleeping behaviour, it is likely you would argue that the changes
in sleeping behaviour over the first 4 months of life are due to
basic biological changes (nature). Its difficult to see how environment may play a part.
However, lets consider babies from a different environment.
In rural Kenya, babies wake at irregular intervals during the day
and night in the first 8 months of life. They are carried in a sling
all day and feed on demand at night, so they do not show a shift

FIGURE 8.3
A baby in Kenya is
carried all day in a
sling attached to
his mother.

towards a night-time sleep pattern until much later than most

Western babies.
This illustrates that what appears to be a universal biological
process may not be. Cultures, attitudes and values (that is, our
environment) also play a key role in shaping behaviour.
It is important to consider the possible contribution of both
biological and environmental factors in order to understand what
underlies development. Researchers agree that both nature and
nurture are factors influencing the development of most psychological characteristics, and these two factors interact with each
other in various subtle ways.

Activity
Create a poster to describe the reasons why a Kenyan baby and an
Australian baby may develop different sleeping habits. Is this the
result of the environment or of biology?

chapter 8 perceptual development 101

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What do developmental psychologists study?
2 When did research on infants perceptual skills become available?
3 List three reasons it is important to study perceptual development.

Research methods used

to study perceptual skills
In order to study the perception of human infants (from birth to 2 years), investigators
have developed methods that do not rely on verbal responses. By using these methods,
we can answer questions about what infants perceivewhat they can see, hear, taste
and smell.

Preferential looking
A common technique used by developmental psychologists to
study the perceptual skills of babies and children is the preferential looking technique. This involves presenting the
infant with two or more stimuli (shapes, patterns, pictures or
objects that may incite a response from the infant) and determining if the infant looks longer or more often at one stimulus
(prefers it) than the other.
For example, if two stimuli are shown together for 2 minutes,
the researcher notes how much time the infant spends looking
at each. If he looks at one stimulus more than the other, it is
concluded that he has distinguished one from the other. That
is, the infant can detect the difference between the two objects
rather than seeing them as the same.
This is evidence of object perception. It also allows
researchers to determine the types of objects, patterns or
colours that capture the attention of infants.

Habituationdishabituation
The habituationdishabituation technique has also been used
to explore infant perception. An infant is presented with the
same stimulus repeatedly until she shows signs of being less interested in it. A decline
in response to a stimulus may indicate habituation.
At this point, the original stimulus is taken away and is either replaced with a different stimulus or reintroduced soon after. If the infant can detect differences between
stimuli, she should be interested only in the new one and not in the stimulus that was
presented in the initial habituation trials. Infants tend to prefer anything that is new
and different to anything that is old and familiar.
When interest in the new stimulus is greater than for the original stimulus,
researchers argue that dishabituation has occurred, or that the infant has dishabituated
to the new stimulus.

KEY QUESTIONS
4 Name and describe one of the two techniques used to study early
perceptual skills.

5 How does the technique you described above differ from the other
technique used to study early perceptual skills?

FIGURE 8.4
It is possible to find out if
infants can discriminate
between visual stimuli by
observing what they prefer
to look at.

GLOSSARY
preferential looking technique
technique used to explore the
development of visual perception
by presenting two or more stimuli
and determining which of these
the infant prefers to look at for a
longer period of time

stimulus (pl. stimuli)

object or event in the
environment that elicits a
response in an organism

habituation
adjustment of attention to ignore
a continuously repeated stimulus

dishabituation
increased interest in a new stimulus

102 heinemann psychology one

Infants visual perceptual abilities

Most research conducted on infant perceptual abilities has focused on the sense of
visionthe most important sense for humans. In this section we will examine visual
perception in infancy, with a brief look at some other perceptual abilities.
Newborn

Adult
cornea

iris
lens

visual
axis

optic axis
visual axis
retina

optic axis

vitreous humor

FIGURE 8.5
Structure of an adult and a
newborn infants eye.

GLOSSARY
visual acuity
how well or how clearly a
picture or object is seen by the
observer

retina
inner lining of the eyeball

foveal cones
special cells concentrated in
the centre of the retina that
discriminate form and colour

lens
transparent, flexible structure in
the eye that focuses light on
the retina by changing shape

FIGURE 8.6
A blurred and clear image of a
womans face depicting what
a newborn infant and adult
would see, respectively.

If you ever have the opportunity to look up an old medical text book that was published in the 1940s or 1950s, you may find that it states that newborn infants are blind.
We now know that babies are not blind at birth. However, every structure in the visual
system continues to develop after birth (see Figure 8.5).

Visual acuity
Visual acuity refers to how clearly a picture or object is seen. The retina of a newborn
infant is not adult-like until about 11 months. The cells in the centre of an immature
retina, called foveal cones, are not packed as densely as they are in the mature retina.
The muscles of the lens of the eye are weak at birth and strengthen over the first few
months of life. Because of an immature visual system, newborn babies cannot focus
their eyes well and have poor visual acuity.
You have probably heard of 20/20 vision. A person with 20/20 vision is able to see
and read a row of letters from a distance of 6 metres that most people without eye problems can read from that distance. Newborn infants see objects at a distance of 6 metres
as well as adults do at 180 metres. It is not until about 3 months of age that infants can
focus on near objects as well as adults do, and they do not have adult-like 20/20 vision
until about 1 year of age (see Figure 8.6).

chapter 8 perceptual development 103

Colour perception
By about 2 or 3 months after birth, many aspects of an infants colour vision come to
resemble that of an adult. By 4 months of age, babies differentiate between hues by
grouping them into categories (red, green, blue, yellow).
This is clearly a very adult-like ability and a remarkable one given that babies of this
age do not know that the colour red, for example, can appear in different shades. As
adults, we know that two shades of red are more alike than the colour red and the colour
yellowso do infants by 4 months of age. Do you think this ability in infants may be
the result of nature or nurture?

Pattern perception
Three aspects of visual perception during the first year of life have been researched
pattern, object and depth perception. Early research showed that newborns prefer to
look at patterned rather than plain stimulifor example, they prefer a drawing of the
human face to a plain black-and-white oval shape.
Robert Fantz (1961) was one of the first researchers to examine pattern perception
in infants. He devised the preferential looking technique to examine the visual perceptual capacity of young infants. In one experiment, Fantz presented infants aged 2 to 3
months with six different test objectsflat discs, 15 cm in diameter. Three of the discs
were patterned and three were coloured but had no distinctive pattern (see Figure 8.7).
He found that infants looked longer at the patterned discs than the plain ones. Of the
patterned stimuli, the face was looked at the longest, suggesting that it was the most
interesting of the three.
FIGURE 8.7
Test objects used by Fantz
(1961) and the time spent
looking at each by infants
aged 2 to 3 months.
and then tran
unfinished pr
lipids to a Go
apparatus.
In the membr
smooth endo
reticulum, lip
assembled fr
building bloc
delivered ear
S
t i

Test object

embrane. The
are released
by exocytosis.
ins and lipids
ide the Golgi
atus. Different
es allow them
orted out and
ipped to their
destinations.

10

20

30

40

50

Per cent of total fixation time

In another experiment on visual acuity, infants were presented with two patterns
simultaneously and the time spent looking at each was recorded. One of the stimuli was
always a uniform grey, and the other was a pattern from a series of striped cards in which
the band width of the stripes was progressively decreased (see Figure 8.8).

FIGURE 8.8
Series of striped cards used
by Fantz to determine infants
visual acuity.

104 heinemann psychology one

Given that infants prefer to look at patterned rather than plain stimuli, it was
expected that they would be more interested in looking at the striped card each time.
As the band width of the stripes decreased, a point was reached where the infant could
no longer distinguish between the striped card and the plain grey card (because the
stripes were so close together). This was assumed from the fact the infant was no longer
more interested in the striped card. In this way, the limit of the infants visual acuity
could be determined.
In short, young infants prefer to look at whatever they see bestthat is, moderately
complex, high-contrast targets, particularly those that capture their attention by moving (we will be looking at this in more detail later in the chapter). The ability to scan
the environment and detect the features of objects, such as patterns, is thought to play
a crucial role in perceptual development.

active psychology
Baby talk
We have known for a long time that the neonate is not
deaf. Although the auditory system is not fully mature at
birth and shows substantial changes after birth, it is much
more developed that the visual system. A newborn infant
can hear much better than she can see.
It is common for parents to talk to their newborn
infants as if they hear and understand all that is being
said. What is the point of doing so, given that a newborn
cannot understand the content of speech? In fact, talking
to a baby from birth has been shown to be highly

beneficial in terms of helping a childs language

development. Indeed, infants are more responsive to
sounds that are within the general range of pitch and
loudness of the human voice, and they prefer highpitched rather than low-pitched sounds.
If you talk to a baby with high-pitched baby talk, the
baby is more likely to be interested in what you are saying
than if you speak normally, as you would to an adult. The
following news article gives more information relating to
infants perception of speech.

Women are better at talking to babies

than men, researchers say
ut experts warn the finding
should not be used as an
excuse for men to leave women
holding the baby. Instead, they
suggest it could be because
women spend more time with
babies and learn what vocal patterns they respond to.
Research published in New
Scientist magazine shows that
even though both genders tend
to use coochy coo language to
babies, womens speech patterns

FIGURE 8.9
Womens speech patterns are clearer than mens
when talking to babies.

are clearer than mens.

To study parents speech, psychologists at Lehigh University
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and
IBMs Almaden Research Center
in San Jose, California, designed
a computer program to respond
to speech.
Babies pick up on the effect of
speech, rather than actual words.
So the computer program monitored properties of speech, such
as rhythm, pitch and stress.
BBC News, 6 February 2003.

case study
Attractive or unattractivecan infants tell the difference?
Which film stars or personalities do you and your classmates consider to be the most attractive? In order to
answer this question, you need to be able to differentiate
between people you perceive as attractive and people you
perceive as unattractive. There is a good chance that

many of your classmates will think the same people are

attractive as you do.
In the field of social psychology, research has established that not only can we recognise attractiveness, but
that adults and children prefer attractive over unattractive

chapter 8 perceptual development 105

individuals. When does this ability develop? This question

was first asked in the following experiment (Langlois,
Roggman, Casey, Ritter, Rieser-Danner & Jenkins, 1987).
Before the experiment, photographs of womens faces
were rated by adults as being either attractive or unattractive using a 1 to 5 preference-type scale. The average
rating for the attractive faces was 3.46 and for the unattractive faces it was 1.44.
Langlois and colleagues used a preferential looking
paradigm to examine the visual preferences of infants.
Two colour slides of the faces of women were presented
one depicted an attractive woman and the other an
unattractive woman. Infants looked longer at the attractive faces.
These findings suggest that discrimination of attractive
and unattractive faces may be innate. The researchers
argue that attractive faces may have better form and be
more face-like than unattractive faces. Because babies
appear to have an innate ability to respond selectively to
the human face, it is possible that attractive faces facilitate this perceptual skill more than unattractive faces.
Langlois et al. concluded that their findings seriously
challenge the assumptions that attractiveness is merely
in the eye of the beholder and that standards of

attractiveness must be learned through gradual exposure

to current cultural norms (pp. 3678).
Langlois and her colleagues extended their original
findings by showing that infants prefer to look at attractive
human faces irrespective of race, gender and age, and also
prefer to play with attractive dolls.

Questions
1
2

How did Langlois et al. (1987) test the babies preference for attractive faces?
Why do babies prefer attractive faces?

FIGURE 8.10
Which of these
two men would
babies prefer to
look at?

active psychology
Infants perception of food
Whether or not infants sense changes in the taste, smell,
texture or colour of foods, and if so, how this affects their
acceptance and preferences of solid foods, has not been
widely studied.
Research conducted by Bolton-Turner, Laing, Hutchison
and Oram at the University of Western Sydney asked two
questions:
1 Can infants discriminate between solid foods?
2 On what basis is this discrimination madefor
example, colour, texture or taste?
Sixty-four infants (310 months) were fed pured baby
foods over a ten-day period. Days 15, known as the
Familiarisation Procedure, involved the infants being fed
the same familiar food at the same time over the five days.
Days 610, known as the Test Procedure, involved the
infant being fed a single spoonful of a new test food several times during the normal feeding of the familiar food.
The test food differed from the familiar food in flavour, texture and/or colour.
The facial movements of the infants in response to
these foods were recorded. Results indicated changes in

FIGURE 8.11
Can babies taste the difference?

facial behaviour in response to the test food, thus indicating their ability to discriminate between the familiar and
new foods. This could possibly imply the infants dislike
for the presentation of unfamiliar foods.

Question
How did the researchers establish whether infants can
discriminate between foods?

Perceptual achievements in the first year of life

ACTIVITY

Devise a developmental chart outlining the perceptual achievements in the

first year of life for vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

106 heinemann psychology one

KEY QUESTIONS
6 Does a young baby perceive colour? Explain.
7 How well does a newborn baby see? In your answer discuss the development
of visual acuity.

8 What types of patterns does a newborn prefer to look at?

9 How did Fantz study visual acuity in babies?

Development of depth perception

GLOSSARY
depth perception
ability to see objects in three
dimensions by estimating how
distant they are from our
viewing point

We live in a three-dimensional world. Infants must learn to judge the distance between
objects and the distance between objects and themselves. The ability of depth perception helps infants to understand when a toy is within their reach, or when it is too far
away. Depth perception also helps infants to move around their environment (either as
crawlers or walkers) without bumping into things or falling off couches and down stairs.
How has the development of depth perception in infants been examined? Lets look
at both a classic and a more recent study on the development of this ability.

Visual cliff

FIGURE 8.12
Visual cliff apparatus similar to
that used by Gibson and Walk
(1960) in their historic study
on the development of depth
perception.

The earliest studies of depth perception used an apparatus called the visual cliff, devised
by Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk (1960). A visual cliff is a large glass table with a
runway across it (see Figure 8.12). On one side of the runway is a checkerboard pattern
immediately below the glass (the shallow side). On the other side, the checkerboard is
a metre or so below the glass (the deep side or cliff side).
Crawling infants are placed on the runway. Their mothers, on the other side, entice
them to crawl across the glass via the shallow side or via the deep side. To infants with
no depth perception, both sides of the runway should serve as a means of getting to
their mother. But if infants can judge depth, they should be reluctant to crawl out on
the deep side.
In the original studies, almost all infants aged 6 to 14 months did not cross via the
deep side, even with encouragement and enticement from their mothers. They did,
however, cross the shallow side.
Later research with the visual cliff suggests that while crawling babies avoid the
deep side, younger infants who have not yet
begun to crawl seem to be more interested in
the deep side, rather than scared of it.
Campos, Langer and Krowitz (1970) placed
infants aged 2 to 5 months on the deep side
of the visual cliff while recording their heart
rate, visual behaviour (where they looked)
and crying. Infants looked down more, cried
less, and their heart beat decelerated (indicating interest) when on the deep end
compared with the shallow end.
Campos, Bertenthal and Kermoain
(1992) showed that the fear of depth that
older infants display depends heavily on
their crawling experiences. They conducted
four experiments in order to examine the
development of wariness of heights. In the
first experiment, 46 infants who had been

chapter 8 perceptual development 107

crawling for an average of 5 weeks, and 46 infants who had yet to begin crawling, were
each lowered slowly towards the deep or shallow sides of the visual cliff apparatus. Each
infants heart rate response was measured during the lowering.
Only the crawling infants heart rates increased when on the deep side, suggesting that
they were much more afraid of the deep side than infants who had not crawled at all. The
heart rates of non-crawling infants remained at base level for both sides of the cliff.
In the second experiment, 68 infants were divided into four groups:
1 18 non-crawling infants who were placed in an infant walker and required to walk
around in it for at least 47 hours.
2 16 crawling infants who were placed in an infant walker and required to walk
around in it for at least 32 hours.
3 18 non-crawling infants who were given no walker experience.
4 16 crawling infants who were given no walker experience.
The results of this experiment are presented graphically in Figure 8.13. It appears
that walking experience for non-crawling infants leads them to avoid the deep side of
the visual cliff.
Crawling

Non-crawling

Heart rate (beats per minute difference from baseline)

9
8
7

Walkers

6
5
4
3
2

Controls

Walkers

1
0
1
2
3
Controls

FIGURE 8.13

5
6
1

Seconds of descent

In the third experiment, an infant who was born with two congenitally dislocated
hips and wore a full body cast was tested on the visual cliff every month from 6 to 10
months of age. When he was 8 months old, his cast was removed. This infant showed
signs of fearing the deep end of the visual cliff (heart rate acceleration) only when he
was 10 months old and had begun to crawl.
Finally, in the fourth experiment, Campos et al. (1992) examined the effects of age
of onset of crawling and duration of crawling experience (11 or 41 days) on the development of wariness of heights. They found that while age of onset had no effect, the
duration of crawling experience did: the more locomotor experience infants have, the
more fearful they are of the deep end.
On the whole, the findings of these four experiments suggest that crawling generates
new experiences for infants, and this makes possible the development of wariness of heights.

Graph showing heart rate

responses across the four
groups while infants are lowered
towards the deep side of the
visual cliff (Campos et al.s
(1992) study on the emergence
of wariness of heights).

WORKSHEET 1
The visual cliff

108 heinemann psychology one

extension

Visual markers

Another difference between crawling and pre-crawling infants is

that crawling infants are better at remembering where an object
is hidden. It is possible that because crawling infants move
around, they learn to use a visual marker or landmark to help
them define where hidden objects are located.
Bai and Bertenthal (1992) examined this possibility with
crawling and pre-crawling infants of 7 to 8 months old. Each infant
was seated at a table. An object was hidden in one of two different coloured containers on the table directly in front of the infant.
Either the infant or the table was then rotated 180 degrees and
the infant was encouraged to look for the hidden object (see
Figure 8.14).

extension

extension

When the infant was rotated, crawlers were much better than
pre-crawlers at finding the hidden object because they used the
colour of the container as a visual landmark (a cue) to help them
locate where the object was. In contrast, when the table was
rotated, rather than the infant, both groups of infants found the
object equally as often because in this case infants were able to
follow the movement of the containers.
Infants are highly responsive to moving objects that capture
their attention. When infants begin to crawl they develop perceptual skills that may not be evident at the pre-crawling stage.
Avoidance of heights and use of visual cues as landmarks are
important skills for infants on the move!

FIGURE 8.14
Infant rotated 180

Experimental design for the

visual marker experiment by
Bai and Bertenthal (1992) with
infants aged 7 and 8 months.
(Adapted from Shaffer, 1996.)

Start

Start

GLOSSARY

Test

Table rotated 180

Test

visual marker
landmark used to
locate an object

ACTIVITY

Depth perception in crawling babies

Ask the parents of a crawling baby and the parents of a non-crawling baby whether their
child can perceive depth. Is the child aware of heights? Does he show signs of being afraid
of heights?
Discuss the findings in class. Do the responses of these parents agree with the research
findings on depth perception?

active psychology
The relationship between perception and action
We know that the young perceiver has the ability to discriminate between forms and colours, but can infants
extract useful, meaningful information about objects?
Does a change in visual information lead to an appropriate
change in behaviour? Does sensitivity to various types of
distance information mean that infants act appropriately
towards objects that are located at different distances from
them?
In one experiment conducted at La Trobe University,

researchers asked whether infants of 8 and 10 months

would extend their arm when reaching for an object that
was within arms length, but both extend their arm and
lean forward for an object that was at a greater distance
(McKenzie, Skouteris, Day, Hartman & Yonas, 1993).
Infants did indeed reach without leaning for near
objects, and they combined arm extension and forward
movement of the trunk when trying to make contact with
more distant objects. It was not the case that they

chapter 8 perceptual development 109

extended their arm, failed to make contact, and then

leaned forward; both arm and trunk movement were
initiated simultaneously. This indicated that infants could
correctly judge when arm movement alone was required,
and when arm movement combined with leaning forward
was required (see Figure 8.15).
A second experiment used objects at greater
distances in order to determine if there was a point
beyond which infants would not even try to reach for the
object. The infants did not stop trying when the object
was out of reach, but they did not lean as far as they did
for nearer objects.
From these results, we can conclude that infants at
this age are expert at judging the fit between object
distance and the length of their arm. They know that
leaning forward extends their reaching space. They may
not be so expert at judging the outer limit of their reach.
Perhaps visual feedback and information about bodily
movements from the beginning of a reach-and-lean may
be needed to determine that objects are not contactable.

Questions
1
2

FIGURE 8.15
An exaggerated
reaching attempt
by an 8-month-old
infant.

What was the aim of McKenzie et al.s (1993) study?

What did they conclude, based on their findings?

Implications of sample size and population

on research conclusions
As we learned in chapter 3, psychologists obtain a subset or sample from a population
they are interested in when they conduct their research. It is very rarely the case that an
entire population is tested because this is too expensive and too time consuming, and
may not be necessary if the sample is sufficiently representative of the population.
Given that in developmental research, infants or children may be needed as participants, the recruitment of sufficient participants can be challenging because parental
consent is needed. Also, researchers are usually dependent on parents taking their children to the place where the study is being conducted.
In principle, and with the appropriate sampling techniques, the larger the sample
size the more it will reflect the population. So the challenge for developmental
researchers is to obtain a large enough sample size to make conclusions that will be
applicable to the entire population. Indeed, the implications of sample size on research
conclusions are relevant for all areas of psychology and the challenge to obtain sufficient
participants is faced by most researchers.

GLOSSARY
sample
subset of the population under
investigation

population
complete set of individuals or
participants under consideration,
from which a sample may be
drawn

KEY QUESTIONS
10
11
12
13

What is depth perception?

How did Gibson and Walk (1960) study depth perception in infants?
Draw a diagram of the visual cliff to explain the experimental set-up.
Look at Figure 8.13, which shows the results of Campos et al.s (1992) experiments investigating depth
perception in crawling and non-crawling infants.
a For the group of infants who could not yet crawl, describe in words the difference in reaction between
the infants given experience in walkers and the control group.
b For the group of infants who had learned to crawl, describe in words the difference in reaction between
the infants given experience in walkers and the control group.
c Explain what is meant by the heart rate (plotted on the y-axis) being measured in beats per minute
difference from the baseline.

14 Why are visual markers important for crawling infants?

110 heinemann psychology one

chapter

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

8
08

09

Psychological development is affected by an individuals genetic make-up and by the

environment.
Perceptual development is studied in order to collect normative data and identify abnormalities, to learn more about linked areas of development, and to discover which aspects of
development are innate and which are the product of experience and the environment.
Techniques used to study infant perceptual development include preferential looking and
habituationdishabituation.
Vision in newborns has limited acuity.
By about two or three months after birth, many aspects of an infants colour vision come to
resemble that of an adult.
Young infants prefer to look at whatever they see bestthat is, moderately complex, highcontrast targets, particularly those that capture their attention by moving.
The ability to scan the environment and detect the features of objects, such as patterns, is
thought to play a crucial role in perceptual development.
The earliest studies of depth perception used an apparatus called the visual cliff devised by
Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk (1960).
While crawling babies avoid the deep side of the visual cliff, younger infants who have not
yet begun to crawl seem to be more interested rather than scared of the deep side.
It is possible that because crawling infants move around, they learn to use a visual marker
or landmark to help them define where hidden objects are located.
When conducting research, the larger the sample size, the better the research conclusions
can be generalised to the population.

10

chapter 8 perceptual development 111

multiple
choice
questions
1 The naturenurture controversy is a debate between
A genetics and heredity.
B heredity and environment.
C heredity and nativism.
D environment and empiricism.
2 Fantz (1961) examined pattern perception in infants
using
A the habituationdishabituation technique.
B both habituation and preferential looking.
C plain stimuli only.
D the preferential looking technique.

3 Ken and Samantha are expecting the birth of their first

baby in 6 weeks and want to begin work on the nursery.
They know they want their baby to be stimulated by its
surroundings but they are not sure about how they
should decorate and furnish the room. If consulted,
what advice would you give to Ken and Samantha?
A Use soft pastel colours on the walls and for the
furnishings.
B Use bold colours with high contrast because that is
what newborn babies see best.
C Do not attempt to capture the babys attention with
moving objects, such as a mobile over the cot.
D Dont worry too much about the nursery because babies
do not perceive colour until they are 12 months old.

4 At a first birthday party, you observe the behaviour of

two 8-month-old babies. Sanjay has been crawling for
8 weeks and is a competent crawler. Lois has been
crawling for only 3 days. When both babies are placed
on the couch to sit next to their mothers, Sanjay does
not attempt to crawl off the couch, whereas Lois does
and falls off. How would you best explain this
difference in behaviour?
A Sanjay is a lazy baby.
B Lois is a more confident baby.
C Sanjay is probably more wary of heights.
D None of the above.

5 You show an infant a green circle. The infant looks at

the circle for a few seconds and then looks away.
You remove the green circle and after a brief pause
reintroduce it. The infant now looks at the circle for
less time than before. When the infant looks away the
second time, you repeat the sequence again and
continue doing so until the infant no longer wants to
look at the green circle. At this point you show the
infant a red circle. You would expect the infant would
A want to look more at the green circle.
B become disinterested with the whole experiment.
C habituate to the red circle.
D dishabituate to the red circle.

short
answer
questions
1 List three reasons that the development of perception is important for understanding human development.
2 Describe the preferential looking technique.
3 Mary has a 12-month-old baby who has been crawling for four months. She asks her
maternal and child health nurse whether her baby might try to climb out of the highchair.
What do you expect the nurse to say in relation to depth perception and the babys safety?

WORKSHEET 2
Crossword

multimedia
Methods to study the development of perception
Examine the following methods:

For each method, describe:

preferential looking

the technique and what it achieves

habituationdishabituation

interesting findings using this methodology

visual cliff.

any limitations of the method.

chapter
psychology

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:

Cognitive
development

Piagets four-stage theory of cognitive

development, including the process of
assimilation and accommodation, together
with key cognitive accomplishments at
each stage
Piagets theory in light of recent research
findings.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
to come???

00

01

112

02

03

04

chapter 9 cognitive development 113

FIGURE 9.1
Each of the activities in which
these children are engaged
involves cognitive functioning.

The previous chapter on perceptual development was concerned mostly with the young
infant during the first few months of life. This is because the major changes in perceptual performance and capabilities occur during the first year. The later years of childhood
are more important for the development of cognitionall forms of knowing such as selfunderstanding, intelligence and mental abilities.
A 3-year-old girl approaches a pet rabbit. Her mother asks her to be gentle because
she might hurt it. Her daughter replies to this with the statement: No I wont, because
rabbits cant cry. This is an example of how a young childs thinking differs from that
of adults. Cognitive development refers to age-related changes that occur in childrens
mental skills and abilities, including memory, reasoning and problem-solving.
In this chapter we will outline a theory of cognitive development proposed by a
Swiss epistemologist, Jean Piaget.

Piagets principles and theory

of cognitive development
Jean Piaget (18961980) believed that a childs understanding develops through a series
of qualitative rather than quantitative changes. The thinking of children, he argued,
follows quite different rules and principles from the thinking of adults.
Piaget focused on the limitations of childrens thinking at different ages, and the
ways in which their thinking differed from that of adults. He believed that cognitive
development progresses through a series of four stages, which we will explore later in
the chapter. During each of these stages, information is obtained from the world in certain ways, and organised in certain ways. An example of Piagets clinical method is
illustrated by the following conversation with a 7-year-old:
Adult: Does the moon move or not?
Child: When we go, it goes.
Adult: What makes it move?
Child: We do.
Adult: How?
Child: When we walk. It goes by itself.

Piaget (1929/1973, pp. 1467)

GLOSSARY
cognitive development
changes in mental skills and
abilities as a person matures

epistemologist
person who investigates the
origin, nature and limits of human
knowledge

114 heinemann psychology one

As a result of observations such as this, Piaget concluded that children before the
age of about 7 years are characterised by what he called egocentrism. Older children
can see the inconsistency in saying that the moon moves for them when they move, but
does not move for another person who happens to be stationary at the same time.
Younger children cannot see this inconsistency. They are egocentricunable to consider what the world is like from the viewpoint of another person at the same time as
seeing it from their own viewpoint.

active psychology
Who was Jean Piaget?
Born in Switzerland in 1896, Piaget was a child prodigy who showed a considerable liking for science
(especially biology) from an early age and published his first article at age 11. His early interest was in
the area of biology, in particular shellfish. This interest in biology is important because it influenced his
later psychological theory.
In his early 20s, Piaget became interested in psychology and took a job in Paris that required him to
give intelligence tests to primary school children. He noticed that children of a similar age gave the same
(or similar) wrong answers to particular questions, and concluded that they were using rules of logic that
were quite different from those used by adults. It was from this idea that he built his theory.
Piagets technique for finding out how children think involved verbally probing individual children by
asking them open-ended questions. He did not use the pencil-and-paper methods favoured by makers of many intelligence tests. His technique became known as Piagets clinical method. In fact, he
made many of his observations on his own three childrenLaurent, Lucienne and Jacqueline. He spent
the rest of his life studying children, particularly how their thinking develops, until his death in 1980.

Activity

FIGURE 9.2
Jean Piaget
(18961980).

GLOSSARY
egocentrism
tendency to view the world
from ones own perspective
without an awareness that
others may have different
points of view

adaptation
inborn tendency for organisms
to adjust to the demands of
their environment

Do an Internet search for Jean Piaget, and prepare a poster outlining his claim
to fame. Cover the following questions:
Where was he born?
Who were his parents?
Where did he study?
How many children did he have?
Where did he do his research?
When did he die?

Piagets principle of adaptation

Piaget applied the biological principle of adaptation to human cognitive development.
Adaptation refers to taking in and appropriately using new information.
Children construct reality out of their sensory experiences in an active, constructive
fashion. They do not simply record their environment in the same way that a camera
takes pictures of its surroundings. Their construction of reality is rather like the way in
which painters create pictures based on their experiences. The paintings are not copies
of the artists environment. They are based on this environment but are changed by the
artists selection and imagination.

FIGURE 9.3
Information from the
environment is like this
apple being digested.
The information is changed
by the child, and this
contributes to the childs
cognitive development.

The apple is assimilated by

the body, and changed in
the process.

Jimmy's body accommodates

nutrients from the apple,
which contributes to his
physical development.

chapter 9 cognitive development 115

Piaget called the complementary processes of changing and retaining incoming information, and of being changed by this new information, assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation and accommodation

Assimilation is the process by which children take in a new experience and make it a
part of their existing way of thinking. Accommodation is the process by which children change their way of thinking in order to fit in with new experiences.
On the basis of past experience, a young child has a concept of a dog. The child sees
a cat and calls it a dog. This is an example of assimilation: new information is understood within the framework of existing knowledge. The childs parent points out that
in fact the animal is a cat. The child notices the differences between dogs and cats in
terms of their appearance, the way they move and the noises they make. Through
accommodation, a new concept has been formed by extending and modifying existing
knowledge. Another example is given in Figure 9.4.

Child sees a
dolphin

Child learns dolphins

breathe air and is told
they are not fish

ASSIMILATION

ACCOMMODATION

Child calls
dolphin a fish

Child forms a new

concept of animals
that live in water
and need to come
to the surface to
breathe air

FIGURE 9.4
Assimilation and accommodation occur when the child
first believes a dolphin to be a
fish, and then forms a new
concept in light of new
information about dolphins.

GLOSSARY

When a child is satisfied with his understanding and is not taking in much new
information that challenges his current understanding, he assimilates more than he
accommodates. Assimilation helps the child to strengthen his current knowledge. He
is in a state of equilibrium when this occurs.
When, however, a child is taking in new information that does not match his existing knowledge, he reaches a state of disequilibrium. He accommodates more than he
assimilates in order to learn the new information and modify his existing knowledge.
Accommodation therefore results in growth and change.

assimilation

Mental structures: schemas and operations

equilibrium

As we have seen, adaptation involves an interaction between information that is being

taken in (assimilation) and the changes to the childs way of organising this information (accommodation). As a result of assimilation and accommodation, children change
their knowledge organisations, which Piaget calls their mental structures. The two types
of mental structures are schemas and operations.
Schemas are the ideas and plans we have about what things are and how to deal
with them. They are ways of organising environmental stimuli. The first inborn
schemas or reflexes are the simple behaviours of the very young child, such as sucking.
Soon after birth the child will suck anything put in its mouth, but is soon able to discriminate milk-producing from non-milk-producing stimuli. The child now has two
sucking schemas.
Eventually, more complex schemas are developed for behaviours such as reaching
and grasping, eating with a knife and fork, playing various games, driving a car. Some

Piagets term for the process by

which children take in a new
experience or new information
and make it a part of their
existing way of thinking

accommodation
Piagets term for the process by
which children change their ways
of thinking to fit in with their new
experiences
when children are satisfied with
their understanding and are not
taking in much new information,
they assimilate more than they
accommodatethis is a state of
cognitive equilibrium

disequilibrium
when children are taking in new
information that does not match
their existing knowledge, they
reach a state of disequilibrium
they accommodate more than
they assimilate in order to learn
the new information and modify
their existing knowledge

schemas
Piagets word for the ideas and
plans we have about what things
are and how to deal with them

116 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
operations
Piagets word to describe
orderly, sensible, logical
combinations of schemas

of these schemas involve putting pre-existing schemas together. For example, the
schema for picking up a rattle requires putting together the schemas for looking, reaching and grasping.
Operations are orderly, sensible, logical combinations of schemas. The precise
meaning of operational thinking will become clearer as you look at the various stages
of development identified by Piagetone of the most important changes in the childs
thinking, occurring at the age of around 7 years, involves the development of operational thinking.

Piagets four-stage theory of

cognitive development
Piaget believed that all children pass through the same four stages of thinking in the
same fixed order, without skipping any stages on the way (see Table 9.1). He argued
that in each of these stages the childs thought is qualitatively differentthat is, each
stage represents an increasingly complex way of understanding the world. While he
noted that children reach each stage at slightly different ages, he believed that a child
never skips a stage in development.
Lets look at the main features of the childs thinking at each stage, including examples of the tasks Piaget used to determine a childs developmental level. We will also
evaluate his theory in light of recent research findings.
TABLE 9.1 Piagets stages of thinking, and the ages at which they occur.

Stage of cognitive development

Approximate age of child

sensori-motor stage

birth to 2 years

pre-operational stage

27 years

concrete operational stage

711 years

formal operational stage

from 11 years

FIGURE 9.5
Piagets four stages of thinking:
(a) In the latter part of the
sensori-motor stage, a 12month-old playing peek-a-boo
with her father knows that
objects (in this case, her
fathers face) continue to
exist even when hidden.
(b) A 4-year-old in the preoperational stage does not
understand conservation of
continuous quantity.
(c) A 10-year-old in the
concrete operational stage
has attained the concept of
conservation of mass.
(d) The formal operational
stage can be distinguished
by the ability to make logical
deductions.

chapter 9 cognitive development 117

KEY QUESTIONS
1
2
3
4
5
6

Who was Piaget and what theory did he propose?

Describe the principle of adaptation and provide your own a real-world example.
Describe the processes of assimilation and accommodation and provide an example of each.
What term did Piaget assign to the simple behaviours of very young children? Provide an example.
What are the stages that Piaget proposed? Give the approximate age ranges for each.
How does a childs thinking differ across each of these stages?

Sensori-motor stage
The first two years of life are called the sensori-motor stage. During this time, children
focus almost entirely on the coordination of sensory and motor experiences. The main
achievements of this stage are an understanding of object permanence, imitation, and
the beginnings of what is normally referred to as thought. The sensori-motor stage is
divided into six substages.

Substages of the sensori-motor stage

1 Reflex activity (birth to 1 month)
During this substage, infants practise their innate reflexes, such as sucking and looking.
Piaget believed that infants assimilate and accommodate to form schemas from the first
day of life.

2 Primary circular reactions (1 to 4 months)

A primary circular reaction is the repetition by the infant of bodily movements that she
finds enjoyable or satisfying. The infant accidentally does something that is interesting
or pleasant, and immediately attempts to repeat the behaviour. After a time of trial and
error, she succeeds in doing so and the behaviour has then become a habit. The reaction
is called primary because it centres around the infants body. It is circular because it
is repeated until it is constant. Accommodation has occurred and an earlier schema has been altered.

3 Secondary circular reactions (4 to 8 months)

In the case of secondary circular reactions, the objects and events of the
external world (rather than the infants own body) become the major
points of focus. An infant in this substage will shake a rattle to hear the
sound he can make, or will babble to get a response from his parent.
Piaget characterised these behaviours as intentional or goal-directed.

4 Coordination of secondary schemas (8 to 12 months)

The main feature of this substage is the development of the ability to
coordinate a number of schemas to develop new ways of doing things.
The infant combines schemas to achieve goals and to solve problems in
new situations. The original behaviours that led to the secondary circular reactions were relatively random and playful, but now they are
more intentional.

FIGURE 9.7
The previously used skill of picking up an object, achieved in the
secondary circular reactions substage, is now used by 11-month-old
Jack to pick up a cushion for the specific purpose of searching for a toy.

FIGURE 9.6
The thumb-sucking of this
baby is one example of how a
repetitive act becomes a habit.

118 heinemann psychology one

5 Tertiary circular reactions (12 to 18 months)

During this substage, infants discover new ways, through the use of active experimentation, to produce novel and unexpected outcomes. Their increased mobility enables
them to explore their environments actively, and they are attracted to all types of new
stimuli that they were unable to reach easily before.
An infant may drop something, find this interesting, and repeat the behaviour (a
secondary circular reaction), but now she attempts to produce changes in the situation
such as dropping the object from a different height or a different position. She appears
to be interested in the new behaviours of the object itself. The tertiary circular reaction
involves interest in novelty merely for its own sake.

6 The beginnings of thought (18 to 24 months)

In this substage, infants have what Piaget called mental representation: they can picture things in their minds, and they use these mental images to work out solutions to
their problems. Piaget considered this to be the beginning of genuine thinkingof
intelligence, rather than the sensory and motor explorations and trial and error behaviour of the earlier substages.
Piaget gave the following example of his daughter, Jacqueline, at 20 months, trying
to solve the problem of opening a door while carrying a blade of grass in each hand.
FIGURE 9.8

She stretches out her right hand towards the knob; but sees that she cannot turn it

13-month-old Luana actively

explores her environment.

without letting go of the grass. She puts the grass on the floor, opens the door, picks
up the grass again and enters. But when she wants to leave the room things become
complicated. She puts the grass on the floor and grasps the door knob. But then she
perceives that in pulling the door towards her she will simultaneously chase away the
grass which she placed between the door and the threshold. She therefore picks it up in
order to put it outside the doors zone of movement.

Piaget (1936/1952, pp. 3767)

A further example of mental representation is deferred imitation, when a child

repeats a behaviour that occurred an hour or two before. An example of deferred imitation is given by Piaget, describing the behaviour of his daughter:
Jacqueline had a visit from a little boy who, in the course of the afternoon, got into
a terrible temper. He screamed as he tried to get out of a playpen and pushed it
backwards, stamping his feet. Jacqueline stood watching him in amazement The next
day, she herself screamed in her playpen and tried to move it, stamping her foot lightly
several times in succession.

Piaget (1936/1952, p. 63)

Object permanence
GLOSSARY
object permanence
awareness that an object
continues to exist even when it
is not present to the senses

According to Piaget, the most important achievement of the sensori-motor stage is the
understanding of object permanence. This is the awareness that an object continues
to exist even when it is not perceived by the senses.
If a cloth is placed over a toy that an 8-month-old is playing with, or if the toy is
placed behind a screen, the child appears to lose interest. No attempt is made to look
for the toy, and the child acts as if it has ceased to exist (see Figure 9.9). Children of
about 9 or 10 months will actively search for the hidden object and seem to realise that
it still exists even though it cannot be seen. Object permanence has been obtained.
This achievement is important because it shows that the child has developed an
internal representation of objects, even though they are not present. To be able to retain
a mental image of things that cannot be currently perceived is to be no longer dependent on the immediate environment.
In fact, an understanding of object permanence occurs gradually over the entire
sensori-motor period, and there are several stages in its development. For example,
the child of 10 to 11 months can still be tricked by the experimenter. If an object is

chapter 9 cognitive development 119

FIGURE 9.9
When an object is hidden
behind a screen, the infant
acts as if it no longer exists.
The infant does not have
object permanence.

hidden several times under the same cloth (location A) and then hidden under a different cloth (location B), the baby will continue to look for it at location A. Piaget
called this the A not B error.

Cognitive development in the first two years of life

ACTIVITY

Create a simple, effective poster on cognitive development in the first two years of life,
designed for new parents, and intended for display at a child care clinic. Make reference to
Piagets sensori-motor stage.

Relevance of Piagets theory today

There have been many recent research findings that challenge Piagets theory on cognitive development in infancy. These findings have shown that Piaget underestimated the
cognitive skills of babies. Lets illustrate this point with an example.

Studies on object permanence

Recall that Piaget argued it is not until 8 to 10 months of age that infants understand
that objects continue to exist even when out of sight. Several researchers examining the
concept of object permanence in infancy have suggested otherwise. Bower (1981)
showed that the method used to measure object permanence will partly determine the
age at which it occurs. Bower presented children from 4 to 6 months with an object
that was then made to vanish by dropping a screen over it. Children of this age do not
appear to believe that the object exists behind the screen, and show no apparent surprise if the object is not present when the screen is removed.
However, Bower measured changes in the childrens heart rates, and in this way
found that children showed more surprise when the object was not present after the
screen was raised, than when it was present. The heart rate changes suggested that the
children were surprised, though observations of their facial expressions would lead the
experimenter to believe that they were not surprised.
Perhaps the most influential work done that challenges Piagets view on the emergence of object permanence is the research by Baillargeon and De Vos (1991). In one
study, 3.5-month-old babies were habituated to both a short and tall smiley-faced carrot that moved from one end of a display, behind a tall screen (which hid the carrot),
and then reappeared at the other end.

120 heinemann psychology one

Habituation phase
Short carrot event

Tall carrot event

FIGURE 9.10
Study by Baillargeon
and De Vos (1991) on
object permanence,
showing the possible
and impossible
events. The impossible event was
achieved by lowering
the carrot beneath
the table, so that it
was not visible in the
gap in the screen.
(Adapted from Berk,
1997.)

GLOSSARY
operant conditioning
learning in which a voluntary
response is brought under
stimulus control through the
use of reinforcement

Test phase
Possible events

Impossible event

Infants were then shown two eventsone that was possible and the other that was
impossible (see Figure 9.10). During the possible event, the short carrot moved from
one end of the display behind a screen that was taller than the carrot, and then emerged
at the other end. During the impossible event, the tall carrot moved from one end of
the display behind a screen that was shorter than the carrot, but the carrot could not be
seen while behind the screen. The carrot then emerged at the other end of the display.
Infants of 3.5 months appeared to realise that if the screen is shorter than the carrot, it is impossible for the carrot to move behind it and not be seen partially. They
looked more and with greater surprise at the impossible event; in fact they dishabituated only to this event. These findings suggest that infants as young as 3.5 months have
some rudimentary knowledge of object permanencethat objects continue to exist
even when hidden.
It is clear, therefore, that the method used to measure object permanence will partly
determine the age at which it is first demonstrated. It is not possible for very young
infants to search manually for hidden objects because of their physical limitations (inability to crawl, reach and so on). The habituationdishabituation procedure used by
Baillargeon and her colleagues found evidence of object permanence at a much earlier age.

active psychology
Babies remember far more than Piaget thought
Carolyn Rovee-Collier (1993) has conducted several
memory experiments with young infants, revealing
interesting findings. She has demonstrated that babies
as young as 3 months of age remember their actions
with particular objects for as long as a week. If they are
reminded of what they have learned, they can remember
their actions for up to 6 weeks.
A common technique used to examine an infants
memory is the operant conditioning technique. As an
example, an infant is presented with a photo that is not in
focus and a special apparatus allows the infant to bring
the photo into focus by sucking on a dummy. The picture
itself serves as a reinforcement for sucking. When the

infant is habituated to the picture, sucking of the dummy

becomes much less vigorous. At this point, a new picture
is introduced. If the infant sucks more, dishabituation has
occurred suggesting that the infant remembers the original picture and recognises that the new picture is different.
Rovee-Collier used an ingenious variation of the operant conditioning procedure, the conjugate reinforcement
procedure, to examine memory in young infants without
using habituationdishabituation.
The procedure involves placing an attractive mobile
over the cot of an infant aged 2 to 3 months. Initially, the
experimenter watches for about 3 minutes to see how
the baby will respond in terms of kicking (she may kick

chapter 9 cognitive development 121

occasionally or not at all). After this baseline observation period, a

ribbon tied around the infants ankle is attached to the mobile so
that each time the baby kicks the mobile moves (see Figure 9.11).
It takes her only a few minutes to work out that kicking makes the
mobile move. But will she remember how to make the mobile move
days later?
In order to test the infants memory of this event, she is placed
back in the cot beneath the mobile to see if she kicks. Babies at 2
months remember how to make the mobile move for up to a couple
of days after the original learning, while 3-month-old babies remember
this kicking action for about a week, and then appear to forget.
Why do young infants eventually forget? Has the information
disappeared from memory, or is it not being retrieved? Rovee-Collier
looked into this by placing babies in the cots weeks after the learning
phase. Infants who were reminded of the task, by the experimenter
tugging the string to make the mobile move, then moved the mobile
attached to their ankle. Infants who were not reminded did not.
So it appears that infants forget because they have difficulty
retrieving the information from storage. When provided with retrieval
cues, their memory can be reactivated.

Questions
1
2

FIGURE 9.11
This 3-month-old will quickly learn to
kick her foot to make the mobile move.

Describe the operant conditioning technique.

Can an infants memory be aided? Explain.

KEY QUESTIONS
7 Draw a table listing the major achievements of the sensori-motor stage.
8 What does it mean when we say that an infant understands object
permanence?

9 Piaget thought that object permanence developed between 8 and 10

months of age. Describe the recent research challenging this notion.

Pre-operational stage
During the pre-operational stage, children build on the capacity to represent things
internally that was acquired during the sensori-motor stage. A most important development during this stage is in language. However, Piaget considered the development
of language to be substantially independent of the development of thinking. His theory was that thought arises out of action.
In calling this period pre-operational, Piaget was emphasising the limitations of
childrens thought. They do not yet think operationallythat is, according to the rules
of logic.

Centration
An important principle in understanding the thinking of pre-school children is their
tendency to centre on some particular aspect of their environment rather than several
aspects at the same time. This is called centration. For example, a child sees two identical short fat glasses filled with the same amount of lemonade and watches while an
adult pours the lemonade from one glass into a tall thin glass. When asked which glass
has more lemonade, the pre-operational child will say the tall thin glass because the liquid level is higher. In other words, they centre on one aspect (height) and are unable to
consider two aspects at the same time (height and width). Older children are able to
decentre (a process called decentration), and to think of both aspects at the same time.

GLOSSARY
centration
tendency to centre on some
particular aspect of the
environment rather than several
aspects at the same time

122 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 9.12
The three mountains task.
Children are asked to choose a
drawing that shows what the
doll sees.

An example of the centration of thinking is the egocentrism of the childs thought

during this period. Children at this age are centred on their own perspective and cannot conceive that other people see things differently. To adults, the childs behaviour can
appear as stubbornness or stupidity, but is better understood as a limitation of the
childs thinking abilities.
In one experiment, Piaget and Inhelder asked children to say how a doll would view
a model of a group of three mountains from different perspectives (see Figure 9.12).
They found that children of 4 and 5 years old usually made a
choice based on their own perspective and not that of the doll.
Since Piagets work, a number of studies have shown that
the exact nature of the task may influence the childs ability
to take the perspective of another person. Piaget may have
underestimated childrens ability in this regard. For example, Hughes used two walls intersecting to form a cross,
and two dolls representing a policeman and a little boy (see
Figure 9.13). The task was introduced very carefully so that
the experimenter was certain that the requirements of the
task were clear. The child was asked to hide the boy so that
the policeman cant see him. Two policeman dolls were
then placed in different positions and the child was asked to
hide the boy from both policemen.
On this task, 90 per cent of children between 3.5 and 5
years gave correct answers. Possibly, the poor performance
on Piagets mountain task was because children did not fully
understand what they had to do. On the other hand, Hughess
FIGURE 9.13
task is very different in a number of ways from Piagets origThe layout of the Hughes experiment, showing two walls
inal mountain task, and it may be unfair to use this result to
intersecting to form a cross. The child has to put a doll where
the policeman cannot see it (Hughes & Donaldson, 1978).
criticise Piagets view.

chapter 9 cognitive development 123

Animism and realism

The pre-school childs thinking is characterised by what Piaget calls animism. This is
the attribution of human characteristics to non-living objects. For example, children
treat dolls and teddy bears as living beings; children believe that the moon follows
them; a table leg is believed to be naughty because it kicked them.
Associated with animism is realism, which is the attribution of concrete reality to
events that have no physical existence, like dreams. Children behave as if their nightmares have really happened.

Verticality and horizontality

During the pre-operational stage, children have problems with the concepts of verticality and horizontality. Ask a 4-year-old child to draw a house with a chimney. You
will usually find that the chimney is at 90 degrees to the roof rather than straight up.
Figure 9.14 shows the stages that children go through in achieving the concepts of
verticality and horizontality.

GLOSSARY
animism
attributing human characteristics
to non-living objects

realism
attributing concrete reality to
events that have no physical
existence, like dreams

seriation
ability to arrange objects in order
along some dimension

reversibility
ability to follow a line of
reasoning back to its origin

FIGURE 9.14
Childrens drawings
demonstrate the gradual
emergence of the concepts
of horizontal and vertical.

Partwhole relations
Because pre-school children lack the ability to focus on the whole at the same time
as the parts, they have difficulty when required to make classifications involving
partwhole relations. For example, if a child is given a box containing ten white plastic beads and two red plastic beads, and is asked, Are there more white beads or more
beads? the child will typically say that there are more white beads.
Some people feel this is a trick question. McGarrigle (as cited in Donaldson, 1978)
showed children four toy cowsthree black and one whiteall lying asleep on their
sides. Twice as many children correctly answered the question, Are there more black
cows or more sleeping cows? than correctly answered Piagets question, Are there more
black cows or more cows?

Seriation
The inability of younger children to decentre may explain why at this age they lack seriation. This is the ability to arrange objects in order along some dimension. Figure 9.15
gives an example of this. The inability of young children to arrange more than two sticks
in order of length may be because they have to make two judgments at the same time:
each stick is longer than another one, but at the same time shorter than another one.

Reversibility
According to Piaget, reversibility is an important characteristic of operational thinking
that pre-school children lack. Reversibility is the ability to follow a line of reasoning
back to its origin, or to reverse an operation.

FIGURE 9.15
In arranging the sticks in
order the pre-operational child
ignores their length.

124 heinemann psychology one

Consider the arithmetic rule: If you square the number 3, you get 9. This operation can be reversed by taking the square root of 9 and getting back to 3. The inability
to decentre underlies the inability to reverse operations because the child has to consider what things were like at the same time as what they are like now.
An example of a task to demonstrate reversibility involves placing two rows of eight
counters or jelly beans, one above the other. If the counters are equally spaced, children
have no difficulty in saying there is the same number in each row. If one row is made
longer than the other, children before the age of about 6 years will say there are more
counters in the longer row (see Figure 9.16). This is because they are unable to reverse
the process of lengthening. Older children tell themselves: They must be the same
because if the counters were returned to their original positions, they would be the same.
Again, the form of questioning may be important in determining the age at which
the child can perform the task correctly. McGarrigle and Donaldson (1974) introduced
a character called Naughty Teddy into the task to accidentally change the positions
of the counters used in their study. Under this condition children were able to do the
task at a significantly younger age than under the normal condition where the adult
deliberately moved the counters. This may have been due to the young childs belief
that everything adults do has significance. The children presumably say to themselves,
If the number could not possibly vary after lengthening the row, why would the adult
bother to ask if there was still the same number after the change?

FIGURE 9.16
When the counters are spaced out, as in part b of the figure,
pre-operational children are unable to correctly answer the
question, Are there more black counters or more white counters?

Conservation
GLOSSARY
conservation
knowledge that an underlying
physical dimension remains the
same, despite superficial
changes in its appearance

Children in the pre-operational stage lack the principle of conservation. This is the
knowledge that an underlying physical dimension remains the same, despite superficial
changes in its appearance. This aspect of pre-operational thinking has been studied
more than any other, and several types of conservation have been identified.

Conservation of continuous quantity

This has been referred to above, in relation to centration. Young children believe that
there is more liquid in the tall container than in the short one, even though they initially see two containers of identical size with an equal quantity of liquid in each, and
watch while the liquid is poured from one container into the other (see Figure 9.5b).

Conservation of number
The example relating to reversibility illustrates this concept. The child believes that
there are more counters in the longer row when in fact both rows have the same number of counters (see Figure 9.16).

chapter 9 cognitive development 125

FIGURE 9.17
Pre-operational children
believe that the farther apart
the blocks are, the more
area they cover. They lack
conservation of area.

Conservation of area
If a block is placed at various positions on a table, children understand that the area the
block covers in each case does not change. However, if two blocks are placed on a table,
children who lack conservation of area believe that more area is taken up by blocks that
are more distant from one another than by blocks that are close together.

Conservation of mass
One way to study conservation of mass is to use two pieces of clay and a balance. The two
ball-shaped pieces of clay are equally heavy. This is demonstrated to the child by placing
them on opposite sides of the balance. One piece of clay is then rolled into a sausageshape and the child is asked to say which is heavier. The non-conserving child will
frequently pick the sausage shape because it looks bigger (see Figure 9.5c, page 116).

Conservation of length
Conservation of length can be studied using a stick and a piece of string of the same
length. The string is then curled up and the child is asked whether the string is still
the same length as the stick. The non-conserving child says that the stick is now longer.

Conservation of number, mass and area

ACTIVITY

Suppose you were a researcher interested in examining the ability of children to perceive the conservation of number, mass and area. In small
groups, devise a test to examine each aspect of conservation and role-play
these tests to your class. One student in the group should be the experimenter and the other students in the group should be children of different
ages, to show to the class the difference in performance across age.

Relevance of Piagets theory today

We have already found that the nature of Piagets tasks may have influenced the findings he obtained. Several examples of how Piaget may have underestimated childrens
abilities in the age range of 2 to 7 years were given. In recent times, more suitable tests
have been devised to examine cognitive development in children, and there is now
strong evidence that pre-schoolers have abilities that Piaget believed emerged during
the school-age years.

Studies on conservation
There is evidence that conservation of number may develop much earlier than Piaget
proposed. Children between 4 and 7 years do demonstrate conservation of number when
given the appropriate questions. Elbers, Wiegersma, Brand and Vroon (1991) tested
two groups of children using Piagets standard test (described above, but using blocks
instead of counters), but the children were then asked different questions about the
rows of blocks.

FIGURE 9.18
Pre-operational children will
say that the stick is longer than
the string, once the string has
been coiled up.

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Testing Piagets theory
of conservation

126 heinemann psychology one

Children in the first group were asked the same question that Piaget used: they were
shown two even rows and asked: Do the two rows have the same number of blocks?
One row was then spaced out and they were asked the same question again. As expected,
these children said that the rows did not have the same number of blocks after the
blocks were spaced out.
Children in the second group were initially asked a different question: Does one of
the rows contain more blocks? to which they answered no. When the blocks in one row
were spaced out they were given the standard question: Do the two rows have the same
number of blocks? In contrast to children in the first group, children in this group
correctly answered yes. Elbers et al. (1991) concluded that children of this age group
do understand the principle of conservation of number, contrary to what Piaget thought.

Studies on egocentrism

GLOSSARY
principle of false belief
the ability to separate ones
own beliefs from those of
another person who has false
information about a situation

Recent evidence reveals pre-school children are not as egocentric in their thinking as
Piaget claimed. By about the age of 4 to 5 years, pre-schoolers can distinguish between
appearance and reality, and come to understand that peoples actions are not necessarily
governed by reality but rather by what they think or believe.
In a now famous study by Flavell (1986), children aged 3, 4 and 5 years were shown
a sponge that was painted to look like a rock. The 3-year-old children either claimed
that the sponge looks like a sponge and therefore is a sponge, or that it looks like a rock
and therefore is a rock. Children at this age do not differentiate between appearance and
reality. The older children, however, claimed that the sponge looks like a rock but
nevertheless remains a sponge.
The procedure by Flavell can be taken one step further in order to examine the ability of children to separate their beliefs from those of another person who has false
information about a situation. This is called the principle of false belief. Moses and
Flavell (1990) showed a videotape to children aged 3 to 5 years in which a girl finds
some crayons in a bag. When the girl leaves the room, a clown comes in and removes
the crayons from the bag, hides them, and puts rocks into the bag (see Figure 9.19).
The girl then re-enters the room.
Children were asked at this point whether the girl would say there were crayons or
rocks in the bag. The 3-year-olds answered incorrectly by saying the girl would say
rocks. It appears that children of this age do not understand that another person may
have different beliefs from their own. Older children understand that the girl cannot
know there are rocks in the bag, even though they know that there are.

FIGURE 9.19
Principle of false belief experiment by Flavell.
After watching a video, children must decide
what the girl will say is in the bag.

chapter 9 cognitive development 127

KEY QUESTIONS
10
11
12
13

Draw a table listing the major achievements of the pre-operational stage.

Give an example of animism and realism.
What is reversibility? Provide an example of how this might be tested?
Describe the five different types of conservation and provide an example of how each might be tested
(provide an example that differs to the one given in the text).

14 Can pre-school children conserve? How has recent evidence challenged Piagets views on the development
of conservation?

Concrete and formal operational stages

Logical thinking in the concrete
operational stage
The concrete operational stage occurs at around age 7, when children acquire the ability to think logically, or operationally. They can decentre, their thinking is reversible
and they have attained some degree of conservation. In other words, their thinking has
acquired the characteristics that the thinking of the pre-operational child did not have.
Most of what we discussed in the previous section about the pre-operational stage is relevant to the understanding of this stage.
It is important to recognise that the change from the pre-operational stage to the concrete operational stage is not a sudden change, but takes place over a period of time.
Sometimes children show only certain aspects of concrete operational thinking. They are
in a transitional period. This is not a stage of its own but simply refers to the fact that
the child is undergoing the process of change from one stage to the next. Disequilibrium
is most clearly evident, and it is at this point that the child benefits most from the help
a teacher or parent can provide with the concepts that are causing difficulty.
Piaget realised that certain aspects of concrete operational thinking normally take
place much earlier than others. In fact, he predicted the logical order in which many of
these changes take place. An example of this is in acquisition of the various types of conservation. The average ages for these span several years:
conservation of number
5 to 7 years
conservation of continuous quantity, length and area
7 to 8 years
conservation of mass (weight)
9 to 10 years

GLOSSARY
transitional period
period between Piagets stages
when children may show some
aspects of that stage but not others

In fact, for certain tasks it does seem possible to train children to conserve at younger
ages than Piaget thought possible.
Although childrens thought processes at this age are logical, they are still limited
in certain respects. Children can think logically only about objects in their immediate, concrete experience, and not about hypothetical situations (see Figure 9.20). Also,
children of this age are unable to think abstractly or reason deductively. These thinking abilities are among the achievements of the formal operational period.
FIGURE 9.20
Children in the concrete
operational stage have difficulty
with a verbal problem that
involves deductive reasoning,
even though they are typically
able to arrange sticks in order
of length.

128 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 9.21
In the movie Junior, Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes pregnant. Ask a
9-year-old what would happen if men could have babies and they are
likely to think that you are ridiculous for asking. The same question could
initiate a long dinner conversation among adults!

Inhelder and Piagets tests for

the formal operational stage
Inhelder and Piaget (1958) devised fifteen tasks that
enabled them to distinguish between thinkers in the concrete operational stage and formal operational stage. Lets
look at how these tasks demonstrate different aspects of formal operational thought.

Pendulum problem
The pendulum problem is illustrated in Figure 9.22. The
participant is given a set of weights and several lengths of
string, and asked to find out what determines the speed of
swing of the pendulumis it determined by how hard the
pendulum is pushed, by the lengths of the string, by the
weight, or by some combination of factors?
Concrete operational thinkers will take a haphazard and
unsystematic approach, and usually fail to solve the problem. Formal operational thinkers show a systematic
approach to solving this problem.
This task requires that participants hold constant all variables except the one they
are examining at a particular time. By doing this, they determine that only string
length affects the speed with which the pendulum swings.

Balance problem
In the balance problem, children are given a beam balance and a set of objects of different weights that can be attached at various points along the arms of the balance.
Concrete operational children are able to get the two sides to balance (just as they can
get a see-saw to balance by adjusting their positions). However, only formal operational
children can formulate the rule that weights and distances along the arms are inversely
proportional to each other.
For example, if a particular weight is known to be three times as heavy as another
weight, it needs to be placed one-third the distance of the other weight from the fulcrum of the balance. An understanding of proportionality is required for a child to be
able to immediately place a weight on the appropriate point on the balance.

Problem of the yellow liquid

The problem of the yellow liquid requires participants to combine the contents of several bottles of clear, odourless liquid to produce a yellow liquid. The child is first given
four bottles, each marked with a number for identification, but which otherwise look
the same. In fact, each bottle contains different chemicals. A fifth smaller bottle containing a dropper is then introduced. This bottle is labelled g. Two glasses with clear
liquid are presented to the child: one contains chemicals from bottles 1 and 3, the other
from bottle 2 only, but the child does not know this (see Figure 9.23).

chapter 9 cognitive development 129

weights

string

Formal
operational
child

FIGURE 9.22
Concrete
operational
child

While the child watches, the experimenter pours several drops of g into each of the
two glasses. The liquid in the first glass turns yellow in colour. The child is then asked
to reproduce the colour yellow using bottles 1, 2, 3, 4 and g as he wishes.
The approach of concrete operational thinkers to this problem is haphazard and
unsystematic, and if the correct solution is achieved it is by accident. Formal operational thinkers test each possible combination of the bottles in an orderly sequence and
keep track of which combination they have tried. For example, they might first combine the bottles in pairs, one pair at a time, until this approach is exhausted. Then they
try each group of three, and so on. The systematic and detailed approach of the older
group shows that they can use combinatorial reasoning.

FIGURE 9.23
Piagets problem of the
yellow liquid.

Piagets pendulum problem.

Formal operational children will
test each weight with the same
length of string, then move
onto the next length of string.
Concrete operational children
may change both the string
length and weight on each trial.

GLOSSARY
combinatorial reasoning
line of reasoning in which every
possible combination is tested in
order to solve a problem

130 heinemann psychology one

Does everyone achieve the formal

operational stage?
As well as demonstrating different aspects of formal operational thinking, the above
tasks have a number of common features. Each requires the participants to formulate
and test hypotheses (for example, What will happen if I try a heavier weight with the
same length of string?). Each requires that logical deductions be made from the results
of the various trials. In fact, the process of formal thinking has much in common with
the way scientists go about gaining knowledge. The adolescent in this stage is taking a
scientific approach to understanding the world.
Some researchers claim that not all people attain formal operational thinking during adolescence, and some people never attain this level of thinking. For example, a
study of a large group of Sydney adolescents found that even 18-year-olds with a relatively high level of education and academic ability frequently failed to score at a fully
formal operational level. On the basis of studies such as these, some writers have argued
that the 11 to 15 age range marks the beginning of the development of formal operational thought, rather than its final achievement.
Piaget argued that the failure of individuals to master formal operational thinking
during adolescence may have something to do with the degree of intellectual stimulation provided by the environment. Studies have found that in some non-Western
cultures where scientific and logical thinking are not encouraged as much as in typical
Western societies, formal operational thinking occurs much later. A similar pattern has
been found when comparing Aboriginal children raised in a Western culture (who performed very much like White children) with Aboriginal children who had had little
contact with White culture. Some studies have also found that specific coaching can
make formal operational thinking occur earlier.
FIGURE 9.24
Would you expect these
University students to have
reached Piagets formal
operational stage?

Relevance of Piagets theory today

Piagets ideas have influenced thinking and research on the development of childrens intellectual abilities to a greater degree than the writings of any other psychologist. Many
developmental psychologists still argue that Piagets theory provides the most satisfactory
explanation for cognitive development. Others, however, have come to question the theory.

chapter 9 cognitive development 131

Almost all psychologists feel that the theory has certain weaknesses, though they differ on how important these weaknesses are. A few criticisms of Piagets theory with
respect to how he underestimated the cognitive skills of infants and children have already
been mentioned. Lets examine some other general criticisms that have been made.

Methodology
One area of criticism concerns Piagets methodology. He did many of his studies on
small numbers of participants, rarely reported exactly how many, and did much of his
important research on his own children. His clinical method had the advantage of
enabling him to adapt his questioning to each child. However, this approach also has
weaknesses in that it requires highly skilled interviewers and makes precise replication
of his studies very difficult.
Some of these problems have been overcome by other researchers who have used large,
representative samples of participants and have attempted to develop more standardised
procedures and methods of reporting. Many of these (though not all) have supported
Piagets major findings.

Ages at which stages are attained

The particular ages at which children have been found to attain the various stages are
rather different from the ages proposed by Piaget. You have seen that the age at which
children can perform certain concrete operational tasks is earlier than Piaget proposed;
on the other hand, many people do not achieve formal operations until much later than
Piaget believed.
The actual age at which children can perform the various tasks may depend on the
precise details of the task. For example, children showed a breakdown in egocentrism
at about age 7 when Piagets mountain task was employed, but as young as 3 when
Hughess policeman task was used.
Writers who support Piagets views have made a number of replies to these criticisms:
There has been a failure to replicate some of the studies showing that children can
perform tasks much younger than Piaget believedin other words, other experimenters who repeat the experiment do not get the same results.
Changes made to the tasks often make them fundamentally different, and therefore
not fair tests of the theory.
Even if some of the tasks can be done earlier than Piaget believed, other tasks cannot.

The importance of learning and experience

It has also been argued that Piaget underestimated the importance of learning and experience. In support of this view, it has been shown that children can be trained to do
some conservation and other tasks somewhat earlier than they would do them if they
did not have training. For example, if you train a group of children of 5 and 6 years to
do the conservation of continuous quantity task, they learn to do it accurately more
quickly than a similar group of children who did not have training.
However, there do seem to be limits to how trainable children are. It may be that
children can be taught a particular concept just before they are ready to achieve it without training. It is probably true that you cannot teach a 2-year-old a concrete operational
concept that would normally be learned at age 7.
In fact, some researchers have noted that it might not be a good idea to accelerate
learning too much, as there are certain aspects of younger childrens thinking that are
useful to them in later life, especially in creative activities. Children may lose these if
they do not learn and practise them when they are young.

The importance of social and cultural factors

Piaget has also been criticised for underestimating the importance of social and cultural
factors in development. He does not note the importance of social experience in breaking

132 heinemann psychology one

down the egocentrism of the pre-school child.

Interacting with others is necessary for children to see
the world from a perspective other than their own.
Later in his life, Piaget gave greater recognition to
the importance of social and cultural factors, seeing
them as important in determining the rate at which
children proceed from one stage to another. Some
researchers still feel that his emphasis on social and cultural factors is insufficient.

Criticism of the stage concept

Finally, some psychologists are more impressed by the

gradual, continuous nature of development than they are
by its discontinuities. These writers argue that the stage
concept is not necessary in understanding development.
Piaget did not believe that the important changes in
ways of thinking were very sudden ones, although his
stage concept does appear to categorise children into
distinct levels of development. Whether you see development as gradual or as proceeding through stages
probably depends on what aspect of development you
FIGURE 9.25
are looking at, and exactly how you are looking at it. It
Do children learn on their own, or do others
is useful to see development as continuous in some ways
around them influence their learning?
and discontinuous in other ways.
A final aspect of Piagets theory that has important implications for the intellectual
training of children concerns his view that children learn best by doing concrete activities. This is particularly true of young children. The child learns by manipulating and
exploring the environment. Sometimes parents and teachers place common objects out
of the reach of children for no other reason than to maintain neatness and order. Children
are constantly told, Dont touch! Piaget believed this approach produces dull and passive children.
Overemphasis on learning from books or from verbal instruction may lead to learnWORKSHEET 1
ing that is superficial. This does not mean that books and verbal explanation are
Piagets stages:
unimportant, but these should be based on concrete experience, especially with children
summary table
who have not yet reached the formal operational level.

ACTIVITY

The relevance of Piagets theory today

In small groups, develop a five-minute multimedia presentation or overhead presentation

(approximately six to eight slides) on the relevance of Piagets theory today. Present this to
the class as a whole.

KEY QUESTIONS
15
16
17
18
19
20

Draw a table listing the major achievements of the concrete operational stage.
At what age does a child enter the formal operational period?
Describe the pendulum problem.
What is meant by the term combinatorial reasoning? When does it develop? Give an example of this type of thinking.
Does everyone achieve the formal operational stage of cognitive development?
Provide one criticism of Piagets cognitive theory with the evidence provided to support the criticism.

chapter 9 cognitive development 133

chapter

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

Cognitive development incorporates changes in self-understanding, intelligence and mental

abilities.
Piaget believed that a childs understanding develops through a series of qualitative rather
than quantitative changes.
Piaget applied the biological principle of adaptation to human cognitive development.
Piaget viewed cognitive development as including the principles of adaptation by assimilation and accommodation.
Piagets theory of cognitive development describes four stages of thinking: sensori-motor,
pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational.
Piaget argued that in each of these stages the childs thought is qualitatively differentthat
is, each stage represents a different way of understanding the world.
During the sensori-motor stage, infants learn to combine and coordinate schemas through
trial and error and experimentation, learn deferred imitation, and achieve object permanence.
During the pre-operational stage children build on the capacity to represent things internally
that was acquired during the sensori-motor stage. During this stage childrens thinking has
certain limitations, such as problems with seriation, partwhole relations, reversibility and
conservation of object properties.
The concrete operational stage occurs at around age 7, when children acquire the ability to
think logically, or operationally. During this stage children gradually acquire the skills that preoperational children lack.
During the formal operational stage, children learn to think abstractly and reason deductively.
The process of formal thinking has much in common with the way scientists go about gaining knowledge. The adolescent in this stage is taking a scientific approach to understanding
the worldformulating and testing hypotheses rather than seeing the world as black or
white.
Recent research findings have shown that Piaget underestimated the abilities of infants and
children, and also underestimated the importance of learning and experience and the importance of social and cultural factors.

07

9
08

09

10

134 heinemann psychology one

multiple
choice
questions
1 Cognitive development refers to changes in ____________.
A memory abilities
B reasoning abilities
C problem-solving abilities
D All of the above.
2 Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A Piaget believed that a childs understanding develops
through a series of quantitative rather than
qualitative changes.
B Piaget applied the principle of adaptation to animal
cognition only.
C Piaget believed that all children pass through the
same four stages of thinking in the same fixed order.
D Piagets sensori-motor stage spans from 2 to 7 years.

3 Which of the following statements is false?

A Thumb-sucking is an example of a primary circular
reaction.

B Object permanence is an awareness that an object

continues to exist even if it is not perceived by the
senses.
C According to Piaget, children in the pre-operational
stage are unable to decentre.
D According to Piaget, pre-school children do not lack
the characteristic of reversibility.

4 If you were able to observe a newborn baby you would

notice his first sucks at a bottle are weak and
inefficient. With practice and time the sucks become
stronger and more efficient. According to Piaget, this is
an example of the process of ________________.
A accommodation
B assimilation
C adaptation
D equilibrium

5 Stevens 6-month-old daughter, Felicity, loves to drop

her toys onto the ground, especially when she is sitting
in her high chair. It seems that every time her father
gives her a toy she immediately releases it from her
grasp so that it can drop to the floor. How might you
best explain this repetitive behaviour exhibited by
Felicity?
A The behaviour is a reflex action that Felicity cannot
control.
B Felicity is using active experimentation to produce
novel and unexpected outcomes.
C The objects and events of the external world have
become the major points of focus for Felicity and
because dropping the toy is interesting she repeats
the behaviour.
D Felicity has mastered the ability to coordinate a
number of schemas to develop new ways of doing
things.

6 A 6-year-old is asked the question: Where is your

dream when you are dreaming? The boy answers:
In the house. According to Piaget, this answer
illustrates ________________.
A animism
B egocentrism
C seriation
D realism

7 Whats the youngest age that you would expect a child

to be able to order a series of sticks from shortest to
longest?
A 7 years
B 4 years
C 12 years
D 18 months

8 What process does an adolescent use to solve the

pendulum problem?
A reversibility
B conservation
C combinatorial reasoning
D operational thinking

chapter 9 cognitive development 135

short
answer
questions
1 There are four stages in Piagets cognitive theory.
a Name these stages.
b In which of these stages does a child demonstrate an understanding of seriation?
Describe the task used to test this.

2 Piaget argued that children in the pre-operational stage lack the principal of conservation.
Discuss the accuracy of this statement in light of recent evidence.

3 Define the term object permanence. Discuss why it is an important achievement during infancy.
4 Terry places his dictionary on one side of a balance scale and adds metal weights on the other side
until the scale is balanced. Terry understands that the dictionary and the weights have the same
mass, even though they are different objects.
a At what stage in Piagets cognitive theory would this understanding first emerge?
b Name and describe one other achievement that occurs during this stage.

5 Marys young daughter attempts to apply makeup to her face after watching her mother do so
in the morning.
a What is this repetition of others behaviour called, and during which of Piagets
sensori-motor substages does this ability emerge?
b Name and describe one other of Piagets sensori-motor substages.

poster
Piagets theory of cognitive development and key criticisms
Components to include:
definition of cognitive development
key concepts definition table; include: adaptation, assimilation and accommodation,
schemas and operations
four-stage theory of cognitive development summary table
key criticisms summary table.

WORKSHEET 2
Crossword

136 heinemann psychology one

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY Investigating concrete operational thought

Abstract

Results

This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,

but appears immediately under the title.

Examine the responses as a class and classify each

response as either creative/imaginative or non-creative/
unimaginative. An appointed person should read out
the responses in a random order, without telling you the
age of the participant, and the class should decide on
the classification. Collate the data by adding up the
number of creative and non-creative responses for each
age group.
Draw a bar graph to show the results of this study.
Describe in words the trends in the bar graph.

Introduction
According to Piaget, many adolescents between the ages
of 11 and 15 years enter the formal operations stage of
development. In this stage they develop the ability to
create and use abstractions. For example, consider the
saying: You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot
make it drink.
Children in the concrete operational stage cannot
understand this because they are still reality-bound and
have difficulty with abstract thought. They may actually
picture a horse being led to water. Adolescents, on the
other hand, understand this saying because they can
remove themselves from the trappings of the real world
and reflect on the saying, even though it is not reality.
The aim of this empirical research activity is to compare the responses given by children and adolescents
when presented with a hypothetical proposition.
It is hypothesised that children will be less likely
than adolescents to generate creative or imaginative
responses to a hypothetical proposition.

Method
Participants
Each student in your class should test one child aged
between 7 and 10 years, and one adolescent aged
between 11 and 18 years.

Materials and procedure

To each child and adolescent participant, pose the
following hypothetical proposition: Suppose you were
given a third eye and you had the choice to put this eye
anywhere on your body. Where would you put this third
eye? Please provide reasons for your answer. Write the
responses on a piece of paper, making note of the age
of the participant.

Discussion
1 Was the hypothesis of this study supported?
2 Are the findings in accordance with Piagets theory
of cognitive development? Explain.

3 Who would you say enjoyed this type of reasoning

morethe children or the adolescents? What does
this suggest about cognitive development across the
two stages examined?

4 Why is it important that the responses were read out

and classified in a random order?

5 Were there any methodological weaknesses of this

study?

6 What ethical issues need to be considered when

doing this type of research?

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter
3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
Include the responses given by the two participants you
surveyed.

chapter
psychology

10

Self-esteem

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
variations in self-esteem as a function of age
and gender differences
relationship between motor, perceptual,
cognitive and social development.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
identify factors that influence self-esteem.

00

01

02

03

04

137

138 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 10.1
Psychologists are interested in
the components of self-esteem
and the factors that affect it.

When you look at students in your school, you see people with a wide range of physical characteristics. As with any group of people, they differ in height, weight, hairstyle,
and so on. They also differ from each other in less obvious ways that you cannot see:
they have different feelings about themselves and their achievements.
In this chapter we will discuss self-concept and self-esteem, and look at how selfesteem varies between males and females of different ages.
GLOSSARY
self-concept
collection of beliefs about
oneself

Self-concept and self-esteem

Although young children recognise themselves in mirrors and can usually tell you their
name, sex and age, they are not able to tell you very much more about themselves. This
is because they have a limited self-concept. Self-concept is the collection of beliefs you hold about yourselfthat is, the perceptions
you have about your appearance, personality and abilities.

Development
of self-concept
As children develop, their self-concepts become richer and more complex (see the Case study on page 139). Development of self-concept is
critically important to the development of self-understanding. It is
only when we begin to sense our uniqueness and form self-images
that we truly begin to understand the differences between ourselves
and others.

FIGURE 10.2
Self-concept refers to the beliefs you hold about yourself.

chapter 10 self-esteem 139

case study
Age changes in self-concepts
Montemayor and Eisen (1977) examined the selfconcepts of 262 participants aged between 9 and 18
years by asking them each to write down twenty

responses to the question, Who am I? The following are

responses given by a 9-year-old boy, an 11-year-old girl
and a 17-year-old girl, respectively.

My name is Bruce C. I have brown eyes. I have brown hair. I have brown
eyebrows. I am 9 years old. I LOVE! Sports. I have seven people in my
family. I have great! Eye site. I have lots! of friends I am a boy. I have an
uncle that is almost 7 feet tall. My school is Pinecrest. My teacher is Mrs.
V. I play Hockey! Im almost the smartest boy in class I LOVE school.

My name is A. Im a human being. Im a girl. Im a truthful person.

Im not very pretty Im a very good pianist. Im a little bit tall for my age
Im old-fashioned. I play tennis. I am a very good swimmer. I try to be
helpful I dont know if Im liked by boys or not.

I am a human being. I am a girl, I am an individual. I dont know who

I am. I am a Pisces. I am a moody person. I am an indecisive person. I am
an ambitious person. I am a very curious person. I am not an individual.
I am a loner I am a liberal person I am a conservative person I am
not a classifiable person (i.e. I dont want to be).
Montemayor & Eisen, 1977, pp. 31718

It is clear from these three responses that selfdescriptions change as children get older. During middle
childhood (6 to 11 years), children commonly describe
their physical appearance, physical activities and likes
and dislikes. They also compare themselves to their
peers.
As children move into early adolescence, they begin to
describe their internal qualities in addition to their external
qualities by focusing to some degree on their beliefs,

emotions, personality traits and attitudes. By late

adolescence the self is described according to
systematic beliefs or ideologies, personality traits,
personal philosophy and future direction. There is much
less emphasis on external physical qualities.
In contrast, a pre-school child might respond to the
question Who am I? in terms of descriptions and
possessions: I have a baby sister. I have a cat. I have
long hair. I have a house.

Percentage of participants who used

category of self-definition at least once

90

FIGURE 10.3
As they get older, children
and adolescents define
themselves less by what
they look like and more by
what they believe or feel
(Montemayor & Eisen, 1977).

80
References to body image
or physical characteristics

70
60
50
40
30
20

References to
ideology or belief

10
0
10

12

14
Age in years

16

18

140 heinemann psychology one

ACTIVITY

Self-descriptions at different ages

Ask a 9-year-old, an 11-year-old and a 17-year-old to write down ten responses to the question, Who am I?
Compare the responses you get with those obtained by Montemayor and Eisen (1977) with children and
adolescents in the same age groups.
Do self-descriptions change as children get older? Are these changes similar to those reported by
Montemayor and Eisen?

Assessing self-esteem
GLOSSARY
self-esteem
a persons evaluation of his or
her self in terms of feelings
of self-worth, value and
competence

FIGURE 10.4
Self-esteem has a
hierarchical structure with
five specific domains
making up the general selfesteem of children. For
adolescents, the domains
of romantic appeal and job
competence have been
added because of the
significance of these areas
of self-esteem to this
age group. (Adapted from
Harter, 1985.)

Self-esteem is one aspect of self-concept. It refers to how you evaluate yourself in terms
of feelings of self-worth, value and competence. If you have high self-esteem, you will feel
good about yourself and take on a positive outlook to life in general. In contrast, low selfesteem is usually associated with feelings of worthlessness, depression and hopelessness.
What do we know about the variations in self-esteem in terms of age and gender
differences? An early study by Coppersmith (1967) revealed that the self-esteem of boys
did not change much between the ages of 10 and 13 yearsif their view of themselves
was positive at the age of 10, it was also positive at the age of 13. Boys with high selfesteem were likely to be more independent, creative, academic, assertive, socially
outgoing and popular than boys with low self-esteem.
There is now a growing consensus that researchers should assess both general selfesteem and self-evaluations in specific areas. For example, Harter (1985) designed the
Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) questionnaire that is used to assess selfperceptions in five specific areas or domains, as well as general self-esteem (see Figure 10.4).

Behavioural conduct
Some kids often do not like
the way they behave
BUT Other kids usually like
the way they behave.

Academic competence
Some kids feel that they are just
as smart as other kids their age
BUT Other kids arent so sure and
wonder if they are as smart.

Social acceptance
Some kids find it hard to make friends
BUT Other kids find its pretty easy
to make friends.

Physical appearance
Some kids are happy with
the way they look
BUT Other kids are not happy
with the way they look.

Job competence
Some teenagers are really
good at their job BUT Other
teenagers are not very good
at their job.

General self-esteem
Some kids are often not happy with themselves
BUT Other kids are pretty pleased with themselves.

Romantic appeal
Some teenagers
usually dont go out
with people they would
really like to date
BUT Other teenagers
do go out with people
they really want to date.

Athletic competence
Some kids do very well at
all kinds of sports
BUT Other kids dont feel that
they are very good when it
comes to sports.

chapter 10 self-esteem 141

The SPPC questionnaire assesses:

general self-esteem
academic competence
athletic competence

behavioural conduct
social acceptance
physical appearance

For each of these six domains, children are provided with two statements separated
by but, such as: Some kids feel that they are very good at their school work BUT
Other kids worry about whether they can do the school work assigned to them. They
are asked to indicate whether each statement is really true or sort of true for them.
Children with high general self-esteem usually identify with the positive statements
more than those with low self-esteem. Other examples of statements from the SPPC
questionnaire are shown in Figure 10.4.

KEY QUESTIONS
1 Describe the term self-concept.
2 What is the difference between self-concept and self-esteem?
3 Describe one measure used to assess self-esteem.

Development of self-esteem
Self-esteem in pre-schoolers
There has been very little research on the self-esteem of pre-school children. This is
probably because it is difficult to ask children of this age group appropriate questions,
given their limited comprehension abilities.
Harter and Pike (1984) designed a self-report measure that involved using pictures
in order to examine the self-esteem of pre-schoolers. Using this pictorial scale, they
examined childrens perceived cognitive and physical competence (for example, good at
reading, good at hopping), and their peer and maternal acceptance or support (for example, has friends to play with, is read to by mother). A sample item from the Harter and
Pike self-report measure is shown in Figure 10.5.
The researchers concluded that by the age of 4 years, children begin to make evaluative judgments about themselves. These evaluations are generally very positive.
Researchers have shown that variations in general self-esteem can be examined reliably in children from the age of about 5 years. Marsh, Craven and Debus (1991) showed
that these children can make evaluative judgments about their performance in seven
distinct domains: physical ability, physical appearance, peer relationships, parent relationships, reading, mathematics and general school performance.

FIGURE 10.5
A sample item similar to
the one used for Harter and
Pikes (1984) pictorial scale,
assessing cognitive
competence. Pre-schoolers
were told that the child on the
left is good at puzzles,
whereas the child on the right
is not very good at puzzles.
They were asked to indicate
which child they were most
like. After making their
decision, children were then
asked to look only at that child
and to indicate whether they
are very much like that child by
marking the big circle, or just a
little bit like that child by
marking the smaller circle.

142 heinemann psychology one

Self-esteem in primary school children

The self-evaluations of children become less positive during the primary school years.
Studies show that children in grade 1 report more positive competence perceptions than
children in grade 4 for the domains of maths, reading, sports and instrumental music
(Eccles, Wigfield Harold & Blumenfeld, 1993).
This decline in self-esteem may be the result of children comparing themselves to
other children of the same age. As children move through primary school, they become
more aware of their peers and tend to engage more frequently in social comparison.
Because of these comparisons, older primary school children may make more accurate
judgments about how their abilities compare with those of their peers.
Eccles et al. (1993) also reported a gender difference. For primary school boys, competence self-perceptions were highest for sport, followed by reading, maths and then
instrumental music. In contrast, for girls in this age group, competence self-perceptions
were highest for reading, followed by maths, sport and finally instrumental music.

FIGURE 10.6
In primary school
children become
more aware of
their peers.

Self-esteem in adolescents
During adolescence, self-esteem is at its lowest between 12 and 13 years of age. This
has been explained by two factorspuberty and the school environment.
Puberty affects the self-esteem of girls more than boys. Because girls are more conscious about their body image than boys are, any changesespecially in terms of
weight gainhave a negative influence on their self-esteem ratings.
Twelve-year-olds have to deal with the transition from primary to secondary school.
This time is very difficult for many students. Longitudinal studies reveal that there is
a gradual improvement in self-esteem from year 7 through to year 12. The average 17year-old has higher self-esteem than the average 13-year-old.

Gender differences
Gender differences in self-esteem have also been documented during the adolescent
years. Freiberg (1991) surveyed 3000 adolescents and found that only 29 per cent of
high school girls felt positive about themselves whereas 46 per cent of boys of the same
age group had high self-esteem. Generally, the self-esteem of males tends to increase
from early to late adolescence, whereas for many females self-esteem declines.
This finding may be due to the different socialisation experiences of girls and boys.
It is possible that socialisation processes tend to restrict the range of experience for girls
but broaden it for boys (Block & Robins, 1993).

chapter 10 self-esteem 143

Adolescent self-esteem has important consequences for the individual and for society, so it is important for psychologists to understand the influences that lead some
individuals to feel good about themselves, and others to feel worthless.

Differences in self-esteem as a function of age

ACTIVITY

Construct a table that summarises differences in self-esteem as a function

of age.

Relationship between motor, perceptual,

cognitive and social development
We have looked at perceptual and cognitive development, and at variations in self-esteem
relating to age and gender.
Psychologists usually identify three domains of development across the lifespan:
physical development
perceptual and cognitive development
social and personality development.
It is important to bear in mind that these three domains overlap, and that development in one domain affects development in the others.
Physical development, such as changes in height, weight, motor abilities and brain
development, exerts an influence on both cognitive and social development. For example, young infants learn about the world by exploring their surroundings through
touch, vision, crawling, and so on. To reach for objects, maintain balance or move across
various surfaces, infants must continually coordinate their motor behaviour with perceptual information that they gather from the environment.
Changes over time in cognitive abilities are related to physical and social development. For example, memory development helps infants to cope with separation
anxietythe fear that their mother is gone forever when she is out of sight.
Finally, social and personality development concerns changes in feelings or emotions
as well as changes in how individuals relate to other people. Relationships with family,
peers and coworkers, and an individuals personal identity, are all part of social and personality development. Our personality and social well-being affect both physical and
cognitive aspects of functioning. Figure 10.7 provides an example of the relationship
between social development and cognitive functioning.

Overlap in the domains of development

FIGURE 10.7
If personality-wise you are a
highly anxious person, this may
affect your exam performance,
which reflects your cognitive
functioning.

ACTIVITY

Suppose you are a teacher wanting to explain to students how the

domains of development overlap to influence our behaviour. Prepare a
poster that provides examples of this overlap.

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Self-esteem workshop

KEY QUESTIONS
4 How does self-esteem in pre-schoolers differ from self-esteem in primary school-aged
children?

5
6
7
8

At what age is self-esteem at its lowest? What reasons have been given for this?
Describe the gender differences in self-esteem during the adolescent years.
What domains of development are usually described in text books?
Describe the domains of development, providing examples of each type of development.

WORKSHEET 1
Self-esteem, age and
gender

144 heinemann psychology one

chapter

10

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

08

09

Young children have a limited self-concept.

As children develop over time, their self-concepts become richer and more complex.
One aspect of the self-concept is self-esteemyour evaluation of yourself in terms of feelings
of self-worth, value and competence.
Researchers should assess both general self-esteem and self-evaluations in specific domains.
Harter (1985) designed the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) questionnaire that is
used to assess self-perceptions in five specific domainsacademic competence, social
acceptance, athletic competence, physical appearance and behavioural conductas well
as the sixth domain of general self-esteem.
By the age of 4 years, children usually begin to make positive evaluative judgments about
themselves.
The self-evaluations of children become less positive during the primary school years.
For primary school boys, competence self-perceptions were highest for sport. For girls,
competence self-perceptions were highest for reading.
During adolescence, self-esteem is at its lowest between 12 and 13 years.
Generally, the self-esteem of males tends to increase from early to late adolescence, whereas
for many females self-esteem declines.

10

chapter 10 self-esteem 145

multiple
choice
questions
1 During adolescence, self-esteem is at its lowest
between 12 and 13 years. This has been explained
by which two factors?
A puberty and the school environment
B puberty and parental authority
C parental authority and the school environment
D academic performance and career aspirations

2 I am a female. I am an Aries. I am easy going. I love

to read. I am a greenie. I am independent. I am a
good listener. I am an optimist. This response to the
question Who am I? was most probably written by a
female aged ________________.
A 8 years
B 10 years
C 18 years
D 12 years

3 Which of the following statements is false?

A The general self-esteem of 4-year-olds was measured
by Harter using the Self-Perception Profile for
Children.
B Self-esteem is multifaceted in nature.
C Romantic appeal is a dimension of self-esteem that
is relevant to adolescence.
D Primary-school-aged children engage in comparisons
that may lead to less positive self-evaluations.

4 As children mature into adolescents they begin to

define themselves in terms of
A physical competence.
B academic competence.
C social competence.
D their ideologies.

short
answer
questions
1 Define the term self-esteem.
2 Michael is 15 years old and is not happy with the way he acts in class.
a In what specific domain of self-esteem does Michael have this negative feeling?
b As a psychologist, what other domains of Michaels self-esteem would you be interested in assessing?
3 Imagine you are a psychologist who is offering advice to parents of twinsa girl and a boy, aged 10 years.
a What gender differences might you expect in self-esteem at this age?
b How is self-esteem likely to change for each twin as they move from early to late adolescence?
4 Twelve-year-old Sarah is a shy person and competes poorly in a school debate. Suggest why this is the case
in terms of the domains of development.

essay
Self-esteem
Discuss the variations in self-esteem as a function of age
and gender differences.

Introduction
Define self-esteem and explain that it has been found to
vary according to age and gender. Briefly explain why it is
important to understand these variations.

Body
Highlight the main differences in self-esteem across
different age groups, and discuss reasons for these
differences. Discuss why it may be important to

understand these differences (for example, how can

these findings be practically applied by educators
and parents?).
Highlight the main differences in self-esteem across
genders, and discuss reasons for these differences.
Discuss why it may be important to understand these
differences (for example, how can these findings be
practically applied by educators and parents?).

Conclusion
Reiterate the key variations in self-esteem across age groups
and genders, and the importance of understanding these
differences with references to their practical applications.

146 heinemann psychology one

EVALUATION OF A RESEARCH DESIGN Self-esteem in overweight children

Israel and Ivanava (2002) examined whether global
self-esteem (or general self-esteem) and cognitive,
social and physical self-esteem (or dimensional selfesteem) differed as a consequence of age and gender.
Their participants were 121 overweight children,
including early adolescents (mean age = 12.13 years)
and 74 preadolescents (mean age = 9.66 years). There
were 78 girls and 43 boys. Children were recruited from
a university-based clinic that they were attending for
weight-reduction treatment.
The children were aged between 8 and 14 years and
completed the Perceived Competence Scale for Children.
Gender differences in general self-esteem and age
differences in physical self-esteem were reported.
The results were as follows:
The mean score for general self-esteem for boys was
2.99, and for girls it was 2.72. The difference
between boys and girls reached a significance level
of p < 0.05.
The mean score for cognitive self-esteem for boys
was 2.98, and for girls it was 3.13.
The mean score for social self-esteem for boys was
2.90, and for girls it was 3.02.
The mean score for physical self-esteem for boys was
2.69, and for girls it was 2.56.
The difference between boys and girls did not reach
a significance level of p < 0.05 for cognitive, social
and physical self-esteem.
For both boys and girls, physical self-esteem was not
related to general self-esteem. However, cognitive and
social self-esteem were associated with and predicted
general self-esteem.
Israel and Ivanava concluded that it is important
to understand whether gender and age differences in

self-esteem exist for children who are overweight.

Knowing how the self-evaluations of children who are
overweight differ from those of children within the
normal weight range will help our ability to assist
young overweight people to maintain positive selfevaluations.

Questions
1 What was the aim of this study?
2 Based on the research findings discussed in this
chapter (Self-esteem in primary school aged
children and Self-esteem in adolescents), devise
two hypotheses for this study in relation to gender
and age differences in general self-esteem.

3 Knowing that previous research has shown that the

general self-esteem of overweight children may
decrease with age (from childhood to early
adolescence) and that overweight girls may report
lower general self-esteem than overweight boys, will
the two hypotheses for this study be different from
those devised in question 2? If yes, restate the
hypotheses.

4 Identify the independent variables.

5 Identify the dependent variable.
6 Is this sample of participants representative of the
wider community of overweight children? What
suggestions would you have for obtaining a random
sample?

7 Create a table to summarise the results. Write a

paragraph that would be part of the results section
of a report to describe the outcome of the analyses
based on these findings.

FIGURE 10.8
What factors affect childrens
self-esteem?

UNIT 2 |

Area of Study 1

Introduction to
neurons and
nervous system
psychology
behaviour
attitudes
research

outcome1
On completion of this unit the student
should be able to explain the roles of the
neuron, synapses, neurotransmitters and
neuromodulators and describe the function
of the central nervous system.

00

01

02

03

04

147

chapter
psychology

11

Role of the
neuron

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
structure and function of sensory
neurons, interneurons, motor neurons in
the reception and transmission of
information throughout the body
process of neural transmission, including
the mechanism, action potential and the
direction of information transmission
along the axon
role of neurotransmitters and
neuromodulators in this process
ethical principles associated with psychological studies of the nervous system.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
explain the mechanism of neural
impulses along neurons
contrast the functions of sensory
neurons, interneuron and motor neurons
discuss the research design methods
and ethical principles of psychological
studies in the nervous system.

00

01

148

02

03

04

chapter 11 role of the neuron 149

FIGURE 11.1
These robotic dogs appear to
be interacting and playing a
game. Do human minds and
robotic programs work on the
same principles?

In our everyday life we receive messages about the world around us, we interpret the
messages and we act or behave appropriately in response. If you hear the school bell and
you are outside, you go to class. If you are in class, when the bell rings, you leave. In
each case you have received information about the time and where you are at that time.
You process this information and you make a response, either going to or leaving a
class. Do you remember when you first learned to associate the bell with going to or
with leaving a class?
In a similar way, robots can be programmed. This is the basis for toys like those in GLOSSARY
Figure 11.1. The prototype of these toys was a wheeled machine called Machina docilis, neuron
invented by William Grey Walter. It was programmed to approach lights of moderate cell that receives and transmits
intensity and to avoid lights that were very bright. It learned to associate the moderate information in the form of
electrical impulses
lights with a whistle, so rolled towards the sound, as well. The machine also learned to
avoid obstacles. It had three sensory modes for input (light, sound and
touch). The decisions that it made and the behaviour it displayed were the
result of interactions of electrical circuits and mechanical components.
Tragically, the career of the inventor ended when he suffered a severe
head injury. The neurons in his brain could not be repaired or replaced like
those in his robots. A more recent version of Walters robot is illustrated in
Figure 11.2.
Like robots, humans have senses for light, sound and touch and these
must communicate with the computer or brain in humans via cables or
nerves from the outside or periphery of the body. The brain and the spinal
cord make up the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS, together with
the peripheral nervous system (PNS)which comprises nerves taking
messages to and from the CNS and the rest of the bodymake up the
nervous system. You will learn more about the central nervous system in
chapter 12.
How do researchers in psychology explain the way people and other
animals behave? An idea that is becoming increasingly popular in the
twenty-first century is the notion that likens our brains to computers. This
idea, suggested by experimental psychologist Steven Pinker, is called the
computational theory of mind. A computer is made up of many silicon chips,
upon which are etched electrical circuits. The brain is made up of many individual cells called neurons, and electrical signals run across these neurons in
a similar manner to the electrical signals running in silicon chips. You can
FIGURE 11.2
take apart a computer and examine each individual chip, and you can dissect
A Japanese version, called Taira, of
the machine that Walter invented.
out and identify individual neurons from the nervous system.

150 heinemann psychology one

The way chips act together to run a program, or neurons act together to carry a message in the body, depends on the arrangement of electrical signals. The electrical signals
carry the information that makes a computer or an animal behave in a certain way.
Scientists are still identifying the patterns of these electrical signals in the body, but
they have identified the neuron as the basic building block of the brain and of other
parts of animal nervous systems.

The structure of the neuron

FIGURE 11.3
Steven Pinker suggested
the computational theory
of mind.

A neuron is a cell that receives and transmits information. There are between 10000000000
(ten billion) and 1 000 000 000 000 (one thousand billion) neurons in the brain alone.
Like all animal cells, the neuron is bounded by a cell membrane and filled with a jellylike substance called cytoplasm. We will look at three types of neuron in more detail
the motor neuron, the sensory neuron and the interneuron. These neurons have some
features in common as well as important differences.
A typical neuron has three main parts:
the cell body or soma
branching protrusions called dendrites
an elongated axon.

The soma
The soma (or body of the cell) contains a nucleus that controls the cells metabolic functions and maintenance. Energy for cellular processes (like growth and repair) is provided
by mitochondria in the soma and dendrites, and this energy production requires oxygen.
The cell bodies of neurons are easily seen under a light microscope, magnified 40
times and using Nissl stains. This stain shows up the whole cell body, but not the dendrites or axons.

The dendrites

GLOSSARY
soma
cell body

mitochondria
organelles within cells that
provide energy for cellular
processes

dendrites
branching protrusions of the
neuron that receive information
from other neurons

receptors
special endings of dendrites
that can detect sensory
information such as light,
sound, heat, taste and smell

axon
elongated tube-like protrusion
of the neuron, along which
signals (in the form of action
potentials) travel

The soma is connected to other neurons by fine, branching processes called dendrites.
Dendrites carry information in the form of electrical impulses from other neurons, or
from the senses, to the soma.
Compare the dendrites in the motor and sensory neurons shown in Figures 11.4
and 11.5. Motor neurons have short dendrites that are close to the cell body. The
dendrites of sensory neurons can be quite long and may have special endings called
receptors, which vary in structure depending on the kind of sensory information they
are capable of receivinglight, sound waves, touch and pressure, heat and cold, or
taste and smell.
Usually we can see the whole of a neuron, including the dendrites, with Golgi stains
under a light microscope. This technique acts on only a small number of cells in a
region, and it is not yet understood why the stain acts as it does.

The axon
While the dendrites carry information towards the soma, a long thin fibre called the
axon carries information away from the soma towards other neurons, or towards muscle and gland cells. It contains cytoplasm, mitochondria and neurotubules (possibly for
protein transport).
Axons vary enormously in size: those running from the brain to the base of the
spinal cord, or from the spinal cord to the thumb, can be a metre long. These are the
axons found in motor neurons.
In sensory neurons, the axons are fairly short, going only a few centimetres from the
cell body to the spinal cord. In contrast, axons of interneurons in the cerebral cortex (the

chapter 11 role of the neuron 151

outer layer of the brain) are only micrometres (one thousandth of a millimetre) in
length. Compare the axons in Figures 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6.
In motor and sensory neurons, the axon is enclosed in a fatty myelin sheath. There
are stains specific to myelin that enable researchers to identify the extent of individual
axons. The myelin sheath is actually part of another cell, called a Schwann cell, which
wraps itself around the axon.
cell body

Schwann
cell nucleus

GLOSSARY
myelin sheath
fatty tissue surrounding some axons

Schwann cell
cell that wraps around an axon to
create the myelin sheath

node of Ranvier
myelin sheath

axon
of
ission
transm

se
impul

FIGURE 11.4
Diagram of a motor neuron.
The dendrites make contact
with other neurons in the CNS.
The axon terminals connect
with muscle fibres.

dendrites
axon terminals on
muscle fibres

axon terminals
cell
body
receptors
in skin

dendrite

FIGURE 11.5

axon
tran
s

missi
on o

f impulse

myelin sheath
node of Ranvier

Diagram of a sensory neuron.

The sensory endings detect
pain and a message is sent to
the spinal cord, where the
axon terminals synapse on
interneurons.

FIGURE 11.6
Diagram of three interneurons. The arrow shows the
direction of a nerve impulse from cell A to cell B. Cell B
may synapse on a cell that sends a message to the
brain. Cell A may also synapse on a motor neuron.
Note that there is no myelin.

dendrites

cell body

cell A

transmission
of impulse

axon
axon terminals

cell B

cell C

WORKSHEET 1
Types of neurons

152 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
nodes of Ranvier
gaps in the myelin sheath
along the axon; the action
potential jumps along the
axon from node to node

grey matter
cells in the spinal cord and
brain that are not myelinated
and have a pink or grey tinge

white matter
myelinated cells in the spinal
cord and brain

Multiple sclerosis

There are gaps in the myelin sheath (between adjacent Schwann cells) called nodes
of Ranvier. Electrical impulses jump from node to node, making transmission faster.
If the myelin sheath on a neuron breaks down, the transmission of the electrical impulse
slows down and leaks away. This is what happens to the nerves of people suffering from
multiple sclerosis (MS). The symptoms include blurred vision or temporary blindness,
sensations of tingling or burning in the limbs, lack of balance, loss of limb coordination and extreme fatigue. Although the axons are undamaged, their ability to conduct
electrical information rapidly is impaired.
Not all axons are myelinated. The brain and spinal cord are divided into two different types of tissuesgrey matter, which consists of non-myelinated cells, and white
matter, which appears white because of the myelin sheaths of the axons passing
through it.

extension

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the immune system

of the body attacks the myelin sheath of neurons in the CNS and
nerves connecting to the rest of the body. Patches of damage,
called plaques or lesions, appear in seemingly random areas of
the white matter of the brain and spinal cord.
During periods of MS activity, white blood cells invade these
areas in the white matter and initiate an inflammatory
response, similar to what happens in the skin when a pimple
develops. During the inflammation, the myelin is stripped off
the axons. The action potential leaks away, or jumps to other
unmyelinated axons. Glial cells and oligodendrocytes are also
destroyed. These cells produce myelin in the brain and spinal
cord.
Studies of spouses of MS sufferers have shown that it is not
possible to catch MS, and its causes remain a mystery.

Questions
1 What is the function of the myelin sheath in myelinated
axons?

2 Oligodendrocytes are found in the brain and spinal cord, and

produce myelin. What other cells in the body produce
myelin?

FIGURE 11.7
Betty Cuthbert, an Australian Olympian who contracted
multiple sclerosis, carries the Olympic torch assisted by
Raylene Boyle at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

extension

extension

chapter 11 role of the neuron 153

The axon terminal

Each axon ends in a flattened region called the axon terminal or terminal button. The
axon terminal is the region where one neuron communicates with anotherthis region
is known as the synapse. However, no two neurons actually touch each other. There is
a gap between the pre-synaptic membrane of the axon terminal and the post-synaptic membrane of the dendrite of another neuron. This is called the synaptic cleft.
The space between the membranes is about 20 nanometres (one millionth of a centimetre) wide. This gap was first observed by Cajal in the late nineteenth century (see
the activity on page 154). The role of the synapse is explored later in this chapter.

How neurons connect with each other

Neurons receive and transmit information within the nervous system. This information
comes from within the body or is perceived as sensations from the environment, and is
carried towards the central nervous system.

Sensory neurons
Sense receptors in the sense organs convert physical or chemical energy (like light,
sound, taste and pressure) into neurochemical signals via a process called transduction.
The sensory neuron in Figure 11.5 is typical of those found in the skin, with sensory
endings that probably detect pain. There are also specialised structures in the skin that
detect heat, touch and pressure.
This type of sensory neuron is called a unipolar neuron because the impulse travels
one directionfrom the sense receptor to the axon terminal. It does not split into two
axons, as interneurons can do. Messages travel to the cell body, which is located just
outside the spinal cord in the dorsal root ganglia. (Dorsal means towards the back of
the body.)
From the dorsal root ganglia, the short myelinated axons of sensory neurons extend
into the grey matter of the spinal cord.

Interneurons

GLOSSARY
axon terminal (terminal button)
flattened end of the axon that
forms a junction with other
neurons

synapse
junction between a neuron and
its target cell

pre-synaptic membrane
membrane from which
neurotransmitter is released into
the synaptic cleft

post-synaptic membrane
membrane that absorbs
neurotransmitter from the
synaptic cleft

synaptic cleft
small gap between two neurons
that forms a synapse

transduction
changing of energy from one
form to another

dorsal root ganglia (sing. ganglion)

Sensory neurons connect with motor neurons via interneurons in the brain and the
grey matter of the spinal cord. The dendrites and axons of interneurons are unmyelinated. Several sensory neurons may have synapses with several different interneurons,
and these interneurons may synapse with several motor neurons (see Figure 11.6).

area near the spinal cord where

the cell bodies of sensory
neurons are located

Motor neurons

effector

The axons of motor neurons can be very long and are myelinated so that messages are
carried quickly and efficiently. In this way, signals are coordinated between the sensory
branch and the motor branch of the peripheral nervous system. The motor neuron carries the message away from the spinal cord to muscle fibres or glands, which are called
effectors because they put into effect the neural message (see Figure 11.4).

interneuron
nerve cell that connects sensory
neurons with motor neurons
muscle or gland cells that put
into effect messages coming
from the brain

KEY QUESTIONS
1 Draw a diagram of a typical motor neuron as seen under a light microscope, and label its features.
2 What is the function of each of the following structures in a neuron:
a nucleus
b mitochondria
c dendrites
d axon
3 a What is myelin and how is it formed in the nervous system?
WORKSHEET 2
b What function does myelin serve in the transmission of the nerve impulse
Structure of the neuron
and what are the consequences of damage to myelin?

154 heinemann psychology one

Direction of information transmission

GLOSSARY

Figure 11.8 indicates the direction of the nerve impulse as it travels from receptors in
the skin to the spinal cord, shown in cross-section from above. In the grey matter of the
spinal cord, the axon carrying the impulse synapses with an interneuron, which in turn
has axon terminals that synapse with a motor neuron. The motor neuron carries a message back to a muscle or gland. The white matter of the spinal cord is white because of
all the myelinated fibres running into and out of the spinal cord. The grey matter is
made up of cell bodies of neurons and so it appears pinkeror in dried tissue, greyer.
Sensory fibres are afferenttravelling from the body to the spinal cord, via the dorsal root ganglia. Motor fibres are efferenttravelling from the spinal cord in the
ventral root to the muscle or gland with which they connect. (Ventral means towards
the front of the body.) Many afferent and efferent fibres can travel together in a nerve,
like the ones shown in Figure 11.9. The individual axon fibres are like separate insulated wires in an electric cable.

afferent

grey matter

leading towards a central point,

such as the brain or spinal
cord

efferent

FIGURE 11.8

away from a central point, such

as the brain or spinal cord

A cross-section of the spinal cord

showing the central butterfly-shaped
grey matter, which contains the cell
bodies of neurons, and the white matter
surrounding it. In the white matter,
axons convey information up and down
the spinal cord. The dorsal and ventral
roots of nerves exit the cord and then
fuse to form nerves going to the body.

reflex arc
minimal set of neurons involved
in a reflex action
a sensory neuron, interneuron
and motor neuron

white
matter

dorsal
roots
dorsal
root
ganglion
ventral
roots

spinal
nerve

The reflex arc

If a sensory stimulation is too strongfor example, if you touch something very hot
with your handthe sensory message, as well as being conveyed to the brain, is also
transferred directly to the motor neuron in the spinal cord and back to the muscles so
that the hand is withdrawn before you even register the painful heat. This is called a
reflex arc of the sensory neuron, interneuron and motor neuron. The message is also
conveyed to the brain so that, a few microseconds after the hand is safely withdrawn,
the brain registers pain.
FIGURE 11.9
Electrical cables can be
thought of as models for
nerves, which carry both
afferent (sensory) and
efferent (motor) fibres.

ACTIVITY

Neurons under the microscope

Introduction: If you cut open the brain of a freshly killed animal, it has
the appearance of pink and white milky jelly or porridge. This soft tissue
was extremely hard for anatomists to dissect. Alcohol and other chemicals
were used to dry out brain tissue before it was investigated. The larger
parts of the brain were identified in this way, but the cells that made
them up were hopelessly damaged. Was the brain just a big reservoir for
some sort of liquid or spirit (like blood) that took messages around the
body in the nerves?
In the late nineteenth century, Spanish anatomist Ramn y Cajal used
dyes on very thin slices of fresh brain cells. Under the microscope he
could see the whole cell in some lucky cases, and was able to draw
elegant pictures of different types of neurons in the brain. He also
demonstrated that there were tiny gaps between one neuron and the
other neurons surrounding it. The idea of separate building blocks or
neurons was called the neuron doctrine. In 1906, Cajal shared a Nobel
prize with the Italian, Camillo Golgi, who had invented the dye that
Cajal used.

chapter 11 role of the neuron 155

Aim: To observe cells fixed with stains under a light

microscope, and to draw and label a typical cell and
its parts from each slide.
Materials: Fixed slides of nerve cells, light
microscopes, microscope lamps or a good light
source.
Procedure: Observe and draw the stained neurons at

40 magnification. Name the tissue and the type of
cell you have drawn, and its magnification. On your
diagram, label any structure you can identify in the
neuron.
Discussion: Compare your results with the diagrams
in this chapter. What kinds of neurons did you
observe? Can you tell from the labels which branches
of the nervous system they came from?

FIGURE 11.10
Neuron stained and magnified 40 times under a light microscope.

case study
Neuron regeneration and Superman
When the spinal cord is damaged, as happened to
Christopher Reeve (of Superman fame), why is the
damage often permanent and irreversible?
Virtually all neurons in the adult central nervous
system have been there since infancy. Scientists believe
that the chemical environment of the brain keeps these
cells from dividing and regenerating, as cells in other
parts of the body are able to do.
In damaged peripheral nerve tissue, Schwann cells
line up to guide a regenerating axon and help it synapse
with existing tissue. The axon grows very fast (up to 3 or
4 mm a day) and unnecessary shoots die away.
Neurons can be made to grow and divide in tissue
culture. When they do, they grow out in all directions to
form a tangled mess, because there are no Schwann cells
to guide them. The current theory is that if nerve cells in
the CNS were able to regenerate, they would also grow
into a tangled mess because there are no Schwann cells
in the CNS.
Reeve has a 2 cm gap where his spinal cord was
damaged. This prevents messages from the brain
passing to the cell bodies of the motor neurons in his
spinal cord, so he has no motor coordination below the
shoulders and upper chest. However, he has regained a
small amount of control in the index finger of his hand.
This cannot be explained by the theory.

Questions
1
2
3

If you cut your finger and damage an axon, which

cells help to line up the re-growth of that axon?
Damage to the CNS is permanent, whereas the body
is able to repair damage to the peripheral nervous
system. What cells hold axons in the CNS?
Why is Christopher
Reeve exceptional
in his recovery of
some movement?
Why do you think
Christopher Reeve
supports stem cell
research?

FIGURE 11.12
Superman
Christopher Reeve.

The neural impulse

GLOSSARY

The electrical signal or impulse that sweeps along a neuron is called the action potential. Very fine electrodes can be placed in the axon of a neuron to measure the changes
in the electrical potential of its membrane. One electrode is inserted inside the axon and
a second electrode is placed on the surface of the membrane surrounding the axon. The
difference in the electrical potential between these two points is called the resting
potential and is normally equal to 70 millivolts (mV) (see Figure 11.12).

action potential
electrical signal that travels along
the axon

resting potential
difference in electrical charge
between the inside and outside of
the membrane of an unexcited
axon (equal to 70mV)

156 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
depolarisation
change in electrical potential as
an action potential moves down
the axon

refractory period
period after the electrical
impulse has moved on, during
which the membrane cannot
be depolarised again

The concentration of sodium ions (Na+) is usually higher outside the membrane of
the axon than inside. Conversely, the concentration of potassium ions (K+) is greater
inside the membrane. As an action potential moves down the axon, a characteristic
change in electrical potential, called depolarisation, is recorded over about 4 milliseconds. Sodium ions flood into the axon through its membrane, and the cell becomes
briefly positively charged to reach a maximum of +40 mV. Na+ channels become inactivated and K+ channels open.
Then potassium ions leave the cell and the potential returns to negative again during the refractory period. The impulse moves on, to affect the membrane in front of
it in the same way. Thus an action potential generated at one end of an axon travels to
the other end.
Na+ ions K+ ions
enter
leave
cell
cell

FIGURE 11.12
Simplified diagram illustrating the
internal membrane potential of a
neuron during an action potential.
(a) Resting membrane potential.
(b) Depolarisation reaches threshold
for cell to fire. (c) The membrane
depolarises and the inside of the cell
becomes briefly positive as sodium
ions (Na+) diffuse into the cell.
(d) The potential becomes negative
again as potassium ions (K+) diffuse
out of the cell. (e) The original
distribution of ions is re-established
by using energy provided by
mitochondria.

Membrane potential (mV)

+50

threshold
potential
resting potential
70
(a) (b) (c)
0

(d)
1

(e)
2
3
Time (msec)

(a)
4

KEY QUESTIONS
4 a What types of energy are received from the environment by receptors?
b What is the process that converts these energies to neurochemical signals?
5 Describe in words the pathway followed by the neurochemical signal from the receptors in the body to the
effectors that carry out the response.

6 Draw a diagram of a sensory neuron and indicate the direction of the neural impulse as it travels to the
central nervous system.

7 a What is the resting potential of the membrane of a neuron?

b How does the action potential change the polarisation of the neural membrane?
c How is information transmitted?

The synapse
GLOSSARY
vesicle
membrane-bound sac within
the cytoplasm of a cell

neurotransmitter
chemical released at the presynaptic membrane and taken
up at the post-synaptic
membrane, which causes the
electrical signal to propagate
along a new axon

The point at which one neuron communicates with another is called the synapse. We
have already seen that there is a synaptic gap between the axon terminal of the pre-synaptic neuron and the dendrites of the post-synaptic neuron. Within the axon terminal there
are many mitochondria, to provide energy for cell functions, and a number of vesicles
(membrane-bound sacs) that contain special chemicals called neurotransmitters.
When an action potential arrives in the axon terminal, it causes the vesicles to
move towards the membrane of the axon terminal and to merge with it. The neurotransmitters spill into the synaptic gap and diffuse across the gap to the post-synaptic
dendrite membrane. Local depolarisation of the electrical potential of the dendrite
membrane occurs.

chapter 11 role of the neuron 157

This charge, which can be recorded with a microelectrode, is called the excitatory
post-synaptic potential (EPSP). If the EPSP becomes sufficiently extensive, positive
charges build up inside the neuron and the depolarisation potential (40 mV) is
reached. This causes a new action potential to start travelling across the soma and down
the axon of this neuron (see Figure 11.13).

GLOSSARY
excitatory post-synaptic potential
(EPSP)
charge at the post-synaptic
membrane that may build up to
depolarise the cell and generate
a new action potential in that cell

synapse
pre-synaptic neuron
(axon terminal)

post-synaptic
neuron
(on dendrite)

action
potential

synaptic
cleft

1. Arrival of action
potential
Ca
Ca

2. Vesicles bind
with membrane

2+

2+

cleft

2+

vesicles containing
neurotransmitter

2+

2+

Ca

2+

Ca

Ca

Ca
2+

Ca

receptors in
post-synaptic
membrane

active zones in
pre-synaptic membrane

3. Neurotransmitter release

Ca

2+

4. Neurotransmitter
binds with receptor

Although synaptic transmission causes delays (up to one millisecond in some cases),
it prevents the nerve impulse travelling in the wrong direction. In addition, some axon
terminals act to inhibit the post-synaptic membrane of their synapse. When an action
potential arrives, these axon terminals make the inside of the post-synaptic membrane
more negative than usual. These inhibitory post-synaptic potentials make it more difficult for an excitatory charge to build up in the synapse and generate another action
potential. This is useful for situations in which the contraction of one muscle (such as
the biceps) must be accompanied by the relaxation of its opposing muscle (such as the
triceps). Christopher Reeve (see Case study on page 155) has lost these excitatory and
inhibitory synchronisations, and as a consequence his limbs can go into spontaneous
spasm, injuring himself and others. His body has to be strapped down in his wheelchair.
The pattern of facilitation and inhibition provided by the synapses determines the
flow of impulses in the entire nervous system. If you stand on a drawing pin, one foot

FIGURE 11.13
Neurotransmitter release at
the synapse. When the action
potential arrives at the axon
terminals, it causes the influx
of calcium (Ca2+) ions, which
open channels allowing the
vesicles to bind with the
membrane. Then neurotransmitter is released and
diffuses across the synaptic
cleft, where it binds with the
receptors on the post-synaptic
membrane.

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Action potential
simulation

158 heinemann psychology one

will come off the ground while

muscles in the other will immediately balance your body weight.
Synapses are like gates that allow
nervous impulses to flow along
pathways to produce smooth, coordinated behaviour.
FIGURE 11.14
Ballet dancers learn smooth, coordinated
behaviour, controlled by their synapses.
Synapses are like gates that open and close
to produce signals that control this behaviour.

classic study
Hebbs rule
In 1949 a Canadian psychologist named Donald Hebb
argued that while learning is taking place, there is an
active trace of neurons involved. This pathway is very
delicate and likely to be disrupted. With further learning or

neurotransmitter
PRE-SYNAPTIC
NEURON
neurotransmitter
opens channels

Retrograde messenger
encourages neuron to
release neurotransmitter
by switching on
certain enzymes

calcium
rushes in

sodium changes
membrane voltage

POST-SYNAPTIC
NEURON

outpu

Questions

Activates
enzymes
tp
ou

Alter protein
composition
of synapse

se

ul
mp
al i
c
i
r
ct
ele
ut
inp

practice, the pathway grows stronger until a permanent

structural trace is made through anatomical and chemical
changes to the synapses. This theory became known as
Hebbs rule.
To act as a memory, Hebb believed that a number of
neurons must be able to reproduce a specific pathway
or pattern of electrical activity on demand. Neurons
strengthen their synapses if neurons to which they are
connected are all active at the same time. During recall,
these neurons will then tend to rouse one another to create
the original pattern. The capacity of a neuron to strengthen
synapses like this was called long-term potentiation.
Today, long-term potentiation is believed to be caused
by calcium ions (Ca2+) pouring into the post-synaptic
membrane through special channels. What is not clear
is how the signal is sent back to the pre-synaptic
membrane to sustain its behaviour. It appears that nitric
oxide may be involved.
Adapted from Young & Concar (1992).

Release retrograde
messenger,
possibly nitric oxide

1
2

What is Hebbs rule?

How does long-term potentiation help us to
remember?

ut

FIGURE 11.15
Synapses develop feedback signals and
grow stronger with frequent use.

Switch
on genes

Neurotransmitters
The action of neurotransmitters in different parts of the brain has been discovered using
microdialysis. A thin stainless-steel tube is filled with blood saline, a dilute salt solution that has the same concentrations of salt as in the blood. At one end of the tube is
a thin dialysis membrane. Fluids from synapses cross into the solution in the tube,
which is withdrawn for chemical analysis. In this way, researchers can ascertain which
behaviours are associated with the release of particular transmitters in different parts of
the nervous system.

chapter 11 role of the neuron 159

Acetylcholine
The neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junctions (between a motor neuron and a
muscle cell) is acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is synthesised by all the motor neurons in
the spinal cord. It is released into the synaptic gap, where it diffuses across to the postsynaptic membrane. After depolarisation, an enzyme called cholinesterase breaks down
the acetylcholine into hydrolysed products that pass back across the pre-synaptic membrane, where they are resynthesised into acetylcholine using energy provided from the
mitochondria in the synaptic terminal. After the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular synapse, the muscle contracts.
In the hippocampus of the brain, acetylcholine may play a part in memory. It is
believed that Alzheimers disease, which is characterised by memory loss and impairment
of other cognitive functions, is the result of the deterioration of acetylcholine-producing
neurons.
The action of acetylcholine can be inhibited by the Botulinum toxin. This toxin is
produced by bacteria in improperly preserved food, and less than one millionth of a
gram can kill a human.

GLOSSARY
acetylcholine
released by post-ganglionic cells
of the parasympathetic nervous
system

classic study

An experiment with curare

Curare is a poison used by South American Indians for hunting. It causes paralysis and
death by suffocation. In medicine, it is administered in major operations where cut
nerves may result in muscular spasm, and in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) where the
electrical current administered to the brain could cause convulsions in the patient.
Because curare inhibits the action of acetylcholine, it is extremely dangerous.
John B Watson (see chapter 2) put forward a theory in 1925 that thinking was the result
of tiny muscular movements of sub-vocal speech. He thought that imperceptible movements of the mouth and vocal cords caused us to remember what we had thought. He
believed that thought was just a form of reflexive behaviour.
An American physician volunteered to have himself paralysed with curare for half an
hour. He was not able to breathe and had to be kept alive on a respirator. However, he
was able to remember what his friends had said to him and produce the answers to
several problems they had given him while he was unable to move his muscles. This
showed that movement was not necessary for thought, and that thought was more
than muscular reactions (Smith, Brown, Tolman & Goodman, 1947).

FIGURE 11.16
Curare is a poison
used by South American
Indians for their hunting
darts.

Questions
1
2
3

Why is curare administered today in operations?

Write a hypothesis that Watson would have made about how we think.
How did the experiment by Smith et al. (1947) refute the idea suggested
by Watson?

Dopamine
Dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain, inhibits certain synapses in the brain and
dampens down motor responses. Deficiency of this chemical is believed to be partially
responsible for Parkinsons disease, which is characterised by uncontrolled contraction
of various muscles, particularly the hands and the legs, leading to exaggerated tremors
and jerky, uncontrolled movements. In Parkinsons disease, neurons that produce
dopamine degenerate. The progress of the disease is slowed down by a drug called
L-dopa, which the brain converts to dopamine.
Dopamine is also believed to be implicated in schizophrenia. It may be that
dopamine is over-utilised in the brain of a schizophrenia sufferer, causing hallucinations, thought disorder and emotional disturbances. Some drugs used to treat
schizophrenia block the receptor sites of the post-synaptic membrane that would be
occupied by dopamine.

160 heinemann psychology one

Serotonin
Serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter and is believed to play a part
in emotional arousal and sleep. Deficiencies of serotonin have been
linked to anxiety, mood disorders and insomnia. Elevated levels are
believed to cause other mood disorders and have been implicated
in autism.

Noradrenalin
Noradrenalin is produced mainly by neurons in the brainstem. It acts
both as a neurotransmitter and as a hormone. Noradrenalin acts within
the sympathetic nervous system to increase heart rate and other bodily processes involved in arousal (being excited or frightened). It is
believed to affect learning and memory. Excesses and deficiencies lead to
mood disorders.
A drug called reserpine reduces the amount of noradrenalin that is
stored in vesicles, and so has a tranquillising effect. Amphetamines
increase the amount of noradrenalin that is released, and so have a stimulating effect.

Gamma-amino butyric acid

FIGURE 11.17
David Niven, a British
screen actor, appeared
on a TV chat show and
was observed to be having
trouble speaking. His
neighbour, a doctors wife,
suggested that he might
be ill. He was diagnosed
with Parkinsons disease
immediately afterwards.
Sufferers of Parkinsons
disease can be helped
with doses of L-dopa.

GLOSSARY
sympathetic nervous system
causes arousal functions in the
body by increasing heart rate,
circulation to muscles, etc.

neuromodulators
chemicals that regulate the
action of neurotransmitters

FIGURE 11.18
Some dental patients were
given a placebo and felt no
pain because they secreted
natural endorphins.

The most common inhibitory neurotransmitter is gamma-amino butyric

acid (GABA). It is present in all parts of the nervous system but it is
most concentrated in the brain, where it is found in one-third of the axon terminals.
Huntingtons disease is an inherited degenerative disease that may be caused by the
degeneration of GABA-producing neurons. This disease is characterised by involuntary
movements and progressive loss of cognitive function. Anxiety-relieving drugs such as
Valium increase the activity of GABA-producing neurons.

Endorphins
Some substances produced in the nervous system have the effect on neurons of either
increasing or decreasing the action of specific neurotransmitters. These substances are
referred to as neuromodulators. The most well-known of these is the group called
endorphins, which have an inhibitory action.
When endorphins bind to a postsynaptic membrane, neurotransmitters are
prevented from occupying their normal
sites. The effect is to reduce pain levels.
Endorphins have been shown to increase
during pregnancy and to further increase
during labour.
Endorphins may explain the placebo
effect, where a persons condition or illness
improves if they believe that they are
receiving a treatment, when in fact they are
not. Levine, Gordon and Fields (1979)
studied dental patients shortly after they
had been given a placebo (a sugar pill that
had no real effect) and had undergone oral
surgery. All the patients were then given
naloxone, which blocks the effects of morphine (a synthetic endorphin).

chapter 11 role of the neuron 161

Those patients who had previously responded to the placebo because their natural
endorphins were turned on by the idea that they had been given a painkiller, had
reported reduced pain levels. Now these patients reported increased pain after treatment with naloxone. You will learn more about placebos in Heinemann Psychology Two,
Second Edition.

active psychology

Gene therapy for neurotransmitters

In 1992, Brown reported that a group of researchers at
the University of California, San Diego, were developing
a procedure to implant genetically altered cells into
the brain. People develop Alzheimers disease because
neurons in the brain producing acetylcholine break down,
particularly in the region called the cholinergic system
(involved in memory).
A substance called nerve growth factor (NGF) is
found to nourish neurons. Skin cells taken from an
organism can be infected with a retrovirus carrying the
gene for NGF. These cells are then implanted near the
cholinergic system. The skin cells survive and secrete
NGF, nourishing the neurons which normally die as an
organism ages.
With Parkinsons disease the aim is to insert a gene
into skin cells for the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase, and
then to implant these cells into the brain near a region

known as the basal ganglia. The enzyme should help the

cells to produce dopamine, the neurotransmitter known
to be deficient in Parkinsons disease. You will learn more
about Parkinsons disease in chapter 13.
Adapted from Brown (1992).

Questions
1
2
3

The nerve growth factor gene is delivered to skin cells

by a retrovirus. Where in the cell would the gene begin
work?
What normally happens to skin cells in the epidermis?
What might be some problems associated with having
functioning skin cells in the brain?
The book Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1966)
told the story of a man of limited intelligence who had
an implant such as that described above. His ability
to think and function improved. Do you agree with
research like this being conducted? Discuss.

FIGURE 11.19
Tissue transplants of
the future may involve
taking cells from a
patient and adding
genes, then implanting
them into the brain.

patient with
Alzheimers
disease

patient with
Parkinsons
disease

Genetically engineered cells

cultured and injected into patient

Dopaminesubstance
lacking in Parkinsons disease
Secretes nerve growth factor
a substance that protects
neurons which shrink or die in
Alzheimers disease

amino acid
tyrosine

tyrosine
hydroxylase

Genetically engineered skin cel

retrovirus
Contains
a gene
encoding
nerve growth
factor

Dopa

enetically engineered skin cell

infects skin cells

Skin cells from patient

retrovirus
Contains
a gene for
tyrosine
hydroxylase
an enzyme that helps
neurons to produce dopa

162 heinemann psychology one

KEY QUESTIONS
8 a Describe in words the structure of a synapse, and draw a labelled diagram.
b Describe how an action potential, after arriving at a synapse, is transmitted to the post-synaptic neuron.
9 How do inhibitory synapses assist the behaviour of an organism?
10 a What neurotransmitter is found at most neuromuscular junctions in the body?
b What disease is associated with the deterioration of cholinergic receptors in the brain?
11 Draw up a table of neurotransmitters, showing their functions and associated diseases:
Neurotransmitter

Function

Diseases

e.g. Acetylcholine

Most brain functions, learning and memory

Alzheimers

12 a What is the placebo effect?

b How do neuromodulators explain the placebo effect?
13 In the study by Levine, Gordon and Fields (1979):
a What is the control condition?
b What is the experimental condition?
c What is the dependent variable (the behaviour observed)?

Ethical principles in psychological

research of the nervous system
FIGURE 11.20
Wounds sustained by
gladiators and animals
enabled Galen to study
the nervous system.

Galen (Claudius Galenus, who lived in the second century CE) was the first to make considerable discoveries in neurology. He dissected animals and was able to observe the
effects of, and try to treat, injuries from the gladiatorial games.

chapter 11 role of the neuron 163

He was especially knowledgeable about the kinds of paralysis associated with damage at various places in the spinal cord. Using live animals, Galen made incisions right
through or partially through the spinal cord, starting at the sacrum (bottom end) and
working his way up to see what effect this had on the animals behaviour. Through such
experimentation, he discovered that the animal lost movement, sensation, respiration
and voice.
Italian Luigi Galvani (17371798) thought he had discovered animal electricity
when he observed that a muscle from a freshly killed frog twitched when touched with
wires. The nerves of the frog were in fact stimulated by chemical reactions between the
skin of the frog and the metal of his electrodes. However, Galvani was the first to establish the electrical basis for neural transmission.
Sherrington (18571952) was a British physiologist who began studying animals
whose cerebral cortex had been removed. This enabled him to find out which behaviours were automatic, without interference from the conscious brain centres. His
work on reflexes in intact dogs is described in chapter 12.
In chapter 4 you learned about the use of animals in psychological research. The
thinking about what is ethical for people to do to animals has changed markedly in the
last two millennia, and again in the last 50 years. Physiology students at university
were until recently required to study toads with their cerebral cortex removed or heads
cut off, and cats under anaesthesia that were then sacrificed. There were internal rules
about keeping animals in comfort and minimising suffering, but no one questioned
whether entire classes of students needed to kill numerous animals to learn the basics.
Did every student have to repeat the systematic observations of Galvani to realise that
his conclusions were wrong?
These days, most universities try to minimise the use of animals. There are still
very cogent reasons for using animals in research. Drug research usually begins with
animal models. The rat and the Rhesus monkey are widely used before human trials
are undertaken. There are problems generalising from animals to humans, however, as
you learned in chapter 4. The ethics committees of research institutions are responsible
for deciding which research is of sufficient benefit to humans to warrant the use
of animals.

KEY QUESTIONS
14 Galen noticed the effects of wounds that gladiators received. He
associated spinal wounds with paralysis of the limbs. What is this type
of research called?

15 Galen made incisions through the spines of healthy normal animals.

He then observed the changes in their behaviours. What is this kind of
research called?

16 A cat under anaesthetic has its heart rate and blood pressure recorded
at 5-minute intervals for 15 minutes. Amphetamine is then injected into
the vein of a limb. The heart rate and blood pressure are recorded at
5-minute intervals for the next 30 minutes.
a What is the control condition for this research?
b What is the independent variable?
c What is the dependent variable?

164 heinemann psychology one

chapter

11

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

08

09

Neurons are the basic building blocks of the nervous system.

A neuron consists of a soma, axon and dendrites, with axon terminals that synapse with
other neurons or with gland and muscle cells.
A nerve impulse or action potential travels from receptors (such as in the skin), along afferent sensory neurons to the dorsal root ganglion near the spinal cord. The axon connects via
interneurons with efferent motor neurons, and the signal travels back to muscles and glands
(effectors). Afferent and efferent nerves make up the peripheral nervous system.
Messages are also relayed to and from the brain, via the spinal cord. The brain and the
spinal cord make up the central nervous system.
The action potential moves down the axon when depolarisation occurs: sodium ions move
into the axon, changing its charge to positive. Potassium ions then leave the cell and the
charge returns to the resting negative potential. The impulse moves down the axon by depolarising the membrane ahead of it.
The neuron connects with another neuron at the synapse, where neurotransmitter is released
when the action potential arrives at the axon terminal.
Different neurotransmitters have different effects on behaviour.
The use of animals in research for systematic observation has been greatly curtailed in the
last 50 years. The comfort and health of animals used for research is carefully monitored by
ethics committees.

10

chapter 11 role of the neuron 165

multiple
choice
questions
1 Which of the following is not part of a neuron?
A soma
B axon
C dendrite
D synapse
2 Which of the following is true?
A A neuron has only one axon; therefore it can
communicate only with one other neuron.
B A neuron has numerous dendrites but it receives
messages from only one other neuron at a time.
C Messages that are more important are transmitted
more quickly through the neuron.
D An axon has many terminal buttons and thus a
neural impulse can be sent to many other neurons
at the same time.

3 A woman with multiple sclerosis is suffering from

A the myelin sheath breaking down.
B too many messages in the axon.
C too much salt in the neuron, and so the spikes do
not form properly.

D insufficient grey matter to coordinate their actions.

4 Sensory neurons are afferent. This means
A they convert light and other forms of energy to
nerve impulses.
B they are capable of sending many messages before
they rest.
C the nerve impulses are going towards the spinal cord
and brain.
D they need to be turned on by the brain directing
attention to what they are receiving.

5 Glial cells
A are found in the brain but are very uncommon.
B remove waste from neurons and assist in neuron
development.

C are named after glue, and are the neurons to which

information sticks.

D replace dead neurons and therefore lead to new

thought patterns.

6 The movement of an electrical impulse along a neuron

is caused by
A the movement of electrons into the neuron.
B the movement of charged particles along the skin
of a neuron.
C the movement of Na+ ions through the axon
membrane and the movement of K+ ions out of
the membrane.
D the exchange of neurotransmitter at the synapse.

7 The direction of a nerve impulse is maintained by

________________ transmission at the ________________.

A
B
C
D

electrical; dendrite
chemical; synapse
electrical; synapse
chemical; dendrite

8 Some neurotransmitters polarise the post synaptic

membrane even more than the resting potential of
70 millivolts. These neurotransmitters
A are natural chemicals that speed up brain activity
in times of stress.
B reduce pain levels by inhibiting other
neurotransmitters and so act as placebos.
C are inhibitory and can work with excitatory
neurotransmitters to provide smooth movements.
D are the chemicals that cause paralysis in all the
muscles of the body.

9 Endorphins
A are neuromodulators that speed up brain activity.
B reduce pain levels by inhibiting other
neurotransmitters.

C are related to morphine and opiates and are

therefore highly addictive.

D are the chemicals that cause mood changes in

people with mental diseases.

10 People sometimes get better when they are given

treatment that is known to have no effect, e.g.
sugar pills for treating severe pain. This is due to
the ________________ effect.
A cognitive or brain
B neurotransmitter
C morphine
D placebo

166 heinemann psychology one

short
answer
questions
1
2
3
4
5
6

Describe in detail, using a labelled diagram, the structure of a typical neuron.

What are the major differences in function between myelinated and unmyelinated neurons?
How do neurons receive and transmit information? Describe the processes at the cellular level.
Describe a synapse and the role of neurotransmitters.
Describe the action of the reflex arc when a person touches a hot plate.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using computer simulations of experiments
to instruct students, rather than letting them work on their own live preparations?

poster
Roles of different types of neurons and neural transmission
Describe the process of the transmission of information throughout the body.
Provide detailed, practical examples and labelled diagrams of the three different types
of neurons and their functions:
sensory neuron
interneuron
motor neuron.
Include diagrams of the neural impulse and the synapse.

WORKSHEET 3
Crossword

chapter 11 role of the neuron 167

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

The effects of exercise on reflex action

Abstract
27

28

29

30

This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,

but appears immediately under the title.

24 25

26

Introduction

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

The aim of this empirical research activity is to compare

the time for a reflex action before and after brisk exercise. Refer to the section on reflexes in this chapter. You
need to describe the structure and function of the
peripheral nervous system as it occurs in reflex action.
You should explain the benefits of reflex action for the
organisms survival. It is hypothesised that exercise will
increase reaction times.

10

Method
Design

This is an experiment with two levels of independent

variable: exercise in the experimental condition and
quiet (no exercise) in the control condition.
If you are conducting this experiment in class with
your fellow students, you should explain they gave
consent to take part in the experiment. If you are
using participants from other sources, clearly state
how you obtained permission from your participants
for their voluntary participation in the experiment. You
will need to have a letter of information for them to
read and an informed consent form for them to sign.
Describe the number, age and gender of participants,
and any characteristics that may lead them to have
greater than normal reflex ability.

Materials
30 cm ruler

Procedure
The class should be divided into pairs. In each pair, toss
a coin to decide who will be the participant and who will
be the experimenter. The participants reaction times
will be measured, firstly during quiet activity, and then
after vigorous activity. The task to measure reaction
time is catching a ruler that the experimenter drops.
Eight measurements are taken, two at a time, over a
period of 8 minutes. The participants should engage
themselves in quiet activity, such as reading. At approximately 2-minute intervals, the experimenter holds a
ruler above the fingers of the participant (see Figure
11.21). Without giving the participant any indication of
when it will happen, the experimenter releases the ruler
suddenly. If the participant catches the ruler between
the thumb and forefinger, the distance the ruler fell from
the bottom end to the point at which it is held is measured. This distance is a measure of the time taken for
the participant to catch the ruler. Repeat this procedure
immediately.
Then the participant should go back to quiet activity
for another 2 minutes before catching the ruler twice
more.
After the fourth set of two measurements, the
participant should do 2 minutes of very brisk exercise

Participants

FIGURE 11.21
Experimental set-up.

such as jogging on the spot. Again, the experimenter

drops the ruler twice and measures the distance the
ruler falls before being caught. Repeat the exercise and
the testing three more times.

Results
Collate the two separate measurements (reflex times)
of each 2-minute interval of the two conditions (quiet
and exercise) for all the participants. Find the mean distance for the first and second instance of the attempted
catch for each time interval in each condition. If the
participant failed to catch the ruler, the measure for
that time is taken as 30 cm (the length of the ruler).
Construct a bar graph comparing the means for the
two conditions as the time intervals for each condition
increased.
Describe in words the differences between the results
of the two conditions.

Discussion
1 Did the results obtained support your hypothesis?
2 Did practice have an effect on the times?
3 Were the participants not attending well at any time
so that the distances measured were large?

4 Were there any other factors, such as distractions,

that may have affected the results?

5 How could the experiment be improved?

168 heinemann psychology one

TABLE 11.1 Distance ruler fell for each of the time intervals of the quiet and exercise conditions.

Mean distance the ruler fell (cm)

Quiet
first

Exercise
second

first

second

2 minutes
4 minutes
6 minutes
8 minutes

References

Appendix

These should be listed in the format set out in chapter

3, in alphabetical order.

Put your individual results sheet at the end, so that

those reading the report have an idea of how a participant responded.

chapter
psychology

12

The central
nervous system

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
model of the nervous system including the
central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
and peripheral nervous system
major functions of the spinal cord: to pass
sensory information from the peripheral
nervous system to the brain, to transmit
information from the brain to the peripheral
nervous system; and to the spinal reflex.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
identify and describe the functions of
the spinal cord
contrast the functions of sensory,
interneurons and motor neurons.

00

01

02

03

04

169

170 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 12.1
Australian athletes at
the Opening of the
Paralympic Games,
Olympic stadium,
Homebush Bay.
Damage to the central
nervous system can
cause paraplegia.

GLOSSARY
central nervous system (CNS)
consists of the brain and the
spinal cord

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

consists of all nerves in the
body outside the brain and
spinal cord

When the connection between the spinal cord and the brain is damaged, such as through
accident, profound changes in behaviour follow. The brain and the spinal cord are called
the central nervous system (CNS), and form part of the nervous system of the body.
The CNS is the centre for all the complex commands, decisions and evaluations that
determine behaviour. If brain function ceases, death will follow unless some primitive
lower regions are able to carry onas sometimes happens to patients who are in a coma.
If the connection between the brain and spinal cord is lost, spinal reflexes will still
be present (see chapter 11). A stimulus from the environment will cause automatic
behaviour, even though the person may not be able to feel it. For example, a paraplegic
who has no control of his or her lower body may have the lower abdomen heavily massaged to bring on the reflex of defecation.
The rest of the nervous system is called the peripheral nervous system (PNS).
This network of neurons all over the body receives information from the outside world
(through the senses) and from muscles and glands within the body. This information is
sent to the CNS. The PNS also sends information from the CNS back to muscles and
glands, enabling the body to function and behave. You will learn more about the PNS
in chapter 13.

The hindbrain and midbrain

The brain develops from a layer of cells in the developing embryo called the neural tube.
The embryonic brain differentiates into three identifiable regions: the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. Below them the spinal cord is visible down the back of the embryo.
After 7 weeks, streaks of neural tissue begin to emerge from the spinal cord to form
the peripheral nervous system. At 9 weeks, the tiny foetus resembles a human baby in
the shape of its face and limbs, but the brain has yet to develop in size and complexity.
Figure 12.2 shows the embryonic stages of development.
At birth, the forebrain has grown over much of the midbrain, which is hidden from
view. At 6 months of age the infant brain is half of the weight of an adult brain. By the
age of 10 years, it is 95 per cent of its adult weight.
The brain reaches its maximum weight by the age of 20 (between 1200 and 1500
grams). After that, it loses about one gram a year in weight as a result of neurons dying
and not being replaced.

chapter 12 the central nervous system 171

The human brain is extremely soft and very fragile, with the consistency of stiff
porridge. It is encased in three membranes, called the meninges. The outer membrane
is tough, but the inner two are more delicate.
Between these layers is the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It is similar to blood plasma and is produced continually by specialised blood vessels in the brain. The brain does
not rest against the skull, but floats on a liquid cushion of cerebrospinal fluid. This prevents injury due to sudden movement by the head.

midbrain

midbrain

hindbrain

forebrain

GLOSSARY
hindbrain

meninges

forebrain
spinal cord

cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

7 weeks

3 weeks
forebrain

membranes surrounding and

protecting the brain

cranial
nerves

special fluid in the brain that

cushions it against the skull

forebrain

midbrain

hindbrain

(midbrain
hidden)

the most primitive part of the

brain consisting of the medulla
oblongata, pons and cerebellum

hindbrain
hindbrain

9 weeks

At birth

FIGURE 12.2
The human brain at four stages
of embryonic development.

Structure of the hindbrain

The hindbrain is believed to be the earliest part of the brain to have evolved, because
it is found in the most primitive vertebrates. It consists of the medulla oblongata, the
pons and the cerebellum (see Figure 12.3).

thalamus
(part of forebrain)

midbrain

hindbrain

pons
cerebellum
medulla

FIGURE 12.3
The hindbrain and midbrain.

172 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY

The medulla oblongata

medulla oblongata

The medulla oblongata is about 4 centimetres long and contains all the nerve fibres
connecting the spinal cord to the brain. Most nerve fibres from the body form a contralateral connection in the brain, which means that they cross to the other side of the
spinal cord at the medulla. Generally, the right side of the body is connected to the left
half of the brain, and the left side of the body is connected to the right half of the brain.
This means that if you kick a ball with your left foot, your right brain controls the
movement. If you burn your right arm on an iron, the pain is registered in the left side
of your brain. The nerve tracts cross from one side of the spinal cord to the other in the
medulla oblongata (see Figure 12.4).
The medulla oblongata contributes to the regulation of heart rate, blood pressure,
body temperature and respiration via its connections to the autonomic nervous
system. You will learn more about the autonomic nervous system in chapter 13. The
medulla oblongata receives sensory information from the body and exerts its effects
through the peripheral nervous system. The medulla also plays a role in vomiting,
coughing and sneezing.

part of the hindbrain where all

the nerves from the spinal cord
connect to the brain

autonomic nervous system

nerves taking messages from
the brain to organs of the body
to automatically preprare the
body for perceived threat, or to
bring it back to homeostasis

pons
part of the hindbrain involved in
integrating the movements of
two halves of the body, and in
regulating alertness, sleep and
respiration, and postural
reflexes

The pons
The pons (meaning bridge) is a bulge of white matter towards the front of the medulla. Apart from being an important connection between the midbrain and the medulla,
it also integrates the movements of the two halves of the body. The pons also has a role
in alertness and attention, sleep and respiration.
Together with the medulla, the pons organises reflexes that are more complicated
and sustained than those of the spinal cord. These include postural reflexes that help
us maintain balance while standing and moving, and vital reflexes such as those that
regulate breathing and heart rate in response to signals about changes in the bodys
metabolic rate.
When you walk, dance or play sport, the postural reflexes that help you maintain
balance are coordinated between the two halves of the body by the pons. When you
stand up for a class presentation, your heart and breathing rates speed upthese reflexes
occur in response to your change in posture. The use of your muscles and the need for
more oxygen are initiated by the pons.
a

FIGURE 12.4
(a) A kick with the right leg is
controlled by the left side of
the brain. (b) The right side of
the brain controls the painters
left hand. The nerve fibres from
the body cross over in the
medulla oblongata.

chapter 12 the central nervous system 173

The cerebellum
The cerebellum consists of two convoluted hemispheres on either
side of the pons, reaching into the back of the skull. The cerebellum
is involved in sustaining reflexes such as breathing. It has a role in
smoothing out and integrating muscular actions, such as when you
reach for the pea that has rolled off your plate onto the tablecloth. It is
also involved in maintaining balance. The classical sign of falling-down
drunk is partly due to alcohol-induced depression of neural activity in
the cerebellum. Damage to the cerebellum can result in lack of muscle
tone, stumbling and poor coordination. If you have had too much wine,
you may knock over your glass while trying to retrieve that pea!
The cerebellum is involved in procedural learning where a series of
muscular movements are involved, such as in touch-typing or riding a
bicycle. Purkinje cells in the cerebellum are capable of forming synapses
with up to 100 000 other neuronsmore than anywhere else in the
brain. These cells are arranged in rows and have large dendritic trees.
This may suggest why we are capable of extremely complex behaviours,
such as playing the organ, where all limbs are coordinated into the complex wholeness required for the musical performance.

Structure of the midbrain

The midbrain (see Figure 12.3) is the small structure that connects the hindbrain to the
forebrain. It contains the reticular activating system or reticular formation. This system is important for maintaining a general level of arousal and is involved in the
sleepwake cycle. Stimulation of the reticular activating system makes us more alert to
sensory information. It is also involved in filtering that information, so that we attend
only to those inputs that are relevant to our activities and conscious state. If a parent is
asleep, for example, a babys cry will arouse him, but the sound of a motorbike starting
up will not. If you are dozing in front of the TV, you may not wake up if your mother
speaks to you, but you will hear the opening music of your favourite TV program.
The orienting reflex originates in the reticular activating system. This is a behaviour that suggests an organism is paying attention to a stimulus. For example, at the
sound of a bell, a dog may prick up its ears. In humans, the reticular formation includes
an area controlling reflexes such as pupil dilation and eye movements. It is also important in hearing and is one of several places in the brain where pain is registered. Damage
to the reticular formation can cause a comatose state.

FIGURE 12.5
Purkinje cells in the cerebellum
enable us to carry out complex
motor tasks like playing an
organ, where each limb has a
separate task.

GLOSSARY
cerebellum
part of the hindbrain involved in
breathing, balance and smooth
muscle coordination

midbrain
structure connecting the
hindbrain and the forebrain

reticular activating system

(reticular formation)
part of the midbrain, important for
maintaining arousal and filtering
information

FIGURE 12.6
The orienting reflex in a dog
is characterised by pricking up
the ears and turning the head
in the direction of the sound.
If the sound is unusual, pupil
dilation will also occur.

174 heinemann psychology one

If the central nervous system of a mammal is severed just above the midbrain, the
organism will produce almost the entire set of behaviours that an intact animal can produce. These behaviours include the abilities to walk, run, attack, jump, climb, copulate,
chew and swallow. However, the animal will perform these behaviours only in response
to immediate stimuli. It lacks spontaneity and goal-directed behaviour. For example, it
will not go looking for food, but will eat when food is placed close to it.
The medulla, pons and midbrain are collectively called the brainstem.

case study
The Quinlan case
On 15 April 1975, Karen Ann Quinlan, at 21 years of age,
slipped into a coma at a party. Guests reported that she
had had several gin-and-tonics on top of a mild
tranquilliser. Her life was sustained by intravenous tubes
and a respirator. She lost a great deal of weight and
gradually assumed a rigid foetal position. Her parents
requested that she be taken off her respirator, but the
physicians at St Clares Hospital, Denver, refused.
In 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that
Karen Ann should be removed from the respirator.
Because they did not agree with the decision, the
physicians carefully weaned their patient. Karen Ann
Quinlan breathed without assistance and was removed to
a nursing home where she lived until 1985, without ever
regaining consciousness.
In 1977, a television movie was made based on the
book In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan. Money from
both the book and the film was used by her parents to

found the Karen Ann Quinlan Centre of Hope Hospice.

Also in 1977, a film called Coma, written by Michael
Crichton and starring Genevieve Bujold and Michael
Douglas, was produced. It told of unscrupulous physicians harvesting the organs of coma patients for
transplant as part of a commercial venture. The coma was
induced during anaesthesia in routine operations.
These two films illustrate the opposite poles in the
right to die debate. On the one hand, the Quinlan case
resulted in precious medical resources being spent on
a patient who presumably had no quality of life, to the
distress of her relatives. On the other hand, without
sanctity of life there may be the temptation to harvest
unwanted individuals for medical uses. In January 1999,
as reported in an English newspaper the Guardian, two
men in Uzbekistan (in central Asia), were sentenced
to death for murdering a 10-year-old girl to harvest
her organs.

FIGURE 12.7
The 1977 film Coma dealt with
the issue of commercial organ
transplants. Here, Genevieve
Bujold finds a comatose
patient who has had his
kidneys harvested.

ACTIVITY

Debate

Divide up the class into six teams. The issue

to be debated is removing the life support
from the patient in the following case.
Each team should research the case for
and the case against from their assigned
perspective.

The case
The patient is an emergency worker in his
early forties. He was admitted to hospital
for an operation for a chronic intestinal
disorder. After an apparently successful
procedure, and before he had regained

chapter 12 the central nervous system 175

consciousness, he suffered a cardio-pulmonary arrest

and as a result is in a deep coma. His family requested
that his respirator be turned off, but after doing so he
continued to breathe independently. Now his family is
requesting that his naso-gastric food tube and
intravenous connection for fluids be removed as well.
His family consists of his two siblings, his wife and her
mother, and his five childrenthree of whom are at
school and two of whom are pre-schoolers.

Procedure
Use the Internet as a source. Search terms like right to
die, euthanasia, coma and Karen Ann Quinlan will
provide results. When the arguments with supporting
evidence or cases are assembled, your team should
present it to the rest of the class. The judges should
support their rulings with a selection of evidence from
the other teams.

Teams
1 The family, some of whom need income that will
result from the payment of a death benefit.

2 The hospital administrators, who may have to fight

litigation for malpractice.

3 The insurance company representative who has to

pay out an unlimited amount on medical expenses
for a pre-paid package, but has limited liability in
the case of death.

4 The clinical psychologist who has to advise the

family on the probabilities of recovery of the patient
and the effects of stress on the family as a result of
the patient continuing in a comatose condition.

5 The local politician who is being lobbied by both the

right to life and the right to die with dignity
groups in the district.

6 The judges who must decide what is fair, both in

terms of the patients life and the lives of his family
members, but also what is a good precedent or
judgment that will hold for future cases.

FIGURE 12.8
The patient with his family before the
surgery that left him in a coma.

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What is meant by the term contralateral connection, and where in the brain does this occur?
2 What are the functions of the medulla oblongata?
3 a What are the functions of the pons?
b Where are postural reflexes controlled in the brain?
4 a What are the functions of the cerebellum?
b Which cells are thought to be involved in procedural learning?
5 a Why is the reticular formation important during sleep?
b Explain the orienting reflex and give an example.

The forebrain
The cerebrum
The forebrain is dominated by the cerebrum, or outer layer of the brain. When
viewed from above, the cerebrum appears to be divided into two halves, or cerebral
hemispheres. Each of these is divided up into four lobes, named after the bones in the
skull under which they lie. They are:
the frontal lobes
the parietal lobes
the temporal lobes
the occipital lobes.

GLOSSARY
forebrain
the largest part of the brain in
humans, consisting of the
cerebrum and other structures

cerebrum
hemispheres of the brain

176 heinemann psychology one

Large inward folds called fissures separate these lobes from each other (see Figure 12.9).
Our cerebrum contains more than 75 per cent of the neurons in the brain and constitutes about 80 per cent of the brains weight. The axons of cerebral neurons connect
with others in the surface layer of the cerebrum, called the cerebral cortex (cortex
means bark) and with neurons in other regions of the brain.
The cerebral cortex is usually only 1 to 3 millimetres thick, but this can extend to
10 millimetres in certain areas. It is pinkish-grey in colour and is therefore termed grey
matter, as distinct from white matter (containing myelinated axons) below it.
The cortex is folded into waves with peaks and troughs. If you spread out a tea towel
and then push two sides together, you will get similar folding. This structural feature
maximises the surface area. The total surface area of the cortex is 2400 square centimetresabout the size of four sheets of A4 paper. The large bulges in the cortex are called
gyri (singular gyrus) and the deep trenches are called sulci (singular sulcus).
The cerebrum has been divided into three regions based on function: the primary
sensory areas, the primary motor area and the association areas (see Figure 12.10)

frontal
lobe

central fissure
(fissure of Rolando)

lateral fissure
(fissure of Sylvius)

temporal
lobe

parietal
lobe

occipital
lobe

primary motor area

primary
somatosensory area

primary
visual area
primary auditory area

FIGURE 12.9

FIGURE 12.10

The lobes and fissures of the

cerebral hemispheres.

Primary sensory and motor

areas of the brain.

Primary sensory areas

GLOSSARY
cerebral cortex
the largest part of the human
brain; it is subdivided into four
major lobes

primary sensory areas

region of the cerebral cortex
where sensory signals are
received

primary motor area

strip of cortex in front of the
central sulcus that controls
movement through nerves of
the peripheral nervous system

association areas
areas of cortex where different
types of incoming sensory
information are integrated

The primary sensory areas receive signals from the sensory nerves via relay nuclei in
the thalamus. Primary sensory areas include:
the visual cortex in the occipital lobe: this area controls seeing
the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe: this area controls hearing
the somatosensory area in the parietal lobe: this area controls our senses of touch and
pain.

Primary motor area

The primary motor area (or primary motor cortex) sends axons down to the motor
neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord. This area is located at the rear of the frontal
lobe, in front of the somato-sensory area.

Association areas
All the remaining cortex is believed to be association areas. These receive input from
the sensory areas and lower parts of the brain and are involved in the complex process
of perception, thought and decision-making. The decision to wear or not to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle is made in the association areas of the brain.

chapter 12 the central nervous system 177

decision to wear or
not to wear a helmet
when riding a bicycle
is made in the
association areas

primary visual area

receives and relays
signals about how
fast you are passing
objects in the
environment

primary auditory area

relays the sound of a
car behind you

primary
somatosensory area
enables you to feel
the position of the
pedals and handle
bars

primary motor area

sends signals to your
muscles to keep
pedalling

FIGURE 12.11
The act of riding a bike
involves the primary sensory
and motor areas of the
cerebrum, as well as the
association areas.

The thalamus
Because the forebrain folds over on itself during development, the thalamus, consisting of
two egg-shaped thalami joined together, lies in the middle, on top of the brainstem (see
Figure 12.12). The thalamus is a sensory relay station for information from all senses except
olfaction (smell), which has its own relay (the olfactory bulb, located in the limbic system).
These sensory messages terminate in special nuclei (collections of neuron cell bodies
on which sensory axons synapse). For example:
Sensory information is passed from the eye to one of six layers of the lateral geniculate body, depending on the stimulus at the retina. Information is then passed on to
the visual cortex of the occipital lobe.
Information about auditory sensation travels to the medial geniculate body, and
from there, to the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe.
basal ganglia (enclosing thalamus)

GLOSSARY
thalamus
region of the brain below the
cortex that acts as a sensory
relay centre

hippocampus

hypothalamus

pituitary gland

FIGURE 12.12
amygdala

The deeper structures of the

forebrain.

178 heinemann psychology one

Many messages travelling from one part of the brain to another also travel through
the thalamus. Together with the reticular formation and other structures, the thalamus
also plays a role in sleep and attention.
GLOSSARY

The hypothalamus

hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is a collection of nuclei located beneath the thalamus. It weighs

about 4 grams and occupies less than one cubic centimetre of tissue, but it has profound
effects on behaviour. It helps to regulate the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system (see chapter 13). It partly controls the pituitary gland, which has an
important role in the endocrine system.
Most importantly, the hypothalamus controls homeostasisthe maintenance of
physiological balance in the body. Within the hypothalamus are specialised receptors
that monitor temperature, blood nutrients, gas levels and dissolved salts. It regulates
this balance by controlling sweating, hunger, thirst and satiation, for example. Messages
from the hypothalamus cause you to sweat as you get hot riding your bicycle, and cause
you to breath faster as you increase your effort to ride up a hill. Damage to the hypothalamus can cause sterility, stunted growth and impairments in food intake.
The major areas of the hypothalamus include:
the anterior hypothalamus and the supraoptic hypothalamus (involved in water and salt balance)
the presupraoptic hypothalamus (heat control)
ventromedial hypothalamus (hunger)
posterior hypothalamus (sex drive)
dorsal hypothalamus (pleasure).

part of the forebrain that

regulates the endocrine system
and homeostasis

endocrine system
network of glands and ducts
that releases hormones into the
bloodstream, affecting the
physiological state of the body

homeostasis
state of balance in the body
that maintains functions for the
long term

basal ganglia
masses of grey matter in the
forebrain involved in limb
coordination and deliberate
muscular movements

FIGURE 12.13
Damage to the ventromedial hypothalamus caused obesity
in the mouse on the left.

Many of the special areas of the hypothalamus were

identified by making lesions (deliberate injuries) to
parts of the brains of experimental animals. The behaviour of the animal before and after the lesion was
observed. When damage occurs to the ventromedial
hypothalamus of a rat, it grossly overeats until it is
obese. We now know that this is because the lesions
cause an increase in blood insulin levels, making the rats
convert the calories in food to fat at a much higher rate.
They have to keep eating to ensure they have enough
glucose in their blood to meet their immediate energy
requirements, so they get very fat indeed.

The basal ganglia

The basal ganglia are large masses of grey matter (non-myelinated neurons) embedded
in a mass of white matter. They lie in front of the thalamus and are involved in slow,
deliberate muscular movements and limb coordination. They also mediate the beginning
FIGURE 12.14
Basal ganglia are
involved in long
slow movements
and muscle
coordination.

chapter 12 the central nervous system 179

and ending of a movement. If you are into Tai Chi, which uses slow and deliberate movements, or if you are pretending to move in slow motion, you are using your basal ganglia.
If the basal ganglia are damaged, changes to posture and muscle tone lead to jerks,
tremors and twitches. In rats with part of their basal ganglia destroyed, the rats can perform individual tongue and paw movements appropriate to grooming, but cannot put
them together into the sequence typically found in rats as they groom themselves from
head to flank. The neurons of the basal ganglia produce dopamine, and degeneration of
these neurons appears to be involved in Parkinsons disease.

The limbic system

The limbic system (from Latin, meaning border or edge) lies between the primitive
parts of the brain and the more advanced cerebral cortex. The limbic system consists of
the amygdala, septum pellucidum, hippocampus and other structures, and connects
with neural pathways wrapped around the thalamus and the basal ganglia. These structures are involved in the regulation of basic drives and emotionsfeeding, fighting,
fleeing and reproduction.

The amygdala
Destruction of the amygdala causes mammals to behave in a docile way, whereas electrical stimulation can cause rage in a previously docile animal.

The septum pellucidum

Damage to the septum pellucidum, or septal area, causes some mammals to act
aggressively with the slightest provocation. Olds and Milner (1954) accidentally inserted electrodes into the septal area in rats. The rats could press a lever to administer mild
electric shocks to their own brains. Even when hungry and thirsty, the rats would ignore
food and water and would continue to administer shocks to themselves until they
dropped from exhaustion up to 24 hours later. Olds and Milner concluded that they had
found a pleasure centre in the brain. This finding led to therapeutic stimulation of the
septal area in the treatment of pain for patients with advanced cancers.
More recently, Rolls (1999) has suggested that this area is part of a complex pathway of desire and rewards, controlled by dopamine. It is this dopamine system that is
stimulated by coffee (and by other drugs). Coffee makes you feel like doing things that
will be ultimately rewardingeven writing your research reports!

GLOSSARY
limbic system
part of the forebrain consisting of
the hippocampus, amygdala and
septum pellucidum, which
together regulate basic drives
and emotions

amygdala
part of the limbic system involved
in controlling rage and aggression

septum pellucidum
part of the limbic system involved
in pain control and aggression

classic study

The pleasure centres

James Olds and Peter Milner accidentally placed
electrodes into deep structures in the brains of rats
(probably within the septal area). The immediate effect
was that the rats kept pressing a lever that gave them
electrical stimulation of the area. The response rate
was thousands of times per hour, until the animals
collapsed with exhaustion. They would engage in no
other ratty behaviournot even drinking or feeding
while they could get the stimulation.
This area has dopamine-rich circuits and has been
found to be affected by nicotine (found in cigarettes).
No-one could ask the rats, however, if they liked what
was happening. Olds and Milner anthropomorphised,
which means they presumed that rats have thoughts

FIGURE 12.15
The experimental set-up of Olds and Milner (1954).

suspending
elastic band

lever press
activates
stimulator

lever

stimulator

180 heinemann psychology one

and feelings like humans. It might have been that not

pressing the lever (and getting the stimulation) was like
the state of not having a cigarette in a chain smokerthe
stimulation of the nicotine feels ordinary, while its
absence is horribly unpleasant.
If the current was turned off in the equipment, the rats
stopped pressing the lever immediately. When the current
was turned on, rats did not begin pressing again until
after they had been primedthat is, the experimenter
had to press the lever a couple of times to give free
stimulations before the rat itself would resume pressing
the lever.

Questions
1
2
3
4

Before inserting the electrodes into the brain, what

observations should Olds and Milner have made of the
behaviour of the rat in the experimental set-up?
What is meant by the term anthropomorphise?
The work by Olds and Milner is considered to be
relevant to the study of addictions. Explain why this
is so.
Why, in your opinion, would a drug pusher give
freebies to prospective users?

The hippocampus
The hippocampus (see Figure 12.17) is critical to
the formation and consolidation of memory.
People who have suffered severe damage to the
hippocampus on both sides of the brain are able to
remember only events that occurred before the
injury and cannot form new long-term memories.
Without the hippocampus, you may not remember what happened yesterday or even what
happened one hour ago.

FIGURE 12.16
The dopamine systems in the septal area can be artificially stimulated
to alter this rats behaviour.

GLOSSARY
hippocampus
part of the limbic system involved
in the formation of memory

FIGURE 12.17
The left and right hippocampi (arrows)
stained in a section of the brain.

case study
The hippocampus and memory
In 1953, a 27-year-old man known as H M, who suffered
from frequent and severe epileptic seizures, had to leave
his job because his condition did not respond to any of
the epileptic drugs available. Because his seizures were
found to originate in disordered electrical activity in the
hippocampus, the decision was made to remove the
hippocampus and amygdala and other structures from

both hemispheres. After surgery, H Ms personality

seemed the same, and his measured IQ even improved
slightly. However, he suffered from two forms of amnesia:
moderate retrograde amnesiahe could not remember
events from the 3 years leading up to the operation
massive anterograde amnesiahe could not retain
memories of events that happened after the damage.

chapter 12 the central nervous system 181

H M could not learn the way to the hospital bathroom.

He was found to read magazine stories over and over
again, but could not recall any details and showed no
loss of interest after repeated readings. When his parents
moved house, it took him 8 years in the new environment
to memorise the floor plan, and he could not find his way
home from a distance of more than two blocks. For
several years after the operation, he would say that the
year was 1953 and give his age as 27 years.
Interestingly, H M is one of the most often quoted cases
in the literature. He is very willing to cooperate in memory
studies, and has been followed up by researchers for
several decades.

Questions
1
2
3
4

Describe the observations of H Ms behaviour before

his surgery.
Describe the observations of his behaviour after
surgery.
Explain why H M learned to find his way home from a
distance of two blocks away (by walking) and yet could
not remember when he read stories over and over.
Discuss the ethical principles involved in getting
voluntary consent from participants like H M Is he fully
informed when he makes a decision to participate?
Adapted from Milner, Corkin & Teuber (1968), Corkin (1984)

FIGURE 12.18
H M reads the same passages over and over
again because he cannot retain new memories.

KEY QUESTIONS
6
7
8
9

Why is the thalamus called the clearing house of the brain?

Describe two functions of the hypothalamus.
What are the signs of damage to the basal ganglia?

a
b
10 a
b

What happens when the amygdala is stimulated in a mammal?

What happens when the septal area is stimulated?
What is the major function of the hippocampus?
Identify the kind of amnesia that is most severe if the hippocampus is badly damaged or
removed, and explain why such amnesia occurs in terms of the function of the hippocampus.

How the brain functions

Experimental evidence
An important technological advance in neuroscience has been the development of techniques to record the activities of single cells in the brains of laboratory animals. In
single-cell recording, a thin electrode is inserted into the animals brain. If the electrode is in the vicinity of a neuronal membrane, electrical changes can be measured.
Neurons are constantly active, even in the absence of stimulation or movement. This
baseline activity varies from one region to another. In the basal ganglia, for example,
some cells have spontaneous firing rates of more than 100 action potentials per second,
but for other cells the baseline is just one action potential per second.
The main purpose of single-cell recording is to find out how cell activity changes
from the baseline level as the animal is exposed to different sensations or stimuli. This
is the procedure that has been used to discover the topographic characteristics of the
sensory areas of the brain.

GLOSSARY
single-cell recording
recording the electrical activity of
a single cell using a thin
electrode

182 heinemann psychology one

Principle of topographic organisation

GLOSSARY
principle of topographic
organisation
organisation of the primary
sensory and motor areas such
that adjacent neurons receive
information about adjacent
portions of the sensory or
muscular tissue to which they
are connected

homunculus
diagrammatical representation
of a distorted miniature man
showing how much of the
cortex is allocated to each
part of the body

trunk hip
arm
wrist
fingers
thumb
neck
brow
eye
face
lips
jaw
tongue
swallowing

The primary sensory and motor areas are arranged so that adjacent neurons receive
information about adjacent portions of the sensory or muscular tissue to which they are
connected. This is referred to as the principle of topographic organisation. In the
visual cortex, for example, neurons that are near one another in the cortex receive signals from receptor cells that are near one another in the eye. These cells are struck by
photons of light reflected from adjacent points in the environment, so that the topographic organisation of the environment is represented on the visual cortex.
Similarly, neurons in the somatosensory cortex receive signals from adjacent areas
of skin, and neurons in the primary motor cortex send signals to adjacent sets of
muscle fibres.
It is possible to map onto the somatosensory and motor strips of cortex the portion
of the body that receives signals from, or sends signals to, that area. The resulting form
is often called a homunculus (meaning miniature man), as shown in Figure 12.19.
The distortions represent the
importance of each part of the
body to the sensory and motor
hip
trunk
neck
knee
systems. The more useful the part
knee
arm
leg
of the body, the greater the area of
hand
cortex that is allocated to it.
foot
ankle
fingers
Whereas the lips or fingers have
thumb
toes
eye
large numbers of neurons repretoes
nose
senting them in the cortex, the
genitals
face
entire trunk maps to a much
smaller area. If you have ever had
lips
injections into different parts of
teeth
gums
your body, you will know only too
jaw
well which areas of skin are rich
tongue
with sensory neurons. When a
large needle is required, doctors
and nurses try to use an area with
the least number of neurons.

Primary motor cortex

Somatosensory cortex

FIGURE 12.19
A homunculus diagram to show the somatosensory and primary
motor areas in the cortex.

FIGURE 12.20
The fingers and lips have more sensory
and motor cortex devoted to them than
most other parts of the body. This allows
for greater sensation and fine motor
control.

chapter 12 the central nervous system 183

Two-point threshold
The sensory homunculus (illustrated in Figure 12.19)
suggests that the fingers and the face are more
sensitive (that is, they have more sense receptors per

ACTIVITY

unit area) than the small of the back or the calf of

the leg.
Test this out using either callipers or a ruler with
two toothpicks attached with rubber bands (see
Figure 12.21). Find the two-point threshold of each
area of skinthis is the smallest distance between
the ends of the callipers that can be sensed as two
separate points of contact.
Do your observations support the findings from
which the sensory homunculus is drawn?

FIGURE 12.21
Callipers made from a ruler and toothpicks.

Functioning of the cerebrum

Primary motor, pre-motor and supplementary motor areas
The primary motor cortex receives input from the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. It
appears to fine tune small muscles that must operate in a delicate way.
Directly in front of the primary motor area lie two other cortical areasthe premotor area and the supplementary motor area. These are both involved in planning and
starting goal-directed movements, and they exert their control partly by acting on neurons in the motor area.
Roland, Larsen, Larsen and Skinhoj (1980) found that neural activity in the supplementary motor area can be detected before the performance of skilled, learned motor
tasks. The more complex the task, the greater the degree of neural activity in the area.
When people were asked simply to rehearse a task mentally, without performing it,
they showed large amounts of activity in the supplementary motor area. Perhaps visualising or thinking about performing a motor activity, like a high dive, requires the
priming of circuits in the supplementary motor area (see Figure 12.22).
FIGURE 12.22
Control of movement by the
cerebral cortex. The arrows
show the direction of
information as the brain plans
for a deliberate movement.

primary motor area

supplementary
motor area

premotor
area
frontal lobe
association
area

parietal and
temporal lobe
association areas

184 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 12.23
Australian divers Robert Newbery and
Matthew Helm plan their moves in the
supplementary motor area of the frontal
cortex before they execute them.

Association areas
Other areas of the cortex also contribute to the formation of plans for action. Association
areas in the rear parts of the cortex, particularly in the parietal and temporal lobes, are
involved in the analysis of information that comes from the sensory areas. These areas
send output to the association areas of the frontal lobe, which has strong connections
with the limbic system and so receives information about internal body processes.
By combining all the information, the frontal association areas make executive decisions about plans for action that can be put into effect through connections to the
pre-motor and supplementary motor areas, and through downward connections to the
basal ganglia.
Damage to the frontal lobes of the cortex, depending on where it occurs, can inhibit either short-range planning (such as a series of movements needed to run a piece of
machinery) or long-range planning (such as organising your life). A very general and
broad flow diagram for planned behaviour is set out in Figure 12.24.

Motivation and
planning of
movement

limbic system
(motivation)

association cortex
(planning)

Generation of
programs for
movement

basal ganglia
and cerebellum

premotor and supplementary

motor cortex

Refinement of
programs for individual
movement components

motor nuclei of
upper brainstem

primary motor area

of cortex

Maintenance of
posture and smooth
execution of movements

motor nuclei of lower

brainstem and spinal cord
motor neurons

FIGURE 12.24
Flow diagram to show motor
control for planned behaviour
in the brain.

muscles

chapter 12 the central nervous system 185

KEY QUESTIONS
11 a Describe the surface of the cerebral cortex.
b Draw and label a diagram of the primary sensory and motor areas and
the association areas of the cerebral cortex.

12 Explain the principle of topographic organisation in the cerebral cortex.

The spinal cord

The spinal cord together with the brain makes up the central nervous system. It is a
thick column of nerves that emerges from the bottom of the brain (the brainstem) and
runs down the entire length of the back. It is surrounded and protected by the backbone or spinal vertebrae (see Figure 12.25).
When Christopher Reeve fell from his horse (see chapter 11), he shattered the first
cervical vertebra (called C1) into small shards, and broke off part of the second. These
sharp bone fragments caused more damage as Reeve tried to lift his head from the
ground, turning it from side to side. When paramedics reached him, he was still conscious but had been unable to breathe for three minutes. The tissue inflammation
resulting from his initial injury affected his spine down to C7.

Spinal nerves
Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves enter
and leave the spinal cord, connecting
the brain to various parts of the body.
One nerve in each pair goes to the left
side of the body, and the other goes to
the right side. These nerves carry information, in the form of action potentials,
between the brain and the sense organs
and the muscles and glands of the body.
Each nerve consists of a bundle of thin
fibresthese are the axons of neurons.
Sensory input from the sense organs
(such as those for heat, pain and touch in
the skin) travels along afferent sensory
neurons to the brain, and information
from the brain travels back along efferent motor neurons to glands or muscles.

brain

FIGURE 12.25
The human central nervous system. Spinal
nerves from each segment of the spinal cord
emerge through the corresponding opening
between the vertebrae.

spinal cord

cervical
nerves
(8 pairs)

thoracic
nerves
(12 pairs)

GLOSSARY
afferent
leading towards a central point
such as the brain or spinal cord

lumbar
nerves
(5 pairs)
sacral nerves
(5 pairs)
coccygeal
nerves
(1 pair)

Discovery of the synapse

The other major function of the spinal cord is to provide reflexes to protect the sense
organs from damage by generating responses that are quicker than those going to and
from the brain (see chapter 11).
In 1906, Cajal shared the Nobel prize with Golgi for his work that detected the gap
between the end of the axon of one neuron and the cell body or dendrite of another in

efferent
leading away from a central point
such as the brain or spinal cord

186 heinemann psychology one

a stained preparation. In the same year, British physiologist Charles Scott Sherrington
named that gap the synapse. It is the point at which one neuron communicates with
another.
Sherrington measured the distance from a dogs paw to the spinal cord and back to
the leg muscle. The speed of impulse conduction in an axon was already known, so he
could calculate how long the response should take if the nerve were all one axon. The
real reaction time was longer, so he reasoned that there was something delaying transmission of the impulsesthe gaps or synapses were causing this delay.

classic study
Excitation and inhibition of synapses
Sherrington (1906) studied reflexes in a dog to try to find
out about the functions of synapses. In a dogs leg there
are two groups of muscles: one group causes flexion to
bend and raise the leg, and the other group causes
extension to straighten the leg and take the weight of the
body. Humans have the same groups of muscles, which
are involved if you stand on a pin. You lift the damaged
foot (flexion) and remain balanced on the other foot
(extension).
In a typical experiment, Sherrington strapped a dog in
a harness so it was suspended just off the ground. When
Sherrington pinched one of the dogs feet, after a short
delay the dog raised the leg of the pinched paw and
extended the other three legs. He cut the spinal cord so
that neural messages to the brain of the dog were
interrupted, but the reflex persisted. That meant that the
reflex was controlled by the spinal cord itself, and the
brain was not involved.
Sherrington reasoned that when one set of muscles in
the flexed leg was excited to raise the leg, at the same
time those same muscles in the other legs would have to
be relaxed to keep them straight. Similarly, because the

leg was raised, the extensor muscles in that leg must also
be inhibited. So neurons must be able to send messages
of excitation (contract muscles) and inhibition (dont
contract) at the same time.
John Eccles (1964) (an Australian Nobel laureate) and
other researchers were able to put microelectrodes into
both the axons of neurons and the synaptic gaps, and
take samples of the chemicals that were being released.
They were able to show that Sherrington was right, and
that interneurons inhibited synapses onto the motor
neurons of extensor muscles, when the motor neurons to
flexor muscles were excited in the same leg.

Questions
1
2
3

Which group of muscles causes a leg to bend, and

which group causes a leg to straighten out?
How did Sherrington establish that the brain was not
involved when the dog withdrew a pinched paw?
Explain, in terms of excitation and inhibition, what
happens in the neurons that synapse on the muscles
of the dogs leg when the spinal reflex of withdrawal is
activated.

FIGURE 12.26
As flexor muscles in the
dogs leg contract to raise
the paw, extensor muscles in
the same leg are inhibited.

chapter 12 the central nervous system 187

Transmission of the action potential

GLOSSARY

We have already seen that there is a synaptic gap between the axon terminal of the
pre-synaptic neuron and the dendrites of the post-synaptic neuron. Within the axon
terminal there are many mitochondria to provide energy for cell functions, and a
number of vesicles, or membrane-bound sacs, that contain special chemicals called
neurotransmitters.
When an action potential arrives in the axon terminal, it causes the vesicles to move
towards the membrane of the axon terminal and merge with it. Neurotransmitters
spill into the synaptic gap and diffuse across to the membrane of the dendrite of the
post-synaptic cell. Local depolarisation of the electrical potential of the dendrite
membrane occurs.
This charge, which can be recorded with a microelectrode, is called the excitatory
post-synaptic potential (EPSP). If the EPSPs become sufficiently extensive, positive
charges build up inside the neuron and the depolarisation potential of 40 mV (millivolts) is reached. This causes a new action potential to start travelling across the soma
and down the axon of this neuron.
Although synaptic transmission causes delays (up to one millisecond in some cases),
it prevents the nerve impulse from travelling in the wrong direction.

vesicle
membrane-bound sac within the
cytoplasm of a cell

neurotransmitter
chemical released at the presynaptic membrane and taken up
at the post-synaptic membrane,
which causes the electrical signal
to propagate along a new axon

excitatory post-synaptic potential

(EPSP)
charge at the post-synaptic
membrane that may build up to
depolarise the cell and generate
a new action potential in that cell

inhibitory post-synaptic potential

(IPSP)
charge at the post-synaptic
membrane that may build up to
hyperpolarise the cell and prevent
a new action potential occurring
in that cell

classic study
Summation of action potentials
Temporal summation

Spatial summation

In further studies, Sherrington tried pinching a dogs

paw very lightlythe paw did not move. Then he tried
the same light pinch several times in succession, and
the paw flexed slightly. The more rapid the series of
pinches, the greater was the response of flexion, or
raising the paw.
The message from one light pinch sent an action
potential up the sensory neuron, but not enough
neurotransmitter was released for an action potential to
be generated on the post-synaptic membrane. Several
rapid pinches, however, added together to cause
synaptic transmission. This is known as temporal
summation, meaning that pre-synaptic action potentials
add together when they are close together in time, to
cause synaptic transmission.
Eccles was able to use electrical currents to stimulate
one neuron and record the results. He found that a
threshold of about 40 mV had to be exceeded before
an action potential was generated (see Figure 11.3).

Sherrington also found that simultaneous light pinches

in two places on the dogs paw caused flexion, whereas
separate pinches (one after the other) in two places
did not.
He reasoned that there were sensory neurons at
these two places on the paw whose axons synapsed on
the same interneuron. The sum of the neurotransmitter
from the two sensory axon terminals caused an EPSP
that exceeded the threshold for the interneuron, which
fired an action potential, causing the reflex in the motor
neuron.
This is called spatial summation, because two presynaptic action potentials from two different places add
together to cause synaptic transmission.

Questions
1
2

What is temporal summation? Explain, in terms of

Sherringtons stimuli on the dogs foot.
Explain how spatial summation is different from
temporal summation by drawing a diagram of the
neurons involved.

Some axon terminals act to inhibit the post-synaptic membrane of their synapse. When
an action potential arrives, these axon terminals make the inside of the post-synaptic
membrane more negative than usual. These inhibitory post-synaptic potentials (IPSP)
make it more difficult for an excitatory charge to build up in the synapse and
generate another action potential. This is useful for situations in which the contraction of
one muscle (such as the biceps) must be accompanied by the relaxation of its opposing
muscle (such as the triceps).

188 heinemann psychology one

somatosensory cortex

motor cortex

up spinal cord
sensory neuron sends
pain message to brain

interneuron sends message

to motor neuron

sensory
cell body

motor neuron sends message

to leg muscles before brain
can register pain

motor neuron sends

message to opposite leg

FIGURE 12.27
When you stand on a nail,
synapses between neurons
are like gates, ensuring that
the message is relayed in only
one direction.

The pattern of facilitation and inhibition provided by the synapses determines the
flow of impulses in the whole nervous system. If you stand on a nail, one foot will come
off the ground but muscles in the other will immediately balance your body weight.
Synapses are like gates that allow nervous impulses to flow along pathways to produce
smooth, coordinated behaviour.

KEY QUESTIONS
13 a Describe the action of withdrawing your foot from a sharp prick on
the sole, in terms of flexion and extension of muscles

b Describe this action in terms of the reflex arc of the spinal reflex.
14 Explain how a model of excitation and inhibition of the post-synaptic
membranes shows how the reflex arc works when we step on a nail.

Ethical principles in psychological

research of the nervous system
In the late 1940s and early 1950s in the USA, a common surgical procedure was the prefrontal lobotomy where the connections between the prefrontal cortex and the rest of the
brain were cut (see Case study on page 189). The technique led to an improvement in the
behaviour of some people with schizophreniathey became calmerbut the effects were
often disappointing and led to apathy, loss of the ability to plan, generally blunted emotions
and an expressionless face. Fortunately, drug therapies replaced this dubious treatment.

chapter 12 the central nervous system 189

Earlier in this chapter you learned about H M, whose memory does not function
properly because of an accident. Who should give informed consent when he takes part
in a study? Who should make the informed choice for an operation that will make a
person unable to care for herself for the rest of her life?
These questions are settled today by the appointment of legal guardians. People have
to apply to the law to be examined for their suitability to make decisions for others.
Those who are mentally ill, or who cannot reasonably make decisions for themselves, are
still able to take part in psychological research provided that their legal guardians make
an informed decision about the benefits of the research and the minimisation of harm.
The research must also be approved by an ethics committee (see chapter 4).

case study
Rosemary Kennedy
Rosemary Kennedy, sister of John F Kennedy (late
President of the USA), was born in 1918. She had an IQ
under 100 (see chapter 15) but was able to dance with her
brothers and had been presented at Court to the King
and Queen of England while her father, Joseph, was
Ambassador to the Court of St James.
Her mother, Rose, recorded that she was upset easily
and was quite strong. She had tantrums and seizures,
broke things and hit out at people. Her parents consented
to her having a prefrontal lobotomy when she was 23. This
left her unable to look after herself, and she was confined
to a convent for the remainder of her life, always with an
attendant.
The royalties from Rose Kennedys autobiography are
paid to the Joseph F Kennedy Jr Foundation for work in
aid of the intellectually disabled.

Questions
1
2
3
4

What behaviours indicated that Rosemary Kennedy

might have been able to function independently?
What behaviours suggested that Rosemary Kennedy
needed treatment?
What percentage of people in a population have an IQ
under 100 (refer to chapter 15)?
In your opinion, do you think that informed consent
could have been sought from Rosemary herself?

FIGURE 12.28
Rosemary Kennedy (right) with her mother (centre)
on the occasion of her presentation at Court.

KEY QUESTIONS
15 Who is responsible for deciding that a participant will take part in
psychological research?

190 heinemann psychology one

chapter

12

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

08

09

The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord.
The brain is divided into three sections based on the way it develops: the forebrain, the midbrain and the hindbrain.
The conscious part of the brain is the forebrain. The midbrain and hindbrain are responsible
for cyclic and automatic behaviours and for keeping the body alive.
Two major functions of the spinal cord are to pass sensory information from the peripheral
nervous system to the brain, and to transmit information from the brain to the peripheral
nervous system
Sensory neurons are afferent: they carry information to the central nervous system from the
sense organs.
Motor neurons are efferent: they carry information from the central nervous system to the
muscles and glands of the body.
The somatic nervous system controls skeletal muscles which are under voluntary control.
The reflex arc consists of a sensory neuron, an interneuron and a motor neuron.
Informed voluntary consent for research or therapy must be obtained from an individual or
their legal guardian.

10

chapter 12 the central nervous system 191

multiple
choice
questions
1 The central nervous system consists of
A the brain and spinal cord.
B the nerves in the centre that make the brain and
essential organs work.
C the brain and brainstem.
D the sense organseyes, ears, nose and mouth
but not those nerves concerned with touch.

2 A quadriplegic (cannot move arms or legs) man has

damage to his ________________.
A peripheral nervous system
B nerves in the arms and legs
C spinal cord
D neurons

3 The medulla oblongata

A regulates heart rate, blood pressure and body
temperature.

B consists of the hindbrain, the pons and the

cerebellum.

C produces the cerebrospinal fluid in which the brain

floats.
D links the nerve fibres from the body to the brain via
a contradictory connection.

4 The reticular activating system is found in the

________________.

A
B
C
D

forebrain
midbrain
hindbrain
active brain

5 The hypothalamus
A controls homeostasisthe maintenance of
physiological balance.

B contains the association areas that are involved in

thought and decision-making.

C is the sensory relay station for all information except

smell.

D maintains our balance. It is the area of the brain

affected when people suffer travel sickness.

6 It is possible to make rats and other animals obese by

damaging or cutting a part of the brain. The area where
the lesions are made is the ________________.
A thalamus
B hypothalamus
C hippocampus
D limbic system

7 The principle of topographic organisation suggests that

A all todays events will be stored in the same area of
the brain.

B lower level thoughts are stored at the base of the

brain and higher thoughts are stored at the top of
the brain.
C information from adjacent receptor cells in the eye
will be processed by adjacent neurons in the visual
cortex.
D during sleep, thoughts and memories are reorganised
into meaningful patterns.

8 The path of action potentials in neurons in the reflex

arc is best listed as
A afferent neuron, interneuron, efferent neuron.
B sensory neuron, motor neuron, interneuron.
C efferent neuron, interneuron, afferent neuron.
D motor neuron, interneuron, sensory neuron.

9 Sherrington coined the word synapse. The best

definition of a synapse is the
A join between two neurons that conveys information
from one to the other.
B membranes of adjoining neurons, axon terminal and
dendrite.
C chemical substances that encode the message as it
passes from one neuron to another.
D gap between the membrane of the axon terminal of
one neuron and the dendrite of another.

10 Sherrington observed that when dogs (suspended in

harnesses) had one paw pinched they raised that paw
and extended the contralateral leg. He measured the
time taken for these actions to occur. He measured the
lengths of the nerves involved and calculated the rate
at which these actions would occur if the action
potential went down one continuous nerve fibre.
Sherrington concluded that
A transmission was faster than he had calculated.
B transmission was slower than he had calculated.
C transmission was interrupted by inhibiting agents.
D there was no difference between observed and
calculated values.

192 heinemann psychology one

short
answer
questions
1 Name two branches of the nervous system and distinguish between their functions.
2 In a table, list the main functions of the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain.
3 Match the following structures with their functions:
hippocampus

clearing house of the brain

hypothalamus

pleasure part of the dopamine pathway

thalamus

consolidation of long-term memories

septum pellucidum

control of homeostasis

4 Describe the structure of the spinal cord.

5 As the result of an accident a person has a break in their spinal cord at L1 (first lumbar
vertebra). What deficits in behaviour would be evident after such an injury?

multimedia
Functions of the spinal cord
Components to include:
Describe the major functions of the spinal cord.
Provide further detail about the functioning of afferent neurons, motor neurons and interneurons.
Explain the role of the spinal reflex.
Bring together the information provided in the presentation to highlight the important role the
spinal cord plays.

WORKSHEET 1
Crossword

chapter 12 the central nervous system 193

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Temporal and spatial summation

Abstract

Participants

This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,

but appears immediately under the title.

Volunteers who are willing to lend their feet with shoes

and socks removed. Describe relevant characteristics
like age and gender.

Introduction
Humans have a reflex in the foot that is present at
birth. When the sole of the foot is stroked, the big toe
extends and the other toes fan out. This is called the
Babinski reflex. As the brain matures, the cerebral
cortex suppresses this reflexwhen your foot is
stroked, you normally curl your toes and sometimes flex
the leg. Physicians use the reflex as a rough guide to
see whether there has been damage to the cerebral
cortex.
You are going to investigate the mature (toecurling) reflex. Refer to the section on Sherringtons
research in this chapter and give a citation (i.e.
Sherrington, 1906 in Rawlings et al., 2004). Describe
the reflex arc and draw a labelled diagram. Describe the
reflex you are using and how it occurs in adults (again
using the correct referencing style).
The aim of this research is to replicate Sherringtons
observations of temporal and spatial summation in
human feet. It is hypothesised that reading a textbook
will distract the participant, and the reflexes will occur.
A second hypothesis is that concentrating on thinking
about suppressing the reflexes will stop them.

Method
Design
This research activity is a repeated-measures design,
because participants are exposed to all conditions in
succession. The order of presentation of the procedure
is called counterbalancing, and is designed to overcome
the fatigue or practice effects that may be caused by
having two processes occur one after the other.
This is an opportunity sample, because only
volunteers are to participate. You need to state clearly
how the volunteers gave consent to participate in the
experiment.

FIGURE 12.29
The Babinski reflex in the foot.

Materials
wooden skewers or rulers to stroke feet
towels or jackets to screen the feet from the
participant

Procedure
Allocate participants to two groups, group A and group
B. Group A will have their foot stroked rapidly first and
their other foot stroked in two places second. Group B
will have their foot stroked in two places first and their
other foot stroked rapidly second.
Make sure that participants are sitting comfortably
on the floor with their legs stretched out. Use chairs and
a towel to make sure that they cannot see their feet. Ask
them to read aloud from the beginning of chapter 12, so
that they cannot concentrate on their feet.
Practice a stroke with the skewer (or corner of the
ruler), so lightly that there is no movement in the toes.
This technique will be used for testing temporal and
spatial summation, where the reflex occurs only after
several light strokes add together, or two light strokes
in different places add together.
Group A: Try several light, rapid strokes and observe
what happens. Then on the other foot try stroking
lightly in two places (with two skewers) at the same
time. Record your observations. Ask your participant to
try to overcome the reflex by thinking about it. Repeat
the rapid stroking with one skewer on one foot and the
stroking in two places on the other.
Group B: Try stroking lightly in two places (with two
skewers) at the same time. Then on the other foot try
several light, rapid strokes and observe what happens.
Record your observations. Ask your participant to try to
overcome the reflex by thinking about it. Repeat the
stroking in two places with two skewers on one foot
and then rapid stroking with one skewer on the other.

194 heinemann psychology one

Results

2 Did you replicate Sherringtons observations? What

factors might have caused your observations to be
different from his?

Collate observations for all participants in Table 12.1.

Write a description of the main features of Table 12.1
in words.

3 How could this research be improved?

Discussion

References

1 Were both hypotheses supported? Did spatial and

These should be listed in the format set out in chapter

3, in alphabetical order.

temporal summation cause the reflex to occur? Did

thinking about the feet to stop the reflex cause the
reflex to cease?

TABLE 12.1 Observations of reflexes when participants were reading and when they were concentrating.

Rapid stroking
Participant number
01
02
03 (etc.)
Total reflexes observed
Percentage reflexes

Reading

Concentrating

Stroking in two places

Reading

Concentrating

chapter
psychology

13

The peripheral
nervous system

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
role of somatic nervous system and role of the
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
model of the nervous system including the
central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
and peripheral nervous system
interference to functions of the nervous system
ethical principles associated with psychological
studies of the nervous system.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
compare the role of the somatic and the
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
illustrate the links between neurotransmitters
and neuromodulators in at least one disease
affecting the nervous system (for example,
Parkinsons disease, motor neuron disease)
discuss research design methods and ethical
principles of psychological studies of the
nervous system.

00

01

02

03

04

195

196 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 13.1
Coffee is ingested for its
effects on the state of mind of
the user, rather than for
calorific or nutritional value.
People take coffee because it
makes them feel different.

There is a legend about the discovery of coffee. Around 600 CE, a goatherd named Kaldi
was tending goats in the area that is now probably modern Ethiopia. Kaldi noticed that
his goats were acting strangelyjumping and leaping around all night instead of sleeping. He discovered that they were nibbling on red berries from a shrub with grey bark
and bright leaves. Kaldi tasted some himself, and joined his goats in the noctural dance.
In those days, dancing with goats was considered a devilish business. A Christian
monk from a nearby monastery was told about the berries and their effects, and demanded that Kaldi take him to the plant. He took some of the ripe berries and crushed them,
poured boiling water over them to make a drink, and cautiously tasted it. He found that
he felt more invigorated and awake (and importantly, not drunk) after this beverage. His
fellow monks realised that this berry would help them stay alert through long periods of
prayer. The coffee plant spread from monastery to monastery.
GLOSSARY
The Ethiopians made themselves energy food when they ground up the berries and
peripheral nervous system
includes all of the nerves
mixed them with animal fat, to take on raiding parties. In 620 CE when Muhammed
throughout the body, outside of
arrived in Medina (in modern Saudi Arabia), he found its inhabitants were drunk and
the brain and spinal cord
lawless. He banned all alcohol, and coffee was adopted by the Islamic peoples in the Middle East as their
drink of choice.
Coffee was believed by some Christians to be the
devils drink, particularly because it was the beverage
used by the infidel Turks of the Ottoman Empire.
Pope Clement VIII (15921605) decided to taste
it before he made a pronouncementhe was so
delighted that he baptised it.
What does this plant do to us that it has become
so popular across the globe?
In animals with backbones, the nervous system is
divided into the central nervous system (CNS, see
chapter 12) and the peripheral nervous system,
which consists of the nerves outside the skull and the
spine. The peripheral nervous system is further
divided into two partsthe somatic and autonomic
FIGURE 13.2
The berries of the coffee plant contain a drug that makes people alert.
nervous systems (see Figures 13.3 and 13.4).

chapter 13 the peripheral nervous system 197

Nervous system
provides the biological basis, or substrate,
for psychological experience

Peripheral nervous
system (PNS)
carries information to
and from the central
nervous system

Central nervous
system (CNS)
directs psychological and
basic life processes
responds to stimuli

Spinal cord
receives sensory input
sends information to
brain, responds with
motor output

Brain
directs psychological
activity processes
information, maintains
life supports

Autonomic nervous
system
serves basic life functions such
as beating of the heart and
response to stress

Sympathetic
nervous system
readies the body in
responce to threat
activates the organism

Somatic nervous
system
conveys sensory
information to the central
nervous system and sends
motor messages to muscles

Parasympathetic
nervous system
calms the body down
maintains energy

FIGURE 13.3
The major divisions
of the nervous system
and their functions.

central nervous
system
peripheral nervous
system

FIGURE 13.4
The somatic nervous system interacts with the external
environment. If it is too hot, heat receptors in the skin register
the message and sensory neurons carry the message to the
brain. The brain sends back messages via motor neurons to
instruct us to move out of the sun, or to remove some
clothing. Both these actions require the conscious control of
our muscles.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls the internal
environment of the body. We have little or no conscious control
over the organs it regulates, such as sweat glands.

FIGURE 13.5
This diagram demonstrates the complex and intricate connections
of the peripheral nervous system as it extends from the CNS to
all parts of the body.

198 heinemann psychology one

ACTIVITY

Celebrity nervous system

On nine large cards, write the various parts of the nervous system shown as box headings in
Figure 13.3.
Place three chairs facing the class and ask for three volunteer participants to play
Celebrity nervous system. Each participant wears a headband, onto which are clipped three
randomly selected cards (use large bulldog clips). The participants cannot see their cards,
but the class can.
The participants ask questions that can be answered yes or no by the rest of the class,
to discover which part of the nervous system they are wearing.
As you proceed to learn more in the chapter, add to the set of cards with more key words
and play the activity again at the end of the chapter for revision.

The somatic nervous system

GLOSSARY
somatic nervous system
nerves taking messages from
the senses to the spinal cord
and brain, and returning
messages to the muscles and
glands of the body to carry out
conscious behaviour

skeletal muscle
muscles with striations that
mostly connect to the bones of
the body and generally are
under voluntary control; also
referred to as striated muscle

smooth muscle
muscles that are non-striated
and are controlled by the
autonomic nervous system

FIGURE 13.6
Moving finger muscles to type
on a keyboard is obvious, but
you may not be aware of the
subtle movements of eye
muscles as you check your
typing on the screen. Skeletal
muscle is responsible for both
kinds of movement.

The somatic nervous system consists of all of the nerves of the peripheral nervous system that send messages to, or transmit messages from, the skin and skeletal muscles.
Afferent sensory nerves transmit information towards the CNS, and efferent motor neurons carry information away from the CNS. To demonstrate the way in which the
somatic nervous system functions, we will focus on the role that it plays in the control
and activation of skeletal muscles.

Control of movement
The muscle tissue of the body can be divided into two main typessmooth and skeletal muscle. We will discuss smooth muscle later in the chapter when we look at the
autonomic nervous system.

Skeletal muscle
Skeletal muscle is also called striated muscle, because when viewed under a microscope it has stripes or striations. This muscle tissue is controlled by the somatic nervous
system. Most skeletal muscle connects to the bones of the body, and is therefore
involved in movement. Some of these movements may be obvious, like moving bones
around joints, but some may be more subtle, like controlling respiration, moving the
eyes, changing facial expressions or producing speech.
Because it is involved in generating such a variety of movements, the somatic nervous system is considered to play a very important role in the expression of behaviour.

chapter 13 the peripheral nervous system 199

Lower motor neurons

The neurons of the peripheral nervous system are called lower motor neurons, to distinguish them from the motor neurons of the spinal cord that receive input from the
brain (called upper motor neurons). Lower motor neurons bundle together to form the
pathways that make up the spinal nerves, and connect to the spinal cord through the
gaps between the vertebrae of the spine.
Signals for particular movements are sent from the brain down the spinal cord,
where they reach the lower motor neurons of the spinal nerves. The lower motor neurons extend from the spinal cord to the muscles of the body, and are capable of sending
signals to the muscles to contract or relax. By coordinating the contraction or relaxation
of various muscle groups, the lower motor neurons allow the execution of movements
planned by the brain.
GLOSSARY

The motor unit

lower motor neurons

In order to understand how the lower motor neurons cause muscle contraction, it is
important to realise that muscles are made up of hundreds of smaller units called
muscle fibres (see Figure 13.7). Each muscle fibre is innervated by an axon of a lower
motor neuron. One lower motor neuron may have several axons, so one neuron may
control several muscle fibres to ensure that muscles work as units.
The collection of muscle fibres that is under the control of a single neuron is called a
motor unit, and muscle contraction is the result of the combined actions of motor units.

neurons of the peripheral nervous

system

muscle fibres
the hundreds of smaller units
making up a muscle

motor unit
collection of muscle fibres under
the control of a single neuron

motor neuron in spinal cord

axon

motor
unit

muscle fibres

FIGURE 13.7
The structure and innervation
of skeletal muscle.

Muscle contraction
Antagonistic muscles
Strange as it may seem, the ability to inhibit muscle contraction is as important to
movement as the ability to produce muscle contraction. Most muscles in the body have
an antagonist muscle that allows the reverse action to be performed. For example, in
order to bend your elbow, your biceps flex, or contract. As you straighten your arm, the
triceps contract (see Figure 13.8). If both of these muscle groupsthe agonist and the
antagonistcontracted together, your arm would probably be incapable of moving in
either direction, and would, in a sense, be resisting its own movements.
It is necessary for the somatic nervous system to coordinate the activity of competing or antagonistic muscles, so that some muscles are inhibited from contracting while
others are able to contract. This coordination in the flexion and relaxation of muscles is
brought about by interneurons in the spinal cord that receive information from sensory neurons of the contracting muscle. The interneurons relay an inhibitory message to
the antagonistic muscle, so that it remains relaxed.
This cooperative pathway between antagonistic muscles is considered a type of
reflex, and helps us to make flowing movements with our bodies.

shoulder joint
biceps

triceps

FIGURE 13.8
The biceps and the triceps
are antagonistic muscles in
the arm. When the biceps
contract, the triceps must
relax.

200 heinemann psychology one

Coordinating complex movements

If a simple movement like flexing or extending the arm requires a fairly complicated
set of neuronal signalsto excite some muscles while inhibiting othersit is quite
amazing to think about the sorts of signals that must be required to coordinate and perform some of the complex tasks that humans display.
Activities such as gymnastics, ballet or even swinging a golf club (let alone hitting
the ball where you were aiming) require the contribution of dozens of muscles from all
parts of the body working together to execute very precise movements (see Figure 13.9).
The somatic nervous system coordinates and executes these movements, and the complexity of the system is demonstrated by the complexity and range of behaviours that
we are able to display.
FIGURE 13.9
Activities like gymnastics
involve the contribution of
dozens of muscle groups, all
working together to perform
very precise and complicated
movements.

GLOSSARY
neuromuscular junction
gap between axon terminals
and muscle fibres where
acetylcholine is released

acetylcholine (ACh)
neurotransmitter released by
post-ganglionic cells of the
parasympathetic nervous system

The role of acetylcholine

FIGURE 13.10
A soldier may have to remain
stationary for long periods.
This provides an example of
muscle endurance, as some
muscles in the legs and torso
remain constantly contracted.

The site at which the axon terminal of the lower motor neuron connects with the muscle fibre is called the neuromuscular junction. The neuron communicates with the
muscle fibre by releasing a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine (ACh) into the cleft
of the neuromuscular junction, to stimulate an action potential in the muscle. The
action potential travels along the muscle fibre, causing molecular changes in the muscle. This results in the muscle fibre rapidly contracting and then relaxing.
In nearly all cases, muscles are required to stay flexed for periods longer than a fraction of a second. For example, in order to simply remain standing upright, many
muscles in our bodyparticularly in the legs and torsomust contract. In order for
the soldier in Figure 13.10 to remain standing, his muscles must be continually bombarded with ACh at the neuromuscular junction, in order to keep generating the action
potentials that allow the muscle to remain contracted. This requires a constant supply
of blood to the muscles as well. Without oxygen, the muscles cannot contract, regardless of the amount of ACh at the axon terminals.
The soldier needs to both contract and relax the muscles in his legs in order to keep
the blood movingotherwise, it pools in his feet and he will lose consciousness. This
muscle contraction and relaxation is achieved by either swaying backwards and forwards (the method preferred by the British Royal Family) or by wriggling the toes.
Another factor that contributes to muscle endurance is that the signalling of the
neuromuscular junction is very efficient. Almost every action potential that reaches the
neuromuscular junction is sufficiently strong to allow the release of enough ACh to
result in muscle contraction.

chapter 13 the peripheral nervous system 201

Despite its efficiency, there are, of course, limits to what muscles are capable of. We
have probably all, at one time or another, experienced muscle fatigue, when we can no
longer move something we could previously lift with ease. For example, you may be
able to carry a heavy schoolbag with relative ease on the way to school, but after a full
day of activity, the trip home becomes far more challenging.

Parkinsons disease
Too little dopaminethe neurotransmitter in the brain that inhibits certain synapses
and dampens down motor responses (see chapter 12)is found in sufferers of Parkinsons
disease. Sufferers have very jerky movements because the pathway to the motor cortex
is disrupted, as well as depression and slow reactions. Parkinsons disease was first
identified in 1817 by James Parkinson, a London physician. It is characterised by a
resting tremor of about 7 Hertz (cycles per second) that is most obvious in the fingers
of the hand rolling against the thumb, which disappears when the hand is used. More
complex disabilities occur as the disease progressespatients experience a lack of balance, causing them to lean forward and quicken their pace. Sometimes they are frozen
for moments and cannot move. They know what they want to do, but their limbs will
not obey them.
Symptoms of Parkinsons disease usually appear after the age of 50 years, and the
disease affects about 1 in 1000 people. It will become more frequent in the future
because people are living longer.
The cause is thought to be due to the degeneration of two groups of dopamineproducing neurons in the brain. This results in the thalamus being unable to send
messages to the supplementary motor area of the cortex, which is involved in planning
movements. Because dopamine cannot pass the bloodbrain barrier (see chapter 11),
treatment for Parkinsons disease involves the drug L-dopa (levodopa), which the body
converts to dopamine. As the disease progresses, higher and higher doses are required.

FIGURE 13.11
Michael J Fox (right), famous
for his series of Back to the
Future films, has Parkinsons
disease. His foundation has
funded 35 million American
dollars in research. Mohammed
Ali (left) also suffers from
Parkinsons disease.

Motor neuron disease

We have already looked at the role of the lower motor neurons of the peripheral nervous system. Upper motor neurons, on the other hand, have their cell bodies and axons
in the brain itself. Axons from the primary motor cortex, in the cerebrum of the forebrain, travel to the brainstem and
synapse on a lower motor neuron cell
body. The axon from this lower
motor neuron continues down the
spinal cord and synapses on another
lower motor neuron, which leaves
the spinal cord and travels in the
peripheral nervous system to a muscle in the body.

FIGURE 13.12
Stephen Hawking, famous for his remarkable
insights in physics and his best-selling book
A Brief History of Time, has suffered from
motor neuron disease since he was in his
third year at Oxford University. He is now in
his sixties.

GLOSSARY
upper motor neurons
neurons of the brain

202 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
motor neuron disease
disease affecting the motor
system in which neurons
degenerate and muscles
waste away

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Reseach a disease
affecting the nervous
system: pamphlet

In motor neuron disease, this motor system is affected while other parts of the nervous system remain healthy. The motor neurons undergo degeneration or die. With no
nerves to stimulate them with acetylcholine, the muscles waste away. Symptoms include
muscle weakness, stiffness, clumsiness and spontaneous twitching of muscle groups.
The causes of motor neuron disease are not yet known. At present it is estimated
that 1200 people in Australia suffer from the disease, and about 400 new cases are diagnosed each year. There are some drugs available but they are still in the experimental
trial stages and are very expensive.
The pain and anxiety of having a disease that causes cramps and swallowing problems can be addressed by various health professionals and by prescription drugs from a
general practitioner. More information about motor neuron disease can be obtained at
the Motor Neuron Disease Association of Victoria website.

KEY QUESTIONS
1 Draw a diagram of a person and show the location of the central nervous system and peripheral nervous
system in different colours.

2 Explain where in the peripheral nervous system there are neurons that control voluntary muscles.
3 Explain the function of acetylcholine (ACh) in the somatic nervous system.
4 If you kick a ball, your quadriceps (muscles at the front of the thigh) are the agonists and your hamstrings
(muscles at the back of your thigh) are the antagonists. What does this mean? Explain in terms of the role
of excitation and inhibition of muscle contraction.

The autonomic nervous system

GLOSSARY
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
nerves taking messages from
the brain to organs of the body
to automatically preprare the
body for perceived threat, or to
bring it back to homeostasis

The autonomic nervous system derives its name from a Greek word autonomia, which
roughly translated means independence. The autonomic nervous system controls
functions that are usually carried out automatically, without the need for conscious or
voluntary control.
When you shine a torch in someones eyes, the pupils constrict (become smaller) in
response to the bright light. This automatic response occurs without any conscious
decision, in order to limit the amount of light that enters the eyes. When you switch
off the torch, the pupils dilate (become bigger) to allows more light into the eyes, so
the person can see effectively. This is once again an involuntary movement that is controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system can also be distinguished from the somatic nervous
system by the parts of the body that it innervates. Its neurons connect with glands,
blood vessel walls and the smooth muscle of many organs of the body. For this reason
it is commonly considered the part of the nervous system that regulates our internal
environment. It conveys information to and from organs in the body that are involved
in some of the basic processes of life, like respiration, digestion and maintaining the
beating of the heart.
Figure 13.13 displays some of the organs and processes that the autonomic nervous
system regulates. It also shows that the autonomic nervous system is capable of controlling opposite reactions. For example, while some pathways of the autonomic nervous
system act to accelerate heartbeat, other pathways slow down the heart. These contrasting or opposite effects are made possible by the autonomic nervous system being split
into two main divisionsthe sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
FIGURE 13.13
The autonomic nervous system connects with many glands and organs of the body, and is
considered responsible for regulating the internal state of the body. It consists of the sympathetic
and parasympathetic divisions, which in most cases have opposing actions. Generally speaking,
the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for activity, while the parasympathetic nervous
system returns the body to a state of rest.

chapter 13 the peripheral nervous system 203

Sympathetic division

Parasympathetic division

Constricts pupil

Dilates pupil

Stimulates
salivation

Inhibits salivation

Relaxes airways
Constricts airways

Accelerates
heartbeat

Slows
heartbeat

Stimulates
secretion by
sweat glands

Stimulates glycogen
production (glucose
stored)
Liver
Stomach
Stimulates
digestion

Stimulates
glucose
release
Inhibits
digestion

Ganglion

Stimulates gallbladder
to release bile

Pancreas

Gallbladder

Adrenal
gland

Dilates
blood
vessels in
intestines

Dilates blood
vessels in skin

Constricts blood
vessels in skin

Stimulates
secretion of
adrenaline and
noradrenaline

Noradrenergic neurons
Postganglionic
Contracts
bladder

Cholinergic neurons
Cell
body

Preganglionic

Postganglionic

Axon
terminal

Relaxes
bladder
Ganglion

Stimulates
penile erection
Stimulates
ejaculation

Sympathetic
chain

204 heinemann psychology one

extension

Coffee and the autonomic nervous system

At the beginning of this chapter, the effects of coffee on goats
was described. The monks noticed a benefit from coffeeit
helped them to concentrate on long hours of prayer and chant. In
the Olympics and other sporting events, athletes can be disqualified if they have taken too much strong coffee or chocolate.
The substances in coffee, chocolate and tea that increase and
focus our concentration are called xanthines, and caffeine is one
form. You have probably noticed how a coffee break helps sustain
your attention after long periods of study, and this effect is due
to changes to the dopamine system in the brain (see chapter 11).
The dopamine system is part of the brains executive control of
the autonomic nervous system. It involves three main pathways:
1 A pathway from the substantia nigra (in the midbrain) to the
motor cortex (in the forebrain) gives us the drive to physically
get up and go.
2 A pathway from the caudate nucleus (in the limbic system, the
deeper part of the forebrain), to the orbital prefrontal cortex
and the premotor cortex gives us the desire to act.
3 A pathway from the ventral tegmental nucleus (midbrain) to the
basal ganglia and the frontal lobes gives us feelings of mental
energy, satisfaction and flow, and may be responsible for sustaining memories of what works for me in our environment.
This third pathway also sends a message to an area in the
brainstem called the locus coeruleus, which in turn produces
major quantities of the neurotransmitter noradrenalinethe
transmitter that controls the sympathetic nervous system.
When you take in caffeine, your sympathetic nervous system
receives a message from the brainstem to get ready for action, to
look for interesting stuff, and to evaluate it for satisfaction so that
you can remember it. Old stimuli will also seem more interesting

GLOSSARY
sympathetic nervous system
causes arousal functions in the
body by increasing heart rate,
circulation to muscles, etc.

pre-ganglionic neurons
neurons that extend from the
grey matter of the spinal cord
to a collection of neural cell
bodies throughout the body
(located outside the central
nervous system) called ganglia

ganglia (sing. ganglion)

collection of neural cell bodies
throughout the body

sympathetic chain
chain of ganglia, next to the
spinal cord, that receives
sympathetic neurons

extension

FIGURE 13.14
Fencing is a sport where disqualification can
occur if too much coffee is consumed.

the familiar prayers and chants of the monks, or in your case, an

incredibly fascinating story about the effects of dopamine!
Too much dopamine in the brain is said to be involved in
schizophrenia, where every small feature of the environment enters
into consciousness and often overwhelms the sufferer with detail.

Questions
1 What are the three main pathways of the dopamine system?
2 People suffering from schizophrenia often have feelings of personal power, and have a constant need to move around. Which
pathways are overstimulated when these symptoms are evident?

The sympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic nervous system has neurons that originate in the middle regions
of the spinal cord, called the thoracic and lumbar regions (see Figure 13.13). These
neurons are called preganglionic neurons, and they extend from the spinal cord to a
collection of neural cell bodies throughout the body called ganglia (singular ganglion). Most ganglia that receive sympathetic neurons are located in a chainthe
sympathetic chainright next to the spinal cord, although there are some ganglia
elsewhere in the body.
From these ganglia, neurons of the sympathetic system extend throughout the body,
connecting with every tissue or organ except for skeletal muscle. These neurons are
called postganglionic neurons, and some of the tissues that they reach include the
lungs, stomach, heart, salivary glands, tear and sweat glands, bladder, genitals, eyes and
liver. Postganglionic cells of the sympathetic nervous system stimulate all of their targets by releasing a neurotransmitter called noradrenaline (also called norepinepherine).

post-ganglionic neurons
neurons of the sympathetic
system that extend into the
body from the ganglia,
connecting with and commanding every tissue or organ that is
not skeletal muscle

The parasympathetic nervous system

The parasympathetic nervous system has neurons leading to the same organs as the
sympathetic nervous system, but the pathways to the organs are arranged differently.
Ganglia for parasympathetic neurons are much closer to the target organs, rather than

chapter 13 the peripheral nervous system 205

being mostly near the spinal cord. These neurons contact the CNS in different places.
Parasympathetic neurons connect with the spinal cord via cranial nerves at the base of
the brain, or at the lower section of the spine, known as the sacral region. In fact, the
name parasympathetic is partly derived from the Greek word para, which means
around, to reflect the fact that its pathways are above and below those of the sympathetic nervous system.
The postganglionic neurons of the parasympathetic system release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) when stimulating target organs or tissue.

Functions of the sympathetic and

parasympathetic nervous systems

GLOSSARY
noradrenaline (norepinephrine)
neurotransmitter released by
post-ganglionic cells of the
sympathetic nervous system

parasympathetic nervous system

has a calming effect causing the
body to return to homeostasis

acetylcholine (ACh)
neurotransmitter released by
post-ganglionic cells of the
parasympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems innervate most of the same
targets throughout the body, but have opposing effects on them (see Figure 13.13).
For example:
The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for activities like accelerating the
beating of the heart, stimulating sweat and adrenal glands, relaxing airways, dilating the pupils and inhibiting digestion.
The parasympathetic nervous system acts to slow heartbeat, constrict the airways,
constrict the pupils and stimulate digestion.

FIGURE 13.15
(a) The pupil of an eye is
constricted by the
parasympathetic nervous
system in response to
bright light, like a torch
beam.
(b) The pupil is widened or
dilated by the sympathetic
nervous system once the
bright light is removed.

The way these two systems bring about different effects on the same organs is thought
to be through the use of different neurotransmitters in their postganglionic neurons.
Sympathetic neurons use noradrenaline to signal to the tissue, whereas parasympathetic
neurons signal with acetylcholine.
Despite having opposite functions, the two systems work together to keep the body
within a small range of functioning. When the sympathetic division produces a rise in
heart rate, it is the parasympathetic division that restores it to resting levels. When you
shine a torch in someones eyes, it is the parasympathetic system that activates smooth muscles that cause the pupil to constrict. It is the sympathetic system that causes the pupil to
dilate to its previous state once the torch is switched off (see Figure 13.15). At any particular time, both systems may be active, but one is usually dominant over the other.
Which system is dominant depends on the situation. The sympathetic nervous system is activated in response to an emergency or threat, and acts in a way that prepares
the body for a short-term crisis at the expense of what is good for the body in the long
term. The parasympathetic nervous system operates to restore or maintain a restful
state, and acts for the long-term good of the body.
Because of these contrasting actions and effects, it is not possible for both systems
to be strongly activated at the same time, and there are neural circuits in the CNS that
inhibit the level of activity of one system when the other is highly active.

WORKSHEET 1
Sympathetic and
parasympathetic functions

206 heinemann psychology one

active psychology
Training the autonomic nervous system
In January 2004, Steve Irwin, Queensland nominee for
Australian of the Year, held his one-month-old baby, Bob,
while he fed a very large crocodile at his wildlife park. Irwin
was criticised for insisting on introducing his children to
dangerous animals at such a young age.
Children learn what is dangerous about the environment
by getting hurt (where the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system is activated), or from watching or
hearing about other people getting hurt. How many students
in your class have been bitten by a snake?
How many would like to hold a venomous snake? Even
when we imagine such a situation, usually our heart rate and
breathing rate increase, and the muscles in our legs begin
to contract, to run away. If someone points a gun at us, we
will react the same way. These responses are automatic.
While snakes have been around humans for a long time
in most parts of the world, guns are a very recent invention.
We are not born fearing guns. We are trained (our autonomic
nervous system is conditioned) to fear. You will learn more
about this type of learning in Heinemann Psychology Two,
Second Edition.
There are times when a sympathetic nervous system
response is not useful. If you are performing on a high wire
or feeding a crocodile in front of a crowd, you do not want
a racing heart and shaking hands and legs. You need to learn

to activate your parasympathetic nervous system when

faced with a stressful situation. By holding his son in his safe
warm arms and pairing this experience with facing all those
teeth, Steve Irwin was attempting to train baby Bobs autonomic nervous system.
One-month-old infants probably cannot see with any
accuracy a crocodile at a distance of several metres.
Bob could hear the crowd and enjoyed being held, but
his vision of the crocodile was probably blurry. Facing all
those teeth will come later, when he is old enough to distinguish his fathers smile from that of the crocodile!

Questions
1

Do parents have the right to train children to be fearless

in dangerous situations? Consider some examples, such
as fear of dogs, fear of being immersed in water.

Some researchers suggest that no child can remember

much that happens before the age of three. After that
age, all recalled material is coded into language and
therefore cannot be the original material. Do you agree?
Do you remember anything from your first three years?

Suggest ways that a parent or guardian might teach

a child to be fearful of snakes without actually using a
real snake in the process.

FIGURE 13.16
Even the thought or image of a dangerous animal may trigger a physiological response.

KEY QUESTIONS
5 How can the autonomic nervous system be distinguished from the somatic nervous system?
6 Explain the major function of
a the sympathetic
b the parasympathetic
divisions of the autonomic nervous system.

7 In a table, list the organs illustrated in Figure 13.13 and compare the effects of the sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous systems on the functions of each organ.

chapter 13 the peripheral nervous system 207

Research design methods and ethical principles

in psychological studies of the nervous system
National Parkinson Foundation
Research studies for the treatment of early Parkinsons disease
The Center for Parkinsons Disease and other Movement Disorders
at Columbia University is participating in a research study to evaluate the efficacy of an experimental drug, PNU-95666E, for the
treatment of early Parkinsons disease.
If you have had Parkinsons disease for less than 7 years, are
older than 30 years and not on Sinemet (levodopa) therapy you
may qualify.

During this 12-week study, neither the research physician nor

the study subject will know who is receiving active drug or inactive drug (placebo) medication. Research physicians will examine
you weekly and perform laboratory investigations at no cost. Your
current physician will be informed about the study protocol.
All the subjects who participate in this study are eligible for an
open-label study in which they will receive the medication for 4
years at no cost.

FIGURE 13.17

Research always involves the study of variables. As you learned in chapter 3, an experiment is a controlled study in which researchers manipulate an independent variable to
study its effect on a dependent variable.
One way of determining the effects of a new drug on Parkinsons disease (see Figure
13.17) is to gather together a group of people suffering from the disease, whose symptoms are not yet severe enough for them to be taking L-dopa (levodopa). This group is
randomly allocated to two treatment groups:
group 1 receives the active drug
group 2 receives a placebo (an inactive substance that resembles the drug).
At the end of the treatment periodin this case, 12 weeksthe participants are
examined by a researcher who does not know which treatment the participant had.
Because both the researcher and the participant do not know who is taking which treatment, the experiment is called a double-blind experiment. After the results are in, the
dependent variable (behaviour of the participants before and after treatment) is compared
with the independent variable (whether they were taking the active drug or not).
Why give half the participants a placebo? Participants who volunteer for a study
that relates to their disease may try to convince themselves that they are getting better,
that the treatment is working. Their behaviours may alter accordinglywhether or
not there is any pharmacological change. If all participants are given the active drug,
researchers then do not know if it is the drug causing the changes, or the attention the
participants are getting during their 12 weeks of treatment. If, however, they include a
placebo group and this group does not improve as much as the group that received the
drug, researchers can conclude that the drug has had a real effect.
Some studies incorporate a third groupparticipants who have the disease and are
examined before and after the study, with no further contact, so that the real deterioration caused in the treatment time (12 weeks) can also be gauged.
The study outlined in Figure 13.17 offers an incentive to participatethe chance to get
medication for four years at no cost. In the USA, treatment for diseases is not covered by a
universal health scheme, such as Medicare in Australia, and American patients have to pay
for their treatments. Consider the ethical principles outlined for research in chapter 3. Do
you think that the participants will be true volunteers if such an incentive is offered?

KEY QUESTIONS
8 What neurotransmitters convey messages to organs in the autonomic nervous system?
9 a Describe the symptoms of Parkinsons disease.
b What is thought to be the cause of Parkinsons disease?
10 Explain what is meant by the term double-blind experiment.

An advertisement on the
Internet calling for volunteers
for a research study.

GLOSSARY
double-blind experiment
both researcher and participants
are unaware of, or blind to, the
experimental condition to which
each participant has been
exposed, until data collection and
scoring are complete

208 heinemann psychology one

chapter

13

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

08

09

The nervous system is divided into the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and
the peripheral nervous system (nerves outside the spine).
The peripheral nervous system is divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.
The somatic nervous system controls voluntary skeletal (striated) muscles. Motor neuron
disease is the result of degeneration of motor neurons in the somatic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system is divided into the sympathetic nervous system (speeds up
processes to provide short-term energy) and the parasympathetic nervous system (slows
down processes to conserve energy in the long term).
Noradrenaline is the neurotransmitter in the sympathetic system, and acetylcholine is the
neurotransmitter in the parasympathetic system.
Parkinsons disease is caused by degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain.
It initially causes tremors in the fingers followed by more complex disabilities in movement.
A double-blind experiment is the design used to test whether drugs have a pharmacological effect.

essay
Diseases affecting the nervous system
Research Parkinsons or motor neuron disease. Discuss the diseases causes, symptoms,
prognosis and treatments. Include a discussion of the roles that neurotransmitters and
neuromodulators play in the disease.

Introduction
Briefly describe the nervous system and the role that neurotransmitters and
neuromodulators play in its functioning. Introduce the chosen disease and briefly
mention its effects on the nervous system.

Body
detailed description of the disease and its causes
detailed description of its symptoms and prognosis
detailed description of its treatment and of current research.

Conclusion
Summarise the development and treatment of the disease.

10

chapter 13 the peripheral nervous system 209

multiple
choice
questions
1 The division of the nervous system that interacts
directly with the external environment is the
________________ nervous system
A central
C somatic
B peripheral
D autonomic

2 Muscle fibres that are under voluntary control are

recognisable under a microscope because they have
A many axon terminals. C connections to glands.
B stripes or striations. D less-myelinated nerve fibres.

3 Smooth muscle is enervated by the ________________

nervous system and the ________________ nervous system.
A central; somatic
C parasympathetic; sympathetic
B peripheral; central D sympathetic; somatic

4 The nerve fibres that directly cause voluntary muscles

to contract are called
A lower motor neurons C afferent neurons
B upper motor neurons D sensory neurons

6 The neurontransmitter at neuronmuscular junctions is

A noradrenaline.
C acetylcholine.
B adrenaline.
D dopamine.
7 Motor neuron disease is best described as
A degeneration of the motor neurons.
B weakness, clumsiness and cramps.
C a deficiency of dopamine.
D oversupply of adrenaline.
8 The parasympathetic system is located in the spine
A within the thoracic region.
B integrated within the sympathetic nervous system.
C above and below the sympathetic nervous system.
D at a large distance from the target organs.
9 Dopamine is a transmitter found in the ________________
nervous system.
A central
B peripheral

C autonomic
D somatic

5 Trang flexes the bicep muscle in her upper arm, by

10 The condition characterised by a tremor in the fingers

bending it at the elbow. She identifies the tricep

muscle in her upper arm as the ________________
muscle to the bicep.
A action pair
C relaxed
B agonist
D antagonist

of about 7 Hertz is called ________________ disease.

A Charcots
C motor neuron
B Freuds
D Parkinsons

short
answer
questions
1 Describe how a penalty goal in a soccer game is executed by the action of different divisions of
the nervous system.

2 List the organs that would need to come back to normal (or to homeostasis) after the goal has
been successfully executed. Name the division of the nervous system that would carry out this
transformation.

3 What are the neurotransmitters involved in keeping the organs of the body in homeostasis?
Explain their actions on the heart, pupils and digestive system.

4 Explain how motor neuron disease is diagnosed.

5 Outline a research design method used to study the effects of a drug on the nervous system.

WORKSHEET 2
Crossword

210 heinemann psychology one

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY The effects of coffee a double-blind experiment

Abstract
This is a summary of each section of the report. It is
written last but appears immediately under the title.

Introduction
The research design for this experiment is called doubleblind, because neither the researcher nor the
participants know which of two alternatives contains the
active ingredientthat is, the variable thought to cause
the behaviour change of interest.
Two identical jars, labelled A and B, are filled with
either coffee or decaffeinated coffee by someone who is
not involved in the research (such as the school
laboratory technician). This person will keep the record
of which jar contains which, to be revealed after the
results have been recorded.
The teacher will ask for volunteer participants from
the class who are willing to undertake a memory task
before drinking a cup of coffee, and 20 minutes after. If
sweetener is required it must be sugarless, because
sugar has its own effects on the brain. It is better if
participants can drink the coffee black.
Participants will be randomly allocated into two
groupsthose who drink from jar A and those who drink
from jar B. Random allocation helps to ensure that, as
far as possible, the distribution of individual differences
between participants will be balanced (see chapter 3).
In your introduction, describe the autonomic nervous system and its branches. Explain how noradrenaline
acts as a transmitter in the sympathetic nervous system
it helps to focus attention on relevant stimuli and readies the body for action. Describe the role of dopamine
in helping to regulate the autonomic nervous system.
Lastly, explain what a double-blind experiment is. Dont
forget to correctly acknowledge your sources and to
make a reference list at the end of the report.
The aim of this experiment is to find out whether
caffeine in coffee causes participants to recall a series

FIGURE 13.19
How does caffeine act on the
nervous system, and does this affect
your performance when studying?

FIGURE 13.18
Coffee is the independent variable
in this research.

of numbers better than participants who take coffee

without caffeine. The independent variable is the
caffeine in the coffee, and the dependent variable is the
scores of correct recall.
Your hypothesis is that participants who ingest
caffeine will recall a series of numbers better than
those who have decaffeinated coffee.

Method
Design
The design is an experiment with independent groups
(randomly allocated) from an opportunity sample (you
could not select people from the population).
You should clearly state how you obtained informed
consent from the participants.

Participants
List the characteristics of the participants, such as age,
gender, socioeconomic status and any other relevant
features.

chapter 13 the peripheral nervous system 211

TABLE 13.1 Recall of ten 7-digit numbers for all participants.

Jar A
Participant
number

Number
correctly recalled

Jar B
Percentage
recalled

A 01

Participant
number

B 02 etc.

Total A

Total B

jar A and jar B containing coffee (either caffeinated

or decaffeinated)
list of ten numbers (each of seven digits) taken
randomly from the last five digits of numbers in the
telephone directory or from a table of random
numbersenough copies for every participant

Procedure
Ask the laboratory technician to prepare jar A and jar B
with either ordinary coffee or decaffeinated coffee and
to record which is which and to keep the record a secret.
Give the participants in group A one teaspoon of
coffee from jar A in one cup of boiled water. Sweeten
if necessary with artificial sweetener. Repeat the
procedure for group B, giving them coffee from jar B.
For 20 minutes, do some other tasksuch as writing
up the introduction to this research.
After 20 minutes, give the participants exactly 60
seconds to learn the ten numbers on the list. Ask them
to write out the numbers after the minute is up.

Results
Copy Table 13.1 and record the results for all participants.
Describe the main features of Table 13.1 in words.
Find out from the laboratory technician which
jar contained the coffee with caffeine, and mark it on
your table.

Percentage
recalled

B 01

A 02 etc.

Materials

Number
correctly recalled

Discussion
1 Which jar contained the caffeinated coffee?
2 From Table 13.1, was the hypothesis supported?
3 Could other variables have caused your results? You
may wish to refer to the research that you mentioned
in the introduction.

4 Can you think of any improvements to the design of

this experiment? Should you have matched the
participants for their ability to recall numbers,
rather than using independent groups?

5 Did the double-blind design prevent people trying to

get the results right by behaving the way the
researcher wanted?

6 In conclusion, explain how valuable you think this

research is in showing the effects of caffeine on the
nervous system.

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter
3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
Attach an example of an individual participants results
to your report so that others have an idea of how to
replicate your results.

212 heinemann psychology one

EVALUATION OF A RESEARCH DESIGN The effects of dream deprivation on adaptation to stress

During a distressing experience, our sympathetic
nervous system becomes aroused and we suffer from
physiological signs of stress, such as increased heart
rate, breathing rate and skin conductance measures.
When a film of a medical autopsy was shown to
previously inexperienced participants, this experience
induced these symptoms. However, a second exposure
at a later date produced much less stress. Greenberg,
Pillard and Pearlman (1972) hypothesised that it was
dreaming that caused this decrease in stress.
They paid twenty male and female college students
a sum of $30 (about a weeks wage in 1972 in the USA)
for interrupted sleep and $25 for undisturbed sleep.
Measures taken included heart rate, breathing rate and
skin conductance, and participants completed the
Psychiatric Outpatient Mood Scale (POMS).
After these measures were taken, the participants were
shown a short, interesting film about computer-generated
tones. Following the film, the measures were taken again
and the POMS was given again. That night they were
allowed to sleep undisturbed in the sleep laboratory. The
researchers could tell when participants were dreaming
vividly, because their eye movements were very irregular
and rapid, and there were very high-frequency brainwaves
measured by an electroencephalogram (EEG).

A week later, the same measurements were taken and

tests given, but this time a silent film about medical
autopsy procedures replaced the film about computers.
Most participants reported that they found film shocking
and that it bothered them. One participant asked that
the film be stopped halfway through. That night, nine
participants were woken when the recordings indicated
they were dreaming, and six were woken the same
number of times when they were not dreaming. Five
participants were allowed undisturbed sleep.
The next morning, they were shown the same film
and the same physiological measures were taken. The
researcher taking the measurements did not know which
group each participant was in.
The dreaming-deprived group had an average of 265
minutes of sleep compared with 360 minutes of sleep in
the other two groups. Records showed that most of this
difference was a difference in dream sleep. The groups
who had been deprived of dream sleep were much more
stressed than the other two groups at the second
viewing, as indicated by physiological measures and
scores on the POMS.
The researchers concluded that dreaming was
necessary for people to get used to stress-producing
situations.

Questions
1 What was the independent variable for this
research?

2 What physiological measures and behaviours

were recorded?

3 State a hypothesis for the research by

Greenberg, Pillard and Pearlman (1972) that
clearly indicates measurable variables.

4 The researchers paid the students different

amounts. Would this affect the results?

5 What should the researcher have done when one

participant asked that the autopsy film be
stopped?

6 Draw a bar graph showing the differences in

average total sleep for the dream-deprived
group compared with the other two groups
combined.

7 Presently, medical students can expect to stay on

a shift in a hospital for 20 hours at a time, if
staffing is short. In terms of the welfare of the
medical student, is this a good idea? Explain,
making reference to the reactions of the
autonomic nervous system.
Adapted from Greenberg, Pillard & Pearlman (1972).

FIGURE 13.20
Should inexperienced doctors be made to undertake
exceptionally long shifts without sleep?

UNIT 2 |

Area of Study 2
psychology
behaviour
attitudes
research

Individual
differences

outcome2
On completion of this unit the student
should be able to analyse the strengths
and limitations in scientific approaches to
defining normality and in the application
of psychological assessment in this area.

00

01

02

03

04

213

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:

chapter
psychology

14

Normality and
individual
differences

definitions of normality including

sociocultural, functional, historical,
situational, medical and statistical
definitions of abnormality; societal and
functional approaches
strengths and limitations of tests of
individual differences
statistical measures of normality and
abnormality, such as variance and
standard deviation
frequency distributions to measure
central tendency
ethical principles in testing for individual
differences.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
describe the strengths and limitations of
definitions of normality and abnormality
use variance and standard deviation to
describe normality and abnormality, with
reference to either intelligence or
personality tests
use primary or secondary data to construct
frequency distributions in order to measure
central tendency showing bimodal,
symmetric (bell-shaped and normal), skew
(positive and negative)
evaluate the ethical principles related to the
use of intelligence or personality tests.

00

01

214

02

03

04

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 215

FIGURE 14.1
Rex Hunt is a well-known
football commentator and runs
a television program on fishing.
He is famous for kissing the
fish he catches before throwing
them back into the water.
Most people do not kiss fish.
Would you call this behaviour
normal? You may be able to
answer this question when you
have considered the various
types of normality discussed
in this chapter.

Most areas of psychology are concerned with studying and trying to explain how people generally behave in various situations and contexts. Psychology has not been so
interested in the variation between people. However, one area of psychology, individual
differences, is particularly interested in studying the differences between people.
Psychologists in this area focus on various differences, including intellectual abilities
(chapter 15) and personality differences (chapter 16).
Two important issues central to the study of individual differences concern how we
decide whether the individual differences we observe are normal or abnormal, and
how we measure or assess these differences. In this chapter we will explore what we
mean when we talk about the individual differences between people as being normal
or abnormal. We shall also discuss the usefulness of the various tests psychologists use
to measure individual differences.

Normality and abnormality

Defining normality
Normality has, at various times and by different people, been defined in a number of ways.

Sociocultural normality
Every society has its own characteristic pattern of normal behaviour and beliefs. A definition of sociocultural normality embraces the rules, or norms, governing what is
considered appropriate in a particular society.
What is considered normal dress in a Western society is not appropriate dress in a
traditional Islamic society. In some cultures, it is quite common to eat dog. In others,
cannibalism is practised. Neither of these foods are part of a normal diet in contemporary Australia.

Functional normality
Psychologists and psychiatrists often use the term normality to describe an individual
who has a useful and satisfying life without causing harm to others or suffering from
personal distress. If a person can function within their society, they are considered to be
psychologically normal. This is called functional normality.

GLOSSARY
sociocultural normality
what is considered normal within
a society or culture

functional normality
ability to function satisfactorily
within a society

216 heinemann psychology one

Some people are unable to cope with the everyday problems of living. Sometimes they exhibit behaviours that are
clearly harmful to themselvesfor example, a woman loses
her family and friends because she is unable to control her
consumption of alcohol. Or they may exhibit behaviours that
are harming others, such as various criminal acts. These
behaviours may be considered not functionally normal, and we
will look further at this issue when considering the definition
of abnormality.

Historical normality

FIGURE 14.2
Criminal acts are not usually
considered to be functionally
normal.

GLOSSARY
historical normality
behaviour that is normal within
the historical context in which
it occurred

situational normality
behaviour that is acceptable in
some gatherings or occasions
within society but is
unacceptable in others

Historical normality refers to behaviour that used to be considered normal but is no longer seen that way (or vice versa).
During the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, the competitors were all male. This was established by the custom of
performing naked. In the modern Olympics, there are almost
as many female as male competitors, and clothing is required.
Another example of historical normality concerned the
practice of bathing only once or twice a year in Europe in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Today we would label
this abnormal.

Situational normality
Consider the following examples:
The clothing that is worn in an Iron Man competition or for beach volleyball is not
considered normal attire for an Australian Court of Law.
It may be acceptable to leave your rubbish on the table of a fast food restaurant when
you leave, but leaving your rubbish behind you when you leave a National Park will
incur a heavy fine.
It may be acceptable to comment aloud on the acting style of a character in a soap
opera on TV, but it is abnormal to do so during live theatre.
We may find it acceptable for men to dress in very skimpy female clothing for the
Gay Mardi Gras, but we would probably be very upset to find our dentist in that
attire when we visited him with a toothache.
These examples illustrate that what is normal in one situation is unacceptable in
another, even within the same society. This is called situational normality.

FIGURE 14.3
Participants in the Sydney
Mardi Gras: is this attire
acceptable for other
situations?

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 217

Medical normality
The approach to physical illness used by the medical profession has been related to the
definition of normal and abnormal behaviour. According to this view, if a patients vital
signs (for example, blood pressure and heart rate) differ too far from the normal levels
found in most healthy people, then the patient is likely to be illfor example, infected with an influenza virus. It can also be argued that if a persons behaviour departs too
much from the expected behaviour of a healthy individual in a particular situation, the
person is no longer normal, and is liable to be diagnosed with a mental illness. This
implies that there is an expected state of medical normality. If an individual departs
from the expected normal state, then the assumption is that this is due to some underlying, physical cause.

Statistical normality

GLOSSARY
medical normality
physiological or mental
functioning at expected levels, not
subject to disease or damage

Note that a final type of normality, statistical normality, will be dealt with in more
detail after we have looked at the definition of abnormality.

Categorising normality

ACTIVITY

Use the following scale of descriptors to classify the examples below, according to your own opinion.

1
2
3
4
5

Totally unacceptable
Just tolerable
Acceptable/permissible
Desirable
Required/obligatory
Smoking marijuana
Performing abortions
Getting married
Visiting a strip show
Jet-skiing close to shore
Taking cocaine
Going to Mass
Fasting at Ramadan
Gambling
Drinking alcohol
Drinking commercial colas
Serving in the defence forces
Eating fast foods
Wearing a skimpy swimsuit in a milkbar
Eating meat
Buying free-range eggs
Committing adultery
Urinating on your lemon tree
Having sex outside marriage
Serving on a jury
Voting in an election
Watching the football
Having your legs waxed
Donating to the Salvation Army
Swimming with the dolphins
Throwing cigarette butts from your car

Compare your classifications with others in your class.

Do you have major disagreements about placing some behaviours in particular categories?
Adapted from Gross (1995).

218 heinemann psychology one

Defining abnormality
To assess and treat abnormal behaviour, it is important to be able to clearly define normal
and abnormal behaviour and to have specific criteria for distinguishing one from the other.
The word abnormality literally means away from the normal, implying some deviation from a clearly defined norm. In the case of physical illness, the norm is the
structural and functional integrity of the body, and the boundary between normal and
abnormal is usually clear. On the psychological level, however, there is no agreed model
of what normal functioning is. This leads to considerable disagreement about what is or
is not normal.
The various approaches to defining normality outlined in the previous section can
be clustered together into two main groupings:
Although different in detail, the sociocultural, historical and situational definitions
are based around the idea that what is normal or abnormal depends very much on
the context in which the behaviour occurs. We will emphasise deviation from the
norms of a particular society as a method of defining abnormality.
The functional and medical definitions focus on the idea that behaviour is abnormal
when it is maladaptive.

Abnormal behaviour as deviation from societal norms

FIGURE 14.4
The Marquesas Islands are
one of the many interesting
islands in the Tahiti group.
They have been home for
thousands of years to a
people with a rich and
diverse cultural identity,
whose cultures include the
practice of cannibalism.
How would these people
have to change their
behaviours if they were to
be accepted in a modern
city such as Melbourne?

One approach to defining abnormality is to adopt a culturally relativist position: behaviour is abnormal only if it departs from the expectations of the
particular culture. This view was taken by Ullmann and Krasner (1975), who
argued that the behaviour of a Nazi concentration camp commander should
be considered normal because he was operating successfully within his social
and cultural group. Although his behaviour may be repulsive to us, this is
only because we have judged him according to our own set of values. We can
therefore still call his behaviour normal.
If we accept the view that behaviour that is normal is the same thing as
behaviour that is socially acceptable, and that one set of values is as good as
any other set of values, this means that the role of psychotherapists would be
simply to make people conform to the norms and values of their own society.
Many people feel that this approach is unacceptable because some forms of
behaviour are, in fact, better for us than others. People who argue against the
cultural relativist view say that it is possible to think of a society as being sick,
so that people conforming to the norms of that society would then be considered abnormal.
Another problem with the culturally relativist position arises from the
fact that many contemporary societies are multicultural. While such societies
frequently allow a wide range of ideas and behaviours, it is difficult to imagine a society where extremely different cultural groups could live together.
For example, imagine a group of cannibals living happily in East Melbourne. Even if
these people were permitted to practise their cannibalistic behaviour only on other
cannibal groups, they could not be accepted within normal Australian society.

Abnormal behaviour as functionally maladaptive behaviour

An approach that is generally accepted as a more satisfactory way of defining abnormality takes the view that behaviour is abnormal if it operates against the wellbeing of
the person or group. Behaviour is abnormal if it is maladaptive, in the sense that it
interferes with the persons functioning or growth, or causes the person extreme distress. Most forms of mental illness have these features.
Behaviour can also be considered maladaptive if it operates against the long-term
welfare of the whole group. Many forms of criminal behaviour have no obvious adverse
effects on the person carrying out the behaviour, but do hurt other people.

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 219

As with most definitions, there are examples that do not fit the definition clearly.
Whereas most people would be willing to say that Nazi concentration camps and cannibalism are not acceptable within a contemporary society like Australia, where we
draw the line between normal and abnormal behaviour is something that is determined
differently by each cultural group. Think of the following two examples:
A very successful businessman sends all his competitors into bankruptcy and poverty.
We tend to accept this behaviour, provided that the businessman sticks to the rules
of the society.
Streaking is appearing naked at a public event, such as a sporting event. While some
would argue that this behaviour is abnormal because the person needs to draw attention to himself or herself while disrupting the entertainment of others, it might also
be argued that nobody gets hurt, that there is nothing unhealthy about displaying
the human body, and that people who object are simply uptight. According to this
(fairly extreme) view, the streaker is doing a service to the community!
While the definition of abnormal behaviour as functionally maladaptive is probably
the best definition available, it does have its limitations. Because there is no clear-cut
way of defining health, as there often is with physical abnormality, the societys standards help determine the values we impose on people and how these are applied in the
definition of abnormal behaviour.

WORKSHEET 1
Types of normality

KEY QUESTIONS
1 Define the following types of normality and give your own example of each:
a sociocultural
d situational
b historical
e medical
c functional
2 What are the two main approaches to defining abnormality?
3 What are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach?

The statistical approach to normality

and abnormality
Another way of defining normality is to think of the most normal person as the most
typical, or average, on a particular variable. According to this definition, people who
fall near the typical score with respect to a particular characteristic are considered normal. People are considered abnormal to the extent that their score is higher or lower
than the typical score.
In fact, many characteristics that can be measured in a large group of individuals
reveal that there is an average around which most measurements fall, but there is also
variation on either side. This idea is the basis for the statistics underlying much of the
research in individual differences.

Measures of central tendency

There are three main measures of the typical score, or central tendency, in a set of data.

GLOSSARY

Mean

central tendency

The mean is the arithmetic average. To obtain the mean, add together all scores and
divide the sum by the number of scores.
For example, Table 14.1 provides the batting scores of an Australian and English
team in a particular cricket match.
The Australian team scored 395, and there were ten batsmen. So the mean score for
each batsman is 39.5.
The English team scored 110, and there were eleven batsmen. So the mean score for
each batsman was 10.

tendency of scores to group

more frequently at the middle
of a distribution

220 heinemann psychology one

TABLE 14.1 Cricket scores obtained by two teams.

Australia
Scores

England

Scores in order

Scores

Scores in order

25

17

25

117

26

23

34

32

83

34

37

24

26

41

16

41

83

17

32

117

23

37

16

FIGURE 14.5

Mean

Cricket scores and other

sports stats provide a set of
data that can be analysed
statistically.

Median

24

39.5

10

33

Mode

Median
The median is the score in the middle of a sample of scores. It can be found by arranging all the scores in order from lowest to highest, then counting scores to the middle
point. If there is an even number of scores in the sample, the median is the average of
the two middle scores.
The English team in Table 14.1 had eleven batsmen, so the middle score is the sixth
score because there are five scores above it and five below. The sixth score is 6.
There were ten batsmen in the Australian innings, so the two middle scores are
taken. The mean of these (32 and 34) is the median (33).
GLOSSARY

Mode

mean

The mode is the score that occurs most frequently. Once scores have been arranged in
order, the mode can be easily found by seeing which score occurs the most often.
The mode for the Australian scores is 0.
The mode for the English scores is 6.

average, calculated by adding

up a set of scores and dividing
the total by the number of
scores

median
middle value of a distribution

mode
the most common score in a
distribution

bimodal distribution
distribution where two
separated scores are most
common

ACTIVITY

Note that in our example, the most common score for the English team is higher than
for the Australian team. This illustrates that the mode can often be quite misleading.
If there are two modes in a set of datathat is, two scores that have the same frequencythe distribution of scores is a bimodal distribution. In our example, the
mode for the English team is 6. But imagine that the two highest scoring English batsmen both had scored 24. There would then be two modes, 6 and 24. If there are more
than two modes, the distribution is called multimodal.

Calculating measures of central tendency

Eighteen people are playing quoits at a

party. They have five throws each and
their scores are summarised in the
table.
Find the mean, median and mode for
the set of scores. Is the distribution
bimodal? Is it multimodal?

Score

Number of people with score

5
4
3
2
1

2
6
3
6
1

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 221

Measures of variability
As well as knowing the central score, it is important to know how broadly or narrowly
the scores are distributedthat is, their variability.

Range
The simplest measure of variability is the range, which is the interval or distance between
the highest and lowest scores in a distribution. It is found by subtracting the lowest score
from the highest. In Table 14.1, the range is 117 (117 minus 0) for the Australian team
and 24 (24 minus 0) for the English team.
To give another example: two groups of seven people are asked to rate their feelings
over the past month, from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates really terrible and 10 indicates
absolutely fantastic! The two groups give the following scores:
Group 1
Group 2

10

10

10

The mean for both groups is 6, but it is clear that we also need to consider the spread
of the scores if we are to have some idea how the two groups have been feeling. The
range for group 1 is 9, and the range for group 2 is 2. This tells us that the variability
in feelings among individuals in group 1 was much greater.
The range looks at only the two most extreme scores, and therefore is not usually the
most useful method of providing information about the distribution.

Variance and standard deviation

Two other descriptions of variation are more complicated to calculate, but are much
more useful methods of measuring variability. The variance is the average of the
squared deviations around the mean. It tells us how spread out the scores are around
this central score. The standard deviation is the square-root of the variance.
The extension box below describes a short-cut method of calculating the variance,
and applies it to the example above.

extension

extension

Calculating the variance and standard deviation

The following is a short-cut method of finding the variance. Each step is illustrated by applying it
to the scores obtained by the first of the two groups described in the text.

1 Find the sum of the scores. The sum of group 1 scores is 42.
2 Square each score. If you have many scores, it is useful to make a separate column of the
squared scores next to the original scores. The squared scores for group 1 are:
100

100

100

81

3 Add the squared scores. For group 1 this is 384.

4 Square the sum of the scores (from step 1) and divide this by the number of scores. The sum of
the scores is 42 so the square is 1764. The number of scores is 7. So, 1764 divided by 7 gives 252.

5 Subtract the result of step 4 from the result of step 3. (384 252 = 132)
6 To get a mean, we usually divide by the number of observations, which is 7. However, statisticians have found that it is best when calculating the variance to divide by the number of
observations minus 1, which is 6 in this case. So, 132 divided by 6 = 22. This is the variance.

7 To obtain the standard deviation, we find the square root of the variance. The square root of 22
is 4.69. The standard deviation from the mean is expressed as 4.69.
The standard deviation, like the range and the variance, increases as scores become more spread
out. Will the standard deviation of group 2 be higher or lower than 4.69?

FIGURE 14.6
Many aspects of human
behaviour can be measured
quantitatively. How might we
measure feelings?

GLOSSARY
range
difference between the largest
and smallest scores in a sample
of scores

variance
measure of variation calculated
by finding the average of all the
squared deviations from the
mean

standard deviation
measure of variation calculated
by finding the square root of the
average of all the squared
deviations from the mean

222 heinemann psychology one

Frequency distributions
GLOSSARY
frequency distribution
representation of the number
of times each score in a set of
scores has been obtained

If a researcher has a large number of scores, it may be useful to summarise them using
a frequency distribution. Let us assume that twenty-six people performed a coding
test, similar to those used when measuring intelligence. Participants had one minute
to match numbers with figures as quickly as possible. Their scores have been placed in
order, from lowest to highest.
67 68 69 69 70 70 70 70 71 71 71 71 71 72 72 72 72 72 73 73 73 73 74 74 75 76

Table 14.2 is a frequency distribution based on this data. It simply indicates the
number of times (the frequency) a particular score was obtained.
TABLE 14.2 A frequency distribution table based on scores in the

coding task (N=26).

Frequency

67
68

1
1

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

GLOSSARY
frequency polygon
graphical representation of a
frequency distribution

4
Frequency

Score

3
2
1
0
67

68

69

70

71 72
Score

73

74

75

76

FIGURE 14.7
Frequency distribution presented as a frequency polygon.

A frequency distribution may be represented graphically. This often involves using

a frequency polygon with scores on the x-axis, and frequency of scores on the y-axis,
as in Figure 14.7

normal curve
bell-shaped distribution of a
population or sample on a
physical measure, such as
height, or psychological
measure, such as intelligence

ACTIVITY

Dispersion of scores

The following three sets of scores represent the numbers of hours of

television watched per week by three groups of sixteen people. Set 1
consists of people aged 30 to 39, set 2 consists of people aged 20 to 29,
and set 3 consists of people aged 10 to 19.
Set 1:
Set 2:
Set 3:

7
9
17

4
2
14

7
8
9 10
17 18

6
4
16

5
7
3
9
15 17

7
9
17

10
12
20

6
4
16

5
7
3
9
15 17

6
4
16

9
2
11 0
19 12

4
2
14

Plot frequency distributions for each set of scores and answer the following questions.

1 Which two sets of scores have the same mean but different variability?
2 Which two sets of scores have the same variability but different means?
3 For set 1, calculate the mean, the median, the mode, the range, the variance and the
standard deviation.

Normal (bell-shaped) distribution

Frequency distributions can take a variety of shapes, but one of the common shapes we
see when behavioural data is collected is the bell-shaped or normal distribution. It
indicates that most of the scores are around the centre of the distribution of scores, with
a relatively small number at the extremes.

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 223

Frequency

4
3
2
1
0

67

68 69

70

71 72
Score

73

74 75

76

FIGURE 14.8
Frequency distribution represented as a histogram.

FIGURE 14.9
If we measured the height,
intelligence or self-esteem of
this large group of young
people, we would probably find
that each frequency distribution
was bell-shaped.

Many of the statistics used by psychologists, and other social scientists, assume that
the frequency distribution is close to a normal distribution. When you have a true normal distribution, the mean, median and mode are all the same score.
A frequency distribution may be represented by a histogram, as in Figure 14.8.

Positive and negative skew

While the coding scores in Table 14.2 produce a roughly normal, bell-shaped distribution of scores, it sometimes occurs that a small number of people get really high scores
on a task. This distribution would look more like the frequency polygon in Figure
14.10. Note that this is no longer bell-shaped, because several participants have skewed
the distribution by getting very high scores. This type of distribution is said to show
positive skew. Most scores are at the lower end of the distribution.
A distribution can also occur with negative skew. This happens when there are a
small number of really low scores that have skewed the distribution so that it is no
longer bell-shaped. Most scores are at the higher end of the distribution.

GLOSSARY
histogram
bar chart representing a
frequency distribution

positive skew
the shape of the distribution of
scores when most scores are at
the lower end of the range

negative skew
the shape of the distribution of
scores when most scores are at
the higher end of the range

grouped frequency distribution

Calculating central tendency and drawing a polygon

ACTIVITY

A group of twenty-six students filled in a questionnaire that measured their

sociability with questions such as, Do you like going to parties?, Do you
like mixing with other people? and so on.
The highest possible score was 10 and the lowest was 0. The scores have
been put in order:
1 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 10

1 Calculate the mean, median and mode for these scores.

2 Draw a frequency polygon of the data. Does this polygon show positive or
negative skew?

frequency distribution where the

scores have been grouped into
classes

TABLE 14.3 Grouped frequency distribution for

119 students on an examination.

Class interval

Frequency

3640

4145

4650

5155

Grouped frequency distribution

5660

18

If there is a very large amount of data to deal with, a frequency distribution may be difficult to understand easily. Table 14.3 is a list of the
marks of 119 students on an examination. With this many scores, it is
useful to reclassify them into class intervals to give a grouped frequency distribution. These can also be shown as a histogram, as in
Figure 14.11.

6165

34

6670

21

7175

16

7680

8185

224 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 14.10
Frequency distribution with a positive skew.

3
2
35
1

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

25
20
15
10
5

FIGURE 14.11
5
8

0
81

8
76

7
71

5
66

6
61

5
56

5
51

5
46

0
4

Histogram showing frequency distribution

for 119 students on an examination.
Would you call this distribution normal,
or does it show slight positive or negative
skew?

69

41

68

30

36

Frequency

KEY QUESTIONS
4
5
6
7
8
9

Describe in words how to calculate the mean of a set of data, and how to find the mode and the median.
Explain the three ways of measuring the variability of scores in a distribution.
What is the difference between the variance and the standard deviation?
Sketch the shape of a normal curve. Mark on the normal curve where the mean, mode and median occur.
Sketch a curve showing positive skew, and a curve showing negative skew.
When is it useful to use a grouped frequency distribution?

Testing intelligence
Individual differences are frequently assessed using some type of psychological test of intelligence or personality.
While tests have been used widely in research and in various reallife situations, they do have a number of problems. In the following
sections we will discuss some of the uses and limitations of intelligence and personality tests, and will end with a discussion of some of
the ethical issues that need to be considered when using tests of individual differences.

Uses and limitations of intelligence

tests
There are two types of intelligence tests:
Individual tests have been constructed specifically for administration to just one individual at a time by a trained tester. These may
be pencil-and-paper tests, but usually also include other objects,
as in Figure 14.12. These tests may be timed or untimed.

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 225

Group tests are in pencil-and-paper format. They are designed

to be administered to a large group of people at the same time,
and there is usually a time limit.
The nature of the intelligence test questions depends very much
on the theory behind the particular test. We will look at various
measures of intelligence in chapter 15.

Practical uses of intelligence tests

The first intelligence test was developed by Binet and Simon in
1905. The French government hired them to construct a test that
would identify children who were performing poorly at school, and
that would predict academic success. They set out to devise a test
to measure the ability of children to handle intellectual tasks,
rather than specific knowledge they had acquired in school.
Intelligence tests are still employed to diagnose children needing
special assistance at school.
Other practical uses of intelligence tests include:
their use in the diagnosis of brain injury to indicate specific
damage arising from physiological causes, such as in strokes or
motor accidents
the more controversial use of the tests to identify children who
are gifted in particular areas so that they may be given programs more appropriate to their individual pace and style of
development
their use in business and in government for screening out unsuitable job applicants, or indicating those with particular strengths.
FIGURE 14.12

Reliability and validity of intelligence tests

When evaluating a test, psychologists need to consider its reliability and its validity.
Test reliability refers to how consistently a test measures the trait or characteristic being
measured. Examining test reliability involves finding out how much the score on the test
represents the true score, and how much it reflects errors associated with measurement.
Today, the most common way of measuring the reliability of a psychological test is
to measure its internal consistency. This means establishing how well the questions on
the test correlate with one another, showing that they are measuring the same thing.
When the internal consistency reliability of the major intelligence tests is calculated,
they do show a high degree of reliability.
Test validity refers to how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure.
There are a number of types of validity.

Predictive validity
To establish the predictive validity of a test, psychologists attempt to show that it predicts some real-life behaviour. For example, a group of students may be given an
intelligence test in year 8, and their scores correlated with the jobs each of them has ten
years later. The major intelligence tests used today predict performance at school quite
well, especially at primary-school level, and also predict occupational success fairly well.

Concurrent validity
To establish the concurrent validity of a test, psychologists correlate it with some criterion measure taken at about the same time. For example, a group of students who
have just completed their VCE exams might be given an intelligence test. The results
from this test and their VCE results can then be correlated.

A psychologist administering
an individual intelligence test.

GLOSSARY
test reliability
degree to which a test measures
the true score on a test, rather
than other error variables

test validity
degree to which a test actually
measures the characteristics it is
designed to measure

226 heinemann psychology one

Construct validity
Do intelligence tests really measure intelligence? This would be easy to answer if there
was general agreement about what intelligence is. However, as we shall see in the next
chapter, there is no such agreement. Two aspects of construct validity are:
Do intelligence tests measure certain aspects of thinking, such as creativity? (See
Classic study below.)
Are intelligence tests biased against certain cultural groups? We will explore this
question in the next section.

classic study
Do intelligence tests measure creativity?
Creativity involves being able to see things in new ways,
which can lead people to have valuable original ideas
(such as a new scientific theory) or to produce something
novel and original (such as a painting).
Creativity has been investigated in a number of ways,
such as studying famous people from the past or
contemporary creative individuals. Another way is by
using special creativity tests, such as divergent thinking
tests. These tests do not have just one right answer, as
occurs for most tests. People have to make as many
responses as they can. The tests are scored in terms of
how many responses people make, as well as how
unusual or unique these responses are.
Wallach and Kogan (1965) were among the first
researchers to develop tests of this kind. They developed
five types of tests like those outlined below.

Instances. For example, Name all the things

you can think of that are in a house.

Pattern meanings. For example, Tell me all the

things that the following complete drawing
could be.

Complete these five examples and see how many

responses you get for each.
Wallach and Kogan found that creative people made
more responses, and more unusual responses, than noncreative people. They also found that if the tests are
untimed and that the participants feel relaxed, there is
little correlation with intelligence.
Researchers in this area have concluded that, while
there does seem to be some correlation between
creativity and intelligence, the relationship is a complex
one. Highly creative people need more than high
intelligence, while those with a fairly low level of
intelligence can still be creative.

Uses. For example, Tell me all the different

ways you could use a glass jar.

Similarities. For example, Tell me all the ways in

which a motor car and an aeroplane are alike.

Line meanings. For example, Tell me all the

things that the following whole line makes you
think of.

Cultural bias in
intelligence tests
An argument frequently made against intelligence tests is that because they have been
developed for use with White, middle-class
children, they are biased against other
groups. Many questions in traditional tests
require knowledge and information that is
more likely to be picked up by individuals
FIGURE 14.13
These students from China are likely to have a
different idea from Australian students about
what constitutes intelligence.

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 227

who have a sound schooling, educated parents and a stimulating home environment.
Questions assessing general knowledge or vocabulary are fairly obvious examples.
However, questions that use, for example, tennis or indoor bowling alleys are also culture-biased because some people know nothing of these games.
In fact, different cultures have different definitions of intelligence, and this can influence how they approach intelligence tests. Australian psychologist May Chen and her
colleagues found that Chinese students viewed memory for facts as very important for
intelligence, but Australian students thought that memory for facts was only trivial
(Chen, Braithwaite & Huang, 1982). Okagaki and Sternberg (1993) looked at different
ethnic groups in San Jose, California. Latino parents (those of South American background) tended to emphasise social competence in their conceptions of intelligence, but
Asian and White American parents emphasised the importance of cognitive skills.
In an attempt to eliminate cultural bias, tests of intelligence called culture-fair
tests have been developed. These do not use language, and the items attempt to tap
into skills and abilities not specifically taught in schools. Culture-fair tests often
involve abstract figures or the mental manipulation of objects in space. Two tests of this
type are Ravens Progressive Matrices (Raven, 1977) and the Non-verbal Ability Test
developed by Dr Helga Rowe at the Australian Council of Educational Research (see
Figure 14.14).

GLOSSARY
culture-fair tests
tests containing items that relate
to basic skills that are not heavily
reliant on a particular language
or culture

cohort effect
behaviours that result from a set
of people having a common
background due to a common
characteristic (for example, being
young adults during the
Depression, or having experience
with computer games)

FIGURE 14.14
An item similar to those used
in the junior version of the
Non-verbal Ability Test. The
participant is required to put
the pictures in sequential order.
Can you think of an ethnic
group that this test might be
biased against?

Although they reduce the effects of cultural bias, none of the culture-fair tests developed to date have successfully eliminated its effects. It may be impossible to develop a
test that is completely fair to all social and ethnic groups. This is illustrated by subtle
effects of such influences as the ethnic background of the tester, where some studies
have found that children perform better with a tester of their own racial or ethnic group
than other groups.
Effects similar to cultural effects can also occur for gender. For example, 14-year-old
boys performed poorly on a task that was in the context of cake-baking, but performed
well when the task was given in the context of charging a battery (Ceci & Bronfenbrenner, 1985).
Cohort effects can also occur. For example, earlier versions of one popular intelligence tests had a question about turpentine (a paint solvent). With the advent of
water-soluble house paints, this item became unintelligible to many members of the
next generation. Likewise, many questions on computers would be unintelligible to
some older members of the community.
Rather than writing items enabling comparisons between cultures, many current
researchers attempt to construct culturally relevant tests, where test items are written in
such a way that their cultural content helps the thinking of those respondingfor example, they include items relating to practical, real-life situations for that cultural group.

228 heinemann psychology one

ACTIVITY

Cultural bias in intelligence tests

As a psychologist, you have been asked to assess the questions on an intelligence test before it is published
for distribution internationally.
The items and situations shown in Figure 14.15 have been included in various questions on the test. How
might these questions cause problems to people of particular ages, social classes or cultures? Would this lead
to inaccurate measurements of their intelligence?
FIGURE 14.15

active psychology
The problems involved in developing tests that are
equally difficult for all groups is illustrated by the work of
Judith Kearins (1991) of the University of Western
Australia. She describes several experiments in
visualspatial memory that she performed with three
groups: White Australian children, non-traditional
Australian Indigenous children and semi-traditional
Australian Indigenous children.
In one of Kearins visualspatial tests, the participants
had to memorise the positions of twenty different objects
on a grid and then twenty similar objects (small bottles
that could be differentiated from one another, but not by
name). In both tasks, the participants had to replace the
objects in the same position on the grid after they had
been mixed up.

Intelligence testing of
Indigenous Australians

Mean correct placements

(composite score, 3 arrays)

20

15

10
Indigenous groups
Semi-traditional
Non-traditional

FIGURE 14.16

White Australian
7

9
10
Age in years

11

12

Visualspatial memory scores for non-traditional and

semi-traditional Indigenous and White Australian
children (Kearins, 1991).

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 229

She found that the Indigenous Australian children had

significantly superior performance on both tasks,
regardless of age, compared to the White Australian
children. The results of one experiment are shown in
Figure 14.16. Interestingly, Indigenous children often do
poorly on traditional intelligence tests, suggesting that
such tests do not test relevant abilities.

Questions
1

Describe a similar experiment to Kearinss, in which

chess pieces are randomly placed on a chess board.
Do you think Indigenous Australian children would
perform better than White children with this test?
What results would you expect in the chess study if
expert chess players were tested?

Misuse of intelligence test scores

Some psychologists argue that intelligence tests have so many disadvantages that it
would be better if they were eliminated. One way in which these tests can be misused
is that they can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies, where some event occurs because
people expect it to occur.
An example is the experiment carried out by Rosenthal and Jacobsen (1968). They
told teachers that, as a result of testing, certain students in a particular class were likely to improve throughout the year. In fact, the children had been chosen at random.
These children did improve their work and measured intelligence more than others in
the class, presumably because they were treated differently by the teachers.
Although other studies failed to find similar
results (Elashoff & Snow, 1971), many psychologists
believe that there is a Rosenthal effect, but that it
is probably weaker than first thought.
It is certainly true that test scores can be misused
in a number of ways. Many people who have access to
test scores are not aware of the limitations of the tests,
or the many controversial issues that surround the
entire area. We will look at some of these issues in the
next chapter. Scores are sometimes interpreted as a
magic number that expresses all there is to know
about the potential of a person. The discussion above
highlights the roles that education and culture play
in determining intelligent behaviour.
There are many aspects of ability that current
intelligence tests fail to measure. Nevertheless,
intelligence tests can be very helpful in a number of
educational and occupational settings. When the
people who are using them are trained to recognise
FIGURE 14.17
Is the performance of a student
their limitations, and to see them as only one
affected by the teachers
source of information about an individual, they can
expectations?
be very useful.

KEY QUESTIONS
10
11
12
13

Explain some of the practical uses of intelligence tests.

What is meant by test reliability and test validity?
What is a culture-fair intelligence test?
How did Kearins (1991) demonstrate the intelligence of Indigenous
Australian children?

14 Explain how a cohort effect can influence intelligence testing.

15 What is the Rosenthal effect?

GLOSSARY
self-fulfilling prophecy
tendency for something to happen
because people expect it to

230 heinemann psychology one

Testing personality
A wide range of methods have been used to assess personality. These may include:
interviews
physiological measures such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, galvanic
skin response and the electrical activity of the brain
direct observation of the behaviour of children or adults, often with the aid of a
video-camera
rating scales, in which a person rates the behaviour of some other person or themselves
self-report inventories or questionnaires (the most common method of measuring
personality), where people answer questions about their behaviour, feelings or attitudes, or are provided with words or statements to which they respond
projective techniques, which assess personality indirectly by requiring a response to
some vague or ambiguous stimulus such as an ink-blot.
The two main types of personality tests are questionnaires and projective techniques.
Lets look at these techniques more closely.

Questionnaires

FIGURE 14.18
Self-report questionnaires
measuring behaviour, while
useful, have limitations
because they assume that
people are aware of how they
behave and respond honestly.

GLOSSARY
social desirability bias
tendency of people to respond
to questionnaire items in such
a way as to present themselves
in a favourable light, or to look
good

lie scale (social desirability

scale)
test devised with the intent of
measuring the degree to which
people are attempting to
present themselves favourably
when filling out a questionnaire

Self-report pencil-and-paper inventories or questionnaires vary in length

from a small number of items to many hundreds. They provide a relatively
easy method of assessing personality that does not require much of the
testers time, and that can often be given to many people simultaneously.
The questionnaires frequently, though not always, have more than one
scalethat is, they measure more than one personality characteristic.
Unlike some other measures of personality, the scoring of questionnaires is
objective, because everyone who scores the test will end up with the same
score (except for the occasional clerical error). In fact, some questionnaires
have been set up so that they can be scored using a computer.
In addition to their extensive use in research to examine the structure of
personality, questionnaires are used in many practical contexts, such as in
assisting clinical psychologists to make diagnoses of mental illness, and in
assisting government and organisations to select people for appropriate
employment positions.

How reliable and valid are questionnaires?

The reliability of questionnaires varies, but the popular questionnaires of the type discussed in chapter 16 mostly have scales with satisfactory reliability.
With respect to the validity of questionnaires, psychologists have found that they do
not predict real-life behaviour nearly as well as intelligence tests predict performance at
school or in employment. In fact, the nature of questionnaires places several limitations
on how valid they are likely to be. Questionnaires assume that people are conscious and
aware of how they typically behave. If you were asked, for example, whether you usually
eat too much when you go to parties, you may sincerely say no, even though all your
friends know that you should really be saying yes.
If scores on questionnaires are to be meaningful, people must be frank and honest.
If participants respond in a way they think will make them look good (called a social
desirability bias), this will affect the scores they obtain.
One way of attempting to solve this problem is to use a lie scale or social desirability scale. A number of well-known personality questionnaires have lie scales.
Participants are asked to respond to statements such as I never break a promise. If they
answer true to this item, they are considered to have told a lie, because almost everybody breaks a promise at some stage. Interestingly, the use of lie scales is itself a
controversial issue, as discussed in the extension box below.

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 231

Because people are able to distort the scores they get on personality questionnaires
by trying to present themselves in a desirable light, some psychologists believe that
questionnaires should not be used in situations where people do have an incentive
to lie.

How good are lie scales?

extension | extension | extension

A number of writers have criticised the use of lie scales. McCrae

and Costa (1990) argue that lie scales do not indicate that people are lying, but show how they interpret what the tester is
getting at in the question. A person who has to answer the question, Do you ever break your promises? may say to herself:
Everyone breaks promises at some time, so the question couldnt
really mean ever. What it must be asking is whether I keep my
promises most of the time, or as much as other people. They therefore answer no and are considered to have told a lie.
In fact, there is little empirical evidence that taking account
of lie scale scores actually improves the validity of a persons test
scores in normal circumstances. Lie scales may be useful in situations where participants have a strong incentive to lie, as in job
selection or when people are being tested for the possibility of
mental illness.
Here are some more questions of the type that appear in lie
scales. How would you answer these?
If I thought there was no way I could be caught, I would not
pay my fare on the tram.
I have never stolen anything, not even a paper clip or a pen.
I have never been rude to my parents.
I never say unpleasant things about people behind their backs.

Questions
1 Make up five lie scale questions of your own.
2 Do you think lie scales are really measuring lying?

Response set
The validity of questionnaires can also be affected in more subtle ways. Response set
refers to the tendency of people to sometimes respond to questions in a specific, consistent way, regardless of what the items say.
People may have a tendency to agree with items, no matter what their content. This
is referred to as acquiescence set. Such a person would tend to answer true to most
items, rather than reading each item closely and responding carefully. They may not
even be aware they are doing it.
To overcome this, psychologists often attempt to have a roughly equal number of
items that are scored in one direction (true) as are scored in the other direction (false).
This means that if someone answers true to every question, they will end up with an
average score. While this is not totally desirable, it does mean that this one result will
not affect the overall study.
As an example, a psychologist writing a questionnaire that attempts to measure
sociability would include two types of questions. Some would be expressed in such a
way that a sociable person would answer true to many of them: I like meeting new
people, I like going to parties, and so on. The rest would be expressed in such a way
that the same person would answer false to many of them: I would prefer to go to the
library rather than go to a party, I am not a talkative person, and so on.

GLOSSARY
response set
tendency of people to respond to
items in a consistent way
irrespective of what the items say

acquiescence set
tendency of people to agree with
items on a questionnaire,
no matter what the content of
the items

232 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY

Projective techniques

projective technique

While questionnaires are the most popular way of measuring personality, a quite different approach has been used for many years in some contexts.
Projective techniques, or projective tests, take an indirect approach to assessing
personality. Participants are asked to respond to vague, unclear or ambiguous stimuli,
and it is assumed that the responses they give will reflect their attitudes, needs and feelingsincluding aspects of their personality that are unconscious.
The view that we project our personality onto this ambiguous material is called the
projective hypothesis. The emphasis on unconscious processes makes these tests particularly popular with theorists taking the psychoanalytic approach, as discussed in
chapter 16. Many different projective tests have been developed, and these are outlined
in Table 14.4.

indirect measure of personality

in which participants are asked
to respond to a vague or
ambiguous stimulus of some
kind; also called a projective
test

projective hypothesis
the view that people will
project aspects of their
personality, including aspects
that are unconscious, onto the
material presented in a
projective test

TABLE 14.4 Examples of some common projective tests.

Projective tests
Word association test

Sentence completion test

Draw-a-person test

Participants respond with the first word

that comes to mind when presented with
a stimulus word.

The first part of several sentences is

presented, and the participant completes
each sentence.

Participants draw a picture of a whole

person, and then draw a person of the
other sex. The person administering the test
looks for how well the participant plans the
drawing, how much detail is included, and
whether the drawings show people who
are smiling, frowning, and so on.

For example:
Stimulus word: chair
Sample response: table
Stimulus word: angry
Sample response: mother

For example:
I have always wanted to
climb the Himalayas.

For example:

Drawings by a 35-year-old woman

before and after psychotherapy.

The two most popular projective tests are the Rorschach

Inkblot Test and the Thematic Apperception Test.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

FIGURE 14.19
An inkblot like those in the
Rorschach Inkblot Test.

The Rorschach Inkblot Test was developed by Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist, and published in 1921.The blots are symmetrical, with half having some colour
and half being entirely black and white. They are printed on white cards. An example
of a blot like that in the Rorschach test is shown in Figure 14.19.
The test is taken individually, with participants asked to describe what they see in
each blot, to indicate where they see it, and to explain each response. As with other projective tests, a trained interpreter scores the test, looking for patterns and consistent
themes in the responses.

Thematic Apperception Test

GLOSSARY
Rorschach Inkblot Test
the most popular of the
projective techniques,
consisting of a series of ten
standard inkblots

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

popular projective test requiring
participants to make up
separate stories about a
number of standard pictures

The Thematic Apperception Test, or TAT (pronounced T-A-T), was developed by

Henry Murray and Christiana Morgan. It consists of twenty pictures, with most including at least one person of varying age and sex. The pictures are individually presented to
the participant, who is asked to tell a story about each. It is assumed that the persons
unconscious needs and desires will be reflected in the themes of the stories they tell.

How reliable and valid are projective techniques?

Some studies of the validity of projective tests have found that certain motives and
needs are indeed reflected in responses on projective tests. In one experiment, Atkinson

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 233

and McClelland (1948) asked a group of hungry participants and a group

of non-hungry participants to write stories about ambiguous pictures.
They found more themes related to food and eating in the stories of the
hungry group. There have been similar findings for other needs such as
sexual arousal, aggression and achievement. These studies do show that
some motives can be measured using projective tests.
However, most studies of the validity and reliability of projective
techniques have been discouraging (Anastasi, 1988). A typical validity
study might provide expert test scorers with the projective test responses of a number of patients whose personalities were judged by
experienced psychiatrists who have interviewed the patients in detail.
The agreement between the experts and the psychiatrists tends to be low.
Subtle differences in how projective tests are presented to participants
can also influence how the person performs on the test (Masling, 1960).

Why use projective tests?

Because of the need for subjective interpretation of projective tests, it is frequently
claimed that they are as much a measure of the examiners own biases and personality
as they are of the participants. Why, then, do these tests continue to be used?
Many clinicians continue to believe in the usefulness of the tests, despite the studies suggesting their doubtful reliability and validity.
A huge amount of data has been collected on the more important projective tests,
and it is difficult to throw this all away and start again.
Some clinicians accept that the tests may, indeed, be invalid but feel that they
remain a useful way of helping to break the ice early in a clinical interview.
It is likely that projective tests will continue to be used for some time in the context of clinical psychology.

How useful are personality tests?

FIGURE 14.20
Sample image similar to those
used in the TAT. A 42-year-old
man gave the following
response:
The violin belongs to the boys
grandfather, who used to play
very well. The boy has just
started taking lessons because
his parents want him to learn.
He is thinking that he wants to
be able to play the violin well
like his grandfather, but his first
few lessons have not gone
well. He knows he will never be
able to play the instrument
properly. He is planning on
telling his parents he wants to
stop the lessons, but is afraid
of what they might say.

Personality tests can frequently provide useful information to help people make decisions, but can be misused if the limitations to the validity and reliability of the tests are
not taken into account. In discussing his new personality test, Henry Murray (1943)
stated that the conclusions that are reached by an analysis of TAT stories must be
regarded as good leads or working hypotheses to be verified by other methods, rather
than as proved facts. Most contemporary experts in the field of personality testing
would agree with Murrays view, expressed many years ago.
Unfortunately, many test users have not been guided by the modest claims of writers such as Murray. In certain contexts and at certain times in their history, personality
tests of various kinds have been used as if they provided proven facts. Personality tests
provide one source of information about a person. The more sources of information that
can be obtained, the more accurate will be the judgment about any individual. No personality test has yet been developed that does not require such additional information.
As with the measures of intelligence, personality tests can be useful but their limitations need to be recognised.

KEY QUESTIONS
16
17
18
19
20

What are the main uses of personality questionnaires?

What is a lie scale and how useful are lie scales?
What is a response set? Give one example.

What is the projective hypothesis and what is a projective technique?

EXTRA ACTIVITY 1

How valid are projective tests?

Measuring personality:
the inkblot test

234 heinemann psychology one

Ethical principles in psychological testing

A number of ethical issues are particularly relevant to the use of tests in psychological
research and practice.

Confidentiality

FIGURE 14.21
What ethical issues need
to be considered before
11-year-old Sara is given
an intelligence test by this
psychologist?

The issue of confidentiality is clearly important in the area of psychological testing.

Psychologists using tests for either research or practical purposes can obtain private
information about an individual, which most people would wish to remain confidential.
In a research context, the procedures for establishing the confidentiality of data should
be explained to the participant before they start, so that they can withdraw if they wish.
One way of maintaining confidentiality in a research context is by maintaining the
complete anonymity of the participants. This can be done with large-scale questionnaires,
where participants names do not need to be shown on the collected material, and where
the researcher does not need to make subsequent contact with any of the participants. In
this situation, the researchers have no idea which data came from which participant.
While anonymity is often desirable, it may be impossible to achieve where interviews are required, or in studies where direct contact needs to be made between the
psychologist and the person taking the test. In these situations, the psychologist must
make clear to the participants exactly who will have access to the data, how it will be
stored or entered into a computer, and how it will be destroyed later.
Some people argue that anonymity is not always a good thing. For example, suppose
you were giving a test in a sensitive area, such as clinical depression. A participant
might give answers indicating he was thinking of suicide. If you knew the participants
name and contact details, you might be able to contact him and try to discuss his problems. Some people working in this area have therefore argued that because
psychologists have a duty of care to others, anonymity should not be promised when
tests are on sensitive issues.
While psychologists can ensure individuals of the confidentiality of their materials,
they can only do so up to a point. They need to let participants know that there are legal
limitations on the privacy of this material. In Victoria, if someone indicates that they
are thinking of suicide, or are planning to commit a crime, it is illegal not to inform
the appropriate authority.

Other ethical issues

Tests are often given to children or to other people legally incapable of giving informed
consent. Psychologists should in these circumstances provide an explanation that is
appropriate for getting the participants consent, where this is possible, as well as obtaining consent from the persons legally responsible for the childs welfare. Some tests are
likely to produce a certain degree of distress in participants. Psychologists should
attempt to anticipate when this may happen, and do something about it. For example,
they may provide information on psychological services available to participants.
Psychologists should provide the opportunity for participants to obtain appropriate
information about the meaning of their test scores and about how their data contributed
to the results and conclusions of the research.
Because a thorough understanding of the nature of psychological tests is necessary if
they are to be interpreted appropriately in practical contexts or in research, many tests
cannot be sold to researchers who lack relevant psychological qualifications. As we have
seen, tests of intelligence and personality are frequently misused. These tests are likely
to be interpreted appropriately only by people with a thorough understanding of how
the tests are constructed, and of the theories on which they are based.

chapter 14 normality and individual differences 235

14

chapter
summary
06

Definitions of behavioural normality include sociocultural, functional, historical, situational,

medical and statistical.
Societal and functional approaches are used in defining abnormality.
Normality can be defined and examined using statistical techniques to describe measures
of central tendency and variation.
Intelligence tests have useful applications, but also a number of limitations. They are used
to identify children who need special assistance at school or who could benefit by a more
rapid pace in their learning, to diagnose brain injuries, and to screen job applicants.
Intelligence tests are limited by their failure to adequately measure certain types of abilities,
such as creativity. They are often not equally fair to different cultural groups.
The two most commonly used types of personality tests are questionnaires and projective
tests.
Questionnaires comprise a relatively easy way of measuring the main aspects of personality,
but require a degree of self-insight and honesty from participants.
Projective techniques aim to get at the unconscious aspects of the personality, but they
require expert scorers and their validity has been questioned.
A number of ethical issues, particularly the confidentiality of test results, are relevant to the
area of psychological testing.

poster
Types of normality
Include a definition and illustrative example of:
sociocultural normality
functional normality
historical normality
situational normality
medical normality
statistical normality.
Try to provide original examples of the different kinds of normality.
These examples could be accompanied by relevant images.

07

08

09

10

236 heinemann psychology one

multiple
choice
questions
1 Normal in psychological terms means behaviour that is
A common, usual and acceptable.
B easily measured.
C comfortable and relaxed.
D satisfying and fulfilling.
2 The practice of circumcision in families belonging to
certain religions (such as Judaism and Islam) is normal
according to the ________________ definition of
normality.
A historical
B medical
C functional
D sociocultural

3 Behaviour that is acceptable on some occasions but

not others is a definition of which type of normality?
A historical
B situational
C functional
D statistical

4 The nursing sister at the Infant Welfare Clinic says that

baby Walter is at the median weight for his age. This
means that Walter
A is of above average weight compared with the
population of babies in the country.
B is about 50 per cent heavier than the norm.
C is normal but should weigh more for his age.
D has a weight at the halfway score of a standard
sample of similar infants.

5 A set of ten scores on a spelling test is listed, in order,

as 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8. The mode for this set of
scores is
A 8.
B 5.
C both 5 and 8.
D There is no mode.

6 The range of the set of scores in the previous question is

A 8.
B 5.
C both 5 and 8.
D There is no range.
7 The standard deviation of a set of scores is obtained by
A doubling the variance.
B squaring the variance.
C squaring the mean.
D finding the square root of the variance.
8 Intelligence tests that have been developed so they do
not disadvantage certain groups are called
________________.
A reliable
B culture-fair
C paradigm-based
D politically correct

9 A person who answered no to all the questions on a

questionnaire, irrespective of what the question asked,
would be showing
A a social-desirability bias.
B a response set.
C a Rosenthal effect.
D low test reliability.

10 Projective techniques
A have the same strengths and weaknesses as
questionnaires.

B provide an indirect way of measuring intelligence.

C are based on the idea that people reveal their
personalities when responding to ambiguous
material.
D have been criticised because they attempt to get
at unconscious processes.

short
answer
questions
1
2
3
4

Using your own examples, draw up a table that describes and illustrates five types of normality.
List the strengths and weaknesses of the various types of normality.
Compare the societal and functional approaches to defining abnormality.
Name and describe three measures of central tendency and mark their positions on the sketch
of a normal distribution.

5 Draw up a table to compare the advantages and limitations of intelligence tests.

6 What are the relative advantages and limitations of questionnaires and projective techniques?

WORKSHEET 2
Crossword

chapter
psychology

15

Intelligence
and intelligence
testing

00

01

02

03

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
one approach to describing and
measuring intelligence selected from
Binet (general intelligence),
Cattell (fluid and crystallised intelligence),
Wechsler (empirical models of intelligence),
Sternberg (hierarchical model of intelligence)
or Gardner (multiple intelligences).

04

237

238 heinemann psychology one

Psychologists interested in individual differences study how people differ in their mental abilities (intelligence), and in their traits and
characteristics (personality). Intelligence means how well you perform,
whereas personality has to do with your typical performance.
Traditionally, psychologists have referred to intelligence as the ability
to reason and learn, to think abstractly and to solve problems. While many
animals have the ability to think, sometimes quite abstractly, thinking at
a high level is frequently considered to be unique to humankind, as illustrated in Rodins famous sculpture (Figure 15.1).
The nineteenth-century British scientist Sir Francis Galton (a cousin
of Charles Darwin; Figure 15.2) was one of the earliest researchers to systematically study individual differences in the characteristics of people.
Galton (1883) believed that with simple tests it would be possible to
measure a persons mental ability as easily as measuring height or weight.
However, this task proved much more difficult than he anticipated.
Since Galtons early contribution, there have been many ways of looking at intelligence. We will consider a few of them in this chapter.
FIGURE 15.1
The Thinker, by Rodin.
Abstract thinking is an
important part of
intelligencethe major
theme of this chapter.

Early concepts of intelligence

Binets definition of intelligence
An interest in how well students learned at school developed in France at the turn of
the twentieth century, where education had become compulsory. In 1904, the Ministry
of Education appointed Alfred Binet and Theophile Simon to create tests to identify
students who would not do well in regular teaching, and who needed a special program
suited to their particular needs.
Binet and Simon (1916) defined intelligence as having three aspects (see Figure 15.3).
These three aspects can be applied to many different behaviours. For example, if you are
writing an essay in an English Literature exam, you need to know the content of the
question and be able to formulate a reasonable answer from your knowledge (direction),
be able to adapt your writing skills to the particular context required (adaptation), and
be able to make a judgment about how good it is so you can improve on it (criticism).

Intelligence tests and IQ

FIGURE 15.2

Binet and Simon set out to devise a test that would measure childrens ability to handle intellectual tasks in general, rather than to test specific knowledge that might be
acquired in school. To compare the performances of different children on the tests, they
developed the concept of mental age. This is the average age at which children achieve

Sir Francis Galton

(18221911) was an early
researcher into individual
differences in people.

GLOSSARY

initiative and direction

knowing what has to be
done and how to do it

judgment (good sense)

and criticism
being able to reflect on
ones own thoughts and actions

mental age
average age at which children
achieve a particular score on
a test

FIGURE 15.3
Binet and Simons aspects
of intelligence.

ability to adapt to changing circumstances

being able to change a strategy when
required by a task

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 239

a particular score on a test. For example, if a 7-year-old child correctly answers questions like most 9-year-olds, the childs mental age is 9.
Wilhelm Stern (1914), a German psychologist, extended this idea by devising the
intelligence quotient (IQ), which is calculated using the formula below. This method
of calculating IQ is called a ratio IQ.

IQ =

mental age

100

chronological age

Calculating I Q

ACTIVITY

GLOSSARY
intelligence quotient (IQ)
originally, the mental age divided
by the chronological age
(multiplied by 100) of an
individual (ratio IQ); currently, the
measured score on a test that
has been normed against a
population for which the average
IQ is 100 (deviation IQ)

Use the formula to work out the IQs of the following children:
Carlos is 7 years old and has a mental age of 9.
Stephanie is 12 years old and has a mental age of 16.
Lisa is 8 years old and has a mental age of 8.
Mark is 9 years old and has a mental age of 8.

The test constructed by Binet and Simon has since been modified several times, in
particular by Lewis Terman at Stanford University in the United States. It is now called
the StanfordBinet test, and is one of the most popular methods for measuring intelligence in children. It is administered individually by a trained tester.
The modern version of the test is organised hierarchically, as shown in Figure 15.4.
Table 15.1 provides examples of questions like those in the test.

StanfordBinet test
popular intelligence test
developed by Binet, and later
modified by Terman, for individual
testing of childrens intelligence

General intelligence (g)

Crystallised
abilities

Fluid-analytic
abilities

Verbal reasoning

Quantitative reasoning

Abstract/Visual reasoning

vocabulary test

quantitative test

pattern analysis test

comprehension test

number series test

copying test

absurdities test

equation-building test

matrices test

Short-term
memory

bead memory

verbal relations test

memory for sentences

memory for digits
memory for objects

paper-folding and
cutting test

While the concept of IQ is still employed widely to refer to a persons general level
of ability, the StanfordBinet and other intelligence tests no longer use the ratio IQ. As
we shall see when discussing the ideas of Wechsler, the formula is not useful when
thinking about adult intelligence.

Spearmans general intelligence ( g)

The idea that a single score, such as IQ, can represent a persons intelligence assumes
that the various measures of intellectual ability have something in common. That is, if
a person does well on one type of mental task, they should do well at other mental tasks,
whereas if they do poorly on one task, they will do poorly on others.

FIGURE 15.4
The hierarchical model of
intelligence underlying the
StanfordBinet test. The
concept of general
intelligence (g) is discussed
below, while the concepts
of fluid and crystallised
intelligence are covered
later in the chapter.

240 heinemann psychology one

TABLE 15.1 Questions in the style of the StanfordBinet tests.

Content area

Explanation of tasks/questions

Example

Verbal reasoning
Vocabulary

Define the meaning of a word.

What does the word intelligent mean?

Comprehension

Show an understanding of why the world

works as it does.

Why do people sometimes borrow money?

Absurdities

Identify the odd or absurd feature of a

picture.

Point out that a bus cannot fly in the air

like a plane or balloon.

Verbal relations

Say how three of four items are similar to

one another yet different from the fourth
item.

Note that an apple, banana and orange

can be eaten, but a plate cannot.

Number series

Complete a series of numbers.

Given the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, what

number would you expect to come next?

Quantitative

Solve simple arithmetical word problems.

If Georgio has six apples and he wants to

divide them evenly among himself and his
two best friends, how many apples will he
give to each friend?

Solve a puzzle by fitting shapes together

to form a particular geometric shape.

Fit together these pieces to form a

geometric shape.

Memory for sentences

Listen to a sentence, then repeat it exactly.

Repeat this sentence back to me:

Demet went to sleep late and awoke
early the next morning.

Memory for digits

Listen to a series of digits (numbers), then

repeat the numbers either forwards or
backwards.

Repeat these numbers backwards:

8, 3, 7, 4.

Memory for objects

Watch the examiner point to a series of

objects in a picture, then point to the same
objects in exactly the same sequence as
the examiner.

(Point to the apple, then the spanner, then

the flower, then the dog, then the football.)

Quantitative reasoning

Figural /abstract reasoning

Pattern analysis

Short-term memory

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 241

The view that there is a single general ability underlying performance of all cognitive tasks is particularly associated with the British psychologist and mathematician
Charles Spearman. In his research into intelligence, Spearman (1927) investigated
whether scores on tests of memory, pattern perception, logic and verbal fluency correlated with one another.
In statistics, a correlation coefficient is used to measure how strongly two variables
are related to one another. Correlation coefficients vary from 1 to +1. The meaning of
the different values of correlation coefficients is shown in Figure 15.5.

GLOSSARY
correlation coefficient
number that expresses the
degree (between 1 and +1) and
direction (positive or negative) of
a relationship between two
variables

general intelligence (g )
an underlying general ability
presumed to be common to all
intellectual tasks

specific ability (s )
an ability related to the specific
task in a test of intelligence

negative correlation
(two variables are
inversely related)

no correlation
(no relation between
the two variables)

possitive correlation
(two variables
are related)

1
FIGURE 15.5

Correlation coefficients can

range in value from 1 (perfect
negative correlation) to +1
(perfect positive correlation).

Correlation coefficients

ACTIVITY

What correlation would you expect to find if you compared the following
sets of variablesno correlation (0), positive correlation (approaching 1)
or negative correlation (approaching 1)?

1 You compare height with limbo-dancing ability in a sample of

gymnasts.

2 You compare height with number of CDs owned for students in your class.
3 You compare height with arm span in the general population.
FIGURE 15.6
What correlation would you expect to find
between height and ability to limbo dance?

Although Spearman found that most correlations were of moderate strength (typically 0.3 to 0.6), he concluded that there was
evidence for a general factor of intelligence, which he called g for
general intelligence. This meant that all mental tasks measure a
general ability to some degree. A person who does well on one
mental task will tend to do well on others.
To explain why the correlations were only moderate rather than
strong, Spearman described another factor that was specific to each
individual task. He called this factor s for specific ability, and reasoned that performance in an intellectual task was a result of both
the g factor and the s factor, as shown in Figure 15.7. Spearmans
theory is sometimes called the two-factor theory.
FIGURE 15.7
Spearmans two-factor theory. Task A is a good measure of general intelligence,
whereas task B is not a good measure of general intelligence but is a good
measure of a type of specific intelligence.

Mental task A

Mental task B

242 heinemann psychology one

Spearman believed that g represented a measure of biological endowment or inherited abilities. As we shall see in the following sections, the idea that intelligence can be
summarised by a single score has come under a good deal of criticism.

Evaluating early ideas about intelligence

Binet, Stern and Spearman were among the earliest researchers to put forward ideas in
this field. They made important contributions to the understanding of intelligence,
even if the details of their ideas and methods have often been replaced with better ones.
For example, the ratio IQ is no longer used.
The idea that there is a general factor of intelligence implies that all cognitive tests
will correlate with one another, even if the correlation is sometimes very low. This is
still a respected idea among researchers working in this area, though Spearmans original view has been modified in many ways, as we will see.

KEY QUESTIONS
1
2
3
4

Describe the three aspects of Binets theory of intelligence.

Describe how Binet devised his tests.
How did Stern calculate IQ?
What is g and how does it relate to intelligence testing?

Cattells fluid and crystallised

intelligence

GLOSSARY
fluid intelligence
ability to reason and process
information effectively

crystallised intelligence
accumulation of knowledge
resulting from the influence of
fluid intelligence on the
environment

Raymond Cattell was an important researcher in the areas of both intelligence and personality. He is best known for his distinction between fluid intelligence and crystallised
intelligence.
Instead of there being just one general ability, as claimed by researchers such as Spearman, Cattell (1963) argued that ability could be divided into two separate components:
Fluid intelligence (Gf) refers to intellectual abilities that have no specific content,
and develop independently of schooling. It covers our ability to process information
and to deal with novel problems. It includes such abilities as reasoning, pattern
recognition, spatial ability and memory. Fluid intelligence is believed to be largely
inherited, as discussed in the Classic study below.
Crystallised intelligence (Gc) results from applying fluid intelligence to experience.
It refers to our store of knowledge, such as our vocabulary and general knowledge
about the world. It is clearly influenced by education.
The later writings of Cattell and his colleagues identified four other major components of intelligence:
retrieval (Gr)
visual information processing (Gv)
perceptual speed (Gps)
memory (Gm).
However, Gf and Gc remain the most central concepts in the theory, which is sometimes called GfGc theory. As we saw in Figure 15.4, Gf and Gc are important concepts
in the hierarchical structure underlying the StanfordBinet test.
One interesting area of research using the concepts of Gf and Gc is to compare them
over the lifespan. As Figure 15.8 indicates, measures of general intelligence remain fairly similar between early adolescence and the age of about 60. However, measures of Gf
and Gc are quite different. Fluid intelligence drops after age 15, whereas crystallised
intelligence continues to gradually increase with age.

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 243

crystallised
intelligence

1.5
1.0

Ability level

0.5
general intelligence
(g-factor)

0
0.5

FIGURE 15.8
1.0
fluid intelligence

10

20

30

Age

40

50

60

General intelligence, fluid intelligence

and crystallised intelligence over the
lifespan. General intelligence remains
the same, fluid intelligence decreases,
while crystallised intelligence tends to
increase until at least age 60. (Adapted
from Horn and Noll, 1997, p. 72.)

Evaluating Cattells theory

There is still considerable argument among psychologists about whether it is better to
think of intelligence as a single factor, like Spearmans concept of g, or as separate factors, Gc and Gf. The distinction is useful in a number of areasfor example, when
looking at the relative differences in performance of younger and older individuals.

classic study
Is intelligence inherited?

The naturenurture debate

A question with a long history in psychology is whether
intelligence is due to nature (heredity) or to nurture (the
environment).
The most common method of addressing the question
is to investigate the correlations between the IQ scores of
family members, particularly twins. Monozygotic (identical) twins have the same heredity, whereas dizygotic
(fraternal) twins do not. If studies could find that the IQ
correlations between monozygotic twins were higher than
those between dizygotic twins, this would provide strong
evidence that intelligence is partly inherited.
A small number of studies have also compared twins
reared apart in different families from soon after birth with
twins brought up in the same family. If twins reared
together had higher correlations than those reared apart,
this would provide evidence for the influence of the
environment.
Bouchard and McGue (1981) reviewed 111 studies
that measured IQ score correlations between different
family relationships. Some of their data is summarised in
Table 15.2.

FIGURE 15.9
People have different ideas about the meaning of
environment. Psychologists tend to think of the
environment as all the influences on a person that
occur after conception.

TABLE 15.2 Median correlations for IQ scores for

people in different family relationships
(Bouchard & McGue, 1981).

Relationship

Median correlation coefficient

Monozygotic twins reared together

0.85

Monozygotic twins reared apart

0.67

Dizygotic twins reared together

0.58

Siblings reared together

0.45

Siblings reared apart

0.24

Monozygotic twins do obtain higher correlations than

dizygotic twins, supporting the influence of heredity.
Monozygotic twins reared together obtain higher correlations than monozygotic twins reared apart, supporting the
influence of environment.

244 heinemann psychology one

The Flynn effect

An interesting finding of Flynn (1984, 1987) also has
implications for the naturenurture issue. Flynn observed
that the average IQs calculated from comparable tests in
American populations have increased over the last few
decades. He went on to demonstrate the same effect in
fourteen other countries including Australia and New
Zealand. The effect is greater for fluid intelligence than for
crystallised intelligence.
A number of explanations for the Flynn effect have
been put forward:
improved nutrition and fewer childhood illnesses
better quality schooling, more effective childrearing
the influence of the mass media in providing general
knowledge
improved test-taking proficiency, due to the greater availability of tests and puzzles (for example, in magazines)

hybrid vigour, which refers to the increase in possible

superior gene combinations due to increasing population size and migration.
Psychologists now accept that genes and environmental
factors work together in complex ways to produce individual differences in intelligence.

Questions
1

From Table 15.2, which two correlations need to be

compared when investigating the importance of
heredity on intelligence? Which two are most relevant
when investigating the importance of environment?
Over the past 100 years there has been a gradual
and substantial increase in height in major Western
countries. Do you think this fact has any significance
when considering the various explanations for the
Flynn effect?

GLOSSARY
WAIS (Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale)
popular standardised
intelligence test developed
initially by Wechsler for the
individual testing of adult
intelligence

WISC (Wechsler Intelligence

Scale for Children)
popular standardised
intelligence test developed
initially by Wechsler for the
individual testing of childrens
intelligence

KEY QUESTIONS
5 What is the difference between fluid and crystallised intelligence?
6 How do levels of fluid and crystallised intelligence change over the life
span?

Wechslers empirical approach

to intelligence

New York psychologist David Wechsler (1975) defined intelligence as the capacity to
think rationally, act purposefully and deal effectively with the environment. He develVerbal IQ
in the Wechsler tests, the sum
oped a set of intelligence tests for adults and children that are in common use today.
of the various sub-tests devised
Wechsler considered intelligence as a global concept that took different forms.
to measure verbal ability
Because
he did not have a clear theory of intelligence underlying his tests, his approach
Performance IQ
in the Wechsler tests, the sum
is sometimes called an empirical approach. His aim was to develop a test that worked
of the various sub-tests devised
and that was useful. His tests were devised to tap into many different mental abilities
to measure non-verbal ability
that society values and considers intelligent.
His tests are known according to their abbreviations: the WAIS
(Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), the WISC (Wechsler
Intelligence Scale for Children) and the WPPSI (Wechsler
Global ability
Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence). They have each been
revised several times. We will look at examples from the third edition of the WISC, called the WISC-III.
The tests are administered individually by a trained tester.
There are a number of sub-tests with questions arranged from easy
Performance
to more difficult. There are verbal sub-tests that give the persons
abilities
Verbal abilities
Verbal IQ, and non-verbal sub-tests measuring Performance
object assembly
comprehension
block design
vocabulary
IQ. The sum of these is the Full Scale IQ score of the person.
picture completion
information
This
hierarchical structure is illustrated in Figure 15.10.
picture arrangement
similarities
coding
The sub-tests of the WISC-III, with sample items of similar
arithmetic
symbol search
digit span
style, are briefly described in Table 15.3. Note that the last verbal
mazes
sub-test and the two last performance sub-tests are optional tests,
to be used only if one of the other tests is invalidated for some reason. The WAIS-III has largely similar sub-tests to the WISC-III,
FIGURE 15.10
The hierarchical organisation of the WISC-III.
though the level of difficulty is higher for the adult test.

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 245

TABLE 15.3 Questions in the style of the WISC-III.

Content area

Explanation of tasks/questions

Example

Verbal sub-tests
Comprehension

Answer questions of social knowledge.

Why are convicted criminals put into

prison?

Vocabulary

Define the meaning of a word.

What does persistent mean?

Information

Supply generally known information.

What are the names of three rivers in

Victoria?

Similarities

Explain how two things or concepts are

similar.

In what ways are an emu and a penguin

alike?

Arithmetic

Solve simple arithmetical word problems.

If Max has $14.45 and he buys two

sandwiches which cost $2.80 each,
how much money will he have left?

Digit span (supplementary test)

Listen to a series of digits (numbers), then

repeat the numbers either forwards or
backwards or both.

Repeat these numbers backwards:

8, 3, 7, 4, 1, 9.

Object assembly

Put together a puzzle by combining pieces

to form a particular common object.

Put together these

pieces to make
something.

Block design

Use patterned blocks to form a design that

looks identical to a design shown by the
examiner.

Assemble these blocks to make this

design.

Picture completion

Say what is missing from each picture.

What is missing from

this picture?

Performance sub-tests

11

12

10

3
4

8
7

Picture arrangement

Put a set of cartoon-like pictures into

chronological order, so they tell a
coherent story.

Arrange these pictures in an order that

tells a story, then say what is happening
in the story.

Coding

Use a key to transcribe symbols to

numerals.

Look at the key. In the blanks, write the

correct numeral for each symbol.

246 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
statistical norms
average scores established
from observation of large
representative groups

standardisation group
group of individuals chosen to
be representative of a
population; their average
scores are used for comparison
in the interpretation of scores
on standard tests

Although Wechsler did not have a clear theory underlying his tests, the performance
tests are closely related to what Cattell called fluid intelligence, whereas the verbal tests
mostly measure what he called crystallised intelligence.
Wechsler is also remembered for another important innovation in IQ testing. Earlier
researchers, such as Binet and Stern, measured the ratio IQ, which was popular for many
years but appropriate for use only with children because their mental age gradually
increases as they get older. An adults mental age, on the other hand, does not usually
vary much. Using the formula for ratio IQ, this means that the IQ of a 48-year-old
would be calculated as one-quarter that of a 12-year-old, if they scored the same on an
IQ test.
Wechsler solved this problem by abandoning the concept of mental age, and instead
calculating IQ as an individuals position compared to peers of the same age on a frequency distribution. In other words, the score is interpreted in terms of statistical
norms for adults of that age. Statistical norms are average scores established by observing a large representative group of people, called the standardisation group. The IQ
score shows the extent to which a persons score differs, or deviates, from the average
established by the group. This method produces what is called a deviation IQ.
As with many human characteristics, the frequency distribution for the IQ scores of
a large, representative group of people takes the form of a normal, bell-shaped curve
(Figure 15.11). Most people receive scores close to the mean, and few people obtain very
high or very low scores. People with very high scores are intellectually gifted, whereas
those scoring very low are intellectually disabled.

ACTIVITY

The normal curve for IQ

Look at Figure 15.11. Note that this normal curve is idealisedwe would obtain a curve like
this only if we gave our test to a very large group that accurately represented the different
levels of intelligence in the population at large.

1 What percentage of people get IQ scores below 70?

2 What percentage of people get scores between one standard deviation above and below the
mean?

3 If you randomly selected 200 people from the population, about how many would you expect
to score between 130 and 145?

Percentage of
individuals
in ranges of
the normal
curve

0.1%

Standard
deviations 4
IQ score

40

2%

14%

34%

34%

14%

2%

0.1%

+1

+2

+3

+4

55

70

85

100

115

130

145

160

FIGURE 15.11
The standard normal curve for intelligence scores.

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 247

Evaluation of Wechslers ideas

Wechslers approach has been criticised because there is no clear theory underlying the
test. However, his contribution is a considerable one. In addition to developing the concept of deviation IQ, his tests of intelligence remain among the most popular individual
tests of intelligence in both children and adults.

KEY QUESTIONS
7 What are the two main types of tasks measured by the Wechsler tests?
8 Why is the concept of mental age inappropriate for adults?
9 What is the difference between a ratio IQ and a deviation IQ?

Sternbergs hierarchical model

of intelligence
The definition of intelligence as the ability to reason and learn, to think abstractly and
to solve problems, is seen as inadequate by some researchers. Robert Sternberg of Yale
University believes that this traditional definition emphasises only one type of intelligence. This type of intelligence is important, but is not the full story. Sternberg proposed
a triarchic theory of intelligence, where intelligence comprises three aspectsanalytic,
creative and practical intelligence. The theory is hierarchical because it divides intelligence into several types, which are then further sub-divided.

Practical
thinking

Analytical
thinking

FIGURE 15.12

Creative
thinking

triarchic theory of intelligence

Sternbergs theory whereby
intelligence comprises three
aspects: analytic, creative and
practical

analytic intelligence

apply to
everyday
contexts

solve
familiar
problems

GLOSSARY

think in
new ways

ability to think critically and to

process information, involving
metacomponents, performance
components and knowledgeacquisition components

Sternbergs triarchic theory

of intelligence. Analytical
thinking involves applying
strategies to familiar
situations. Creative thinking
involves solving new kinds
of problems. Practical
thinking involves applying
our knowledge in everyday
contexts.

Analytic intelligence
Traditional intelligence tests measure what Sternberg calls analytic intelligence. This
type of intelligence concerns the degree to which we can think critically, and how well
our nervous systems process information from the environment. It consists of the mental mechanisms we use to plan and execute tasks, which Sternberg calls components.
It is therefore also referred to as componential intelligence.
Sternberg (1991) described three information-processing components necessary for
analytic thinking:
Metacomponents or transcending components are higher order thinking processes
used to plan what is to be done, to monitor it while it is being done and to evaluate it after it is completed. Metacomponents are strategies for solving problems.

FIGURE 15.13
We use analytic thinking to try
to solve familiar problems by
manipulating the elements of
the problem.

248 heinemann psychology one

Performance components are lower level processes that carry out the orders of the metacomponents.
Knowledge-acquisition components sift out irrelevant information and assemble the relevant knowledge needed to solve a problem.

GLOSSARY
creative intelligence
ability to combine facts
and information in novel and
valuable ways

Sternberg gives the example of writing an essay. You would use metacomponents to
decide the topic for your essay, to plan and monitor the writing and to evaluate how
well you think you have answered the question. You would use knowledge-acquisition
components to do the research to learn the required information. You would use performance components for the actual writing.
The three components operate together and are highly interdependent. For example,
in order to decide your topic, you would first have to gain some knowledge about the
area. As you proceed to write, you might change your emphasis or even change the topic
as you gain new knowledge.

Creative intelligence

Creative thinking requires us to consider

things in novel and different ways.

Creative intelligence is the second type of intelligence in Sternbergs

model, and is concerned with the ability to have creative ideas and to
combine facts and information. It is also called experiential intelligence,
because it concerns how past experience interacts with the three kinds of
information-processing components outlined above.
We come to tasks with varying degrees of past experience. As tasks
become increasingly familiar, many aspects become automatic so that we
can do them with little conscious effort. This frees up our mental processes. Someone with good experiential intelligence has more mental resources
available than someone with poor experiential intelligence. These resources
can be used to combine facts and information in new ways, enabling them
to deal with novel, unfamiliar tasks, or to solve new problems.
Sternberg relates this idea to Cattells distinction between fluid and crystallised intelligence. Tasks that use fluid intelligence are those that require
novel approaches, while those using crystallised intelligence require relatively automatic mental processes.
For Sternberg, creativity involves putting information together in new
and valuable ways (see Extension box below).

Sternberg on creativity

extension

FIGURE 15.14

Sternberg (2003) argues that creativity involves a decision we

make to go our own way. Creative people are like good investors
who buy low and sell high. Just like a person who makes a lot of
money by buying shares when they are not popular and selling
them when they are popular, the creative person has theories or
views that are initially not accepted by most people, who may
think of them as unusual or even foolish. Eventually, the ideas are
accepted. So creative people first defy the crowd and then come
to lead it.
Sternberg says that creative people make the following types
of courageous decisions:
define problems differently from their colleagues
analyse their own ideas and discard the weaker ones
persuade others to accept ideas they initially reject
recognise that their knowledge can sometimes impede their
efforts when it leads to tunnel vision
overcome the obstacles placed in their paths

extension

extension

tolerate ambiguity
be willing to change and grow
believe in themselves when no-one else seems to

FIGURE 15.15
Creative thinking leading to innovation is often initially
resisted by others. George Stephenson was ridiculed when
in 1829 he claimed he could construct a steam-powered
locomotive that would travel at 30 kilometres per hour.

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 249

realise that their own ideas are not the final word
do not take themselves so seriously that they cant imagine
anyone thinking differently from the way they do.

Questions

low and sell high?

2 What do you think of the idea that creativity is largely about

making decisions of a particular kind, rather than being an
ability?

1 What does Sternberg mean by saying that creative people buy

Practical intelligence

GLOSSARY

Practical intelligence involves clever or street-smart thinking, where we are able to

work within the circumstances of our environment to maximise our strengths and compensate for our weaknesses. This type of intelligence is also called contextual intelligence,
because we are attempting to apply what we know to our everyday environments.

practical intelligence
the ability to survive and prosper
in a specific environment,
involving adaptation, shaping and
selection

FIGURE 15.16
Practical intelligence depends on the context in which
we find ourselves. (a) In a primitive huntergatherer
society, being able to distinguish edible food from nonedible food is an essential skill. (b) In modern,
industrialised societies, being able to present yourself
well at a job interview is of importance.

Sternberg argues that practical intelligence serves three functions:

Adaptation involves fitting into, or adapting to, our environments by learning relevant skills and behaviour that will help us get along and succeed in that
environment. Successful adaptation involves learning the written and unwritten
rules of our particular culture. Learning how to get along with the people in your
house is an example of adaptation.
Shaping refers to the way we change our environment in order to fit into it. If you
are not getting along with your roommates, you may attempt to change, or shape,
their behaviour by speaking to them.
Selection refers to our decision to change our environment if we are unable to adapt to it,
or to shape it. We may decide to change to an environmental context that does suit us.

250 heinemann psychology one

Sternberg believes that to have successful intelligence, we need a balance between

these three aspects of intelligence. To measure successful intelligence, he has constructed test items to measure the three aspects. The Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test has
both verbal and quantitative items for each of the three aspects, as illustrated in Table
15.4. The Active psychology box below describes a study employing this test.

GLOSSARY
successful intelligence
balance between analytic,
creative and practical
intelligences

Evaluating Sternbergs theory

Some critics have said that Sternbergs way of looking at intelligence is too broad, and
that some of what he calls intelligence is really tapping into aspects of personality. In
addition, studies have not provided strong evidence for Sternbergs view that the three
types of intelligence are relatively independentpeople who score highly on one type
of intelligence do show some tendency to score highly on the others.
Unlike many of the earlier theories, Sternberg is less concerned with how intelligence is structured or organised, and more concerned with how it works. His emphasis
on the idea that successful real-life behaviour involves creativity and practical intelligence, as well as the more traditional aspects of intelligence, is a useful one.
TABLE 15.4 Examples from the Sternberg (1991) Triarchic Abilities Test.

Analytical verbal
The depression did not happen suddenly with the 1929 stock market crash, although the laz that preceded it seemed carefree and
spendthrift. The twenties saw homeless workers beginning to wend their way across the country, and small businesses going bankrupt.
Laz most likely means:
a economy
b years
c history
d lifestyles

Analytical quantitative
In the following number series, which is the best choice for the blank?
1, 3, 6, 8, 16, ___
a 18
b 24
c 32

d 48

Creative verbal
If dogs laid eggs, which of these would most likely be true?
a Dogs would fly.
b Puppies would have feathers.
d Puppies would hatch.
e Chickens would bark.

c Eggs would have tails.

Assume that snowflakes are made of sand. Which solution is correct, given this assumption?
Water is to drop as snow is to _______.
a storm
b beach
c grain
d ice

Creative quantitative
* +4

* 2

36

3
* +1

If * = 8, then what should be in the blank cell?

a 15
b *

c 18

d 9

Practical verbal
Johnsons garage adheres to the claim that it will not be undersold. Which of the following is most likely to be true?
a Garcias garage charges more than Johnsons.
b No other garage charges less than Johnsons.
c Johnsons garage is the busiest garage in town.

Practical quantitative
You plan to make some cookies for your clubs cake sale. The recipe calls for the following ingredients: 1 stick butter, 1 cup sugar,
1 egg, 1 cup flour, 1 cup pecans.
Yield: 24 cookies.
You have the following ingredients: 4 sticks of butter, 5 cups of sugar, one dozen eggs, 7 cups of flour, 2 x 8 oz bags of chocolate
chips and 3 cups of pecans.
If you decide to make pecan cookies, what is the largest number of cookies you can make, using the ingredients you already
have?
Adapted from Sternberg (1991, pp. 1909)

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 251

active psychology
A study using Sternbergs triarchic theory
Sternberg, Ferrari, Clinkenbeard and Grigorenko (1996)
used the Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Tests to divide a
pool of 199 students into five groups:
high analytic
high creative
high practical
high balanced (scored highly on all three scales)
low balanced (scored poorly on all three scales)
Students in each group were then randomly allocated
to one of four types of instruction for a particular part of
their course. Three instruction approaches emphasised
one of the three types of thinking discussed by Sternberg
analytical, creative or practical. A fourth instruction
approach emphasised memory. There were therefore
twenty sets of students, made up of the five groups
receiving the four types of instruction.
All students were evaluated with a final essay and
examination that contained items related to memory and
the three types of intelligence. Sternberg and his
colleagues found that students whose instruction
matched their pattern of abilities performed significantly
better than did students who were mismatched. For
example, those students with high analytic intelligence
did better if they were instructed by the analytic
approach. Students with high creative intelligence did
better if instructed by the creative approach, and so on.

Questions
1
2

Why did Sternberg randomly allocate the students?

Do you think this study has any implications for
educational practice?

FIGURE 15.17
We learn best when the teaching style matches our
specific abilities in terms of analytic, creative or
practical intelligence.

KEY QUESTIONS
10
11
12
13

What are the three types of intelligence, according to Sternbergs triarchic theory?
What are the three components of analytic intelligence?
What are the three functions of practical intelligence?
What is successful intelligence, as proposed by Sternberg?

Gardners theory of
multiple intelligences

TABLE 15.5 The intelligences described by Howard Gardner.

Type of intelligence

Howard Gardner of Harvard and Boston Universities

has proposed a theory of multiple intelligences.
This is quite different from the idea that there is a
single type of intelligence (such as Spearmans g factor) composed of different abilities. For Gardner
(1998), everyone has nine distinct intelligences of
varying levels, as shown in Table 15.5. These intelligences are substantially independent of each other.

Tasks using this intelligence

linguistic

reading, writing, understanding spoken words

logicalmathematical

using numbers and logical reasoning

spatial

reading maps and manipulating things in

space

musical

creation and appreciation of music

bodilykinaesthetic

sports, dancing and other bodily movement

interpersonal

understanding and relating to

other people

intrapersonal

understanding ones own thoughts and

mental states

multiple intelligences

naturalist

Gardners theory that intelligence

is not a single, unitary capacity
but that there are several
independent intelligences

recognition and categorisation of natural

objects

existential

pondering the fundamental questions of

existence

GLOSSARY

252 heinemann psychology one

ACTIVITY

Gardners intelligences

Gardner has identified several intelligences, as listed in Table 15.5.

1 Match these intelligences to the four pictures shown.

2 Place the nine intelligences in order, starting with the one you think you are highest on, and going
through to the lowest. Compare these with other people in your class.
a

Gardner believes that all normal people possess all these intelligences, but possess
them to different degrees. In fact, all peopleeven identical twinsare believed to
have unique combinations of intelligences.
Unlike most of the previous theories, Gardner does not place strong emphasis on the
measurement of intelligence. He notes that the first three types of intelligence in Table
15.5 are the only ones measured by traditional intelligence tests. Although he has
developed some tests of his own, he has tended to avoid the typical methods of measuring intelligence. He believes that real-life or virtual demonstrations should be used
where possible to assess strengths and weaknesses in the various types of intelligence.
This list of intelligences should not be regarded as final. Even Gardners own books
and articles differ with respect to how many intelligences can be identified. This illustrates his view that we shall probably never develop a single, final list of human
intelligences that everyone agrees on. However, he believes that we can clearly distinguish the nine listed in Table 15.5. The evidence for this comes from a number of
sources.

Evidence for multiple intelligences

Patients with brain damage
Gardner believes that each type of intelligence is associated with different parts or modules of the brain. He found evidence for this in studies of patients whose brains were
damaged by strokes or accidents. These people often lost just one set of skills or abilities
while keeping the others relatively unaffected. Other patients suffered damage to many
types of abilities, but one set of skills was preserved. Such studies support Gardners view
that different brain systems underlie different intelligences.

Savants and prodigies

A second source of evidence comes from Gardners studies of savants, prodigies and
other exceptional individuals. Savants are people with generally very poor ability in
most areas, but who have an extraordinary talent of some kind. Some are brilliant calculators, others have exceptional talents in drawing or unusual musical skills.
Gardner has also looked at the biographies of prodigieschildren showing exceptional talent who seem to develop far more rapidly in one form of ability than in others.

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 253

Intelligence across the lifespan

Gardner investigated patterns of development in different intelligences across the lifespan. He noted that different types of ability develop at different rates, supporting the
notion of separate intelligences.

Evolutionary evidence
Another source of evidence involves the study of the evolutionary history of each type
of intelligence. For example, it is possible to examine forms of spatial intelligence in
mammals or musical intelligence in birds.

Cultural evidence
Anthropological studies have shown that different abilities are developed, ignored or
prized in different cultures. Linguistic and logicalmathematical abilities tend to be
more highly regarded in technologically advanced societies. In other cultures, or at
other historical times, musical, bodily or spatial intelligences have been more valued.

FIGURE 15.18
Gardner studied birdsong as an
example of musical intelligence in birds.

FIGURE 15.19
Drummers and Kata Kali dancers at a
festival in India. Musical and bodily
kinaesthetic intelligence are given more
value in some cultures than they are in
our own.

254 heinemann psychology one

Emotional intelligence

extension

extension

Many of the types of intelligence Gardner identifies are somewhat different from those that researchers may include in their definitions of
intelligence. A concept that has recently led to much research, and that
appears to overlap with Gardners idea of interpersonal intelligence, is
emotional intelligence (EQ), a concept first introduced in 1990 by Salovey
and Mayer. EQ is the ability to perceive accurately, appraise and express
emotion.
A scientific journalist, Daniel Goleman (1995), has written a bestselling book on the subject, called Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Goleman gathered evidence in a way similar to Howard
Gardner about a variety of research studies, case studies and naturalistic
observations. These all suggest that some people are better at empathising with others, or imagining what it is like to be the other person.
They are able to act upon this abstract information in real interpersonal situations so that they negotiate more effectively with others.
These are the people who have high EQ.

Questions
1 Writers such as Goleman have argued that some people are not able

extension

FIGURE 15.20
High EQ may be more
important than high IQ in
many work-related situations.

to succeed in work-related situations because they have high IQ, but

low EQ. What do you think?
2 Can you think of other situations where emotional intelligence might
be advantageous? Can you think of any situations where it may actually be a disadvantage to have high EQ?

Evaluating Gardners theory

Gardners ideas are based on the integration of evidence from a wide range of sources,
and have proven popular in a number of areasparticularly education. His critics have
argued, however, that he defines intelligence so broadly that it has almost become
meaningless. His view that the various intelligences are associated with particular parts
of the brain is central to his theory, but the evidence for this is still quite weak.
His ideas have not produced much research into the various forms of intelligence,
due partly to his lack of interest in measurement. He argues strongly against the idea
of a single general intelligence, but may have gone too far in taking the view that the
various intelligences are quite distinct.

KEY QUESTIONS
W

WORKSHEET 1
Intelligence theories

14 List the different intelligences proposed by Gardner

15 What kinds of evidence does Gardner offer to support his theory?
16 How does Gardners theory differ from that of Spearman?

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 255

chapter

term
def

summary
06

Binets work was the basis for modern intelligence testing and measured IQ using the ratio
method.
Terman developed a modern version of Binets test, called the StanfordBinet.
Spearman developed the idea that there is a general factor of intelligence. He believed each
intellectual task comprised a component of general intelligence (g) and a component specific to that task (s).
Cattell made the distinction between fluid and crystallised intelligence. Fluid intelligence has
no specific content, and refers to information processing ability and the ability to deal with
novel problems. It begins to decrease in mid-adolescence. Crystallised intelligence refers to
learned abilities such as vocabulary and general knowledge. It continues to increase to at
least age 60.
Wechsler developed two popular individually administered intelligence tests called the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The test
distinguished verbal from non-verbal (performance) IQ. Wechsler devised the deviation IQ,
which forms the basis of IQ calculation today.
Sternbergs triarchic theory distinguishes three types of intelligence. Analytic intelligence
concerns how well our nervous systems can process information, and is the kind of intelligence measured by traditional tests. Creative intelligence concerns our ability to solve new
kinds of problems by thinking in different ways. Practical intelligence concerns our ability to
apply our intelligence in real-world contexts.
Gardners theory of multiple intelligences states that there are several distinct, largely independent types of intelligence. His evidence for this comes from a variety of sources,
including the study of brain-damaged patients and the study of prodigies and savants.

15

GLOSSARY

07

08

09

10

256 heinemann psychology one

multiple
choice
questions
1 The French government asked Binet to develop a test to
differentiate those children who were having trouble
functioning at school because
A it was believed that they would benefit from special
teaching programs made for their needs.
B they were to be excluded from the overcrowded
conditions of universal schooling.
C there were plenty of employment opportunities for
those who did not read at that time.
D the movement was towards universal testing to
ascertain educational standards and norms.

2 Spearman used correlations to show that

A most IQ tests had similar results.
B intelligence was a complicated idea based on many
factors.

C there was a general ability underlying intelligence.

D intelligent people have different brainwave patterns.
3 Studies of fluid and crystallised intelligence have
tended to find that, from mid-adolescence
A the correlation between fluid and crystallised
intelligence remains about zero.
B both types of intelligence remain fairly stable to at
least age 60.
C fluid intelligence increases but crystallised
intelligence gradually declines to at least age 60.
D fluid intelligence declines but crystallised
intelligence gradually increases to at least age 60.

4 Studies of families have found that the most similar IQ

scores occur when comparing two individuals who are
________________.
A parentoffspring
B same-sex siblings
C identical twins
D fraternal twins

5 Originally, tests revealed the IQ of a person by

comparing their ________________ age to their
chronological age. Modern tests compare the scores of
a person to ________________.
A mental; standardised sample norms
B cognitive; standard figures
C literacy; statistical correlations of the population
D computational; the correct answers as a percentage

6 Wechslers tests of intelligence

A were developed for children rather than for adults.
B include both verbal and performance sub-tests.
C are based on the concept of mental age.
D are based on a clear theoretical model of
intelligence.

7 According to Sternbergs triarchic theory of intelligence,

A analytic intelligence is also called contextual
intelligence.

B creative intelligence comprises metacomponents,

performance components and knowledge acquisition
components.
C practical intelligence serves the functions of
adaptation, shaping and selection.
D successful intelligence is also known as experiential
intelligence.

8 According to Sternberg, what type of intelligence are

we using when we are attempting to solve familiar
problems by using previously-learned strategies that
manipulate the elements of a problem or the
relationship among these elements?
A analytic
B creative
C practical
D successful

9 Gardner has developed a theory of multiple

intelligences. His major idea is that
A mathematical ability underlies most forms of
intelligence.
B gifted people usually have multiple talents. For
example, great artists cannot only paint but can
imagine interesting pictures.
C everyone is an individual and has his or her own
unique gifts.
D there are different forms of intelligence that are
largely independent of each other.

10 Which of the following is not one of the types of

intelligence identified by Howard Gardner?
A linguistic
B spatial
C creative
D interpersonal

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 257

short
answer
questions
1 Is there a single general intelligence (g)? Answer the question by comparing the ideas of Binet,
Cattell, Wechsler, Sternberg and Gardner.

2 Draw a figure to illustrate the ideas of each theorist.

3 What is intelligence? How would the above writers differ in their answer to this question?
4 What researchers were involved in the development of the ratio IQ and the deviation IQ?
How do the two approaches differ? Why is the deviation IQ a superior method to the ratio IQ?

5 Whose ideas on intelligence do you prefer? Give reasons for your answer.

WORKSHEET 2
Crossword

essay
Defining and measuring intelligence
What is the most legitimate way of describing and measuring intelligence? Compare and contrast at least
three different approaches, and come to an informed conclusion about which you believe to be the most
legitimate approach.

Introduction
Introduce the concept of intelligence, and the difficulty of defining it. Briefly mention the various
approaches to intelligence and its measurement.

Body
Describe three approaches to defining and measuring intelligence.
Evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of each approach.

Conclusion
Explain and support your position on whether one approach is better than the others. You may prefer to
support a position that favours a more wide-ranging approach to defining and measuring intelligence.

258 heinemann psychology one

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY A child and adolescent intelligence scale

Abstract
This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,
but appears immediately under the title.

Introduction
The aim of this empirical research activity is to construct an intelligence test suitable for administration to
children between 8 and 15 years old. Refer to the section on the StanfordBinet and the WAIS tests, and to
the ideas of Gardner and Sternberg in this chapter.
In your introduction, describe the structure of modern
intelligence tests and mention their uses and misuses.
It is hypothesised that as age increases, performance
will improve on a test of intelligence.

Method
Participants
Describe the number, average age and gender of
participants, and any characteristics that may lead
them to have a different approach to intelligence from
the one assumed in the test you are constructing.
Write a letter of information about the purpose of
your research and an informed consent form for parents
or guardians. Put a blank copy in your appendix.

Materials

(a) Find or make a fairly simple jigsaw.

(b) Choose cartoons that are not too easy!
(c) For the vocabulary test, find words with
varying levels of difficulty. Arrange them
in order, so they get gradually harder.

Pool the best items in the class. Decide on a set of

instructions for administering the test.

Procedure
Before you do the task, it is important that you get
permission from the participant, as well as from his or
her parent or guardian.
Each person in the class should give the combined
test to at least two people aged 8 to 15 years outside
the class, using the standard set of instructions.
Responses should be recorded verbatim (word for word).
The age and gender of participants should be noted.

Results
Collate the scores of the participants according to their
ages. For each age, find the corresponding average score
on the test.
Construct a scattergram of age against scores on the
test. Describe in words any trend in the results.

Discussion
1 Was the hypothesis that scores on the test increase

Find examples of IQ items from this book and other

sources that you can use as models. Some tasks that are
easy to develop, based on the WISC and WAIS, are:
jigsaws (give points for the time takenless time,
more points)
arrangement of newspaper cartoon pictures in
correct order (measure the time taken)
vocabulary test (use a dictionary)
arithmetic test (allow participants to see the
problem and give a verbal response)
digit span (lists of random numbers of increasing
length that subjects must repeat without error;
points are given for the number of digits correctly
repeatedfor example, if the participant correctly
repeats seven digits but makes an error with eight
digits, seven points are allocated)
coding task (randomly assign the letters A to H with

FIGURE 15.21

numbers from 1 to 8, such as A = 6, B = 3, C = 5,

and so on, then make up a string of random letters
that participants must decode; measure the time
taken to complete the task).

with chronological age supported?

2 Did your test show a floor effect (low scores in each

age group) indicating it was too hard, or a ceiling
effect (high scores in all age groups) indicating it
was too easy? Did particular items appear too hard
or too easy?

3 How could the test be improved? Could the conditions under which it was administered be improved?

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter
3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
Put your individual results sheet at the end, so that
those reading the report can see how each participant
responded.

chapter 15 intelligence and intelligence testing 259

chapter
psychology

16

Theories of
personality

00

01

260

02

03

04

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
one approach to describing and
classifying personality: Freud
(psychoanalytic), empirical (type A, B
and C), Eysenck (trait), Rogers
(humanistic), Skinner (learning).

chapter 16 theories of personality 261

The word personality comes from the Latin word persona, meaning mask. Masks were worn by actors in
ancient Greek and Roman plays to distinguish one
character from another. Personality consists of those relatively permanent characteristics and behaviours that
define us, in our own eyes and the eyes of others, as
being a unique individual. These relatively stable characteristics are frequently called traits by personality
psychologists.
People differ in all sorts of physical ways, such as
height or hair colour. Personality psychologists are not
interested in these differences. They also usually exclude
from their definition the various intellectual abilities
making up intelligence, as discussed in chapter 15.
The various theories of personality have been grouped
into several general approaches (see Figure 16.2). In this
chapter we will look at these approaches, along with a
typical theory to illustrate each one.

GLOSSARY
personality
pattern of relatively enduring
attributes and dispositions of an
individual that distinguishes the
person from others

traits
relatively stable characteristics of
a person that show themselves in
a wide range of situations

FIGURE 16.1
Throughout the ages, masks
have been used in situations
where people wish to take on
new characteristics, to pretend
to be something or someone
they are not.

FIGURE 16.2
The five general approaches
to studying personality.

empirical
approach
psychoanalytic
approach

trait
approach

learning
approach
humanistic
approach

GLOSSARY
psychoanalysis

Freud and psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is the system of psychology based on the teachings of Sigmund Freud
(18561939). Freud was born in Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic) and died in
London, but spent most of his life practising in Vienna. His influential writings formed
the basis for a broad psychological theory covering not only personality but also mental disorders, and having implications for areas such as religion and the creative arts.
At the time Freud began practising, in the late nineteenth century, most writers
concerned with the study of the human mind were interested in the study of conscious
experience. However, Freud put his major emphasis on unconscious factors. According
to him, the mind has three levels:
the conscious mindthe images, thoughts and feelings that are being experienced
right now
the preconscious mindmemories and sensations that can be brought easily into
consciousness (for example, the name of a close relative)
the unconscious minddesires, impulses and wishes that are very difficult to
bring into consciousness, and would produce considerable anxiety if allowed into
consciousness.

system of psychology originated

by Sigmund Freud; it places
prime importance on unconscious
motives and conflicts in
determining behaviour

conscious mind
in psychoanalytic theory, the
images, thoughts and feelings as
the person is experiencing them
in the present

preconscious mind
in psychoanalytic theory,
memories and thoughts not
currently conscious but which
can be easily made conscious

unconscious mind
in psychoanalytic theory, impulses
and wishes that cannot easily be
brought into consciousness
except in a disguised form;
psychoanalysts generally consider
that unconscious processes are
the most important determinants
of behaviour

262 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 16.3
If someone asks you what you are thinking about at
any particular time, it is unlikely that you are thinking
of the name of your grandmother. But if someone
asks you the name of your grandmother, or where
she lives, or what her favourite hobby is, you can
easily bring these facts to mind. This shows that
the information was in your preconscious mind.

GLOSSARY
Freudian slip
colloquial term referring to slips
of language occurring in everyday conversation and believed
by Freud to result from unconscious mental conflicts

id
term used by Freud to refer to
the inborn system of the personality; it includes the instincts,
and operates according to the
pleasure principle

Freud believed that the mind is like an

iceberg (see Figure 16.4), in that the most
important part is under the surface and the
behaviour of people is determined largely
by these unconscious forces. He believed
that the unconscious was dynamic. This
means that the material in the unconscious
is always actively trying to become conscious. Two examples of the operation of
the unconscious are:
Freudian slips, where the unconscious
mind influences the persons speech
dreams, in which the unconscious
wishes and impulses of a person appear
in consciousness in a disguised form.

eros
life instincts such as hunger,
thirst and sex, which operate to
preserve the individual and propagate the species

libido
term used by Freud to refer originally to sexual desire, and later
to refer more generally to the
energy of the life instincts; it was
sometimes used even more
broadly to refer to the energy of
both the life and death instincts

thanatos
death instincts, which form the
basis for death, violence and
aggression

ego
according to Freud, the system
of the personality which comes
into existence to enable the person to interact with external
reality

reality principle
principle by which the ego operates, involving delay of
gratification and the development of plans and strategies

defence mechanisms
processes developed by the ego
to defend itself against anxiety;
each involves distortion of reality
in some way (for example,
repression, projection and reaction formation)

Preconscious
Unconscious

pleasure principle
principle by which the id operates, involving immediate
gratification of bodily impulses

Conscious

FIGURE 16.4
Freud believed that the mind consists of three
levels, with the unconscious level being the most
important in determining behaviour. Like an iceberg,
the major part is under the surface.

The structure of personality

Freud believed that the personality is made up of three interacting systems called the
id, the ego and the superego.

The id
The id is the original system of the personality, and includes everything present at
birth. It is not governed at all by the demands of objective reality, but always acts to
obtain immediate gratification. It is governed by the pleasure principle.
The id contains two types of instincts:
erosthe life instincts, such as hunger, thirst and sex, which operate to preserve the
individual and propagate the species using energy known as libido
thanatosthe death instincts, the basis of death, violence and aggression.

The ego
People would not survive for very long if everything they did was based on immediate
gratification and the pursuit of pleasure. The ego comes into existence because the
needs of the person require interaction with the world of reality. The ego can distinguish between things in the mind and the external world, and obeys the reality
principle. The ego makes up plans and strategies to satisfy the needs of the id.
Sometimes the ego has to develop defence mechanisms to protect itself against
extreme anxiety. Defence mechanisms operate unconsciously and involve some sort of denial
or distortion of reality. Several examples are described in the extension box on the next page.
It is possible to think of the ego as balancing the demands of the id and the third
system of the personality, the superego.

chapter 16 theories of personality 263

The superego

GLOSSARY

The superego is the last system of personality to

be developed. Children internalise, or make a part
of themselves, the rules and ideals of society interpreted for them by their parents. The superego
represents the moral part of the personality and
operates to produce perfection rather than pleasure. It has two sub-systems:
conscience: When a child is punished for doing
something, the punished behaviours produce
guilt and form the childs conscience.
ego-ideal: When the parents show approval and
reward the child, these rewarded behaviours
become the childs ego-ideal, or goals.

The id operates according to

the pleasure principle. It
includes instincts such as
hunger.

The superego frequently operates in opposition

to the id, attempting to inhibit its impulses when
these conflict with societys rules. The superego can
also oppose the realistic goals of the ego, because
sometimes the superegos moral prescriptions are
quite irrational and unrealistic.

The superego is the

moralistic part of the
personality. It makes you feel
guilty at the thought of
stealing food and breaking
the rules of society.

Ego defence mechanisms

superego
according to Freud, the moral
part of the personality,
representing the standards of
society passed on to the child
by the parents

The ego operates according

to the reality principle. It
instructs you to get a job to
earn money to buy food.

FIGURE 16.5
The id, ego and superego
interact with each other when
you make decisions that
reflect your personality.

extension | extension | extension

Defence mechanisms form the basis for many kinds of mental illness, but appear to a lesser degree in the behaviour of everyone.
Repression involves actively preventing painful thoughts and
memories from entering conscious awareness. A mother may
repress aggressive feelings she has towards her children.
Projection involves denying ones own unacceptable motives
and feelings and finding the same motives in other people.
Unconsciously, a person may wish to harm his neighbour.
Consciously, this appears as a belief that his neighbour wishes
to harm him.
Reaction formation involves preventing conscious awareness of
a feeling or motive by adopting behaviour that appears to be
the opposite. This may be illustrated by exaggerated forms of
behaviour, such as exaggerated friendliness to someone you
dont like.

Fixation occurs when certain aspects of normal mental growth

are temporarily or permanently halted.
Regression occurs when a person, in response to anxiety,
returns to an earlier stage of development and shows immature
forms of behaviour. Thumb-sucking behaviour in an adult is an
example.
Displacement is the transference of emotion from its proper
object to a substitute. For instance, a worker made to feel small
by his boss cannot fight back, so he takes out his frustrations
on his family. Sometimes, frustrations and conflicts can be
displaced into something socially acceptable or creative. It is
then called sublimation.

Question
Think of another example for each of the first three defence mechanisms described above.
FIGURE 16.6
Freud believed that creative
activities could result when
frustration and conflicts
were displaced into socially
acceptable activities.

264 heinemann psychology one

The development of the personality

According to Freud, the experiences of the first five years of life are of great importance in determining personality, after which it is very difficult to change. The child
passes through several well-defined psychosexual stages. Note that Freud uses the
word sexual to refer to the pursuit of physical pleasure generally.
Freud believed that each psychosexual stage involves obtaining physical pleasure from a
different part of the body, called an erogenous zone. People develop particular personality
characteristics when they become fixated at a certain stage. The stages are described below.

Oral stage (birth to 18 months)

FIGURE 16.7
Oral stage: the mouth is
the source of pleasure.

In the first year of life, the mouth is the principle source of pleasure. In the oral stage,
the mouth is first used for taking in food, and later for biting and chewing. A person
who is fixated at the early part of the oral stage may become overly passive and dependent. Oral forms of behaviour like biting nails, thumb sucking and smoking have been
related to this stage. Biting sarcasm or argumentativeness may reflect fixation at the
later, more aggressive part of the oral stage.

Anal stage (18 months to 3 years)

The anal stage begins during the second year of life. Pleasure at this stage is particularly associated with the elimination of faeces. Children may react to anxieties and
frustrations during the process of toilet-training by producing personality traits such as
cruelty, destructiveness and messiness, called anal expulsive characteristics. Others
react in the opposite way, developing such traits as obstinacy, stinginess and extreme
orderliness, called anal retentive characteristics.

Phallic stage (3 to 6 years)

FIGURE 16.8
Anal stage: pleasure is
associated with elimination.

GLOSSARY
psychosexual stages
stages through which the child
passes in the process of
personality development
according to Freuds theory;
gratification of sexual energy
is focussed on different
erogenous zones in the
various stages

oral stage
the first psychosexual stage
(from about birth to 18 months)
during which the mouth is the
principle source of pleasure

During the phallic stage, which begins

around 3 years, the genitals become the erogenous zones of particular importance. Children
obtain pleasure from stimulating the genitals,
and have sexual feelings towards the parent of
the opposite sex and hostile feelings towards
the parent of the same sex. This is known as
the Oedipus complex, named by Freud after
the ancient Greek king of Thebes, who killed
his father and married his mother. This complex is resolved by children coming to identify
with (taking on the features of) the parent of
the same sex as themselves.
Frustrations or anxieties during the phallic
stage may lead to problems of sexual identity.
The superego develops during this stage,
which ends at about age 5 for a boy and somewhat later for a girl.

anal stage
the second psychosexual stage
(about 18 months to 3 years)
during which the processes
of elimination are the primary
source of pleasure

phallic stage
the third psychosexual stage
(about 3 to 6 years) in which
the genitals become the
primary source of pleasure

Oedipus complex
name given by Freud to the
pattern of behaviour, occurring
during the phallic stage, where
the child develops sexual
feelings towards the parent of
the opposite sex and hostile
feelings towards the parent of
the same sex

FIGURE 16.9
Phallic stage: the child becomes
close to the parent of the
opposite sex.

chapter 16 theories of personality 265

Latency period (6 years to puberty)

In the period corresponding roughly to the primary school years, the various sexual
impulses are relatively quiet. This is called the latency period, and represents a period
of consolidation of the earlier stages, in which childrens friendships are largely with
children of the same sex as themselves.

Genital stage (begins at puberty)

The genital stage begins with the onset of puberty. The stage marks the beginnings of
unselfish sexual love, which gradually replaces the more self-centred love shown by the
young child. Freud gives much less emphasis to the genital stage than the first three
stages, and problems occurring during this stage are believed to largely reflect conflicts
relating to the earlier stages.

GLOSSARY
latency period
the quiet period of psychosexual
development corresponding
roughly to the primary school
years

genital stage
the final psychosexual stage,
commencing at puberty; the
beginnings of unselfish sexual
love and commitment occur
during this stage

Evaluation of Freuds theory

Psychoanalysts differ among themselves on many things, and many are critical of orthodox Freudian ideas. For example, some of Freuds followers put much more emphasis on
social factors than on biological and sexual factors, and reject the idea that little personality change is possible after the first few years.
Writers outside psychoanalysis are critical of the unscientific nature of the theory.
Scientific theories should be constructed in such a way that they can, in principle, be
shown to be false. A common criticism of psychoanalysis is that the theory is not open
to disproof because its central concepts are difficult to define and impossible to observe.
Freud worked very hard to ensure that his views were not criticised. If anyone disagreed with him, he argued that their neuroses and defences were preventing them from
seeing the truth! He collected most of the evidence for his theories in his clinical practice. His sample was very limited, consisting largely of wealthy Viennese women. He
took no notes during the actual sessions and there was normally no one present but
himself and the patient. This sort of situation encourages biased perception and recall.
As discussed in chapter 14, psychoanalysts often use projective techniques to assess
personality. The validity of these tests has frequently been questioned.
While many of his ideas were not new, and many of his views have been criticised,
Freud has produced a complex and highly influential theory of personality that can be
applied to many aspects of human behaviour.

KEY QUESTIONS
1 How would you define personality? Give a different definition from the ones given in this
section.

2 Why does Freud compare the mind to an iceberg?

3 What are the main features of the id, the ego and the superego?
4 What are the two main types of instincts, according to Freud? Would you find the instincts
in the id, the ego or the superego?

5 Name the five stages in Freuds theory of development, and describe the main features of
the first three.

6 What do you think of psychoanalysis? Give reasons for your answer.

Empirical approaches to personality

Many personality concepts have been developed without reference to a particular
theory of personality. Researchers taking an empirical approach have found that certain
personality characteristics go together in some way that is useful in understanding some
aspect of behaviour. We will look at one example involving a distinction that has been
useful in understanding certain aspects of human health.

FIGURE 16.10
Sigmund Freud (18561939) in
his consulting room in Vienna,
Austria.

266 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 16.11
(a) Type A personalities tend
to be competitive, stressed
and prone to heart disease.
(b) Type B personalities tend
to be easy-going.

Type A and Type B behaviour patterns

GLOSSARY
type A behaviour
pattern of behaviour
characterised by
competitiveness, hostility
and urgency about time;
thought by some researchers
to be associated with
coronary heart disease

type B behaviour
pattern of behaviour
characterised by low
competitiveness, patience and
an easy-going approach to life

type C behaviour
pattern of behaviour
characterised by
unassertiveness and the
suppression of negative
emotions such as anger;
thought to be associated
with cancer

As a heart specialist working during the 1950s, Meyer Friedman noted a pattern of
behaviour common to many of his heart disease patients. They tended to be highly
competitive, to have a strong sense of urgency about time, and to have high levels of
anger and hostility. Friedman, and his colleague, Ray Rosenman, called this pattern of
characteristics the Type A behaviour pattern. In contrast, a person with Type B
behaviour has low levels of competitiveness and is patient and easy-going. Obviously,
many people fall between the extremes of Type A and Type B behaviour.
Consider how Type A behaviour might be reflected in driving a car, for example.
Type A people would show their competitiveness by trying to always beat other cars at
the red light. They would show their sense of urgency about time by changing lanes
constantly in order to get one or two cars ahead. They would exhibit anger and hostility by losing their temper and perhaps verbally abusing other motorists.
The researchers were particularly interested in whether Type A is related to coronary
heart disease. One large-scale study followed more than 3000 apparently healthy men for
8 years (Rosenman et al., 1975). It found that subjects with a Type A behaviour pattern
had twice the risk of developing coronary heart disease compared with Type B individuals. However, not all studies have supported this relationship, while others suggest that
it is hostility, specifically, that appears to be of particular importance. Hostility appears
in the form of suspiciousness, resentment, anger and antagonism towards other people.
Several studies have found that Type A behaviour is associated with known risk factors for coronary heart disease. Individuals with extreme Type A scores are likely to
smoke significantly more than average and to have high blood pressure and high levels
of blood cholesterol. One study found that Type A smokers were more likely to leave
the smoke in their lungs longer, leading to high levels of carbon monoxide in the blood.
Studies like these show the difficulty of working out the precise relationship between
Type A and heart disease, because it could be the smoking behaviour of the Type A person that is leading to a higher risk of heart disease, and not the Type A behaviour itself.

Is there a Type C behaviour pattern?

A different group of researchers has described a Type C (cancer-prone) behaviour pattern.
A person with Type C behaviour:
is cooperative, unassertive, patient
suppresses negative emotion (particularly anger)
accepts/complies with external authorities.

chapter 16 theories of personality 267

This behaviour pattern is believed to increase the production of certain blood chemicals, making it more difficult for the bodys immune system to defend against the
growth of cancer cells.
What is the evidence for the connection between Type C and cancer? In one study,
personality tests were given to participants in a small town in the former Yugoslavia,
and these people were followed up to see who developed cancer (Grossarth-Maticek,
Bastiaans & Kanazir, 1985). Data on their health status, and on habits like drinking and
smoking, were also collected. People with Type C personality were more likely to develop cancers, particularly lung cancers.
Further studies in this area have found that people who later develop cancer are more
likely to answer true to such questions as: I prefer to agree with others rather than assert
my own view and I am unable to express my feelings and needs openly to other people.
More research needs to be carried out to establish the relationship between Type C
and cancer. Even if personality and emotional factors do contribute in some way to the
growth of cancers, their contribution will almost certainly be quite small. By far the
most important factors in the development of most cancers are heredity and exposure
to carcinogens (cancer-causing agents).

Measuring Type A personality

Several questionnaires have been developed to
measure the Type A behaviour pattern. You can find
these on the Internet by searching with keywords
such as Type A personality.

1 Fill out two different questionnaires.

How did you score, and what does this say
about your personality?

ACTIVITY

2 Using the scores of all class members who

completed both tests, draw a scattergram with the
scores of one test on one axis and the scores of
the other test on the other axis. What does the
scattergram show about the correlation between
the two tests?

Evaluation of empirical approaches

Empirical approaches have been criticised on the grounds that the research employing
the concepts is not guided by some underlying personality theory. However, the concepts can be useful, particularly in practical contexts. For example, the distinction
between Type A, Type B and Type C behaviour patterns could improve the prediction
of which people are likely to develop certain common diseases.
However, much more research needs to be done with these particular behaviour patterns, because some results seem to support their usefulness and other results do not. As
we have seen, it is also difficult to interpret relationships that do occur between the
behaviour patterns and health behaviours because of the influence of extraneous variables like smoking behaviour.

KEY QUESTIONS
7 What are the main personality traits of the Type A, Type B and Type C behaviour patterns?
8 Indicate how a Type A person and a Type B person are likely to behave in some real-life
situation other than driving behaviour. For example, how might they behave in a meeting
when something they consider important is being discussed?
GLOSSARY

The trait theory of Eysenck

As we noted earlier, the concept of trait is central to the understanding of personality.
The trait approach is a major approach to personality that is particularly concerned
with the accurate description of personality and how it is organised and structured.

trait approach
approach to the study of personality
based on the view that personality
can be understood in terms of a
number of relatively stable
attributes, or traits

268 heinemann psychology one

Historical background
to Eysencks theory
A very influential early theory of personality was
put forward by the ancient Greek physician
philosopher Hippocrates (460377 BC), later
elaborated by the Greek physician Galen (131
201 CE). They believed that there were four main
types of temperament, and each was associated
with an excess of a particular bodily fluid or
humour. The four main types were:
cholericirritable and bad-tempered
melancholicsad and depressed
phlegmaticslow and apathetic
sanguinecheerful and enthusiastic.
Galens idea that the temperaments were due
to the influence of four bodily fluids is quite
wrong. Nevertheless, the view that there are
four basic temperament types was an extremely
influential idea. It remained the main way of
looking at human personality until the beginning of the twentieth century.
FIGURE 16.12
The Greek physician
Hippocrates is known as the
father of medicine. He believed
that personality was related to
certain bodily fluids.

GLOSSARY
neuroticism
term used by researchers such
as Eysenck to describe a
person who is relatively
anxious, moody and irritable
(the opposite to neuroticism is
stability, describing a person
who is calm and carefree)

extraversion
according to Eysenck, a major
theory of personality
representing the tendency to
be sociable, outgoing and
spontaneous

introversion
according to Eysenck, the
opposite pole of the extraversion
continuum representing the
tendency to be quiet,
introspective and reserved

psychoticism
term used by Eysenck to
describe a person who is
relatively solitary, aggressive,
creative, and insensitive to the
feelings of others; also called
toughmindedness

Eysencks personality dimensions

English psychologist Hans Eysenck (19161997) originally believed that personality
could be understood in terms of two continuous, relatively independent personality
dimensions. He called these neuroticism (abbreviated as N) and extraversion (abbreviated
as E).
Neuroticism has also been called emotionality or instability. A person high on neuroticism tends to be anxious, moody and irritable. A person low on neuroticism tends
to be calm and carefree.
A person scoring high on extraversion tends to be sociable, talkative, easy-going
and spontaneous, likes parties and has many friends. At the opposite end of the dimension is introversion. The typical introvert is quiet, introspective and reserved, tends to
prefer reading to going out with others, and likes a planned, well-ordered life.
Eysenck (1970) related his views to the four temperaments proposed by Galen. The
inner circle in Figure 16.13 refers to Galens four types. The outer circle shows many
individual traits and the dimensions of personality proposed by Eysenck to summarise
these traits. Rather than seeing people as belonging in four separate categories, Eysenck
argued that it was more meaningful to see them as spread out along the two dimensions
of neuroticism and extraversion. In fact, most people are not at the extremes, but
around the middle of the dimensions, as with the normal distribution discussed in relation to intelligence in chapter 15.
Later, Eysenck (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1976) developed a third dimension of personality, which he called psychoticism (abbreviated as P). The high psychoticism scorer
tends to be impulsive, insensitive to the feelings of others, hostile and aggressive, and
sometimes acts in a way considered odd and peculiar. Eysenck also associates high levels of psychoticism with potential for creativity in the arts and sciences. Low
psychoticism is sometimes called impulse control, and the low-scoring person tends to
be kind, sympathetic, conscientious and conforming.
The three dimensions of personality in Eysencks system are therefore psychoticism,
extraversion and neuroticism, and it is sometimes called the PEN system.

chapter 16 theories of personality 269

FIGURE 16.13
Eysencks two dimensions,
and Hippocrates and Galens
four temperaments.

GLOSSARY
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire
(EPQ)
one of several questionnaires
developed by Eysenck to measure
the personality dimensions of
extraversion, neuroticism and
psychoticism

Eysenck attempted to demonstrate the importance of his personality dimensions by

showing they are related to a wide range of behaviour, in such areas as learning and perception, social behaviour and abnormal behaviour. For example, he believed that the
dimension of neuroticism indicates a persons inherited predisposition to develop certain types of abnormal behaviours, particularly those associated with anxiety. He
believed that the dimension of psychoticism indicates a persons predisposition to
develop severe mental illnesses known as the psychoses, including schizophrenia and
bipolar mood disorder. Some of these disorders will be discussed briefly in chapter 17.
This aspect of Eysencks theory is somewhat controversial.
Like most trait theorists, Eysenck developed self-report questionnaires to measure
his three dimensions. The first to measure all three major personality dimensions was
the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), developed in 1975, which has been
followed by several revisions.

Does personality have a genetic

and biological basis?
Eysenck believed that the major personality dimensions are a result of both inheritance
and the environment. A number of studies with twins support the view that there is a
genetic basis for his three dimensions. These studies suggest that around half of the
variation between people on the dimensions is explained by genetics, while the other
half is explained by aspects of the environment.
There has also been considerable research investigating whether biological mechanisms might be associated with individual differences in the dimensions of normal

FIGURE 16.14
Identical twins have the same
heredity. Any differences
between them are due to the
influences of environment.

270 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
cortical arousal
relatively widespread, enduring
state of alertness of the
cerebral cortex following
stimulation; Eysenck links low
levels of cortical arousal to
extraversion

personality. According to Eysenck, introverts and extraverts differ in their degree of

arousal of the cerebral cortex. The usual level of cortical arousal is higher for introverts
than for extraverts. Because very high or low levels of arousal are experienced as
unpleasant, people will seek out levels of arousal that are optimal.
The extraverts level of arousal is normally low, so they will be likely to seek out
environmental situations that are relatively stimulating. Arousal can be influenced by
such things as noise, caffeine (a stimulant), physical stimulation or exciting social situations. Extraverts are therefore more likely than introverts to seek noisy environments,
drink more coffee or cola drinks, and enjoy contact sports and parties.
Eysencks arousal theory also suggests that, if given a task to do, extraverts will perform better in an environment that is relatively stimulating, while introverts will
perform better in a less stimulating environment. For example, we would expect introverts to be more adversely affected by a loud radio playing while they were trying to
study. The Active psychology box below describes a laboratory study investigating
these implications of Eysencks theory.
FIGURE 16.15
Extraverts have a low
level of cortical
arousal and so seek
environments that are
socially or physically
stimulating.

active psychology
The arousal theory of extraversion
Geen (1984) performed a study to test Eysencks arousal
theory of extraversion. Participants were asked to choose
(by adjusting a dial) the level of noise they would prefer to
receive while performing a learning task. In line with
Eysencks theory, extraverts chose, on average, a substantially higher level of noise than introverts.
To test the prediction that each group would perform
best with their preferred level, half the extraverts were
given the learning task at the average noise level for all the
extraverts, while the other half received the noise level

preferred by the introverts. Similarly, half the introverts

received the noise level preferred by the introverts and the
other half received the level preferred by the extraverts.
The task involved learning pairs of associated words.
Table 16.1 shows the results. Note that the figures in
the table refer to the number of trials required by participants to learn the words, so low scores indicate strong
performance and high scores weak performance. Examine
the results and describe what happened. Did the groups
actually perform better with their preferred noise levels?

TABLE 16.1 Trials required to learn a list of words under different noise levels (based on Geen, 1984).

Personality of subjects
Trials needed to learn words

Extraverts

Introverts

Participants assigned extravert choice

5.4

9.1

Participants assigned introvert choice

7.3

5.8

chapter 16 theories of personality 271

The effects of arousal on performance

ACTIVITY

1 Draw a bar graph to illustrate the results of the Geen experiment in

Table 16.1. The dependent variable, the number of trials required to
learn the list, should be on the y-axis. On the x-axis you should
have two pairs of bars representing introverted and extraverted
participants assigned the extravert choice and the introvert choice.

2 Recall that cortical arousal can be changed

by things other than noise level. For example, caffeine can produce
high cortical arousal.
Draw a bar graph to represent the results of
a group of introverts and extraverts who did a test after drinking
several strong cups of coffee, and a control group who drink
decaffeinated coffee. This time, your y-axis would represent
performance on the test. Your x-axis would include two pairs of bars
representing introverted and extraverted participants under caffeine
or no-caffeine conditions.

3 Why should the control group drink decaffeinated coffee rather

than getting no drink at all?

Evaluation of Eysencks theory

While Eysenck named three important traits, the major trait theorists cannot agree on
the exact number. The most influential trait model of personality today is the five-factor
model, or big five (see Extension box below), which argues for five major personality
dimensions.
A strength of the trait approach is that it has led to considerable research into the
genetics and biology of personality. However, while there is an increasing amount of
knowledge in this area, there is still much disagreement between theorists about the
nature of the biological mechanisms underlying personality. Eysenck puts forward the
view that cortical arousal underlies extraversion. However, other theorists disagree, and
believe that different brain systems are involved. Other critics suggest that the entire
approach tends to overemphasise genetics and biology at the expense of sociocultural
influences on personality. Trait theories also say little about how personality changes
and develops.
There are two assumptions made by trait theorists:
Traits are relatively stable over time. Several studies have found that at least the major
dimensions of personality are quite stable over time. People who score highest on the
dimensions when tested once will tend to score highest when tested several years later.
People are relatively consistent in the way they act from one situation to another.
This assumption remains a complex and controversial one.
A final criticism sometimes made in relation to trait theories is that they frequently
use questionnaires. Questionnaires have their limitations as well as their strengths, as
discussed in chapter 14.
Trait theories are scientifically testable and have produced a considerable amount of
research. They have been applied in a wide range of real-life situations. Despite their limitations, they remain a useful approach, particularly in showing how personality is
structured and in generating research into the genetic and biological bases of personality.

272 heinemann psychology one

The five-factor model or big five

A different trait theory approach from Eysencks is based on the
lexical hypothesisthe idea that the major individual differences
in personality are represented by the trait words in the dictionary.
Trait words are adjectives about behaviour, such as happy, conscientious and impulsive. An early study found 17 953 such words
(Allport & Odbert, 1936).
Participants are asked to rate themselves on the traits, and the
data obtained is examined using the statistical technique of
factor analysis. In this way, the thousands of traits were reduced
to a small number of important, summary traits.
This method produces five factors:
neuroticism
extraversion
openness to experience
agreeableness
conscientiousness.

extension | extension | extension

The model of personality was therefore called the five-factor
model, or big five. The first two factors in this model have the
same names as Eysencks two factors, and are very similar to them.
The most well-known proponents of the five-factor model are
Costa and McCrae (1992) who developed a popular questionnaire
called the NEO Personality Inventory.
However, theorists who take the five-factor view frequently
use adjective checklists rather than questionnaires to measure
personality. An example of an adjective checklist is provided below
with scoring on page 286. This adjective checklist is called the
M37 and was developed by David Rawlings at the University of
Melbourne (Rawlings, 2001).
GLOSSARY
lexical hypothesis
the idea that the main individual differences
in personality can be understood by starting
with the traits words in the dictionary

M37 adjective checklist

Age:_____

Sex:_____

Code: _____

Describe yourself as accurately as possible by placing a number next to the following adjectives, according to the code below:
4 = this adjective describes you very well
3 = this adjective describes you reasonably well
2 = you cant decide, or the meaning of the word is unclear
1 = this adjective does not describe you
0 = this adjective definitely does not describe you

____ anxious

13

____ imaginative

25

____ philosophical

____ artistic

14

____ individualistic

26

____ playful

____ callous

15

____ innovative

27

____ precise

____ creative

16

____ insecure

28

____ rude

____ cruel

17

____ insightful

29

____ ruthless

____ efficient

18

____ inventive

30

____ sociable

____ egocentric

19

____ lively

31

____ studious

____ extraverted

20

____ nervous

32

____ systematic

____ fearful

21

____ orderly

33

____ talkative

10

____ fun-loving

22

____ original

34

____ tense

11

____ hard-working

23

____ outgoing

35

____ unsympathetic

12

____ harsh

24

____ oversensitive

36

____ well-organised

37

____ worrying

To score the checklist, go to page 286.

chapter 16 theories of personality 273

Find your Star Wars twin

ACTIVITY

Follow the link on hi.com.au and

complete the big five questionnaire
by Berkeley psychologist Oliver D John.
The questions relate to yourself and to
someone you know. Do you agree with
the results about which Star Wars
characters you are like?

FIGURE 16.16
Which Star Wars character are you like?

KEY QUESTIONS
9 Name Eysencks three dimensions and list the characteristics of each.
10 What are the four temperament types identified by the ancient Greeks, and how
do these relate to Eysencks dimensions?

11 What is the central concept in Eysencks biological explanation for extraversion?

12 Name the factors in the five-factor model.
13 Give two main criticisms of trait theories.

Rogers and the humanistic approach

The humanistic approach emerged in the USA during the 1950s and was called the third
force in psychology, to contrast it with the two strong schools of American psychology at
that timebehaviourism (to be discussed in the next section) and psychoanalysis.
Figure 16.17 shows the assumptions that underlie the approach.

GLOSSARY
humanistic approach
approach to the study of
personality based on such
assumptions as the uniqueness
of the individual and the tendency
for people to strive towards selfrealisation

We
ar
We e integ
who operate rated w
les (
hole
a h as inte
s
rath olistic a grated
er th
ppro
mec
ha an in a ach)
like nical wa
mac
hine y,
s.

ue
uniq roach
p
are
We istic ap rather
n
an
uma
hum
ur,
The asises h ehavio
b
h
emp animal we are
than d how from
an
rent
diffe imals.
an

We interact with the world

We perceive and experience
ourselves and our world
(a phenomenological
approach).

Humanistic
Al
l
approach
b W
tia
go thou asi e a
en ate th l.
od gh cal re
t
o
w a
n
ba , so we ly g
e p in ro nti
c
o
c
av e an rds g pote
go k fro iety are od
h
v
l
e
a
al
m m ba
W e ha tow r ful
tru s an fulf ay h sica
W ncy g ou
e h d a illin ol lly
ap ch g d u
de sin
pin iev our s
ten eali
es ing
dr
s.
an

FIGURE 16.17
The assumptions that underlie
the humanistic approach to
studying personality.

274 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
phenomenal field
a persons unique perception of
his or her own world at any
moment in time

self-concept
collection of beliefs about
oneself

congruence
term used by Rogers to refer to
a state of consistency between
peoples view of themselves
and their actual experiences

incongruence
state of inconsistency between
the persons self-concept and
experiences, leading to denial
or distortion
of reality

unconditional positive regard

warmth and affection given to
a person (such as a child)
which is not dependent on
what the person does or on
whether the person deserves it

conditions of worth
conditions imposed by one
person on another, determining
whether the person will give
love and affection

self-actualisation
tendency of individuals to strive
towards self-realisation and the
fulfillment of their potentials

fully functioning person

term used by Rogers to refer to
the self-actualising person; the
fully functioning person was
believed to emerge from a
process of successful
psychotherapy

client-centred therapy
non-directive approach to
psychotherapy developed by
Rogers

Main ideas in Rogers theory

Carl Rogers (1963) stated: the basic nature of the human being, when functioning
fully, is constructive and trustworthy
The humanistic approach is sometimes called the phenomenological approach, and
this term is particularly appropriate to the theory of American psychologist Carl Rogers
(19021987). The expression phenomenal field refers to each individuals unique perception of his or her own worldeverything the person is perceiving at a particular
time. According to Rogers, this is what determines a persons behaviour. The phenomenal field includes both conscious and unconscious perceptions, but the conscious
perceptions are most important in determining behaviourat least in healthy people.
At the centre of this phenomenal field is the self, or self-concept, referring to how
people perceive or view themselves. According to Rogers, individuals attempt to maintain congruence between their view of themselves and their actual experiences. An
example of incongruence would be if you think of yourself as even-tempered but then
lose your temper when you become angry. You then have to adopt defensive processes,
such as:
denial (not allowing the experience into conscious awareness)for example, not
noticing that you lost your temper
distortion (changing the meaning of the experience so it is no longer inconsistent
with your perception)for example, recognising that you lost your temper but
finding an excuse such as, Well, they really deserved it this time!
There are obvious similarities between these defensive strategies and the Freudian
defence mechanisms discussed earlier in the chapter.
Rogers believed that children are likely to develop incongruence between their view
of themselves and their experiences if they do not receive unconditional positive
regard from their parents. All people need positive regardwarmth, sympathy and
affection. Unconditional parental love means giving love that is not dependent on what
the child does. However, if the parents impose conditions of worth on the child, and
their love is conditional upon what she does, she will be forced to deny or distort certain aspects of her experience when these conflict with her self-concept. Such a child
may grow into an adult with psychological problems.
The humanistic approach is sometimes called the self-actualisation approach. The
concept of self-actualisation refers to the inborn need we all possess to fulfill our potential. Rogers attempted to discover the characteristics of such a person, whom he also
referred to as the fully functioning person.
As a clinical psychologist, Rogers obtained
much of his data from the process of psychotherapy. He developed a method of client-centred
therapy that is non-directive, in the sense that
therapists do not give clients direct advice on
what to do to solve their problems. On the basis
of his research, Rogers (1963) concluded that the
fully functioning person had the characteristics
listed in Figure 16.19. He believed that a person
who had completed a successful process of psychotherapy should possess these characteristics.

FIGURE 16.18
Rogers believed that children need to receive
unconditional positive regard from their parents
in order to develop a healthy self-concept.

chapter 16 theories of personality 275

Fully functioning people

Open to experience:

they are not

defensive but are open to all their feelings.

Live existentially:

they deal with experiences

as they occur and do not try to place
preconceived meaning on these experiences.

Trust themselves to make the right decisions:

they do what feels right.

Creative: they are nonconforming and tend to

produce creative products.
Internal evaluation: they make judgments on the basis of their own feelings and beliefs
rather than worrying about what other people think.
Rich lives: they do not avoid risks, and they live lives that are exciting, challenging,
meaningful and rewarding.

While many humanistic theorists are not interested in formally measuring personality, some, including Rogers, employed a special type of questionnaire known as the
Q-sort technique, developed by Stephenson (1953). The client is given a set of cards
containing a statement about a personality characteristic, such as gets angry easily or
likes going to parties. The person sorts the cards into piles according to which statements are most like her, and which are least like her. The psychologist might ask her
to sort the statements in terms of her ideal self (her view of herself as she would like to
be) as well as in terms of her real self.

Evaluation of humanistic theories

The focus of humanistic theorists on subjective experience has been criticised. It has
been said that they need to relate personal experience more to the objective world.
Also, because they deal very much with subjective experience, many of the concepts
are difficult to define and measure. For this reason, the approach has produced relatively little research in mainstream psychology. An exception is the research into the
self-concept, where Rogers ideas can be clearly seen in the views of several contemporary theories.
From the scientific viewpoint, Rogers approach of using therapeutic sessions as the
main source of data for his theories has been criticised as encouraging biased perceptions and recall. On the other hand, many of his concepts have been influential in the
practice of psychotherapy, particularly in the area of psychological counselling.
The assumption of the innate goodness of human nature taken by Rogers has been
criticised as idealistic by other psychologistseven those in the humanistic tradition
who ask why, if human beings are innately good, is there so much evil in the world?
However, many people are attracted to the humanistic approach because of its
emphasis on the positive aspects of human nature. The approach appeals to those looking for an alternative to mechanistic or biologically based views and views focusing on
unconscious causes of behaviour.

FIGURE 16.19
Rogers list of characteristics
of fully functioning people.

GLOSSARY
Q-sort technique
form of questionnaire popular
with humanistic psychologists,
where participants sort cards
containing personality-related
statements

276 heinemann psychology one

Maslows hierarchy of needs

extension

There have been several other humanistic psychologists whose views

were similar to those of Rogers in some respects. One of these was
Abraham Maslow.
One of Maslows popular ideas was that self-actualisation is at
the top of a hierarchy of needs. People can be held back from
achieving self-actualisation if they are dominated by their lower
needs and are therefore unable to move up the hierarchy.

extension

extension

Selfactualisation
(realising one's
full potential)
Esteem needs
(self-esteem, approval from others)

Questions
1 Give three examples of people being held back from achieving
their full development by their lower needs.

Belongingness and love needs

(affiliation, acceptance, friendship)

2 What do you think of Maslows hierarchy?

Safety and security needs
(feeling safe, secure and out of danger)
Physiological needs
(food, water, sex, warmth, shelter)

FIGURE 16.20
Maslows hierarchy of needs.

KEY QUESTIONS
14 What are the main assumptions of the humanistic approach?
15 Define incongruence, unconditional positive regard, and conditions of
worth.

16 According to Rogers, what are the characteristics of the fully

functioning person?

Skinner and the learning approach

GLOSSARY
learning approach
approach to the study of
personality based on the
findings of learning theory

behaviourism
school of psychology developed
by John B Watson, emphasing
the study of observable
behaviour and avoiding
concepts such as mind or
consciousness

The learning approach to personality is closely associated with research by psychologists concerned with studying learning. You will learn more about these ideas in
chapter 16 of Heinemann Psychology Two, Second Edition.
Between the 1920s and 1950s, the main focus in psychology was the study of learning, which was dominated by the school of behaviourism. The founder of the school,
John B Watson, wrote an influential article in 1913 arguing that the proper subject of
psychology is not the mind, but behaviour. Psychologists should be concerned with
studying how the environment (the stimulus) produces behavioural reactions (responses)
in an organism.
Watson argued that the behaviour of humans is not fundamentally different from
that of animals, and they should be studied using the same methods. His ideas were put
forward at a time when the study of conscious experience was a central part of psychology, and his new approach was taken up enthusiastically by his colleagues.
A number of later researchers are in the behaviourist tradition made popular by Watson.
The behaviourist we will look at in detail is the American psychologist B F Skinner
(19041990).

Operant conditioning
Skinner followed closely Watsons emphasis on the study of observable behaviour and the
avoidance of concepts like mind or consciousness. As a true behaviourist, he believed
that the principles established with animals could be applied to humans.

chapter 16 theories of personality 277

The laws of learning are roughly the same for all species and can be revealed in experiments

GLOSSARY

even with lower organisms in relatively barren environments. Thus, the laws that govern

operant

how a rat learns to run a maze presumably govern how a child learns long division

behaviour that is emitted by an

organism

Skinner (1938).

operant conditioning

However, Skinner and Watson were different in a number of ways. While Watson was
interested in how the environment (the stimulus) comes to produce particular behaviour
(the response), Skinners main focus was on what happens after the behaviour occurs.
Skinner gave the name operants to behaviour that simply occurs, or is emitted by
the organism. He distinguished this from behaviour that is elicited by the environment.
He considered the first type, operant behaviour, to be particularly important, and this
formed the basis of his research and thinking.
Operant conditioning occurs when a reinforcer follows a behaviour of some kind.
A reinforcer is an event (or stimulus) that follows the behaviour and increases the likelihood that the behaviour will occur again. Operant conditioning is most likely to occur
if the reinforcer immediately follows the behaviour.
Many of Skinners studies were done with pigeons or rats in a small, soundproof
chamber known as a Skinner box. An example of operant conditioning would involve a
pigeon pecking a disk and then immediately receiving a pellet of food. This increases the
likelihood of the pigeon pecking the disk again. The food has now become a reinforcer.
There are several types of reinforcement distinguished by Skinner (see Figure 16.21):
Positive reinforcement refers to the increase in the probability of a behaviour
when it is followed by a positive reinforcer or reward (such as food).
Punishment refers to the decrease in the probability of a behaviour when it is followed by an unpleasant event.
Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment, but refers to the increase
in the likelihood of a behaviour when an unpleasant stimulus has been removed.

operant
behaviour

rewarding event

increase in
behaviour

Positive
reinforcement

unpleasant event

decrease in
behaviour

Punishment

increase in
behaviour

Negative
reinforcement

unpleasant event removed

FIGURE 16.21
Types of reinforcement. The resulting behaviour depends
on whether the stimulus event is rewarding or unpleasant.

Reinforcers and punishers may be primary or secondary:

Primary reinforcers are naturally reinforcing (for example, food, water, sex).
Secondary reinforcers acquire their reinforcing properties through association with primary reinforcers, or other secondary reinforcers. These
refer to such things as praise, attention and money. We do not seek money
for its own sake, but because it has been linked in the past with primary
reinforcers such as food.
FIGURE 16.22
Skinner believed that punishment was rarely the most effective method of changing
behaviour, and had a number of undesirable side-effects. He argued that we should,
where possible, use positive reinforcers rather than punishment.

learning in which a voluntary

response is brought under
stimulus control through the use
of reinforcement

reinforcer
stimulus that follows a behaviour
and increases the probability of
its occurring again

reinforcement
any event that increases the
likelihood of a response

positive reinforcement
consequences of behaviour that
are positive

punishment
application of negative
consequences as the result of
a response

negative reinforcement
removal of an aversive stimulus
as the result of a response

primary reinforcer
natural, biological reinforcer such
as food

secondary reinforcer
stimulus (e.g. money) that has
become reinforcing through
association with a primary, or
another secondary, reinforcer

278 heinemann psychology one

Skinners contribution to personality

Much of Skinners research is concerned with how animals learn. This appears to have
little relation to personality, as it is understood by the other major approaches we have
looked at. While Skinner believed that the study of personality was a legitimate concern for psychology, he defined it differently, and was very critical of most other
approaches. For example, he argued strongly against the idea of a self that actively
guides or directs behaviour, as discussed by the humanistic psychologists. He was also
critical of approaches that included concepts not clearly observable and measurable,
such as the unconscious mind of psychoanalysis.
For Skinner, the study of personality involved a systematic examination of the
unique learning history of a person. He said that the person is
a point at which many genetic and environmental events come together in a joint
effect. As such, he remains unquestionably unique. No one else (unless he has an
identical twin) has his genetic endowment, and without exception no one else has his
personal history. Hence no one will behave precisely in the same way

Skinner (1974), pp.1678.

While many of the above ideas on learning are relevant to Skinners views on personality, several of his ideas stand out as being particularly relevant.

Discrimination

FIGURE 16.23
Skinner called natural
reinforcers like food primary
reinforcers. Reinforcers like
money, which had acquired
their reinforcing properties by
previous associations, were
called secondary reinforcers.

GLOSSARY
discrimination
process by which an organism
learns that reinforcement will
occur in the presence of one
stimulus but not another

While Skinner was particularly interested in the stimulus events following a behaviour,
the events occurring before the behaviour are also important because these provide the
occasion in which reinforcement is likely to occur. The person may learn that in the
presence of a particular stimulus, a behaviour is likely to be reinforced, but in the presence of a different stimulus, reinforcement is not likely to occur. For example, drivers
learn that a red light means stop, whereas a green light means go. The reward in this
case is to proceed safely through the lights. This is called discrimination.

Generalisation
The opposite of discrimination is generalisation. This refers to the tendency for a
response learned in one situation to be repeated in another situation that is similar to,
but not exactly the same as, the first situation. If you learn to drive a car in Australia,
you are also able to drive a car in France, where vehicles drive on the right-hand side of
the road. You would be able to generalise what you learned about driving a car in
Australia, including the rule to stop at red lights (see Figure 16.24).

generalisation
tendency for a response
learned in one situation to be
repeated in another situation
that is similar, but not identical,
to the first situation

FIGURE 16.24
Discrimination and
generalisation are important
processes in applying the
principles of operant
conditioning to real life.
A driver is able to discriminate
situations in which it is
important to stop from
situations in which it is
appropriate to go. A driver is
able to generalise to an
environment quite different
from the one in which the
behaviour was learned.

chapter 16 theories of personality 279

Successive approximation

GLOSSARY

Skinner believed that complex behaviours are shaped through a process of successive
approximation. If you want to train your dog to learn a complex behaviour, you can
reinforce behaviours that resemble that behaviour. Animal trainers do not wait for their
animals to do exactly what is required before they reinforce them. They first reinforce
behaviour that is just a little like the behaviour they want, then behaviour that is a step
closer, and so on. Parents praise their young children for a word approaching mummy,
such as ma. Eventually the child says the required word.

successive approximation

Schedules of reinforcement
However, many of our behaviours do not result from deliberate shaping by other people.
They develop just because we grow up in different kinds of situations. We are each
exposed to different environments and consequently to different arrangements or schedules of reinforcement. There is an important distinction between:
continuous reinforcement, where reinforcement occurs every time a response occurs
intermittent (partial) reinforcement, where reinforcement does not occur every
time the response occurs.
For behaviours learned under a partial reinforcement schedule, extinction takes
longer than for behaviours learned under a continuous reinforcement schedule. In other
words, these behaviours are likely to continue longer when the reinforcement is completely removed.
An example of how the environment can produce particular patterns of behaviour
is described by Skinner in his analysis of superstitious behaviour. Skinner found that
if he gave pellets of food to pigeons at regular intervals, regardless of what they were
doing, many would associate the reinforcement with a particular response they just
happened to be making. For example, if they were turning to the left as the food
appeared, this behaviour would be strengthened even though there was no cause-andeffect relation between the behaviour and the food.
Skinner relates this to the behaviours of baseball pitchers just before
they throw the ball, where they might touch their ear, or rub their shirt
with their hand. These behaviours, he argues, have been reinforced in
the past and become superstitious behaviours.

process by which behaviour is

shaped by reinforcement of
behaviour that is increasingly like
a target behaviour

schedules of reinforcement
different patterns of
reinforcement that may occur
every time a response occurs,
following a particular number of
correct responses, or following
specified time intervals

continuous reinforcement
reinforcement schedule where
reinforcement occurs every time
a response occurs

intermittent (partial) reinforcement

reinforcement schedule where
reinforcement occurs on some
trials but not others

extinction
when the stimulus is removed,
the response gradually decreases
in frequency and ceases
altogether

self-control processes
behaviours people are able to
learn to enable them to alter the
conditions that influence their
behaviour

behaviour modification
changing a persons behaviour
through a deliberate regime of
conditioning

Development of self-control
In addition to being controlled by external reinforcers, individuals are
able to develop self-control processes. We can learn ways to alter the
conditions that influence our behaviour. Skinner provides many examples of these processes, such as changing the stimulus conditions in
which behaviour occurs. For example, a man who wants to lose weight
might learn to walk on the opposite side of the street to the cake shop,
so that he will not be tempted to buy a cake. He may learn the strategy of performing alternative responses, such as eating less fattening
foods. He may also engage in self-reinforcement, by praising himself if
he avoids high-calorie foods for a full day.

Behavioural therapy
In the area of psychopathology, Skinner argued that it was unnecessary
to look for the underlying causes of mental illness. Rather, he believed
that people suffering mental illnesses had simply failed to learn an
appropriate way of behaving, or had learned a maladaptive, or inappropriate response. Psychotherapy, for Skinner, therefore involved a process
of behaviour modification, in which the principles of learning were
used to change a persons behaviour.

FIGURE 16.25
You may be aware of all kinds of superstitions
among sports people. Australian cricketer Steve
Waugh was given a red handkerchief by his
grandfather (now deceased), who had always
been a positive influence in Steves life.

280 heinemann psychology one

GLOSSARY
token economy
form of behaviour therapy in
which the desired responses
are reinforced with tokens

behavioural assessment
method of detailed observation
and analysis of behaviour
employed by Skinner and many
other psychologists taking the
learning approach

Skinners principles were put to practical use in a number of real-life settings. An

example is the token economy, where disturbed people in institutions can earn tokens
for performing socially appropriate tasks, and then exchange these later for desirable
products or activities.
When assessing personality, Skinner and his followers tend to avoid psychological
tests, such as questionnaires, and to focus on the detailed observation and analysis of
behaviour. This approach is called behavioural assessment and involves three steps,
as shown in Figure 16.26.

FIGURE 16.26
The three steps in
Skinners behavioural
assessment, with an
example of how a
psychologist might
employ the approach.

Behavioural
assesment approach

Example: assesing a
child who has
temper tantrums

identify a particular
'target' behaviour

note childs behaviour while

having a temper tantrum

identify the environmental

conditions that produce or
reinforce the behaviour

describe situation that set

off the tantrum

identify factors in the

environment that can be
manipulated in order to
change the behaviour

analyse what happened after the

tantrum that might have served to
reinforce itfor example, the
reactions of parents to the behaviour

Evaluation of Skinners theory

There are three particular strengths of the learning approach, as illustrated by Skinners
theory:
Skinner and his followers are committed to producing theories with a strong basis
in scientific research. The learning approach is highly testable and this means the
ideas can be refined as further research takes place.
The approach emphasises the environment and the influence of learning in shaping
personality, more than any other theoretical approach to personality.
The approach has been useful in many practical real-life settings, such as developing new ways of treating certain forms of psychological disorder.
One criticism that is often applied to the approach is its emphasis on laboratory
research, particularly research with animals. It is argued that this has oversimplified
personality, and neglected many more complex aspects of behaviour. Furthermore, it has
tended to ignore the genetic and biological bases of personality.
More extreme behaviourists, like Skinner, have ignored the area of cognitive processes. The field of learning psychology changed from the 1950s, when cognitive concepts
began to be included in many theories of learning. Cognitive learning theorists are concerned with what goes on in our minds, and deal with concepts such as expectations,
values, insight, attention and decision-making. These concepts are also important to
personality theories, and behaviourists are now criticising Skinners neglect of cognitive
factors. Behaviourists have formulated theories with a more cognitive emphasis, called
social learning or social cognitive theories (see Classic study on page 281).
A ballot of American psychologists concluded that Skinner was the most influential
psychologist of the twentieth century. While Skinners ideas have been criticised as simplistic, and as neglecting many important aspects of behaviour, they have certainly been
influential in many areas of psychological theory and practice, including personality.

chapter 16 theories of personality 281

classic study
Banduras research
American psychologist Albert Bandura has proposed a
theory based on many of the ideas of Skinner and the
behaviourists, but with a number of major differences in
emphasis.
Banduras early work concentrated on the concept of
modelling, or observational learning. In a classic study, he
found that children could learn complex behaviours by
watching and imitating the behaviour of others. The
children observed an adult hitting a large rubber Bobo
doll. When left alone with the doll, the children imitated
many of the behaviours they had observed (see Figure
16.27). Skinner had discussed the concept of imitation
only briefly in his writings.

Reciprocal determinism
In his later work, Bandura became a leader in the gradual
change of the learning approach to personality. The
approach changed to include many cognitive concepts,
and became know as the social cognitive approach.
Banduras cognitive emphasis is illustrated in his concept
of reciprocal determinism (see Figure 16.28).

Suppose that Katie is learning to high jump (behaviour,

B) because her school offers coaching (environment, E)
and she believes she could be good at it (person variables,
P). Suggestions from her coach (E) and improved skill at
the sport (B) increase her confidence (P). One day she
performs poorly (B) and her confidence goes down (P).
She practises with the bar at a low level for a while (B),
which leads to support from her coach (E) and an
increase in her confidence (P).
You can see how this idea is different from Skinners
view that behaviour is largely determined by the effects
of the environment (E) on behaviour (B). The person (P)
does not appear at all in Skinners model in the sense
understood by Bandura. For Bandura, our personality is
the total of all the cognitive concepts we have acquired
through experience, and that we bring to a situation.

Questions
1
2

Indicate two ways in which Banduras ideas were

different from those of Skinner.
What does Bandura mean by reciprocal determinism?

FIGURE 16.27
Children imitate the aggressive
response of an adult model.
B
Behaviour

E
Environment

P
Person variables
(cognitions, expectations, beliefs, etc.)

FIGURE 16.28
Banduras concept of reciprocal
determinism. Bandura believes that
personal characteristics (P), behaviour
(B) and the environmental situation (E)
all influence one another.

282 heinemann psychology one

ACTIVITY

Comparing the different approaches

Now that we have discussed and compared five approaches to personality, see if you can match these
approaches with the descriptions given. Write the first letter of each approach in the correct boxes:
Psychoanalytic (P), Empirical (E), Trait (T), Humanistic (H), Learning (L).

How important and influential has the approach been?

Historically important, generating much research into personality structure. ________________
Very influential, but has produced little research. ________________
Has generated much research. ________________
Some concepts are important, but others are not. ________________
Important in limited areas, like counselling, generating little research. ________________

How comprehensive is the approach?

Applied to a very wide range of behaviour. ________________
Says little about personality structure. ________________
Usually applied to a narrow area. ________________
Many aspects of personality are not dealt with. ________________
Multiple trait theories are comprehensive. ________________

How well does the approach deal with personality development and change?
Explanation is often in terms of genetics, poor on development and change. ________________
Explanation of change is often through the concept of growth. ________________
Well-developed explanation through concept of psychosexual stages. ________________
Explanation of change, but no systematic theory of development. ________________
Usually not interested in development. ________________

How is personality measured in this approach?

Strong emphasis on observation of real behaviour. ________________
Does not emphasise measurement, but may use Q-sort. ________________
Mostly uses questionnaires. ________________
Traditionally associated with questionnaires. ________________
Often uses projective techniques. ________________

KEY QUESTIONS
17 What is behaviourism and what are its main assumptions?
18 Define reinforcement and list the various types of reinforcement.
19 What is the difference between generalisation and discrimination?
Think of examples to illustrate these concepts different to the examples
in the text.

WORKSHEET 1
Personality theories

20 What are the major strengths and weaknesses of the learning approach?

chapter 16 theories of personality 283

chapter

term
def

summary
06

The psychological study of personality is the study

of the individual differences between people in their
relatively stable characteristics, or traits.
Psychoanalysis places particular emphasis on
unconscious motivations and conflicts in the formation of personality. According to Freud, the three
main parts of the personality are the id, ego and
superego.
Psychoanalysis has been criticised because it is difficult to test the theory due to its central concepts
being difficult to define and impossible to observe.
Empirical approaches to the study of personality
are not based on a particular theory. Type A, B and
C personality types have been useful in understanding certain aspects of human health.
Type A individuals are highly competitive, have a
strong sense of urgency, and have high levels of
anger and hostility. This personality type is associated with coronary heart disease.
A person with Type B behaviour has low levels of
competitiveness, and is patient and easy-going.
The Type C (cancer-prone) behaviour pattern is
associated with being unassertive, suppressing
negative emotion, and complying with external
authorities.
The empirical approach has been criticised
because of its lack of a theoretical framework. The
links with health behaviour have not always been
supported in replication studies, and it is difficult to
tell whether the personality characteristics are
causally linked to the health problems.
The trait approach is based on the view that people
can be understood in terms of relatively stable
characteristics distributed in the population.

16

GLOSSARY

07

08

Eysencks theory is an example of the trait

approach. His theory states that there are three
major dimensions of personalityExtraversion,
Neuroticism and Psychoticism each with a
genetic basis and each associated with particular
biological processes.
Eysencks theory has been criticised because it
underemphasises sociocultural and situational
determinants of behaviour. Other trait theorists
believe that three factors are not sufficient to
explain the individual differences in behaviour.
The humanistic approach emphasises subjective
experience and the persons ability to grow towards
self-actualisation.
The theory of Carl Rogers illustrates the humanistic
approach. A central concept in Rogers theory is
the self, and he describes how parental warmth,
openness and affection are essential to the development of personal growth and to a persons
becoming fully functioning.
Criticisms of Rogers theory include its overemphasis on subjective experience and the difficulty of
testing its concepts.
The learning approach assumes that individuals
develop personalities mostly as a result of their
interactions with the environment.
Skinners radical behaviourist learning theory is
based on the idea that complex behaviour is largely the result of how people are reinforced.
The behaviourist learning theory has been criticised
for its overemphasis on laboratory research and its
neglect of genetics and biology.
More recent writers in the learning tradition, such as
Bandura, have included cognitive concepts in their
learning theories.

09

10

284 heinemann psychology one

multiple
choice
questions
1 In psychology the term personality means
A the different parts of a persons character.
B the mask and behaviour that people show to others.
C the relatively stable characteristics of a person.
D the unique aspects of a persons true self.
2 According to Freud, the part of the mind that is not
currently in awareness but can easily be brought into
consciousness is
A the conscious mind.
B the preconscious mind.
C the unconscious mind.
D the superego.

3 According to Freud, the moralistic part of the

personality, which includes the conscience, is called the
________________.
A id
C superego
B ego
D libido

4 Meyer Friedman noted a pattern of behaviour common

to many of his patients, characterised by
competitiveness, hostility and urgency about time. He
called this the ________________.
A Type A behaviour pattern
B Type B behaviour pattern
C Type C behaviour pattern
D Cancer-prone personality style

5 In the view of the ancient Greek physician Galen, which

of the following temperament types is slow, lazy and
apathetic?
A choleric
C phlegmatic
B melancholic
D sanguine

6 Eysencks theory of personality discusses two important

questions. They are
A whether personality is really a type or trait and how
personality changes over a lifetime.
B whether personality has a genetic basis and whether
personality is partly influenced by the structure of
the brain and nervous system.
C whether astrology does actually work and whether
heart attacks can be predicted from personality.
D whether criminals have a common personality type
and whether mental illness can be predicted from a
written test.

7 The three main dimensions of personality in Eysencks

theory are
A Neuroticism, Extraversion, Conscientiousness.
B Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Openness to
Experience.
C Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism.
D Type A, Type B, Type C.

8 Which of the following is not true of Rogers theory?

A A phenomenal field is a persons unique perception
of his or her own world at any moment in time.

B Congruence is a term used by Rogers to refer to a

state of consistency between peoples view of
themselves and their actual experiences.
C Unconditional positive regard occurs when a child fails
to receive warmth and affection from his or her parents.
D Conditions of worth are conditions imposed by one
person on another which determine whether the
person will give love and affection.

9 According to Rogers, which of the following is not a

characteristic of the fully-functioning person?
A They are open to experience.
B They are creative.
C They have an internal locus of evaluation.
D They are extraverted.

10 Which of the following is not true of Skinners views?

A An operant is a behaviour which is produced or
elicited by the environment.

B Operant reinforcement occurs when a reinforcer

follows a behaviour.

C Natural, biological reinforcers are called primary

reinforcers.

D Much of Skinners research with animals occurred in

a Skinner Box.

11 The Q-sort technique is most likely to be used by

which of the following researchers?
A Meyer Friedman
C Hans Eysenck
B Sigmund Freud
D Carl Rogers

12 The unconscious is a central concept in the

A psychoanalytic approach.
B trait approach.
C humanistic approach.
D learning approach.

chapter 16 theories of personality 285

short
answer
questions
1 Describe the central features of the main approaches to personality: psychoanalytic, empirical,
trait, humanistic, learning.

2 Discuss the ideas of at least one theorist whose ideas fall within each approach.
3 Consider the major strengths and weaknesses of at least three of the approaches.
4 How do the various approaches differ with respect to personality assessment?

multimedia
Describing and measuring personality
Components to include:
For each of the key theories of personality, describe its key features and discuss its limitations.
Freud and psychoanalysis
Type A and type B behaviour patterns
The trait theory of Eysenck
Rogers and the humanistic approach
Skinner and the learning approach.

WORKSHEET 2
Crossword

286 heinemann psychology one

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY Relating extraversion and neuroticism using the M-37
Abstract

Results

This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,

but appears immediately after the title.

Collate the class scores on the two personality scales.

Construct a scattergram, with extraversion on the yaxis and neuroticism on the x-axis (refer to chapter 14
for details on scattergrams).
Comment in words on the pattern shown in the
scattergram.

Introduction
The aim of this empirical research activity is to relate
two of the five dimensions of the big five measured by
the M-37: extraversion and neuroticism.
Refer to the section on the trait theory of personality for background material on Eysencks theory. The two
dimensions measured here using an adjective checklist
have been found to be very similar to the ones obtained
using Eysencks own questionnaires. The two factors are
assumed by Eysenck to be independent, though many
studies have found a small negative correlation between
them (that is, there is sometimes a small tendency for
people scoring high on extraversion to score low on
neuroticism). However, we shall not make a specific
hypothesis in this study.

Discussion
1 Does the scattergram indicate that there is a relationship, or that there is no relationship, between
extraversion and neuroticism?

2 How does this compare with the view stated earlier

that the two scales should be relatively independent?

3 How might the study be improved in such a way that

we could be confident that the results we obtained
would apply to the whole population.

References

Method
Participants

These should be listed in the format set out in chapter

3, in alphabetical order.

The participants for this study could be all the year 11

students in your class, or some other sample of participants. Describe their number, age and gender and
any characteristics that may lead them to have unusually high or low scores on the two personality measures
of interest.
You should clearly state how you obtained informed
consent from your participants.

Appendix
While individual results sheets should usually be
attached to your report, results with personality questionnaires are generally regarded as confidential so you
do not need to include your completed personality
questionnaire.

Materials
The M-37, including instructions for completing it, is on
page 272. A photocopy will be required for each participant. The key for scoring the checklist is below.

Procedure
Each member of the class should complete the checklist
on the copy provided. This should be done individually,
without discussion with other members of the class and
without reference to the scoring key. Participants should
make a fairly immediate response to each word, without
thinking about it for too long.
When all members of the class have finished the
checklist, you should score the extraversion and neuroticism scales using the scoring key. Each member of
the class will end up with two scoresone for extraversion and one for neuroticism.

FIGURE 16.29
Eysencks theory describes how we vary on two
personality factors: extraversion and neuroticism.

Simply add the scores you put for the following adjectives to obtain your total scores for each of the five scales.

N:
E:
O:
A:
C:

1
8
2
3
6

9
10
4
5
11

16
19
13
7
21

20
23
14
12
27

24
26
15
28
31

34
30
17
29
32

37
33
18
35
36

22

25

Note, however, that the measure of A you have calculated is really a measure of disagreeableness because the scale includes
adjectives like cruel, harsh etc. To get your final score for A, subtract the score you obtained from 28.
You now have your final scores for the five scales. Scores for N, E, A and C can vary between 0 and 28. Scores for O can vary
between 0 and 36.

chapter
psychology

17

Mental illness
and mental health

00

01

02

03

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
one approach to assessing and
classifying mental health, for example,
anxiety disorders.

04

287

288 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 17.1
Saturn Devouring One of His Sons
(18201823) by Francisco Goya.
This painting illustrates the negative
feelings that characterise many forms
of mental illness. It is believed that
Goya was suffering severe depression
when he painted it.

A number of ways of defining normality and abnormality were discussed in chapter 14. In this chapter
we will look at certain aspects of abnormal behaviour more closely. We will first look at a popular
contemporary method of assessing and classifying
mental illness. One particular group of mental disorders (anxiety disorders) will be discussed in more
detail, including several different explanations for
how the disorders came about. Finally, some criticisms of current classification methods will be
put forward.

A modern diagnostic
system for mental
disorders
Perspectives on abnormal
behaviour
Throughout the centuries, a wide range of explanations of mental illness have been put forward. How
societies explain abnormal behaviour largely determines how they attempt to treat it. Two general
explanations have been proposed:

Supernatural perspective

Natural (scientific) perspective

Archaeological evidence and the practices

of some technologically primitive societies
suggest that psychological disorders have
been viewed as the result of supernatural
forces like gods, demons or evil spirits.

The dominant view about abnormal

behaviour today is that it results from the
operation of the natural laws of science, in
much the same way as physical illness.

The first approach dominated in very early explanations of mental illness, whereas
the second view is currently more prevalent, but these two general ideas have existed
together for many centuries. Sometimes one view became dominant, and sometimes the
other. Even today, some Christian churches in Australia practise exorcism, where evil
spirits are believed to cause the abnormal behaviour of a mentally ill person and are ritually forced or coaxed out.
On the other hand, the idea that there is a natural explanation for mental illness, as
there is for physical illness, is an idea at least as old as the ancient Greeks around the
fifth century BC. In other words, the two ideas have existed in parallel. In this chapter
we will concentrate on the natural (scientific) perspective.

chapter 17 mental illness and mental health 289

Medical model of normality

and abnormality
Most of the people who have studied and treated mental illness scientifically through the ages have been
physiciansthat is, medical doctors. Today, the dominant profession in the treatment of mental illness is
psychiatry, a branch of medicine (see Extension box).
It is therefore not surprising that the most common
systems for assessing and classifying mental disturbance have their basis in the classification of physical
disease. The approach to assessment and classification
is based on a medical model of normality and abnormality, as discussed briefly in chapter 14.
The medical model of physical disease classifies
illness according to separate, discrete categories,
with labels such as lung cancer, asthma or sprained
ankle. This process is called diagnosis. Once the
category has been decided on, the doctor then knows
something about how the problem was caused (that
is, its aetiology) and whether it is likely to get worse
(its prognosis). The medical model also provides
information on how a disease should be treated.
It has been commonly assumed that mental illness can be categorised in much the same waythat the medical model can be applied
to abnormal behaviour just as it has been applied to physical disease. Abnormal behaviour is considered to be like a disease, having a specific cause and a specific set of
symptoms.
The medical model has been very influential in the understanding and treatment of
abnormal behaviour. This is shown by the fact that even people who are not fully convinced of the usefulness of the medical model still use words like symptom, mental
illness, patient, therapy and cure when referring to mental disorders. These words
have become part of the language and are almost unavoidable.
The medical model underlies most diagnostic systems used by psychiatry to classify
and treat abnormal behaviour. There are two popular psychiatric diagnostic systems:
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is provided by
the American Psychiatric Association. Its most recent revision, published in 2000,
is the DSM-IV-TR (meaning fourth edition, text revision). We will refer to the DSM
in this chapter.
International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) published by the World Health
Organization.
The DSM has five dimensions or axes. The mental disorders are listed on the first
two axes, and these are of most interest to us:
Axis Iclinical disorders (see Table 17.1)
Axis IIintellectual disability and the various personality disorders, defined as
enduring patterns of inflexible, maladaptive behaviour that appear before the age of
18 and that are causing distress to the person (see Table 17.2).
Axis IIIany general medical conditions that may be affecting the person, irrespective of their relation to the mental illness.
Axis IVthe nature and severity of any psychosocial and environmental stressors
that may be affecting the person at that time.
Axis Va scale of global assessment of functioning, from 0 to 100, that the clinician makes.

FIGURE 17.2
In some primitive societies,
witchdoctors remove evil spirits
when a person shows what we
would call mental illness.

GLOSSARY
diagnosis
process of classifying a person
as having a particular disease or
abnormality

aetiology (or etiology)

investigation of the causes of a
disease or abnormality

prognosis
prediction of the outcome of a
disease or disorder

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

of Mental Disorders
diagnostic system published by
the American Psychiatric
Association; recent (2000)
revision is DSM-IV-TR (indicating
fourth edition, text revision)

290 heinemann psychology one

We will be looking in detail at one category of clinical disorderanxiety disorders.

Two other disorders of interest (mood disorders and schizophrenia) are described briefly
in two Case study boxes.
TABLE 17.1 The major clinical disorders on Axis I of DSM-IV-TR.
Disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy,
childhood or adolescence

This category includes disorders that usually arise early in life, such as autism, learning
disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder.

Delirium, dementia, amnestic and other

cognitive disorders

Dysfunctions of the brain caused by diseases or chemicals

Substance-related disorders

Disorders resulting from abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

A group of severe disorders characterised by hallucinations, delusions, and grossly

disorganised behaviour.

Mood disorders

Includes disorders characterised by disturbance of mood and emotion, including

depression and bipolar disorder (involving extreme mood swings).

Anxiety disorders

Includes a range of conditions involving anxiety, including panic, post-traumatic stress,

generalised anxiety, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and various types of phobia.

Somatoform disorders

Disorders where there are bodily (physical) symptoms which appear to be largely
determined by psychological factors of some kind.

Factitious disorders

Disorders where the symptoms are intentionally produced or feigned (that is, pretended)
for some sort of psychological reason (that is, not in order to obtain economic gain,
avoid work, or whatever).

Dissociative disorders

Alteration of consciousness, memory, perception or identity, as in psychologically

induced amnesia, fugue (where a person leaves home and changes identity but
remembers nothing about it) and multiple personality disorder.

Sexual and gender-identity disorders

These include impairment in sexual functioning, paraphilias (need to perform unusual

behaviours to be sexually aroused) and discomfort with ones own gender identity.

Eating disorders

Severe disturbances in eating behaviour, as in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Sleep disorders

A range of disorders associated with sleeping.

Impulse-control disorders not elsewhere

classified

Includes such disorders as pathological gambling, kleptomania and pyromania.

Adjustment disorders

These include usually mild disorders where the emotional or behavioural symptoms
can be clearly associated with some environmental stressor.

case study
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder with a number of severe symptoms. Sufferers may
experience hallucinations (such as hearing voices) and delusionsunusual beliefs that
have no basis in reality. Examples of delusions include the idea that someone on television
is trying to steal their ideas, that they are a famous person such as the Virgin Mary or the
Emperor Napoleon, or that they are being threatened or persecuted. They are frequently
quite disoriented with respect to everyday life, and may withdraw from social contacts and
show inappropriate emotional reactions.
Until the development of anti-psychotic drugs in the mid-twentieth century, countries
such as Australia had many large psychiatric hospitals. Schizophrenia sufferers formed
by far the largest group of patients in these hospitals. As better drugs and treatment
methods were gradually developed, many of these people were able to live normal lives
in the community.
However, these drugs do have side-effects if taken for long periods, and there is an
increasing effort to develop non-drug methods of treatment. Some schizophrenia sufferers
still need to be hospitalised, while others are put back into the community without
adequate support because treatment for mental illness is rarely funded sufficiently.

chapter 17 mental illness and mental health 291

TABLE 17.2 The personality disorders on Axis II of DSM-IV-TR.

Paranoid personality disorder

Histrionic personality disorder

Schizoid personality disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder

Schizotypal personality disorder

Avoidant personality disorder

Antisocial personality disorder

Dependent personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder

Obsessivecompulsive personality disorder

case study

Mood disorders
Depression involves feelings of great sadness and
dejection. It is a common condition in everyday life,
often resulting from some sort of stress. However,
when the symptoms of the depression persist and
are of such intensity that they adversely affect the
persons functioning, the person is considered to
be suffering a depressive illness.
While severe depression often occurs on its
own, mania frequently occurs with depression.
Mania is characterised by intense, unrealistic feelings of excitement and euphoria (feeling high).
Bipolar disorder consists of periods of mania followed by periods of depression, then back to
mania and so on. The mood of the person varies
between two opposite poles, from very high to
very low.
A number of drugs have been developed for
the treatment of mood disorders. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is often used to treat
depression. Interestingly, one of the first drugs for
the treatment of mental illness was lithium,
developed by Melbourne psychiatrist John Cade in
1949 to treat bipolar disorder.
When they are able to paint, the mood of
depressed and manic patients is often reflected in
their paintings. The paintings of depressed people
are often on sad themes, involve few elements and
use a small number of dark colours. The paintings of
manic people portray their overactive minds,
including many elements and ideas in vivid colours.
More information about depression can be
found at the website of the national
depression initiative, Beyond Blue.

Questions
1
2

What are some of the symptoms of mania and

depression?
How do the paintings of manic and depressed
people differ?

FIGURE 17.3
The Anxiety by Edvard Munch.
This painting portrays the extreme negative mood
characterising a severely depressed person.

Anxiety: help on the web

Information about a number of major mental
disorders is available on the website of the
Department of Health. Use this website to find
information about the disorders. Write a paragraph of

ACTIVITY

at least five lines summarising the main features of

schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar mood disorder.
Write a paragraph of at least ten lines summarising
the main features of the anxiety disorders.

292 heinemann psychology one

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What are the two general approaches to explaining mental illness?
2 What is the DSM?
3 What are measured by the axes of the DSM?

Classification of anxiety disorders

GLOSSARY
anxiety disorders
group of disorders
characterised by feelings
of excessive anxiety

phobia
persistent, overwhelming and
unreasonable fear of a situation
or object

TABLE 17.3 Anxiety disorders

Everyone experiences anxiety at some timeit is a normal part of everyday living.

However, for some people, it becomes a major problem. They suffer anxiety frequently
and at such a high level that it disturbs their functioning substantially. It is then called
an anxiety disorder.
Table 17.3 lists the anxiety disorders as they appear in the DSM manual. The various types of anxiety disorder are not mutually exclusive, as many people who suffer
from one type of disorder also suffer from others some time in their lives.
Anxiety disorders are only one of the various types of mental illness. However, they
are an important group. Large-scale studies in the USA (where the best statistics are
available) indicate that, on average, almost one in twenty people will suffer from an anxiety disorder some time during their life (Regier & Burke, 2000; Dew, Bromet &
Switzer, 2000). However, these numbers do vary from study to study, and the figure is
not very meaningful because different groups of people within society are likely to suffer the various disorders much more than other groups. For example, females suffer from
most types of anxiety disorder more than males, whereas obsessivecompulsive disorder
is more common in men.
The main types of anxiety disorder fall into five general categories. We will briefly
discuss these, and then look at some theories on how they develop.

listed in the DSM-IV-TR.

Panic disorder without agoraphobia

Panic disorder with agoraphobia
Agoraphobia without history of panic disorder
Specific phobia
Social phobia
Obsessivecompulsive disorder
Posttraumatic stress disorder
Acute stress disorder
Generalised anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder due to a general medical condition
Substance-induced anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder not otherwise specified

FIGURE 17.4
The Scream by Edvard Munch.
This painting is famous for
illustrating the concept of intense
anxiety.

chapter 17 mental illness and mental health 293

Phobias
Phobias are persistent, irrational fears of a specific object or situation. Everyone
has fears of particular objects, and many of these are quite rationalfor example, fear of going into long grass when snakes have been seen recently! Fears are
classified as phobias when they are much more intense than is justified and have
no basis in reality. The person feels compelled to avoid or flee the phobic object
or situation.
People with phobias usually recognise that their fears are irrational, but are
still unable to control their anxiety and behaviour. Phobias may be of three types.

Specific (simple) phobias

Specific phobias are irrational fears of specific objects. The DSM manual divides
them into several types, including:
animal type (e.g. snakes, spiders)
natural environment type (e.g. heights, storms)
bloodinjectioninjury type
situational type (e.g. elevators, flying, driving).
An example concerns a patient who developed a fear of frogs that was so
intense she was unable to go anywhere frogs might possibly be found. She was
unable to even look at pictures of frogs. When Australia Post brought out a frog
stamp, she was unable to collect the mail.
Specific names have been produced for many phobias, as seen in Table 17.4.

FIGURE 17.5
Some simple phobias concern
aspects of the natural
environment, such as lightning
storms.

TABLE 17.4 Names and descriptions of some phobias.

Name

Feared object or situation

Acrophobia

heights

Agoraphobia

open spaces

Ailurophobia

cats

Algophobia

pain

Alliumphobia

garlic

Altophobia

heights

Arachibutyrophobia

peanut butter sticking to the

roof of the mouth

Brontophobia

storms, thunder and lightning

Claustrophobia

enclosed spaces

Haematophobia

blood

Hydrophobia

water

Mysophobia

dirt, contamination, germs

Ophidiophobia

snakes

Pteromerhanophobia

flying

Pyrophobia

fire

Ranidaphobia

frogs

Siderophobia

railways

Suriphobia

mice

Taphophobia

being buried alive

Triskaidekaphobia

the number 13

Xenophobia

strangers

294 heinemann psychology one

Social phobias
Social phobias are associated with the desire to avoid other people,
often because of fear of embarrassment or humiliation. Fear of speaking in public is a common form of this type of phobia. If the person
does attempt to speak in public, he or she experiences symptoms of
anxiety such as a dry mouth, stuttering, perspiring, blushing and
heart palpitations. Being aware of these symptoms and knowing they
are obvious to the audience makes the anxiety worse.

FIGURE 17.7
Fear of speaking
in public is a very
common social
phobia.

FIGURE 17.6
Psychologists have
developed a number of
methods of treating phobias.
This is not one of them!

GLOSSARY
agoraphobia
intense fear of open or public
places; it is often associated
with panic attack

panic disorder
anxiety disorder characterised
by brief, recurring attacks of
acute, overwhelming anxiety

panic attack

Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia means fear of the market place, and refers to fear of open, public places.
It is the most common form of phobia, and is much more common in women than in
men. In its extreme form, people become confined to their homes, afraid to leave. It is
often closely linked to panic disorder.

Panic disorder
Panic disorder is characterised by brief, intense attacks of uncontrollable anxiety.
These attacks are associated with physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, sweating, shaking and difficulty in breathing. Because they usually occur suddenly and
unexpectedly, people who suffer from panic attacks may wonder about when their next
attack will occur. This may lead to a fear of leaving home (agoraphobia).

short periods of intense,

uncontrollable fear and terror

Generalised anxiety disorder

generalised anxiety disorder

A person experiencing generalised anxiety disorder, or free-floating anxiety, experiences a general, persistent, high level of anxiety that is not tied to any specific object
or situation. The cause is therefore difficult to identify.
People with this disorder worry constantly about yesterdays mistakes, todays decisions and tomorrows potential problems. Again, they may suffer physical symptoms
such as muscle tension, diarrhoea, dizziness, heart palpitations and sweating (see Case
study below).

anxiety disorder marked by a

high level of anxiety that is not
associated with a particular
object

case study
Generalised anxiety disorder
A 67-year-old woman was referred to a psychiatric clinic
for treatment of an anxiety state. At the interview, she
appeared to be tense. She sat upright and rigid in her
chair and answered questions politely. She admitted that
for most of her life she had been a great worrier.

She said: Im inclined to look ahead and expect the worst

to happen. I find it hard to relax, especially while lying in
bed. My worst fears come to mind.
In her most anxious moments, she has experienced
palpitations of the heart and had difficulty falling asleep

chapter 17 mental illness and mental health 295

owing to her brooding thoughts. Although she has

experienced a persistent and chronic anxiety, she has
been unable to trace her anxiety to any particular
problem.
Adapted from Fottrell, 1983, p. 149.

Questions
1

Why do you think generalised anxiety is sometimes

called free floating anxiety?

What are some of the main features of generalised

anxiety disorder?

Stress disorders
Stress disorders result from exposure to highly traumatic events or situations.

Acute stress disorder

Acute stress disorder involves short periods of anxiety in
which the person avoids stimuli likely to lead to memory of the traumatic event, may become detached from the
physical and social world, and may experience distortions of memory and perception. It occurs within four
weeks of the traumatic event and does not occur more
than four weeks after the event.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) includes many
of the same features as acute stress disorder. However, in
PTSD the symptoms persist for more than four weeks.
Sometimes for years after the traumatic event, the person
will experience frightening memories, nightmares and
vivid flashbacks in which they re-experience the event.
Eventually, they may become apathetic and detached.
Soldiers in the First World War frequently suffered
shell shock, which was probably what we now call PTSD.
Disasters such as floods, fires or earthquakes, severe accidents, or rapes or serious assaults
can also cause the disorder. A large number of people experienced PTSD following the 9/11
terrorist attacks in America.

FIGURE 17.8
A major cause of posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) is the experience of
trauma on the battlefield.

GLOSSARY
stress disorder

Obsessivecompulsive disorder
Obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD) is characterised by constantly recurring,
unwanted thoughts or images called obsessions, and repetitive, ritualistic behaviour
called compulsions, that the person performs in response to the obsession.
Obsessions frequently involve topics the person finds disgusting or repugnant. The
most common obsessional fears include fear of contamination by dirt and germs, and
fear of hurting someone else either by losing self-control or in an accident.
Compulsions are irresistible impulses to engage in repeated, meaningless behaviour
that the person realises is irrational and senseless, but is unable to control. Two common
types are:
cleaning rituals, where people need to spend several hours every day in cleaning
their home or washing themselves
checking behaviour, where they have to keep checking somethingsuch as that
they have turned off the gas, or that objects are placed correctly.
Sufferers experience extreme anxiety if unable to carry out their compulsion, which
may be something as apparently trivial as arranging the handles of the teacups in exactly
the same direction, or putting shoes neatly under the bed (see the following Case study).

anxiety disorder that results from

exposure to a highly traumatic
event or situation

post-traumatic stress disorder

anxiety disorder resulting from
exposure to a highly traumatic
event or situation which continues
for some time, including
flashbacks of the event

obsessivecompulsive disorder
anxiety disorder characterised by
the occurrence of persistent,
unwanted thoughts and
uncontrollable urges to engage in
meaningless ritual behaviour

obsession
persistent, uncontrollable, intrusive
thought usually on a topic that the
person finds highly unpleasant or
anxiety-producing

compulsion
irresistible impulse to engage in a
repeated, stereotyped behaviour

296 heinemann psychology one

case study
Obsessive compulsive disorder
A 32-year-old high-school cooking teacher developed
marked feelings of guilt and uneasiness, accompanied
by obsessive fears of hurting others by touching them
or by their handling something she had touched. She
dreaded having anyone eat anything she had prepared, and if students in her cooking class were
absent, she was certain they had been poisoned by
her cooking. In addition, she developed the obsessive
notion that a rash at the base of her scalp was a manifestation of syphilis, which would gnaw at her brain
and make her a drooling idiot.
Accompanying these obsessive fears were compulsions consisting primarily of repeated handwashings and frequent returns to some act already
performed, such as turning off gas or water, to reassure
herself that the act had been done right.
Carson and Butcher, 1992, p. 192.

Questions
1
2

FIGURE 17.9

What sorts of obsessive fears are shown by the

person in this case study?
What sorts of compulsive behaviours are shown?

Excessive hand-washing is a
common type of compulsion.

KEY QUESTIONS
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

What are the main types of anxiety disorders?

What is a phobia?
What is agoraphobia?
What is a panic disorder?
What is a generalised anxiety disorder? How does it differ from a phobia?
How is acute stress disorder different from posttraumatic stress disorder?
What is the difference between an obsession and a compulsion?

What causes anxiety disorders?

The DSM is a system for diagnosis and does not give specific information about how the various disorders are caused. However, many writers
have put forward ideas attempting to explain why anxiety disorders
develop.
Freuds theory (see chapter 16) distinguished three forms of anxiety,
as shown in Figure 17.10. Modern research indicates that anxiety is the
result of complex interactions between a range of biological, environmental and cognitive factors.

FIGURE 17.10
Freuds three forms of anxiety. He placed
the most emphasis on neurotic anxiety.

chapter 17 mental illness and mental health 297

Biological factors
A number of studies suggest that there is some genetic predisposition to develop anxiety disorders. Because of their genes, some people are more likely than others to
develop these disorders, given the same environmental conditions. However, the
importance of genetics does not appear to be as strong as it is for some other types of
disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
One approach to studying the genetics of mental disorders is to look at concordance
rates in identical (monozygotic) and fraternal (dizygotic) twins. Concordance rates indicate the percentage of twin pairs who have the same disorder. This research is based on
the idea that identical twins share the same genes, whereas fraternal twins are no more
genetically related than normal brothers and sisters.
Looking at all the anxiety disorders together, the lifetime concordance rate for identical twins is around 36 per cent (Slater & Shields, 1969; Torgersen, 1983). This means
that if we take 100 identical twins with an anxiety disorder, 36 of their twin pairs will
also have the disorder. For fraternal twins, the figure is around 15 per cent. Because it
is much higher for identical twins, this suggests genetic influence.
Other research suggests that there may be particular patterns of activity in the brain
making some people more sensitive to environmental stimuli that produce anxiety.
People showing these patterns become anxious more easily and may go on to develop
anxiety disorders. There is some evidence linking anxiety to the behaviour of certain
neurotransmittersthe chemicals that carry signals from one neuron to another.
For example, drugs that reduce the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA
(gamma-aminobutyric acid) lead to an increase in anxiety. On the other hand, the
tranquiliser diazepam (Valium) increases the activity of GABA, and reduces anxiety
(see Figure 17.11). Other studies suggest that the neurotransmitter serotonin may be
involved in panic and obsessivecompulsive disorders.
It is probable that a number of different brain mechanisms are involved in producing
what we experience as anxiety and the behaviours shown in the various anxiety disorders.

GLOSSARY
concordance rate
probability of appearance
of the same characteristic or
disease in a pair of twins
(or other family members)

neurotransmitter
chemical released at the presynaptic membrane and taken up
at the post-synaptic membrane,
which causes the electrical signal
to propogate along a new axon

FIGURE 17.11
Certain drugs reduce or
increase the activity of the
neurotransmitter GABA, leading
to changes in anxiety levels.
This suggests that GABA plays
a role in anxiety disorders.

298 heinemann psychology one

Environmental factors
The current level of stress in our environment influences the likelihood we will develop an anxiety disorder.
One study assessed the levels of stress in the environment for twelve months before
the onset of panic disorder in a group of patients. A very substantial increase in stress
occurred in the month just before onset (Faravelli & Pallanti, 1989).

Classical aversive conditioning

GLOSSARY
classical aversive conditioning
learning a fear by pairing an
originally neutral stimulus with
an unpleasant one

While some psychologists have looked at current stress levels in the environment, a
different approach has been taken by a number of psychologists with a learning theory perspective. In the tradition of Watson and Skinner (discussed in chapter 16),
they have examined how the processes of conditioning may be involved in the development and continuation of anxiety disorders.
This idea has been applied to the development of phobias. In a type of conditioning called classical aversive conditioning, a previously neutral or mildly pleasant
stimulus may come to be viewed as unpleasant if it occurs at the same time as something unpleasant. The previously neutral stimulus will now produce fear and anxiety.
A famous study by Watson and Rayner (1920) provided the basis for this idea.
Albert, an 11-month old boy, originally showed no fear towards a white rat he was
permitted to play with. However, each time the white rat was given to him, a metal
bar was struck behind his head with a hammer, causing a loud noise. This loud noise
caused fear in little Albert, who soon showed fear when the white rat was presented
without the noise. Albert might be said to have developed a phobia of rats.
In a real-life example, imagine that a child who likes dogs is bitten by a dog. The
child will now experience fear and anxiety in the presence of dogs or even when
thinking about dogs (see Figure 17.12).

FIGURE 17.12
The learning approach to the
development of abnormal
behaviour explains the
development and continuance
of phobias as due to
conditioning. (a) The pairing of
an originally neutral stimulus
(such as a dog) with an
anxiety-arousing event (being
bitten) produces the phobia.
This is called classical aversive
conditioning.
(b) The avoidance of the feared
stimulus (the dog) reduces the
anxiety, leading to negative
reinforcement. This helps to
maintain the phobia.

a Classical conditioning: acquisition of phobic fear

fear of dogs
bitten by dog

b Operant conditioning: maintenance of phobic fear

avoid dogs

fear reduced

chapter 17 mental illness and mental health 299

FIGURE 17.13
Children may learn certain
fears by watching their parents
behaviour.

Observational learning
It is also possible to learn fear and anxiety through observational learning by imitating the behaviour of others. A child may not have to be directly bitten by a dog to
become afraid of dogs. If he sees someone else who is very afraid of dogs, or if he sees
someone else bitten by a dog, he may develop his own fear.
In this way, children can develop fears by observing their parents, and adults can
develop fears through the mediafor example, a fear of contracting AIDS may develop from watching TV programs or commercials about AIDS.

Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning may also be involved in anxiety disorders, especially in maintaining the symptoms of the disorder. A child who avoids dogs will be reinforced by
not feeling anxious, at least for a while. He is therefore likely to continue to avoid dogs
(see Figure 17.12).

Evaluating the learning approach

While the learning explanation of anxiety disorders does explain many aspects of their
development, it has been criticised. One criticism is that many people with strong anxiety cannot remember a particular traumatic event that initially caused the fear.
Other researchers note that some fears are learned much more easily than other fears.
Martin Seligman (1971) has argued that people are biologically prepared by their evolutionary history to develop fears of objects that are ancient sources of threat (such as
snakes and spiders). They are much more likely to develop such fears than they are to
develop fears of more modern threats, such as hot stoves or power points. Some research
supports this idea, but not all.
A different criticism of the learning approach relates to the fact that some people
can experience very unpleasant situations but still not develop phobias or other symptoms of anxiety. This suggests that the processes of learning interact with genetic
factors. It may be that people develop anxiety reactions through learning, but only if
they are genetically predisposed to do so.

GLOSSARY
observational learning
learning a particular behaviour
through watching someone else
engage in that behaviour

operant conditioning
learning in which a voluntary
response is brought under
stimulus control through the use
of reinforcement

300 heinemann psychology one

Cognitive factors
Cognitive explanations of anxiety disorders concentrate on the kinds of thoughts and
beliefs people have in response to particular situations. People may experience high levels of anxiety because:
they misinterpret relatively harmless situations as threatening
they attend excessively to perceived threats
they selectively remember threatening information.

GLOSSARY
catastrophising
forming the belief that mildly
unpleasant occurrences have
extraordinary implications far
beyond that which is justified

An early cognitive psychologist, Albert Ellis (1979), took the view that people hold
irrational beliefs that need to be changed. When unpleasant things happen to them,
people with severe emotional difficulties may take totally exaggerated views on what
happened. A man who has lost his job may not simply believe that what has happened
is undesirablehe may also find it unbearable, believe that he has been rejected by his
employer and will never find another job, and think that he is so worthless he doesnt
deserve another job anyway. Ellis argues that these nonsensical ideas do not follow at all
from the fact that he simply lost his job.
These extreme, unwarranted beliefs that people have when things go wrong is sometimes called catastrophising. This person has exaggerated his situation and if things
do start to improve, he may well interpret them wrongly because his thinking is so negative. Thus, thoughts like this can be part of a self-defeating vicious cycle. If people
expect the worst to happen, then that is likely to be how they interpret future events,
no matter how positive they really are.

FIGURE 17.14
How we interpret an
anxiety-producing
situation depends to
some extent on inherited
predispositions to view
the world more positively
or negatively.

chapter 17 mental illness and mental health 301

Cognitive factors in anxiety

Michael Eysenck and his colleagues (Eysenck et al.,
1991) asked anxious and non-anxious participants to
interpret sentences that could be viewed in a
threatening or negative way or in a more positive,
non-threatening way. For example, The doctor
examined little Emmas growth could mean that
the doctor measured her height, or that he examined
her for a possible tumour.
Eysenck gave the task to a group of anxious
participants and a group of non-anxious participants.

ACTIVITY

The anxious individuals chose the threatening

alternative about 53 per cent of the time. The nonanxious participants chose the threatening
alternative only about 40 per cent of the time. The
difference was statistically significant, indicating that
anxious individuals are more likely to interpret
ambiguous sentences threateningly.

1 Draw a graph to summarise the findings.

2 How does this result show that cognitive factors
are important in producing anxiety?

KEY QUESTIONS
11
12
13
14
15

What are the three types of anxiety distinguished by Freud?

What evidence indicates that anxiety disorders have a genetic basis?
Name two neurotransmitters that may be involved in the experience of anxiety.
Describe the process of developing anxiety through classical aversive conditioning. Give your own example.
Describe three ways in which cognitive factors can affect anxiety.

Cognitive psychologists emphasise that, while events in the environment can cause
anxiety, just how much anxiety is produced will depend on how people interpret what
happens to them. If they misinterpret harmless situations as threatening, or focus too
much attention on perceived threats, they are more likely to develop anxiety disorders.
How people interpret potentially anxiety-producing situations may depend on their
history of dealing with similar situations in the past, but may also depend on inherited
predispositions to view the world more positively or negatively.
An interesting study showing the importance of cognitive factors in anxiety is
described in the following activity.

Criticisms of the current

diagnostic system
The current diagnostic system for mental disorders is based on the medical model,
which was originally developed for physical illness. Based on the symptoms people
show, they are said to have a particular physical illness (such as common cold, measles,
pneumonia). The label they receive has implications for how the illness was caused (its
aetiology) and how it should be treated.
This approach to classifying disorders underlies the DSM system. This system was
developed largely by psychiatrists (medical doctors) for their own use, so an advantage
of the approach is that it is familiar to those people who regularly use it. Viewing mental disorders as illnesses also implies that sufferers require helpit is not assumed that
they are simply lacking in will power.
However, over the years, many criticisms of the approach as a basis for understanding mental disorders have been put forward.

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Research an anxiety
disorder

302 heinemann psychology one

Are mental disorders like physical disorders?

The medical model of physical disease implies that each category of disorder has a particular causegenerally a physical cause such as a specific virus, or the loss of
functioning in a particular organ. Although the DSM system does not discuss how diseases are caused or how they should be treated, the medical model implies that each
mental disorder has a specific cause and should be treated in a specific way. However, this
rarely applies for mental disorders. Mental disorders are generally the result of complex
interactions between biological factors and environmental factors, and diagnosis often
provides little information about how a disorder was caused or how it should be treated.
Furthermore, the categories in the DSM show considerable overlap in a way quite
different from physical illness. It is rare, for example, for people showing depression or
schizophrenia to not also show strong symptoms of anxiety. Anxious people are often
depressed. In other words, the various disorders are not separate and discrete, in the way
physical diseases tend to be.

Can mental disorders be clearly distinguished?

The DSM system assumes a clear break between what is normal and what is abnormal.
Physical diseases tend to be like thisyou either have the flu or you do not. You might
have a bad case, or a mild case, but there is a clear distinction between having the flu
and not having it.
For many types of mental disorder, this is not true. Rather, it is useful to think of
many types of abnormal conditions as continuous dimensions, much like the personality dimensions discussed in chapter 16.

Is it useful to label people?

Some writers have criticised the whole process of labelling people with a mental disorder. Labelling a person as mentally ill or abnormal, or putting them in a diagnostic
category, can sometimes make it more difficult for them to solve their psychological
problems. While there are some obvious exceptions, most physical illnesses do not have
a strong stigma attached to them. However, people in the community are still often
prejudiced against the mentally ill with respect to offering them jobs or making
friends with them. In the area of mental illness, a diagnostic label can have very negative implications for a persons self esteem and morale.
Applying labels to people may cause other problems. Putting a label on someone
gives the illusion of explanation. To say that someone is hearing voices because they
have schizophrenia does not really explain why they are hearing voices.
The American psychiatrist Thomas Szasz (1961) considered the problem of labelling
when making his claim that mental illness is a myth. He believed that most of the disorders treated by psychiatrists are not illnesses, but are simply individual characteristics
or behaviours that deviate from what our society believes is morally, legally or socially
normal. By labelling a person as ill, we take away from them the sense of responsibility
they need in order to help themselves. In other words, they say to themselves: I am sick.
Sick people cannot really help being the way they are, so I cant do anything about it.
It should be noted that many of these points are controversial. Nevertheless, they
point to the fact that many writers have argued that the medical model is not an appropriate model for understanding many forms of mental illness. The most popular modern
system of assessment and diagnosis of mental disorders, the system contained in the
DSM, is based on this model. Because it is the system with which most medical practitioners are familiar, it is likely that changes to the system will be slow to occur.

chapter 17 mental illness and mental health 303

Are we responsible?
Thomas Szasz believed that problems that people
experience are not illnesses, but behaviour that
departs from what society considers normal. He
believed that one of the reasons people should not
be regarded as mentally ill was that it made them
feel they were not responsible for their behaviour.
Below is a list of behaviours that may be considered
abnormal in some sense. To what extent do you think

ACTIVITY

that the person engaging in this behaviour should be

held responsible for their behaviour? Allocate points
from 0 to 4, according to this scale:
0 = they should be held not responsible at all
1 = they should be held a little responsible
2 = they should be held moderately responsible
3 = they should be held very responsible
4 = they should be held totally responsible

A young man wants to become rich quickly, so he robs the bank.

A young man hears voices in his head.
A middle-aged woman has an intense fear of snakes, and refuses to leave the house.
A starving man steals an apple from the supermarket.
A young man genuinely believes he is the Emperor Napoleon.
A woman loses her husband and threatens to kill herself.
A soldier returns from war and experiences frightening dreams.
A gangster murders someone when told he must, or be killed himself.
A poor man robs a chemist shop to get a drug for his dying wife.
A woman stabs her neighbour because she heard God tell her to.
A young woman misses work because she is depressed.
A young woman misses work because she is hung over.
A young man cannot control his impulse to steal clothes.
An 8-year-old child steals some lollies from the shop.

How much agreement is there between members of the class?

KEY QUESTIONS
16 What are the strengths of the current system for diagnosing mental
disorders?

17 What are some of the criticisms that have been made of this system?
W

WORKSHEET 1
Identify the disorder

304 heinemann psychology one

chapter

17

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

08

09

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a popular diagnostic
system for classifying mental illness. It is based on a medical model for assessing and
classifying disorders.
Anxiety disorders include, among others, phobias, panic disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, stress disorder and obsessivecompulsive disorder.
Anxiety disorders appear to result from a combination of biological, environmental and
cognitive factors.
Predisposition to anxiety disorders has a genetic basis, and anxiety appears to be associated with the neurotransmitters GABA and serotonin.
The environment influences the development of anxiety (through classical aversive conditioning, observational learning and operant conditioning). The thoughts and beliefs of people
can influence how they respond to anxiety-producing situations.
The DSM system has been criticised from a number of viewpoints. The classification system
is based on the model used for classifying physical disease, which may not be appropriate
for many mental disorders. Labelling people with a mental disorder has a number of advantages, but also a number of disadvantages.

essay
Anxiety disorders
Research an anxiety disorder and discuss its assessment, symptoms and available
treatments.

Introduction
Introduce the DSM and the group of disorders classified as anxiety disorders. Focus
on one particular anxiety disorder, its assessment, symptoms and treatment.

Body
Detailed description of disorder and its assessment.
Detailed description of its symptoms.
Detailed description of its treatment and/or current research into its treatment.

Conclusion
Summarise the assessment and treatment of the disease.

10

chapter 17 mental illness and mental health 305

multiple
choice
questions
1 The term which refers to the prediction of the outcome
of a disease or disturbance is ________________.
A diagnosis
B aetiology
C prognosis
D dissociation

2 The term DSM refers to

A Diagnostic and Semantic Manual of Mental Disorders.
B Diagnostic and Semantic Manual of Mental Diseases.
C Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders.
D Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diseases.

3 Which of the following is NOT one of the major forms of

mental illness listed among the clinical disorders of the
DSM?
A multiple personality disorders
B mood disorders
C anxiety disorders
D sleep disorders

4 The DSM axis that includes the personality disorders is

________________.

A
B
C
D

Axis
Axis
Axis
Axis

I
II
III
IV

7 Acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder

A are the same thing.
B are different because post-traumatic stress disorder
is a type of acute stress disorder.

C are different because post-traumatic stress disorder

occurs for a longer period of time.

D are different because acute stress disorder is more

intense.

8 A persistent, intrusive thought usually on a topic the

person finds highly unpleasant or anxiety-producing.
This is the definition of
A an obsession.
B a compulsion.
C a simple phobia.
D agoraphobia.

9 According to learning theorists, phobias

A are the result of unresolved conflicts in the
unconscious mind.

B result from the pairing of an unpleasant or traumatic

event with the feared object.

C are the result of irrational and unproductive

thinking.

D are mostly due to genetic predisposition.

10 American psychiatrist Thomas Szasz believed that
A people who are depressed generally also show strong

5 A persistent irrational fear of a specific object or

situation is the definition of
A generalised anxiety disorder.
B an obsession.
C a phobia.
D acute distress disorder.

6 The type of phobia that is particularly linked to panic

symptoms of anxiety.

B there is a clear-cut distinction between normal and

abnormal.

C there is a physical basis in the brain for the major

mental illnesses.

D when we call a person mentally ill, we take away

from them their sense of responsibility.

disorder is
A specific phobia.
B fear of the dark.
C social phobia.
D agoraphobia.

short
answer
questions
1
2
3
4

What do the five axes of DSM refer to?

Distinguish the various types of anxiety disorder?
What are the three major approaches to explaining why anxiety disorders occur?
What is the medical model? What do you think of the model as an appropriate model
for mental disorders?

WORKSHEET 2
Crossword

306 heinemann psychology one

EVALUATION OF A RESEARCH DESIGN The effects of anxiety on Stroop performance

As described in the activity on page 301, Michael
Eysenck and his colleagues investigated how anxious
and non-anxious people interpret ambiguous sentences
differently. The emotional Stroop task can be used to
examine how cognitive factors influence anxiety.
The Stroop task involves words written with different
coloured ink. The participant has to name the colour of
the ink as quickly as possible. In the most well-known
version of the test, colour names (such as red, blue,
yellow, etc.) are written with ink different from the
meaning of the word. For example, red is written with
blue ink, and so on. People are required to name the ink
colourblueeven though the word spells red. The
task has been used in many psychological experiments.
The emotional Stroop task again presents words in
different coloured ink and participants must name the
colour of the ink. However, rather than colour names, the
words are related to some kind of emotion. Researchers
studying anxiety use words associated with threat, such
as tense and fear. These are presented in various
colours, and the participants must name the colour of
the ink as quickly as possible. It is assumed that the participants will also recognise the meanings of the words,
and that this may interfere with their performance.
In a study by Richards, Richards and McGeeney
(2000), thirty adolescents between 16 and 18 years of
age were given the emotional Stroop task. Eight threatrelated words and eight neutral words were selected
from the dictionary. The words in the two sets were
matched for length and for the frequency with which
they occur in the English language (see Table 17.5).
Half of the participants received the threat-related
card first, followed by the neutral card. Half received
the neutral card first, followed by the threatrelated card.
Participants were tested individually in a quiet room.
They were asked to identify the colour of each word on
the card as quickly as possible. At the end of the Stroop
task, they completed a questionnairethe Beck
Anxiety Inventory (BAI), which measures their level
of anxiety.
The participants were divided into a high anxiety
group and a low anxiety group by splitting the original
group at the median of the BAI.
The mean latency (speed of responding) for the low
anxiety group was 65.3 seconds for the threat-related
words and 63.2 seconds for the neutral words. This
difference was not statistically significant. The mean
latency for the high anxiety group was 76.6 seconds for
the threat related words and 68.3 seconds for the neutral
words. This difference was statistically significant.

TABLE 17.5 Matched threat and neutral words used

in the study.

Threat

Neutral

crazy

draft

tense

sweep

panic

ample

fear

note

shaking

shelves

nervous

element

dying

breed

frightened

provincial

Questions
1 How does the emotional Stroop task differ from the
well-known version of the task?

2 Write a hypothesis for the study.

3 Explain how the researchers divided the participants
into high and low anxiety groups.

4 Why do you think it was necessary to match the

words for frequency in the English language?

5 Draw a table showing the mean latency scores of the

high and low anxiety groups.

6 Make a bar graph showing the same information as

in the table.

7 Write a sentence summarising the results.

8 What conclusions can you draw from the study? Does
it support the hypothesis?

9 Explain why the study supports the idea that

cognitive factors are important in the development
of anxiety.Two cards were prepared:
threat-related cardeach threat-related word
appeared eight times: twice in each of the four
colours (red, green, yellow, blue)
neutral cardprepared in the same way as above,
using the neutral words.

UNIT 2 |

Area of Study 3

Social
attitudes

psychology
behaviour
attitudes
research

outcome3
On completion of this unit the student
should be able to describe attitude
formation and factors that affect prejudice.

00

01

02

03

04

307

chapter
psychology

18

Attitudes and
how they are
measured

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
components of an attitude in terms of:
thoughts (cognitive), feelings (affective)
and actions (behavioural)
qualitative and quantitative methods used
to measure attitudes, including:
observation of behaviour, self-reports and
Likert scales
statistical significance of correlation
based on strength and size of the sample
ethical principles appropriate to
conducting questionnaires.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
evaluate qualitative and quantitative
methods used to measure attitudes
use correlation to analyse the results
gathered from a student-designed
questionnaire.

00

01

308

02

03

04

chapter 18 attitudes and how they are measured 309

FIGURE 18.1
How do we form our attitudes?
Why do we sometimes
change our attitudes?
Social psychologists are
interested in these questions.

The study of attitudes has been described as one of the most important topics within
social psychology (Allport, 1967). You might think that studying groups, conversations,
helping behaviour or social influence would be more relevant to social psychology.
However, the study of attitudes has had more research and theory dedicated to it than all
these other topicsit may therefore be considered the most important area.
Why do social psychologists focus so much of their energies studying a topic that
does not really appear to be social? There are several reasons.
The focus on attitudes is an important advance in the study of human behaviour. It
recognises that people do not respond directly to the environmentinstead, they respond
to their mental images of the environment. Attitudes are, largely, mental images.
Attitudes are typically defined quite broadly, as we will see below. This broad definition gives researchers flexibility to study many other topics within social psychology,
including the ones that appear more social to begin with.
Social psychologists are often interested in how peoples attitudes are changed. This
change typically involves social influence and persuasion, both of which are very social
(see chapter 19).
Attitudes are often easier to measure than other behaviours, such as interpersonal
conversations. When faced with the wide variety of things people do, simply asking
how people feel about a particular person, issue or object is often the most practical.

What do we mean by attitudes?

The term attitude, like many used within social psychology, is one that we often use in
our day-to-day language. Because of this, we may each have our own intuitive understanding of what it means. Psychologists also have many different meanings for this term.
Attitudes have been defined as ideas about ourselves, others, objects and experiences.
However, attitudes are more than this because we do not just have ideas about all these
thingswe also like them or dislike them. In fact, for most social psychologists, our attitudes are made up of both our ideas about different things and evaluations about them.

The components of attitudes

Social psychologists have identified three important components of attitudes:
affective components: our feelings and evaluations towards a person, issue or object.
We may like or dislike a person (even someone we have never met, such as the
Victorian Premier), an issue (such as State educational policies), or an object (such
as a textbook).
cognitive components: our attitudes are not just feelings, but are also thoughts and
ideas. These thoughts and ideas are often our beliefs about the target of our attitudes, and are made up of our knowledge about it.

GLOSSARY
attitudes
ideas about ourselves, others,
objects and experiences, and our
evaluations of these things

affective
relating to emotions and feelings

310 heinemann psychology one

W

WORKSHEET 1
The components of
attitudes

behavioural components: social psychologists recognise that we are not simply lost
in thought, but that we act and react within our environment, and that our thoughts
and feelings often guide our actions.

FIGURE 18.2

attitude

The components of attitudes.

affective components

The functions of attitudes

cognitive components

extension

Why do we have attitudes? What is their function?

Social psychologists believe that there often are important
functions to having attitudes:
Attitudes serve as convenient summaries of our beliefs. To
express the attitude, I like psychology, is much easier than
listing all the good features of psychology, all the bad features
of psychology, and showing how the good outweigh the bad.
Our attitudes help others to know what to expect from us. If
your friends know that you dislike psychology, then they can
more easily anticipate how you will be feeling the night before
an important psychology test.
Our attitudes can serve as specific expressions of our more
enduring values (Katz, 1960). If you hold broad achievement
values, then you can easily express these values in terms of
specific attitudes towards each of your VCE subjects.
People may hold specific attitudes to help them gain rewards
and avoid punishments (Katz, 1960). If you believe that liking
psychology will help you gain favour with your teacher, you
might just adopt that attitude purely for the goal of being
rewarded.

behavioural components

extension

extension

Questions
1 Think of three attitudes that you have towards different people, objects or ideas. Try to identify the functions of each of
these attitudes.
2 Do you think that attitudes can have more than one function?
Why or why not? Give examples.

Adapted from Katz (1960); Petty & Cacioppo (1981).

Yes sir, everyone is of the opinion that your ideas are

always brilliant!

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What are three of the four reasons why studying attitudes represents an advance in the
overall study of human behaviour?

2 What is the definition of an attitude?

3 What are the three components of attitudes?
4 What are four functions of attitudes?

chapter 18 attitudes and how they are measured 311

Measuring attitudes
You know what your attitudes and your friends attitudes are to various things, but how
do psychologists measure them accurately? How do they collect and interpret data so
they can make useful conclusions and predictions? We will look at several ways, including quantitative and qualitative self-report methods and the observation of behaviour.

Self-reports: rating scales

The most typical way that social psychologists measure attitudes is through self-reports
that is, people simply respond to statements or questions about their own attitudes. Rating
scales are usually used. These scales are quantitative, which means that responses can be
converted into numbers for easy and meaningful statistical analysis.

Likert scale

GLOSSARY
self-reports
qualitative and quantitative
methods of attitude measurement
in which people directly express
their attitude

quantitative

A common way of measuring self-reported attitudes uses a Likert scale (or a Likerttype scale for slight modifications). Likert was an early researcher in the study and
measurement of attitudes. He showed social psychologists how to measure attitudes by
first providing a clear statement about an attitude topic, and then asking the degree to
which participants approve or disapprove of the statement.
For example, when measuring the attitudes of a group of elderly Australians,
Warburton and Terry (2000) presented statements such as: Most people who are important to me do volunteer work.
Participants then indicated their level of agreement or disagreement with the statement.
Three Likert-type scales are shown in Figure 18.3 as examples of how participants
could respond to this statement and others like it. With these scales, participants either
circle a number or tick a box to indicate their attitude at the time.
Note that for examples 1 and 3, there is a mid-point that allows participants to be
indifferent. By contrast, example 2 has no mid-point, although it is a kind of a scale
that many people are familiar with.

refers to measures that represent

variables as numerical values

rating scales
quantitative self-report methods
of attitude measurement in which
people indicate their attitude
along a number line (such as
1 to 10)

Likert Scale (Likert-type Scale)

quantitative self-report method of
attitude measurement in which
people respond to a scale
anchored with words such as
strongly approve and strongly
disapprove

Example 1
Overall, I think social psychology is extremely interesting.
1

disagree
strongly

agree
strongly

Example 2
Most people who are important to me do volunteer work.
1

disagree
strongly

10
agree
strongly

Example 3
I think that it is very important to attend school every school day.

strongly
disagree

disagree

disagree
somewhat

neither
disagree
nor agree

agree
somewhat

agree

strongly
agree

FIGURE 18.3
Three examples of Likert
scales.

312 heinemann psychology one

Semantic differential scale

A second type of self-report scale often used to measure attitudes is called a semantic
differential scale. Examples are shown in Figure 18.4. Words with opposite meanings
are placed at each end of a numerical scale. This allows researchers to gain a good
impression of peoples feelings about a particular target.
For example, Schofield and Start (1977) asked a sample of Victorian student teachers
their attitudes towards teaching reading. The student teachers circled a number on
seven-point scales that were anchored with words at each end such as glad and sad,
or good and bad, or sweet and sour.
Together, responses to such self-report scales can give researchers a good impression
of peoples overall emotional evaluations of a particular attitude topic.
Example 1
Please indicate how you feel about teaching reading to secondary students.
1

glad

7
sad

Example 2
Please indicate how you feel about teaching reading to secondary students.
1

good

7
bad

Example 3
Please indicate how you feel about teaching reading to secondary students.
1

FIGURE 18.4
Three examples of semantic
differential scales.

sweet

sour

Self-reports: free-response

GLOSSARY
semantic differential scale
quantitative self-report method
of attitude measurement in
which people respond to a
scale anchored with words with
opposite meanings (such as
good and bad)

free-response
qualitative self-report method
of attitude measurement in
which people can say anything
they want.

qualitative
refers to measures that
represent variables in terms
beyond simply numerical values

Although rating scales can provide social psychologists with valuable information, these
types of scales also limit the information gathered to those ideas that the researcher
thought about before the study. The researcher is strongly guiding the kinds of attitudes
participants can express, and the kinds of responses participants can give.
However, maybe some participants would like to strongly agree with a statement
if it relates to one set of circumstances, but strongly disagree with the very same statement if it relates to another set of circumstances. This would be impossible to assess
with rating scales.
For this reason, social psychologists also measure attitudes by means of freeresponse. In free-response measures, participants are free to respond in anyway they
want. The measures are therefore more qualitative than quantitativethey are descriptive, rather than providing numerical values.
Free-response measures were used in a study by Haslam and Platow (2001), who
measured Australian university students support for a student leader. The researchers
asked the participants to write down any arguments they thought were relevant to the
leaders decision. After participants responded, independent coders (people working
with the researchers) coded the responses as being supportive or not supportive of the
leader. This allowed the researchers to infer participants favourable or unfavourable
attitudes towards the leader.

chapter 18 attitudes and how they are measured 313

Observation of behaviour
Behaviour is an important component in the definition of
attitudes. As such, it is not always sufficient simply to ask
participants, What to you think about this, and how do
you feel about it? To get a full understanding of peoples
attitudes, it is often necessary to see what they do, as well
as what they say.
For example, in one study researchers observed verbal
responses to being ostracised in a laboratory. University of
New South Wales students were ignored by two other
supposed students (actors working for the experimenters).
The number of verbal comments made by the ostracised
participants was taken as an indication of their attitudes
towards the two actors and towards the social interaction
as a whole (Williams, Govan, Croker, Tynan, Cruickshank
& Lam, 2002).

FIGURE 18.5
These students may express their opinions in class but we
need to observe their behaviour in order to really understand
their attitudes.

Developing your own attitude measures

ACTIVITY

In groups, develop a way to measure an attitude of your choice. Write Likert-scale questions
and semantic differential questions, as well as a free-response question.
Describe how you would measure behaviour associated with the attitude.

Can we infer attitudes from physiological measures?

Psychologists have attempted to infer peoples attitudes through
physiological measures, such as heart rate, temperature and the
amount of sweating of the hands (by measuring the galvanic skin
response, or the amount of electrical resistance on the skin).
For example, researchers studied the cardiovascular reactions
of non-Black males when interacting with Black males and White
males (Mendes, Blascovich, Lickel & Hunter, 2002). The results
indicated patterns of physiological activity consistent with a
threat response when interacting with Black males, but consistent with a challenge response when interacting with White
males. From these results, the researchers were able to infer the
racial attitudes of participants.
How valid are these forms of attitude measurement? There is
a tendency to believe that physiological responses always represent the true attitudes of a person, but this is not necessarily the
case. Just because we can see machine-recorded outputs of heart
rate or sweating does not mean that we can see a persons attitude. We can be no more certain about these results than we can
from self-report measures and behavioural measures.
Measuring physiological responses forms the basis of the liedetector test. Do these measurements really indicate when
someone is lying? Research psychologists generally agree that
such tests lack validity and should not be admitted into courts as
evidence (Iacono & Lykken, 1997).

extension

Questions
1 Why might psychologists want to measure physiological
responses in addition to self-reports and behaviour?

2 Why do you think that physiological measures of attitudes are

FIGURE 18.6
How accurate is the polygraph as a lie-detector test?

no more certain than other measures?

314 heinemann psychology one

KEY QUESTIONS
5
6
7
8
9

Why are ratings scales called quantitative measures?

How do Likert scales and semantic differential scales differ from each other?
What are two similarities between Likert scales and semantic differential scales?
How do rating scales and free-response measures differ from each other?
Why are free-response measures called qualitative?

Evaluating methods used

to measure attitudes
Measuring attitudes is easier than measuring other social behaviours, like interpersonal conversations. However, it still requires
specific skills and hard work. Attitudes are, by their very nature,
subjective. We cannot see them, touch them, or even measure them
directly. We must always infer them from a variety of responses that
people provide to researchers.
Any inferences must always be made with caution. For example,
if we directly ask people about their attitudes, they may tell us the
truth, but they may not if they feel that their attitudes are socially
unacceptable (such as certain prejudiced attitudes).
People may have difficulty expressing their attitudes clearly, or
even knowing what their attitudes are. When we ask people their
attitudes, we are assuming that they can respond in a clear manner,
that we can correctly interpret what they mean, and that they have
enough personal insight to know what their attitudes are.

Validity and reliability of measurements

Because attitudes must be inferred from other responses, the methods of attitude measurement must allow researchers the greatest amount of confidence as possible. The
methods of measurement must be both valid and reliable.

Types of validity

GLOSSARY
validity
quality of a measure relating
to whether it measures what
it is intended to measure

reliability
quality of a measure relating
to its relative consistency
in measurement, such as
between different
measurement times

There are four types of validity relating to measurements of attitude, summarised in

Figure 18.7. Lets say that we are interested in measuring attitudes towards competition. We would need to check our methods of measurement for several types of validity:
Construct validity: We need to ensure that our measures are related to competitive
issues rather than, say, general aggressiveness or hostility. That is, we have to ensure
that we are measuring the construct that we intend to, and not some other, unintended one.
External validity: Maybe there is something about being in a psychology experiment that makes people feel more competitive than they do in everyday life. We
need to ensure that the competitive attitudes we measure in our testing situation
hold true in everyday or external life.
Predictive validity: We need to ensure that whatever we are measuring will allow
us to predict whether people will behave in a competitive manner or not.
Face validity: We need to ensure that our attitude measures make sense to our participants in terms of actual competition. If not, then they may be thinking of other
attitudes, or not take our measures seriously.
Overall, if a researchers measures are not valid, then they have no value.

chapter 18 attitudes and how they are measured 315

construct validity
Do our measures match what we think we are measuring or what we want to measure?
external validity
Do our measures in the experimental context relate to real-life contexts?
predictive validity
Can we predict future attitudes and behaviours from the ones we currently measure?
face validity
How relevant do our measures appear to the people we are studying?

FIGURE 18.7
Psychologists assess the
validity of their methods by
asking themselves questions
about the measures they are
using.

Types of reliability
Psychologists are also concerned with the reliability of their measures. These measures
must be consistent with themselves, and consistent over time.
For example, if we have ten attitude questions, all intended to measure competitive
attitudes, we would consider at least two qualities to determine if we have a reliable
attitude measure:
Internal reliability: An individuals responses to the ten questions should be related
to each other. For example, does the person give all questions about his or her attitudes towards competition approximately the same rating?
Testretest reliability: If we measure attitudes on a Monday, then the individuals
responses should be the same when we measure the attitudes again on Wednesday.
Overall, if our measures are not reliable, then we cannot say what we have measured
is real.

KEY QUESTIONS
10 Why is attitude measurement always an inference?
11 What are four forms of validity?
12 What is reliability?

GLOSSARY
correlation coefficient
number that expresses the
degree (between 1 and +1) and
direction (positive or negative) of
a relationship between two
variables

Correlation between attitudes

and behaviours
What is the relationship between our expressed attitudes and our
behaviours? If a student says, I think education is good, is she also
likely to be someone who studies hard?

Correlation coefficient
The relationship between any two variables, such as an attitude and
behaviour, can be given a numerical value called a correlation coefficient. This value can range from 1 to +1, with 0 indicating no
correlation between the variables (see chapter 15).
We would expect to find a relationship between peoples expressed
attitudes and their behaviours, if only because behaviours are an important component of attitudes. However, people may behave one way
while not truly holding the attitude that their behaviour indicatesfor
example, in order to gain rewards. In such a case, we would expect little or no relationship between an honestly self-reported attitude and
the behaviour.
If social psychologists cannot predict what people will do based on
self-reports, then we must begin to question the usefulness of the data
we collect (see the previous discussion of validity).

FIGURE 18.8
From this persons behaviour, what do you think
might be his attitude to stealing?

316 heinemann psychology one

active psychology
Understanding correlations
Social psychologists measure a relationship between
self-reported attitudes and behaviours by calculating the
statistical correlation between the two variables. The
correlation coefficient is a quantitative indicator of how
much two things are related, such as expressed attitudes
and related behaviours.
Correlations can be either positive or negative:
A positive correlation means that when one variable
goes up, the other variable also goes up. For example,
researchers might find that the more people say they
support recycling (their self-reported attitude), the
more they do recycle (their behaviour).
A negative correlation means that when one variable
goes up, the other variable goes down. For example,
researchers might find that the more people say they
support recycling, the less they are observed to leave
their rubbish behind in public places.
Correlations take values between +1 and 1.
Correlations between self-reported attitudes and
behaviour at these two extremes indicate that the two
variables are perfectly relatedonce researchers know

peoples self-reported attitudes, they will also know

exactly what people will do. This perfect correlation
almost never happens in social psychology.
A correlation of 0 means that there is no relationship at
allthat it is impossible to say how people will behave
based on their self-reported attitudes, and vice versa. For
example, we might find no correlation between students
self-reported attitudes to study and the colour of the
highlighter pen they choose when revising for exams.
All other possible numbers between the two extremes
mean that there is a partial relationship between the
variables. The larger the number (either positive or
negative), the stronger the correlation is said to be.

Questions
1

Which one of the following represents the strongest

correlation?
+0.25

+0.78

0.53

0.91

Give two examples of positive and negative

correlations in situations outside of psychology.

Significance of the correlation

GLOSSARY
statistically significant
mathematical indication that a
correlation of that size, in light
of the size of the sample, is
unlikely to have been caused
by random or chance factors

We have seen that social psychologists use the correlation coefficient to determine
whether there is a relationship between two variables, such as self-reported attitudes
and behaviour. Of course, when measuring the correlation between self-reported attitudes and behaviours within a sample, researchers also want some confidence that the
relationship they measured did not happen just by chance.
In addition to having good research methods to reduce any randomness in participants responses, researchers can mathematically calculate the statistical significance
of a correlation. When a correlation is statistically significant,
researchers can be confident that the correlation they observed is not
likely to have been caused by random or chance processes.
This is important because if the observed effect is not caused by
random processes, it is more likely to have been caused by meaningful psychological processes.
Two factors help determine whether the correlation is significant
or non-significantthe strength of the correlation and the size of
the sample.
Strength of the correlation: The stronger the correlation is
(that is, the closer it is to +1 or 1), the more likely it is to be
significant.
Size of the sample: The larger the sample is (say, 100 000 people rather than 100 people) the more likely any correlation
observed is to be significant.
There is an increased chance that any observed relationship
between self-reported attitudes and behaviours within a sample
was caused by psychological factors rather than just randomness
when the correlation is strong rather than weak, and when the
sample is large rather than small.

chapter 18 attitudes and how they are measured 317

Graphing correlation

a y

A simpler way of finding out if two variables are correlated, without calculating
the correlation coefficient, is to plot the points (X, Y) for each of the variables in
a diagram known as a scatter diagram (scattergram). The horizontal axis records
the values of X and the vertical axis records the value of Y. Scatter diagrams give
a handy visual indication of the relationship between two variables. They can
show some of the following features:
no association
linear trend (either positive or negative)
increasing or decreasing non-linear trend
other non-linear trend.

b y

A scatter diagram tells us at a glance whether there is a correlation between

the variables, and if so, whether the correlation is positive or negative, and
strong or weak (see Figure 18.9). You will use a scatter diagram to analyse your
results in the empirical research activity at the end of this chapter.

Factors that affect the strength

of a correlation
Research has shown that there is a significant correlation between self-reported
attitudes and behaviours, but we must pay careful attention to our measurement of both. We need to be aware of the following factors when assessing how
attitudes relate to behaviour.

x
y

Relationship between the self-reported attitude and

behaviour
There must be a close relationship between the verbally expressed attitude and
the behaviour. For example, people may express the attitude that everyone is
equal, but then engage in discriminatory behaviours. This is possible because
the verbal attitude is much broader than the specific behaviour.
A closer relationship would be observed if people were asked the question,
Are Indigenous Australians entitled to all the same benefits of Australian society as
other Australians are?

People must be thinking about the attitude

FIGURE 18.9
Scatter diagrams showing
(a) no association
(b) positive correlation
(c) negative correlation

People must be thinking about their attitude at the time they engage in a particular
behaviour. For example, it is perfectly possible for people to hold the apparently opposite
attitudes that everyone is equal and some people are better than others. If psychologists
measure the first (but not the second), while the person is thinking about the second
(but not the first) at the time of the behaviour, then little correlation will occur between
the measured attitude and the observed behaviour.
FIGURE 18.10
Psychologists need to ensure
that the attitude they are
measuring is the same one
that the respondent is thinking
about later, at the time of the
behaviour.

318 heinemann psychology one

Intentions to perform the behaviour

GLOSSARY
social norms
community expectations about
appropriate forms of behaviour

behavioural intention
specific goal of acting in a
particular manner

self-efficacy

There will be no significant correlation between self-reported attitudes and behaviours

if people dont intend to perform the behaviour (see Figure 18.11 and the Active psychology box below).

Social norms
There will be no significant correlation between self-reported attitudes and behaviours
if there are strong social norms against the behaviours themselves.

subjective belief that a person

can do a behaviour
a

FIGURE 18.11
Two factors that affect the
attitudebehaviour relationship.
(a) Intention: a person may
hold the attitude that recycling
is good, but may never really
plan on doing it. (b) Social
norms: a person may hold the
attitude that recycling is a
waste of time, but still recycles
because everyone else in their
street recycles.

active psychology
Theory of Reasoned Action
Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) developed an influential theory
about the nature of the relationship between attitudes
and behaviours, called the Theory of Reasoned Action.
The theory is important because it says that social psychologists must not only measure peoples self-reported
attitudes and behaviours, but also their behavioural
intentions and the social norms associated with the
behaviours.
The theory states that behaviours follow directly from
intentions to perform them, not necessarily from the selfreported attitudes themselves. Instead, self-reported
attitudes, in combination with social norms, lead to intentions (see Figure 18.12).
More recent developments, outlined in the Theory of
Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991), have included peoples
subjective beliefs about their ability to engage in the
behaviours as another precursor to actual behavioural
intentions. This is important because we may hold a particular attitude towards doing something, but if we dont
think we are able to do it, then we might not even try.
A study by White, Terry and Hogg (1994) used these
ideas to understand safe-sex behaviours among a sample of heterosexual University of Queensland students.
Using semantic differentials, the researchers measured

participants attitudes towards condom use on every sexual encounter during the next month. The researchers
also measured participants actual intentions towards this
behaviour, their beliefs in the social norms surrounding
safe-sex practices (that is, what they thought others
would think about safe-sex practices), and their sense of
control in the situation (whether they felt using or not using
a condom was up to them).
Four weeks later, the participants were asked about
the frequency with which they had engaged in safe-sex
practices during the past month. The results were very
clear. Intentions to follow safe-sex practices were predicted by attitudes, beliefs about social norms, and
self-efficacy beliefs. Reported safe-sex behaviours were
predicted only by the behavioural intentions.

Questions
1

Imagine you are interested in measuring recycling

behaviour. Based on the Theories of Reasoned Action
and Planned Behaviour, what five things would you
need to measure?
Why do you think that social norms and subjective beliefs
about abilities are important to understanding whether
people will actually do a certain behaviour or not?

FIGURE 18.12
The Theory of Reasoned
Action states that
behaviours follow from
intentions, rather than from
attitudes themselves.

self-reported
attitudes

norms

subjective beliefs
about abilities

behavioural intentions

behaviour

chapter 18 attitudes and how they are measured 319

KEY QUESTIONS
13 What are two factors that increase the chances that a sample
correlation of a particular size will not have occurred by chance?

14 What are four things that affect the strength of the correlation between
self-reported attitudes and behaviours?

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Correlation between
attitudes and behaviour

Ethical principles appropriate to

conducting questionnaire research
When measuring peoples attitudes, as in all psychological research, social psychologists
must adhere to ethical behaviour and guidelines. These guidelines are based on the
principles of integrity, respect for persons, beneficence and justice.
Researchers assessing attitudes and behaviour by using questionnaires must behave
with integritythey must remain honest, trustworthy and neutral. They must act in a
professional manner, and not bully or coerce people to complete the questionnaire.
Researchers must treat participants politely and respect the welfare, rights, beliefs,
perceptions, customs and cultural heritage of their participants. It is particularly
important to ensure that attitude questions are not offensive to people who are from different backgrounds, or who have different values (and attitudes!) from the researchers.
For example, in a questionnaire asking participants about their attitudes towards abortion, a researcher should use neutral, respectful language, such as pro-choice
and pro-life.
Researchers must minimise any potential harm and
maximise any potential gain to participants. This is
what is meant by behaving with beneficence. For
example, when measuring attitudes that could
suggest the violation of laws (such as illegal
drug-taking) or that could cause public
embarrassment (such as liking pornography), this must be done with complete
anonymity guaranteed to the participant.
Acting with justice means that social
psychologists must not unfairly place the
burdens or benefits of participation, or the
discoveries of the research, on one group of
people over another. For example, they
must make sure that they do not sample just
one group of people (unless the research is
about these people only), and must make sure
that the knowledge gained from the research is
distributed and is readily accessible.

KEY QUESTIONS
15
16
17
18

How can social psychologists conduct questionnaire studies with integrity?

How can social psychologists conduct questionnaire studies with respect for persons?
How can social psychologists conduct questionnaire studies with beneficence?
How can social psychologists conduct questionnaire studies with justice?

GLOSSARY
ethical behaviour
behaviour conducted in
accordance with standard
guidelines for treating others
with integrity, beneficence,
justice and respect

320 heinemann psychology one

chapter

18

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

08

09

Attitudes are ideas about ourselves, others, objects and experiences, and our evaluations
of these things.
Social psychologists have identified three important components of attitudes: feelings,
thoughts and behaviours.
Attitudes are convenient summaries of our beliefs, they help others to know what to expect
from us, they can serve as specific expressions of our values, and they can help us gain
rewards and avoid punishments.
Measuring attitudes with self-report methods involves people directly expressing their attitudes. These expressions can be made quantitatively through ratings scales (e.g., Likert
scales, semantic differentials) and qualitatively through free-responses.
Attitudes can also be measured through the observation of behaviour and physiological
responses (such as heart rate).
Measuring attitudes always involves making inferences. It is important that our methods of
measurement are both valid and reliable.
The stronger the correlation between attitudes and behaviours, and the larger the sample of
people surveyed, the more likely the correlation is to be statistically significant (that is, the
more likely it is not to have been caused by chance).
Social psychologists can predict behaviour from self-reported attitudes when there is a
close relationship between the two, when people are thinking about their attitudes at the
time of the behaviour, and when behavioural intentions, social norms and perceptions of
self-efficacy are known.
Social psychologists must always administer questionnaires in an ethical manner, by behaving with integrity, having respect for persons, and acting with beneficence and justice.

10

chapter 18 attitudes and how they are measured 321

multiple
choice
questions
1 Within social psychology, an attitude is
A an idea about ourselves, others, objects and
experiences, and our evaluations of these things.

B an enduring prescriptive belief about how one ought

to behave.

C found only among people who are disruptive and

aggressive (such as, That kids got an attitude!).

D purely a hypothetical concept and, as such,

impossible to measure.

2 The three components of attitudes are

A compliance, conformity and internalisation.
B construct validity, face validity and reliability.
C feelings, beliefs and behaviours.
D Likert scales, semantic differential scales and freeresponse measures.

3 Rating scales
A are self-report measures of attitudes.
B measure only those things the researcher thought
about before the study.

C are less valid than physiological measures.

D Both A and B are correct.
4 Likert scales
A are qualitative measures of attitudes.
B present a number line with words of opposite
meanings (such as good and bad) at each end,
allowing participants to indicate their feelings
towards the attitude target.
C present an attitude statement to which participants
indicate their level of agreement.
D measure how psychologically close or far away from
oneself the participant sees the attitude object
(such as another person).

5 When our attitude measures are reliable,

A they are pertinent to daily life outside of the
measurement context.

B we can be confident that they are measuring what

we think they are measuring.
C we will be able to observe the expression of the
same attitude in the future when the same set of
conditions occurs.
D we will be able to predict other behaviours from them.

6 When our attitude measures are valid,

A we will be able to predict other behaviours from
them.

B we can be confident that they are measuring the

what we think they are measuring.

C we will be able to observe the expression of the

same attitude in the future when the same set of
conditions occurs.
D Both A and B are correct.

7 We can improve our prediction of behaviour from selfreported attitudes by

A considering the affective components instead of the
cognitive components of attitudes.
B making sure our measures are reliable.
C measuring behavioural intention in addition to the
attitude itself.
D using Likert scales rather than semantic differential
scales.

8 Correlations are more likely to be statistically

significant if
A Likert scales are used instead of semantic
differentials.
B we focus on the affective components rather than
the cognitive components of attitudes.
C the sample is large.
D the sample is representative of the larger
population.

9 If we assume a sample of 100 participants, which of the

following correlations is most likely to be statistically
significant?
A 0.35
B 0.75
C +0.45
D +0.65

10 When a social psychologist conducts a questionnaire

study and ensures that she expresses regard for the
cultural heritage of the participants, she is following
the principle of
A beneficence.
B integrity.
C justice.
D respect for persons.

322 heinemann psychology one

short
answer
questions
1 Describe how social psychologists can measure the three components of attitudes.
2 Describe two ways of measuring attitudes. Name one feature of each that makes it
different from, and better than, the other.

3 The principal of a local high school has hired you as an expert social psychologist. He
wants you to measure students attitudes towards school attendance at the beginning of
the year, so that you can predict which students are likely to attend and which are not.
Unfortunately, he does not provide you with enough resources to measure the attitudes of
all students.
a Name two things you will look for to determine the significance of any correlation you
find in your sample between attitudes and behaviour.
b Describe two important ways in which you will conduct your study to ensure ethical
treatment of your participants.
c Write four questions that you would have to ask students to best predict their
behaviour. (Look back to the Active psychology box on the theories of Reasoned Action
and Planned Behaviour.)

poster
Components of attitudes and their measurement
Components to include:
the three components of an attitude
measuring attitudes (rating scales and observation of behaviour); include benefits
and drawbacks of the different ways of measuring attitudes
validity and reliability summary table.

WORKSHEET 2
Crossword

chapter 18 attitudes and how they are measured 323

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Measuring attitudes towards after-school study

Abstract
This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,
but appears immediately under the title.

Introduction
White et al. (1994) used the Theory of Reasoned Action
(Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) to guide their research into
peoples safe-sex self-reported attitudes and behaviours. They found that intentions to engage in safe-sex
behaviours significantly correlated with the actual
behaviour, and that self-reported attitudes significantly
correlated with intentions. They also found that perceptions of social norms significantly correlated with
intentions.
Use the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of
Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) to guide you in developing a study to measure students self-reported
attitudes towards homework and other after-school
study. Specifically, you should develop a questionnaire
measuring the key components needed for successful
behaviour prediction (that is, significant correlations
between self-reported attitudes and behaviours) that
are outlined in the two theories. Keep in mind the issues
raised in this chapter about maintaining a close relationship between self-report attitude questions and the
actual behaviours.
You will be measuring the correlation between students self-reported attitudes towards homework and
their homework behaviour. What are your hypotheses for
this study?

Method
Participants
Sample ten to twenty students from your school (preferably equal numbers of males and females). Make sure
that the students understand that their participation is
voluntary and anonymous. Stressing the voluntary and
anonymous aspect is important because some students
may not want teachers to know their attitudes towards
homework and after-school study. Remember the ethical guidelines outlined in this chapter.

Materials and procedure

Write a questionnaire that measures each of the components of the two theories (self-reported attitudes,
intentions to perform the behaviour, beliefs that one
has the ability to perform the behaviour).
For each component, develop one self-report ratingscale question, such as:
Overall, I like doing homework. (1 = strongly disagree, 10 = strongly agree)
How many hours do you intend to spend during the
next two weeks doing after-school study?
You can use either of the two kinds of ratings scales
discussed in this chapter. You can also ask free-response
questions, although keep in mind that quantifying the
responses for statistical analysis may be difficult.
Two weeks after completing the questionnaire, ask
the same participants how many hours they spent doing

FIGURE 18.13
Are your attitudes towards study reflected in your
behaviour?

homework and other after-school work since the first

questionnaire. The number of hours spent will be your
measure of behaviour.
Participants should use the same pseudonym for both
questionnaires, so you can match the results from the
two measurement periods.

Results
Plot your results on a scatter diagram by graphing, for
each participant, the results of the first questionnaire
(attitude) against the results of the second (behaviour).
Describe the trend shown in the scatter diagramis
there a correlation between attitude and behaviour?
If you wish to calculate the correlation coefficient
from your results, and whether it is statistically significant, you can find software on the Internet that will do
this for you. Present these correlations in a table.
Describe in words the meaning of the correlations.

Discussion
1 Were your hypotheses supported?
2 What are the theoretical implications of the support
or lack of support for your hypotheses?

3 Compare the pattern of your findings to those of

White et al. (1994). Did you find different results or
similar results? How would you explain any differences or similarities?

4 Were there any problems with how you conducted

your study? How could you improve it?

5 What new direction could researchers take, given

your new data?

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter
3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
Place a blank copy of your questionnaire in the appendix.

chapter
psychology

19

How attitudes
are formed
and changed

00

01

324

02

03

04

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
how attitudes are formed and changed.

chapter 19 how attitudes are formed and changed 325

FIGURE 19.1
What effect does this billboard
have on your attitudes to
music? Social psychologists,
as well as other community
members, want to know how
attitudes are formed and
changed.

In chapter 18, we looked at what attitudes are and how social psychologists can measure them. But at least one important question is left unanswered: how do people form
attitudes to begin with?
This is a question that many of us are likely to ask as we encounter the variety of
attitudes expressed by the people around us. Some people have favourable attitudes
toward certain behaviours (such as recycling or drug-taking), issues (such as reconciliation between groups) and other people (such as specific politicians or musicians). Others
have unfavourable attitudes toward these same attitude targets, and still others have no
attitudes at all towards them.
How do social psychologists explain this diversity of attitudes that people express?
The answer is that we all have different individual and group-based experiences, and it
is these diverse experiences that lead to our diverse attitudes.
In this chapter, we will consider how some of these diverse experiences allow people
to form the diverse favourable or unfavourable attitudes that they hold.

Forming attitudes
by direct interaction

GLOSSARY
mere exposure effect
formation of a favourable attitude
toward a specific target simply
though prior exposure to that
target

One of the simplest ways that people form attitudes is through direct interaction or
experience with the attitude target (that is, the thing we have an attitude about, such
as a music band, a political statement, or VCE psychology). We form or change our attitudes towards something because we have encountered it directly, and this encounter
has led us to like or dislike it.
Lets look at three direct experiences that we can have with the attitude target that
will lead us to form a favourable or unfavourable attitude towards it.

Mere exposure effect

The simplest way that people form an attitude toward something is by being exposed
to it. This is called the mere exposure effect. Even if you have had no experiences
good or badwith the attitude target, and even if no one has tried to persuade you
about it, you can still form an attitude to something after being exposed to it.
The mere exposure effect was first demonstrated systematically by Zajonc (1968). He
showed participants a series of nonsense English words (such as afworbu), a series of
Chinese characters (the participants could not read Chinese), or a series of photographs

FIGURE 19.2
People can form a positive
attitude towards a media
personality, such as Andrew
Denton, simply by repeated
exposure to him.

326 heinemann psychology one

of the faces of different men. Zajonc varied the number of times the participants were
exposed to each target. He then asked the participants to indicate their attitudes toward
each target they saw. The more times participants were exposed to a target, the more they
said they liked it.
More recently, these findings were replicated by researchers who demonstrated that
photographs of people were rated as more attractive if participants had seen the photographs in the past, than if they had not seen them at all (Weisbuch, Mackie & GarciaMarques, 2003).

Learning by association
GLOSSARY
learning by association
linking of a previously liked or
disliked attitude target with a
new attitude target

A second way that we form attitudes with direct experience is learning by association,
where the attitude target becomes associated with other things that we already like or
dislike. For example, if anti-smoking advertisements pair cigarettes with negative
images, we are likely to form negative attitudes towards cigarettes, even if we have
never smoked before.
In a study that illustrates this, researchers presented the words smoking and drinking to a sample of American primary school children (Moore, Moore & Hauck, 1982).
For half of the children, the researchers also associated these words with other negative
words like bad, awful and sick. When later asked their attitudes toward smoking
and drinking, the children in the association condition were more negative than those
in the no-association condition.
More recently, Walther (2002) found a similar association effect among a sample of
German university students. The researcher presented photographs of average-looking
people (based on previous evaluations), either alone or in association with attractive
people. Participants attitudes toward the average-looking people were more positive
when these people had been associated with attractive people.
Clearly, we can form our favourable or unfavourable attitudes about a target simply
if it has been associated with other things that we already have an attitude towards.

Direct rewards and punishments

We also form attitudes through direct reinforcement. For example, Scott (1957) asked
university students to debate a particular issue (such as universal military training),
after which he randomly determined a winner and a loser of the debate. When later
asked about their attitudes, winners shifted towards the view that they had previously
argued (either in favour or against), whereas losers shifted away from the view they had
previously argued.

chapter 19 how attitudes are formed and changed 327

More recently, Diamond and Loewy (1991) asked participants to write arguments
either for or against recycling. Participants were then entered into a $1 lottery, and
finally asked their personal attitudes towards recycling. Lottery winners who had written pro-recycling arguments ended up having stronger pro-recycling attitudes than
lottery losers. Similarly, lottery winners who had written anti-recycling arguments
ended up having stronger anti-recycling attitudes than lottery losers. Overall, if
rewards come to us after we express a particular attitude, we are more likely to continue holding that attitude than if punishments come to us (see Figure 19.3).

attitude

reward

more favourable attitude

punishment

less favourable attitude

FIGURE 19.3
Rewards and punishments
affect our attitudes.

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What is the mere exposure effect of attitude formation?
2 How do people form attitudes through association?
3 What are the effects of reward and punishment on the formation of
attitudes?

The Message Learning Approach

to persuasion
A more social way that we may form attitudes is after being persuaded by others. In this
section we will look at persuasion, and how it relates to attitude formation and change.
Any persuasive message or communication comes to us in a certain context. Various
features of the context have an effect on whether or not we will be persuaded by the
message. One way of studying these features and how they are likely to lead to attitude
change or resistance is the Message Learning Approach (Hovland, Janis & Kelley, 1953).
The features are:
factors in the source of the persuasive communication (who is saying it?)
factors in the message itself (for example, is the message clear?)
factors in the recipient (for example, is the person to whom the message is directed
likely to resist?)
factors in the channel of the communication (for example, is the communication
face-to-face or over TV?).
Lets look at each of these in turn, with research examples.

GLOSSARY
reward
receipt of positively valued
outcomes, such as money or
social approval

punishment
receipt of negatively valued
outcomes, such as disgust or
social rejection

328 heinemann psychology one

Source factors
Source factors have nothing to do with the communication itself, such as the topic or
the relative strength of the arguments. However, they are very influential in how we
react to a persuasive communication (Petty & Wegener, 1998). They include features
such as:
Credibility of the source: We ask ourselves if the source is an expert, if he or she
is reliable, if we can trust him or her, or if we are being tricked.
Likeability of the source: We are more influenced by people we likefor example, you are more likely to be persuaded to see a new movie if someone you like
recommends it, rather than someone you dislike
Similarity of the source to us: We determine how much the source is like us on
features that are important to us. We typically like people who are more similar to
us, and are therefore more influenced by them. A good example of this is the advertising of products aimed at young people, which often involves using models who
are the same age, and who dress and speak the same way, as the target audience.
FIGURE 19.4
Credible sources are more
persuasive.

In an experiment conducted to test the effects of source credibility, Chaiken and

Maheswaran (1994) presented participants with the description of a new telephone
answering machine. Half the participants were told that the description came from the
well-respected Consumer Reports magazinethis served as the highly credible source.
The other half were told that the description was written by sales people from KMartthis served as the less credible source. As expected, peoples attitudes toward the
answering machine were much more favourable when the same information came from
the more credible source.

Message factors
GLOSSARY
source factors
features of the person who is
expressing a persuasive
communication (e.g. relative
credibility) that have nothing to
do with the communication itself

message factors
features of communications,
such as their comprehensibility
and the number and quality of
arguments

There are several features of the message

itself that affect how persuasive it is in
affecting our attitudes. One of the most
obvious message factors is whether or
not we understand the messageis it
comprehensible? It is unlikely we will
be persuaded by a message that we dont
understand.
If the message is comprehensible, we
can consider both the quality and the
quantity of arguments put forward.
High-quality arguments are important,
but this is not always enough to persuade usespecially if we are also being
influenced by various source factors, as
discussed above. The same can be said
about argument quantity. Researchers
have found an increase in attitude
change with increasing amounts of arguments. However, the same researchers
observed that too many arguments may
lead people simply to stop paying attention (Petty & Cacioppo, 1981; 1984).
FIGURE 19.5
This singer may have an important message
to convey, but if the lyrics are
indecipherable his message is not
persuasive.

chapter 19 how attitudes are formed and changed 329

active psychology
The effects of fear communications
Fear is one frequently used message feature of persuasive communications. Anti-smoking and drinkdriving
commercials that highlight the fatal consequences are
appealing to fear to change peoples attitudes.
Mulilis and Lippa (1990) studied earthquake preparedness among Californian residents. They found that fearin
this case, the chances of a large earthquakeinfluenced
peoples safety preparations only when combined with
their beliefs that preparation would be effective and relatively easy. If preparing was easy, then people did it
regardless of the fear appeal. If preparing was hard, then
either a fear appeal or confidence that preparing would be
effective enhanced actual preparedness.

Petty and Cacioppo (1981) conclude that fear messages will persuade people if the negative consequences
of the behaviour are clear and are likely to happen, and if
people are assured that changing their attitudes (and
behaviours) will overcome these negative consequences.
Fear messages also need to contain alternative behaviours that people can do. Just saying, dont do this is not
enough. The message must include a do this alternative
as well. For example, you will be familiar with government
infomercials about drinkdriving. While these end in
images of gruesome injuries, they often start with scenarios involving designated drivers, or offers from friends to
call a taxi for the inebriated driver.

FIGURE 19.6
Fear messages are involved in this TAC infomercial about drinkdriving.

Recipient factors
The target or recipient of a persuasive communication has certain features that will affect
how influential the message is. Recipient factors include such things as level of intelligence and self-esteem, and overall mood.

Intelligence and self-esteem

McGuire (1968) proposed an explanation of the role of intelligence and self-esteem in persuasion. He argued that people with higher intelligence or self-esteem are more likely to
attend to a persuasive communication, but are less likely to be persuaded by it because they
are less likely just to give in. They have a greater ability to find problems with the arguments, or are sufficiently self-confident that they can resist the attempt to influence them.
Although people with lower intelligence or self-esteem may be more likely just to
give in, they are not as likely to pay attention to the communication and are, therefore,
also less likely to be persuaded.
Persuasive communication therefore has the greatest effect on people with moderate
levels of intelligence and moderate levels of self-esteem.

GLOSSARY
recipient factors
features of the person who is the
target of a persuasive
communication that is likely to
lead to attitude change or
resistance (e.g. intelligence,
self-esteem)

330 heinemann psychology one

Mood
Many persuasive communications try to change our moods. Are we more likely to be
persuaded if we are in a good mood?
In one study, some participants were put into a good mood by reflecting on a recent
positive life event. Other participants were put into a neutral mood by listening to classical music. There was no group of participants put into a negative mood, because of
ethical concerns. Participants then listened to a radio editorial on the topic of foster
care. Participants in a good mood agreed more with the editorial than those in a neutral mood (Petty, Schumann, Richman & Strathman, 1993).
These results were replicated when mood was changed by watching either a TV sitcom (good mood) or an information program for doctors (neutral mood), and the
persuasive communication was a commercial for a new pen.

ACTIVITY

Mood manipulation in advertising

In groups, discuss advertisements that you have seen on TV. Think of

ads that tried to put you in a good mood or a bad mood. What do you
think the effects of these mood manipulations were on your attitudes?
Were your personal experiences different from those of your classmates?

Channel factors
GLOSSARY
channel factors
media through which a
persuasive message is
communicated

The final component of the Message Learning Approach concerns channel factors
that is, the medium of the persuasive communication. Communications are relayed in
many different ways, including face-to-face, via mass media like TV, or via the Internet.
Does one medium have a greater impact on changing peoples attitudes than the others?
Researchers have found that people will be most persuaded in a face-to-face context
(Petty & Cacioppo, 1981). However, different media are more suitable for different
kinds of communications. For example, complex communications are best presented in
print form, so that we can work through the ideas at our own pace, and can go back to
earlier points if we get confused. In contrast, simple messages, such
as buy this new sports drink can easily be presented on TV, because
we dont need too much time to consider all the arguments.
Guadagno and Cialdini (2002) compared the persuasiveness of
email and face-to-face communications among same-sex participants. Among strangers, men and women were equally influenced by
their partners email communications. In contrast, women were
more influenced than men in the face-to-face communications. But
when people knew their partner, there was no sex difference in faceto-face communication, and men were more influenced by email
communication than women were.
We have considered each factor of the Message Learning
Approach independently. However, many, if not all, of them will
combine in any given situation to produce complicated patterns of
influence, and in the next section we will look at recent research that
has focused on this.
FIGURE 19.7
Are email communications
more or less persuasive than
face-to-face communications?

chapter 19 how attitudes are formed and changed 331

The ethics of persuasion

ACTIVITY

Social psychologists have learned a great deal about the process of

attitude change and persuasion. This knowledge can be used both
honestly and dishonestly. It is possible to manipulate people to do things
that they may not otherwise want to do. Even honest sales people may
use some of this persuasion knowledge to get people to buy products that
they do not necessarily want. Political parties and governments can use
this information in propaganda campaigns (for example, to persuade
people to support an unpopular war). Medical practitioners can use this
knowledge to change peoples health-related behaviour for the better.
Form small discussion groups and talk about the ethical implications of
applying the knowledge about attitude change and persuasion. Consider
the example situations above, as well as others you can think of.
Is it ethical to apply this knowledge at all? Should the knowledge be
applied only in certain situations? If so, how should we decide which
ones? Should social psychologists even be studying persuasion at all?

GLOSSARY
compliance
expression of an attitude without
truly believing it

identification
acceptance, belief and expression
of an attitude stemming from a
desire to establish a positive
relationship with another person
who holds the attitude

internalisation
acceptance, belief, and
expression of an attitude
stemming from the actual content
of the attitude

classic study
Three processes involved in attitude change
Nearly half a century ago, Herbert Kelman (1958) outlined
three processes involved in attitude change:
Compliance: People may express attitudes purely for
self-serving purposes, to gain rewards or avoid punishments. They do not necessarily believe the attitude
that they express.
Identification: People believe the attitude they express,
but its content is irrelevant. They believe it because they
want to be like, or establish a positive relationship with,
another person who holds the attitude.
Internalisation: People believe the attitude because of
systematic, thoughtful evaluation of the persuasive
arguments presented to them.

Questions
1
2

Some people have the attitude that recreational drug

use is good. In terms of the identification process
outlined above, how might this attitude have formed?
In terms of internalisation, how might someone form
the attitude that recreational drug use is bad?

FIGURE 19.8
If we identify with someone, we may develop
positive attitudes to the same things as that
person, in order to establish a positive relationship.

332 heinemann psychology one

KEY QUESTIONS
4
5
6
7

What are source factors, and what is an example of one?

What are recipient factors, and what is an example of one?
What are message factors, and what is an example of one?
What are channel factors, and what is an example of one?

The Elaboration Likelihood Model

of persuasion
The Elaboration Likelihood Model of attitude change was developed, in part, because
social psychologists recognised that persuasion is not based on just one factor at a time.
In addition, persuasion is based not only on superficial features of the situation, like
source credibility, but on the content of the persuasive communication. Researchers
now ask, Under what circumstances will one factor be more important than another?
Will they combine, and if so, how?
To answer these questions, Petty and Cacioppo (1986) suggested that people initially respond to a persuasive communication in one of two ways, which can be thought
of as paths or routes to attitude formation and change or resistance.

Central and peripheral routes

GLOSSARY
central route
a way people respond to a
persuasive communication by
systematic thinking about the
content of the message

peripheral route
a way people respond to a
persuasive communication by
focusing on superficial features
of the context rather than
systematic thinking about the
content of the message

One way that we form attitudes is to think systematically about the content of the
message, evaluate the nature of the arguments, and weigh up the pros and cons. This is
referred to as the central route. Another way is to ignore the content of the communication, and focus more on superficial features of the situation (such as source
credibility). This is referred to as the peripheral route (see Figure 19.9).
Overall, we will be more persuaded by strong arguments than weak arguments if we
respond to the information centrally, but argument strength will not affect attitudes if
we respond to the information peripherally.
Under what circumstances do we respond through the central route or the peripheral route? Central route responding takes time and energy, and the cognitive ability to
review persuasive arguments systematically. None of these are necessary when responding through the peripheral route. Because of the relative ease of responding through the
peripheral route, Petty and Cacioppo (1986) predicted that central route responding
would occur only when people have the motivation and ability to do so.
We will be more motivated to respond through the central route if the persuasive
communication relates to an issue that is directly relevant to us. For example, if you are
confronted with a persuasive message about increasing the length of the school day, you

high motivation to
think about topic
high ability to think
about topic

central route
processing

persuasion by
strength of argument

peripheral route
processing

persuasion by
superficial features

message
low motivation to
think about topic

FIGURE 19.9
Central route and peripheral
route processing of persuasive
messages.

low ability to think

about topic

chapter 19 how attitudes are formed and changed 333

will be more motivated to respond to the arguments through the central route. Those
with higher levels of intelligence or more time on their hands will also have the ability
to respond through the central route.

Motivation to respond
The importance of motivation to think actively about a persuasive communication was
demonstrated in a study of more than 200 year 7 girls in Melbourne (Withers, Twigg,
Wertheim & Paxton, 2002). The researchers, studying body image attitudes, showed the
girls a video describing normal female appearance, the negative effects of extreme dieting disorders, healthy eating habits and suggestions for creating a healthy body image.
The researchers found a positive correlation between the personal relevance of the issue
(as the measure of motivation to process the communication) and the favourableness of
responses. The more that the issue of body image was personally relevant to the girls, the
more favourable were their responses to the video.

FIGURE 19.10
If the issue of body image is
personally relevant to these
girls, then they will be more
motivated to attend to
persuasive communications
about healthy eating habits.

Ability to respond
Sparks and Areni (2002) conducted a study with Australian
university students to examine the importance of the ability to
process the message. The researchers proposed that poor presentation styleincluding lots of phrases such as um, you
know and I guesswould distract people, thus decreasing
their ability to process the communication. Consistent with
the predications of the Elaboration Likelihood Model, poor
presentation quality led to low levels of persuasion regardless
of whether the arguments were good or bad. In contrast, however, under high presentation quality (no distractions), people
were more persuaded by good arguments than bad arguments.
FIGURE 19.11
A speaker in Hyde Park, London. If the people
in this audience are distracted, they will have
less ability to respond to the content of the
communication, and will be less likely to be
persuaded by even good arguments.

334 heinemann psychology one

active psychology
Motivation to process the
content of a communication
An interesting study demonstrating the role of motivation to
process the content of the communication was conducted
with a sample of American women living in public housing
(Kirby, Ureda, Rose & Hussey, 1998). The attitudes being
studied were health-related behaviours in the monitoring of
breast cancer.
The data showed that women who were not strongly
interested in the issue were more influenced to improve their
health behaviours when the message was presented
favourably (in colour rather than black and white, and
accompanied by music they liked) than unfavourably (in black
and white, and accompanied by music they disliked).
Interestingly, women who were strongly interested in the
issue were more influenced to improve their health behaviours
regardless of how the message was presented (as predicted by
the Elaboration Likelihood Model) and regardless of the
strength of the arguments. It seems that the women who were
initially strongly interested were persuaded, no matter what.

FIGURE 19.12
If we are motivated, we will be persuaded
to improve our health behaviours no matter
how the message is presented.

classic study
Testing the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion
One of the most convincing studies in support of the
Elaboration Likelihood Model of attitude change was
conduced by Petty, Cacioppo and Goldman (1981). They
presented American university students with communications relating to the introduction of general exams to
be taken before students could graduate. Some participants read high-quality arguments, while others read
poor-quality arguments. In each case, the arguments
were said to come from either a university professor or a
high school student. The researchers assumed that the
professor would be a more credible source than the high
school student.

Finally, some participants were told that the exams

would be implemented before they graduated, while others
were told that the exams would not be implemented for
several years. This last bit of information served as a
manipulation of motivation, with the assumption that
participants would be more motivated to process the
information if they were likely to be affected by the exams.
Consistent with the Elaboration Likelihood Model,
highly motivated participants were influenced by strong
more than weak arguments, regardless of who said them.
In contrast, unmotivated participants were influenced by
the professor more than the high school student,
regardless of the argument quality.

FIGURE 19.13
Who do you believe to
be a more credible
source of information
about university exams
your teacher or your
friends?

KEY QUESTIONS
8 What is central route responding?
9 What is peripheral route responding?
10 Under what two circumstances will people engage in central route responding?

chapter 19 how attitudes are formed and changed 335

chapter

term
def

summary
06

We can develop favourable attitudes towards specific targets through mere exposure.
We can develop favourable attitudes towards specific targets if other liked things are associated with the targets. We can develop unfavourable attitudes towards specific targets if
other disliked things are associated with the targets.
We can develop favourable attitudes towards specific targets if we receive rewards for
expressing the favourable attitudes, while we can develop unfavourable attitudes towards
specific targets if we receive punishments for expressing the unfavourable attitudes.
Expressing an attitude we do not necessarily believe, in order to gain rewards or avoid punishment, is referred to as compliance.
Believing an attitude so that we will be similar to, or be liked by, others who hold that attitude, is referred to as identification.
Believing an attitude because we are persuaded by the arguments is referred to as internalisation.
The Message Learning Approach indicates that we are more persuaded by sources that are
credible and messages that are comprehensible. It also indicates that we are more persuaded when we have moderate intelligence and self-esteem, are in a good mood, and
when the persuasive communication is made face-to-face.
In the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion, we are assumed to respond to persuasive communications along a central route or a peripheral route. With central route
responding, we think systematically about the content of the message. With peripheral route
responding, we focus more on superficial aspects of the context.
We will engage in central route responding if we have the motivation and ability to do so.

19

GLOSSARY

07

08

09

10

336 heinemann psychology one

multiple
choice
questions
1 Different people have different attitudes towards the
same attitude target because
A some people are recipient factors and some people
are source factors.
B some people are right and some people are wrong.
C some people have a good education and some have
a bad education.
D some people have good experiences with the target
and others have bad experiences with the target.

2 Research studying the mere exposure effect of attitude

formation has shown that simply being exposed to an
attitude target
A can make peoples attitudes more favourable.
B can make peoples attitudes less favourable.
C puts people on guard for further persuasive
arguments.
D will have no effect at all on peoples attitudes
unless they receive rewards or punishments.

3 Attitude formation research on association has shown

that
A people will form favourable attitudes toward a target
if it is associated with liked things.
B people will form unfavourable attitudes toward a
target if it is associated with disliked things.
C Both A and B are correct.
D Neither A nor B are correct; people are not so
simple-minded as to be persuaded in this manner.

4 Research with rewards and punishments has shown that

A both rewards and punishments will affect peoples
attitudes.

B neither rewards nor punishments will affect peoples

attitudes.

C people will change their attitudes if punished, but

not rewarded.
D people will change their attitudes if rewarded, but
not if punished.

5 Which one of the following describes the private

acceptance of an attitude because of its content?
A association
B compliance
C identification
D internalisation

6 Source factors
A are completely unrelated to attitude change; people
dont consider superficial features of the situation.

B include such things as the likeability, credibility and

similarity to us of the source of a communication.

C include such things as mass media and face-to-face

communications.

D are important in internalisation, but not compliance.

7 Fear-arousing communications
A will never be successful in changing peoples
attitudes because they are too unpleasant.

B will change peoples attitudes through the peripheral

route, but not the central route.

C will change peoples attitudes if the negative

consequences are clear and likely, and if people are
assured that specific alternative behaviours will be
successful.
D may lead to compliance, but never to
internalisation.

8 Which one of the following is not considered to be a

recipient factor?
A mood
B intelligence
C self-esteem
D credibility

9 When people actively think about, and systematically

process information about, a specific persuasive
communication, then they are using
A the central route.
B the peripheral route.
C face-to-face communication.
D source factors.

10 In which of the following situations are people more

likely to be persuaded by source characteristics?
A The issue is important.
B The issue is unimportant.
C They have a lot of time to think about the issue.
D They have high levels of intellectual ability.

chapter 19 how attitudes are formed and changed 337

short
answer
questions
1 Describe three ways in which people can form attitudes through direct experience.
2 What is the difference between compliance, identification and internalisation?
3 Given your knowledge of the Message Learning Approach, describe three factors that would
make a communication more persuasive.

4 Design an experiment to determine under what conditions people respond to a persuasive

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Analyse an advertisement

communication through the peripheral route or the central route.

5 You have been hired by the State government to develop drinkdriving infomercials for TV.
Given your knowledge of attitude change and persuasion, how might you design the
infomercial, and why?

multimedia
Attitude formation and persuasion
Components to include:
attitude formation (mere exposure effect, learning by association, direct rewards and
punishments)
the Message Learning Approach to persuasion
the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion.
Select an advertisement and use one of the models of persuasion to explain how this
particular advertisement might work to persuade.

WORKSHEET 1
Crossword

338 heinemann psychology one

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY Learning attitudes through association

Abstract
This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,
but appears immediately under this title.

Introduction
Moore et al. (1982) showed that primary school children
developed relatively unfavourable attitudes towards
smoking and drinking if these words had previously been
associated with negative words. Their study demonstrated the importance of association in the formation
of attitudes.
For this empirical research activity, you will investigate the role of association for the development of
negative and positive attitudes. For both experimental
and ethical reasons, your attitude targets should be
invented by you, such as gamfinbranner. This way, you
will ensure that your participants do not already have a
favourable or unfavourable attitude towards the target.
This also ensures that you are not violating ethical standards by creating favourable attitudes toward socially
disapproved activities (such as underage drinking).
This experiment has two conditions:
positive association conditionpair your attitude
target with positive words
negative association conditionpair your attitude
target with negative words.
Remember to formulate a hypothesis before you begin.

Method
Participants
Sample ten to twenty students from your school, noting
their age and sex.

Materials and procedure

Create two made-up words that you can use as your attitude targets. Develop a set of stimuli on separate cards
by writing each made-up attitude target word with five
different positive words and five different negative
wordsfor example: gamfinbrannerhostile; zamtoras
glorious.

Choose another five real words, and associate each

of them with five neutral words (for example, psychologyweather) on separate cards. The purpose of these
twenty-five cards with real words is to make sure that
your participants are not responding to your key attitude target in a way just to make you happy. Also, by
including lots of different words, your participants will
remain nave to your key word. You will need two identical sets of these neutral cards.
For each experimental condition (positive association and negative association), you should have a total
of thirty cards.
Develop a goodbad semantic differential scale (see
chapter 18) to measure your participants attitudes
towards your attitude targets as well as towards the five
real words.
In each experimental condition, shuffle the thirty
cards so that they are in a random order. Divide your
sample into two groupsone for each experimental
condition. For each participant in the positive association condition, present each card from the relevant pile
of cards, one at a time, for five seconds each. Repeat
for each participant in the negative association condition with the relevant cards.
When you have presented the entire pile of cards, ask
each participant rate the attitude target word and the
five words you paired with other neutral words.

Results
For each experimental condition, calculate the mean
rating across participants for:
your target word
each of your additional five words
in each condition. Draw up a table of results, and describe
in words the pattern of means.

Discussion
1 Was your hypothesis supported?
2 What are the implications of the support or lack of
support?

3 Compare the pattern of your findings to those of

Moore et al. (1982). Did you find different results or
similar results? How would you explain any differences or similarities?

4 Were there any problems with how you conducted

your study? How could you improve it?

5 What new direction could researchers take, given your

new data?

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter
3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
Place a blank copy of your questionnaire and other
materials in the Appendix.
FIGURE 19.14
Children developed unfavourable attitudes towards smoking
after the word had been associated with negative words.

chapter
psychology

20

Prejudice

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
social and cultural differences and prejudice,
for example, gender, race and age.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
explain factors contributing to the
development of prejudice.

00

01

02

03

04

339

340 heinemann psychology one

FIGURE 20.1
How do prejudices about such
things as race develop?

GLOSSARY
prejudice
relatively negative attitudes
towards one or more people
based on their group
memberships, when attitudes
towards other people in
different groups in the same
situation would be more
positive

How do you feel when someone asks you about prejudice? Many of us may have a
strong negative reaction, or feel more uncomfortable talking about it than about other
taboo topics like sex or drugs. We may find ourselves being tolerant of a variety of
lifestyle choices regarding sex and drugs, while being very intolerant of people who are
prejudiced.
At the same time, we may also hold certain attitudes that we think are not prejudiced, but other people consider to be prejudiced. We may be shocked and offended if
others call us prejudiced because we think our views are correctdoesnt everyone see
the world this way?

Relationship between attitudes

and prejudice
Prejudiced attitudes are relatively negative attitudes towards one or more people based
on their group memberships, when attitudes towards other people in different groups
in the same situation would be more positive.

a t ti t u d e s a
bou
tp
e

le
peop

s g

ly negative attitu
de
st

rds
wa

le
op

Components of prejudice

membersh
roup
ips

la
re

tive

prejudice

tu d

ter

tti

Lets look more closely at the three components of

prejudice.
To examine prejudice more closely, lets use an
example. Suppose Geraldine holds the attitude that elderly people are dependent. Is her attitude prejudiced?
Prejudice consists of three components, as shown in
Figure 20.2 and descibed in the following sections.

es

base

ir
d o n u nfa

c ri

FIGURE 20.2
Components of prejudice.

chapter 20 prejudice 341

Prejudice typically involves relatively negative attitudes towards people

Prejudice is an attitude like any other discussed in the previous chapters, but more
specifically it is typically a relatively negative attitude. It would be harder to say that
Geraldine is prejudiced if she believed that eldery people are wise (a positive attitude)
than dependent (a negative attitude).
Of course, this is not always the case. People can be prejudiced even with positive
attitudes (for example, I do like you Asians/Blacks/Jews/women because youre so
good at maths/musical/good with money/kind and caring.). However, more often than
not, prejudiced attitudes are negative ones.
Note that unlike attitudes in general, prejudice is an attitude about one or more
people, rather than objects or issues.

Prejudice involves peoples group memberships

When we speak about prejudice in our society, the attitudes are specifically about peoples group memberships. Group memberships can be all sorts of things, like gender,
race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, even hair colour, type of dress (for example,
Goths), and other attitudes (for example, pro-choice or pro-life). Using the example
above, Geraldine believes that certain people are dependent based on their age, or their
membership in the elderly group in society.
However, just forming attitudes about people based on their group memberships is
definitely not prejudice. In fact, sometimes we want people to form attitudes towards us
based on our group membershipslike when we want people to know were Australian,
a member of a particular religion, a supporter of a particular football team, an employee
of a particular company or a member of a particular union.

Prejudice involves attitudes based on unfair criteria

The final, and key component of the definition is that our attitudes are somehow unfair.
If, in the same situation, we would form more positive attitudes towards other people who
are members of a different group, then we are using different criteria for what is good and
bad. Geraldine judges her neighbour as dependent because the neighbour is elderly, but
assumes another neighbour is not dependent because he is young. For these two people in
the same situation, Geraldine is basing her attitudes towards them on different criteria.
It is by unfairly applying different criteria for forming our attitudes towards people
who are in different groups that we really become prejudiced.

FIGURE 20.3
Is it prejudice to treat these
people as group members
rather than unique individuals?

342 heinemann psychology one

ACTIVITY

When are attitudes not prejudiced?

1 In groups, discuss the definition of prejudice. Does your definition differ from that of your classmates?
2 Now discuss situations in which members of groups that have experienced prejudiced attitudes against them
in the past (for example, Indigenous Australians) are demanding a change in others attitudes towards them.
When group members start demanding such a reversal in the status quo, or current state of affairs, will this
now simply become prejudice in reverse? That is, if we start helping one group of people, such as Indigenous
Australians, more than another group of people, such as European Australians, are we now being prejudiced
against the second group (European Australians)? If so, how can things ever change for the better?

What is discrimination?
Although the focus of this chapter is on prejudice, it is important to consider what is
meant by discrimination. While prejudice is an attitude, discrimination is the behaviour that reflects that attitude. For example, an employer may hold prejudiced attitudes
that 25-year-olds are more suitable for the workplace than 55-year-olds. However, as
long as people of all ages are hired and promoted on the basis of identical decision-making criteria, then the employer is not discriminatory.

KEY QUESTIONS
1 What are the three components of prejudiced attitudes?
2 What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?

Forms of prejudice
GLOSSARY
discrimination
behaviour that comes from
prejudiced attitudes

So far, we have talked about prejudice in relatively abstract terms. However, the real issues
facing people on a day-to-day basis relate to specific expressions of prejudiced attitudes.
In this section, we will consider some different forms of prejudice based on gender, race
and age. In doing so, we will review research from different social and cultural settings.

sexism
prejudiced attitudes on the
basis of sex

FIGURE 20.4
What types of prejudiced
attitudes did these executives
possibly have to overcome
to reach their positions?

Sexism
Sexism is a form of prejudiced attitude based on peoples sex. If a man believes that a
woman is incapable of taking a leadership role specifically because she is a woman, then
this is sexism. Likewise, if a woman believes that a man is incapable of nurturing and
caring behaviour specifically because he is a man, this too is sexism.
Interestingly, males and females can endorse the prejudiced attitudes of their own
group as wellfor example, women can come to believe women in general are incapable of being good leaders, even if there is no evidence to support this.
Research in the USA by Eagly and Karau (2002) showed an optimistic, yet still disturbing, trend in peoples sexist attitudes. In 1955, 66 per cent of people (men and
women) preferred a man as their boss; by 2000, that declined to only 48 per cent.
However, 5 per cent preferred a woman as their boss in 1955, but this preference rose
to only 22 per cent by 2000. So, even by the new millennium, people preferred men to
women as their boss. Eagly and Karau concluded that people still consider women as
less suitable than men for leadership roles.
Interestingly, when researchers analysed the results of ninety-six studies on the effectiveness of leaders, they found no overall difference between men and women. On
average, women are just as effective as men (Eagly, Karau & Makhijani, 1995).

chapter 20 prejudice 343

Are women or men better leaders?

ACTIVITY

1 List three qualities that you think are

essential for good leadership, three
qualities that you think are typical of
women, and three qualities that you think
are typical of men.

2 Are the leadership qualities that you listed

more like those of men or women, neither
or both? What are the implications of this?
FIGURE 20.5
Lowitja (Lois) ODonoghue with music sticks
from the first Sorry Day event at Uluru.

In Australia, Rigby (1988) tried to determine whether sexist attitudes were held
among a sample of 13-year-old students. He measured their sexist attitudes with such
statements as, Boys make better leaders than girls, and Father should be head of the
house. For these two items, the majority of boys expressed their agreement (see Figure
20.6). The pattern was exactly opposite among girls. The majority of boys did not
always support the sexist attitudesfor example, only 36 per cent of them agreed with
the statement, Boys are cleverer than girls. This number, however, is still larger than
that for girls. In total, seven out of eight specific sexist attitudes presented by the experimenter were endorsed more strongly by boys than girls.
FIGURE 20.6

Percentage of 13-year-old students

supporting attitude

100

boys

90

girls

80

Results of the
experiment into
sexist attitudes
(Rigby, 1988).

70
60
50
40

FIGURE 20.7
Results of research into attitudes towards carrying
condoms (Loxley, 1996).

30
20

negative attitudes towards women carrying condoms

10
0

positive attitudes towards men carrying condoms

Boys make better

leaders than girls

Father should be
head of the house

Boys are cleverer

than girls

Similar sexist attitudes were expressed by an Australian sample

of young people aged 14 to 20 years. This research was interested
in attitudes towards carrying condoms (Loxley, 1996). While men
and women are roughly equally tolerant of men carrying condoms,
men are more intolerant of women carrying condoms than women
are themselves (see Figure 20.7).
More women (44 per cent) than men (33 per cent) were neutral
in their opinions about women carrying condoms. These results
are important because they highlight double standards that
Australian males may have regarding sex.

40%
19%

45%

36%

men

women

344 heinemann psychology one

Racism
GLOSSARY
racism
prejudiced attitudes on the
basis of peoples race or ethnic
group memberships

FIGURE 20.8
Results of research into
Australians attitudes
towards immigrants
(Oeser & Hammond,1954).

Racism is a form of prejudiced attitude based on peoples racial or ethnic group memberships. Common ethnic groups include Asian, European, Indigenous, Muslim and
Jewish Australians.
Oeser and Hammond (1954) conducted a survey in 1948 of attitudes towards a
variety of racial and ethnic groups, and whether Australians believed people from these
groups should be allowed into Australia. The results, shown in Figure 20.8, indicate
that Australians were quite happy to have English immigrants, but that they had
rather negative attitudes towards other ethnic and racial groups.
'Negros'
(as they were called
in the survey)

100

Percentage supporting attitude

90
80

Jews

70

Italians

60

Greeks

50

English

40
30
20
10
0

Keep out/let only a few in OK to let in/encourage

them to come
Attitude

FIGURE 20.9
Have the racist attitudes of Australians
changed in recent times?

ACTIVITY

The White Australia policy

There was a time when the immigration policy described below was an official policy of
Australia. Do you think that peoples prejudiced attitudes led to this policy or that this
policy led to peoples prejudiced attitudes?

The new Immigration Restriction Act 1901

was described as an Act to place certain
restrictions on immigration and to provide
for the removal from the Commonwealth of
prohibited immigrants restrictions
included a dictation test, used to exclude
certain applicants by requiring them to pass
a written test in a specific languagewith
which they were not necessarily familiar.
The Act stated the migrant had to write
out dictation and sign in the presence of an
officer, a passage of 50 words in a
European language directed by the officer. With these severe measures the
implementation of the White Australia
policy was warmly applauded in most sections of the community

After the outbreak of hostilities with

Japan, Prime Minister John Curtin reinforced the philosophy of the White
Australia policy, saying, this country shall
remain forever the home of the descendants
of those people who came here in peace in
order to establish in the South Seas an outpost of the British race
After a review of the non-European policy in March 1966, Immigration Minister
Hubert Opperman announced applications
for migration would be accepted from wellqualified people on the basis of their
suitability as settlers, their ability to integrate readily and their possession of
qualifications positively useful to Australia
[This] announcement was the watershed

chapter 20 prejudice 345

in abolishing the White Australia policy,

and non-European migration began to
increase
In 2001/2002 the number of arriving settlers totalled 88 900 and they came from
more than 150 countries. Most came from
New Zealand (17.6 per cent), the United
Kingdom (9.8 per cent), China (7.5 per cent)
South Africa (6.4 per cent), India (5.7 per
cent) and Indonesia (4.7 per cent).
Department of Immigration and Multicultural and
Indigenous Affairs

FIGURE 20.10

Much more recently, Walker (1994) conducted a survey of

Australians attitudes towards Indigenous Australians. Around a third
to half of participants agreed with statements such as, On the whole,
Aborigines are a loud and noisy lot, there have been too many unfortunate consequences of racial mixing for me to be willing to agree with
it, and Most Aborigines are dirty and unkempt. While 30 per cent of
the participants agreed that, White Australians could learn a lot from
Aboriginal people, the reality is that there are strong negative attitudes
still expressed towards Indigenous Australians.
What is the impact of racist attitudes on interracial interactions? In
an Australian study, an advertisement was placed in a Sydney newspaper reading, Young couple, no children, want to rent small unfurnished
flat A second version of the advertisement was also printed, in which
the word Aboriginal was used to describe the couple. The dependent
variable for this study was the number of people responding to the
advertisement. The results were striking: twenty-two people responded
to the race-unknown advertisement, but only five people responded to
the Aboriginal advertisement (Bochner, 1972).

Are we still racist?

A migrant ship arriving at Station Pier, Melbourne.

Most of the migrants are from Southern Europe.

ACTIVITY

In small groups, discuss whether you think the

Bochner (1972) study, if conducted today using
the word Aboriginal or Muslim, would find the
same results.

FIGURE 20.11
Do you think some families
have more difficulty than others
finding housing in Australia?

346 heinemann psychology one

Ageism
GLOSSARY
ageism
prejudiced attitudes based
on peoples relative age.

Ageism refers attitudes people hold about others based on their relative age. Most
attention has been focused on the ageist attitudes held by younger people about older
people, although the opposite pattern can occur as well.
Researchers asked participants aged 18 to 85 years to sort into categories, in any way
they wanted, a series of traits to describe the elderly (Hummert, Garstka, Shaner &
Strahm, 1994). Younger people tended to make fewer categories than older people,
implying that older participants were better able to distinguish between the different
kinds of older people. When sorting negative characteristics, both the younger and
older participants saw the elderly as severely impaired, despondent, reclusive, and as
shrews. However, while the younger participants also saw the elderly as vulnerable, the
older participants saw the elderly as only mildly impaired, but also self-centred and
elitist. The last two characteristics, although negative, are more active, suggesting that
the older participants recognised that the elderly are not simply passive citizens who are
dependent on others. This perception of being active appeared among the positive categories too, with the older participants more likely to see the elderly as activists and
small-town neighbours.

FIGURE 20.12
Do you tend to think of older
people as inactive and
vulnerable, or as active and
physically able?

The perception of activityin contrast to dependencebecomes particularly

important when considering the behaviour of caregivers towards the elderly. Caporeal
(1981) studied the type of language used by caregivers. She focused on baby talka
simplified type of speech with a high and variable pitch. This is the kind of speech that
parents often use when talking to their babies. We would not normally expect such
speech to be used towards adults, but Caporeal found that 22 per cent of the caregivers
speech to the elderly was of this nature.
When she asked others to rate baby talk, she found that it was highly correlated
with perceptions of pleasantness and comfort. Caporeal argued that, although baby talk
has positive features, it also has the ability to lead the elderly into (or to remain in) a
dependent role. By speaking to them as babies, the elderly may come to see themselves
as more reliant on caregivers, and ultimately become less active.

KEY QUESTIONS
3
4
5
6
7

What are some sexist double standards regarding sexual behaviour that Australian teenagers expressed?
What is one behavioural implication of holding sexist attitudes?
How have racist attitudes changed (or not changed) within Australia?
What is one behavioural implication of holding racist attitudes?
What is one important difference between the attitudes towards the elderly held by younger people and
those held by the elderly themselves?

8 What is one behavioural implication of holding ageist attitudes?

chapter 20 prejudice 347

Development of prejudice
How does prejudice develop? Lets look at three factors that play a role.

Social influence
As with any other attitudes, we can learn prejudiced attitudes from our parents, friends
and others. Prejudice may therefore develop from social influence. Past research has
shown a positive correlation between the prejudiced attitudes of parents and those of
their children. However, this relationship does not always occur. For example, Aboud
and Doyle (1996) calculated the correlation between White Canadian childrens racial
attitudes and their mothers racial attitudes towards Blacks. They found that childrens
racial attitudes did not reflect their mothers attitudes, whether positive or
negative. These researchers also found no significant correlation between
the racial attitudes of a racially diverse sample of children and their friends.
The critical factor is not necessarily the attitudes that our parents and
friends hold, but the attitudes that we believe them to hold. In the above
study, the researchers found significant correlations between the childrens
racial attitudes and the attitudes that they believed their friends held.
Similar patterns were observed in samples of adult Australians. Terry,
Hogg and Blackwood (2001) studied students who held pro-multicultural attitudes (they believed that what is best for Australia is to have people
from lots of different cultural backgrounds). Participants first watched a
video with clips about tourism to Australia. This was to make sure they
were thinking about different kinds of people coming to Australia. They
were then told of a fake group norm (although the participants believed it
to be real)some were told that 80 per cent of Australians held pro-multicultural attitudes, while others were told that 80 per cent of Australians
held anti-multicultural attitudes.
The experimenters then measured interracial attitudes relating to multiculturalism. Participants who believed that most Australians were
pro-multicultural had stronger multicultural attitudes themselves than
participants who believed that most Australians were anti-multicultural.
As discussed in the chapter on social influence, we tend to hold the same
attitudes that we believe others in our social group also hold.

GLOSSARY
social influence
process by which we change our
own attitudes, values and
behaviours in response to the
attitudes or behaviours of other
people

FIGURE 20.13
Children can be affected
by the racist attitudes of
their parents.

FIGURE 20.14
If we believe our peers are
tolerant of people from different
groups, we are more likely to
be as well.

348 heinemann psychology one

Intergroup conflict
Prejudiced attitudes may also develop from group conflict and competition between
groups for limited resources. In our society, these resources may include such things as
jobs and housing. Intergroup conflict research shows that these negative relationships
between groups can cause prejudiced attitudes, rather than prejudiced attitudes simply
causing the conflict in the first place.
In the following Classic study, you can read about a series of field experiments with
groups of 11- and 12-year-old American boys at a summer camp. The boys were initially all strangers to each other, and they were put into groups. The boys had
previously completed psychological tests to ensure they were not suffering from any
psychological disorders, and their parents had given full permission for the research.
The researchers, acting as camp counsellors, studied group interactions to learn how
prejudiced attitudes can emerge from the relationships between groups. When the
groups were brought together for competitions for valued and limited resources, clearly
prejudiced attitudes towards the opposing group developed.
So important were these findings that the study was replicated in several other countries. Interestingly, in a study with boy scouts in the United Kingdom, prejudiced
attitudes did not develop after intergroup competition (Tyerman & Spencer, 1983).
However, these boys were competing for only symbolic rewards (the honour of

classic study
Intergroup competition for limited resources can cause prejudice
Sherif et al.s (1961) boys camp studies lasted several
weeks. In the first week, the boys made friends and did
typical summer camp activities, like canoeing and camping, within their group. Because the boys did not know of
the existence of another group, they focused just on their
own group. The researchers observed a variety of interesting behaviours. During this time, leaders tended to
emerge, as did group norms (such as no cry-babies) and
overall group identities (as shown in the creation of group
names). By the end of the first week, it was clear that the
boys saw themselves and behaved as group members.
In the second week, the researchers introduced to the
boys the other group at the camp. The groups were told
a

that there would be a competitive tournament between

them, and the winning group would get valued prizes
(such as pocket knives and a trophy), while the losing
group would get nothing. While competing in activities
such as tug-of-war and baseball were not unusual, the
critical feature here was that the two groups were
competing for limited and valued resources.
As expected, strongly negative group-based attitudes
developed very quickly. One group wrote a banner that
read, Down with the Red Devils per order Bull Dogs (the
group names chosen by the boys), while the other made
a banner showing an aeroplane dropping bombs on a Red
Devil. When asked directly by the experimenters, the boys
b

FIGURE 20.15
(a) The boys from one of the groups explore a cave together.
(b) Carrying their canoe to the swimming hole at their hideout.

chapter 20 prejudice 349

rated their own group members more favourably than the

boys in the other group. They tended to refer to their own
group as brave, friendly and tough, whereas boys in the
other group were stinkers, sneaky and smart alecks.
By the end of the competition, the negative groupbased attitudes were so bad that boys would not even
speak to those in the other group, and the losing group
even raided the cabin of the winning group to steal
its trophy.

Questions
1

Why do you think that intergroup competition for limited

and valued resources can lead to prejudiced attitudes?

List some examples of real-life situations in which intergroup competition might lead to prejudiced attitudes.

If intergroup competition can lead to prejudice, what

do you think could lead to a reduction in this
prejudice? (We will discuss ways to reduce prejudice
in chapter 21.)

winning). In order for prejudice to develop from intergroup competition, the competition must be over physical, valued resources.
Does intergroup conflict and competition lead to prejudiced attitudes among adults
as well? Blake and Mouton (1985) reviewed a series of their own studies conducted with
more than 1000 male and female adult executives, in which small groups competed
against each other in problem-solving tasks in a work environment. When group members expressed their attitudes towards their own products and the products of the other
groups, they rated their own groups as better, even when independent observers saw no
difference. In this case, intergroup competition for limited and valued resources led
people to hold the prejudiced attitude that their group was capable of a higher standard
than the other group.

The importance of social identity

Although the analyses of social influence and intergroup conflict have provided valuable insight into why people hold prejudiced attitudes, social psychologists have
FIGURE 20.16
On the TV show Survivor, outcasts are divided
into tribes that compete for valued and limited
resources. Do you see any similarities between
the attitudes and prejudices that tend to
develop between the tribes, and the research
on intergroup conflict?

discovered that social identity is an additional, yet critical, component. The discovery
was reported in 1970 by Tajfel. In a very simple experiment, he randomly divided
English school boys into two groups. Unlike the boys camp studies described above,
there was no face-to-face interaction or competition for limited resources. The boys
were isolated from each other, and did not know who was in which group except for
themselves.

GLOSSARY
social identity
that part of peoples self-concept
that is based on their
membership in particular groups

350 heinemann psychology one

Tajfel then asked each boy to express his attitude about how
money should be divided between two other boys. The personal
identity of the recipients of the money was unknown, but their
groups were knownone recipient was a member of the boys
group, while the other was a member of the other group.
Societal norms of fairness would suggest that the money should
be distributed equally because there were no known differences in
how much the recipients needed the money, or how hard they may
have worked to earn it. However, even though there was no competition for limited resources, no history of conflict, no differences in
religious or other values, and groups were not formed on the basis of
prior friendships, the boys expressed the attitude that the unknown
member of their group should receive relatively more money then
the unknown member of the other group. St Claire and Turner
(1982) observed the same pattern among English school girls. The
research design used in these studies is called a minimal group,
because the different groups were created on a trivial basis and
existed really only in the minds of the participants (remember, the
group members never interacted with each other).
Do people have a natural tendency towards prejudice?
Fortunately, the answer is no. There is plenty of psychological data
(and everyday experiences) that show fairness, even-handedness and

FIGURE 20.17
This team is likely to rate its groups achievements
higher than anothers if there is competition
between the groups.

GLOSSARY
minimal group
laboratory-created group based
on trivial (or random)
categorisation criteria, in which
group members do not know or
interact with each other

FIGURE 20.18
We usually feel good about our
groups doing better than others.

tolerance between groups. However, the findings in the studies we have examined
remain important for our understanding of prejudice.
Tajfel and Turner (1986) developed a theory called the social identity theory to
explain how prejudice arises in both minimal groups and real groups that exist outside
the laboratory. An important aspect of social identity theory states that:
group memberships are important to our self-concepts
we prefer to have positive rather than negative self-concepts
we know the value of our group memberships through comparisons with other groups
comparisons that show our own group to be better than other groups will positively
enhance our self-concepts.

chapter 20 prejudice 351

The extension box below explains the theory in greater detail. In support of the theory, a study found that Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland showed increased
self-esteem after they expressed prejudiced attitudes against each other (Hunter, Platow,
Howard & Stringer, 1996). Another study found that New Zealanders who showed
prejudiced attitudes towards Australians regarding the allocation of money had an
increase in their self-esteem associated with being a New Zealander (Hunter, 2003).
Of course, people are not prejudiced only to increase their self-esteemwe have
already looked at other contributing factors. Also, prejudiced attitudes can lead to lower
self-esteem when those attitudes go against the groups own norms. For example,
Hunter (1998) found that Christians had lower self-esteem after showing prejudice
against atheists, because this behaviour went against the values of their own group.

Social identity theory

extension

extension

Social identity theory assumes that people are not just unique individuals, but also group members. We have both unique personal
identities (our sense of who we are as unique individuals), and social
identities (our sense of who we are as group members).
The theory also assumes that our sense of self-worth comes from
our personal and social identities. But how do we know if we are
worthy people or not? There is no objective measure of the worth of
a person, so we may often have times of self-doubt when we dont
feel good about ourselves.
We understand ourselves through comparing ourselves with others. Sometimes we compare ourselves personally to others, to get a
sense about where we stand. For example, Foddy and Crundall (1993)
observed La Trobe University students after they got back a marked
assignment. The students looked not only at their own grades, but at
the grades of other students. They knew their own grade, but to get
a sense of how well they really did they felt the need to compare
their grades with others.
This social comparison process works for our social identities,
too. Because our social identities influence our sense of self-worth,
we prefer to be members of groups that are good rather than bad.
We decide whether a group is good or bad by comparing it to others.
Sometimes this is easy, such as when the sports team we support
wins a game. In a laboratory situation where we know nothing about
other members of our group, such as the money-distribution study
mentioned above, the only way to compare groups is the way given
by the researchers. In this case, prejudice came about from a preference to see us as being better than them, because this reflected
well on the boys self-worth.

extension

FIGURE 20.19
By judging groups that we identify
with as better than others, we may
improve our sense of self-worth.

KEY QUESTIONS
9 What is the critical factor in the social influence of prejudiced attitudes?
10 What happens when two groups compete for limited and valued resources?
11 Describe the two phases of the Sherif et al. (1961) boys camp studies of
prejudice.

12 What is a minimal group?

13 According to social identity theory, why might people hold the attitude,
Were better than them?

WORKSHEET 1
Identify the components
of prejudice

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Images of discrimination

352 heinemann psychology one

chapter

20

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

08

09

Prejudiced attitudes are relatively negative attitudes towards one or more people based on
their group memberships, when attitudes towards other people in different groups in the
same situation would be more positive.
Discrimination is the behaviour that comes with prejudiced attitudes.
Sexism is a prejudiced attitude based on peoples sex. Sexist attitudes can be observed
in adolescents as well as adults, and can become discriminatory behaviours (such as in
employment settings).
Racism is a prejudiced attitude based on peoples racial or ethnic group memberships.
Racist attitudes are still held among many Australians, and these views can lead to discriminatory behaviours.
Ageism is a prejudiced attitude based on peoples relative age. Ageist attitudes can lead to
behaviours that cause the elderly to adopt dependent rather than active roles in life.
One way we develop prejudiced attitudes is through adopting the views that we believe our
family and peers hold.
Intergroup conflict and competition for limited resources is a strong cause of prejudiced
attitudes.
Because our self-concept is tied to our group memberships, we prefer to be in groups that
have relatively high value than relatively low value. We may therefore believe our group is
better than others, which is often a prejudiced attitude.

10

chapter 20 prejudice 353

multiple
choice
questions
1 Prejudice is
A a behaviour.
B any time we hold attitudes about people based on
their group memberships.
C a relatively negative attitude towards someone
based on his or her group membership, when our
attitudes towards others in the same situation would
be relatively positive.
D no longer found in Australian society.

2 Discrimination is
A a behaviour associated with a prejudiced attitude.
B any time we hold attitudes about people based on
their group memberships.

C attitudes about other people based on their groups

when norms say we should consider their unique
qualities.
D no longer found in Australian society.

3 Which of the following is true about sexist attitudes?

A Holding sexist attitudes can lead to discriminatory
behaviours.

B People hold sexist attitudes only about sexual

relationships.
C The older generation holds sexist attitudes, but not
the younger generation.
D Research supports the claim that men are better
leaders than women.

4 Research into leadership differences between men and

women shows that
A about 50 per cent of working people prefer a female
to a male boss.
B there is no overall difference between women and men.
C women, on average, are better leaders than men.
D women, on average, are poorer leaders than men.

5 Which of the following is an example of the expression

of a racist attitude?
A Boys make better leaders than girls.
B On the whole, Aborigines are a loud and noisy lot.
C The elderly are conservative and traditional.
D We Indigenous Australians are good and worthy
people.

6 Early Australian research into racist attitudes shows that

A racist attitudes existed in 1948, but disappeared by
1994.

B Australians held relatively favourable attitudes

towards the English.

C although Australians may express racist attitudes,

these attitudes do not become discriminatory
behaviours.
D None of the above.

7 Baby talk
A has been found to be used by caregivers only to talk
to babies.

B has been found to be used by caregivers to talk to

babies and the elderly.

C is what babies say before they learn proper speech.

D leads the elderly to want to grow up faster, so they
can be more independent.

8 The research data shows that

A because each person is a unique individual, he or
she develops prejudiced attitudes based on his or
her own personal experiences, rather than through
social influence.
B people can learn sexist attitudes, but not racist
attitudes.
C there is a good match between parents prejudiced
attitudes and their childrens prejudiced attitudes.
D there is a good match between peoples prejudiced
attitudes and the attitudes they believe are held by
peers and family.

9 Which of the following is true about intergroup

competition?
A Intergroup competition causes prejudice, even if the
resources being competed for are symbolic.
B Intergroup competition for limited and valued
resources is a good way to reduce prejudice.
C Intergroup competition for real, valued and limited
resources causes prejudice.
D Intergroup competition has nothing to do with
prejudice; prejudice results from prejudiced
personalities.

10 Research on social identity theory shows that prejudice

A can be expressed even upon the creation of minimal
groups based on trivial criteria.

B comes about only after intergroup competition for

limited resources.

C is the consequence of prejudiced personalities.

D occurs in minimal groups among boys, but not girls.

354 heinemann psychology one

short
answer
questions
1 Why is the definition of prejudice more complex than simply pre-judging a person? Think about
under what circumstances it would not be prejudiced to form an attitude about someone based
on his or her group membership.

2 Consider the following statement: Sexism no longer exists in society. How would you respond to
this, in light of the research evidence?

3 Which of the three causes of prejudiced attitudes discussed in the chapter do you think led
people not to reply to the Aboriginal advertisement in the Bochner (1972) study? Explain your
answer.

4 Consider the following statement: We young people are much more tolerant than the older
generations. They are much more prejudiced than we are. How would you respond to this, in
light of the research evidence?

5 Describe how the experimental methods of Sherif et al.s (1961) boys camp study and Tajfels
(1970) minimal group study are the same, and how they are different. What are the implications
of these similarities and differences for how psychologists understand prejudice?

poster
Prejudice
Components to include:
components of prejudice
different forms of prejudice and examples of each
how prejudice develops.

chapter 20 prejudice 355

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Abstract
This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,
but appears immediately under the title.

Introduction

Examining attitudes towards women

Think carefully about the title of your questionnaire.

Will you get different results if you call it Sexism study
versus Attitudes study? If you think there will be a
difference, make sure you consider the implications in
your discussion.

Rigby (1988) found that young male teenagers were

more sexist in their attitudes towards women than were
young female teenagers.
In this research activity you will aim to find out:
whether this general finding is still true more than
15 years later
whether the pattern of attitudes is different for
teenagers of different ages.

Results

There is some evidence to suggest that there is less

expressed sexism today than in 1988, when Rigby
published his study. This evidence comes from surveys
showing an increase in preferences for female bosses
from 1955 to 2000 (Eagly & Karau, 2002). In contrast,
there may be no difference in sexist attitudes between
younger and older teenagers, as shown by Loxley
(1996), who found sexist attitudes among teenagers of
14 years and older.
Develop a hypothesis about the kinds of attitudes
that male and female teenagers of different ages
express about females.

Discussion

Method
Participants

For each item on the questionnaire, calculate the

average rating that each of the four groups of people
gave (for example, mean of the ten 13-year-old girls
responses for each item). Present these results in a
table similar to Table 20.1.
Describe in words the pattern of the means.

1 Was your hypothesis supported?

2 What are the implications of the support or lack of
support for your hypotheses?

3 Compare your findings to those of Rigby (1988). Did

you find different results or similar results? How
would you explain any differences or similarities?

4 Were there any problems with how you conducted

your study? How could you improve it?

5 What new direction could researchers take, given

your new data?

References

You should sample, if possible, ten male and ten female

13-year-olds, and ten male and ten female 17-year-olds
from your school. (Of course, you will have to go
outside your school if you are at a single-sex school.)
Be aware of ethics principles when you ask people to
participatethey may feel coerced, so make sure they
know it is completely voluntary and that their names
will not be associated with their responses.

These should be listed in the format set out in chapter

3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
Place a blank copy of your questionnaire in the Appendix.

Materials and procedure

In groups, write a questionnaire using the eight items
below, taken from Rigby (1988). Your group should also
develop from two to five more items that you can use.
Participants should respond using Likert scales.
Boys make better leaders than girls.
You can trust boys more than you can trust girls.
Boys are better at maths than girls.
Girls are weak and silly.
Father should be head of the house.
Girls should learn only things that are useful around the house.
Boys are cleverer than girls.
Girls wouldnt make good engineers.

FIGURE 20.20
Are male teenagers more sexist than
female teenagers?

TABLE 20.1 Mean rating of items on questionnaire for different age groups.

Mean rating
Item
1
2
3 etc.

13-year-old females

13-year-old males

17-year-old females

17-year-old males

chapter
psychology

21

Reducing
prejudice

key knowledge
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate knowledge of:
factors which may reduce prejudice: intergroup
contact (sustained contact, mutual
interdependence, equality), cognitive
interventions and super-ordinate goals.

key skills
After studying this chapter you should
demonstrate the ability to:
use appropriate ethical standards in the design
of a briefing statement and consent form used
to gather primary data.

00

01

356

02

03

04

chapter 21 reducing prejudice 357

In chapter 20, we looked at prejudice, described

different kinds of prejudice, and explained how
prejudiced attitudes develop. By now, you are
probably wondering whether social psychologists
have any advice about how to reduce prejudice.
Fortunately, they do, and they are linked in
important ways to our understanding of the causes of prejudice.
In this chapter, we will discuss three broad
forms of prejudice reduction: intergroup contact,
cooperation for superordinate goals and cognitive
interventions.

Active psychology:

FIGURE 21.1

How can we reduce prejudice

in our society?

active psychology
Studying prejudice
The expression of strongly racist attitudes is looked down
upon within contemporary Australia. However, people still
hold racist views, and they manage to express them in
more subtle ways, as shown by two University of
Adelaide researchers (LeCouteur & Augoustinos, 2001).
These researchers looked at emails written on the
topic of the Stolen Generation. Fifty-two per cent of people said that no apology should be made for the past
mistreatment of Indigenous Australians. Interestingly,
people who were against making the apology managed to
write explanations of their views that were consistent with
particular values that are accepted within Australian society. This strategy allowed them to ignore past injustices
while still being seen (to themselves and possibly others)
as not racist.
For example, one person wrote, I have been to many
Aboriginal communities and I have seen the wasted millions of dollars of tax payers money They should say
sorry to us for that. By adopting these accounting values,
this person was able simply to ignore past acts of discrimination.
Some people were even more blatant in their attempts
to ignore the discrimination: History is history, and There
is no reason for my children or I to feel guilty for what may
have happened in the past.
You may personally hold some of these views, and you
may also believe that you do not hold prejudiced attitudes.
This highlights how difficult it is for social psychologists to
learn how to reduce prejudice. Sometimes people are not
aware of their prejudiced attitudes, or cannot agree on
what prejudice is. Sometimes people just want to ignore
their prejudice, or they may respond to prejudice with
such strong emotions that attempts to reduce it in a
meaningful way are undermined from the start.

Questions
1

Consider the quotes in the above paragraphs. Do you

think these attitudes are prejudiced? Why or why not?

Some social psychologists distinguish between

blatant prejudice and subtle prejudice. The expression
of blatant prejudice is obvious (I hate those people!),
whereas the expression of subtle prejudice (as in the
above quotes) is often more difficult to identify. Do you
think there is a difference between blatant and subtle
prejudice, or do you think there is only one kind of
prejudice? Do you think psychologists are reading too
much into statements they consider to be expressions
of subtle prejudice?

FIGURE 21.2
When 150 000 people marched in Sydney in
support of reconciliation, an unidentified
organisation expressed its attitude in the city.

358 heinemann psychology one

Intergroup contact

GLOSSARY
intergroup contact
bringing together of different
groups or members of different
groups with the goal of
reducing prejudice

FIGURE 21.3
As schools become more
racially mixed, the chances that
students will have only samerace friendships also increases.

The first step that many of us want to take to change prejudiced attitudes is to bring
people together. If people from different groups meet each other personally, are their
prejudiced attitudes likely to change?
There is some correlational evidence to suggest that intergroup contact does
reduce prejudice. Researchers found a correlation between Australian students reports
of intergroup contact and their relatively accepting views of the Japanese (ODriscoll,
Haque and Ohsako, 1983). The more contact reported, the more accepting were the
students.
In another study, McKay and Pittman (1993) found that third-generation AngloAustralians held more favourable attitudes towards Vietnamese people if the
Anglo-Australians lived in neighbourhoods that allowed more intergroup contact.
Unfortunately, however, the social psychology of intergroup relations tells us that simple intergroup contact is not enough.
Think back to the boys camp studies done by Sherif et al. (1961), described in chapter 20. Researchers attempted to reduce the boys prejudiced attitudes at one stage by
bringing the groups of boys together for a mutually fun activitywatching a movie
that they all wanted to see. The evening ended in disaster, and the movie was never
shown. Bringing the boys together only highlighted the differences between the
groups, and the group members ended up heckling each other and throwing insults.
Studying ongoing social situations provides more evidence. Moody (2001) analysed
interracial friendships from 130 schools, with a total of more than 90 000 students across
the USA. He found that as schools became more racially mixed, the chances that students
had only same-race friendships also increased. So, bringing children together from different racial backgrounds seemed to result only in them choosing not to form friendships
with children of other races. (The data suggested a slight reversal in this trend with
extremely racially mixed schools, although the effect was very small.)
Friendships are an important indicator of prejudice. Other recent research showed that
American students in their second and third years of university who had more friendships
across races expressed less racial prejudice at the end of their fourth year than did students
who had primarily same-race friendships (Levin, van Laar & Sidanius, 2003).
Social psychologists have thus known for many years that simple interpersonal contact is not sufficient to reduce prejudiced attitudes. Several important additional
features have been identified, many of which are important in friendships.

chapter 21 reducing prejudice 359

Contact conditions that reduce prejudice

Equal status
When members of different groups come in contact with each other,
and they know that their group memberships vary in status (that is,
one group is known to be of higher status than the other), then the
contact experience itself is likely only to enhance pre-existing prejudiced attitudes. People must come together with equal status
between groups in order for prejudiced attitudes to be reduced.
Although it is often difficult to create conditions that satisfy the
requirement of equal status, friendships may be a good place to start.

Sustained contact
A second feature of the contact situation is the amount of contact
between groups. Brief, or one-time-only, encounters with members
of different groupseven encounters with equal statusmay still
be insufficient to change prejudiced attitudes.
The important effects of sustained contact were shown in a
study of attitudes towards children with severe learning disabilities,
held by those without these disabilities (Maras & Brown, 1996). The
results showed that increasing contact (over a three-month period)
led to more favourable attitudes towards the children with disabilities. Meanwhile, there was no increase in the favourableness of
attitudes held by the children who had no contact at all.

FIGURE 21.4
Why might this intergroup contact not
reduce prejudiced attitudes?

GLOSSARY
equal status (between groups)
situation in which there is no
difference in relative prestige
between groups

sustained contact
situation in which relations
between groups exist for
extended periods of time

mutual interdependence
situation in which groups (or
individuals) are dependent on
each other to obtain real, valued,
outcomes

FIGURE 21.5
Increasing contact leads to
more favourable attitudes
towards children with
disabilities.

Mutual interdependence
When members of different groups are jointly dependent on each other to obtain real,
valued resources, then prejudiced attitudes are most likely to be reduced. This is called
mutual interdependence.
For example, Walker and Crogan (1998) measured the racial attitudes of Australian
school children after they had participated (or not participated) in learning exercises
that made them dependent on children from different ethnic backgroundsEuropean
Australians and Asian Australians. Children who were in the mutual interdependence
learning situation ended up with more favourable attitudes towards both European
and Asian Australians. Interestingly, there was some evidence that attitudes towards

360 heinemann psychology one

Indigenous Australians decreased. Although unexpected, the finding only emphasises

how important it is to have the interdependence between members of the two groups
relevant to the prejudiced attitudesin this study, there were almost no Indigenous
children at the schools.
FIGURE 21.6
Being in mutual
interdependence learning
situations can reduce
prejudiced attitudes.

active psychology
Which is the fairer sex?
FIGURE 21.7
People believe that their own
gender group engages in
more fair and fewer unfair
behaviours than the other
gender group.

If simple contact between two groups were sufficient to eliminate prejudiced

attitudes, then we should expect no prejudiced attitudes between men and
womenthat is, no sexism. After all, men and women have a lot of contact with
each other.
As we saw in chapter 20, sexism still exists. In fact, sexism exists even when
people are thinking about fairness. For example, Boldizar and Messick (1988) asked
American university students to list the fair and unfair behaviours of their own
gender group and the other gender group. The results showed that participants
believed that their own gender group engaged in more fair behaviours and fewer
unfair behaviours than the other gender group. So, while explicitly stating how fair
their own group was, they expressed their prejudiced attitudes by saying the other
group was less fair.
These prejudiced attitudes show that intergroup contact is not sufficient to
reduce prejudice.

Questions
1
2

Why do you think simple intergroup contact is insufficient to reduce prejudice?

Ask some of your male and female friends to list the fair and unfair things that
men and women do. Do you get the same pattern as Boldizar and Messick
(1988)? Ask your friends what they were thinking about when they wrote down
the different behaviours.

KEY QUESTIONS
1 Will prejudice always be reduced if people from different groups come into simple contact with each other?
Why or why not?

2 How can groups come in contact with each other under equal status?
3 What are the effects on prejudice reduction of sustained contact?
4 How does mutual interdependence affect prejudiced attitudes?

chapter 21 reducing prejudice 361

Superordinate goals
Mutual interdependence is so important that social psychologists have focused a great
deal of attention on it. They have recognised two different kinds of mutual interdependence: negative and positive.
negative interdependence: the two groups are dependent on each other, but in a negative waythis is the same as competition, and leads to prejudiced attitudes
positive interdependence: the two groups are dependent on each other in a positive
way for a common, shared, superordinate goalthis is the same as cooperation,
and it has been shown to reduce prejudice.

GLOSSARY
superordinate goal
aim, objective or aspiration that
is common or shared between
different groups (or different
individuals); in this way, the goal
is above the specific groups or
individuals

The presence of a shared, superordinate goal alone does not lead to prejudice reduction. Instead, the two groups must work together and cooperate to reach that goal.
FIGURE 21.8
The relationship between mutual interdependence
(negative and positive) and prejudice.

Mutual interdependence

negative = competition

positive = competition

prejudice

reduces prejudice

Cooperation to achieve goals

The importance of cooperation for a superordinate goal was shown in the Sherif et al.
(1961) boys camp studies. In the final phase of their research, in an attempt to reduce
prejudiced attitudes, the researchers tried a variety of interventions. As described above,
simple contact (organising a movie screening) did not work. The researchers then tried
cooperation between the two groups for a superordinate goal. For example, they staged
the food truck breaking down. The only way the truck could be movedand the only
way both groups of boys could have access to their shared goal of eatingwas if they
worked together to pull and push the truck. After a series of such cooperative interactions for superordinate goals, the prejudiced attitudes of the boys were greatly reduced.
In fact, boys from opposing groups formed friendships with each other.

Failing to achieve goals

What happens if we cooperate to achieve a superordinate goal, but our work is unsuccessful and we dont reach our goal? Researchers looked at this by creating mixed-sex
groups of university students that competed against each other on a series of businesslike tasks (Worchel, Axsom, Ferris, Samaha & Schweizer, 1978). The two groups then
cooperated with each other to complete a new set of tasks, where the researchers rigged
the outcome to fail or succeed. When cooperation for the superordinate goal was successful, each group rated the other favourably. When cooperation was unsuccessful,
groups rated each other more negatively.

FIGURE 21.9
Cooperation between groups
for a superordinate goal can
reduce prejudiced attitudes.

362 heinemann psychology one

These studies show that prejudice is most likely to be reduced when several factors
are in effect: groups must have positive, mutual interdependence for a shared, superordinate goal, and that goal must be achieved.

KEY QUESTIONS
5
6
7
8

What is positive interdependence?

What is negative interdependence?
What are superordinate goals?
Prejudice can be reduced through cooperation for superordinate goals,
and not just through the presence of superordinate goals. Why is the
cooperation part so important?

9 What happens if the cooperation for superordinate goals is unsuccessful?

Why do you think this happens?

Cognitive interventions
We have looked at the factors that are important for reducing prejudice, but why are
they important? In chapter 20, we learned that people in groups develop perceptions of
the world as divided into us and them. Intergroup contact involving positive interdependence for a shared goal is an intervention that changes our perceptions of us and
them to, simply, all of us.

Eliminating group boundaries

This process of reducing prejudice involves a cognitive change in how we perceive
groups and group boundaries. Instead of thinking that there are two groups, we see us
all as belonging to one big group.
For example, when an African-American interviewer approached European-American
sports fans to answer some questions, the fans were more likely to comply if the interviewer supported the same team (indicated by the clothes he or she wore) as the fans did
(Nier, Gaertner, Dovidio, Banker, Ward & Rust, 2001). By highlighting the common
team identity, people were more accepting of cross-race interactions.
This was tested more systematically in a laboratory study by Gaertner, Mann, Murrell
and Dovidio (1989). Groups of three American university students completed some
tasks together to develop a group identity. Two groups were then brought together in
one of three different ways:
the researchers maintained the original us and them differences
the researchers led the students to see themselves all as one group of six
the researchers led the students to see everyone as a unique individual.

GLOSSARY
re-categorisation
cognitive transformation of two
groups (us and them) into
one large group (all of us)

This last condition is important, because many people believe that the best way to
reduce prejudice is to respond to everyone as unique individuals and not as group
members.
The results showed that when two groups were maintained, prejudice was maintained as well. In contrast, prejudice was effectively eliminated in both the all one
group situation and the all unique individuals situation. However, when students saw
themselves as all one group, their attitudes towards all other group members became
equally favourable. When they saw themselves as unique individuals, their attitudes
towards all others became equally unfavourable. Re-categorising as one group is definitely the preferred option for reducing prejudice (see Figure 12.10).

chapter 21 reducing prejudice 363

FIGURE 21.1O
condition 1

condition 2

condition 3

prejudice maintained

prejudice eliminated
(attitudes to members
of the `other group
become more
favourable)

prejudice eliminated
(attitudes to all others
become more
unfavourable)

Reducing prejudice by re-categorising groups.

Does this just mean that we should see ourselves as one group, and ignore the variety of cultures and ethnicities to which we all belong?
Hornsey and Hogg (2000) conducted a study of Australian university maths and science students. They found that the amount of prejudiced attitudes expressed towards
members of a different group (maths or science) was greatest when the students were
forced to think about the two groups either separately, or as one common group (university students) while ignoring the subgroups.
However, among students who were forced to think about both the common group
and their own subgroups, prejudiced attitudes were decreased considerably. This is a
recognition that people do value their group memberships, and do not want them
ignored. We can relate these experimental results to the issue of multiculturalismthe
best strategy appears to be not ignoring or merging the subgroups in society (that is,
different races and ethnicities) but encouraging all people to think of themselves as
Australians, while also being members of diverse ethic groups.

FIGURE 21.11

intergroup contact
- equal status
- sustained contact
- mutual interdependence
cooperation for
superordinate goals

Summary of the factors that reduce prejudice.

reduce prejudice

cognitive interventions
- eliminating us and them boundaries

A
EXTRA ACTIVITY 1
Reducing prejudice

KEY QUESTIONS
10 What is the cognitive mechanism by which prejudice is reduced?
11 What happens if group members cognitively come to see us and them as all of us, but the original
subgroup is ignored? What are the implications of this for multiculturalism?

12 According to the research data, which is a best way to reduce prejudiced attitudesby saying were all in
one group, not two separate groups, or by saying, were all unique individuals, not two separate groups?

364 heinemann psychology one

chapter

21

GLOSSARY
term
def

summary
06

07

08

09

Sustained, equal status, intergroup contact, with positive mutual interdependence can
reduce prejudiced attitudes.
Successful intergroup cooperation for a superordinate goal can reduce prejudiced attitudes.
Cognitive redefinition of us and them to all of uswhile still recognising the value of subgroup membershipsseems to be the psychological mechanism by which intergroup
contact and successful cooperation for a superordinate goal can reduce prejudiced attitudes.

10

chapter 21 reducing prejudice 365

multiple
choice
questions
1 Which of the following has not been identified as
important to the reduction of prejudice in intergroup
contact?
A contact alone
B equal status contact
C mutual interdependence
D sustained contact

________________ means that there are no status

differences between groups, and ________________

means that groups are dependent on each other for

valued resources.
A equal status; mutual interdependence
B equal status; sustained contact
C mutual interdependence; equal status
D superordinate goals; mutual interdependence

3 Mutual interdependence between two groups is likely to

A enhance prejudiced attitudes, because it highlights
the differences between the groups.

B enhance prejudiced attitudes for people with

prejudiced personalities, but reduce prejudice for
people with non-prejudiced personalities.
C reduce prejudiced attitudes between these two
groups and other groups as well.
D reduce prejudiced attitudes between these two
groups only.

4 Intergroup cooperation for a superordinate goal

A will reduce prejudice anytime it occurs, regardless
of whether the cooperation is successful or not.

B will reduce prejudice only if the cooperation is

successful.
C is not likely to reduce prejudice because people
who hold prejudiced attitudes have psychological
problems.
D will increase prejudiced attitudes because it
highlights the differences between people from
different groups.

5 Positive interdependence is ________________ and

negative interdependence is ________________ .
A competition; cooperation
B cooperation; competition
C equal status; competition
D superordinate goals; competition

6 Superordinate goals are

A goals that are very hard to achieve, thus requiring
a super-human effort.

B goals that at least two groups share in common.

C goals that one group has, but not another.
D the same thing as cooperation.
7 Changing our focus from us and them to all of us is
A a cognitive intervention to reduce prejudiced attitudes.
B a type of prejudice itself.
C an example of equal status contact.
D mutual interdependence.
8 The cognitive re-categorisation of us and them to all
of us
A will reduce prejudiced attitudes only if people
discard their original subgroup identities.
B will reduce prejudiced attitudes only if the original,
valued subgroups are still acknowledged.
C is the psychological mechanism by which prejudice
is reduced through intergroup contact and
cooperation for superordinate goals.
D Both B and C are correct.

9 The cognitive re-categorisation of us and them to

were all individuals
A will reduce prejudiced attitudes.
B will reduce our evaluations of us to the level of
them.
C will increase our evaluations of them to the level
of us.
D Both A and B are correct.

366 heinemann psychology one

short
answer
questions
1 A school principal informs you that she had instituted a policy of integrating children from
different races and ethnic backgrounds by having the children sit next to each other in their
classrooms. This, however, has led only to increased prejudice at the school. What would you
do to improve the intergroup contact?

2 You have been hired as a psychologist to reduce prejudiced attitudes between work teams at
a large corporation. You decide to have the work teams cooperate for superordinate goals.
Describe what you might do in this situation. What must happen in your cooperative settings
if you want prejudiced attitudes to be reduced?

3 Describe a situation in real life where someone has tried to re-categorise different groups
into all of us. Was this successful or unsuccessful? Why or why not?

essay
Prejudice in Australian society
Use one example of prejudice in Australian society, based on gender, race, or age, to discuss the
factors that may reduce prejudice.

Introduction
Focus on one form of prejudice and describe its nature in Australian society.

Body
Define the different forms of intergroup contact that may be applied to reduce prejudice.
Discuss how each form of intergroup contact (sustained contact, mutual interdependence,
equality) could be applied to reduce your chosen form of prejudice.
Define the concepts of cognitive interventions and superordinate goals to combat prejudice.
Discuss how cognitive interventions and superordinate goals could be used to reduce your
chosen form of prejudice.

Conclusion
Evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of practically implementing the different factors that
are known to reduce prejudice. Include directions for the future.

WORKSHEET 1
Crossword

chapter 21 reducing prejudice 367

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Abstract
This is a summary of the whole report. It is written last,
but appears immediately under the title.

Introduction
A good amount of research has focused on the role of
intergroup contact as a means of prejudice reduction.
Although some data is encouraging (for example, McKay
& Pittman, 1993; ODriscoll, et al., 1983), the majority
of the research tells us that contact must occur with
equal status between the groups (Pettigrew, 1998),
over time (Maras & Brown, 1996), and have some form
of mutual interdependence (Walker & Crogan, 1998).
Develop a questionnaire asking people their attitudes
towards others from different groups (such as students
and teachers, lifelong Australians and recent immigrants, males and females). You should also ask:
the amount of intergroup contact
whether the contact was equal status
whether people were mutually dependent on each
other during the intergroup contact.
Write your questionnaire with Likert scales and
semantic differentials (see chapter 18). Dont forget to
write a hypothesis about your expected results.
Also develop a briefing statement and consent form
to gather your data. A briefing statement describes the
study to potential participants; a consent form includes
this description plus a section for potential participants
to sign, to indicate their consent to participate.

Method
Participants
Sample, if possible, at least ten males and ten females
for this study. They can be students at your school, or
friends and family.

Materials and procedure

Questionnaire: Make a questionnaire measuring the points
outlined in the introduction. For example, you might first
present a Likert scale that states, Overall, I think that
immigrants to Australia have a lot to offer our way of life.
Then you can ask the question, How often do you come
in contact with recent immigrants to Australia?, with
options such as every day, 36 times a week, 12 times
a week, once a fortnight, once a month, never. Follow
the same procedure for the other questions.

Experiences with intergroup contact

Briefing statement and consent: Before you give your

participants the questionnaire, give them a briefing
statement and consent form. In writing these, follow
ethical guidelines (NHMRC, 1999). In particular, you
should include in your forms information that includes:
a statement saying participation is completely voluntary, and participants can quit any time without
penalty
the purpose of the study
the methods used in the study (for example, questionnaire)
any risks for participation in the study
any inconveniences or discomforts for participation
in the study
the possible outcomes of the study
whether you are likely to publish (or present to your
class) the research data.

Results
Calculate the correlations between your different questions, and present these in tables. Determine whether
the correlations are significant or not (see chapter 18).

Discussion
1 State whether your hypotheses were supported or not
(e.g., was there a significant correlation between
attitudes towards other group members and the
amount of intergroup contact?).

2 What are the implications of the support or lack of

support?

3 Compare your findings to those of the previous

researchers described in this chapter. Did you find
different results or similar results? How would you
explain any differences or similarities?

4 Were there any problems with how you conducted

your study (that is, how would you improve it)?

5 What new direction should researchers take given

your new data?

References
These should be listed in the format set out in chapter
3, in alphabetical order.

Appendix
Place a blank copy of your questionnaire in the appendix.
FIGURE 21.12
Are you likely to be less prejudiced
about immigrants if you have more
contact with them?

368 heinemann psychology one

EVALUATION OF A RESEARCH DESIGN Reducing prejudice in a jigsaw classroom

Walker and Crogan (1998) tested hypotheses about fac- Australians, European Australians and Indigenous Austtors that would reduce prejudice by creating what is ralians. The results showed a statistically significant
increase in the ratings of both Asian Australians and
known as a jigsaw classroom.
In a jigsaw classroom, students of various ethnic European Australians in the experimental group, but not
backgrounds are placed in small groups to learn les- in the control group. There was no change in the ratsons. Instead of the traditional form of learning ings of Indigenous Australians. The jigsaw classroom
where students work independently, and often in com- thus led to greater liking only of members of the ethpetition with each otherstudents in jigsaw groups nic groups who actually participated in the equal status,
must work cooperatively together for a superordinate interdependent cooperation for a superordinate goal.
Finally, there was no statistically significant difference
goal, they are interdependent with each other, and all
in academic performance between the experimental
have equal status.
This is called jigsaw learning because each student group and the control group. The jigsaw classroom did
in each group must learn different pieces of informa- not lead to better or worse academic performance than
tionlike pieces of a jigsaw puzzleand then teach the traditional classroom.
these to the other students in the group. The group
members are working for the superordinate goal of Questions
learning and good grades. They are interdependent
1 What was the purpose of the research conducted by
because each group member depends on the others to
Walker and Crogan (1998)?
supply their piece of the puzzle, without which the
2
What
was the design of their study?
superordinate goal can not be achieved. And they all
have equal status because each piece of information is 3 What was the independent variable of the study?
equally important to achieving the superordinate goal. 4 What were the dependent variables of the study?
With the help of a teacher, the researchers set up a
jigsaw classroom in one grade 4 class in Perth for one 5 Write a hypothesis for the study.
hour a day, every day for three weeks. The jigsaw groups 6 In the context of this study, what does a statistically significant increase in the ratings mean?
were made up of European Australians and Asian
Australians. Walker and Crogan used a mixed grade 4/5 7 In the context of this study, what does no statisticlass at the same school as a control group. Students in
cally significant difference in academic performance
the control group did not participate in a jigsaw classmean?
room, instead learning their lessons in the traditional 8 How might Walker and Crogans (1998) inability to
manner.
randomly select schools affect the interpretation of
Because of factors outside of their control, Walker and
their results?
Crogan were not able to randomly select schools or
9
How might Walker and Crogans (1998) inability to
classrooms, nor were they able to randomly assign which
randomly assign classes to condition affect the interclassroom would be experimental and which would be
pretation of their results?
the control.
1
0
If you were to conduct this research yourself, what
Pre-test and post-test measures were made of acaare three things you would do to improve the design?
demic performance, and of the childrens ratings of Asian
FIGURE 21.13
How does a jigsaw classroom
help to reduce prejudice?

369

appendix
Code of ethics
Teaching of psychology
1 Psychologists who are responsible for education and training programs must ensure

3
4
5
6

that the programs are competently designed and delivered, and that they meet the
accreditation requirements for which claims are made by the program.
Psychologists must make every effort to ensure that published information concerning any educational program in which they have a teaching or organising role is
accurate and not misleading, especially with respect to expectations of, and possible
benefits to, participants.
When teaching, psychologists must present information accurately and objectively.
Psychologists must recognise the power they hold over students or supervisees and
avoid engaging in conduct that is personally demeaning to students or supervisees.
Psychologists must not establish fee charging or consultative relationships with students they teach or are likely to examine.
Psychologists must not require or otherwise coerce a student to participate in a classroom or other training demonstration if there is reason to suppose that the student
is likely to suffer distress from the experience.
Psychologists must instruct students witnessing case demonstrations that they are
required to preserve the anonymity of the participant and in every way to safeguard
the participants privacy.

Research
1 In planning psychological research, psychologists must undertake a careful evaluation

of the ethical issues involved. Whatever guidance is sought from others, the responsibility for ensuring ethical practice in research remains with the principal investigators
and cannot be shared. It is the responsibility of psychologists to ensure that research is
conducted in such a manner that the welfare of participants is not compromised.
It is a responsibility of psychologists conducting research to comply with guidelines
and requirements for ethical accountability in research within their setting such as the
National Health and Medical Research Council Statement on Human Experimentation
and Supplementary Notes (1992). It is unethical for a psychologist to initiate or undertake research without complying with appropriate ethical procedures.
Psychologists must be aware that in all scientific research with human participants,
there is a need to balance the welfare of others who ultimately may benefit from the
findings of the investigation against any discomfort or risks to participants.
Psychologists must preserve and protect the respect and dignity of all participants
and endeavour to ensure that participants consent to be involved in the research is
voluntary. Wherever possible, participants must be appropriately informed of the
nature and purpose of the investigation. Psychologists must inform participants of
the nature of the research and that they are free to participate or to decline to participate or to withdraw from the research. Such informed consent must be appropriately
documented.
When potential research participants are individuals such as students, employees or
subordinates, psychologists must not use a position of authority to exert undue pressure for the purpose of securing their participation in a particular research project.
Psychologists must also take special care to protect the prospective participants from
adverse consequences of declining or withdrawing from participation.

370 heinemann psychology one

6 When research participation is a course requirement, the psychologist must ensure

that the prospective participant is given the choice of equitable alternative activities.
7 For persons who are legally incapable of giving informed consent, psychologists must

9
10

11

12

13

14

15

16
17
18

provide an appropriate explanation, obtain the participants consent and obtain appropriate consent from the persons who are legally responsible for participants welfare.
Before deciding that research does not require informed written consent of research
participants, psychologists much consult with colleagues or gatekeepers and ethics
committees as appropriate.
Psychologists must not offer excessive financial or other inappropriate inducements
to obtain research participants.
When it is necessary for scientific reasons to conduct a study without fully informing participants of its true purpose prior to the commencement of the study, the
psychologist must ensure that participants do not suffer distress from the research
procedure. Participants must be informed of the purpose of the investigation at the
conclusion of the research. Also, psychologists must be careful to maintain the quality of their relationship with participants and to correct any mistaken attitudes or
beliefs that participants may have about the research.
Wherever possible the procedures for establishing confidentiality must be explained
to participants at the outset of the research. Psychologists must obtain informed
written consent to research participants if there is to be anticipated further use of
personally identifiable research data. Test results or other confidential data obtained
in a research study must not be disclosed in situations or circumstances which might
lead to identification of the participants unless their informed written consent has
been obtained.
The psychologist must take all reasonable steps to ensure that participants are not
exposed to risk of injury incidental to the procedures used, for example, from faulty
stimulus presentation or recording equipment.
When the research necessarily involves participants in physical or mental stress, the
psychologist must inform participants concerning the procedures to be used, and the
physical and psychological effects to be expected. No research procedures likely to
cause severe distress should be used under any circumstances. If unexpected stress
reactions of significance occur, the psychologist has the responsibility immediately
to alleviate such reactions and to terminate the investigation. If a research procedure
involves participants in high levels of emotional arousal, it is incumbent on the psychologist to ensure that no psychologically vulnerable person participates.
Psychologists must anticipate the subsequent effects of research participation and
provide information on services available for participants to alleviate any unnecessary distress that follows from their participation. Psychologists must not engage in
other professional relationships with research participants in relation to resolving
any such distress.
When working in a multidisciplinary research team or other context in which psychologists do not have sole decision-making authority, they must make these ethical
principles known to other members of the research team or other decision-makers,
and seek their adoption prior to engaging in the research.
Psychologists must provide an opportunity for participants to obtain appropriate
information about the nature, results and conclusion of the research.
Psychologists must make provisions for maintaining confidentiality in the access, storage and disposal of research data, subject to the legal requirements of their institutions.
Psychologists must take all reasonable steps to minimise the discomfort, illness and
pain of animals. The care of laboratory animals must be directly supervised by a person competent to ensure their comfort, health and humane treatment, and the care
and use of animals in research must be consistent with the National Health and
Medical Research Council Statement on Animal Experimentation.
Code of Ethics, Australian Psychological Society, 4 October 1997.

index 371
contents

references
Aboud, F. E. & Doyle, A. B. (1996). Parental and peer influences on childrens racial attitudes.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 20, 37183.
Abrams, D., Wetherell, M., Cochrane, S., Hogg, M. A. & Turner, J. C. (1990). Knowing what to think
by knowing who you are: Self-categorization and the nature of norm formation, conformity and
group polarization. British Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 97119.
Ajzen, J. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,
50, 179211.
Allport, G. W. & Odbert, H. S. (1936). Trait-names: a psycho-texical study. Psychological Monographs,
47, 211.
Allport, G. W. (1967). Attitudes. In M. Fishbein (Ed.), Readings in attitude theory and measurement
(pp. 313). New York: Wiley.
Amato, P. R. (1986). Emotional arousal and helping behavior in a real-life emergency. Journal of
Applied Social Psychology, 16, 63341.
Anastasi, A. (1988). Psychological testing. NY: MacMillan.
Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressures on the modification and distortion of judgments.
In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership and men (pp. 177190). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Press.
Asch, S. E. (1956). Studies of independence and submission to group pressure: a minority of one
against a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs, 70, 416.
Atkinson J. W. & McClelland (1948). The projective expression of needs, II. The effect of different
intensities of the hunger drive on thematic apperception. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38,
64358.
Bai, D. L. & Bertenthal, B. I. (1992). Locomotor status and the development of spatial search skills.
Child Development, 63, 21526.
Baillargeon, R. & DeVos, J. (1991). Object permanence in young infants: further evidence. Child
Development, 62, 122746.
Bandura, A., Ross, D. & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive
models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 57582.
Batson, C. D. (1998). Altruism and prosocial behavior. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske & G. Lindzey
(Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (4th ed, Vol. 2, pp. 282316). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Batson, C. D., Batson, J. G., Slingsby, J. K., Harrell, K. L., Peekna, H. M. & Todd, R. M. (1991).
Empathic joy and the empathyaltruism hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
61, 41326.
Berk, L. E. (1997). Child development (4th ed.). V.S.A.: Allyn and Bacon.
Berkowitz, L. & Daniels, L. R. (1964). Affecting the salience of the social responsibility norm: Effects
of past help on the response to dependency relationships. Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology, 68, 27581.
Bickman, L. (1972). Social influence and diffusion of responsibility in an emergency. Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology, 8, 43845.
Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children. (E.S. Kite, trans.) Baltimore:
Williams & Wilkins.
Blake, R. R. & Mouton, J. S. (1986). From theory to practice in interface problem solving.
In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 6782). Chicago:
Nelson Hall.
Block, J. & Robins, R. W. (1993). A longitudinal study of consistency and change in self-esteem from
early adolescence to early adulthood. Child Development, 64, 90923.
Bochner, S. (1972). An unobtrusive approach to the study of housing discrimination against
Aborigines. Australian Journal of Psychology, 24, 3357.
Boldizar, J. P. & Messick, D. M. (1988). Intergroup fairness biases: Is ours the fairer sex? Social Justice
Research, 2, 95111.

372 heinemann psychology one

Boldizar, J. P., Perry, D. G. & Perry, L. C. (1989). Outcome values and aggression. Child Development,
60, 5719.
Bond, R. & Smith, P. B. (1996). Culture and conformity: A meta-analysis of studies using Aschs
(1952b, 1956) line judgment task. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 11137.
Bouchard, T. J. & McGue, M. (1981). Familial studies of intelligence: a review. Science, 212, 105559.
Bower, T. G. R. (1981). Cognitive development. In M. Roberts & J. Tamburinni (Eds.), Child development
05. Edinburgh: Holmes McDougal.
Brown, P. (1992). Rescuing minds from disease and decay. New Scientist, 14 Nov 1992.
Bushman, B. J. & Cooper, H. M. (1990). Effects of alcohol on human aggression: An integrative
research review. Psychology Bulletin, 107, 34154.
Bushman, B. J., Baumeister, R. F. & Phillips, C. M. (2001). Do people aggress to improve their mood?
Catharsis beliefs, affect regulation opportunity, and aggressive responding. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 81, 1732.
Campos, J. J., Bertenthal, B. I. & Kermoain, R. (1992). Early experience and emotional development:
the emergence of wariness of heights. Psychological Science, 3, 614.
Campos, J. J., Langer, A. & Krowitz, A. (1970). Cardiac responses on the visual cliff in prelocomotor
human infants. Science, 170, 1967.
Caporeal, L. R. (1981). The paralanguage of caregiving: Baby talk to the institutionalised aged.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 87684.
Carlson, M. & Miller, N. (1987). Explanation of the relations between negative mood and helping.
Psychological Bulletin, 102, 91108.
Carson, R. C. & Butcher, J. N. (1992). Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life. Pearson Higher Education.
Cattell, R. B. (1963). Theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence: A critical experiment. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 54, 122.
Ceci, S. J. & Bronfenbrenner, U. (1985). Dont forget to take the cupcakes out of the oven: strategic
time-monitoring, prospective memory and context. Child Development, 56, 17590.
Chaiken, S. & Maheswaran, D. (1994). Heuristic processing can bias systematic processing: Effects of
source credibility, argument ambiguity, and task importance on attitude judgment. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 46073.
Chen, M. J., Braithewaite, V. & Huang, J. T. (1982). Attributers of intelligent behaviour: perceived
relevance and difficulty by Australian and Chinese students. Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology,
13, 13956.
Christensen, L. (1988). Deception in psychological research: when is its use justified? Personality and
Social Psychology, 14, 66575.
Clark, R. D., III (1976). On the Piliavin & Piliavin model of helping behavior: Costs are in the eye of
the beholder. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 6, 3228.
Coppersmith, S. (1967). The antecedents of self-esteem. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
Corkin, S. (1984). Lasting consequences of bilateral medial temporal lobectomy: clinical course and
experimental findings in H. M. Seminars in Neurology, 4, 24959.
Costa, P. T. & McCrae, R. R. (1992). NEO PIR Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological
Assessment Resources.
Cramer, R. E., McMaster, M. R., Bartell, P. A. & Dragna, M. (1988). Subject competence and
minimization of the bystander effect. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18, 113348.
Cupchik, G. C. & Leventhal, H. (1974). Consistency between expressive behaviour and the evaluation
of humorous stimuli: the role of sex and self-observation. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 30, 42942.
Deutsch, M. & Gerard, H. B. (1955). A study of normative and informational social influences upon
individual judgment. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51, 62936.
Dew, M. A., Bromet, E. J. & Switzer, G. E. (2000). Epidemiology. Allen & Bacon.
Diamond, W. D. & Loewy, B. Z. (1991). Effects of probabilistic rewards on recycling attitudes and
behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21, 15901607.
Dollard, J., Doob, L., Miller, N., Mowrer, O. & Sears, R. (1939). Frustration and aggression. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Donaldson, M. (1978). Childrens minds. Glasgow: Fontana/Collins.
Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., Gaertner, S. L., Schroeder, D. A. & Clark, R. D. III (1991). The arousal:
Costreward model and the process of intervention: A review of the evidence. In M. S. Clark
(Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology: Prosocial behavior (Vol. 12, pp. 86118).
Newbury Park: Sage.

references 373

Eagly, A. H. & Karau, S. J. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders.
Psychological Review, 109, 57398.
Eagly, A. H., Karau, S. J. & Makhijani, M. G. (1995). Gender and the effectiveness of leaders:
A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 12545.
Ebbinghaus (1885/1913). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. Translated by Henry A.
Ruger & Clara E. Bussenius (1913). Originally published in New York by Teachers College,
Columbia University.
Eccles, J. C. (1964). The Physiology of Synapses. Berlin FGR: Springer.
Eccles, J., Wigfeld, A., Harold, R. D. & Blumenfeld, P. (1993). Age and gender differences in
childrens self-esteem and task perceptions during elementary school. Child Development, 64,
83047.
Einarsen, S. (2000). Harassment and bullying at work: A review of the Scandinavian approach.
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5, 379401.
Elashoff, J. D. & Snow, R. E. (1971). Pygmalion reconsidered. Worthington, Ohio: Charles A. Jones.
Elbers, E., Wiegersma, S., Brand, N. & Vroon, P. A. (1991). Response alternation as an artifact in
conversation research. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 152, 4756.
Ellis, A. (1979). Rational-emotive therapy. In R. J. Corsini (Ed.), Current psychotherapies. Itasca, Illinois:
R.E. Peacock.
Epley, N. & Huff, C. (1998). Suspicion, affective response, and educational benefit as a result of deception
in psychology research. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 75968.
Espelage, D. L. & Swearer, S. M. (2003). Research on school bullying and victimization: What have
we learned and where do we go from here? School Psychology Review, 32, 36583.
Espelage, D. L., Hold, M. K. & Henkel, R. R. (2003). Examination of peer-group contextual effects
on aggression during early adolescence. Child Development, 74, 20520.
Eysenck, M. W., Mogg, K., May, J., Richards, A. & Matthews, A. (1991). Bias in interpretation of
ambiguous sentences related to threat in anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100,
14450.
Eysenck, H. J. & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1976). Psychoticism as a dimension of personality. London: Hodder &
Stoughton.
Eysenck, H. J. (1970). The structure of human personality. London: Methuen.
Fantz, R. L. (1961). The origin of form perception. Scientific American, 204, 6672.
Faravelli, C. & Pallanti, S. (1989). Recent life events and panic disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry,
146, 6226.
Feummeler, B. F., Taylor, L. A. (C.), Metz, A. E. Jr. & Brown, R. T. (2002). Risk-taking and smoking
tendency among primarily African American school children: Moderating influences of peer
susceptibility. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 9, 32330.
Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and
research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Flavell, J. H. (1986). The development of childrens knowledge about the appearancereality distinction.
American Psychologist, 41, 41825.
Flynn, J. R. (1984). The mean IQ of Americans: massive gains 1932 to 1978. Psychological Bulletin,
95, 2951.
Flynn, J. R. (1987). Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: what IQ tests really measure. Psychological Bulletin,
101, 17191.
Foddy, M. & Crundall, I. (1993). A field study of social comparison processes in ability evaluation.
British Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 287305.
Fottrell, E.(1983). Case histories in psychiatry. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Fraser, C., Gouge, C. & Billig, M. (1971). Risky shifts, cautious shifts, and group polarization.
European Journal of Social Psychology, 1, 730.
Freiberg, P. (1991). Self-esteem gender gap widens in adolescence. APA Monitor, April, 29.
Gaertner, S. L., Mann, J., Murrell, A. & Dovidio, J. F. (1989). Reducing intergroup bias: The benefits
of recategorization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 23949.
Galton, F. (1883). Inquiry into human faculty and its development. London: Macmillan.
Gardner, H. (1998). A multiplicity of intelligences. In Scientific American Presents: Exploring Intelligence,
9 (4), 1823.
Geen, R. G. (1984). Preferred stimulation levels in introverts and extraverts: effects on arousal and
performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 130312.

374 heinemann psychology one

Gerdes, E. P. (1979). College students reactions to social psychological experiments involving
deception. Journal of Social Psychology, 107, 99110.
Gibson, E. J. & Walk, R. D. (1960). The visual cliff. Scientific American, 202, 8092.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. NY: Bantam Books.
Greenberg, R., Pillard, R. & Pearlman, C. (1972). The effect of dream (stage REM) deprivation on
adaptation to stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 34, 25762.
Gross, R. (1995). Themes, issues and debates in psychology. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Grossarth-Maticek, R., Bastiaans, J. & Kanazir, D. T. (1985). Psychosocial factors as strong predictors
of mortality from cancer, ischaemic heart disease and stroke: the Yugoslav prospective study.
Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 29, 16776.
Guadagno, R. E. & Cialdini, R. B. (2002). Online persuasion: An examination of gender differences
in computer-mediated interpersonal influence. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 6,
3851.
Hall, C. S. (1951). The genetics of behaviour. In S. S. Stevens (Ed.), Handbook of experimental psychology.
NY: Wiley.
Haney, C., Banks, W. C. & Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison.
International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 6997.
Harter, S. & Pike, R. (1984). The pictorial scale of perceived competence and social acceptance for
young children. Child Development, 55, 196982.
Harter, S. (1985). Manual for the self-perception profile for children. Denver, CO: University of Denver.
Haslam, S. A. & Platow, M. J. (2001). Social identity and the link between leadership and followership:
How affirming an identity translates personal vision into group action. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 27, 146979.
Haslam, S. A. & Reicher, S. (2003). Beyond Stanford: Questioning a role-based explanation of tyranny.
Dialogue, 18(1), 225.
Hebb, D. O. (1949). The organisation of behaviour. NY: Wiley.
Henry, D., Guerra, N., Huesmann, R., Tolan, P., van Acker, R. & Eron, L. (2000). Normative
influences on aggression in urban elementary school classrooms. American Journal of Community
Psychology, 28, 5981.
Hogg, M. A; Turner, J. C. & Davidson, B. (1990). Polarized norms and social frames of reference:
A test of the self-categorization theory of group polarization. Basic & Applied Social Psychology,
11, 77100.
Hong, L. K. (1978). Risky shift and cautious shift: Some direct evidence on the culture-value theory.
Social Psychology, 41, 3426.
Horn, J. L. & Noll, J. (1997). Human cognitive capabilities: Gf-Gc theory. In D. P. Flanagen, J. L.
Genshaft & P. L. Harrison (Eds), Contemporary intellectual assessment: Theories, tests and issues
(pp. 5391). New York: Guilford Press.
Hornsey, M. J. & Hogg, M. A. (2000). Subgroup relations: A comparison of mutual intergroup
differentiation and common ingroup identity models of prejudice reduction. Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 24256.
Hovland, C. I., Janis, I. L. & Kelley, H. H. (1953). Communication and persuasion: Psychological studies of
opinion change. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Hummert, M. L., Garstka, T. A., Shaner, J. L, Strahm, S. (1994). Stereotypes of the elderly held by
young, middle-aged, and elderly adults. Journal of Gerontology, 49, 2409.
Hunter, J. A. (1998). Inter-group evaluative bias and self-esteem among Christians. Current Research
in Social Psychology, 3(7), 7487.
Hunter, J. A. (2003). State, category specific collective self-esteem and intergroup discrimination.
Current Research in Social Psychology, 8(10), 13948.
Hunter, J. A., Platow, M. J., Howard, M. L. & Stringer, M. (1996). Social identity and intergroup
evaluative bias: Realistic categories and domain specific self-esteem in a conflict setting.
European Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 63147.
Iacono, W. G. & Lykken, D. T. (1997). The validity of the lie detector: Two surveys of scientific
opinion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 42633.
Inhelder, B. & Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. NY: Basic Books.
Israel, A.C. & Ivanova, M.Y. (2002). Global and dimensional self-esteem in preadolescent and early
adolescent children who are overweight: Age and gender differences. International Journal of
Eating Disorder, 31, 4249.

references 375

James, W. (1890). Principles of psychology. NY: Holt.

Jennifer, D., Cowie, H. & Ananiadou, K. (2003). Perceptions and experience of workplace bullying in
five different working populations. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 48996.
Job, R. F. S. (1987). The effect of mood on helping behavior. The Journal of Social Psychology, 127,
3238.
Johnson, R. D. & Downing, L. L. (1979). Deindividuation and valence of cues: Effects on prosocial
and antisocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 153238.
Katz, D. (1960). The functional approach to the study of attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly, 24,
163204.
Kearins, J. (1991). Visual spatial memory in Aboriginal and White Australian children. In K. M.
McConkey & N. W. Bond (Eds.), Readings in Australian Psychology. Sydney: Harcourt, Brace,
Jovanovich.
Kelman, H. C. (1958). Compliance, identification, and internalisation: Three processes of attitude
change. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2, 5160.
Keyes, D. (1966). Flowers for Algernon. New York: Harcourt Brace/Bantum Classics.
Kilham, W. & Mann, L. (1974). Level of destructive obedience as a function of transmitter and
executant roles in the Milgram obedience paradigm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
29 (5), 696702.
Kirby, S. D., Ureda, J. R., Rose, R. L. & Hussey, J. (1998). Peripheral cues and involvement level:
Influences on acceptance of mammography message. Journal of Health Communications, 3,
11935.
Kraus, S. J. (1995). Attitudes and the prediction of behavior: a meta-analysis of the empirical literature.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21 (1), 5875.
Krishnan, L & Carment, D. W. (1979). Reactions to help: Reciprocity, responsibility and reactance.
European Journal of Social Psychology, 9, 4359.
Langlois, J. H., Roggman, L. A. & Rieser-Danner, L. A. (1990). Infants differential social responses
to attractive and unattractive faces. Developmental Psychology, 26 (1), 1539.
Latan, B. & Dabbs, J. M., Jr. (1975). Sex, group size and helping in three cities. Sociometry, 38,
18094.
Latan, B. & Darley, J. M. (1968). Group inhibition of bystander intervention in emergencies. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 10, 21521.
Latan, B. & Nida, S. (1981). Ten years of research on group size and helping. Psychological Bulletin,
89, 30824.
Latan, B. & Rodan, J. (1969). A lady in distress: Inhibiting effects of friends and strangers on
bystander intervention. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 5, 189202.
LaTour, S. A. & Manrai, A. K. (1989). Interactive impact of informational and normative influence on
donations. Journal of Marketing Research, 26, 32735.
LeCouteur, A. & Augoustinos, M. (2001). Apologising to the Stolen Generations: Argument, rhetoric,
and identity in public reasoning. Australian Psychologist, 36, 5161.
Leventhal, H. & Nerenz, D. R. (1983). A model for stress research with some implications for the
control of stress disorders. In D. Meichenbaum & M. E. Jaremko (Eds.), Stress reduction and
prevention. NY: Plenum.
Levin, S., van Laar, C. & Sidanius, J. (2003). The effects of ingroup and outgroup friendships on ethnic
attitudes in college: A longitudinal study. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 6, 7692.
Levine, J. D., Gordon, N. C. & Fields, H. L. (1979). Naloxone dose dependently produces analgesia
and hyperanalgesia in post-operative pain. Nature, 278, 7401.
Loxley, W. (1996). Sluts or sleazy little animals?: Young peoples difficulties with carrying and using
condoms. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 6, 2938.
Madden, T. J., Ellen, P. S. & Ajzen, I. (1992). A comparison of the theory of planned, behavior and
the theory of reasoned action. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 39.
Mann, L. (1977). The effect of stimulus queues on queue-joining behavior. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 35, 43742.
Maras, P. & Brown, R. (1996). Effects of contact on childrens attitudes toward disability: A longitudinal
study. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26, 211334.
Marsh, H. W., Craven, R. & Debus, R. (1991). Self-concepts of young children aged 5 to 8:
Their measurement and multidimensional structure. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83,
37792.

376 heinemann psychology one

Maslanka, H. (1996). Burnout, social support and AIDS volunteers. AIDS care, 8, 195206.
Masling, J. (1960). The influence of situational and interpersonal variables in projective testing.
Psychological Bulletin, 56, 6585.
McCann, T. E. & Sheehan, P. W. (1985). Violence content in Australian television. Australian
Psychologist, 20, 3342.
McClintock, C. G. (1972). Social motivationA set of propositions. Behavioral Science, 17, 43854.
McCrae, R. R. & Costa, P. T. (1990). Personality in adulthood. NY: Guilford Press.
McGarrigle, J. & Donaldson, M. (1974). Conservation accidents. Cognition, 3, 34150.
McGuire, W. J. (1968). Personality and susceptibility to social influence. In E. Borgatta & W. Lambert
(Eds.), Handbook of personality theory and research. Chicago: Rand McNally.
McKay, S. & Pittman, J. (1993). Determinants of Anglo-Australian stereotypes of the Vietnamese in
Australia. Australian Journal of Psychology, 45, 1723.
McKenzie, B. E., Skouteris, H., Day, R. H., Hartman, B. & Yonas, A. (1993). Effective reaching by
infants to contact objects by reaching and leaning. Child Development, 64, 41529.
Mendes, W. B., Blascovich, J., Lickel, B. & Hunter, S. (2002). Challenge and threat during social
interactions with White and Black men. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 93952.
Menesini, E., Sanchez, V., Fonzi, A., Ortega, R., Costabile, A. & Lo Feundo, G. (2003). Moral
emotions and bullying: A cross-national comparison of differences between bullies, victims and
outsiders. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 51530.
Mewborn, C. R. & Rogers, R. W. (1979). Effects of threatening and reassuring components of fear
appeals on physiological and verbal messages of emotion and attitudes. Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology, 15, 24253.
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioural study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 3918.
Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority. New York: Harper Colophon Books.
Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority. NY: Harper & Row.
Milgram, S., Bickman, L., Berkowitz, L. (1969). Note on the drawing power of crowds of different
size. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13, 7982.
Milner, B., Corkin, S. & Teuber, H-L. (1968). Further analysis of the hippocampalamnesic syndrome:
14-year follow-up study of H. M. Neuropsychologia, 6, 21534.
Montemayor, R. & Eisen, M. (1977). The development of self-conceptions from childhood to adolescence.
Developmental Psychology, 13, 31419.
Moody, J. (2001). Race, school integration, and friendship segregation in America. American Journal of
Sociology, 107, 679716.
Moore, L. P., Moore, J. W. & Y Hauck, W. E. (1982). Conditioning childrens attitudes toward
alcohol, smoking, and drugs. Journal of Experimental Education, 50, 1548.
Moses, L. J. & Flavell, J. H. (1990). Inferring false beliefs from actions and reactions. Child
Development, 61, 92945.
Mulilis, J. P. & Lippa, R. (1990). Behavioral change in earthquake preparedness due to negative threat
appeals: A test of Protection Motivation Theory. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20,
61938.
Murray, H. A. (1943). The Thematic Apperception Test: Manual. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
National Health and Medical Research Council (1999). National statement on ethical conduct in research
involving humans. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.
Neapolitan, J. (1981). Parental Influences on aggressive behavior: A social learning approach.
Adolescence, 16, 83140.
NHMRC (1999). National statement on ethical conduct in research involving humans. Canberra, ACT:
The Commonwealth of Australia.
Nier, J. A., Gaertner, S. L., Dovidio, J. F., Banker, B. S., Ward, C. M. & Rust, M. C. (2001). Changing
interracial evaluations and behavior: The effects of a common group identity. Group Processes
and Intergroup Relations, 4, 299316.
ODriscoll, M., Haque, A. & Ohsako, T. (1983). Effects of contact and perceived attitude differences
on social distance among Australian, Japanese, and Pakistani students. The Journal of Social
Psychology, 120, 1638.
OMoore, M. & Kirkham, C. (2001). Self-esteem and its relationship to bullying behaviour. Aggressive
Behavior, 27, 26983.
Oeser, O. A. & Hammond, S. B. (Eds.). (1954). Social structure and personality in a city. London:
Routledge.

references 377

Okagaki, L. & Sternberg, R. J. (1993). Parental beliefs and childrens school performance. Child
Development, 64, 3656.
Olds, J. & Milner, P. (1954). Positive reinforcement produced by electrical stimulation of septal
area and other regions of rat brain. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 47,
41927.
Owens, L., Shute, R., Slee, P. (2000). Guess what I just heard!: Indirect aggression among teenage
girls in Australia. Aggressive Behavior, 26, 6783.
Pantin, H. M. & Carver, C. S. (1982). Induced competence and the bystander effect. Journal of Applied
Social Psychology, 12, 100111.
Pellegrini, A. D. & Long, J. D. (2002). A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization
during the transition from primary school through secondary school. British Journal of
Developmental Psychology, 20, 25980.
Perry, D. G., Perry, L. C. & Boldizar, J. P. (1990). Learning aggression. In M. Lewis & S. M. Miller
(Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychopathology (pp. 13546). New York: Plenum Press.
Perry, D. G., Perry, L. C. & Rasmussen, P. (1986). Cognitive social learning mediators of aggression.
Child Development, 57, 700711.
Peterson, L. & Rigby, K. (1999). Countering bullying at an Australian secondary school with students
as helpers. Journal of Adolescence, 22, 48192.
Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 6585.
Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1981). Attitudes and persuasion: Classic and contemporary approaches.
Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Company.
Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1981). Attitudes and persuasion: Classic and contemporary approaches.
Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Company.
Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1984). The effects of involvement on responses to argument quantity
and quality: Central and peripheral routes to persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 46, 6981.
Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). The Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion.
In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 19, pp. 123205). New
York: Academic Press.
Petty, R. E. & Wegener, D. T. (1998). Attitude change: Multiple roles for persuasion variables.
In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (Vol. 1,
4th ed., pp. 32390). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Petty, R. E., Cacioppo, J. T. & Goldman, R. (1981). Personal involvement as a determinant of
argument-based persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 84755.
Petty, R. E., Schumann, D. W., Richman, S. A. & Strathman, A. J. (1993). Positive mood and persuasion: Different roles for affect under high- and low-elaboration conditions. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 520.
Piaget, J. (1929/1973). The childs conception of the world. Frogmore, UK: Paladin.
Piaget, J. (1936/1952). The origins of intelligence in children. NY: Basic Books.
Piliavin, I. M., Rodin, J. & Piliavin, J. A. (1969). Good samaritansim: An underground phenomenon?
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13, 28999.
Pinderhughes, E. E., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., Pettit, G. S. & Zelli, A. (2000). Discipline responses:
Influences of parents socio-economic status, ethnicity, beliefs about parenting, stress, and
cognitive-emotional processes. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 380400.
Platow, M. J. (1993). Observing social value orientations: A social interdependence approach.
New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 22, 101109.
Platow, M. J., Durante, M., Williams, N., Garrett, M., Walshe, J., Cincotta, S., Lianos, G. &
Barutchu, A. (1999). The contribution of sport fan social identity to the production of prosocial
behavior. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 3, 111169.
Raffaelli, M. & Crockett, L. J. (2003). Sexual risk taking in adolescence: The role of self-regulation
and attraction to risk. Developmental Psychology, 39, 10361046.
Raven, J. C. (1977). Raven progressive matrices. Los Angeles: Psychological Corporation.
Rawlings, D. (2001). A short adjective checklist for measuring the five factors of personality. Unpublished
article, The University of Melbourne.
Regier D. A. & Burke J. (2000). Quantitiative and experimental methods in psychiatry. In B. J.
Sadock & V. A. Sadock (Eds), Kaplan and Sadocks comprehensive textbook of psychiatry, 7th ed.
London: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

378 heinemann psychology one

Reis, H. T., Earing, B., Kent A. & Nezlek, J. (1976). The tyranny of numbers: Does group size affect
petition signing? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 6, 22834.
Rhine, J. B. (1953). New world of the mind. NY: Sloane.
Richards, A., Richards L. C. & McGeeney, A. (2000). Anxiety-related Stroop interference in adolescents.
Journal of General Psychology, 127, 32733.
Rigby, K. (1988). Sexist attitudes and authoritarian personality characteristics among Australian
adolescents. Journal of Research in Personality, 22, 46573.
Rigby, K. & Cox, I. (1996). The contribution of bullying at school and low self-esteem to acts of
delinquency among Australian teenagers. Personality and Individual Differences, 21, 60912.
Rigby, K., Cox, I. & Black, G. (1997). Cooperativeness and bully/victim problems among Australian
schoolchildren. The Journal of Social Psychology, 137, 35768.
Rogers, C. R. (1963). The concept of the fully-functioning person. Psychotherapy, 1, 1726.
Roland, E. (1989). A system oriented strategy against bullying. In E. Roland & E. Munthe (Eds.),
Bullying: An international perspective (pp. 143151). London: David Fulton Publishers.
Roland, E. (2002). Aggression, depression, and bullying others. Aggressive Behavior, 28, 198206.
Roland, P. E., Larsen, B., Larsen, N. A. & Skinhoj, E. (1980). Supplementary motor area and other cortical
areas in organization of voluntary movements in man. Journal of Neurophysiology, 43, 11836.
Rolls, E. (1999). The Brain and Emotion. Oxford: Oxford Univerity Press.
Romer, D., Gruder, C. L. & Lizzadro, T. (1986). A person-situation approach to altruistic behavior.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 100112.
Rosenman, R. H., Brand, R. J., Jenkins, C. D., Friedman, M., Straus, R. & Wurm, M. (1975).
Coronary heart disease in the Western Collaborative Group Study: final follow-up experience
of 8 years. Journal of the American Medical Association, 233, 8727.
Rosenthal, R. & Jacobsen, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom: teacher expectation and pupils intellectual
development. NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Rovee-Collier, C. (1993). The capacity for long-term memory in infancy. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 2, 1305.
Rowe, H. A. H. (1991). Introduction: paradigm and context. In H. A. H. Rowe (Ed.), Intelligence:
reconceptualization and measurement. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Publishers/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Salmivalli, C., Kaukiainen, A., Kaisteniemi, L. & Lagerspetz, K. M. J. (1999). Self-evaluated selfesteem, peer-evaluated self-esteem, and defensive egotism as predictors of adolescents
participation in bullying situations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 126878.
Salovey, P. & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, Personality, 9,
185211.
Sanson, A. & Di Muccio, C. (1993). The influence of aggressive and neutral cartoons and toys on the
behaviour of preschool children. Australian Psychologist, 28, 9399.
Schofield, H. L. & Start, K. B. (1977). Attitudes toward reading and the teaching of reading in a group
of student teachers. Journal of Educational Research, 70, 24751.
Schwartz, S. H. & Gottlieb, A. (1980a). Bystander anonymity and reactions to emergencies. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 41830.
Schwartz, S. H. & Gottlieb, A. (1980b). Participation in a bystander intervention experiment and
subsequent everyday helping: Ethical considerations. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,
16, 16171.
Scott, W. A. (1957). Attitude change through reward of verbal behavior. Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology, 55, 725.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1971). Phobias and preparedness. Behavior Therapy, 2, 30720.
Shaffer, D. R. (1996). Developmental psychology: childhood and adolescence (4th ed.). NY: Brooks/Cole
Publishing.
Sherif, M., Harvey, O. J., White, B. J., Hood, W. R. & Sherif, C. (1961). Intergroup conflict and cooperation:
The Robbers Cave experiment. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Sherrington, C. S. (1906). The Integrative Action of the Nervous System. New Haven, Conn:
Yale University Press.
Skinner, B. F. (1974). About Behaviorism. New York: Random House.
Smith, P. B. & Bond, M. H. (1998). Social psychology across cultures (2nd ed.). New York: Prentice Hall.
Smith, S. M., Brown, H. O., Tolman, J. E. P. & Goodman, L. S. (1947). The lack of cerebral effects of
d-tubercurarine. Anesthesiology, 8, 114.

references 379

Solberg, M. E. & Olweus, D. (2003) Prevalence estimation of school bullying with the Olweus
bully/victim questionnaire. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 23968.
Sparks, J. R. & Areni, C. S. (2002). The effects of sales presentation quality and initial perceptions on
persuasion: A multiple role perspective. Journal of Business Research, 55, 51728.
Spearman, C. (1927). The abilities of man. NY: MacMillan.
St. Claire, L. & Turner, J. C. (1982). The role of demand characteristics in the social categorization
paradigm. European Journal of Social Psychology, 12, 30714.
Stang, D. J. (1976). Group size effects on conformity. The Journal of Social Psychology, 98, 17581.
Stephenson, W. (1953). The study of behaviour: Q-technique and its methodology. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Stern, W. (1914). The psychological method of testing intelligence. Baltimore: Warwick & York.
Sternberg, R. J. (1991). Theory based testing of intellectual abilities: rationale for the Triarchic
Abilities Test. In H. A. H. Rowe (Ed.), Intelligence: reconceptualization and measurement. Hillsdale,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Sternberg, R. J., Ferrari, M., Clinkenbeard, P. R. & Grigenko, E. L. (1996). Identification, instruction
and assessment of gifted children: a construct validation of a triarchic model. Gifted Child
Quarterly, 40, 12937.
Straus, M. A. & Yodanis, C. L. (1996). Coporal punishment in adolescence and physical assaults on
spouses in later life: What accounts for the link? Journal of Marriage and Family, 58, 82541.
Sutton, J. & Smith, P. K. (1999). Bullying as a group process: An adaptation of the participant role
approach. Aggressive Behavior, 25, 97111.
Szasz, T. (1961). The myth of mental illness. New York: Harper.
Tajfel, H. (1970). Experiments in intergroup discrimination. Scientific American, 223, 96102.
Tajfel, H. & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel &
W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 724). Chicago: Nelson Hall.
Terry, D. J., Hogg, M. A. & Blackwood, L. (2001). Prejudiced attitudes, group norms, and discriminatory
behaviour. In M. Augoustinos & K. J. Reynolds (Eds.), Understanding prejudice, racism, and social
conflict (pp. 14055).
Torgersen, S. (1983). Genetic factors in anxiety disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 40, 108589.
Tyerman, A. & Spencer, C. (1983). A critical test of the Sherifs Robers Cave experiments: Intergroup
competition and cooperation between groups of well-acquainted individuals. Small Group
Behavior, 14, 51531.
Ullmann, L. P. & Krasner, L. (1975). A psychobiological approach to abnormal behaviour. Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Walker, I. (1994). Attitudes to minorities: Survey evidence of Western Australians attitudes to
Aborigines, Asians, and women. Australian Journal of Psychology, 46, 13743.
Walker, I. & Crogan, M. (1998). Academic performance, prejudice and the Jigsaw Classroom: New
pieces to the puzzle. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 8, 38193.
Wallach, M. A. & Kogan, N. (1965). Modes of thinking in young children. New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston.
Walther, E. (2002). Guilty by mere association: Evaluative conditioning and the spreading attitude
effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 91934.
Walther, E., Bless, H., Strack, F., Rackstray, P., Wagner, D. & Werth, L. (2002). Conformity effects in
memory as a function of group size, dissenters and uncertainty. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 16,
793810.
Warburton, J. & Terry, D. J. (2000). Volunteer decision making by older people: A test of a revised
Theory of Planned Behavior. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 22, 24557.
Watson, J. B. & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology,
3(1), 114.
Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviourist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 15877.
Wechsler, D. (1974). The measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Weindruch, R. (1996). Caloric restriction and aging. Scientific American, 274 (1), 4652.
Weisbuch, M., Mackie, D. M. & Garcia-Marques, T. (2003). Prior source exposure and persuasion:
Further evidence for misattributional processes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29,
691700.
White, K. M., Terry, D. J. & Hogg, M. A. (1994). Safer sex behavior: The role of attitudes, norms and
control factors. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 216492.

380 heinemann psychology one

Williams, K. D., Govan, C. L., Croker, V., Tynan, D., Cruickshank, M. & Lam, A. (2002).
Investigations into differences between social- and cyberostracism. Group Dynamics: Theory,
Research, and Practice, 6, 6577.
Withers, G. F., Twigg, K., Wertheim, E. H. & Paxton, S. J. (2002). A controlled evaluation of an
eating disorders primary prevention videotape using the Elaboration Likelihood Model of
Persuasion. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53, 102127.
Worchel, S., Axsom, D., Ferris, F., Samaha, G. & Schweizer, S. (1978). Determinants of the effect
of intergroup cooperation on intergroup attraction. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 22, 42939.
Young, S. & Concar, D. (1992). These cells were made for learning. New Scientist, 21 Nov 1992.
Zajonc, R. B., Heingartner, A. & Herman, E. M. (1969). Social enhancement and impairment of
performance in the cockroach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13, 8392.
Zajonc. R. B. (1968). Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology:
Monograph Supplement, 9(2, Part 2), 127.
Zimbardo, P. G. (1969). The human choice: Individuation, reason, and order vs. deindividuation,
impulse, and chaos. In W. J. Arnold & D. Levine (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation
(pp. 237307). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Zimbardo, P. G. (1970). The human choice: Individuation, reason, and order versus deindividuation,
impulse, and chaos. In W. J. Arnold & D. Levine (Eds.), 1969 Nebraska Symposium on Motivation
(pp. 237307). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
.
.

381

glossary
accommodation
Piagets term for the process by which
children change their ways of thinking to
fit in with their new experiences
acetylcholine (ACh)
neurotransmitter released by post-ganglionic
cells of the parasympathetic nervous system
acquiescence set
tendency of people to agree with items on
a questionnaire, no matter what the content of the items
action potential
electrical signal that travels along the axon
adaptation
inborn tendency for organisms to adjust to
the demands of their environment
aetiology (or etiology)
investigation of the causes of a disease or
abnormality
affective
relating to emotions and feelings
afferent
leading towards a central point, such as
the brain or spinal cord
ageism
prejudiced attitudes based on peoples relative age.
agoraphobia
intense fear of open or public places; it is
often associated with panic attack
altruism
giving assistance in a situation where you
do not gain any benefits; a social value
amygdala
part of the limbic system involved in controlling rage and aggression
anal stage
the second psychosexual stage (about 18
months to 3 years) during which the
processes of elimination are the primary
source of pleasure
analytic intelligence
ability to think critically and to process
information, involving metacomponents,
performance components and knowledgeacquisition components
animism
attributing human characteristics to nonliving objects

anti-social behaviour
voluntary behaviour, enacted with the
intention of harmingeither physically or
psychologicallyanother person or group
anxiety disorders
group of disorders characterised by feelings of excessive anxiety
assimilation
Piagets term for the process by which
children take in a new experience or new
information and make it a part of their
existing way of thinking
association areas
areas of cortex where different types of
incoming sensory information are integrated
attitude
ideas about ourselves, others, objects and
experiences, and our evaluations of these
things
audience inhibition
self-conscious embarrassment emerging
from the possibility that providing assistance to another may not be needed or
wanted, resulting in a failure to provide
the assistance
autonomic nervous system
nerves taking messages from the brain to
organs of the body to automatically prepare the body for perceived threat, or to
bring it back to homeostasis
axon
elongated tube-like protrusion of the
neuron along which signals (in the form
of action potentials) travel
axon terminal (terminal button)
flattened end of the axon that forms a
junction with other neurons
basal ganglia
masses of grey matter in the forebrain
involved in limb coordination and deliberate muscular movements
behavioural assessment
method of detailed observation and analysis
of behaviour employed by Skinner and
many other psychologists taking the learning approach
behavioural intention
the specific goal of acting in a particular
manner

382 heinemann psychology one

behaviourism
theory that emphasises only observable
events, like the connections between the
stimulus and the response in an organism
behaviour modification
changing a persons behaviour through a
deliberate regime of conditioning
bimodal distribution
distribution where two separated scores
are most common
bullying
repeated, ongoing anti-social behaviour by
a more powerful person towards a less
powerful person; includes relational
aggression (harassment, ostracism) and
physical aggression
bystander effect
in potential help-giving contexts, a situation in which the more potential helpers
are available, the less likely help is to be
given by any one individual
bystander intervention
in potential help-giving contexts, a situation in which passers-by provide assistance
to someone in need
catastrophising
forming the belief that mildly unpleasant
occurrences have extraordinary implications far beyond that which is justified
catharsis
theory that the expression of an emotion
(such as anger) leads to a lessening of the
emotion
cautious shift
outcome of group social influence when
individual group members become more
cautious
central nervous system
consists of the brain and the spinal cord
central route
a way people respond to a persuasive communication by systematic thinking about
the content of the message
central tendency
tendency of scores to group more frequently at the middle of a distribution
centration
tendency to centre on some particular
aspect of the environment rather than several aspects at the same time
cerebellum
part of the hindbrain involved in breathing,
balance and smooth muscle coordination
cerebral cortex
the largest part of the human brain; it is
subdivided into four major lobes

cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

special fluid in the brain that cushions it
against the skull
cerebrum
hemispheres of the brain
channel factors
media through which a persuasive message is communicated
classical aversive conditioning
learning a fear by pairing an originally
neutral stimulus with an unpleasant one
client-centred therapy
non-directive approach to psychotherapy
developed by Rogers
cognitive development
changes in mental skills and abilities as a
person matures
cohort effect
behaviours that result from a set of people
having a common background due to a
common characteristic (for example, being
young adults during the Depression, or
having experience with computer games)
combinatorial reasoning
line of reasoning in which every possible
combination is tested in order to solve a
problem
competence
in potential help-giving situations, the
ability of a potential help-giver to give
assistance
compliance
expression of an attitude without truly
believing it
compulsions
irresistible impulse to engage in a
repeated, stereotyped behaviour
concordance rate
probability of appearance of the same characteristic or disease in a pair of twins (or
other family members)
conditions of worth
conditions imposed by one person on
another, determining whether the person
will give love and affection
conformity
when one person is influenced by many,
and goes along with the many
congruence
term used by Rogers to refer to a state of
consistency between peoples view of
themselves and their actual experiences
conscious mind
in psychoanalytic theory, the images,
thoughts and feelings as the person is
experiencing them in the present

glossary 383

conservation
knowledge that an underlying physical
dimension remains the same, despite
superficial changes in its appearance
continuous reinforcement
reinforcement given after every response
control group
group for which all conditions are identical to those of the experimental group
except that participants are not exposed to
the manipulation of the independent
variable
cooperation
striving to gain as much as possible for all
members in a social context, including for
yourself
correlation coefficient
number that expresses the degree (between
1 and +1) and direction (positive or negative) of a relationship between two variables
cortical arousal
relatively widespread, enduring state of
alertness of the cerebral cortex following
stimulation; Eysenck links low levels of
cortical arousal to extraversion
costbenefit analysis
calculations made prior to behaving in
which both the costs and the benefits of
behaving and not behaving are assessed;
the behaviour is enacted if the benefits
outweigh the costs
creative intelligence
ability to combine facts and information
in novel and valuable ways
crystallised intelligence
accumulation of knowledge resulting from
the influence of fluid intelligence on the
environment
culture-fair tests
tests containing items that relate to basic
skills that are not heavily reliant on a particular language or culture
data
information collected by scientific inquiry
deception
procedure used in experimental psychology in which participants are led to believe
that the purpose of the experiment is different from its true purpose; this
sometimes requires an elaborate ruse on
the part of the experimenters
defence mechanisms
processes developed by the ego to defend
itself against anxiety; each involves distortion of reality in some way (for example,
repression, projection and reaction
formation)

deindividuation
psychological state in which people are
assumed to lose their sense of themselves
as unique individuals; this was thought to
lead to aggression
dendrites
branching protrusions of the neuron that
receive information from other neurons
dependent variable
factor or characteristic being measured
that is thought to be affected by a change
in the value of the independent variable
depolarisation
change in electrical potential as an action
potential moves down the axon
depth perception
ability to see objects in three dimensions
by estimating how distant they are from
our viewing point
descriptive statistics
statistics that describe or summarise data,
and typically include a measure of central
tendency and dispersion
developmental psychologists
researchers who study how people grow
and change psychologically over the entire
lifespan, from conception to old age and
death
diagnosis
process of classifying a person as having a
particular disease or abnormality
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders
diagnostic system published by the
American Psychiatric Association; recent
(2000) addition is DSM-IV-TR (indicating fourth edition, text revision)
diffusion of responsibility
psychological dispersion of accountability
in potential help-giving situations, allowing people to make decisions not to help
because they believe others can and will
do so
direct reinforcement
directly receiving a reward for engaging in
a specific behaviour, such as aggression
discrimination
behaviour that comes from prejudiced
attitudes
discrimination
process by which an organism learns that
reinforcement will occur in the presence of
one stimulus but not another
disequilibrium
when children are taking in new information that does not match their existing
knowledge, they reach a state of disequi-

384 heinemann psychology one

libriumthey accommodate more than
they assimilate in order to learn the new
information and modify their existing
knowledge
dishabituation
increased interest in a new stimulus
dorsal root ganglia (singular: ganglion)
area near the spinal cord where the cell
bodies of sensory neurons are located
double-blind experiment
both researcher and participants are
unaware of, or blind to, the experimental
condition to which each participant has
been exposed, until data collection and
scoring are complete
effector
muscle or gland cells that put into effect
messages coming from the brain
efferent
leading away from a central point, such as
the brain or spinal cord
ego
according to Freud, the system of the personality which comes into existence to
enable the person to interact with external
reality
egocentrism
tendency to view the world from ones own
perspective without an awareness that others may have different points of view
empathy
experience of a potential help-giver of the
emotional plight of the person or people in
need.
empirical evidence
information that is obtained by observation, experimentation or experience
endocrine system
network of glands and ducts that releases
hormones into the bloodstream, affecting
the physiological state of the body
epistemologist
person who investigates the origin, nature
and limits of human knowledge
equal status (between groups)
situation in which there is no difference in
relative prestige between groups
equilibrium
when children are satisfied with their
understanding and are not taking in much
new information, they assimilate more
than they accommodatethis is a state of
cognitive equilibrium
eros
life instincts such as hunger, thirst and sex,
which operate to preserve the individual
and propagate the species

ethical behaviour
behaviour conducted in accordance with
standard guidelines for treating others
with integrity, beneficence, justice, and
respect
excitatory post-synaptic potential
(EPSP)
charge at the post-synaptic membrane that
may build up to depolarise the cell and
generate a new action potential in that cell
experimental group
group for which the level of the independent variable is changed or manipulated
extinction
when the stimulus is removed, the
response gradually decreases in frequency
and ceases altogether
extraversion
according to Eysenck, a major theory of
personality representing the tendency to
be sociable, outgoing and spontaneous
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire
(EPQ)
one of several questionnaires developed
by Eysenck to measure the personality
dimensions of extraversion, neuroticism
and psychoticism
fluid intelligence
ability to reason and process information
effectively
forebrain
the largest part of the brain in humans,
consisting of the cerebrum and other
structures
foveal cones
special cells concentrated in the centre of
the retina that discriminate form and
colour
free-response
qualitative self-report method of attitude
measurement in which people can say anything they want
frequency distribution
representation of the number of times each
score in a set of scores has been obtained
frequency polygon
graphical representation of a frequency
distribution
Freudian slip
colloquial term referring to slips of language occurring in everyday conversation
and believed by Freud to result from
unconscious mental conflicts
frustrationaggression hypothesis
proposal that all frustration leads to
aggression and all aggression comes from
frustration

glossary 385

fully functioning person

term used by Rogers to refer to the selfactualising person; the fully functioning
person was believed to emerge from a
process of successful psychotherapy
functional normality
ability to function satisfactorily within a
society
functionalism
the school of psychology that was concerned with the function of consciousness
ganglia (singular: ganglion)
collection of neural cell bodies throughout
the body
general intelligence (g)
an underlying general ability presumed to
be common to all intellectual tasks
generalisation
tendency for a response learned in one situation to be repeated in another situation
that is similar, but not identical, to the
first situation
generalised anxiety disorder
anxiety disorder marked by a high level of
anxiety that is not associated with a particular object
genital stage
the final psychosexual stage, commencing
at puberty; the beginnings of unselfish
sexual love and commitment occur during
this stage
grey matter
cells in the spinal cord and brain that are not
myelinated and have a pinkish-grey tinge
grouped frequency distribution
frequency distribution where the scores
have been grouped into classes
habituation
adjustment of attention to ignore a continuously repeated stimulus
harassment
continued verbal abuse, taunting and
teasing
helping
giving assistance in a situation; you may
also gain, even if your intentions are solely
to benefit another
hindbrain
the most primitive part of the brain consisting of the medulla oblongata, pons and
cerebellum
hippocampus
part of the limbic system involved in the
formation of memory
histogram
bar chart representing a frequency distribution

historical normality
behaviour that is normal within the historical context in which it occurred
homeostasis
state of balance in the body that maintains
functions for the long term
homunculus
diagrammatical representation of a distorted miniature man showing how
much of the cortex is allocated to each part
of the body
humanistic approach
approach to the study of personality based
on such assumptions as the uniqueness of
the individual and the tendency for people
to strive towards self-realisation
hypothalamus
part of the forebrain that regulates the
endocrine system and homeostasis
hypothesis
tentative and testable proposal regarding
the expected outcomes of a piece of research
id
term used by Freud to refer to the inborn
system of the personality; it includes the
instincts, and operates according to the
pleasure principle
identification
acceptance, belief and expression of an
attitude stemming from a desire to establish a positive relationship with another
person who holds the attitude
incongruence
state of inconsistency between the persons
self-concept and experiences, leading to
denial or distortion of reality
independent variable
factor or characteristic, set by the
researcher, that is being investigated as a
possible cause of a change in behaviour
inferential statistics
statistics that use mathematical procedures to measure how likely it is that the
results obtained in an experiment came
about by chance
informational influence
social influence that occurs because people
believe in the truthfulness of the content
of a communication
inhibitory post-synaptic potential (IPSP)
charge at the post-synaptic membrane that
may build up to hyperpolarise the cell and
prevent a new action potential occurring
in that cell
intelligence quotient (IQ)
originally, the mental age divided by the
chronological age (multipled by 100) of an

386 heinemann psychology one

individual (ratio IQ); currently, the measured score on a test that has been normed
against a population for which the average
IQ is 100 (deviation IQ)
intergroup contact
bringing together of different groups or
members of different groups with the goal
of reducing prejudice.
intermittent (partial) reinforcement
reinforcement schedule where reinforcement occurs on some trials but not others
internalisation
acceptance, belief, and expression of an
attitude stemming from the actual content
of the attitude
interneuron
nerve cell that connects sensory neurons
with motor neurons
introspection
observation or examination of ones own
mental processes
introversion
according to Eysenck, the opposite pole of
the extraversion continuum representing
the tendency to be quiet, introspective and
reserved
latency period
the quiet period of psychosexual development corresponding roughly to the
primary school years
learning approach
approach to the study of personality based
on the findings of learning theory
learning by association
linking of a previously liked or disliked
attitude target with a new attitude target
lens
transparent, flexible structure in the eye
that focuses light on the retina by changing shape
lexical hypothesis
the idea that the main individual differences in personality can be understood by
starting with the traits words in the dictionary
libido
term used by Freud to refer originally to
sexual desire, and later to refer more generally to the energy of the life instincts; it
was sometimes used even more broadly to
refer to the energy of both the life and
death instincts
lie scale (social desirability scale)
test devised with the intent of measuring
the degree to which people are attempting
to present themselves favourably when
filling out a questionnaire

Likert Scale (Likert-type Scale)

quantitative self-report method of attitude
measurement in which people respond to a
scale anchored with words such as strongly
approve and strongly disapprove
limbic system
part of the forebrain consisting of the hippocampus, amygdala and septum
pellucidum, which together regulate basic
drives and emotions
lower motor neurons
neurons of the peripheral nervous system
mean
average, calculated by adding up a set of
scores and dividing the total by the number of scores
median
middle value of a distribution
medical normality
physiological or mental functioning at
expected levels, not subject to disease or
damage
medulla oblongata
part of the hindbrain where all the nerves
from the spinal cord connect to the brain
meninges
membranes surrounding and protecting
the brain
mental age
average age at which children achieve a
particular score on a test
mere exposure effect
formation of a favourable attitude toward a
specific target simply though prior exposure to that target
message factors
features of communications, such as their
comprehensibility and the number and
quality of arguments
midbrain
structure connecting the hindbrain and
the forebrain
minimal group
laboratory-created group based on trivial
(or random) categorisation criteria, in
which group members do not know or
interact with each other
mitochondria
organelles within cells that provide energy
for cellular processes
mode
the most common score in a distribution
mood
temporary, situation-specific emotional state
motor neuron disease
disease affecting the motor system in which
neurons degenerate and muscles waste away

glossary 387

motor unit
collection of muscle fibres under the control of a single neuron
multiple intelligences
Gardners theory that intelligence is not a
single, unitary capacity but that there are
several independent intelligences
muscle fibres
the hundreds of smaller units making up a
muscle
mutual interdependence
situation in which groups (or individuals)
are dependent on each other to obtain real,
valued, outcomes
myelin sheath
fatty tissue surrounding some axons
negative reinforcement
removal of aversive stimulus as a result of
a response
negative skew
the shape of the distribution of scores
when most scores are at the higher end of
the range
neuromodulators
chemicals that regulate the action of neurotransmitters
neuromuscular junction
gap between axon terminals and muscle
fibres where acetylcholine is released
neuron
cell that receives and transmits information in the form of electrical impulses
neuroticism
term used by researchers such as Eysenck
to describe a person who is relatively anxious, moody and irritable (the opposite to
neuroticism is stability, describing a person who is calm and carefree)
neurotransmitter
chemical released at the pre-synaptic
membrane and taken up at the post-synaptic membrane, which causes the electrical
signal to propagate along a new axon
nodes of Ranvier
gaps in the myelin sheath along the axon;
the action potential jumps along the axon
from node to node
noradrenaline (norepinephrine)
neurotransmitter released by postganglionic
cells of the sympathetic nervous system
normal curve
bell-shaped distribution of a population or
sample on some physical measure, such as
height, or psychological measure, such as
intelligence
normative data
data about normal development

normative influence
social influence that occurs because people
believe that others expect them to behave
in a particular way or to hold a particular
attitude
obedience
response to social influence exerted by a
single persontypically someone with
higher statuson others
object permanence
awareness that an object continues to exist
even when it is not present to the senses
observational learning
learning a particular behaviour through
watching someone else engage in that
behaviour
obsession
persistent, uncontrollable, intrusive
thought usually on a topic that the person
finds highly unpleasant or anxiety-producing
obsessivecompulsive disorder
anxiety disorder characterised by the occurrence of persistent, unwanted thoughts and
uncontrollable urges to engage in meaningless ritual behaviour
Oedipus complex
name given by Freud to the pattern of
behaviour, occurring during the phallic
stage, where the child develops sexual feelings towards the parent of the opposite sex
and hostile feelings towards the parent of
the same sex
operant
behaviour that is emitted by an organism
operant conditioning
learning in which a voluntary response is
brought under stimulus control through
the use of reinforcement
operations
Piagets word to describe orderly, sensible,
logical combinations of schemas
oral stage
the first psychosexual stage (from about
birth to 18 months) during which the
mouth is the principle source of
pleasure
panic attack
short period of intense, uncontrollable fear
and terror
panic disorder
anxiety disorder characterised by brief,
recurring attacks of acute, overwhelming
anxiety
parasympathetic nervous system
has a calming effect causing the body to
return to homeostasis

388 heinemann psychology one

peer pressure
social influence from peers, sometimes
viewed negatively when the influence
leads people to behave in ways they might
not behave when alone
perception
organising, interpreting and giving meaning to what the sense organs initially
process
perceptual development
changes in perception from birth onwards
Performance IQ
in the Wechsler tests, the sum of the various sub-tests devised to measure non-verbal
ability
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
includes all of the nerves throughout the
body, outside of the brain and spinal cord
peripheral route
a way people respond to a persuasive communication by focusing on superficial
features of the context rather than systematic thinking about the content of the
message
personality
pattern of relatively enduring attributes
and dispositions of an individual that distinguishes the person from others
phallic stage
third psychosexual stage (about 3 to 6
years) in which the genitals become the
primary source of pleasure
phenomenal field
a persons unique perception of his or her
own world at any moment in time
phobia
persistent, overwhelming and unreasonable fear of a situation or object
physical aggression
direct bodily harm, or harm directed at
anothers possessions
pleasure principle
principle by which the id operates,
involving immediate gratification of
bodily impulses
pons
part of the hindbrain involved in integrating the movements of two halves of the
body, and in regulating alertness, sleep
and respiration, and postural reflexes
population
complete set of individuals or participants
under consideration, from which a sample
may be drawn
positive reinforcement
consequences of behaviour that are positive

positive skew
the shape of the distribution of scores
when most scores are at the lower end of
the range
post-ganglionic neurons
neurons of the sympathetic system that
extend into the body from the ganglia,
connecting with and commanding every
tissue or organ that is not skeletal muscle
post-synaptic membrane
membrane that absorbs neurotransmitter
from the synaptic cleft
post-traumatic stress disorder
anxiety disorder resulting from exposure
to a highly traumatic event or situation
which continues for some time, including
flashbacks of the event
power
the ability to make people behave in a particular way or to express a particular
attitude through the control of punishments and rewards
practical intelligence
ability to survive and prosper in a specific
environment, involving adaptation, shaping and selection
preconscious mind
in psychoanalytic theory, memories and
thoughts not currently conscious but
which can be easily made conscious
preferential looking technique
technique used to explore the development of visual perception by presenting
two or more stimuli and determining
which of these the infant prefers to look at
for a longer period of time
pre-ganglionic neurons
neurons that extend from the grey matter
of the spinal cord to a collection of neural
cell bodies throughout the body (outside
the central nervous system) called ganglia
prejudice
relatively negative attitudes towards one
or more people based on their group memberships, when attitudes towards other
people in different groups in the same situation would be more positive
pre-synaptic membrane
membrane from which neurotransmitter is
released into the synaptic cleft
primary motor area
strip of cortex in front of the central sulcus
that controls movement through nerves of
the peripheral nervous system
primary reinforcer
natural, biological reinforcer such as food

glossary 389

primary sensory areas

region of the cerebral cortex where sensory
signals are received
principle of false belief
the ability to separate ones own beliefs
from those of another person who has false
information about a situation
principle of topographic organisation
organisation of the primary sensory and
motor areas such that adjacent neurons
receive information about adjacent portions of the sensory or muscular tissue to
which they are connected
prognosis
prediction of the outcome of a disease or
disorder
projective hypothesis
the view that people will project aspects
of their personality, including aspects that
are unconscious, onto the material presented in a projective test
projective technique
indirect measure of personality in which
participants are asked to respond to a vague
or ambiguous stimulus of some kind; also
called a projective test
pro-social behaviour
voluntary behaviour, enacted with the intention of benefiting another person or group
pseudopsychology
any explanation of behaviour that is based
on a false or unscientific system of beliefs
and practices
psychoanalysis
system of psychology originated by
Sigmund Freud; it places prime importance
on unconscious motives and conflicts in
determining behaviour
psychosexual stages
stages through which the child passes in
the process of personality development
according to Freuds theory; gratification
of sexual energy is focussed on different
erogenous zones in the various stages
psychoticism
term used by Eysenck to describe a person
who is relatively solitary, aggressive, creative, and insensitive to the feelings of
others; also called tough-mindedness
punishment
application of negative consequences as the
result of a response
Q-sort technique
form of questionnaire popular with
humanistic psychologists, where participants
sort cards containing personality-related
statements

qualitative
refers to measures that represent variables
in terms beyond simply numerical values
quantitative
refers to measures that represent variables
as numerical values
racism
prejudiced attitudes on the basis of peoples race or ethnic group memberships.
range
difference between the largest and smallest
scores in a sample of scores
rating scales
quantitative self-report methods of attitude
measurement in which people indicate
their attitude along a number line (such as
1 to 10)
realism
attributing concrete reality to events that
have no physical existence, like dreams
reality principle
principle by which the ego operates,
involving delay of gratification and the
development of plans and strategies
re-categorisation
cognitive transformation of two groups
(us and them) into one large group (all
of us)
receptors
special endings of dendrites that can detect
sensory information such as light, sound,
heat, taste and smell
recipient factors
features of the person who is the target of a
persuasive communication that is likely to
lead to attitude change or resistance (e.g.
intelligence, self-esteem)
reciprocity principle (norm of reciprocity)
social norm directing people to provide
help or assistance to others who have done
so to them in the past, or who may do so to
them in the future
reflex arc
minimal set of neurons involved in a reflex
actiona sensory neuron, interneuron and
motor neuron
refractory period
period after the electrical impulse has
moved on, during which the membrane
cannot be depolarised again
reinforcement
any event that increases the likelihood of a
response
reinforcer
stimulus that follows a behaviour and
increases the probability of its occurring
again

390 heinemann psychology one

relational aggression
psychological harm caused by verbal harassment and ostracism
reliability
quality of a measure relating to its relative
consistency in measurement, such as
between different measurement times
response set
tendency of people to respond to items in
a consistent way irrespective of what the
items say
resting potential
difference in electrical charge between the
inside and outside of the membrane of an
unexcited axon (equal to 70mV)
reticular activating system (reticular formation)
part of the midbrain, important for maintaining arousal and filtering information
retina
inner lining of the eyeball
reversibility
ability to follow a line of reasoning back to
its origin
reward
receipt of positively valued outcomes, such
as money or social approval
risk-taking behaviour
behaviour in which the positive or negative outcome is far from certain
risky shift
outcome of group social influence when
individual group members become more
risky
Rorschach Inkblot Test
the most popular of the projective techniques, consisting of a series of ten
standard inkblots
sample
subset of the population under investigation
schedules of reinforcement
different patterns of reinforcement that
may occur every time a response occurs,
following a particular number of correct
responses, or following specified time
intervals
schemas
Piagets word for the ideas and plans we
have about what things are and how to
deal with them
Schwann cell
cell that wraps around an axon to create
the myelin sheath
scientific method
method of gaining knowledge by following
the established steps of scientific enquiry

secondary reinforcer
stimulus (e.g. money) that has become
reinforcing through association with a primary, or another secondary, reinforcer
self-actualisation
tendency of individuals to strive towards
self-realisation and the fulfillment of their
potentials
self-concept
collection of beliefs about oneself
self-control processes
behaviours people are able to learn to
enable them to alter the conditions that
influence their behaviour
self-efficacy
subjective belief that a person can do a
behaviour
self-esteem
a persons evaluation of his or her self in
terms of feelings of self-worth, value and
competence
self-fulfilling prophecy
tendency for something to happen because
people expect it to
self-reports
qualitative and quantitative methods of
attitude measurement in which people
directly express their attitude
semantic differential scale
quantitative self-report method of attitude measurement in which people
respond to a scale anchored with words
with opposite meanings (such as good
and bad)
septum pellucidum
part of the limbic system involved in pain
control and aggression
seriation
ability to arrange objects in order along
some dimension
sexism
prejudiced attitudes on the basis of sex
single-cell recording
recording the electrical activity of a single
cell using a thin electrode
situational normality
behaviour that is acceptable in some gatherings or occasions within society but is
unacceptable in others
skeletal muscle
muscles with striations that mostly connect to the bones of the body and generally
are under voluntary control; also referred
to as striated muscle
smooth muscle
muscles that are non-striated and are controlled by the autonomic nervous system

glossary 391

social desirability bias

tendency of people to respond to questionnaire items in such a way as to present
themselves in a favourable light, or to
look good
social identity
that part of peoples self-concept that is based
on their membership in particular groups
social influence
process by which we change our own attitudes, values and behaviours in response to
the attitudes or behaviours of other people
social norms
community expectations about appropriate forms of behaviour
social proximity
relative closeness of two or more people
social responsibility norm
social norm directing people to provide
help or assistance to others who are dependent on them
social values
relatively stable individual differences in
peoples pro-social (altruistic and cooperative) and selfish (individualistic and
competitive) ways of interacting with others
sociocultural normality
what is considered normal within a society
or culture
soma
cell body
somatic nervous system
nerves taking messages from the senses to
the spinal cord and brain, and returning
messages to the muscles and glands of the
body to carry out conscious behaviour
source factors
features of the person who is expressing a
persuasive communication (e.g. relative
credibility) that have nothing to do with
the communication itself
specific ability (s)
an ability related to the specific task in a
test of intelligence
standard deviation
measure of variation calculated by finding
the square root of the average of all the
squared deviations from the mean
standardisation group
group of individuals chosen to be representative of a population; their average
scores are used for comparison in the interpretation of scores on standard tests
StanfordBinet test
popular intelligence test developed by
Binet, and later modified by Terman, for
individual testing of childrens intelligence

statistical norms
average scores established from observation of large representative groups
statistically significant
mathematical indication that a correlation
of that size, in light of the size of the sample, is unlikely to have been caused by
random or chance factors
statistics
mathematical tool used to summarise and
analyse data
status
relative social rank or position of one person to another in a particular situation,
based on such things as skills, abilities and
legitimate authority
stimulus (plural: stimuli)
object or event in the environment that
elicits a response in an organism
stress disorder
anxiety disorder that results from exposure
to a highly traumatic event or situation
structuralism
the school of psychology that was concerned with determining the structure of
consciousness; structuralists broke down
conscious experience into components,
such as sensations and feelings
successful intelligence
balance between analytic, creative and
practical intelligences
successive approximation
process by which behaviour is shaped by
reinforcement of behaviour that is increasingly like a target behaviour
superego
according to Freud, the moral part of the
personality, representing the standards of
society passed on to the child by the parents
superordinate goal
aim, objective or aspiration that is common or shared between different groups
(or different individuals); in this way, the
goal is above the specific groups or individuals
sustained contact
situation in which relations between
groups exist for extended periods of time
sympathetic chain
chain of ganglia, next to the spinal cord,
that receives sympathetic neurons
sympathetic nervous system
causes arousal functions in the body by
increasing heart rate, circulation to muscles, etc.
synapse
junction between a neuron and its target cell

392 heinemann psychology one

synaptic cleft
small gap between two neurons that forms
a synapse
test reliability
degree to which a test measures the true score
on a test, rather than other error variables
test validity
degree to which a test actually measures
the characteristics it is designed to measure
thalamus
region of the brain below the cortex that
acts as a sensory relay centre
thanatos
death instincts, which form the basis for
death, violence and aggression
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
popular projective test requiring participants to make up separate stories about a
number of standard pictures
token economy
form of behaviour therapy in which the
desired responses are reinforced with tokens
traits
relatively stable characteristics of a person
that show themselves in a wide range of
situations
trait approach
approach to the study of personality based
on the view that personality can be understood in terms of a number of relatively
stable attributes, or traits
transduction
changing of energy from one form to another
transitional period
period between Piagets stages when children may show some aspects of that stage
but not others
triarchic theory of intelligence
Sternbergs theory whereby intelligence
comprises three aspects: analytic, creative
and practical
type A behaviour
pattern of behaviour characterised by competitiveness, hostility and urgency about
time; thought by some researchers to be
associated with coronary heart disease
type B behaviour
pattern of behaviour characterised by low
competitiveness, patience and an easygoing approach to life
type C behaviour
pattern of behaviour characterised by
unassertiveness and the suppression of
negative emotions such as anger; thought
to be associated with cancer
unanimity
complete agreement

unconditional positive regard

warmth and affection given to a person
(such as a child) which is not dependent on
what the person does or on whether the
person deserves it
unconscious mind
in psychoanalytic theory, impulses and
wishes that cannot easily be brought into
consciousness except in a disguised form;
psychoanalysts generally consider that
unconscious processes are the most important determinants of behaviour
upper motor neurons
neurons of the brain
validity
quality of a measure relating to whether it
measures what it is intended to measure
variable
any factor that can change or take different
values
variance
measure of variation calculated by finding
the average of all the squared deviations
from the mean
Verbal IQ
in the Wechsler tests, the sum of the various sub-tests devised to measure verbal
ability
vesicle
membrane-bound sac within the cytoplasm
of a cell
visual acuity
how well or how clearly a picture or object
is seen by the observer
visual marker
landmark used to locate an object
WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale)
popular standardised intelligence test
developed initially by Wechsler for the
individual testing of adult intelligence
white matter
myelinated cells in the spinal cord and
brain
WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children)
popular standardised intelligence test
developed initially by Wechsler for the
individual testing of childrens intelligence

393

index
A
ability to respond 333
abnormal behaviour 288289
abnormality, defining 218219
abstract 24
accommodation 115
acetylcholine 159, 200201, 202, 205
action
and perception 108109
theory of reasoned 318
adaptation 114, 212
ageism 346
aggression
myths 5657
physical 48, 5455
relational 48
Albert, little 298
alcohol 57
altruism 64, 70
Alzheimers disease 159
amygdala 179
analytic intelligence 247248
anger, expressing 56
animals
anomalies 41
and behaviourism 276280
and children 113, 298
and coffee 196
ethical principles in the use of 3942,
162163, 186, 187
observation in the wild and in zoos 40
participant effects 4142
and phobias 293
research, problems 42
animism 123
anti-social behaviour 4758, 6162
characteristics 4753
learning 52, 5356
teaching 5556
anxiety
Freuds three forms of 296
and Stroop performance 306
anxiety disorders
causes 296300, 306
classification 290, 291, 292296
appendices 27
arousal theory of extraversion 270
assimilation 115

association
areas 176177, 184
learning by 326, 338
astrology 29
attitudes
and behaviours 315318
components 309310
definitions 309
forming and changing 325335, 338
functions 310
measuring 311315, 323
and prejudice 340342
attractiveness 104105
audience inhibition 72
authority figures 8890
autonomic nervous system 172, 178, 197,
202206
axon 150154, 156

B
baby talk 104
Bandura, Albert 281
basal ganglia 178179
behaviour see also individual behaviour
anti-social 4758, 6162
and attitude 315318
modification 279280
observation 313
pro-social 6474, 77
risk-taking 82
theory of planned 318, 323
behavioural assessment 280
behavioural neuroscience 6
behaviourism 1213, 276280
bell-shaped distribution 222
big five model 272
Binet, Alfred 1314, 238239
biological factors 297
brain see also forebrain; hindbrain; midbrain;
neuron
functioning of 181184
brain-damaged people 252
brainstem 174, 177
bullying 4853, 6162

C
catharsis 56
Cattell, Raymond 242243

394 heinemann psychology one

centration 121122
cerebellum 173
cerebral cortex 176
cerebrum 175176
channel factors 330331
classical aversive conditioning 298
clinical disorders 289291, 301303
see also anxiety disorders
clinical psychologists 56
clinical psychology 7
Code of Ethics, APS 37, 38, 39, 369370
coffee 179, 196, 204, 210211
cognitive development 113133, 136, 143
cognitive factors 300301
cognitive interventions 362363
cognitive psychology 6
cohort effects 227
colour perception 103
coma patients 174175
combinatorial reasoning 130
competence 6970
computational theory of mind 149150
concordance rates 297
concrete and formal operational stages 116,
127132, 136
confidentiality 38, 234
conformity 8387, 90, 91, 96
conservation, principle of 124126, 127
contact, intergroup 358360, 367
control group 22
cooperativeness 51, 64
correlation coefficient 241, 315
costbenefit analysis 73
counselling psychology 7
creative intelligence 248249
creativity tests 226
crystallised intelligence 239, 242243, 242244,
246
cultural bias 226229
cultural relativism 218
culture 87
curare 159

D
data 20
analyse and interpret 2223
collection 22
deception 3738, 66
deindividuation 57
dendrites 150
depth perception, development of 106109
development, three domains 143
developmental psychologists 99
developmental psychology 6
diagnosis of mental illness 301303
direct interaction 325327
discrimination 278, 342

dishabituation 101
dopamine 159, 201, 204
doubleblind experiment 207, 210211
dream deprivation 212
DSM, the 289291, 292, 293, 296, 301302

E
Ebbinghaus, Herman 13
educational psychology
ego, the 262
egocentrism 114, 126
Elaboration Likelihood Model 332334
emotional intelligence (EQ) 254
emotional states 69 see also mood
emotional Stroop task 306
empathy 68
empirical evidence 19
endorphins 160161
environment studies, controlled 4041
environmental factors 298299
equal status 359
ethical concerns
in studies of pro-social behaviour 66
ethical principles
in psychological research 3637
in psychological testing 234
in questionnaire research 319
in research of the nervous system 162163,
188189, 207
in studies of conformity and obedience 91
ethics 3643
of persuasion 331
experimental group 22
experimenter role 37
extra-sensory perception 2829
extraversion 268, 270, 286
Eysenck, Hans 268271

F
false belief, principle of 126
fear messages 329
five-factor model 272
fluid intelligence 239, 242243, 246
Flynn effect 244
food, infants perception of 105
forebrain 175181
forensic psychology 7
formal and concrete operational stages 116,
127132, 136
frequency
distributions 222224
polygon 222
Freud, Sigmund 14, 261265, 296
frustration 56
fully functioning person 274275
functionalism 12

index 395

G
Galen (Claudius Galenus) 162
Galvini, Luigi 162163
ganglia 204
Gardner, Howard 251254
gawking 95
general intelligence (g) 239, 241242
generalisation 278
generalised anxiety disorder 294295
genetic studies 40
glossary of terms 374385
group influence 8086, 96
group pressure 90
grouped frequency distribution 223224

H
H M, case of 180181, 189
habituation 101, 119120
hallways 77
harassment 48, 50
Hawking, Stephen 201
health psychology 7
Hebbs rule 158
helping 64, 66, 67, 7174
hierarchy of needs 276
hindbrain 171173
hippocampus 180181
histogram 223, 224
homunculus 182
horizontality 123
humanistic approach 273276
hypothalamus 178
hypothesis 21, 232

I
id, the 262
Indigenous Australians 228229, 357
individual behaviour
and cognitive development 113133, 136, 143
development of 97146
and perceptual development 99110, 143
and self-esteem 52, 138144, 146
individual differences
and intelligence 238255, 258259
and intelligence testing 224229, 238242,
244247, 258259
and mental illness 288304, 306
and normality 215235
and personality approaches and theories
261283, 286
industrial psychology 6
informational influence 87
intelligence 238255, 258259
early concepts 238242
later concepts and theories 242254
and self-esteem 329

testing 224229, 238242, 244247, 258259

intergroup competition and conflict 348349
intergroup contact 358360, 367
introversion 268, 270, 286
IQ (intelligence quotient) 239, 244, 246247

J
James, William 12
jigsaw classroom 368

K
Kennedy, Rosemary 189

L
learning
anti-social behaviour 52, 5356
approach 276281, 299
by association 326, 338
jigsaw 368
Message Learning Approach 327331
observational 5455
lie scale 230231
lifts 77
Likert scale 311
limbic system 179181
lower motor neurons 199

M
M37 272, 286
Maslow, Abraham 276
mean 219220
median 220
medulla oblongata 172
memory 158, 159, 180181, 239, 240
mental disorders 289291, 301303
see also anxiety disorders
mental illness 288304, 306
and behavioural therapy 279280
diagnostic system, criticisms of 301303
mental structures 115116
mentally ill and legal guardians 189
mere exposure effect 325326
message factors 328329
Message Learning Approach 327331
midbrain 171, 173175
Milgrams study 3637, 38, 8890
mode 220
mood 69
change 329330
disorders 291
motivation
to process content 336
to respond 333
motor development 116, 117121, 143
motor neuron disease 201202
movement, control of 198202

396 heinemann psychology one

multiple intelligences, theory of 251254

multiple sclerosis 152
muscles
antagonistic 199
contraction 199200
smooth and skeletal 198
mutual interdependence 359360, 361

N
naturenurture debate 100, 243244
needs, Maslows hierarchy of 276
nervous system
central (CNS) 149, 155, 170190, 193194
ethical principles in research of 162163,
188189, 207
parasympathetic 202203, 204205
peripheral (PNS) 149, 171, 196208, 210212
somatic 197, 198202
sympathetic 202203, 204, 205
neural impulse 155156
neural transmission 163
neuron 149164, 167168
information transmission 154161
lower motor 199
structure 150153
upper motor 201
neuroticism 268
neurotransmitters 158160, 161, 187, 297298
normal (bell-shaped) distribution 222
normality
defining 215217
and individual differences 215235
normative influence 86

O
obedience 8891
object permanence 118120
observational learning 5455, 299
obsessivecompulsive disorder 295296
operant conditioning 120121, 276277, 299
operations 115116
organisational psychology 6
overweight children 146

P
panic disorder 294
Parkinsons disease 159, 161, 179, 201, 207
participant effects 4142
participants rights 37
partwhole relations 123
pattern perception 103104
peer pressure 8182
PEN system 268
perceptual development 99110, 143
personality
approaches and theories 261283, 286

development 143, 264265

dimensions 268271
disorders 289, 291
structure of 262263
testing 230233
types 266267
persuasion 327334
phobias 292294
physical development 143
physiological measures 313
Piaget, Jean 114
principles and theories 113116, 118123,
125132
placebos 160161, 207
pons 172
power and status, effect of 9091
practical intelligence 249
pre-motor area 183
pre-operational stage 116, 121126
preferential looking 101
prefrontal lobotomy 188, 189
prejudice 340352, 355
and attitudes 340342
components 340342
development 347351
forms 342346, 355
reducing 357364, 367368
studying 357
primary motor area 176, 182, 183
primary sensory areas 176
pro-social behaviour 6474, 77
characteristics 6465
ethical concerns in the study of 66
factors that influence 6566
prodigies 252
professional conduct 3839
projective hypothesis 232
projective tests and techniques 232233
pseudopsychology 2829
psychiatrists 6
psychoanalysis 14, 261265
psychologists 56
psychology
as a discipline 38
fields 47
major events in the history of 1116
research see research, psychological
scientific nature of 1920
three schools of 1113
psychotism 268
punishments 277, 326327

Q
Q-sort technique 275
questionnaires 230231, 269, 271, 272, 275, 319
Quinlan, Karen Ann 174

index 397

R
racism 344345
range 221
real-world benefits 20
realism 123
recipient factors 329330
reciprocal determinism 281
reciprocity principle 67
Reeve, Christopher 155, 157
references 26, 27
reflex action 154, 157, 167, 170, 172, 173,
185188, 193
reflex arc 154155
reinforcement 53, 279
relational aggression 48
reliability 22, 314, 315
research, psychological 1930
APS Code of Ethics 37, 38, 39, 369370
conclusions and sample size 109, 131
ethical principles in see ethical principles
example 2123
method design 2122, 207
methods used to study perceptual skills 101
reporting results 23
writing a report 2427
resources, limited 348349
response set 231
responsibility
diffusion of 71
norm, social 68
reversibility 123124
rewards 277, 326327
risk-taking behaviour 82
Rogers, Carl 274275
Rorschach Inkblot Test 232
Rosenthal effect 229

S
savants 252
scatter diagrams 317
schemas 115116
schizophrenia 290, 297
scientific method 1920
self-concept 138140, 274
self-control 279
self-esteem 52, 138144, 146
in adolescents 142
assessing 140141
gender differences 142143
and intelligence 329
in overweight children 146
in pre-schoolers 141
in primary school children 142
self-fulfilling prophecy 229
self-reports 311313
semantic differential scale 312

sensori-motor stage 116, 117121

sensory areas, primary 176
septum pellucidum 179
seriation 123
sexism 342343, 355, 360
Sherrington, Charles Scott 163, 186, 187
Simon, Theophile 238239
single-cell recording 181
skews, positive and negative 223, 224
Skinner, B F 276281
social attitudes 308368
social development 143
social identity 349351
theory 351
social influence 7992, 9596
definition 72, 7980, 347
and prejudice 347348
social norms 6768, 318
social proximity 89
social psychology 6
social relationships 4596
social responsibility norm 68
social values 70
soma 150
somatosensory areas 182
source factors 327328
Spearman, Charles 241242
spinal chord 185188
spinal reflexes 170
sport psychology 7
standard deviation 221
StanfordBinet test 239, 240
statistics 20
descriptive 20
frequency distributions 222224
inferential 20
measures of central tendency 219220
measures of variability 221
and normality and abnormality 219
status and power, effect of 9091
Stern, Wilhelm 239
Sternberg, Robert 247251
stress
adaptation to 212
disorders 295
Stroop task 306
structuralism 1112
successful intelligence 250
successive approximation 279
summation, temporal and spatial 187, 193
superego, the 263, 264
superordinate goals 361362
supplementary motor areas 183
synapse 156161, 185188

398 heinemann psychology one

thalamus 177178
topographic organisation, principle of 182
trait theory and approach 267273
triarchic theory of intelligence 247251
two-point threshold 183

unanimity 8485
upper motor neurons 201

Watson, John B 1213, 159, 276277

Wechsler, David 244247
Wechsler adult intelligence test 244, 246247
Wechsler child intelligence tests 244247,
258259
weight and self-esteem 146
writing an empirical research activity report
2427
Wundt, William 1112

validity 22, 225226, 230231, 232233,

314315
values, social 70
variance 221
verticality 123
visual acuity 102
visual cliff 106107
visual markers 108
visual perception 102105

zoos 40