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Psychology Teacher Network is published by the EducationDirectorate of The American Psychological Association. Sub-scriptions are free to High School Teacher Affiliates of the APAand APA Members and $15 a year for all others. Address edito-rial correspondence to Psychology Teacher Network, EducationDirectorate, APA, 750 First St., N.E., Washington, DC 20002-4242.Address inquiries regarding membership or affiliation to theMembership Office, APA, at the same address.

Senior Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Julie R. GoldsteinTOPSS Editorial Board . . . . .Margaret Davidson, Alan FeldmanAPA’s Pre-College and

Undergraduate Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Peter Petrossian

For the 24th year, the Ameri-can Psychological Associationrecognized outstanding re-search submitted by young sci-entists to the International Sci-ence and Engineering Fair(ISEF), sponsored by ScienceService. The 47th ISEF contestwas held in Tucson, Arizona inMay. One thousand sixty-sevenstudents from over 40 coun-tries participated in the contestfor the chance to receive prizesranging from college scholar-ships to educational field trips.Students competed in 15 disci-plinary categories and 134 stu-dents arrived at the contest

with patents pending their pro-jects. Students who receivedthe highest honors will be at-tending the Nobel Prize cere-monies in Stockholm, Sweden.Honors were also awarded tostudents who will participate inthe European Union Contestfor Young Scientists in Helsinki,Finland and the 11th Interna-tional Fair of South America inNovo Hamburgo, Rio Grandede Sul, Brasil.

Judging for the AmericanPsychological Association wasRick Kasschau, Ph.D., of theUniversity of Houston andEdwin Smith, Ed.D of Tucson

Arizona. Alice Chang, Ph.D., amember of APA’s Board of Di-rectors, worked as a GrandJudge for the Behavioral Sci-ence entries for the fair. Thiswas her first involvement withthe ISEF but she said that shewould like to judge these com-petitions in the future. Shecommented, “I was delightedto see the range of interestsshown by very creative highschool students from all overthe world. Some of the stu-dents had two to ten years ofwork on their projects. It wasenlightening to hear that 95%of the students planned ontaking their research withthem to college to continueworking on it.”

Meghann McNiff andDeborah Gonzales, of WoodsonHigh School in Fairfax, VA, re-ceived APA's first place awardof $500 for their study of Con-crete or Formal Thinking, Edu-cational Factors: Phase II. Thesecond place award of $250went to Kelly Dore and EricaKonrad, of Hillfield-StrathallanCollege in Ontario, for theirstudy of Perceived Stressors inHigh School Students andTheir Relationship to CopingMethods: Phase II. Jason

See ISEF, page 5

September-October 1996•Volume 6•Issue 4

APA EDUCATION DIRECTORATE

APA Recognizes Young Scientists at International Science and Engineering Fair

For Teachers of Introductory Psychology

Inside:Briefing: Cultural Influences Upon IQ . . . .

Focus on: Sport Psychology . . . . . . . . . .

An Interview with Michael Domjan, PhD . .

Definition of GuestSpeaker Redefined . . . .

Dear Doctor. . . . . . . . . .

Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Members. . . . . . . .

Bytes of Cyberspace . . .

Activity: One Hundred Top Words in Psychology . . . . . . . .

Announcements . . . . . .

PTNPSYCHOLOGY TEACHER NETWORK

APA Judge Rick Kasschau, Ph.D. with winners of ISEF contest

PHOTO A

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2 Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996

BRIEFING

I took a good deal o' painswith his eddication, sir; let himrun in the streets when he wasvery young, and shift for his-self. It's the only way to make aboy sharp, sir.

Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, 1836

If children grew up accordingto early indications, we shouldhave nothing but geniuses.

Goethe

Too often we give childrenanswers to remember rather thanproblems to solve.

Roger Lewin

When I was a kid my par-ents moved a lot.....but I al-ways found them.

Rodney Dangerfield

What would you answer if youwere stopped on the street andasked the following question:"Has the average person's IQ in-creased, decreased, or stayed thesame over the past 60 years?"Most people--psychologists in-cluded--believe that average IQshave probably taken a turn forthe worse. After all, we are a so-ciety steeped in television andother forms of passive entertain-ment, our schools are declining(accompanied by the well-publi-cized decline in SAT scores), andin general, we just don't seem tobe using our brains like ourgrandparents did. Before readingfurther, list as many reasons asyou can why IQs might be de-creasing, on the one hand, or in-creasing, on the other. (If you area psychology teacher interestedin presenting a lecture/activity onthis article's topic, you can openwith the questions just listed, andthen describe the main points of

the article to your students, ask-ing for their input.)

In fact, it might surprise youto learn that, in every one of the14 nations for which data areavailable, IQs have increaseddramatically over the past 60years. The worldwide increase inIQ is known as the “Flynn Ef-fect” (see, e.g., Flynn, 1987,1994). Flynn has found the fol-lowing magnitudes of gains in IQper generation of 30 years: 20points for Ravens-type tests (ofso-called fluid intelligence), 10points for fluid tests that are notculturally reduced (like verbalanalogies or number series), 10to 15 points for the Wechsler in-telligence test in general, 9 pointsfor the Wechsler verbal and otherverbal tests (of so-called crystal-lized intelligence), and very smallgains for vocabulary subtests andacademic achievement tests (alsoof crystallized intelligence). Theterms “fluid” and “crystallized”intelligence refer to on-the-spotreasoning and problem-solvingability (“fluid”) versus the accu-mulation of knowledge, such asvocabulary and factual knowl-edge (“crystallized”) (Horn,1994). In a recent analysis,Flynn (1994) showed that a per-son born in 1877 who scored atthe 90th percentile on the RavenMatrices (the best measure offluid-reasoning skills we have),would score at the 5th percentileif born in 1967 (with the identi-cal number of correct answers)!

How can we explain the sub-stantial worldwide increase in IQscores over the past 60 years? Onepotentially important set of factorsinvolves the growth and develop-ment of children, and how theseprocesses may have changed sincethe 1930s. This discussion focuseson home- and school-related in-

fluences upon children's develop-ment that may affect children'sIQ. I discuss influences that mightbe expected to increase IQ, as wellas influences that might be ex-pected to decrease IQ. I beginwith a review of several importantpoints related to the nature of IQtesting itself.

IQ TEST-RELATED FACTORSWhat Do IQ Tests Measure,and Why Might Children BePerforming Differently Todaythan 60 Years Ago?

What exactly do IQ testsmeasure--innate intelligence, orperformance influenced by experi-ence? IQ tests measure perfor-mance, not competence (compe-tence in this case meaning true in-telligence). Real-world compe-tence is very different from perfor-mance on an IQ test. Intelligencetests do not measure intelligencein any direct sense--to do so theywould have to control for factorssuch as past opportunities andmotivation to learn. Flynn's(1994) demonstration that thesame person labeled extremely in-telligent if born in 1877 would belabeled as retarded if born in 1967shows that ability tests measure atype of competence, not underly-ing or innate ability. This growthin IQ has been too rapid to repre-sent genetic change, and too dra-matic to represent a real compe-tence change: After all, were ourgrandparents mentally retardedby contemporary standards?

There are many reasons tosuspect that neither fluid nor crys-tallized intelligence, as measuredby contemporary IQ tests, reflectinnate intelligence. For instance,fluid and crystallized intelligencemeasures are influenced by expo-sure to schooling. Both amount

Cultural Influences Upon IQBy Wendy M. Williams, Ph.D., Yale University

Wendy M. Williams is aresearch faculty member inthe Department of Psychol-ogy at Yale University, whereshe studies children’s learn-ing and creativity, adultproblem-solving, and practi-cal intelligence or “commonsense.” Williams’ books in-clude The Reluctant Reader(Warner Books), PracticalIntelligence for School(Harper Collins), How toEnhance Children's CreativeAbilities (Longman), Devel-oping Creativity in Studentsand Teachers (Associationfor Supervision and Curricu-lum Development), and aneducational psychology text-book coauthored by RobertSternberg. Williams is serieseditor for The Lawrence Erl-baum Educational Psychol-ogy Series.

Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996 3

and quality of schooling are im-portant. It is perhaps not surpris-ing that crystallized intelligencewould increase with exposure toschooling, because schooling di-rectly teaches the vocabulary andfacts tapped by crystallized mea-sures. But psychologists have gen-erally viewed fluid intelligencemeasures as being better mea-sures of true innate intelligence. Itmight seem at first inspection thatperformance on fluid measureswould be less influenced byschooling. However, although stu-dents may not be trained explic-itly in fluid-intelligence types ofthinking, school experiences doaffect this type of performance(see, e.g., Cahan & Cohen, 1989;Ceci, 1991).

As cited above, increases inIQ over the past 60 years havebeen greatest on measures of fluidintelligence (e.g., Raven Matri-ces). To understand why, we mustfirst consider the specific types ofquestions used to measure crys-tallized versus fluid intelligence.For crystallized intelligence ques-tions, the test-taker is asked:“What is the boiling point ofwater?,” “ Who wrote Hamlet?,”“Why do we need license plates?”For fluid intelligence questions,the test-taker is shown a pictureof block designs with a missingportion and must complete thedesign or rotate the design in hisor her mind; the test-taker mustdetect regularities in patterns, ro-tate objects in space, reconstructarrays, and complete matriceswith missing parts. What specificabilities are tapped by these dif-ferent types of questions, and howmay these different types of abili-ties be influenced by societaltrends in parenting and school-ing? Why is abstract reasoningability (fluid intelligence) showinga greater increase than amount ofaccumulated knowledge (crystal-lized intelligence)?

A possible contributor togains in fluid intelligence are the

diverse types of games childrengrow up with today compared to40 or 50 years ago. Childrentoday grow up with very differenttoys from the toys of the 1940sand 1950s: more computers,computer games, video games,and things that need to be assem-bled. Playing with these toyscould affect children's mental-ro-tation abilities. The society nowinundates children with thesegames, and the resulting new de-velopmental experiences couldshape visual/spatial abilities.

In addition, even economi-cally disadvantaged schools todayhave computers for student use,whereas in the past this was un-known. Computers provide chil-dren with exposure to graphic de-signs, rotational movement, andimages that may help train fluid-reasoning skills. A Raven matrixlooks similar to certain computergames (and, for example, the"Wallpaper" screen-saver pro-gram), and children often playthese games for hours, perhapstraining types of visual skills usefulin completing a Raven matrix.And it is not only children's gamesand recreational experiences thatare more complex: Think of thecomplexities the children of todayencounter while watching televi-sion! These complexities were un-known to children in the 1930s.Life itself is much more complexfor children today; they grow upinundated with stimuli from everycorner, and this may affect chil-dren's information-processingrates and abilities.

Most children today read aslittle as possible--often as little asfive minutes a day (Williams, etal., 1995; Williams, 1996). Thismeans that today’s children (com-pared to children in the past) havemany fewer hours of exposure tothe printed word, less familiaritywith reading, and more familiaritywith geometric figures, patterns,and pictorial representations. Per-haps this lack of reading (and the

associated decline in exposure tovocabulary words) contributes torestraining crystallized intelligencescores from increasing as much asfluid scores, while the increasedexposure to pictures, figures, andshapes contributes to increasingfluid-intelligence scores. Again, weshould think of the Flynn Effectas the net gain in a tapestry of dif-ferentially-weighted factors.

Who's Taking IQ Tests?In the 1930's, non-high-

school graduates took the Stan-ford Binet (Ceci, 1991; Hernan-dez, 1995). In the 1990's, peoplewith more education are takingthe Stanford Binet.In the 1930s, meaneducational attain-ment was 8-9 years;today it's 14 years(Bronfenbrenner etal., 1996). Today'stest-takers, com-pared to test-takersof a half centuryago, have had moreexposure to a culturethat teaches and al-lows children topractice certaintypes of thinkingand reasoning simi-lar to that measured on tests offluid intelligence. This may besomewhat less true for crystal-lized intelligence: Children todayare generally getting less practiceand less real learning time forfact memorization.

Fluid thinking skills, however,may be practiced more often forkids today: A fourth grade classtoday may spend the entire daymaking Native American dyes andcreating bold geometric patterns incloth, instead of practicing the 3 Rs.The world of children today is lit-tered (literally and figuratively) withcereal boxes covered with mazesand games; “find the 25 hidden orimbedded animals” activities on ce-real boxes and placemats at chil-dren’s restaurants; block designs on

This growth in IQ has been too

rapid to representgenetic change,

and too dramatic to represent a real

competencechange...

4 Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996

McDonald’s Happy Meal bags and the packaging from other fast-foodrestaurants; and numerous other such examples. Most of these tasks aredirectly comparable and sometimes even virtually identical to questionson tests of fluid intelligence. Another factor that may influence fluid-intel-ligence scores is that many schools today allow children to work withmath manipulatives--blocks, designs, and other three-dimensional repre-sentations--in place of some more traditional paper-and-pencil tradi-tional math exercises.

SCHOOL-RELATED FACTORSWhat Actually Happens to Children in School?

As just discussed, educational attainment has increased substantiallyover the past half century. Children get more total exposure to schoolingtoday, although what children actually do in school has changed dramat-ically. Exposure to schooling in general increases children’s IQ scoresacross the board. But let us look more closely at exactly what happens tochildren in school, and postulate how trends in schooling and children'sschool experiences may affect crystallized and fluid IQ test scores.

Text books have been “dumbed down” two or more grade levels in30 years (Hayes, in press). Dumbing down of texts means that childrenlearn less factual information; this would tend to decrease crystallizedintelligence. But, as described above, the Flynn Effect is caused moreby fluid intelligence increases (nonverbal, matrices, figural relations).Does the dumbing down of textbooks and the associated decline in ac-tual instruction time (and, specifically, traditional instruction time)leave children with more time for activities that build fluid-reasoningskills (either school-based activities, or home-based activities such ascomputer games)?

School time spent on actual instruction has decreased sharply sincethe 1940s. The over 1000 hours per year of instruction mandated bymost states often translates into only about 300 hours of quality acade-mic learning time (Weinstein & Mignano, 1993). Three hundred hoursdivided by 187 school days equals about 90 minutes of actual qualitylearning time per day. Almost every study examining time and opportu-nity to learn has found that amount of content covered predicts amountlearned (Berliner, 1988). Thus, learning of facts, information, and vocab-ulary would be expected to be declining. This trend would exert down-ward pressure on crystallized intelligence scores. The fact that crystallizedscores have not declined suggests offsetting or compensatory activitiesand experiences (for example, extracurricular activities and experiencessuch as educational television, exposure to McDonald’s Happy Meal bagsand cereal boxes with vocabulary words, and so on) that exert upwardpressure on crystallized scores.

However, the “activities” focus of education since the 1960s hasswitched the emphasis toward interactive, two-way, child-child andchild-teacher school experiences, and away from rote solitary learningand memorization. So what, exactly, children learn is different today:Children today learn less declarative knowledge (“knowing that”), andmore procedural knowledge (“knowing how”) and strategies. Perhapsthis increase in procedural knowledge and knowledge of strategies trans-lates to gains on measures of fluid intelligence.

Increased Educational Expenditures In Real Inflation-Con-trolled Dollars: 250% Increase Since 1960

Has education been improving? Far more money is spent on educa-

tion today than in the past (Grissmer et al., 1994; Hanushek, 1986):Public spending on elementary and secondary education was $18 bil-lion in 1960, $45.7 billion in 1970, $108.6 billion in 1980, and $132.9billion in 1983. In real inflation-controlled dollars, this represents a250% increase. However, the population was increasing in size, and ex-pressing spending for education on a “per pupil” basis may be moreappropriate. In 1960 spending was $1,711 per pupil; in 1990, spend-ing was $4,775 per pupil (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992, p. 138).Consider a quote by Rothstein et al. (1995, p. 2): “With appropriate in-flation adjustment, it appears that total real education spending perpupil increased by 61% from 1967 to 1991. Admittedly, this is a sub-stantial increase, but it is much less than the 200% spending increasecommonly assumed to have occurred.”

However we examine the trend, its direction has clearly been up.But where has this money gone--on what, exactly, has it been spent? Itturns out that much of this increase in expenditure has gone towardpaying teachers higher salaries (Grissmer et al., 1994; Hanushek,1986). Also, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PublicLaw 94-142), Title I, and Title IX, have all resulted in greater expendi-tures on previously inadequately-served children, in order to provide allchildren with equal access to the educational system. Therefore, it isdifficult to say if the quality of education for the average child has im-proved, or rather, if the nature of education and the populations servedhas simply changed.

Today’s Teachers Often Must “Teach To The Test”A major thrust of education since the 1960s and 1970s is re-

ferred to by teachers as “teaching to the test.” Teachers are highly pres-sured to keep students’ test scores high by parents and administrators(Hanushek, 1994). Teachers’ jobs, principals’ raises, and even the valueof real estate in the school district are affected by students’ test scores(Woolfolk, 1995). Because tests are best at measuring knowledge of factsand basic skills, some teachers may focus on these facts and skills to theexclusion of other aspects of the curriculum. Many teachers also focus agreat deal of attention on direct training of test-taking skills, such asstrategies for guessing and test-taking (e.g., knowing how to “outsmart”the test-developer and figure out the right answer).

Mary Lee Smith (1991) found that standardized testing tookon average 100 hours of instructional time per year in the schools shestudied. One hundred hours is a significant proportion of the 1000 hoursof mandated school time for most states; 100 hours is also substantialwhen we consider that students receive only about 300 hours of actual,direct instruction per year (Weinstein & Mignano, 1993). Thus, we mightexpect gains in both fluid and crystallized intelligence due to increasedtraining in both types of reasoning skills: Better test-taking skills in gen-eral would lead to overall better scores, and drilling on facts and vocabu-lary would lead to increased crystallized scores.

Research has shown that short high-school-based training pro-grams result in average gains of 10 points in SAT verbal scores and 15points in SAT math scores, while longer commercial programs show gainsof 50 to as much as 200 points for some test-takers (Owen, 1985). Thus,in general, there is substantial evidence that “test-wise” training increasestest performance, and today's students are likely to receive more of thistype of training than students of a half century ago.

See IQ, page 8

Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996 5

ISEF, from page 1Christopher Oraker, of William J. Palmer High School in Col-orado Springs, CO, received third place and $125 from APAfor his work with Emotional Intelligence and Adolescent Acad-emic Achievement.

APA extended several honorable mention awards. Thesewent to: Sarah Jo Sanderson, of Gorham-Fayette High Schoolin Fayette, OH, for Psychological Effects of Television on Chil-dren: Phase II; Heather Eve Foster, of Anoka Senior HighSchool in Anoka, MN, for Finding Patterns in Visual Image Pro-

cessing Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; JanRenee Linkenhoker, of Lincoln High School in Vincennes, IN,for Classical Conditioning of Cutaneous Anaphylaxis Reactionin Rats: Study in Psychoneuroimmunology; Luis Mariano Se-queira, of Commercio Gral Martin Miguel de Guemes in EntreRio, Argentina, for Literacy--A Challenge?; Jose MercedesVenegas, of Immaculate Virginal of the Door in La Libertad,Peru, for Learning Chemistry by Playing Games: Plurim-nemquimico; and Rajen Uday Desai, of Dunbar High School,in Fort Worth, TX, for Misguiding Sirens.

Focus on: Sport PsychologyBy Diane Finley, Ph.D.

This summer, Atlanta hosted the centennial anniversary of themodern Olympics and it was difficult not to get caught up in thespirit of the games. The finest athletes from around the world com-peted for the chance to bring a medal home to honor their countryand themselves. One of the least known players in this drama is thesport psychologist. Sport psychologists are playing an increasinglyimportant role both for Olympians as well as for Weekend Warriors.

What exactly is sport psychology? Sport Psychology is the appli-cation of psychological principles to the fields of sport and exercise. Itis an applied subdiscipline which cuts across all specialties in psychol-ogy: physiological, counseling/clinical, developmental, learning/moti-vation, social and more. Sport psychologists work with Olympic andprofessional athletes as well as with high school, age-group and“weekend” athletes. They also work in injury rehabilitation settings,counseling centers, corporate fitness centers and even in hospitalswith surgery teams.

Sport psychologists help athletes overcome performance anxiety,find motivation to practice, build team cohesion, set realistic andachievable goals and deal with relationship issues. They also work forathletes in many other capacities. Opportunities for working in thearea are limited only by a person’s creativity and drive.

To become a sport psychologist, one must be a licensed psychol-ogist; otherwise they are not entitled to use the title “psychologist”.Most people who work in the field of sport psychology call themselves“performance enhancement or sport psychology consultants.” Mostpeople working in the field have doctoral degrees although master'slevel students can find positions if they look hard enough.

Most graduate programs in sport psychology are found in de-partments of kinesiology or sport science. At present, there are veryfew programs in which a student can obtain a Ph.D. in clinical/coun-seling psychology and also take the needed coursework in sport sci-ence and obtain supervised experience with athletes. The interdisci-plinary nature of the field has challenged the creativity of many stu-

dents as they work toward their degrees and try to obtain all thecoursework and experience needed to be successful. However, manyprograms are beginning to facilitate this cross-discipline training.

The origins of sport psychology can be traced back to 1898when the first documented study in the field appeared. NormanTriplett of Indiana University studied the effects of the presence ofcompetitors upon bicycle racers. Not surprisingly, he found that per-formance was superior in the presence of others. Studies in the appli-cation of psychological principles to competitive sports continuedover the decades, mostly from schools of physical education.

In the 1920s, Coleman Roberts Griffith founded, at the Univer-sity of Illinois, the first laboratory devoted to the study of sport psy-chology. Griffiths is recognized as the father of sport psychology inthe United States and is the first known researcher to devote a signifi-cant portion of his career to the subject. Due to economics, the labclosed in the 1930s.

Over the next decades, study continued. In the 1970s and1980s, the field experienced an explosion of growth. The body ofliterature grew rapidly; professional organizations devoted to thefield were formed; and graduate programs were established. Orga-nizations related to sport psychology developed including the Inter-national Society for the Study of Sport (ISSP), the Association forthe Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP), NorthAmerican Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity(NASPSPA) and Division 47 of the American Psychological Associa-tion (Sport and Exercise Psychology). Several journals are recog-nized as leaders in the field: Journal of Applied Sport Psychology;The Sport Psychologist; and Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychol-ogy. Additionally, the July 1996 issue of The APA Monitor focusedon sport psychology. If you would like additional information aboutsport psychology, please contact APA's Division 47, Karen Cogan,Ph.D., University of North Texas, Counseling and Testing Center,P.O. Box 13487, Denton, TX 76203.

6 Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996

An Interview with Michael Domjan, Ph.D.By Patty Parris, Theodore High School, Mobile, AL

Dr. Domjan is Profes-sor of Psychology at theUniversity of Texas atAustin, where he served asHead of the BehavioralNeuroscience Graduate Pro-gram from 1984 to 1993.He has written extensivelyon his research in food aver-sion learning, sexual condi-tioning, and general issuesin animal learning. Dr.Domjan is a Fellow of Divi-sions 3 and 6 of the Ameri-can Psychological Associa-tion, Fellow of the AmericanPsychological Society, mem-ber of the Governing Boardof the Psychonomic Society,Chair of the Committee onAnimal Research and Ethics(CARE) of the AmericanPsychological Association,Consulting Editor of thePsychonomic Bulletin andReview and of the Journal ofComparative Psychology.

Q: What role does psychology playin education?

A: Psychology provides a lot of in-formation relevant to education. Studiesof language acquisition, reading, andother forms of learning provide informa-tion directly relevant to instruction andeducation. Studies of cognitive psychol-ogy are all relevant to the educationalprocess. Social psychology, motivation,child and adolescent psychology all pro-vide information relevant to educationbecause successful education is influ-enced by the social environment, thestudent's motivation, and their develop-

mental status. Studies of abnormal psychology, psy-chopathology, and psychotherapy are also relevantbecause they deal with the extent to which a studentcan participate effectively in a school environment.Depression and anxiety, for example, can interferewith adequate participation in school activities.

Q: What do you consider the most importantinformation for teachers of introductory psy-chology to convey to their students?

A: I would emphasize two key ideas in teachingpsychology. One is that behavior is lawful and pre-dictable. Our task is to discover what those laws andpredictable patterns are. The second concept is thatthe antecedents of a behavior are not necessarily itscause. We frequently see items in the news describingsomeone doing something unusual, be it murdering afamily member or winning a gold medal. In trying tounderstand “what made him do it”, reports reviewthat person's life history on the assumption that theantecedents of a behavior are its cause. But this is amistaken strategy. The reporters should also examinepeople with similar backgrounds who do commit mur-der and do not win gold medals. This is rarely done.

Q: What role do you think animal research hasin psychology?

A: Direct student participation in animal researchis not common in psychology curricula. However, Ithink it is important for students to understand howanimal research contributes to the knowledge base ofpsychology. No one disputes that behavior is a prod-uct of how the nervous system works. If we want tounderstand the machinery of behavior, we have to un-derstand the nervous system. Such information is veryimportant. Our understanding of memory disorders inAlzheimer's disease, motor control problems in Parkin-

son's disease, and motivational problems in drug ad-diction all require information about the machinery ofthe nervous system, and that information requires an-imal research. Animal research is also critical for alldrug development. Our culture looks to pharmacolog-ical solutions for behavior problems. Drug therapiesfor anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, andother drug problems all require animal research.

Q: Are the PETA (People for the Ethical Treat-ment of Animals) articles a fair assessment ofanimal research?

A: PETA articles present one side of the story.The photos they use are very effective, but they aretaken out of context and some of them are decadesold. The sight of medical procedures are as disturbingif not more so then the PETA pictures if one is unfa-miliar with the context. Consider pulmonary resusci-tation. Someone rhythmically pounds the chest of adying person. It looks horrible until one realizes thatforceful rhythmic pressure is necessary to try to getthe heart started again. There are many such otherexamples. Things can look cruel until one considersthe reason for the actions.

Q: What do you feel is the best way to get achild who will not eat meat to do so?

A: Children may refuse to eat for a variety of rea-sons. It can be due to bad taste, snacking before themeal, or allergic reactions to the foods. Parents be-come concerned if the child does not eat. The prob-lems may deteriorate because the parent's responseinadvertently serves as a reinforcer for the refusal be-havior of the child. If the child is given little attentionbetween meals but is endlessly fussed over when herefuses to eat, refusing to eat will be reinforced. Someparents offer alternative or better tasting foods when achild stops eating, thereby reinforcing the refusal re-sponse. Others make a game of eating. Such thingscan also serve as rewards for refusing to eat. Mealsshould be fun. But, parents have to be careful to rein-force appropriate eating behavior, rather than the be-havior of refusing to eat.

Q: How do sensory adaptation and habitua-tion differ?

A: Sensory adaptation is a property of the senseorgans not a nervous system phenomenon. It stemsfrom the peripheral system. Habituation occurs in thenervous system. It stems from the central system.

See Domjan, page 12

PHOTO B

Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996 7

Definition of Guest Speaker RedefinedBy Chuck Greiner, James M. Bennett High School, Salisbury, MD

Teaching psychology can (and should be) an excitinglearning experience. By exposing our students toguest speakers, we can highlight for students manycreative and unexpected ways that psychologists usetheir degree. For those in geographically isolatedareas, it may be difficult to find a local college orsuitable expert to come to the school.

However, no longer do these students have tobe deprived of such experiences; Opportunities toconverse with experts does not have to be limitedmerely to your area code when the use of the Inter-net will allow you to conduct an on-line chat withanyone.

Four of my general psychology classes had thisopportunity in May. One class “spoke” to art therapistTim Jenkins, B.F.A; B.A. who is currently working onhis Master's thesis. He has 10 years of experience inmental health, two of which were as an art therapist.My other class spoke to Robin DeBates, who has aB.A. in Psychology and Music and a minor in WomensStudies. She works as a hospital psychology techni-cian for chemically dependant women. Tim andRobin interacted with both of my classes for 40 min-utes as students asked questions and discovered moreabout these areas of psychology.

The session was conducted via the internetthrough the University of Iowa Computer system.The interaction was conveyed through the keyboardas we have no video access atthis point. The logisticswere not very difficult. Each guest agreed to con-verse with both of my classes, so we coordinated ourschedules to be on-line at the same time. A computerwith access to the internet is what is needed; Youmay have one in your library. It does not cost extrato have a chat if you already are on-line. Our set-upwas provided in part by a grant from Maryland Vir-tual High School. While some may be concernedabout sparing the class time, preparing and con-ducting an on-line discussion takes about as muchtime as a good lesson on any other topic. However,you should be familiar with the computer and how itoperates, particularly on-line.

Where did we find our guests? I posted a noteon a psychology bulletin board asking for peoplewho might be interested in sharing their experi-ences and intellect with a group of students. Thisbulletin board is open to the public and you canaccess it at the address below (ISCA). These twospeakers responded and we arranged a time. Itaught the kids a few simple keystrokes and wewere on-line! I highly recommend a test run whereyou can practice making sure the system works so

that both you and your guests will be comfortable.Where did the questions come from? The stu-

dents and I compiled questions earlier when we dis-cussed dependence and therapy. I would be cautiousof using a scripted format, though, as students canbenefit from spontaneous questions and the interac-tion may lead them down a path they hadn't thoughtit would. When my students found out that Tim liveda few houses from Oprah and had met Keanu Reeves,we digressed just a little. Topics we discussed withTim ranged from how one conducts arttherapy to what kind of schooling wasnecessary. With Robin, we discussed suchthings as chemically dependant womenand why marijuana was so damaging.

I found there to be a few potentialconcerns. With too large a class, stu-dents can become distracted. As we hadonly one computer/phone-line, just onestudent could be typing at a time. How-ever, the rest of the class can certainlybe involved by reading the responsesand preparing future questions. I re-minded the guests beforehand who theiraudience would be and asked them todiscuss topics and to use language ap-propriate to my class’s level. Our classperiods are 40 minutes long and wefound that we were just warming up when we hadto sign off. However, the opposite occurred in theother class, where they didn't ask questions to stim-ulate discussion and they became bored.

While talking about art and how it was relatedto psychology, Tim wrote, “Art is the reflection forthe mind. It gives a direct link to thoughts and feel-ings, it has a function in human development...thosewho have not experienced it have missed some por-tion of critical development.”

Using this forum we were able to speak on bothpersonal and academic levels with our “guest speak-ers”. The positives far outweighed the negatives. It iswell worth the time you put into it as the studentslearned about technology, about other areas of theUSA, and about some of the real-world applicationsof psychology. If you wish to do a similar project feelfree to contact me by email or at my home page.While you are there, check out the student homepageswe created as well. Please contact me via e-mail atcgreiner@umd5.umd.edu or mail at Bennett HighSchool, 300 E. College Ave, Salisbury, MD 21804,(410) 742-5300. The homepage address is:http://clipper.jbhs.wi.k12.md.us/~cgreiner.

By exposing our students to guestspeakers, we can

highlight for students many

creative and unexpected waysthat psychologistsuse their degree.

8 Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996

IQ, frompage 4PARENT/HOME-RELATED FACTORSToday’s Families Are Smaller--Fewer Total Children, FewerSiblings, and Greater Financial Resources Per Child

Fewer children per family, which has been the trend for nonwelfarefamilies, generally means more resources per child. Nonwelfare family in-come per child has increased (Ceci, 1996; Grissmer et al., 1994). Realincome hasn’t grown, but dollars per child have. Clearly, more dollars perchild can mean more resources per child, and the potential IQ-enhancingvalue of a family’s financial resources is obvious. Thus, increases in IQmay reflect more IQ-enhancing experiences that can be afforded bytoday’s parents compared to parents during the depression and secondworld war, for example.

Greater Educational Attainment of Parents, Especially ofMinority Parents

As parents in successive cohorts become more educated, their chil-dren are likely to grow up in households that are more likely to stress ed-ucation. More-educated parents are also able to teach their children thetypes of information relevant to IQ test performance. Thus, parents’ edu-cation level is an important potential contributor to the Flynn Effect.

What trends have characterized the education level of parents? Ed-ucational attainment of nonminority parents has increased by 70%, andthat of minority parents has increased by 350%, from 1973 to 1990(Grissmer et al., 1994; Ceci, 1996). Data from Hernandez (1995) indi-cate that in 1920, 18% of mothers and 16% of fathers had an educationallevel of four years of high school or more. In 1983, 81% of mothers and86% of fathers had an educational level of four years of high school ormore. The trend upward is linear, and the increase has been enormousby any standard. The trend basically hit asymptote around the early1970s. Thus, substantial increases in educational attainment of parentsmay have contributed to across-the board gains in children's IQ scores.

Trend Toward Urbanization: The Decline of Rural, AgriculturalChildhood

Over the past half century, the population has become increasinglyurbanized. The rural agricultural lifestyle has declined (Hernandez,1995); today's children are more likely than ever to grow up in urbanand suburban communities. Part of the information-saturation thatmarks childhood today is associated with this move to the cities. Life inrural communities more often connects day-to-day activities to basic sur-vival. In urban and suburban areas (with the exception of high-crime cityregions), the problems of living are of different types. While city dwellersmay think about bus schedules, locations of businesses and stores, findingand keeping jobs, and avoiding troubled sections of town, rural dwellersmay think about maintaining well-water quality during periods ofdrought, caring for livestock, and stocking sufficient food to make itthrough snowstorms.

The types of thinking associated with city life more closely approxi-mate the types of questions on many IQ tests. For example, rural chil-dren's knowledge of farm crop rotation and livestock maintenance is un-likely to be as relevant to IQ-test performance as urban children's knowl-edge of complex bus schedules and current events. And it is not only theimmersion in certain types of information that could affect IQ-test per-formance: Children growing up in rural communities often help aroundthe farm from an early age and may have less spare time for computer

games and television. In general, it is possible that the population's moveto the cities has contributed to the Flynn Effect.

Does Parental Style Influence Children's IQ, and If So, How?Are today’s parents raising their children differently from the par-

ents of a half century ago, and if so, could this be contributing to theFlynn Effect (see Williams, 1994, in press)? In 1978, Riksen-Walravenconducted a study of 100 Dutch mothers' interactions with 9-month-olds. This study looked at parental responsiveness to infants, and espe-cially, at the role of parental stimulation of infants in the infants' develop-ment. Infants of mothers who had been encouraged to be responsiveshowed higher levels of exploratory behavior than any other group andpreferred novel to familiar objects. These babies also learned morequickly in a contingency task. Thus, infants randomly assigned to a con-dition of greater maternal responsiveness showed enhanced cognitivefunctioning. The conclusion is that different styles of parenting may causedifferential cognitive development in children. Research on infant lan-guage development also supports this conclusion (e.g., Bettes, 1988).

Have parenting styles changed over the past 60 years? Bronfen-brenner (1985) has looked at changes over time in the nature and type ofparental attention. In particular, he considered maternal responsivenessversus maternal directedness. He found that mothers’ perceptions andideas about how to mother, from the 1940s to the present, have changedfor middle-class mothers. The old emphasis stressed feeding on a strictschedule and using ample discipline. Since the 1940s, however, mothershave moved toward feeding on demand and responding to the child. Par-enting norms have changed; middle-class mothers have been readinghow-to books, and have been influenced by these materials about recom-mended childrearing practices. Thus, maternal responsive behavior maybe more common in the 1990s than in the 1930s, and may have con-tributed to the Flynn Effect.

Additional factors that may contribute to the Flynn Effect includethe effects of stress on pregnant women, which may be less marked todaythan 60 years ago, and improvements in the quality of nutrition parentsprovide to their children.

CONCLUSIONSI have briefly reviewed cultural changes during the second half of

this century that might have contributed to the Flynn Effect. (An ex-panded discussion of this topic can be found in Williams, in press.)My thesis is that a tapestry of forces can be identified, some of whichexert upward pressure on test scores and some of which exert down-ward pressure. I have suggested here some highly probable candi-dates that exert upward pressures on test scores (for example, in-creased educational attainment of parents, decreased family size andincreased family resources, and increased school attainment of chil-dren), and I have also suggested some possible candidates that mayexert upward pressures on test scores (for example, shifts in parentingstyle). Throughout this discussion of positive candidates, I have pre-sented a list of possible negative factors that might cause downwardtrends in test scores (e.g., less emphasis on fact learning in school).Future research should help disentangle these factors and help us tobetter understand the causes of the Flynn Effect.

Note: A complete list of references can be obtained by writing toIQ References, Psychology Teacher Network, Education Directorate, APA,

750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242.

DEAR DOCTOR

REVIEW

Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996 9

I wish I had a nickel for every time Iheard students describe the very strainyou are undergoing. It is simply arumor that you can’t get a job with adegree in psychology and I hope I canoffer you some good information tohelp you feel more secure in choosingpsychology as a major.

Some people do not understandwhat undergraduate schooling in psy-chology entails and thus misconcep-tions about the nature of job opportu-nities exist. Psychology is an excep-tional preparation for careers that in-volve problem-solving skills and effec-tive interpersonal interaction. Studentswho major in psychology usually haveopportunities to identify problems andlearn how to solve them. Typically thispractice occurs as they undertake re-search at various levels in their train-ing. Internships and field placementsalso can provide a strong taste of thekinds of demands people with psycho-logical training may encounter in theirprofessional lives. Positions in humanservices, sales, management, recreation

therapy, and research all may callfor the special training of the psy-chology major.

Examples of some of the more in-teresting post-BA jobs that my formerstudents have obtained include admin-istration of a mental health clinic,managing the evaluation research for aspecial police unit, working in a media-tion center on neighborhood disputes,running the lab in a medical centerand working as a counselor for run-away teens. I offer the following rec-ommendations to assist you:

1) Find out what kind of practicaltraining the university psychology de-partment that you are interested in of-fers. Many provide internships beforegraduation that will give you direct ex-posure to the careers that you find themost enticing. The departments mayalso be able to offer statistics and infor-mation about job placement of theirown graduates.

2) Use the career centers avail-able in most colleges. Career profes-sionals who staff such centers may be

able to provide you with tests that willgive you some helpful directions aboutthe kinds of work that might be mostfulfilling based on your personality andpreferences.

3) Contact APA for their re-sources in psychological careers suchas their “Careers in Psychology” bookor videotape.

4) Don’t wait until it is time to jobhunt to start practicing job huntingskills. Look at the employment sectionand consider what kinds of experiencesyou might need as an undergraduate tosucceed in those interviews.

Not only are current jobprospects fairly sound, but many stud-ies that predict hot job areas in the fu-ture cite psychology as a solid jobtraining area. As our society growseven more complicated, the need forclear thinkers with good people skillswill also grow. Follow your bliss. If youtruly love the puzzle of behavior, thenemploying your skills in the service ofthat passion may not turn out to be animpossible mission after all.

CD-ROM: The Mental Health Studios

Question: I am taking an introductory psychology course and really enjoy it. However, when I talk about major-ing in psychology, my family gets concerned. They tell me, “You can't get a job with a degree in psychology!”

Question submitted by Introductory Psychology Student, Your Town, USA

The Mental Health Studios is an inter-active CD-ROM developed by mem-bers of the Missouri Institute of MentalHealth in conjunction with the St.Louis Science Center. Videos, graphics,animation, music and narration areused to discuss the major psychologicaldisorders, including depression, addic-tive disorders, schizophrenia, bipolardisorders, and anxiety disorders.

Upon entering “Brain Artists’Studios” there are five floors fromwhich to choose. Each floor in the stu-dio is dedicated to the discussion of aparticular disorder. For example, dur-ing the presentation of depression, onefinds oneself in a woodworking studiocrafting a brain. Included within eachstudio are descriptions of the disorder,

detailed statistics, and telephone num-bers to contact for those who want ad-ditional information.

This program avoids the use ofjargon in its presentation. It aims to-wards refuting some of the myths asso-ciated with mental illness, but fallsshort of providing an in-depth analysisof the disorders. The nearly two hoursof interactive material also includes in-terviews with consumers who talkabout their experiences and doctorswho have treated each illness. In somecases, the program tends to oversim-plify complex issues and, on occasion,may appeal to younger children ratherthan to more sophisticated learners.Nonetheless, it is an informative andentertaining program.

The interactive tool incorpo-rates all of the various types of mul-timedia, including Apple’s Quick-Time video technology in its aim atbeing a lively, animated program.(For more information, look forQuickTime on the World Wide Web athttp://quicktime.apple.com/qt/sw/downw.html.) While both Macintoshand IBM users are supported, Win-dows '95 users will find that theywill be unable to view the videoclips that make up part of the CD-ROM unless they retrieve the Quick-Time player from Apple’s WorldWide Web site. Macintosh users willalso find some hefty hardware andsoftware requirements are needed toutilize the tool.

Developed by: Missouri Institute of Mental HealthEquipment needed: Macintosh systemReviewed by: Roger Hu, Gunn High School,

Palo Alto, CA, Class of 1996 , Formerly a student of Nancy Grippo, TOPSS member

Distributed by: Pathways to Promise 5247 Fyler Avenue St. Louis, MO 63139 (314) 644-8400 (314) 644-8834 fax

Cost: $45 for multimedia program

Answered by Jane Halonen,Ph.D., Alverno College

A panel of noted clinical, ex-perimental and academicpsychologists has graciouslyagreed to reply in this col-umn to questions submittedby teachers and students.We invite you to send yourquestions to:

DEAR DOCTOR, PTN,Education Directorate, 750First Street, NE, Washing-ton, DC 20002-4242

DR. JANE HALONEN

10 Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996

1996 TOPSS Election ResultsBy Charlie Blair-Broeker

The results of the 1996 TOPSS election are in. The three winners are:Chair-Elect:

Nancy Grippo, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto, CASecretary/Treasurer-Elect:

Mary Spilis, Northview High School, Sylvania, OhMember-at-Large:

Barbara Loverich, Hobart High School, Hobart, IN

TOPSS has been successful since its inception in 1992 for many reasons. One of the most important is thatthe Executive Board is made up of classroom psychology teachers, elected by the membership, who know whatthe needs of our profession are. We were fortunate this year to have what may have been the strongest overallslate of candidates in the history of the organization. Each candidate for all three positions had the qualificationsand experience to do an excellent job. The TOPSS Election Committee wishes to extend its deep appreciation toall the candidates who ran in this year's election and its hearty congratulations to those who won.

NEWS FROM TOPSS

Teachers of Psychology in SecondarySchools Fifth Annual Essay ContestTOPSS is proud to announce the fifth annual essaycontest for high school psychology students. Thecontest is a great opportunity for students to learnand think about the impact of psychology outside ofthe class curriculum. We encourage your students toparticipate.

PrizesThree cash prizes will be awarded:

1st prize: $3002nd prize: $2003rd prize: $100

In addition to these cash prizes, the winning stu-dents and TOPSS sponsors will receive one itemfrom a selection of psychology literature. Up toseven additional essays will be acknowledged withan “Honorable Mention”.

Rules• Entrants must be high school students.• Students must have been enrolled or be presently

enrolled in a high school psychology course.• Students must be sponsored by a TOPSS member.• Essays must be double-spaced and typed.• Essays should be no more than 1000 words in

length. Essays exceeding the length will be penalized.

The student should include a cover sheet with theessay with the following information:

a) student’s name

b) student’s grade level (ex. junior, senior, etc.)c) name of student's TOPSS sponsord) student's school name, school address, and school

phone numberThere should be no identification pertaining to the stu-dent on any other page of the essay. Violation of thisrule will result in immediate disqualification. Number-ing pages is permitted.

Judging CriteriaEssays will be judged on the following criteria:•use of psychological research and theory•accuracy of information•originality•organization•grammatical accuracy

Judges are selected from TOPSS membership.Judges receive a selection of essays to read and rankfor preliminary and final readings. Judges of a par-ticular state do not judge essays from that state.

ProcedureEach high school campus may submit up to threeessays. •The postmark should be no later than Saturday,

February 15, 1997.•The three winning essays will be announced beforethe end of the spring semester. Notifications will besent/made to each of the winning students, TOPSSsponsors, schools and local newspapers.

This year’s topic is:

Identify both positive andnegative ways in which soci-ety deals with issues ofaging. In what ways canpsychology contribute to im-proving the lives of olderadults? In your discussion,address the following issueswhich affect the elderly: (1)Intellectual and physicalperformance; (2) Changes inrelationships and social life;(3) societal attitudes to-wards older adults.

One package should be sentto the following addressthat contains three copiesof each essay:

TOPSS Essay Contestc/o Peter PetrossianEducation DirectorateAmerican Psychological

Association 750 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002

Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996 11

BYTES OF CYBERSPACE

For the last several issues of the newsletter we’ve talkedabout “getting connected” to the net, using e-mail, and join-ing newsgroups. You are probably on-line by now and enjoy-ing all of the amenities that the Web has to offer. We havefound several sites worth visiting and would like to take youon a quick road trip.

Our first stop is a small homepage, but a good one interms of some the links available through it. Kerri Hoagland’shome page (http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~kerri/) offers sev-eral good links and is a great place start some exploring.

From Kerri’s page, press the hyperlink to Aabra Jaggard’sPsychology Links (http://www.efn.org/~acj/psy_links.html).Aabra’s links will blow you away. Just about every category ofinformation you could want is here including Artificial Intelli-gence, Biological & Neuroscience, Clinical Psychopathology,Cognition, College Departments, Journals & Publications, Re-search Labs, Statistics & Software, etc. There are other funmorsels tucked away in here.

At Kerri’s Home Page, you can hyperlink to APA’s HomePage (http://www.apa.org) and you will find articles from theMonitor, a section called information for the general public,and categories for education, practice, public interest, and sci-

ence. You can also link from there to TOPSS’ home page(http://spsp.clarion.edu/topss/topss.htm). Although there con-tinues to be a great deal of construction and the dust hasn’tquite settled, it is a good site with information about whatTOPSS is currently involved with as well as practical informa-tion for the teacher of introductory psychology.

The last site I want to reference is Psych Web(http://www.gasou.edu/psychweb/psychweb.html) which youcan also hyperlink to through Kerri's Home Page. This is greatsite with loads of additional links to other sites for both stu-dents and teachers of psychology. On Psych Web, a meta-search engine is provided that sends your query to multiplesearch engines. Their motto is, “If we don't find it, it ain’tthere.” A very extensive resource center is provided for searchesin numerous areas. Psych Web provides the ability to search invirtually every category of information from Associations toElectronic Magazines to Software. Check this site out. It is ob-vious that a lot of time and energy went into creating it.

I hope this has given you an idea of some of the sites to visiton the Web; and this is just the start! Do your own search bysimply typing a key word or two and see where you land. It canbe a lot of fun and take you to some really fascinating places.

Road Trip

AlabamaJulie Barbosa, Mobile

AlaskaGary Trozzo, Skagway

ArizonaMike Gutierrez, Polaris HS, Phoenix

CaliforniaMatthew Lewis, Malibu

ConnecticutSusan Powers,

Woodstock Acad, WoodstockCarol Scarpa, KillingsworthBill Taylor,

Woodstock Acad, Woodstock

FloridaHerbert Chavel, KissimmeeDavid Korbel, Harbor Beach

HawaiiDiane Stowell, Honolulu

IllinoisSusan Appuhn, Fulton HS, FultonPaul Hanrahan,

Johnsburg, HS, Johnsburg

IndianaKevin Smith, Rising Sun

KansasMelvin Baskett, Overland ParkBrian Kennell, NewtonMary Kaye Siebert, Wamego

LouisianaWade Price, Slidell

MarylandRobert Cantor, HighlandDiane L. Finley, Crofton

MassachusettsMary O’Connor, Auburndale

MichiganPhilip Booth, Lansing

Mary Grayson, North Farmington HS, Farmington Hills

Tari Johnson, KalispellBill Tucker, Powers HS, Flint

MissouriLarry L. Doennig, NeoshoJeanice Tanner, Bernie

NebraskaJohn Knickman, Omaha

New JerseyKaren Fried, Midland Park

New YorkIgor Lunin, SUNY Geneseo, GeneseoSandra Silverman, BrooklynNeil Sirignano,

South High School, Valley Stream

North CarolinaEdney Greenwood,

T.C. Roberson HS, AshevilleHarry Jones Jr., Greenville

PennsylvaniaCarrie Koch, PottsvilleTerry Lee, LititzD. James Kersey, Shavertown

TennesseeJames C. Owens, Rogersville

TexasCharlotte Williams, Frisco

UtahJordon Fong, Orem

VirginiaBrenda Jonesand, AlexandriaNorm Lambert, Lorton

WisconsinAric Carpenter, Eau ClaireM. Elizabeth Maglio,

Mt Horeb HS, Mt Horeb

InternationalA. Jessie Kerr-Hall, Comox, Canada

New TOPSS Members

12 Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996

ACTIVITY

Inquiries, Demonstrations, Experiments and Activities

Concept:

Materials:

Instructions/Discussion:

One Hundred Top Words in PsychologyBy Margaret Davidson, L.V. Berkner High School, Richardson, TX

In 1988, C. Alan Boneau, Ph.D., of George Mason University, conducted a study to determine which termsand concepts in psychology are of sufficient importance that they should be considered common knowledgewithin the psychological community. He considered 10 subfields including areas such as abnormal, biological,and methodology and statistics, and developed lists of 200-250 words from each area. After conducting a pilotstudy, Dr. Boneau sent these lists to 250 authors of current textbooks, attempting to include the same numberof specialists from each of these subfields. These authors were asked to assign scores from 1 (Very important) -5 (Overly specialized) to each of these words. Dr. Boneau created the list of Psychology's Top 100 Terms/Con-cepts composed of the top 10 terms in each of the 10 subfields as rated by the judges. This list first appearedin the American Psychologist (July, 1990). It is not intended to be an exhaustive list but rather as an interestingfoundation for basic psychological terms.

The objective of this activity is to offer students a preview of the concepts that will be presented in an in-troductory course in psychology using the list compiled by Dr. Boneau.

a copy of “Psychology’s “Top 100’ Terms/Concepts”

The list of “Psychology’s 'Top 100’ Terms/Concepts” can be used in a variety of ways. Students often arrive inintroductory psychology courses with preconceived notions fostered by the popular press. To dispel inaccurateideas, students can collectively formulate their own list of words that they feel are important to the study ofpsychology. Their list could be compared to Dr. Boneau's list to generate class discussion about the scientificstudy of the field of psychology.

An alternate activity would be to use this list in conjunction with each subfield as it is presented in thecourse of the term. In addition, this list could be used as part of a concluding activity to review important con-cepts or to test students’ achievement.

The list on page 13 provides the top 100 terms/concepts in psychology including the judges’ average rat-ings, and the subfields from which the terms are derived.

References: Boneau, C.A. (1990). Psychological Literacy: A First Approximation. American Psychologist, 45 (7), 891-900.

Psychology Teacher Network is looking for good ideas, activities and experiments to share with our readers. Please submit any activities to Psychology Teacher Network, Education Directorate.

Domjan, from page 6Q: Is it possible for an organism to habituat to an uncondi-tioned stimulus?

A: Yes. “The answer is easy; The explanation may not be.” Loud noisecan serve as a UCS and people habituate to that. Psychological and emo-tional responses can be caused with a drug injection so a drug can serve as aUCS such as morphine.

Q: What are the major problems with the Rescorla-Wagnermodel of learning?

A: The Rescorla-Wagner model has two major problems. First, it regardsextinction as the opposite of acquisition. During acquisition, a CS is pairedwith the US, with the result that conditioned responding to the CS increases.In extinction, the CS is repeatedly presented alone, with the result that condi-tioned responding to the CS declines. The Rescorla-Wagner model assumesthat extinction involves the loss of the excitatory associative valve of the CS.However, studies have shown that extinction does not dissipate or decrease

associative value. During extinction, an organism stops responding but it re-tains the memory of having the CS associated with the US. This latentknowledge is evident if the subject is somehow reminded of the conditions ofacquisition in some way (as by being placed back in the situation where itwas trained or by being re-exposed to the US). The phenomena of sponta-neous recovery and external inhibition, first identified by Pavlov, also indi-cates that extinction does not produce a loss of excitatory association betweenthe CS and US. Mark Bouton of the University of Vermont has written exten-sively about these issues.

The second major failing of the Rescorla-Wagner model is that itpredicts that a conditioned inhibitory CS will become extinguished withrepeated presentations in much the same fashion as a conditioned exci-tatory CS. A CS is said to be a conditioned inhibitor if it predicts the ab-sence or the omission of the US. Studies going back 20 years (some byRescorla) have shown that repeated presentations of an inhibitory CS byitself do not result in the loss or extinction of conditioned inhibitoryproperties.

Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996 13

Psychology’s “Top 100” Terms/Concepts (In Alphabetical Order)

Terms Rating Subfield

Absolute theshold 4.92 PERCAction potential 4.71 BIOLAggression 4.75 DEVTAnxiety 5.00 ABNLAnxiety disorder 4.91 ABNLArtificial intelligence 4.56 COGNAssociationism 4.83 HISTAttachment 5.00 DEVTAttitude change, factors influencing 4.76 SOCLAttitudes and behavior 4.71 SOCLAttribution theory 4.65 SOCLAvoidance learning 4.79 BEHVBinocular depth cues 4.77 PERCCentral nervous system 4.93 BIOLCerebellum 4.71 BIOLCerebral cortex 4.86 BIOLCerebral hemispheres 4.86 BIOLChildhood, characteristics 4.71 DEVTClassical conditioning 5.00 BEHVCognitive development 4.86 DEVTCognitive dissonance theory 4.82 SOCLConditionied stimulus 4.74 BEHVConditioned reflex 4.94 HISTConformity 4.65 SOCLConsciousness 4.80 HISTContrast 4.67 PERCControl group 5.00 METHCorrelation coefficient 5.00 METHCorrelational method 4.65 SOCLDendrite 4.71 BIOLDeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) 4.71 BIOLDependent variable 5.00 METHDepression 4.82 ABNLDepth perception 4.92 PERCDeterminism 4.78 HISTDevelopmental stages, theories of 4.93 DEVTDistance cues 4.69 PERCEgo 5.00 PERSElectroencephalograph 4.71 BIOLEmpiricism 4.78 HISTEtiology 5.00 ABNLEvolution and functionalism 4.78 HISTExperimental group 5.00 METHExtinction 4.89 BEHVForgetting curve 4.67 COGNFree association 4.73 PERSFree recall 4.50 COGNFrequency (audition) 4.77 PERCGestalt principles of organization 5.00 PERCGestalt psychology 4.78 HIST

Terms Rating Subfield

Hypothesis testing 5.00 METHId 4.73 PERSIndependent variable 5.00 METHInfant-mother attachment 4.67 DEVTInformation-processing approach 4.50 COGNInstrumental behavior 4.89 BEHVIntelligence 4.64 DEVTInteligence quotient 4.69 HISTIntroversion-extraversion 4.64 PERSJust noticeable difference 4.77 PERCLaw of effect 4.84 BEHVLong-term memory 4.89 COGNLongitudinal research 4.64 DEVTMeaning 4.44 COGNMental illness 4.91 ABNLMental imagery 4.39 COGNMilgram’s obedience experiement 4.59 SOCLNature-nuture controversy 4.86 DEVTNeocortex 4.71 BIOLNeurotransmitter 4.88 BIOLNormal distribution 5.00 METHOperant conditioning 5.00 BEHVOrigins of Species 4.79 BEHVPersonality 5.00 PERSPhobia 4.82 ABNLPlacebo effect 4.82 ABNLPositive reinforcement 4.93 BEHVPrejudice 4.76 SOCLProsocial behavior 4.81 SOCLPsychoanalytic theory 4.82 PERSPsychosis 4.91 ABNLPsychosomatic disorders 4.91 ABNLPsychotherapy 5.00 ABNLRehearsal 4.39 COGNReinforcement 5.00 BEHVRight hemisphere 4.71 BIOLSample 5.00 METHSemantic memory 4.39 COGNSerial position function 4.50 COGNShort-term memory 4.61 COGNSignificance level 5.00 METHSignificant difference 5.00 METHSocial influence 4.67 SOCLSocialization 4.93 DEVTSocioeconomic status 4.64 DEVTTraits 4.67 PERSUnconscious 4.75 PERSUnconscious motivation 4.67 PERSVisual angle 4.69 PERCVisual depth perception 4.75 PERC

NOTE: PERC = perception; BIOL = biological; DEVT = developmental; ABNL = abnormal; COGN = cognitive; HIST = historical; SOCL = social; BEHV = behavior; METH = methodology; PERS = personality.

14 Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996

ANNOUNCEMENTS

October Teacher Workshops: Ohio and Connecticut

Two workshops will be held October 25-26,1996. Both workshops are one-and-a-half dayslong and focus on bringing the science of psy-chology into the classroom. Participants will re-ceive extensive hand-outs, materials, demon-strations and ideas for use in their own class-rooms. The first workshop is in conjunction withAPA’s Traveling Psychology Exhibition at TheMuseum of Cleveland, in Cleveland, Ohio. Pre-senters are Michelle Craig, Traveling PsychologyExhibition, Mary Spilis, TOPSS State Coordi-nator for Ohio, and Randy Smith, Ph.D., Oua-chita Baptist University in Arizona.

The second workshop will be held in con-junction with the New England Psychological As-sociation at Connecticut College, in New London,CT. Presenters are Barney Beins, Ph.D., IthacaCollege in New York, Alan Feldman, TOPSS Ex-ecutive Board, and Timothy Compton AmericanPsychological Association.

To sign up for either workshop, please com-plete the form found below and return it no laterthan October 15. For additional information,contact APA’s Education Directorate at APA, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002,(800) 374-2721 x6076.

Name:

Home Address:

City: State: Zip:

School:

School Address:

City: State: Zip:

Daytime telephone number:

October Teacher Workshops: Ohio and Connecticut

APA High School Teacher AffliliateAPA Member

Yes ❒ No ❒Yes ❒ No ❒

FEE: (check one)❒ $35.00 for High School Teacher

Affiliates, TOPSS members and APA members

❒ $45.00 for non-affliates and non-members

PAYMENT: (check one)❒ Check payable to APA enclosed❒ School Purchase Order enclosedCharge to:

❒ American Express❒ Visa ❒ Mastercard

Credit Card #:

Exp. Date:

Name as it appears on card

Cardholder Signature

Billing Address

City State Zip

Send completed form and payment to APA, Attn: WorkshopAccounting, 750 First Street, NE, Washingon DC 20002-4242.Registration paid by P.O. or credit card may be faxed to (202) 336-5693.

Registration Form(please print or type)

❒ Cleveland, Ohio ❒ New London, CT

SPECIAL OFFER FOR NON-AFFILIATES: Join APA as a High School Teacher Affiliate and registerfor the workshop for only $60. For a High SchoolTeacher Affiliate application call the APA MembershipOffice at (202) 336-5580 or the Education Directorateat (202) 336-6076.

Psychology Teacher Network September-October 1996 15

Call for ReviewersThis fall the Task Force onHigh School PsychologyStandards anticipates therelease of the next draft ofstandards of the teachingof high school psychology.The Task Force is seekingreviewers who teach at ei-ther the pre-college or un-dergraduate (2- and 4-yearcollege) level. If you wouldlike to receive a copy ofthe Standards document,please contact Peter Pet-rossian at APA, EducationDirectorate, 750 FirstStreet, NE, Washington, DC20002-4242 or via e-mail attjc.apa@email.apa.org. Ifyou have any questions,please contact the Educa-tion Directorate at (800)374-2721 x6076.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Psi AlphaNeeds WritersPsi Alpha is still blossoming andlooking for new members. BUT, itcontinues to receive many re-quests for information on how tostart, fund and plan activities fornew or existing psychology clubs.If you have ideas on these topicsthat will be helpful (and ifyou've ever started your ownclub than you probably do),please contact Abigail James. PsiAlpha distributes a newsletter inwhich they hope to publish thisinformation. Please send yourthoughts to: Psi Alpha, Box 17,Woodbury Forest, VA 22989. Ifyou don’t have time or are ner-vous about writing for an audi-ence, please contact Ms. Jameswho has agreed to put yourideas to paper. She can bereached at (703) 672-5641

Call for PapersThe Scientific Program Committee for the 24th Inter-national Congress of Psychology, taking place August9-14, 1998 in San Francisco, has issued the call forpapers. Hosted by the American Psychological Associ-ation (APA) on behalf of the International Associationof Applied Psychology, the Congress will feature anarray of individual and group presentations on: or-ganizational psychology; psychological evaluationand assessment; psychology and national develop-ment; educational, instructional, and school psychol-ogy; clinical and community psychology; appliedgerontology; health psychology; economic psychol-ogy; psychology and law; political psychology; sportpsychology; traffic and transportation psychology;and other areas such as applied social, applied devel-opmental, human factors and ergonomics, and socialissues. To request a copy of the call, contact: CongressSecretariat, APA Office of International Affairs, 750First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242; fax(202) 336-5956; e-mail icap@apa.org.

Two APA publications to provide guidance to collegesand universities in developing child-abuse and neglectcurriculum are now available.

A Guide for Including Information on Child Abuseand Neglect in the Undergraduate Curriculum and AGuide for Including Information on Child Abuse andNeglect in Graduate and Professional Education andTraining provide outlines of topics that could be in-cluded in a comprehensive semester course on childabuse and neglect or integrated into existing classes.The Guides include literature references to research andtheoretical reviews. Information is also included onother available educational materials.

The publications are written for professors, clinical su-pervisors, lecturers and other instructors who would liketo develop semester long courses or incorporate informa-tion about child abuse and neglect into their classes orsupervisory settings.

For a free copy, contact APA’s Public Interest Direc-torate, at the APA address, (202) 336-6050, or send ane-mail request to: publicinterest@apa.org.

Guides Available on Developing ChildAbuse and Neglect Curricululum