1Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
RESEARCH METHODS AND CRITICAL THINKING
It has been my experience that when students are introduced to research methods and
are presented with lectures on concepts such as independent and dependent variables, control
groups, and replication their eyes begin to glaze over. It was obvious to me that there had to be
a better way of introducing the concepts associated with scientific research methods.
I decided that the first step was to motivate students to want to use research methods. I
wanted to interest the students in setting up experiments designed to understand a
phenomenon that they were very curious about, but could not explain. This was easier said
than done. Then I hit upon the idea of giving students the opportunity to figure out, through
experimental research, how certain simple classroom magic tricks are accomplished. In an
effort to heighten students' motivation for this research enterprise, I decided to follow the lead of
one of my colleagues, and present the magic tricks as demonstrations of alleged psychic
phenomena. My assumption was that those students who were skeptical about such
phenomena would be anxious to debunk my demonstrations and that those who were
convinced of the reality of "paranormal" phenomena would be challenged to think scientifically
about them, if only in an effort to show that they could not have been done through trickery.
Psychology colleagues and an amateur magician friend of mine helped me to choose a set of
easy to perform, but very impressive magic tricks. I describe some of the most effective of these
below.
I start my first class session with all of the necessary and important information about the
course. As soon as I finish the introductory material I mention that, because of the tight
schedule in the course, I will only have time to mention and quickly demonstrate one of the most
important topics in the field, that of paranormal phenomena. I then perform one or two psychic
demonstrations. Once most of the students are convinced that I have some psychic abilities, I
debrief them by revealing that what I did were simple magic tricks. I then assign the students to
read the research methods chapter of the textbook and to come to the next class prepared to
use those methods to evaluate hypotheses about how the tricks were done.
At the next class, students are usually eager to begin their research. I let them choose
the trick that interests them the most and simply ask for possible explanations. It is very easy at
this point to include the proper experimental terminology such as, "Your hypothesis then is that I
memorized the phone book." In the process of asking students how they might test their
hypotheses the concepts of independent variables, dependent variables, and other
experimental ideas will arise, though the terms themselves may not be used. This makes it
easy to label them ("OK, in scientific research terms, whether or not I am blindfolded would be
called an independent variable.") Students will challenge other students' designs and point out
such things as control groups, confounding variables, sampling errors, experimenter bias, and
the need for a double-blind design. This session invariably becomes a good discussion about
experimental methods.
The most difficult aspect of this exercise is that, eventually, your students will ask how
you really did each trick. If you ever want to use the trick again you cannot give the answer. My
solution to this problem is to say something like the following: "Some of your hypotheses were

very close to the truth. However, scientists never know for sure when they have found the truth;
they can only eliminate plausible alternative hypotheses and reach a conclusion with a
statistically significant, but not absolutely certain, likelihood of being correct. Like scientists, you
will have to be satisfied with this situation." As an alternative, simply tell the students that
magicians cannot reveal the secrets behind their tricks. Here are some other useful tricks you
might want to try.
For the first, you will need two identical phone books. After placing an accomplice out of
the students' sight (in the hallway, for example), randomly choose a student to whom to give one
of the books. (A dramatically random way to choose this student is to hit ping pong balls into
the class, with the student catching it becoming the subject.) Ask a second randomly selected
student to choose a page number from the phone book (be sure to use the white pages). A third
randomly chosen person chooses a column on the page, and a fourth person chooses a line on
that page. As the page, column, and line are being determined, the student holding the phone
book is asked to find and concentrate on the telephone number thus identified. What the
students don't know, of course, is that your hidden accomplice is doing the same thing and then
writing that number with a heavy black marker on a piece of cardboard in numerals large
enough for you to read from where you are standing. Be sure the accomplice is placed so you
can see the cardboard, but the students can't. Also be sure to repeat the page, column, and
line information a few times so your accomplice will write down the correct phone number. (You
can do so as if to assure yourself of this information: "Okay. We are on page 341, we are in the
right-hand column, and line 31.") The class will be stunned when, through "telepathy," you
correctly "read your student's mind." (To make the demonstration even more dramatic, write the
number on an overhead projector, then turn it on for all to see).
Another "telepathy" trick needs no accomplice. You need only a box (or a clean
wastebasket), a pad of paper, and a pen. Stand at the front of the room with the pad and pen
and ask your students to name some European cities. Paris will eventually be mentioned. You
should appear to write each city name of a separate sheet of paper, wad it up, and throw it into
the wastebasket. However, write "Paris" on every sheet, no matter what the students say. So
by the time Paris is actually mentioned you will have a wastebasket full of crumpled papers, all
of which say "Paris," but which your students assume are all different. (If Paris is named near
the beginning of the demonstration, keep going until you have plenty of "different" cities in the
basket.) Now ask a student to choose one of the crumpled balls (holding the wastebasket high
so the student cannot see into it), open it and concentrate on the city name. Students are again
amazed when you say "Paris," but this trick cannot be repeated in the same class, for obvious
reasons.
Another simple "mind-reading trick in which you can apparently mentally influence most
of an entire class to think of the words orange, kangaroo, and Denmark.
Ask the class to:
1. Silently choose a number between 2 and 9
2. Multiply that number by 9
3. Add the two digits of the resulting number (the result will always be 9)
4. Subtract 5 from that result (always leaving 4 as an answer)

5. Think of the letter of the alphabet that corresponds to the number arrived at in step 4 (this will
always be D, because 1=A, 2=B, 3=C, 4=D)
6. Write down the name of a country that begins with the letter determined in step 5 (most
people will think of Denmark)
7. Write down the name of an animal that begins with the last letter of the country chosen in
step 6 (for most, that letter will be K, and most people will then think of kangaroo)
8. Write down the name of a color that begins with the last letter of the animal chosen in step 7
(for most, that letter will be O, and most people will think of orange)
9. Look at and concentrate on the listed country, animal, and color
You can then show that you influenced your students minds by saying something like
"there are no orange kangaroos in Denmark." Better yet, you can present a PowerPoint or
overhead transparency on which you have written the words orange, kangaroo, and Denmark.
Most of the class will be amazed.
To perform yet another amazing mind-reading trick, create a deck of 52 identical
playing cards and wrap it in a rubber band. Tell the class that you are going to let several
students look at the deck and that you will then try to name the cards they saw. Randomly select
a student and tell him or her to carefully separate the deck and peek at a single card. Explain
that, in order for you to get a clear mental picture of the card the student sees, it is important
that he or she looks at only one card (the rubber band helps insure this). After the student has
looked at a card, have him or her pass the deck to someone else in the class, and repeat this
procedure four or five times. Now, after some dramatic psychic effort, slowly name several cards
(one for each student who looked at the deck). Be sure that one of the cards you name is the
card that makes up the phony deck. Then ask your student volunteers to raise their hands if
you named the card they saw. They will all do so, of course, and because everyone will assume
that they all saw different cards, it will appear as though you discerned what each of them saw.
This is a neat trick because you can actually repeat it, with the same result. Have a new set of
students look at the deck and, after they have done so, name another set of cards (just be sure
one of them is again the card in the deck).
To make it less likely that anyone will notice that the deck is rigged, you can create a
deck made up of, say, five different cards, arranged in repeating sets. So even if a student
accidentally sees more than one card, it will probably not be a duplicate. If you use sets of five
cards, be sure to have at least five students look at the deck, and then be sure to name at least
one of those five cards during your mind reading.
If you know other magic tricks, by all means use them. Or buy a book on magic and
practice some that you find there.

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
RESEARCH METHODS: DRAWING INFERENCES FROM ARCHIVAL DATA1
Here is a simple, interesting, and enjoyable way to help students understand the
potential and the problems associated with drawing inferences from nonreactive measures in
general and archival data in particular. Pose the following question to your class. What archival
records about a person would be most useful for gathering information about a person's
behavior and mental processes? The answers will undoubtedly include such sources as diaries
and letters, and you can point out the use of such sources in case studies (especially the
famous Letters from Jenny, published by Gordon Allport in 1965). One of the less frequently
mentioned, but potentially valuable sources is a person's checkbook register, whose entries
constitute a sort of informal diary that can provide information not only about income and
expenditures, but about a person's (1) day to day whereabouts, (2) spending priorities and
habits (and thus their motivational patterns), (3) life events, issues, and problems (and how they
have attempted to cope with them), and (4) some of the significant people and events in their
lives.
To illustrate the potential value of this data source, and create discussion of possible
confounds and errors that might threaten the validity of inferences drawn from it, ask several
students to volunteer to have their checkbook register examined in class. This tends to work
best when the class is divided into small groups, each of which examines a different register (if
possible, make copies of it for each group member) and attempts to agree on as many
statements as possible about the owner of the register. Obviously, no one in the groups should
be acquainted with the owner of the register they are examining; ideally, no one should even
know whose register it is. After fifteen minutes or so, reconvene the class as a whole and ask
each group to say what it can about their target person. This can be an especially valuable
exercise if that person is willing to be identified and confirm, deny, or correct the inferences
made by the group.

This one is original with me, as far as I know.

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
BIO: MENTAL CHRONOMETRY AND SPEED OF NEURAL TRANSMISSION2
These demonstrations, first described by Herman von Helmholtz in 1850, and
popularized by E.W. Scripture in 1895, help students to understand, through personal
experience in simple experiments, that (1) even simple mental processing takes a measurable
amount of time and (2) neural transmission is a physical process within their bodies that can,
like the speed of other physical processes, be measured.
The first step in these demonstrations is to have your students stand and form a circle in
which each student faces the back of the student in front of him or her. The "circle" line may
wind through the classroom, if necessary; in very large classes, you may want to choose a
subset of fifteen or twenty students to participate in the demonstration. Now ask the students to
close their eyes and place their right hand on the right shoulder of the person in front of them.
Tell the students that they are to briefly squeeze their neighbor's shoulder as soon as
they feel their own shoulder squeezed. When everyone is in place and understands the
instructions, stand behind the last person in the line and squeeze his or her shoulder while, at
the same time, starting a stopwatch. Stop the watch when the chain of squeezes arrives at the
other end of the chain of students. (It is important that the students keep their eyes closed so
that they do not inadvertently pick up any visual cues by watching the "wave" of squeezes move
through the room.)
The elapsed time on the watch, divided by the number of students in the line, gives a
reasonable estimate of the average reaction time to the squeeze stimulus. In other words, it
estimates the average amount of time it takes for a person to perceive a stimulus, select a
response, and execute that response.
By repeating this procedure several times, the students will find that their reaction times
get shorter with practice, primarily because they get faster at selecting and executing their
responses.
To demonstrate that even a small increase in the complexity of response selection must
necessarily involve more neural circuitry, and thus more time, have the students place both
hands on the shoulders of the person in front and tell them to squeeze that person's right
shoulder if their own right shoulder is squeezed, and that person's left shoulder if their own left
shoulder is squeezed. Now go to the back of the line and squeeze either the left or right
shoulder of the last student. The average reaction time should now increase somewhat. To add
even a little more complexity, ask the students to squeeze the shoulder of the person in front
which is opposite to the one which they themselves feel being squeezed. Reaction time will
increase even more.

The original source is Herman Helmholtz, but Paul Rozin and John Jonides wrote up this
demonstration in an article entitled "Mass reaction time: Measurement of the speed of the nerve
impulse and the duration of mental processes in class" (Teaching of Psychology, 4, 91-94.

The increases and decreases in reaction times are due, as mentioned above, mainly to
more or less practiced or complex response selection and execution processes. Presumably,
the speed at which the squeeze stimulus reaches the brain and the speed of the motor neurons'
"squeeze" messages to arm and hand muscles are relatively constant. How fast do these
messages travel? Your students can find out about the transmission speed in the sensory
neurons, at least, by squeezing ankles instead of shoulders.
Have everyone sit in their chairs or on the floor and grasp with their right hand the left
ankle of the person next to them (if the students are in their seats, they may have to move them
in order to make a continuous chain). Now go to one end of the line, have the students close
their eyes, and repeat the squeeze experiment with ankles instead of shoulders.
Even after some practice, the elapsed time for a wave of ankle squeezes to reach the
other end will be quite a bit longer than for the shoulder trials because the squeeze sensations
must travel a longer distance to reach the brain. The increase in elapsed time (compared to
shoulder squeeze trials), divided by the number of students will provide an estimate of the
increase in individual reaction time due to the extra sensory travel distance. If this figure is then
divided into the average of that extra distance (i.e. from ankle to shoulder; about three or four
feet), a reasonably accurate estimate, in feet per second, of the speed of sensory neural
transmission will result.

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
BIO: DEMONSTRATING CEREBRAL LATERALITY3
This classroom demonstration is based on a laterality experiment (Kilbourne & Cook,
1971) in which participants were asked to balance a rod on the tip of the right or left index finger
for as long as possible. The results of that experiment showed that balancing ability was more
impaired by performing a simultaneous verbal task (which in most people involves the left
hemisphere more than the right) when the rod was balanced on the right hand (which is also
controlled by the left cerebral hemisphere) than when balanced on the left hand (controlled by
the right hemisphere).
Will the same effects appear in your students? You can find out by doing a short version
of the Kilbourne & Cook (1971) experiment at the front of the class with one student as your
participant. Especially in smaller classes, it is easy to make this an active learning experience
by having students work in teams of three to collect their own data and report back to the group.
One member of each group acts as a rod-balancer. The second member assigns the task
(verbal or nonverbal) for each trial (see research protocol below) and gives the go signal. The
third uses a stopwatch to measure the balance duration on each trial and records the result on a
data sheet (see research protocol below). If time permits, you can arrange for the team
members to swap roles and record data for two, or even three, people.
To eliminate the effects of unfamiliarity with the task, give the participant(s) a few
minutes to practice balancing the rod (a 36 inch wooden dowel is ideal) on the index finger of
each hand. When it is time to start the first balancing trial, the participant(s) should put the tip of
the rod on an index finger and support the rod in an upright position with the other hand.
Prior to each trial, the participant should be told which hand to use and whether or not to
perform a verbal task at the same time. The verbal task might be to count backwards from 100
by threes, to recite the alphabet backwards (or forward, but naming every third letter), to say
aloud all words that rhyme with half, or to say aloud all words that use the oo vowel sound. (It
is important to have more than one task available on trials when balancing goes on for a long
time.) On trials when no verbal task is to be done, the participant should be asked not to speak.
The person timing each trial should start the clock at the word go and stop it when the
rod is dropped, touches a wall or ceiling, or touches any part of the participants body (other
than the authorized fingertip).
When all trials listed on the protocol sheet have been completed, the data should be
summarized by calculating the mean balancing duration for each of the following conditions:
1. Right hand, verbal
2. Left hand, verbal
3. Right hand, silence

This demonstration was described by Kemble, Filipi, & Gravlin (1985) in Teaching of
Psychology. It is based on an experiment by Kinsbourne & Cook (1971).

4. Left hand, silence

5. All right hand trials
6. All left hand trials
7. All verbal trials
8. All silence trials
If teams of students have collected data, the results from all teams can then be
compared to evaluate the overall effect of verbal task interference and the degree of variability
among participants. To help promote critical thinking, ask the class to discuss the results of this
activity, focusing particularly on alternative interpretations of why the results came out as
expected, or why they didnt. (Handedness, gender, athletic ability, task familiarity, and the like
are all likely to be brought up as influential factors whose effects would have to be controlled in
further researchwhich you might decide to assign!)
Note: If you assign teams to perform this activity, the classroom will be somewhat
chaotic during the data collection process. Be sure to close the door, and maybe even warn
your colleagues who teach near your room at the same time. Be sure also to put a time limit on
the data collection phase to insure having enough time for discussion.

TESTING PROTOCOL AND DATA SHEET

PARTICIPANT NAME
_______________
PARTICIPANT GENDER
_____________
PARTICIPANT HANDEDNESS (R, L, AMBI) ________
TRIAL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

CONDITION
RIGHT HAND, VERBAL
LEFT HAND, VERBAL
RIGHT HAND, SILENT
LEFT HAND, SILENT
RIGHT HAND, VERBAL
LEFT HAND, VERBAL
RIGHT HAND, SILENT
LEFT HAND, SILENT

BALANCE TIME
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________

MEAN BALANCE DURATIONS FOR:

ALL RIGHT HAND TRIALS
ALL LEFT HAND TRIALS
ALL VERBAL TRIALS
ALL SILENT TRIALS
ALL RIGHT HAND, VERBAL TRIALS
ALL LEFT HAND, VERBAL TRIALS
ALL RIGHT HAND, SILENT TRIALS
ALL LEFT HAND, SILENT TRIALS

_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
SENSATION: MOVEMENT DETECTORS IN THE CEREBRAL CORTEX4
This simple demonstration helps students experience, first hand, the operation of
movement detectors in the cortex, and the mutually inhibitory aspect of cells that detect
movement in opposite directions.
The procedure involves rotating, for about 60 seconds, a black-and-white spiral pattern
in front of the students' eyes so that the spiral appears to be receding from them. Tell the
students to fix their gaze on the center of the spiral and not to let their eyes move. This will
overstimulate cortical cells that detect outward movement. Now ask the students to shift their
gaze to some other object, such as your head, a light fixture, or whatever.
When the outward-movement detectors stop firing, there is a tendency for inwardmovement detectors to start firing for a few seconds, creating the dramatic illusion that the
object the students now look at is moving toward them; some will experience the object as
expanding in size. (The mechanism is similar to the physiological basis for complementary color
afterimages in the ganglion cells of the retina). The same effect occurs when, for example, one
looks for a long time at falling water; for a few seconds afterward, other objects will appear to be
rising.
SOME VARIATIONS TO PROMOTE CRITICAL THINKING:
1. Use two spirals, each rotating in opposite directions, and ask half the class to look at only one
of them before looking at you. Half will now see your head as shrinking, and the other half will
see it expanding. Challenge your students to consider why different students saw opposite
phenomena and to figure out that the two spirals must have been spinning in opposite
directions.
2. Challenge your students to design a method to confirm that the opponent process effect
occurs in cortical, not retinal cells. With some discussion, and a little help from you, they should
be able to come up with the following procedure: view the spinning spiral with only one eye,
then close that eye and look at your head only with the other eye. Since the retina that saw the
spiral was not the same as the one that saw the new stimulus, the effect must have taken place
in the brain.
SOME TIPS:
1. The effect is strongest when the spiral pattern stimulates a large segment of the retina, so
ask your students view it head on rather than at an angle, and to get within a few feet of the
disk. (In very large classes, you may want to do the demonstration separately with small groups,
or to construct a very large spiral.

I do not know the original source of this demonstration, but it appears in several textbooks
and instructors manuals.

10

2. To create steady stimulation of the same set of cells, rotate the disk at a constant speed and
without moving it left, right, up, or down.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
A black-and-white spiral pattern, approximately 18 inches in diameter, painted on or glued to a
cardboard or foam disk of the same size. To make it easy to rotate the disk, drill a small hole in
its center into which you insert a pencil, or mount a small rod in the center of its rear surface. If
you want to get fancy, mount the disk, like a record, on a lightweight turntable like the ones sold
in toy stores.
You can also find spirals on the Internet, (e.g. at http://vsg.cape.com/~pbaum/illusions/spiral.htm
) and display them via PowerPoint, but to create your own, just wrap a string around a pencil
whose point is placed at the center of a sheet of black construction paper or cardboard. Tie a
pencil to the free end of the string. Then, while moving the tethered pencil in a circle around the
center pencil (or having someone rotate the paper), gradually pay out the string. The resulting
ever-widening "circle" will provide the tracing for a spiral that can then be filled in with white ink
or paint. Special note: Practice making the spiral a few times until you get one in which its white
stripe is relatively narrow, thus creating a pattern very high in visual contrast during rotation.

11

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
SENSATION: COLOR AFTERIMAGES
As a way to promote critical thinking about sensation and perception, I like to combine
the following demonstration of color afterimages in the retina with the "spiral" demonstration of
movement detectors in the visual cortex. Either before or after helping the students recognize
the opponent processes involved in movement detectors in the brain, I show the class a
transparency of a flag which is printed in opponent colors (i.e. green, black, and yellow rather
than red, white and blue).
At first, I just have the class stare at the dot in the center of the display, then experience
the afterimage, which is a red, white and blue flag. Then, I ask the students to consider how we
can tell whether this effect does indeed reflect the activity of neurons in the retina or in the brain.
As in the movement detection demonstration, a simple experiment can confirm the locus of the
mechanism. That is, have the students stare at the display with one eye only, then look for the
afterimage with the other eye only. Since the color afterimage is based in the retina, switching
eyes will eliminate the effect. (The opponent movement illusion will still appear when the eyes
are switched, because the effect is based in the brain, which has connections with both eyes.)
Opponent color flags are available in the transparency or PowerPoint sets
accompanying most major introductory psychology textbooks.

12

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
SENSATION: DISTRIBUTION OF RODS, CONES, AND COLOR VISION IN THE RETINA
This simple demonstration provides a nice illustration of the distribution of rods and cones in the
retina, as well as of the differing ability of these photoreceptors to detect color. More
specifically, it demonstrates that stimuli in the center of the visual field are detected by colorsensitive cones concentrated in the fovea, while stimuli at the edges of the visual field are
detected in the periphery of the retina by rods, which are not sensitive to color.
The only equipment needed is a few pens, magic markers, or other objects of various
colors (red, blue, green, yellow, and black, for example), and a student with a normal visual
system.
Ask the student to sit or stand at the front of the room, facing the class, and to focus his
or her eyes only on a spot or object at the back of the room. If the subject's eyes stray from the
fixation point, the demonstration will probably not work very well. With the subject's eyes thus
fixated, stand directly to the subject's left and hold one of the colored objects about four feet
away from his or her left ear, at about his or her eye level. (Do not allow the subject to see
ahead of time what you will be holding.)
Tell the subject that you are holding something in your hand and ask him or her what it is
and what color it is. It is very unlikely that the subject will be able answer either question. Then
move forward a foot or so and ask the same questions. Continue to ask these questions each
time you move, one foot at a time, in an arc that would eventually place the object directly in
front of the subject.
You will find that most subjects have excellent peripheral vision, as reflected in their
ability to recognize that the object is present even when it is far off to the side. However, for
most subjects, it will take another step or two before they can recognize what the object is, and
one or two more before they can name its color. Most students will be surprised at how close to
the center of the visual field the object must be before its color is clearly apparent.
If the expected sequence of results does not occur, it is probably because the subject
lost fixation or made a lucky guess about color. To confirm the distribution of rods and cones,
and their color sensitivity, run several trials using different colors, and start from the right side,
as well as the left.
One way to make this demonstration a more active learning experience for the students
is to ask them to predict the results of the procedure, and to justify their predictions based on
material presented in class or in the text. Another option is to divide the class into teams of
three and have them conduct the procedure, perhaps using objects of different sizes and colors,
held at differing distances. Team members can take turns acting as subject, experimenter, and
data recorder (whose job it is to note the point on each trial where the pen is detected and at
which its color is identified). Afterward, teams can be asked to report their results to the class
(including the effect of object size and distance) and to suggest plausible explanations for

13

discrepant data (e.g. that a subject's peripheral vision is restricted, or that his or her fixation was
lost during a trial).

14

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
PERCEPTION: TOP-DOWN PROCESSING OF VISUAL INFORMATION5
Lectures on the top-down aspects of perception focus on the fact that our perceptual system
takes in visual information, and actively tries to organize it into a recognizable object. Part of this
process involves top-down processing, i.e., comparing incoming sensations to information
already stored in long term memory. When a match is found, recognition of a stimulus object
takes place. Recognition normally occurs quickly and automatically, so it is only when exposed
to ambiguous sensory input that we become aware of the active search process.
After explaining these top-down aspects of perception, tell the class that you are going to
present them with just such an ambiguous stimulus so that they can feel their perceptual
system in action. Then present the stimulus below (I suggest that you first rotate it 90 degrees),
and ask the students to say what they see. Because most will see nothing immediately obvious,
the stimulus will act a bit like a Rorschach inkblot (and indeed, you can create a link here
between ambiguous object perception and the theory underlying projective personality tests).
Allow the students a while to say what they see, and in what part of the slide they see it, and
then tell them that you were making the task harder by rotating the image. Now present it right
side up and again ask the class what they see. Some students may now (correctly) see the
image of a cow, but others will not. If no one sees a cow, tell them that you are now going to tell
them what to look for, and that this information will guide their perceptual organization of the
stimulus display. Note that, once they use this schema to achieve recognition, their current
disorganized perception will be gone forever. Now say Its a cow. More students will now see a
cow. For those who still do not, point out that their schema or prototype of a cow is probably a
large black and white animal standing at a distance. Note that this particular cow does not fit
that prototype because she is standing much closer and has her head turned sideways toward
the camera. You may have to outline the cows head, neck, and back before some students see
the animal.
Once most or all students have recognized the cow, turn off the slide and then present it again,
and this time ask the class to look at the image without seeing a cow. This will be impossible,
and you can use that fact to illustrate the difference between sensation and perception, the
experience of a stimulus pattern before and after object recognition takes place.

5 This stimulus comes from Dallenbach, K.M. (1951). A puzzle-picture with a new principle
of concealment. American Journal of Psychology, 64, 431-433.
15

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
PERCEPTION: TOP-DOWN PROCESSING OF AUDITORY INFORMATION
Lectures on the top-down aspects of perception focus on the fact that our perceptual
system takes in visual information, and actively tries to organize it into a recognizable object.
Part of this process involves top-down processing, i.e., comparing incoming sensations to
information already stored in long term memory. When a match is found, recognition of a
stimulus object takes place. Recognition normally occurs quickly and automatically, so it is only
when exposed to ambiguous sensory input that we become aware of the active search process.
The same thing happens with auditory information, and as with ambiguous visual information
the process can be affected by prior information about what we hear.
To dramatically illustrate the top-down aspects of auditory perception, and the effects of
biasing information, play for your students a tape recording of rock music and speech played
backwards. The sensory information will be so unclear and ambiguous that it will be difficult or
impossible for students to make sense of it. However, once you tell them what to listen for, the
students will clearly hear those words, and will be amazed that they did not hear them the first
time. They will be amazed, too, that it is now impossible not to hear the suggested words.
The tape, and instructions for using it in class, are available from Professor John R.
Vokey (vokey@hg.uleth.ca ). Just send him blank tape, and enjoy.

16

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein and Joel I. Shenker
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
LEARNING: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
This demonstration can be very dramatic. It is an effective and memorable way to
demonstrate many concepts related to classical conditioning, including the following:
acquisition, unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, conditioned
response, stimulus generalization, stimulus discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous
recovery.
The basic demonstration is to squirt a student in the face (the student wears a "smock"
made from a plastic garbage bag) while a long list of words is being read. Only when the word
"can" is heard do you squirt the student. Eventually, hearing the word "can" by itself will cause
various conditioned responses.
Though this demonstration only involves one participant, it is engaging enough to hold
everyones attention.
Step One: Instructions and Setup
Bring to class a water-filled squirt gun or a spray bottle. Bring a large plastic garbage bag with
one hole cut in its bottom (for a person's head to fit through). You should also bring a towel for
the soaked student to use after the demonstration has ended.
Explain to the class that you are going to demonstrate that classical conditioning occurs in
humans as well as non-humans, and for a variety of different stimulus-response relationships.
Ask for a volunteer to be conditioned, explaining that he or she will be outfitted with a protective
smock and occasionally squirted (with water) in the face during the demonstration (you may
need some coaxing to get a volunteer!).
Step Two: The Demonstration
For the student who volunteers to be the subject, place the garbage bag over him/her so that
his/her head sticks out the hole in the bag, but the rest of his/her upper body is covered by the
bag.
You will be reading the accompanying list of stimulus words. Notice that the word "can" appears
often on this list, sometimes in upper-case letters ("CAN") and sometimes in lower-case letters
("can"). During the demonstration, read the word list loudly so that the subject and entire class
can hear the words. Just after you read the upper-case "CAN," squirt the subject in the face.
When you read the lower-case "can," or any other word, you do nothing. Responses to the
lower-case "can" will be a way to test the development of a conditioned response to the word
alone.
Throughout the demonstration, the subject should keep his/her eyes closed both for safety
reasons and also to avoid using any visual stimulus cues from your facial expressions or hand
movements.

17

Once fitted with the garbage bag "smock," the volunteer should sit in a chair facing the class so
that other students can see his/her face. Tell the subject that the demonstration will last a few
minutes, during which time you will occasionally squirt him/her in the face. Tell the student it is
imperative to keep his/her eyes shut throughout the demonstration, for the reasons cited above.
Ask the class to avoid making comments as the demonstration proceeds, but to carefully watch
the subjects reactions, and their own.
Step Three: Wrap-up and Discussion
After the demonstration concludes, be sure to give the subject a towel and a rather generous
"thank you."
Ask your students to describe what they saw. On their own, they will probably bring up many of
the important phenomena related to classical conditioning, which you can identify by name as
they occur in the discussion. A few of these phenomena, and how they are likely to have
occurred in the demonstration, are outlined below.
Acquisition learning curve: At first, the word "can" by itself caused no special response. But,
after repeated pairings of "can" and the water, the word "can" by itself became gradually more
and more likely to cause a learned response.
Unconditioned stimulus: the water squirted onto the subject's face
Unconditioned response: After being squirted in the face, the subject probably blinked,
flinched, or made facial expressions.
Conditioned stimulus: hearing the word "can"
Conditioned response: blinking, flinching, or facial expressions to the word "can" alone.
Stimulus generalization: the learned response may have sometimes occurred after words that
sounded like "can" (e.g., ban, ran, van, fan, tan, camp, card, cap, cape, call, cast).
Stimulus discrimination: The learned responses were probably strongest and most likely to
occur after "can" as opposed to other words.
Extinction: The learned responses probably became less common after the word "can"
appeared several times without the water.
Spontaneous recovery: After extinction, hearing the word "can" may have still caused a
learned response following a long period in which "can" had not been heard.
Observational learning: Ask other class members to report on the appearance of any vicarious
conditioned responses as they watched what was happening to the volunteer.

18

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING STIMULUS WORD LIST

cup, can, lime, CAN, dish, girl, chalk, can, dish, CAN, key, screen, ran, CAN, desk,
CAN, knob, bag, tape, CAN, dish, clip, CAN, air, ban, cheese, CAN, door, can, box,
dish, hair, CAN, ring, nail, CAN, boat, cap, dish, CAN, crane, wheel, fire, CAN, dish,
king, cape, apple, CAN, dog, blue, can, dish, CAN, take, call, brick, pair, CAN, spin,
chair, CAN, camp, CAN, dish, CAN, bridge, scale, can, fan, board, CAN, cool, three,
horn, disk, CAN, can, cast, test, pen, dime, CAN, dish, van, can, card, stand, meat,
pad, can, dish, set, can, tree, ice, plum, can, cost, bird, glass, can, light, can, sword,
juice, can, dish, rock, smoke, grease, dish, keep, kid, tan, dice, hole, set, dish, eye,
friend, wax, bill, bulb, dish, class, mine, mark, work, can, dish, can, bus, dish, phone,
can, smart, first, can, crack, feet, can, tub, bowl, can, van, day, can, rake, dish, can,
bluff, risk, can, salt, dish, ball, stack, rain, hat, food, can.

19

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
MEMORY: DEMONSTRATION OF DEPTH OF PROCESSING AND MEMORY1
This demonstration can help your students appreciate the relationship between the depth to
which information is processed and the likelihood that it will be encoded in and retrieved from
long-term memory. For best results, do the demonstration before describing the effect.
Read a list of words after instructing half the class to count or estimate the number of
vowels in the words or to rate each item listed, on a 1-5 scale, in terms of its value to a person
stranded on a desert island. (The differing instructions can be given via differing overhead
transparencies shown to each half of the class): Here is a sample word list:
UMBRELLA, GASOLINE, ORCHESTRA, YACHT, HAMMER, DIAMOND, UNIVERSITY,
MACARONI, EYEGLASSES, GARDEN, UNDERWEAR, NEWSPAPER, ALCOHOL, BOUQUET,
MICROSCOPE, CAMOUFLAGE, POLLUTION, RESTAURANT, INSECT, ELEPHANT,
SULPHUR, LEMONADE, MOSQUITO, BOTTLE.
To displace from short-term memory the words in the latter part of the list, ask the
students spend about 30 seconds performing a distracting task, such as writing their name,
address, phone number, major, and social security number.
Now give the students one minute to write down as many words from the list as they can
recall. Retention scores from those who processed the words superficially (by counting or
estimating vowels) should be much lower than those from students who processed the
information more deeply (by thinking about, and possibly visualizing, the usefulness of each
item in a particular situation.
You may want to relate the results of this demonstration to the advice given in study
skills courses to avoid study methods that process course material superficially (e.g. simply
reading or underlining) in favor of deeper processing tasks such as outlining chapters, writing
examples of the relationship between new material and that already read, or writing test
questions about the material.

This demonstration was created by Tom Thieman, a former Illinois graduate student now at
the College of St. Catherine.

20

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
MEMORY: ENCODING/RETRIEVAL STRATEGIES IN LONG-TERM MEMORY1
A very simple illustration of the fact that people encode and search for information in predictable
as well as idiosyncratic ways, can be created in class merely by giving your students about one
minute to write down the names of all the states of the United States.
When time is up, ask various students to read their lists of states, in the order originally
written. Familiar patterns of search and obvious retrieval cues will be evident in some of these
lists, as when students used alphabetical order, region, or similarity of name (e.g. all states
beginning with "New") to organize the task. Other patterns and cues will be much harder to
detect, but just as systematic (e.g. listing first all the states in which one has lived, or which have
a National Football League team).

I first saw this demonstration performed by Joe Palladino, of the University of Southern
Indiana, but I do not know the original source.

21

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
MEMORY: CONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY/SCHEMAS1
The rumor chain game provides a simple, enjoyable, but dramatic illustration that information in
long-term memory can be distorted during encoding or retrieval by prior knowledge, especially
by our schemas about the world, which include gender role expectations and other prejudices.
Some people prefer to do this demonstration before discussing the constructive memory
phenomenon in class; others do it afterward, thus showing the power of the phenomenon even
when people are sensitized to it.
The procedure involves sending three to five students out of the classroom (and out of
earshot), then reading aloud a paragraph-length story to another student whose task it is to
repeat the story to one of the students who had been out of the room. The newcomer's task is
to repeat the story to the next student who is readmitted, and so on until the last student who
hears the story repeats it to the class.
Here is a sample story:
DR. JANE RANDALL HAD BARELY BEGUN TO SPEAK AT THE CEREMONY TO DEDICATE
THE NEW NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AT THE ALBION CITY HOSPITAL WHEN A
PROTESTER STOOD UP, SHOUTED STOP THE MADNESS, AND ANNOUNCED THAT THE
HOSPITAL WAS BEING CLOSED DOWN BY THE PEOPLE'S REVOLUTIONARY ARMY FOR
THE LIBERATION OF THE MENTALLY ILL. HOLDING A .357 MAGNUM TO THE HEAD OF
CHIEF NURSE JACK SWANSON, THE PROTESTOR APPROACHED THE PODIUM AND
TOLD DR. RANDALL TO CLEAR THE ROOM. THE DOCTOR TOOK THE MICROPHONE
FROM ITS STAND AS IF TO ADDRESS THE STUNNED AUDIENCE, BUT THEN SUDDENLY
THREW IT AT THE PROTESTER, WHO SLIPPED AND FELL TO THE FLOOR. THE ANGRY
CROWD TOOK OVER FROM THERE. WHEN POLICE ARRIVED A FEW MINUTES LATER,
THE PROTESTER WAS ARRESTED.
The errors made in each successive telling of the story are usually quite predictable and
follow some basic principles of constructive memory:
First, the story will get progressively shorter as some nondistinctive details -- e.g. the
name of the hospital, the neonatal intensive care unit, and the name of the protest group are left
out. This is sometimes referred to as "leveling." (Particularly distinctive details, such as the
calibre of the gun, and, especially for women students, the gender of the doctor, are often
retained; this is sometimes referred to as "sharpening.").
Second, because many elements of the story are encoded semantically (i.e. as the
meaning or gist rather than as exact words), they are likely to be altered in line with the teller's

The original source of this once-popular parlor game must surely be lost in the mists of

time.

22

schemas. For example, because for many students, even today, doctors are typically male and
nurses are typically female, Jane Randall may end up as a nurse and Jack Swanson will
become the doctor. Further, the protester will be referred to as a man, perhaps even as a
member of some minority group, even though no gender or ethnic information was given.
Finally, the schema of an angry crowd" may cause expansion of the story to include their
beating up or even killing the protester.
Note: For best results, caution the class not to laugh when errors are made, since this
may cause the storyteller to notice and attempt to correct mistakes.
By asking the class to describe how the story changed with the retelling, you should be
able to illustrate a number of the principles listed above. If you wish, you can then go on to
discuss the role of schemas and constructive memory in other phenomena, such as ethnic
prejudice and errors in eyewitness testimony.

23

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
MEMORY: AN ALL-PURPOSE MEMORY DEMONSTRATION1
This demonstration provides an excellent way of either introducing the topic of memory or
summarizing a range of material covered in memory lectures.
The procedure requires only that you ask the class to listen as you read, at about a word
per second, the following list:
Bed, quilt, dark, silence, fatigue, clock, snoring, night, toss, tired, night, artichoke, turn, night,
rest, dream.
Now give the class 15-30 seconds to write down as many of the words as they can
recall.
When time is up, ask how many people recalled the word "sleep." A third or more will
have done so, but only through constructive memory, since this word is not on the list. (If you
played a tape recording of the list rather than actually reading it, you can prove this point to the
skeptics.)
Now repeat the list in order and ask for a show of hands by those who correctly recalled
each word. By plotting on the blackboard the frequency of correct recall you should produce a
reasonable approximation to the classic serial position curve. Recall scores should be best at
the beginning of the list (primacy effect) and the end of the list (recency effect). Words in the
middle of the list should have the lowest scores, except for "artichoke" which should be recalled
better than its neighbors because of its semantic distinctiveness (it has nothing to do with
sleep).
The word "night" should also have a particularly high score, not only because of the
recency effect because its higher frequency on the list allowed for better rehearsal.
Now count the number of people who correctly recalled both "toss" and "turn." Due to
chunking, recalling one should evoke the other (ask for a show of hands by those who recalled
these words in sequence on their lists).

This demonstration is a revised version of one I saw done by Drew Appleby of Marian
College in Indianapolis. His original source was: Deese, J. (1959). On the occurence of
particular verbal intrusions in immediate recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 17-22..

24

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
SENSATION/PERCEPTION/ATTENTION/MEMORY:
THE ROLE OF PERCEPTUAL SET IN A MEMORY TASK1
This demonstration is a nice one for helping students understand the relationships
among sensation, perception, attention, and memory. The idea is to help them see that (1) they
can't recall from short term memory what they did not attend to, (2) how much they can attend
to depends on their ability to chunk information, and (3) their chunking ability depends, in part,
on their expectations about how stimuli are organized. In this case, their expectation that verbal
material in English should be processed from left to right will impair their ability to chunk, and
thus recall, that material.
Ask your students to draw a 6-cell x 6-cell grid on a plain sheet of paper and tell them
that you will briefly show a 6x6 display which contains letters, numbers, and other symbols in
some of the cells. Tell them their task will be to look at the display without writing anything down,
and then--at your instruction--try to reproduce the display by filling in the cells of the grid they
have prepared.
A sample display is attached, though you may want to make your own. The critical
feature of the grid is that the words London and Lisbon appear on the diagonals. These words
would be easy to recall and reproduce if the students scan the diagonals. Most will not,
because their first impulse will be to scan the display as if they were reading text.
Note: do not allow the students more than 2-3 seconds to scan the display or they will
have enough time to go beyond their habitual scanning strategies.

THIS DEMONSTRATION CAME FROM A PARTICIPANT AT AN EARLIER WORKSHOP.

25

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26

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
COGNITION: FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS IN PROBLEM SOLVING1
One of the most interesting obstacles to problem solving is functional fixedness, the failure to
think of using familiar objects in novel or unfamiliar ways to solve a problem. The most common
textbook example of this phenomenon uses the "two string" problem (in which a pair of scissors
must be used as a pendulum in order to tie together the ends of two strings that are hanging too
far apart to be reached simultaneously).
Here is another example that can be offered in class: Display to the class an array of
items which includes a sewing kit, a pad of 8 1/2 x 11 paper, a roll of transparent tape, a
sharpened pencil, and a phonograph record. To make the problem more difficult, add a tennis
ball, a tool kit, an apple, and any number of other interesting and diverse items.
The problem is to play the phonograph record so that the class can hear it, using only
the materials displayed.
Because none of the items available -- except the record -- are normally associated with
record-playing, it may take a while for the students to think of the following solution: Take a
sheet of paper, roll it from one corner to form a cone, and tape the edge to hold that shape.
Then tape a needle from the sewing kit to the outside surface of the narrow end of the paper
cone so that its sharp point extends an inch or so beyond the cone. Now push the pencil firmly
into the hole in the record so that, by resting the eraser end on a firm surface, the record can be
turned clockwise in a level plane. Now, while turning the record in this way, grasp the edge of
the large end of the paper cone between thumb and forefinger and let the needle rest on the
turning record. It won't be high fidelity or stereo, but the sound will be amplified enough for
everyone to hear. (Of course, if you want to hear the Satanic messages recorded backwards on
the record, turn the record counterclockwise!)
VARIATION: To demonstrate the effect of stress on problem solving, you might want to set a
time limit on the task or, better yet, divide the class into several competing groups with a reward
for the group that solves the problem first.

This one was offered by a participant at an earlier workshop on teaching. He said he saw
in on the Mr. Wizard television show.

27

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
COGNITION: AN "IMPOSSIBLE" PROBLEM-SOLVING TASK1
This demonstration provides an excellent way to help your students focus on the individual and
group processes that occur when people attempt to solve a seemingly insoluble problem. The
students' task is to find a way to balance 12 nails on the head of a 13th nail that has been driven
vertically into a block of wood. The nails should all be identical ten-penny nails, i.e. the kind with
flat heads that extend outward a bit from the shaft. If you try to use nails that have small or nonexistent heads (such as finishing nails), the problem cannot be solved.
Because, on its face, the problem appears insoluble, your students will spend a lot of
time focusing on the all-important task of setting up the problem correctly. They will ask
questions such as "Do we have to balance them all at once?" (The answer is yes), "Can any of
the balanced nails touch the block of wood or the table?" (No), Can we turn the block of wood
on its side?" (No), and "Can we bend the nails? (No).
Given the simplicity and low cost of the problem materials, you can create numerous
sets, thus making it possible for small, mixed gender teams of students to work independently
on their solutions once the "set up" period is over. This provides an excellent opportunity for
you to walk around the room, watching and listening for the operation of group dynamic
processes (including male domination of group decisions and "expert"-driven persistence at
fruitless approaches) as well as such standard problem-solving obstacles as inability to hold in
mind multiple hypotheses, functional fixedness, and the like.
For obvious reasons, you should eliminate from active participation anyone who already
knows the solution to the problem.

I learned this one from Charlie Blair-Broeker, a high school psychology teacher from Cedar
Falls, Iowa.

28

SOLUTION:
As shown in the diagram below, the solution to the problem is simple but not obvious. As with
all new demonstrations, it is important to practice this one to be sure you can do it before trying
it in class. You must first "weave" the 12 nails together into a structure that will balance on top
of the vertical nail in the wood block. To do this, place one "base" nail on its side on the table,
then lay 10 more across it, with their heads resting just over the shaft of the base nail. Alternate
these "cross" nails so that the point of the first one extends to the right, the point of the next
extends to the left, the next to the right, and so on. Then lay the last nail directly on top of the
base nail, but with its point against the base nail's head. This "lock" nail will rest in the channel
created by the heads of the cross nails. By grasping the base nail's head and point with your
thumb and index finger, you will be able to lift all 12 nails off the table. The resulting structure
will look a bit like a rectangular umbrella. Now carefully set the center of the base nail (with all
the other nails hanging from it) on the head of the nail which is in the block of wood. Let go, and
the structure will stay put, to the amazement of your students.
The "woven" structure should look like this before you lay the lock nail on top of it:
___
||-----------------------------------||
||-----------------------------------||
||-----------------------------------||
||-----------------------------------||
||-----------------------------------||
|
|

29

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
DEVELOPMENTAL: GENDER ROLE LEARNING1
An engaging way to illustrate the role of children's books in promoting gender role stereotypes is
provided by a now out-of-print book called I'm glad I'm a boy, I'm glad I'm a girl, by Whitney
Darrow. Published in 1970 by Simon & Schuster, this book is now out of print, mainly because it
contains some of the most blatant statements of gender stereotypes available (e.g. "Boys build
houses, girls clean houses.")[I can arrange to send you PowerPoint slides of the pages,
however, if you will send me email at douglas.bernstein@worldnet.att.net.]. The book is short
enough to read to the class and is sure to generate discussion of past and current ways in
which our culture's dominant gender stereotypes are communicated.
Following this discussion, it might be logical to ask the students to find and bring to class
contemporary, though perhaps more subtle, examples of gender stereotyping found in children's
books, adult-oriented magazines, television, movies, and other places.

This one came from Sandra Goss Lucas, director of the introductory psychology course
at the University of Illinois. It was given to her by Sharon Anglin, a secretary at a local
community college.

30

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT: THE ROLE OF PRIOR INFORMATION
IN DREAM ANALYSIS1
This exercise is not designed to evaluate the technique of dream analysis, but to help students
understand that a clinician's interpretation of dreams is, like the interpretation of other incoming
stimuli, influenced by his or her prior knowledge, expectancies, motivation, emotion, and other
"top down" processes. More specifically, it illustrates how easily a clinician's prior knowledge
about a client might prompt very different conclusions about the meaning of dream content.
The demonstration involves handing out a description of a dream reported by a woman
named "Doris." The dream is preceded by a brief sketch of Doris' demographic characteristics
and life history. There is space at the bottom for the student to interpret the meaning of Doris'
dream. However, though the dream is identical on each of the attached handouts, the
description of Doris is not. Collate the three versions before you hand them out, then give your
students five or ten minutes to read and interpret the dream. You can either collect the results
or ask students to read their interpretations aloud. As the readings proceed, it will soon become
obvious to the class that something is amiss. At this point, you can reveal the differences in the
client descriptions and point out the influence of those differences on the interpretations of Doris'
dream.
I like to end this demonstration by pointing out that clinicians are aware of the role of
prior knowledge in dream analysis (and other aspects of therapy). This is why, for example,
they tend to base conclusions about clients on a series of dreams rather than on just one, and
why they seek to combine assessment information from various sources, such as tests and
interviews. I have found that stimulating class discussions result from pointing out that, in spite
of such efforts, clinicians are as vulnerable as the rest of us to the biasing effects of expectancy
in dealing with clients.
This exercise provides an easy way to show students the link between principles that
guide the perception of objects and those that operate in social perception in general and in
psychotherapy in particular.

I came up with this idea on my own, though I bet I am not the first to think of it.

31

At the time of the following dream, Doris S. was a 65 year-old woman living in a Chicago
suburb. She had four grown children, two boys and two girls. Her husband of 40 years died
two years before she had the dream. Though in excellent health for decades, she had just been
diagnosed as having breast cancer. Her prognosis was good, but worried about her health. She
also worried about one of her grandchildren, a boy, who was born autistic and retarded. Other
than these rather unfortunate problems, Doris had lived a very normal life and never
experienced serious psychological problems.
DORIS' DREAM
"I am at my friend Betty's house. I call Ann up to make an appointment to get my hair
highlighted. I speak to the receptionist at the beauty parlor. I speak in a Russian accent. She
asks when I can come. I say in a couple of days. I think that might be Wednesday. She asks
'Are you sure because we are changing things around here,' implying that it won't be good if I
change my mind and cancel the appointment. After speaking to her, I realize that I don't need to
have my hair highlighted yet, because my hair hasn't grown out yet. But George and I go on the
'A' train to the beauty parlor. It goes through a neighborhood that I have never seen before.
The train travels outside. George gets out at a stop as if he nonchalantly is doing something.
The train leaves without him. I wave to him and feel bad that he is not on the train." [From
Ullman, M. (1986). Access to dreams. In B.B. Wolman & M. Ullman (eds.) Handbook of states
of consciousness. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold (p.539).]
JOT DOWN NOTES ABOUT YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM IN THE SPACE
BELOW:

32

At the time of the following dream, Doris S. was an eighteen year old woman living in a
rural area. She was getting ready to graduate from high school and begin the long road towards
a medical degree (she would have been the first child in her family to become a doctor) when
she found out that she was pregnant. Her parents were not yet aware of the situation and she
and her boyfriend were in the midst of deciding whether to try to arrange an abortion or to get
married, though the latter option meant the end of her medical school aspirations. Beyond
these rather unfortunate problems, Doris lived a very normal life and had never experienced
serious psychological problems.
DORIS' DREAM
"I am at my friend Betty's house. I call Ann up to make an appointment to get my hair
highlighted. I speak to the receptionist at the beauty parlor. I speak in a Russian accent. She
asks when I can come. I say in a couple of days. I think that might be Wednesday. She asks
'Are you sure because we are changing things around here,' implying that it won't be good if I
change my mind and cancel the appointment. After speaking to her, I realize that I don't need to
have my hair highlighted yet, because my hair hasn't grown out yet. But George and I go on the
'A' train to the beauty parlor. It goes through a neighborhood that I have never seen before.
The train travels outside. George gets out at a stop as if he nonchalantly is doing something.
The train leaves without him. I wave to him and feel bad that he is not on the train." [From
Ullman, M. (1986). Access to dreams. In B.B. Wolman & M. Ullman (eds.) Handbook of states
of consciousness. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold (p.539).]
JOT DOWN NOTES ABOUT YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM IN THE SPACE
BELOW:

33

At the time of the following dream, Doris S. was a happy and healthy 28 year-old woman
living in a comfortable Chicago condominium with her husband of 5 years. Both she and her
husband had high-paying jobs in advertising (they had met at work) and were generally enjoying
life as "yuppies." They got along well together and, beyond the usual conflicts over small things,
the only problems they had were her overbearing mother (who tried to run their lives) and a very
stressful decision about whether to move to Los Angeles, where her husband, but not she, had
the opportunity for an exciting new job at even higher pay. Beyond these rather routine
problems, Doris lived a very normal life and had never experienced serious psychological
problems.

DORIS' DREAM
"I am at my friend Betty's house. I call Ann up to make an appointment to get my hair
highlighted. I speak to the receptionist at the beauty parlor. I speak in a Russian accent. She
asks when I can come. I say in a couple of days. I think that might be Wednesday. She asks
'Are you sure because we are changing things around here,' implying that it won't be good if I
change my mind and cancel the appointment. After speaking to her, I realize that I don't need to
have my hair highlighted yet, because my hair hasn't grown out yet. But George and I go on the
'A' train to the beauty parlor. It goes through a neighborhood that I have never seen before.
The train travels outside. George gets out at a stop as if he nonchalantly is doing something.
The train leaves without him. I wave to him and feel bad that he is not on the train." [From
Ullman, M. (1986). Access to dreams. In B.B. Wolman & M. Ullman (eds.) Handbook of states
of consciousness. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold (p.539).]
JOT DOWN NOTES ABOUT YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM IN THE SPACE
BELOW:

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Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: DEMONSTRATING COMPLIANCE THROUGH
CLASS PARTICIPATION1
Here is a simple way for students to experience the impact of social demand characteristics
and, more specifically, the power for producing compliance which resides in an authority. The
procedure simply involves asking the class to do silly or pointless things, the sillier and more
pointless the better.
In my classes, I give no introduction or rationale other than to say that I would like to
conduct a simple demonstration that requires class participation. Then, sometimes making up
instructions as I go along, I ask the students to think of a number from one to ten, to stand on
one foot (the right if they are left-handed, and the left if they are right-handed) and then to hop
the same number of times as the number they chose. Then I ask them to turn a complete circle
(to the left if they are right-handed, to the right if they are left-handed) and then sit down.
Colleagues have suggested other tasks, such as having students switching seats with one
another. You might even ask the students to exchange glasses or notebooks. In some cases, I
ask the class to give me a standing ovation, complete with whistles and cheers (it takes several
tries before the desired level of enthusiasm is reached, but with encouragement, the results are
rather gratifying).
When the tasks are completed, I inform the class that the only purpose of the
demonstration was to illustrate the phenomenon of compliance, and I ask the class why they did
what I asked them to do. The ensuing discussion gets across the point that people routinely do
what they are asked to do when the request comes from a legitimate authority, and provides a
nice entree into consideration of other social phenomena such as conformity and obedience.
Doing the demonstration with the entire class is much better than with a single volunteer
because the group format makes it impossible for any student to dismiss the power of
compliance effects; no one can claim that "I wouldn't have done that."

I got the idea for this demonstration from reading articles by Martin Orne on social demand
characteristics. In one of those articles, he pointed out that if you ask a friend to do some pushups, the friend will ask "Why?", but if you preface the request by saying "I'd like to do an
experiment", the friend will simply ask "Where?"

35

Sharing Ideas on the Teaching of Psychology

Douglas A. Bernstein
University of South Florida
University of Southampton
GENERAL: USING MUSIC TO ILLUSTRATE COURSE CONTENT
IN INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY
I like to play music at the beginning of class as the students are coming in, just before
beginning a lecture, or just before moving on to a new topic. After a song has been played, I
typically ask something like "what does this song have to say about x?" Or I ask how the song
exemplifies or contradicts psychological principles and research results.
Here are some examples of music that has worked well for me, though my choices
reflect my own idiosyncratic, and pathetically behind the times taste in music. (You can easily
come up with better illustrative tunes):
Human development
1. Effects of authoritarian parenting on child development and family relations: "She's leaving
home" (The Beatles)
2. Gender differences in communication: "I am a simple man" (Ricky van Shelton)
Perception
1. Role of top-down processing and expectation in perception of ambiguous stimuli: "I know
what I know" (Paul Simon)
2. Link between motivation and perception: "The girls all get prettier at closing time." (Mickey
Gilley)
Learning and memory
1. The role of classical conditioning or retrieval cues in memory: "Please, mister, please, don't
play b-17" (Olivia Newton John)
Thought and language
1. Role of schemas in interpreting speech: "The one I knew back then"; also called "The
Corvette song" (George Jones)
Motivation and emotion
1. Maslow's concept of deficiency motivation: "Why do we want what we know we can't have?"
(Reba McEntire)
2. Lie detection: "It's in his kiss" (Betty Everett)
Stress and coping
1. Role of social support: "You've got a friend" (James Taylor)
Personality
1. Inherited vs. learned aspects of personality: "Life turned her that way" (Ricky van Shelton)
2. Psychological defense mechanisms: "Cleopatra, queen of denial" (Pam Tillis); "I don't
remember loving you" (John Conlee)

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Abnormal psychology
1. Personality disorders: "I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane" (Waylon
Jennings)
Social psychology
1. Empathy and trust in intimate relationships:
"When something is wrong with my baby, something is wrong with me" (Sam and Dave); "If you
want a do right, all day woman, you've got to be a do right, all night man" (Willie Nelson, and
others)
2. Group dynamics, stereotyping, and prejudice: "I'm in with the in crowd" and a whole lot of rap
and hip-hop music.
You can also ask students to choose, transcribe, and discuss the lyrics of songs that they think
illustrate or exemplify psychological principles. This is a good way of expanding your musical
"repertoire" for future classes.

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