Table Of ContentSponsoring Committee: Professor Charles E. Skinner, Chairman
Professor Philip Zlatchin
Professor Frieda J. Behlen
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS
OF TWO METHODS OF TEACHING A THIRTY HOUR COURSE
IN PSYCHOLOGY IN MODIFYING ATTITUDES ASSOCIATED
WITH RACIAL, RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC PREJUDICE
Gerald S. Wieder
Submitted in p artial fulfillm ent of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in the School of Education of
New York University
flbesls accepted
1951
August 22, 1951
The student hereby guarantees that no part of the disser
ta tio n or document which he has submitted for publication has
"been heretofore published and (or) copyrighted in the United
States of America., except in the case of passages quoted from
other published sources; that he is the sole author and pro
prietor* of said dissertation or document; that the dissertation
or document contains no matter which, if published, will be
lib elo u s or otherwise injurious, or infringe in any way the
copyright of any other party; and that he w ill defend, indem
nify and hold harmless New York University against all suits
and proceedings which may be brought and against all claims
which may be made against New York University by reason of
the publication of said dissertation or document.
Gerald S. Wieder
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The writer wishes to express his sincere ap p reciatio n to
Professor Charles E. Skinner, Chairman of the Sponsoring Commit
tee and to Professors Frieda J. Behlan and P h ilip Z latch in ,
Members of the Sponsoring Committee for th e ir e ffo rts and a s s is
tance throughout the various stages of the study. D espite heavy
schedules and pressing duties they have given generously of th e ir
time and expert guidance,
*
To my colleagues at Brooklyn College much g ra titu d e i s due
for th e ir able assistance in various aspects o f th is in v e s tig a tio n .
In particular, I should like to express my sin cere ap p rec iatio n to
Dr, Max Siegel who has in effect served as a sp e cia l co n su ltan t
from the very beginning of this investigation.
For valuable aid in the sta tistic a l procedures involved in
this research, a note of indebtedness is due to Dr, V ictor
Eimlcke, To Miss Diana Levin a special note o f thanks fo r exp ert
clerical assistance.
Finally, an effort must be made to express in words to my
wife my appreciation for her uncomplaining acceptance of th e fa c t
that th is investigation jealously claimed p rio r rig h t to my tim e.
Without her attitude of selflessness and understanding th e study
would not have been possible.
ii
TABLE OP CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I THE PROBLEM.......................................................................... 1
Statem ent of the Problem.................................. 2
Specific Problems • » • . « • • • * • • 2
D efinitio n of Terms • • • ......................... 2
D elim itations ..................................... 5
Basic A ssum ptions.................* • * . • • 6
Basic Hypotheses* , • • • « • • • • • * 6
The Need for the Study................................* 6
Summary * » • « • « « • * » • • * • • • 12
II REVIEW OP THE LITERATURE.......................................... 13
Studies Which Stress the Roots of
Prejudice • • • • • « • * • • * • • • 13
Studies of the Effectiveness of School
Courses « • • • • • • • » • • « • • • 24
Studies Using Group Therapy Procedures* 30
Summary ....................................... 42
I II PROCEDURE FOR COLLECTION OP DATA.......................... 46
Introduction* * • • • • • • « « • « * • 46
Time and Place of Research* • • • • • • 46
D escription of Population • • • • • • • 47
Control Techniques. * • • « « • » • • • 31
Basic Experimental Design • • • • • • • 56
iii
Chapter fag®
Instruments Used* • • • • • • • • « « ■ 62
Attitude Scales. . . « • • • • • • 64
E Scale 66
F Scale • • • • • • • • • • • 67
M.M.P.I. . . . . . . . . . . o . . 71
Index of Adjustment and Values • • 73
Intelligence Test. • • • • • • • • 76
Content Examinations . . • • • « • 76
Content and Methods of Courses. . . . * 77
Traditional Lectur e-D iscussion
Method.......................................................... 77
Group Therapy Method of In stru c
tion • « • • • • • • • • • • • * 81
Summary . . • • • • • • • • • • . • • • 88
IV PROCEDURE IN TREATMENT OF TEE DATA AND
RESULTS................................................................. 89
Introduction. • • • • • • * 89
Statistical Treatment . . « • • • • * • 90
Statistics on the A ttitude Q uestionnaire 94
Statistics on the Index of S e lf-A d ju st
ment Values • • • • • • • . . . . . • 105
Statistics on th e Minnesota M ultiphasic
.Inventory 116
Statistics on the Content Exam ination • 129
Summary • ISO
V INTERPRETATION OF DATA . ....................................- . 132
iv
C hapter Page
VI SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS. . . . . 146
Summary • • • • • • • • • • • • « • • • • 146
Conclusions 148
Implications..................... 150
Suggestions for Future Research • • • • • 158
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................155
APPENDIX...........................................................................164
v
LIST OP TABLES
Table Page
I Number of Studies Showing Changes or Lack of
Change as a R esult of S pecific Influ
ences* • .............................. • • • • • • • « . • 29
II Guidance Test B attery Adm inistered to Vocation
al Diploma Students* » » • « • * • • • • • 48
III Arithmetic and Reading T est R esults for Diploma
Program Candidates • • • • • • • * . • • • 49
IV Intelligence, Reading, C lerical Aptitude and
P ersonality T est R esults fo r Diploma Pro
gram Candidates* • « • • « * • • • • • • • 50
V D escriptive Sociological C haracteristics* * * • 53
VI A Comparison of Pre-Test Scores on the A ttitude
Scales Obtained from the Experimental and
Control Groups • • * • • • • • • • • • • • 57
VII Means, Standard D eviations and Comparisons of
Pre- and P o st-te sts on the E, P and E-P
Scales ......................... • • « • • • • * . . • • 94
VIII Means and Comparisons of Pre- and P ost-tests
for Item C lusters in E-P Scales* • • • • • 97
IX A Comparison of P o st-te st scores on the A tti
tude Scales Obtained from the Experimental
and Control Groups* ..................................... 103
X A Comparison of P re -te st Scores on the Index of
Self-A djustm ent Obtained from Experimental
and Control Groups* • • • * • • • • • • • • 106
XI Means, Standard D eviations and Comparison of Pre
and P o st-te sts on th e Index of Self-A djust
ment*
n o
XII A Comparison of P o st-te st Scores on the Index of
Self-Adjustm ent Obtained from the Experimen
ta l and Control Groups* ....................... 114
v i
Table
X III A Comparison of Pre~test Scores on the MMPI
Ohtai ned from the Experimental and
Control Croups* • • • • • • • • • • « » 117
XIV Means, Standard Deviations and Comparison of
Pre and Post-tests on the MMPI for
Experimental and Control Groups • • • « 125
XV A Comparison of Content Examination Results
for Group Therapy and Lecture-Discussion
Classes* ................................... 129
Figure I Overall Plan of Study. • • • • • • • * . . • 60
vii
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
The theme of the recent m id-century White House Conference
on Children and Youth was i t s dedication to th e development in
the youth of this country the m ental, emotional, and sp iritu a l
qualities essen tial to in div idu al happiness and responsible c i t i
zenship, I t Is axiomatic to th is research th a t th is goal cannot
possibly be attained unless the young are freed from the cancerous
demoralization th a t is ra c ia l, relig io u s and ethnic prejudice*
With the im plications th is holds fo r education and the increasing
awareness of the value of combining clin ical and social approaches
to problems of social pathology, th is present investigation was
|
formulated. Recent research on the problem of m inority group
prejudice has indicated th e close relatio n sh ip between certain
socially determined perso nality variables and prejudice. I t also
has been demonstrated th a t clien t-centered and sociodramatic
therapeutic procedures can be adapted to classroom situ atio n s.
Consequently, it would appear lo g ic al that one approach in modify
ing prejudice might be through u tiliz in g group techniques in a
classroom situ ation which focus prim arily on many o f the same
personality variables*
1. E. Frenkel-Brunswik, "Dynamic and Cognitive C ategorization of
Q ualitative M aterial II: A pplication to Interview w ith the
Ethnically Prejudiced," Journal of Psychology, 25 (1948),
pp. 261-277*
Statement of the Problem
•**
The purpose of th is Investigation is to study the relativ e
effectiveness of two methods of teaching a th irty hour course in
Practical Psychology in modifying attitudes associated with racial,
religious and ethnic prejudice: the one method u tilizin g group
therapy procedures, and the other the traditional lecture-
di8Cussion method.
Specific Problems
The following problems were investigated:
1. What is the effect of a course In Practical Psychology
conducted along group therapy lines upon the individual's attitu des
associated with racial, religious and ethnic prejudice?
2. What is the effect of a course in Practical Psychology
taught by the trad itio n al lecture-dlscussion method upon the indi
vidual's attitud es associated with racial, religious and ethnic
prejudice?
3. Are there significant differences between these two
methods of instruction in modifying attitudes associated with
racial, religious and ethnic prejudice?
4. What is the relationship between personality adjustment
and modification of attitud es associated with ra c ia l, religious
and ethnic prejudice for the population of this investigation?
D efinition of Terms
As used In th is study, the following technical terms are
defined:
