Illustrating Concepts and Phenomena in Psychology: A Teacher-Friendly Compendium of Examples

485 Pages·2022·10.677 MB·English

by  E. Leslie Cameron, Douglas A. Bernstein

Springer Texts in Education
E. Leslie Cameron
Douglas A. Bernstein
Illustrating
Concepts and
Phenomena
in Psychology
A Teacher-Friendly Compendium
of Examples
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E. Leslie Cameron (cid:129) Douglas A. Bernstein
Illustrating Concepts
and Phenomena
in Psychology
A Teacher-Friendly Compendium
of Examples
123
E. Leslie Cameron Douglas A.Bernstein
Department ofPsychological Science Department ofPsychology
Carthage College University of SouthFlorida
Kenosha,WI, USA Tampa,FL,USA
ISSN 2366-7672 ISSN 2366-7680 (electronic)
SpringerTexts inEducation
ISBN978-3-030-85649-6 ISBN978-3-030-85650-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85650-2
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Foreword
Ioftentalktostudentsaftermyclassesandaparticulargroupofthemwholivedin
the same residence hall stands out in my memory. One member of the group was
doing really well on the exams, much to her friends’ bewilderment. She did not
studyaslongandhardforexamsasherfriendsdid,nordidshehaveabackground
inpsychology,butshewasatthetopoftheclass.Inclass,thisstudentwouldsitin
rapt attention, but would not take extensive notes like other students. One time I
was talking with her and I asked her what she liked about the class. “I like the
examples you give,” she said, “I think about them a lot outside of class.” She did
not consider this studying because it did not involve notecards or highlighting.
Based on what we know about the power of good examples to facilitate learning,
however, this was actually a powerful form of studying (Chiu & Chi, 2014).
This book is intended to help you harness the power of good examples in your
teaching. There are multiple and diverse examples for virtually every concept in
psychology. Your job is to select the best ones for your teaching, which can be
moredifficultthanyoumightthink.Theeffectivenessofanexampledependsonthe
academic context. Factors such as the students’ prior knowledge, their cultural
backgrounds, and how they process the examples all influence effectiveness (cf.
Chew & Cerbin, 2020). An example that is effective at a large, open enrollment,
public university might not be effective at a small, selective historically black
collegeoruniversity.Whatiseffectiveatatwo-yearcommunitycollegefocusedon
vocational training may not be effective at a small liberal arts college. Teachers
must determine which examples work best for their students.
There are two basic truths about examples, one of which is generally
acknowledged but the other of which is generally ignored. The truth we
acknowledge, and the reason for this book, is that examples can be powerful tools
to enhance student learning. No pedagogical approach, be it traditional lecture or
technology-enhanced collaborative group learning, discounts the usefulness and
importance of good examples. Pedagogical research overwhelmingly supports the
usefulness of examples. The truth we generally ignore is that using examples
effectively is neither simple nor straightforward (Chew, 2007). Poor examples are
not just ineffective, they can actually hurt learning. Too often, teachers come up
v
vi Foreword
withexamplesthatareintuitivelycleartothem,butwhatiscleartoanexpertwith
yearsoftrainingmaynotbecleartostudentslearningpsychologyforthefirsttime.
Many years ago, I had both teachers and students of psychology rate a set of
examples for their clarity and effectiveness. I found good agreement among
teachersaboutwhatwasagoodexample,andgoodagreementamongstudents,but
littleagreementbetweenteachersandstudents.Thisbookprovidesyouwithapool
ofexamplestotryoutinyourclasses.Thebestexamplesmaynotbetheonesyou
expect.
Research has also found that students, especially weaker students, typically do
not make the best use of examples (Chiu & Chi, 2014). Good students reflect on
them and map the components of the example onto the critical aspects of the
concept,asinthecaseofmystudentabove.Weakerstudentstendtomemorizethe
example, thinking that if they remember the example, then they understand the
concept. Alternatively, they may focus on the superficial elements of an example
rather than its key structural elements. They may learn about Pavlov and classical
conditioning and think it only applies to dogs and food. They do not see classical
conditioning as a fundamental form of learning that applies to a wide array of
situations,suchasdrugaddictionandprejudice.Whenteachingwithexamples,itis
always agoodidea toprompt studentstoreflect onexamplesandthinkabouthow
the example relates to the concept.
When you teach a course multipletimes, it isalwaysa good idea torefine your
teachingmethodsandactivitiestomakethecoursebetter.Thisbookwillhelp you
to refine the examples you use and how you use them. Good teachers have “tried
andtrue”examplesforeveryconceptthattheyteach,buttheyalsohavePlanBand
PlanCexamplesaswell.Nosingleexampleisgoingtobeeffectiveforeveryonein
the class, and this book will provide you with multiple, diverse examples.
Examples are powerful because they can be used to achieve multiple learning
goals.Theycanbeusedaspartofformativeassessmentstogivestudentsfeedback
about their level of understanding. They can be used to address the common
misconceptionsstudentsoftenhaveaboutpsychology.Theycanbeusedtopromote
goodlearninghabits,likespacedpractice,interleaving,andretrievalpractice.They
canhelpstudentsseetherelevanceofwhattheyarelearningbeyondtheclassitself
and promote the transfer of knowledge. But to do all of these things, you have to
start with a set of good examples. You have that in this book. To use an analogy
(which is a form of example), you are like a chef with a wide assortment offine
ingredients. What you can create with them is limited only by your creativity.
Stephen L. Chew
Samford University
Birmingham, AL, USA
Foreword vii
References
Chew, S. L. (2007). Designing effective examples and problems for teaching statistics.
In D. S. Dunn, R. A. Smith, & B. Beins (Eds.), Best practices for teaching statistics and
researchmethodsinthebehavioralsciences(pp.73–91),Mahwah,NJ:Erlbaum.
Chew,S.L.,&Cerbin,W.J.(2020).Thecognitivechallengesofeffectiveteaching.TheJournalof
EconomicEducation,https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2020.1845266.
Chiu, J. L., & Chi, M. T. H. (2014). Supporting self-explanation in the classroom.
In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.), Applying science of learning in
education: Infusing psychological science in the curriculum (pp. 91–103). Society for the
TeachingofPsychology.https://teachpsych.org/ebooks/asle2014/index.php.
Preface
Likeotherprofessorswhoteachpsychology,weareperpetuallyseekingever-better
examplesoftheconcepts,theories,andphenomenathatweintroduceinclass.Itis
important to have these examples because, as we know from research in cognitive
psychology and from long experience in teaching, they help make course material
more interesting and they help students understand, learn, and remember it (e.g.,
Craik & Lockhart, 1972). This is particularly true if the examples are clear, vivid,
offbeat,funny,orrelevanttostudents’lifeexperiences(Bernstein,Frantz,&Chew,
2020; Rogers, Kuiper & Kirker, 1977).
For psychology teachers in the USA, a reminder of the importance of giving
good examples is contained in the latest edition of the American Psychological
Association’s Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major (version 2.0;
APA, 2013). Specifically, Outcome 1.3a (p. 21) states that students completing a
psychology major should ideally be able to describe examples of relevant and
practicalapplicationsofpsychologicalprinciples.Thevalueofthisoutcomeliesin
assuring that students can recognize how those principles apply to everyday life.
To help them do so, teachers must be ready with plenty of examples. The
problem is that psychology teachers are generally on their own when it comes to
finding the most useful and compelling examples to illustrate and animate the vast
array of material included in most psychology courses, especially introductory
psychology.Theyhavetosearchfor(orstumbleupon)thosegemsofexamplesthat
are scattered far and wide in scholarly books, journal articles, textbooks, instruc-
tors’ manuals, test banks, discussion group threads, teaching conference presenta-
tions, blogs, and YouTube videos, among other places. As a result, many teachers
ofpsychology—particularlythosewhoarenewtoteachingorareteachingacourse
for the first time—find that good, useful examples are in short supply, especially
when,assooftenhappensintheintroductorycourse,theyareteachingmaterialthat
isoutsidetheirownareaofspecialization.Generatingexamplesontheflyinclassis
difficult,andfindinggood,accurate,anderror-freeexamplesinadvancetakesalot
of time—as we can attest after having created this compendium. Asking students
forexamplesinclassisrisky;theresultscanrangefromthesurprisinglygoodtothe
stunningly incorrect, inappropriate, or bizarre, leading to confusion at best and
awkward or embarrassing moments at worst.
ix
x Preface
To illustrate the problem, imagine that you are an industrial/organizational
psychologist teaching your first introductory psychology course, and today’s class
is on the basic principles of classical conditioning, including the concept of neg-
ative reinforcement. You introduce this widely misunderstood phenomenon by
saying that it involves strengthening a behavior by removing a negative reinforcer
after the behavior occurs. You have correctly described the process, but many of
your students will not have a clue as to what you mean. To help them understand,
youoffertheexampleofaratinacagewhoseflooriselectrifiedandisdeliveringa
continuous,uncomfortableshockthatwillstopwhentheratpressesabutton.Ifthe
rat learns to press the button, it will have done so via negative reinforcement;
button-pressingwasstrengthenedbytheremovaloftheshock.Gotit?Fivepercent
ofyourstudentswillunderstand,whiletherestwillprobablyjustwritedownwhat
yousaidandhopethatitwillnotbeonthetest(itwillbe).Someofthemmightask
forclarification,butyoumightnotbeabletooffermuchbeyondwhatyoualready
said. If you then move on to the next topic, the majority of your class will either
havetofigureoutthenegativereinforcementprincipleontheirownortosimplyfail
to understand it, thus helping to perpetuate the widely held misconception that
negative reinforcement is the same as punishment.
Worse yet, you will not look forward to trying to teach this difficult concept in
thefuture.Experiences likethis areamong thefactors thatcreateteachinganxiety,
impair relationships with students, and reduce some teachers’ motivation to try to
improve their courses (Bernstein, 1983; Bernstein, Frantz, & Chew, 2020). What
you need are more and better examples, including those available on YouTube, in
cartoons, in clinical case studies, or scenarios such as these:
1. We learn to push our TV’s mute button through negative reinforcement;
pressing it eliminates the sounds of a commercial or a commentator that we
cannot stand.
2. We learn to take pain relievers through negative reinforcement because after
doing so, our pain disappears.
3. We learn to get out of unpleasant social situations through negative reinforce-
ment, as when we end a boring date early after complaining of an imaginary
headache.
4. Our fear of spiders can be solidified through negative reinforcement when we
escapeanxietybychangingthechannelwhenaspiderappearsonanatureshow.
5. We learn to fasten our seat belts through negative reinforcementbecause doing
so stops that annoying reminder chime.
Adding a few of these examples would probably have helped students to better
understand the concept of negative reinforcement.