PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION LEARN I NG AND TEACH I NG B. CLAUDE MATHIS Northwestern University JOHN W. COTTON Uniaersity of California, Santa Barbara LEE SECHREST Northwestern University ACADEMIC PRESS New York and London COPYRIGHT © 1970, BY ACADEMIC PRESS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM, BY PHOTOSTAT, MICROFILM, RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, OR ANY OTHER MEANS, WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHERS. ACADEMIC PRESS, INC. Ill Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10003 United Kingdom Edition published by ACADEMIC PRESS, INC. (LONDON) LTD. Berkeley Square House, London W1X 6BA LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 78-107561 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PREFACE Nearly a decade has elapsed since the funding by the Carnegie Corporation of a proposal advanced by Northwestern University which had as its major objective the development of closer working relation­ ships between a department of psychology known for its experimental commitments and a school of education which has some reputation for plotting an independent course in teacher education. Among the con­ tributions of Northwestern faculty members to that project were papers by Benton J. Underwood on verbal learning and education, Donald T. Campbell (with Julian Stanley) on experimental and quasiexperimental designs in education, Carl P. Duncan on problem solving, Robert I. Watson on the history of educational psychology, Winfred F. Hill on learning theory and identification, and Lee Sechrest (with R. Wray Strowig) on teaching machines and programmed instruction. In addi­ tion, a symposium on learning, "Can the Laws of Learning Be Applied in the Classroom?," produced papers by Kenneth Spence and Arthur Melton. The Carnegie Project at Northwestern stimulated much interaction between psychologists and educators on the problems and challenges of education. One result of this interaction is Psychological Foundations of Education, which includes content from both general and educational psychology using the classroom as the organizer of the material. We feel this approach has at least two implications. First, it requires some de- emphasis of topics such as sensory and animal psychology, which are xv xvi Preface often dominant in the general psychology curriculum. Second, given the present conceptual status of basic problems in psychology such as learn­ ing, motivation, and development, it suggests that the apparent dicho­ tomies of knowledge represented by the classifications of general and educational psychology are no longer realistic, if indeed they ever were. An examination of textbooks available today for general and educa­ tional psychology courses reveals an overlap of basic topics with the latter course often appearing to be a furbishing of general psychology material with classroom examples and references to educational research. A prime criterion for including any topic in an educational psychology book is relevance to teaching, which is a worthy standard. If the topic, however, represents one previously learned in a general psychology course, then a second criterion, the conscious effort to produce overlearn- ing and transfer of repeated material, must also exist. Or perhaps this duplication of material may be less than conscious, deriving simply from intraprofessional differences among psychologists. Psychological Founda­ tions of Education suggests an alternate answer to the problem of the bifurcation of general and educational psychology in the curriculum of teacher preparation. Our solution is provisional and has obvious imper­ fections. We offer it, however, in the hope that we may stimulate discus­ sion of the problem and other solutions and/or explicit justifications for past practice. This text should have a variety of uses in classes where students are preparing for teaching. It was written specifically for those situations in which the prospective teacher is introduced to psychology through a one- or two-semester integrated sequence. The instructor in such a situa­ tion may wish to use the chapters in the order in which they appear. Administrative convenience may prevent such an arrangement; therefore, we offer some alternate organizations of chapters for other teaching situations. Instructors in a general psychology course intended for future teachers may wish to cover Chapters 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 16. Instructors in an educational psychology course with a general psy­ chology prerequisite may wish to present Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, and 17. The boldface numbered chapters in each case represent possible sources of overlap between the two courses, to be omitted or not as local conditions and the instructor's judgment dictate. We do not consider our coverage of the material exhaustive, but we have attempted to organize all the chapters so that their relevance for teaching is either implicit or explicit. We hope the future educator who reads this book will leave it with a clearer understanding of psychology as a science and the contributions the science can make to teaching and the process of education. One of the major values held by educators Preface xvii today is the concept of relevance. Our attempts at relevance will be particularly noted in the chapters recommended above for the educa­ tional psychology course. There the explicit focus is upon students and teachers in their respective educational roles. Reading this book in no way substitutes for perceptive, meaningful experiences with students in a classroom. Learning to teach is more than understanding a textbook. However, if the contents of this book help future teachers prepare for methods courses, practice teaching, and the professional teaching career itself, we shall be content. No book would be complete without an acknowledgment of the efforts of the many persons other than the authors whose contributions have helped to produce that volume. We would especially like to recognize Cleo Dietz and Dorothy Damewood for their help in typing the manu­ script, Cynthia George for the many permission letters which she wrote, Dennis Ridley for assistance with the Index, Michael Byer for his editing skills, and Carolyn Cotton for her skills in proofreading. Writing a textbook is inevitably a family affair. Our wives and children are to be commended for the patience and support which they gave to a project which all too frequently required the subordination of their interests to the priorities of the manuscript. Last, we should like to recognize the invaluable assistance given by those with whom we worked at Academic Press. 1 PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION Although psychological lore is so familiar, few of us attain a well- rounded understanding of psychology from everyday experience. This book reports some unusual facts of psychology and includes many topics you may not be familiar with. Since this book is intended primarily for persons interested in teaching, our emphasis is on the aspects of psychology relevant to education. However, the chapters presented here should give readers a clearer understanding of the science of psychology generally, and of the commitments and points of view of psychologists who translate the science into professional activity. What Is Psychology? Psychology is two things: an academic discipline and a technology. As an academic discipline, psychology is the scientific study of the behavior of human beings and of animals. As a technology, psychology is the means of changing behavior by applying the findings of academic psychology, combined with intelligent guesses where knowledge is lack­ ing. Let us pursue what is meant by these two statements. Behavior— what living things do—is the raison d'etre of psychology. At some time or another psychologists have studied almost all aspects of life. Some of the activities studied seem to fit better in fields other than psychology. However, regardless of its relevance to biology, political science, religion, or other disciplines, all behavior can be explained in part by psychological principles and all deserve psychological investigation. 1 2 Chapter One To say that psychology is a scientific study is to say that psychologists choose to do research governed by scientific standards. Science, when approached abstractly, may appear to have one set of absolute standards for what is or is not scientific. As long as the product of science results from the activity of men, there will be variations in the interpretation of the standards representing science. Nevertheless, scientists generally agree on some of the basic attributes of scientific activity necessary to any discipline that deserves the label "scientific." Several of these basic standards will be illustrated in this book. In general, scientists typically favor: 1. Fact over "expert" opinion 2. Logic over intuition 3. Purity of research methods over speed of gaining knowledge To learn whether one unidentified cola drink actually tastes sufficiently different from another to be correctly identified consistently one must look for factual evidence ( 3 ). When seeking facts, one does not ask one's neighbor for an opinion nor judge by statements in a television com­ mercial. To find out whether a "burning desire" to win is enough to make an athlete the world's champion high jumper, we need to ask two logical questions. First, how can we express a "burning desire to win" in a way that can be measured, and second, how does it relate to the jumping performance of the athlete? Similarly, to find out about the improvement of elementary school children's reading skills, one does not ask their parents. The scientific answer to the question could involve the assess­ ment of evidence from many different sources (7). Now look at psychology as a technology. This aspect of psychology can best be understood by observing the psychologists who apply the facts of psychology in their professional relationships. An applied psy­ chologist is much like other psychologists in that he tries to influence people's actions. The many kinds of applied psychologists try to influence people in different ways. An industrial psychologist works to improve employee morale, increase production, and decrease labor turnover. A clinical psychologist works to alleviate or even prevent people's emotional disorders. An educational psychologist helps school planners develop the best in learning methods and techniques for students. Comparisons suggest that applied psychologists and nonpsychologists often try to achieve the same goals. What distinguishes the actions of the psychologist from the nonpsychologist? The difference is twofold. First, each uses different tools for his tasks: For example, a psychologist gives individual intelligence tests, but a teacher does not. Second, even when doing the same tasks, each emphasizes different aspects. In counseling a child with reading problems, a psychologist uses a different body of Psychology and Education 3 TABLE 1-1 Distribution of Psychologists among the Various Subfields of Psychology (4) Percentage 1960 1962 1964 N = 15,257 N = 16,791 N = 16,804 Subfield % % % Clinical 39 37 37 Counseling and guidance 12 12 11 Developmental psychology 2 3 3 Educational psychology 8 9 8 Engineering psychology0 2 Experimental, comparative, and 11 13 11 physiological psychology General psychology 1 1 1 Industrial and personnel psychology 10 10 8 Personality 3 3 3 Psychometrics 3 3 3 School psychology 5 4 6 Social 5 4 6 Other 1 1 1 0 Did not appear on the Specialties List of the 1960 and 1962 surveys. research findings and professional practices than does a social worker or a teacher. Some of the many areas of specialization within the field of psychology are listed in Table 1-1, showing the percentage of psychologists engaged in each. These data, summarized for the years 1960, 1962, and 1964, were obtained from a recent study of manpower in psychology reported by the American Psychological Association (4). Table 1-2, also from this study, shows how these psychologists are distributed vocationally—that is, where they work. The tables indicate that many psychologists are employed in an educational setting, either in a college or university or in a public school system. But in all the subfields of psychology the common denominator is people studying human behavior scientifically. In this book the area of specialization emphasized is educational psychology. However, it will be apparent that the scientific approach is shared by all psychologists. The Purposes of Psychological Study If psychology is an academic discipline employing scientific methods for the study of behavior, what is the purpose of this study? For some it may be a curiosity to discover what people are like, prompting the 2 TABLE 1-2> C Employers o/ Psychologists ( 4 ) h a p Secondary Not em­ ter College and Federal Other Nonprofit ployed or O n and uni­ school govern­ govern­ organiza­ Self- not re­ e versity systems ment ment Military tions Industry employed Other ported Subfield N % % % % % % % % % % Clinical 6,151 22 7 10 22 1 14 2 14 2 5 Counseling and 1,831 51 10 10 8 <1 10 2 4 1 3 guidance Developmental 510 65 3 3 6 1 9 <1 2 2 9 Educational 1,427 56 20 2 6 <1 4 3 1 3 4 Engineering 377 7 0 14 1 7 9 60 <1 1 1 Experimental, com­ 1,912 68 1 9 3 2 6 7 1 1 4 parative, and physiological General 141 76 1 2 3 1 4 0 1 0 12 Industrial and 1,367 19 1 9 3 2 5 51 6 2 3 personnel Personality 479 67 2 7 7 1 7 1 3 1 4 Psychometrics 467 50 1 16 5 1 10 11 1 1 3 School 939 10 68 1 10 0 1 1 <1 3 6 Social 1,004 70 1 6 3 2 7 5 2 1 3 Other 199 35 2 6 9 1 11 6 6 1 23 All subfields 16,804 39 10 8 11 1 9 8 7 2 5 Psychology and Education 5 observer to watch what they do and record his findings. Other psychol­ ogists may study behavior because they want to understand behavior. Still others would like to be able to predict what will happen in certain situations. A fourth type of psychologist may seek to influence or control other people. Research directed primarily by curiosity can answer whatever ques­ tions the curious person may raise: At what age can the average child first say a three-word sentence? How soundly do most people sleep? Do left-handed people learn differently from right-handed people? Can babies select a balanced diet if free to choose? Do children learn to read better by one method than by another? Is pica or elite type easier to read? Is prolonged hunger more severe than prolonged thirst? The hundreds of facts garnered from the answers to such a group of questions could comprise the material for a handbook on behavior. But if a psychologist's curiosity is completely unchanneled, the ques­ tions he answers may be as unrelated as those just raised. He functions to produce a descriptive psychology, which tells much about many things but does not connect any one thing to anything else. If, however, the answer to one question leads him to ask one related to it, he is help­ ing to build an organized body of knowledge. After finding at what age a child first says a three-word sentence, he asks: What words are most often found in the child's vocabulary at this period? How large must his vocabulary be before he utters such a sentence? How many words like "wa-wa" will an infant create for use with his own family before he replaces them with the actual words his parents employ? The result of this proliferation of research on related questions is a developing psy­ chology which is systematic as well as descriptive. We are still describ­ ing behavior, but we are trying to describe it in a systematic way. Only thus can the hypothetical handbook mentioned above contain chapters on infant speech, sleep, animal memory, food preferences, running speeds of rats, legibility of different types, comparisons of different needs, and so on. Yet the psychologist who wants to understand behavior will still be dissatisfied ( 1 ). If he finds that babies can select a balanced diet for them­ selves (5), he wants to know why. He may have discovered many facts about this food-selection procedure, but he is dissatisfied until he knows why it occurs. Do the organs of taste become more sensitive to the foods the child needs but has not been getting? Does a needed food taste better than an unneeded one? If two foods of different food value taste very much the same, like sugar and sucaryl, will the child choose the one he needs? These questions are in fact hunches or hypotheses about the reasons for the findings. As the psychologist learns which hypotheses are