they hope to achieve insight into personal problems； others take it because it fulfills a requirement； or
because the class meets at a time that is convenient for them。 You cannot “please all the people all of the
time；” but your success in teaching will depend on the degree to which you deal with the wide range of
individual differences your students bring to your class。
Be aware of the intellectual level of your students； of special aspects of their backgrounds； their
sophistication as well as areas of na。veté。 Answer for yourself these basic questions：
。 Who am I talking to？
。 What two or three points do I want them to remember？
。 What other points would it be nice—but not essential—for them to recall？
Students e to class with their own agendas—areas of genuine interest as well as topics they expect to be
covered in an introductory psychology class。 Asking your students to submit questions periodically is one
way to assess their interests。 Zanich and Grover （1989） surveyed student interest in 80 specific topics
typically included in introductory texts and lectures。 Each topic was rated on a 5…point scale from very
interesting to not very interesting。 According to the students； the five most interesting topics were （1） the
possible function of dreams； （2） why people are attracted to each other； （3） hypnosis； （4） how to improve
your memory； and （5） sexual motivation and variations in sexual behavior。 In general； students had the
least interest in natural science aspects of psychology。 The five least interesting topics were （76） how the
auditory system works； （77） learning and nonsense syllables； （78） historical roots of modem psychology；
（79） theories of color vision； and （80） the endocrine system。 However； it must be noted that for all students；
psychology majors and non…majors； mean topic ratings reflected slightly greater than average interest for all
topics； with psychology majors giving slightly higher interest ratings than non…psychology majors。
BASIC MECHANICS OF LECTURES
The quality of instruction overrides content in determining student reactions to specific topics。 Teachers are
more than information dispensers。 They put information into perspective； give contexts so ideas may be
better appreciated； offer emphasis and clarification。 The task of preparing a lecture is not so much one of
loading as many ideas as possible into the firing chamber as one of carefully packaging a few delicate
thoughts for the difficult trip from mind to mind。 You should therefore attend very seriously to
“transportation and delivery” issues when you are preparing your lecture； not only to the load。 Sass （1989）
found that students repeatedly cite eight instructor characteristics as responsible for high motivation to
master the material： enthusiasm； relevance； organization； appropriate difficulty level； active involvement；
variety； rapport； and use of appropriate examples。
Within the lecture； use examples—lots of examples—to illustrate the many unfamiliar concepts introduced
in the course。 To maintain students’ attention； vary the pitch and loudness of your voice； use gestures and
facial expression； and move。 Review your lecture notes thoroughly before class so you will not be glued to
the lectern。 Periodically review your delivery method and voice tone by listening to a tape recording of your
lecture—an invaluable and humbling experience！
Use the lecture to amplify and enrich the material in the text； to illustrate difficult concepts； to relate
psychology to personal experience； or to motivate and stimulate students。 Avoid duplicating the text。 Too
much factual information in a lecture is likely to overwhelm students and result in little or no retention。
Lectures should usually begin with an attention…getting device such as a quick demonstration； personal
remark； question； anecdote； or a clear statement of a theme； problem； or paradox。 The balance of the lecture
should have a structure that is apparent to the students as well as to you。 For example； begin with a
xii
preview； in which the central points of the lecture are briefly indicated and reference is made to important
issues or types of evidence related to each； move into main points； each of which is stated and explored by
giving relevant evidence and explaining current controversies； conclude with a summary in which the
central points are again stated and supporting information briefly reviewed。 In effect； as a friend of ours is
fond of saying； “You tell ’em what you’re going to tell ’em； you tell ’em； and then you tell ’em what you told
’em。”
START WITH AN ATTENTION GETTER
As a guide to lively lecture starters； we offer these suggestions：
。 Statement of thesis to be argued： “Today I would like to try to convince you that the greatest feat of
human intelligence occurs when a two…year…old child learns its native language。”
。 Question： “Research in the area of attitude change shows that a credible municator has
more persuasive impact than a noncredible one。 Can you think of any conditions when a
disliked municator can be more effective than a liked one in changing your attitudes？”
。 Paradox： “You see me as an upright； stationary three…dimensional figure； yet my image on your
retina is upside down； jiggling around； with only two flat dimensions。 How do you see the real
me； given your deceiving retina？”
。 Personal anecdote： “Have you ever known someone who suddenly and without any warning lost
his or her memory ＇became a different person＇？ Several years ago a cousin of mine。 。 。”
。 Argument： “Freud has done more than any other person to promote the psychological study and
treatment of mental illness by replacing the demons of exorcism with the respectability of
medical science and the reasoned analysis of psychoanalysis。 Nevertheless； as far as I am
concerned； his contribution is now backfiring。 The long…term consequences of the medical
model and of using unconscious dynamic explanations to explain a basically ordinary process
of maladaptive learning are nothing less than fraud。”
。 Relevant media： Start your lecture by reading all or part of an article in the school or local
newspaper that highlights a major point to be made in the lecture。
。 Relevant student material： “A student from my other class came to ask me yesterday whether I
might refer him to a psychiatrist。 After a long discussion； it seemed evident that his problem
was loneliness； and I do not know a therapist who treats that。 How unusual and bizarre a
problem is loneliness？ Are any of you afflicted by it？ Let us discuss that topic today。”
。 Concrete instances （people rather than abstract variables）： “It’s hard to imagine that we would ever
be blindly obedient to authority as participants in Milgram’s experiments were。 ‘Not me； I’m
different；’ you say。 ‘I’d be independent。’ What do you think the people in Nixon’s presidential
cabinet said before the Watergate scandal？ Moreover； what about the 900 people who took part
in the mass suicide pact in Guyana？ Were they being loyal to their leader； the Reverend Jim
Jones？ Dedicated to their cause？ Faithful to their religious beliefs？ Alternatively； were they
blindly obedient fanatics who were brainwashed by a dictator？ Who is absolutely certain they
would not have drunk the poison at Jonestown if they had been members of the People’s
Temple？”
。 Shared experiences： “We all know people who。 。 。” or “I’m sure that you； like me； have been in
love and maybe we have even experienced similar emotions when that union was at its height
and ＇pause＇ when the relationship somehow went wrong； failed； died。 Let’s examine the nature
of emotions 。 。 。”
。 Challenge： “My daughter asked me if blind people ever dream in colors。 Who has an answer I
can give her？”
。 Turn of phrase： “What’s the difference between a psychologist who studies animal learning and
a magician who uses animals in his act？ The psychologist pulls habits out of his rats。”
xiii
。 Individualize prior student input： “You recall that in our last lecture a student challenged the
view that pain is a sensation parable to other senses。 Ms。 Jones’ pain…as…unique sensation
theory； in fact； fits some new evidence。”
WITHIN THE LECTURE
The material within the lecture should follow a logical order。 Among the organizational schemes you can
use are：
CAUSE AND EFFECT
Cite and explain events by referring to their origins。 For example； you can discuss how the criticisms of
existing theories led to the development of new perspectives。
TIME SEQUENTIAL
Arrange lecture ideas chronologically。 For example； you can explain how information moves from one
memory system to another through a series of steps。 Information is encoded into sensory memory； the
important information moves on to short…term memory （where it is rehearsed or lost）； and so on。
TOPICAL
Focus on parallel elements of different discussion topics。 For example； when teaching the major
psychological disorders； you can discuss their similarities。
PROBLEM—SOLUTION
Follow the statement of a problem with alternative solutions。 For example； you might pose the problem：
What are the consequences of frustration？ You could then go on to discuss the responses； such as；
frustration may lead to aggression。
PRO—CON
Present a two…sided discussion of a value…laden topic。 When using this method； be certain to give each side
equal weight。 Let the students decide for themselves which side they want to take。 For example； the topic of
deinstitutionalization has an inherent adversarial challenge。 On the one hand； research shows that many
institutionalized patients can exist and improve in a “least restrictive environment。” Letting them out of
institutions； moreover； is economically beneficial to the various state and local governments and thus to the
taxpayer。 On the other hand； if the patients are deinstitutionalized in munities lacking sufficient
services； the former patients will be forced out onto the streets to fend for themselves。 Such a situation can be
dangerous both to them and