Controversies in Psychology
Edited by Andrew M. Colman
1995, London and New York: Longman. Pp. xvi + 105. ISBN 0-582-27803-1
Contents
Notes on editor and contributors
Series editor's preface
Introduction
1 Parapsychology
Susan Blackmore University of the West of England, England
2 Hypnosis
Graham F. Wagstaff University of Liverpool, England
3 Gender Issues in Psychology
Mary Crawford West Chester University, USA and Rhoda K. Unger Montclair State College, USA
4 Psychology and the Law
Robert T. Croyle University of Utah, USA and Elizabeth F. Loftus University of Washington, USA
5 Health Psychology
John Weinman Guy's Hospital, England
Glossary
Index
Introduction
Andrew M. Colman
This book deals with issues that arouse debate,
argument, and controversy, not only within the psychological community but also
in the public arena. In addition to being controversial, they are topics that
students find especially intriguing, and they are therefore popular topics for
seminars and discussion groups. Students and general readers alike seem to be
attracted to books that focus on controversial issues. Controversies in
psychology are not only interesting but also highly instructive, because they
clearly expose the reasoning processes and research methodologies that lie
behind the psychologists' conclusions. As the philosopher of science Karl Popper
argued persuasively (see, for example, Popper, 1972), ideas that have withstood
vigorous criticism are generally preferable to those that have been accepted
uncritically or dogmatically, because the process of criticism exposes errors
that can then be eliminated. It is worth adding that criticism also tends to
cause the underlying ideas to be expressed more clearly and therefore to be
better understood.
There is another significant property shared by the topics covered in
this volume. They are all difficult to classify within the conventional course
modules of the standard undergraduate curriculum, as represented by the titles
of the other books in this series, namely Cognitive Psychology, Developmental
Psychology, Social Psychology, and so on. In spite of the difficulty
of classifying them, the topics discussed in the following chapters are all
related to research problems of sufficient importance to have attracted
sustained research, and they tend to be taught in degree courses under a variety
of different headings, including "Special Topics" and
"Options".
In chapter 1, Susan Blackmore provides a critical survey of research into
parapsychology. The word itself comes from the Greek para, which means
beyond, prefixed to the word psychology. Parapsychology is a small but
well established and active field of research devoted to the investigation of
psychological phenomena that purport to be paranormal, to use a more familiar
word, supernatural. Blackmore traces the historical background of parapsychology
(for a more detailed historical survey see Beloff, 1994) and then evaluates the
scientific evidence regarding a number of possibly paranormal phenomena,
including ESP (extra-sensory perception: perception without the use of normal
sensory processes), PK (psychokinesis: the movement or change of physical
objects by purely mental processes), psychic experiences, out-of-body
experiences, and survival after death.
It is only through properly controlled scientific investigations that the
reality of such phenomena can be established convincingly. There is an abundance
of non-scientific, anecdotal evidence for spontaneous paranormal phenomena, or
psi phenomena as they are often inelegantly called (from the Greek letter psi,
representing psyche, soul, and psychical, spiritual). We have all
heard accounts of psi experiences from relatives, friends, and acquaintances,
and early psychical research was devoted largely to collecting and examining
just such accounts as these. But anecdotal evidence of this kind relies on the
testimony of those who report it, and more than two centuries ago the Scottish
philosopher David Hume (1748/1902, section 10) put forward a decisive argument
against accepting such reports. He pointed out that an anecdotal report of an
allegedly paranormal event (or of anything else, for that matter) always entails
exactly three logical possibilities: either the report is true, or it is false
because the informant is mistaken, or it is false because the informant is
lying. Now if an informant reports something that is supposed to be true but is
intrinsically unlikely, then the crucial question is whether one of the
alternatives, namely that the informant is mistaken or lying, is even less
likely. The answer always has to be no: a paranormal event must have violated a
law of nature and must therefore be as unlikely as anything could be, because if
it did not violate any law of nature, then the claim that it was paranormal
would collapse. It follows from this that the likelihood that the informant is
mistaken or lying must be greater, because that would not violate any law
of nature. Consequently, there are never good grounds for believing
merely anecdotal accounts of paranormal phenomena. Perhaps surprisingly,
Hume's argument also applies, with minor modifications, to a belief that one has
experienced a paranormal event at first hand, because even the testimony of
one's own senses can be mistaken without violating any law of nature (Mackie,
1982, chap. 1). Because anecdotal evidence is unpersuasive, paranormal phenomena
must be investigated through properly controlled scientific experiments of the
type discussed by Blackmore in chapter 1.
In chapter 2, Graham F. Wagstaff discusses hypnosis and the controversy
surrounding the interpretation of various strange phenomena associated with it.
The controversy over credulous versus sceptical interpretations of
hypnotic phenomena, as they have come to be called, can be traced to France in
1784. The King of France at that time appointed a scientific commission to
investigate the practice of animal magnetism by the Viennese physician
Franz Anton Mesmer. The controversy over the interpretation of hypnotic
phenomena is perhaps the longest-running debate in the whole history of
psychology. Hypnosis never fully recovered from the debunking of Mesmer's
theories, although the phenomena of hypnosis really have nothing to do with
animal magnetism or with Mesmer's curative methods. Hypnosis's reputation in the
popular imagination was further damaged by George Du Maurier's influential
novel, Trilby, which was published in 1894 and made into a popular film
by Archie Mayo in 1931. The story is about a young model called Trilby O'Farral,
groomed as a singer by a sinister and overbearing hypnotist called Svengali, who
exerts almost supernatural powers over her and deprives her of all ability to
think and act for herself. Wagstaff's chapter shows that this image of hypnosis
could hardly be further from the truth. Although a great deal is now known about
hypnosis, the debate over its interpretation remains tantalizingly unresolved.
Wagstaff deals critically with the debate about whether or not hypnosis
is (or entails) an altered state of consciousness. He then goes on to discuss
the physiology of hypnosis, its apparently transcendent properties, and its
major phenomena, including trance logic (the peculiar willingness of hypnotized
subjects to tolerate certain kinds of logical inconsistencies), hypnotic
amnesia, hypnotic analgesia, and hypnotic susceptibility. He concludes with a
brief discussion of clinical applications of hypnosis and susceptibility to
hypnosis. According to the sceptical interpretation, with which Wagstaff is
generally sympathetic, all hypnotic phenomena can be explained without assuming
any special state of consciousness. The phenomenon of hypnotic analgesia
presents perhaps the most severe challenge to this interpretation, but Wagstaff
argues that even the established ability of susceptible hypnotic subjects to
undergo major surgery without anaesthetics can be explained without invoking any
special hypnotic state. For a more detailed (and more credulous) account of
hypnotic analgesia, see Hilgard and Hilgard (1994). Hypnosis has occasionally
been applied in an attempt to obtain more or better evidence from witnesses in
criminal trials; research in that area is discussed in chapter 4 in connection
with psychology and the law (see below).
Chapter 3, by Mary Crawford and Rhoda K. Unger, contains a detailed
survey of various lines of research related to gender issues in psychology. This
has been an active field of psychological research and debate since the
emergence of feminist thinking in psychology during the 1970s. Many contemporary
authorities in this field, including the authors of this chapter, draw a
distinction between sex differences and gender differences. According to this
view, sex differences are the genetically determined biological differences
between male and female, whereas gender differences are the differences arising
from psychological, social, and cultural influences acting on biological sex
differences. This chapter first examines a number of conceptual and
methodological issues surrounding gender-related research. It then focuses on
gender and development throughout the lifespan, what the authors call
"doing gender" (the way in which people's preconceptions based on sex
differences affect gender-characteristic patterns of interpersonal interaction,
such as self-presentational strategies and interactions between people of
different status), and finally sexuality and relationships in sociocultural
context. More extended discussions of gender issues in psychology can be found
in the further reading recommended by Crawford and Unger and in Doyle and
Paludi's (1995) book, Sex and Gender: The Human Experience.
In chapter 4, Robert T. Croyle and Elizabeth F. Loftus survey all major
aspects of psychology and the law. Most of the research in this area has
concentrated on aspects of criminal trials, especially factors affecting the
validity of eyewitness testimony and psychological processes in jury decision
making. However, a considerable amount of research attention has also been paid
to psychological aspects of sentencing and general treatment of convicted
criminals. Croyle and Loftus's chapter provides a review of research in these
and other fields of investigation broadly related to psychology and the law. As
might be expected, many aspects of psychology and the law are highly
controversial. For readers who wish to delve further into these issues, the Handbook
of Psychology in Legal Contexts (1995) and the books by Bartol and Bartol
(1994) and by Wrightsman, Nietzel, and Fortune (1994) may be useful, in addition
to Croyle and Loftus's suggested further reading.
The last chapter in this volume is chapter 5, by John Weinman, on health
psychology. This area of research relates to psychological factors in the
promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention and treatment of illness,
and the identification of psychological causes and correlates of all forms of
health and illness. Chapter 5 covers various aspects of research in health
psychology, including the controversial relationship between stress and health,
the effects of differing lifestyles on health, coping strategies and the role of
social support among people suffering from chronic illnesses, psychological
responses to medical investigations and treatments, and, at a more theoretical
level, various explanations that have been put forward to explain health-related
behaviour. Further information on these and other issues in health psychology is
contained Weinman's suggested further reading and in the books by Stroebe and
Stroebe (1995) and Taylor (1995).
Gender differences in health and illness have been reliably established,
although neither chapter 5 (on health psychology) nor chapter 3 (on gender
issues in psychology) discuss them in any detail. As an example, the evidence is
overwhelming that in western industrial societies -- and perhaps in others as
well -- women are significantly more prone to depression than men. Research
evidence suggests that this may be due to gender differences in coping styles.
In a detailed review of gender differences in depression, Nolen-Hoeksema (1987)
concluded that regardless of whether the depression is biological,
psychological, or social in origin, women tend to ruminate significantly more
than men -- in other words, they tend to spend more time mulling over their
problems. In contrast, men tend to distract themselves more than women do, which
may in some circumstances be a more effective strategy for coping with
depression. This line of research suggests that gender differences in
depression, and perhaps in other mental disorders as well, may be due to
differences between the coping styles and strategies of men and women.
In spite of the compact size of this volume, the range of subject matter
contained within it is wide and varied. Readers who wish to pursue any of the
topics in depth are strongly urged to follow the suggestions for further reading
at the end of each chapter and perhaps also the additional suggestions contained
in this introduction.
REFERENCES
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (1994). Psychology and the law: Research and application (2nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Beloff, J. (1994). Parapsychology: A concise history. New York: St Martin's Press.
Doyle, J. A., & Paludi, M. A. (1995). Sex and gender: The human experience (3rd ed.). Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark.
Handbook of psychology in legal contexts. (1995). New York: Wiley.
Hilgard, E. R., & Hilgard, J. R. (1994). Hypnosis in the relief of pain (rev. ed.). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Hume, D. (1902). Enquiry concerning human understanding (L. A. Selby-Bigge, Ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1748)
Mackie, J. L. (1982). The miracle of theism: Arguments for and against the existence of god. Oxford: Clarendon.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1987). Sex differences in unipolar depression: Evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 259-282.
Popper, K. R. (1972). Conjectures and refutations: The growth of scientific knowledge (4th ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Stroebe, W., & Stroebe, M. S. (1995). Social psychology and health. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Taylor, S. (1995). Health psychology (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wrightsman, L. S., Nietzel, M. T., & Fortune, W. H. (1994). Psychology and the legal system (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.