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1. Staff -

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

ANNUAL REPORT 1969

Professor C. A. Gibb, M.A., B.Ec. (Syd.), Ph.D, (Illinois).

Professor K. A. Provins, M.A. (Oxon), Ph.D. (Reading).

Associate Professor P. Pentony, M.A. (W. Aust.).

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Associate Professor G. N. Sea.grim, B.A. (Lond.), M.So. (Melb.).

Senior Lecturers:

Margaret R. Middleton, M.A. (Melb.), Ph.D. (w. Aust.), (On leave June 22, 1969).

J, R. Trotter, B.A. (R 1 dg.), D.Phil. (Oxon) .

W. H. Gladstones , M.A. (W. Aust.), Ph.D. (Tufts). (On leave 1969).

Lecturers :

D. G. Beswick, M.A. (Melb.), Ph.D. (Harvard) . (Appo inted Senior Lecturer from 1.1.70).

M. L. Cook, B.Sc. (Mane.), M. Sc. Ph.D.

J. S. Gillis, B.A. (Stanford), M.S. (Cornell), Ph.D. (Colorado).

W. P. Bellingham, B.A. (Cal if.), Ph.D. (New Mexico).

B.esearch Fellow, Aboriginal Infant Morbidity Project :

Sarah H. Francis , Ph.D. (Cant ab.).

Senior Demonstrators:

Susan C. Page, B.A. (N.E.), (Appointed T/Lect . from 1.1.70).

M. D. Hills, M.A. (Well ington).

J. D. Kaye, B.A. (Stellenbosch), M.A. (Cape Town).

Bridget Farrer, B.A. (Syd.), M. Phil. (London).

Demonstrators:

Penelope J. Cunliffe1 B.A.

Helen M. Clark, B.Sc. (Newcastle (N. S.W.)) .

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2. General Comments

Three features of vmrk in the department during 1969 deserve comment. This was the first year of the operation· ·of the Semester system of class organization and it seems to have been well received by both staff and students. In the Psychology Department the opportunity afforded by this change was taken to · broaden the ·choice available to students enrolled for both Arts and Science degrees. All courses within the department may now be taken by students of either faculty subject only to the satisfaction of course pre-requisites. All·courses are taught as science courses and all are approved by both faculties of Arts and Science. 'The majority of students continue to be candidates for the B.A. degree but it is hoped the new arrangements and the increased liberality of tli.e science degree rules will encourage an increasing number of psychology students to suryplement this study in other areas of Biology. · ·

In common with moves in Illf.l.DY other departments, Psycholoc;y TTelcomed students to regular department meetings in 1969. The student represen­tative group is, by choice of the students, the Executive Comml t'tee ·or the A. 1· . U. Psychology Students Association. This arrangement has worked smoothly and to ·the'satisfaction and.benefit of both students and staff .

Thirdly, there has been a good deal of experimentation in the department during 1969 with modified schemes for evaluating the performance of students. More weight has been given to class work, to essays, to short tests and examinations and in some courses variations on the examination itself have been tried. From the point of view of the staff ,all methods appear to work equally well and to provide valid and reliabie assess·­ment. Student reaction is mixed and further discussion with students will need to be initiated before any regular pattern emerges.

3. Courses (Undergraduate)

4.

Very ·considerable course changes were made coincident uith the move to semester organization. Some of the elements of Psychology I which had been designed with continuing students in mind vrnre removed to an Intermediate Psychology (Second year) course which became a pre- . requisite for all advanced work in the department. 'This ·arrangement . has been retained into 1970 though changes have been made in the con­tent and organization of this intermediate course. 1ill Advanced Per­sonality course was ~ff~red succeBsfull~ in 1969. Honours seminars in both second and third years have ceased to be examination units and continue simply as opportunities for students contemplating honours whether i'n Arts or Science to engage in advanced discussion over a wide range of topics. Partly as a result of this reorganiz~tipn a new unit in Psychopathology will be offered in 1970. Giving further expression to the new interest brought to the department by Professor Provins. there will also be an advanced un{t in Experimental Neuropsychology .

Enrolments

Enrolments and examination results are shown in the attached table. Enrolments are not markedly different from those of 1968 but examin­ation results are rather better. The fairly higp 1 p.rop-out' from Psychology I remains and v1astage plus failure in this course is still a worrying one third of established enrolments .

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5. Postgraduate work

The most notable feature of postgraduate vrork in 1969 was the introduction of a Masters degree in Counselling offered by Associate Professor Peniony and Dr. Gillis. Admission to candidature is restricted to honours graduateJin Psychology at 2A level or better and progress is by course work, seminars, practicums and thesis. While this course has some difficulties in the provision of practical experience the co-operation of the University Counselling Service the Psychiatric Clinic at Kingston and Dr. Hennessy, Director"' of Psychiatric $ervices in the 1' •• C.T. have permitted a satisfactory norking arrangement .

6. Research

Research in the department has continued at a good level, Eight full - time Ph.D. scholars are actively engaged in a variety of studies while three staff candidates for this degree have made good progress . Two masters scholars and three staff candidD.tes at this level have also progressed well.

After some teething troubles the hot laboratory is nou functioning satisfactorily and has allowed a continuation of Professor Provins A.R.G.C. project on heat and human performance . The facilities are also being used by Mr . Moens for his work on noise and human perfor­mance. Professor Seagrim's A.R.G.C. grant also has been continued for 1969 and 1970 and the work in aniseikonic latency is progressing well. Under Dr. Middleton' s direction The Aboriginal Infant Morb idity Project has made some progress though it has had considerable staff difficulties, Dr. Francis is now in charge of the team and Hork should be able to go ahead at both Yuendumu and Papunyah. This uork is wholly supported by the Northern Territory Administration, Welfare Division and is a co-opera tive venture with the Department of Psychology, Adelaide University. Dr. Besr1ick and Mr. Hills had J\. .R.G.C. support for a study of "Social Conditions for Ethnocentrism in Australia" . Preliminary reports of this work have been made and results appear to be very informative.

Research papers have been presented to major national conferences by Dr. Bellingham, Dr. Gillis, Mr . Dasen and Professor Provins. Research papers have been submitted for publication by Professor Provins, Dr. Middleton, Dr. Beswick and Dr, Gillis.

7, Publications

Beswick, D. G. , and Hills, M. D. An Australian Ethnocentrlsm Scale , Australian Journal of Psychology . 1969, 21, 211 -225,

Bellingham, W. P. Stimulus Compounding and Gcneralizatlcm, Ph.D.

Gibb, C. A,

Dissertation at University of New Mexico . January, 1969,

"Leadership" Pp. 205 - 282 in The Handbook of Social Psychology Volume 4, edited by G. Lindzey and E. Arenson. Addison-\lfosley , 1969.

Gibb, C. ~ . (Ed.) Leadership (Selected Readings) Penguin Books, 1 969 , Pp • 4 3 9 •

Gillis, J. S. Schizophrenic Thinking in a probabilistic situation . Psychological Record, 1969, 19, 211 - 224 .

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Gillis, J. s. The perceptual-cognitive model: applications of a multiple-cue paradigm to the study of disordered Thinking. In L. L'Abate (Ed.) The Role of Models in Clinical Psychology. Georgia State Collese Press, 1969.

**Davis, K. E.1 Evans, W. o.1 and Gillis, J. S. The effects of amphetamine and chlorpromazine on cognitive skills and feelings in normal adult males. In W. Evans and N. Kline (Eds.) The Psychopharmacology of The Normal Human. C. C. Thomas, 1969.

Kaye, J. D. Percept organization as a basis for Rorschach interpre­tation. Brit. J. Projective Psychol. 2 and Personality StuQy. 1969, XIV, 7 - 15.

Provins, K. A. and F. R. Dalziel~ F.inndedness: an unusual case of spontaneous change of Hriting hand. J. Mot. Behaviour, 1969, 1, 163 - 167.

Provins, K . . A.

Seagrim, G. N.

Seagrim, G. N.

Is there a need for physical exercise? Proceedings of the Symposium on Physical Reaction and fitness. (In Press).

Translation of Les Mecanismes Perceptl[~ by Jean Piaget. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1969.

Storeoscopic vision and aniseikonic lenses : further studies in latency. Brit. J. Psychol., 1969, 60, 307 - 313.

Service to the University and to the Community

The contribution of members of the Psychology Department in these areas remains high. Professor Gibb continued as Deputy Chairman of the Board of the School of General Studies, as Chairman of the Matriculation Committee, Chairman of the Vice Chancellor's Committee on Student Residence and as a member of Council and its Finance and Standing Comm­ittees. During 1969 he made a business journey to the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S.A. to study admission policies and factors affecting the optimum size of universities. Professor Provins served on the Development Committee of the Faculty of Arts and the Examinations and Timetable committe0s of the Faculty of Science. Professor Seagrim ~as a member of the Education Committees of both Arts and Science Faculties and participated in the Symposium on Examining.Professor Pcntony was "prime mover" in the University's examination of its needs for teaching and research in the field of Human Relations. He also gavo addresses to such groups as the R.A.A.F. Staff College, a group of medical practitioners, and students at the Dominican House of Studios. In addit ion he conducted a series of t\1elve sessions for the Catholic Clergy on principles of counselling and ten sessions for the counsellors of the Canberra Marriage Guidance Organization and h'ls been active in the Canberra Catholic Welfare Organization which includes marriage counselling in its ac.tivities. Dr. Middleton has been o.. member of the Sociology Committee and the Vice Chancellor's Committee on Student Residence. Dr. Beswick too has been a member of · the Sociology Committee and was a member of the founding committee of the Canberra Society for the Study of Religion and Theology. Dr. Gillis was a member of the \1orking party on Human Relations and a guest lecturer to the R.A.A.F. Staff College and the Canberra Marriage Guidance Council. Hr. Kaye has been both teacher and organizer of training for the Canberra Marriage Guidance Council, and has been consultant to the Department of Air for

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Psychodiagnostic Testing. The Department i~ widely represented in Halls of Residence through Professor Provins (Garran Hall), Mrs. Page (Bruce and Burton Halls) Dr. Middleton (Ursula College) Miss Cunliffe (Ursula College) and Miss Clark (Burton Hall) . Finally Miss Clark is Vice Commodore and Women ' s Coach in both Sailing and Ro~ing Clubs.

1 Subject or unit

Psych. I Psych. 21 Psych. 22 Psych. 23 Psych. 24 Psych. 26 Psych. 31 Psych. 32 Psych. 33 Psych. 34 Psych. 35 Psych. 36

2 Enrolled as at

30.6.69

No. %

229 (100) 114 (100)

79 (100) 28 (100) 40 (100) 6 ( 100)

10 (100) 9 (100)

44 (100) 14 (100) 16 ( 100) 41 (100)

THE AUSTRALIAN HATIONAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY AN.:'...LYSIS OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE

Percentage of Number Enrolled Percentage of Number Sitting 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Wastage Wastage Sitting . High Distinction Credit Pass (i.e. plus Distinct ion \7ith 2 - 5) failure Merit

( i.e • 3 + 11)

No. % No. % No. % :ifo. % No. % No. % No. o/o

3 7 ( 16) 72 (31) 192 ( 84) 8 (4) 13 ( 7) 29 (15) 8 ( 7 ~ 16 (14) 106 (93) 4 (4) 9 (8) 21 ( 20) 5 ( 6 11 (14) 74 (94) 3 (4) 7 (9) 8 (11) 2 ( 7) 5 ( ·, ) 26 (93) 3 ( 12) 1 (4) 5 ( 19) 4 (10) 8 (20) 36 (90) 2 ( 6) 6 ( 1 5) 6 ( 15) 0 0 6 (100) 2 (33) 0 3 (50) 1 ( 10) 1 ( 10) 9 (90) 1 ( 11) 2 (22) 5 ( 56) 1 (11) 1 ( 11) 8 (89) 0 2 (25) 3 (38) 3 ( 7) 6 (14) 41 (93) 1 ( 2) 3 ( 7) 7 ( 17) 0 0 14 (100) 0 6 ( 43) 2 (14) 0 2 (13) 16 ( 100) 1 ( 6) 3 (19) 5 (31) 1 (2) 4 (10) 40 (98) 1 (3) 3 (8) 9 (23)

10 Pass

No. %

107 ~56) 64 60) 50 ( 81) 14 ( 54) 18 (50) 1 ( 1 7) 1 ( 11) 3 (38)

27 (66) 6 (43) 5 (31)

24 ( 60)

11 Fail

No. % 35 (18) 8 ( 8 ~ 6 ( 8 3 ( 12) 4 (10) 0 0 0 3 ( 7) 0 2 (13) 3 (8)

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Final Honours Masters ~ualifying Masters Degree Ph.D.

Enrolled (as at 30 June 1969)

3 7

10 11

Sitting

3 1 2 1

Results (headings above do not apply)

1HI, 2H2A Deferred Not yet available Revision requested

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