A Study of the Statements of Psychological Nature Found in Ten Text Books in Public Speaking

Authors

LeRoy Allison, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Date of this Version

8-1935

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

Thesis (M.A.)—University of Nebraska—Lincoln, 1935. Department of Educational Psychology.

Comments

Copyright 1935, the author. Used by permission.

Abstract

This study is an analysis of the nature and amount of psychological terminology used by authors of certain texts in speech for high schools.Ten texts in speech have been studied for the presence therein of anything pertaining to psychology such as psychological terms, principles, laws, and procedures.

The study will attempt to show the following:

1. The approximate number of references of psychological nature in the text-books analyzed.

2. The nature of this psychology, that is, is it psychology which is modern, up to date, or is it psychology now obsolete?

3. A comparison of the ways in which the different writers treat certain phases of public speaking which involve psychology.

4. How these texts should be rated in a general way with respect to good use of psychological terms.

Teachers of speech in eight representative Nebraska high schools informed the writer in person or by card of the names of the texts in speech and debate which they were using in their classes.These eight schools are:Omaha Central High School, Fremont High School, North Platte High School, Gothenburg High School, Norfolk High School, Holdrege High School, Teachers College High School of the University of Nebraska, and the Cambridge High School.Each of the text-books used in this study is used by at least one of the schools mentioned and some of the schools use more than one of these.

The results of this study show that all of the texts use some psychological language, but that certain of them use much more than others.The texts ranked according to the number of definite psychological statements are as follows:Lockwood-Thorpe, McGee, Woolbert-Weaver, Shurter, Willhoft, Phillips, Blood-Riley, Emerson, Shaw, and Watkins.Their rating according to acceptable usage of this terminology follows:McGee, Willhoft, Shurter, Phillips, Woolbert-Weaver, Lockwood-Thorpe, Blood-Riley, Shaw, Emerson, Watkins.

Advisor:D. A. Worcester