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FOP-FM.qxp:FOP-FM 10/10/08 6:06 PM Page vii

Contents
About the author ix

1. Introduction 3
2. Historical and conceptual issues 21

I. INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY 49

3. Human motivation 55
4. Emotion, stress, and coping 77
5. States of awareness 103

II. INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 127

6. Visual perception and attention 133
7. Conditioning and learning 167
8. Human memory 193
9. Thinking: Problem solving and decision making 217
10. Language 237

III. INTRODUCTION TO INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 263

11. Intelligence 267
12. What does personality look like? 287

IV. INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 309

13. Cognitive development: Specific abilities 313
14. Theories of cognitive development 337
15. Social development in everyday life 355
16. Attachments and friendships 377

V. INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 401

17. Social cognition 405
18. Social behavior and relationships 429
19. Group processes 455
20. Intergroup processes 485

VI. INTRODUCTION TO ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 507

21. Approaches to abnormality 511
22. Therapeutic approaches 523
FOP-FM.qxp:FOP-FM 10/10/08 6:06 PM Page viii

viii Contents

VII. INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS 539

23. Psychological inquiry 541
24. Design of investigations 561
25. Data analysis 585
Research methods: Appendices 617

Glossary 627
References 635
Author index 675
Subject index 691
Photo credits 701
FOP-FM.qxp:FOP-FM 10/10/08 6:06 PM Page ix

About the
author
ichael W. Eysenck is one of the best-known psychologists in Europe. He is
M Professor of Psychology in the psychology department at Royal Holloway
University of London, where he was Head of Department between 1987 and
2005. He is especially interested in cognitive psychology (about which he has written
several books) and most of his research focuses on the role of cognitive factors in anxiety
within normal and clinical populations. He has published 36 books. His previous
textbooks published by Psychology Press include
Psychology for AS Level (4th ed.) (2008), Psychology for
A2 Level (2001), A2 Psychology: Key Topics (2nd ed.)
(2006), Psychology: An International Perspective (2004),
Psychology: A Student’s Handbook (5th ed.) (with Mark
Keane) (2005), Simply Psychology (3rd ed.) (2007),
Fundamentals of Cognition (2006), Psychology: A
Student’s Handbook (2000), Perspectives on Psychology
(1994), and Individual Differences: Normal and Abnormal
(1994). He has also written two research books for
Psychology Press based on his research on anxiety:
Anxiety: The Cognitive Perspective (1992) and Anxiety
and Cognition: A Unified Theory (1997), as well as the
popular title Happiness: Facts and Myths (1990). He is also
a keen supporter of Crystal Palace football club and lives
in hope that one day they will return to the Premiership.
FOP-01.qxp:FOP-01 10/9/08 12:46 PM Page 2

Chapter 1
Contents
What is psychology? 3

Is psychology a science? 7

Psychology around the world 10

How useful is psychology? 14

2
FOP-01.qxp:FOP-01 10/9/08 12:46 PM Page 3

Introduction
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
What is psychology? As is clear from media coverage, psychology is amazingly
1
wide-ranging. Here are just a few examples. Some psychologists are involved in treating
mental disorders and use many techniques not dreamt of by Sigmund Freud. There are
also forensic psychologists such as Cracker (Eddie Fitzgerald) of UK television fame who
engage in offender profiling and tracking down criminals. Other psychologists study the
human brain using scanners, with their research producing the brightly colored pictures
of patterns of activation in the brain found in magazines. Still other psychologists (known
as health psychologists) are hard at work trying to persuade us to adopt healthier
lifestyles with less smoking and drinking and more physical exercise.
What is the common element to the varied activities of psychologists? Probably the
most frequent definition of psychology is that it is the scientific study of behavior.
However, this definition is too limited, because most psychologists are trying to understand
why people behave in certain ways. To achieve that understanding, we must consider
internal processes and motives. Thus, we arrive at the following definition:

Psychology is a science in which behavioral and other evidence (including

individuals’ reports of their thoughts and feelings) is used to understand the internal
processes leading people (and members of other species) to behave as they do.

As you read this book, you may be bewildered (hopefully not too bewildered!) by the
numerous approaches psychologists have adopted in their attempts to understand human
behavior. These approaches exist because our behavior is jointly determined by several
factors including the following:

• The specific stimuli presented to us

• Our recent experiences (e.g., being stuck in a traffic jam)
• Our genetic endowment
• Our physiological system
• Our cognitive system (our perceptions, thoughts, and memories)
• The social environment
• The cultural environment
• Our previous life experiences (including those of childhood)
• Our personal characteristics (including intelligence, personality, and mental health)

The notion that there are various levels of explanation can be illustrated by taking a
concrete example. Suppose one man attacks another man very aggressively by punching
him repeatedly on the head and body. How can we understand this behavior? It may
depend in part on the genes the man has inherited from his parents. It may also depend
on the attacker’s childhood experiences, for example, the presence of violence within the
family. It may also depend on a recent stressful experience such as being caught in heavy
traffic. The attacker’s clinical history may also be relevant—he may have a history of
psychopathic or antisocial behavior. His behavior may depend on his thoughts and
feelings (e.g., he may have misinterpreted the other person’s behavior as threatening). His
behavior may depend on social factors. For example, the man behaving aggressively may
believe the other man has insulted members of his family. His behavior may depend on

3
FOP-01.qxp:FOP-01 10/9/08 12:46 PM Page 4

4 Chapter 1 | Introduction

the physiological state of the man behaving aggressively—his internal bodily state may be
highly aroused and agitated. Finally, the attacker’s behavior may depend on cultural
factors, in that expressing aggression by punching is regarded as more acceptable (or less
unacceptable) in some cultures than in others.
The crucial point of the above example is that there is no single “correct” interpretation
of the aggressive man’s behavior. Indeed, it is probable that several of the factors
discussed above contributed to his behavior, and the same is true of the great majority of
the behavior we observe in everyday life. Thus, the scope of psychology needs to be very
broad if we are to understand human behavior.
Some of the main approaches within psychology are as follows: biological psychology;
cognitive psychology; individual differences; developmental psychology; and social
psychology. Below we consider how each approach developed, and why that approach is
important. Note that these approaches are all related to each other. For example,
personality is discussed within the individual differences approach. However, individual
differences in personality depend in part on genetic factors (biological approach), on
cognitive processes (cognitive approach), on childhood experiences (developmental
approach), and on interactional processes (social psychology). Thus, the various
approaches are not as separate as might be assumed.

BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
It is difficult to imagine the enormous impact that The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
(1809–1882) had on the way people think about themselves. Before its publication in 1859,
most people assumed that human beings were radically different from (and far superior to)
all other species. The notion that human beings had evolved from other species indicated
that this view of the importance of the human species needed reassessment. However, not
surprisingly, many people found it very difficult to accept that human beings should be
regarded simply as members of the animal kingdom. Indeed, the millions of people who
believe in intelligent design (i.e., humans were created by an intelligent designer) still do not
accept Darwin’s approach.
Darwin was a biologist rather than a psychologist.
However, his views on evolution had several major
implications for psychology. First, psychologists began to
realize that it was worth considering human behavior from
the biological perspective. Second, Darwin emphasized the
importance of heredity, and the notion that offspring tend to
resemble their parents. This suggested to psychologists that
the role of heredity in influencing human behavior should be
explored. Third, Darwin focused on variations among the
members of a species with evolution favoring some members
rather than others (i.e., survival of the fittest). This led to an
interest in the role of heredity in explaining individual
differences in intelligence and personality.
Why is this approach to psychology of importance?
First, everyone (apart from identical or monozygotic twins)
has their own unique set of genes, and genes influence our
intelligence, personality, and behavior. Second, our
motivational systems (e.g., hunger; sex) developed
originally as a result of the biological imperative to survive
and to pass on our genes to successive generations. Third,
the processes studied by biological psychologists are
involved in nearly all human behavior.

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
The study of human cognition with its focus on thinking
A cartoon about evolution, circa 1871. Charles Darwin is rebuked for and other mental processes originated with Plato and
slighting a gorilla by claiming man may be descended from apes. Aristotle. It remained the dominant area within psychology
FOP-01.qxp:FOP-01 10/9/08 12:46 PM Page 5

Chapter 1 | Introduction 5

for 2000 years. However, it was relatively ignored during

the first half of the twentieth century. The reason was that
psychology (especially in the United States) was dominated
by behaviorism, an approach with an emphasis on
observable behavior rather than internal processes.
According to the behaviorists, it is more scientific and
“objective” to measure human behavior than it is to rely on
people’s possibly entirely mistaken reports of their internal
thoughts and feelings, and so these reports should be
ignored. The absurdity of carrying this approach to its
logical conclusion is captured in the following joke. Two
behaviorists are talking to each other after having had sex.
One says to the other, “Your behavior tells me that you
enjoyed that. Did I enjoy it?”
In the mid-1950s, the cognitive revolution began.
Several major cognitive psychologists (e.g., Donald
Broadbent, Jerome Bruner, George Miller, Herb Simon)
started to explore human cognition in detail. They focused Plato and Aristotle, shown here in a painting by Raphael, were the
on the internal processes and structures involved in originators of study concerning human cognitive processes.
cognition, including perception, attention, learning, memory,
language, thinking, and reasoning. They (and other cognitive psychologists) were interested
in observable responses mainly to the extent that they provide information about these
underlying processes and structures.
For many years, cognitive psychologists focused mainly on the cognitive processes
exhibited by volunteer participants taking part in artificial experiments under laboratory
conditions. In recent years, cognitive psychologists have become interested in the role
played by cognitive processes in accounting for people’s behavior in the real world.
However, we must be careful not to exaggerate the changes within cognitive psychology.
After all, people use the same cognitive system whether performing a task in the
laboratory or coping with everyday life.
Let’s consider an example of the approach taken by cognitive psychologists. Patients
with social phobia (excessive fear of social situations) interpret their own social
behavior as much more inadequate than it appears to other people (Rapee & Lim,
1992). Cognitive psychologists regard social phobics’ misinterpretation of their own
behavior as shedding important light on the internal processes maintaining their
disorder. More specifically, this misinterpretation helps to explain why social phobics Key Term
shun most social occasions and experience considerable distress in demanding social Behaviorism:
situations. an American school of
Why is the cognitive approach to psychology so important? First, the understanding psychology with an emphasis
on measuring and predicting
of human cognition developed by cognitive psychologists has had a great impact on observable behavior.
social, developmental, and abnormal psychology. For example, we can only understand
the behavior of children or of patients with mental disorders by taking account of the
ways in which they perceive and interpret themselves and the world around them.
Second, the insights obtained by cognitive psychologists have had real-life application in
the design of computer and other systems in order to make them relatively easy to use.
Third, cognitive psychology has had very beneficial effects on the treatment of depression
and the anxiety disorders. More specifically, cognitive therapy uses insights from
cognitive psychologists to change the maladaptive cognitive processes and structures of
depressed and anxious patients.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
The systematic study of individual differences started with the work of Sir Francis Galton
(1822–1911), a cousin of Charles Darwin. The publication of Galton’s book Hereditary
Genius in 1869 was a landmark in the study of individual differences. Researchers on
individual differences have focused mainly on intelligence and personality, although
obviously people differ from each other in almost limitless ways. One of the key issues is
to try to understand the factors responsible for individual differences in intelligence and Sir Francis Galton, 1822–1911.
FOP-01.qxp:FOP-01 10/9/08 12:46 PM Page 6

6 Chapter 1 | Introduction

personality. As mentioned earlier, both are influenced by

genetic factors, by developmental factors, by cognitive
factors, and by social factors.
Why is this approach to psychology important? First,
individual differences in intelligence and personality
influence most forms of behavior. Second, if our
educational system is to be effective, we need to take
account of the particular skills and abilities possessed by
individual children. Third, it is desirable in many real-life
situations to use information about individuals’ intelligence
and personality (e.g., in personnel selection).

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
It was only when Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theories
became widely known in the early part of the twentieth
The experiences we have during childhood have a great impact on our
adult lives.
century that serious attention was paid to developmental
psychology. Thereafter, the greatest impetus to
developmental psychology came from the Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget (1896–1980).
He spent several decades studying the childhood development of thinking and intelligence
and produced a more comprehensive theory of cognitive development than anyone else.
Developmental psychology is concerned mainly with changes occurring during the
course of childhood, and with the impact of childhood experiences on adult behavior.
There are two main areas within developmental psychology. First, there is cognitive
development, involving the child developing increasingly complex skills (e.g., reading;
writing; numerical skills). Second, there is social development. Children acquire social
skills and interact more effectively with other people as they grow up.
Why is this approach to psychology of importance? First, we can obtain some
understanding of the behavior of adults by considering their childhood experiences.
Second, if we could understand factors facilitating cognitive development, this would
help to improve the educational system. Third, if we understood more clearly the factors
underlying social development, this knowledge could be used to ensure that nearly all
children develop good social skills. This would in turn lead to a reduction in juvenile
delinquency and crime.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Surprisingly, social psychology was one of the last areas of psychology to be fully
accepted. Indeed, it was only after the Second World War that serious research in social
psychology began. Social psychology covers a very wide range of topics. Some social
psychologists are interested in processes within individuals (e.g., their attitudes and
beliefs). Other social psychologists focus on networks of friendships and relationships
characterizing the social interactions of everyday life. Still other social psychologists
consider broader issues concerned with intergroup relations including issues such as
prejudice and discrimination.
There is an important difference between social psychology in the United States and
social psychology in Europe. Many (or even most) American social psychologists are
mainly interested in the ways in which individuals make sense of their social environment
and behave with respect to it. European social psychologists share those interests, but
also focus on the functioning of groups (e.g., social; work). European social psychologists
are more inclined than American ones to believe that an individual’s sense of self depends
importantly on the kinds of involvement he/she has with groups that are perceived as
important.
Research in social psychology takes many forms. Experiments are often carried out
either in the laboratory or in the field. In addition, there are surveys, in which
questionnaires and/or interviews are used to obtain detailed information about social
issues. There are also field studies, in which the researchers observe the social behavior of
groups (e.g., adolescent gangs; members of an organization in a meeting). Finally, there are
case studies, in which an individual or a group is studied in great detail. Case studies are
FOP-01.qxp:FOP-01 10/9/08 12:46 PM Page 7

Chapter 1 | Introduction 7

especially valuable in the investigation of rare phenomena

(e.g., coping with natural disasters; weird cults).
Why is this approach to psychology of importance?
First, it takes full account of the fact that we are social
animals who spend much of our time with other people.
Even when we are on our own, we use social knowledge to
make sense of our lives, and we reflect on social events we
have experienced. Second, social psychologists have
discovered that our perceptions of ourselves and of other
people are often inaccurate or distorted. It is desirable that
we develop an understanding of the limitations of our
social perceptions. Third, our behavior is often influenced
by other people to a much greater extent than we realize.
Once again, it is desirable that we become more fully aware
of the powerful impact of social influence on our everyday
Social psychology looks at our relationships with other people and
behavior.
society.

IS PSYCHOLOGY A SCIENCE?
Interesting questions often don’t have a single, simple answer, and that is certainly true
of the question, “Is psychology a science?” Most psychologists would answer that
question, “Yes.” However, some psychologists (including the author) are skeptical that
all of the enormously diverse research in psychology can reasonably be regarded as
scientific. We can make some progress by seeing the extent to which psychology possesses
the main criteria of science (considered shortly).
Note that there is no necessary relationship between being scientific and being useful—
psychological approaches and research that are not scientific can nevertheless be extremely
useful. Here are two examples. First, there is the important phenomenon of groupthink,
in which groups often make irrational decisions because of considerable pressures on the
members of the group to reach a unanimous decision (see Chapter 19). Most of the
research on groupthink has involved the careful study of documentation concerning
famous (or notorious) political decisions rather than the carrying out of experiments, and
so can be regarded as unscientific. Second, Sigmund Freud developed a form of therapy for
mental disorders known as psychoanalysis on the basis of individual case studies, and his
approach is generally thought to be unscientific (see Chapter 22). However, psychoanalysis
and the general psychodynamic approach that developed out of psychoanalysis have been
found to be moderately effective (see Jarvis, 2004, for a review) and are thus very useful.

1. Controlled experiments In most sciences (except astronomy and a few others), it is

typical for experiments to involve observing the effects of some specific manipulation
(e.g., mixing two chemicals together). As applied to psychology, the use of controlled
experiments is based on the experimental method. This involves observing the effects
of some manipulation of the environment on participants’ behavior. For example, we
can see whether reward enhances learning by comparing speed of learning in one
group receiving reward (environmental manipulation) with that in another group not
receiving reward.
The fact that hundreds of thousands of experiments in psychology have been
carried out using the experimental method may suggest that psychology comfortably
satisfies the criterion of controlled experiments. Sadly, that is not really the case. The
experimental method often works extremely well when we are interested in studying Key Term
the effects of the immediate situation on behavior. However, our behavior is also Experimental method:
determined by numerous factors in addition to the immediate situation, most of which an approach to research
can’t be manipulated. These factors include recent events (e.g., row with partner), our involving manipulation of
some aspect of the
physical health, our personality, childhood events (e.g., parents divorcing), genetic environment (independent
factors, cultural expectations, and so on. variable) to observe its effects
2. Objectivity It is sometimes argued that science requires the collection of data in an on the participants’ behavior
(dependent variable).
objective way. However, some philosophers of science doubt whether that is possible.
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8 Chapter 1 | Introduction

Thus, it may be more realistic to claim that scientists

should be as objective as possible in their research. Popper
(1969, 1972) pointed out that scientific observations are
theory-driven rather than objective. The famous
demonstration he used in his lectures involved telling his
audience, “Observe!” Their obvious and immediate retort
was, “Observe what?” This demonstration makes the point
that no one observes without some idea of what they are
looking for. Thus, what you observe depends in part on
what you expect to see.
Let’s consider a concrete example of how difficult it is to
be totally objective. Some of the most famous experiments
in psychology were carried out by Skinner. He put rats into
a box containing a lever. They received a food pellet when
they pressed the lever, and there was a mechanism that
recorded every time the lever was pressed. That sounds
A Skinner box (or operant conditioning chamber) is an enclosed completely objective. However, there are grounds for
environment in which the behavior of an animal can be studied. The arguing that it isn’t. Weak lever presses didn’t activate the
animal is given a stimulus and its response is noted. This rat is in a mechanism and so weren’t recorded. In addition, the
box with a lever. Such levers can perform numerous functions, both mechanism was activated by a strong lever press regardless
positive ones, such as releasing food, or negative ones, such as giving
of whether it was produced by the rat’s left paw, its right
an electric shock.
paw, its nose, or its tail. Skinner claimed that it didn’t
matter how the animal pressed the lever, but that is an assumption rather than an
objective fact.
3. Replicability It is important in science that we can repeat or replicate the findings
from any given experiment. This is the criterion of replicability. If we obtained
different findings every time we carried out an experiment, the situation would be
chaotic and we couldn’t make any real progress.
Experiments in psychology vary considerably in terms of replicability. At one
extreme, everyone (or virtually everyone) experiences the phenomenon of apparent
motion. This is an illusion in which we perceive motion when a series of still images
is presented very rapidly. We experience apparent motion every time we go to the movies—
films are presented at a rate of 24 frames per second but we perceive smooth and
coherent motion. At the other extreme, there are findings in social psychology. Our
social behavior is heavily influenced by cultural factors, and this greatly reduces
replicability. Smith and Bond (1998) reviewed the literature, and concluded that only
one research finding in social psychology has been convincingly replicated around the
world (discussed in more detail shortly).
Psychologists have generally focused on the findings from individual experiments.
However, there is an alternative approach. In essence, what we can do is combine the
findings from numerous similar studies into one very large analysis; this is known as
meta-analysis. It is claimed that meta-analyses have the great advantage of providing
a coherent overall picture of the research findings in any given area. For that reason,
Key Terms there has been a huge increase in the number of meta-analyses carried out.
Replicability:
As we will see at many points in this book, meta-analyses have proved valuable in
the ability to repeat or making sense of complex research findings. However, there are various potential
replicate findings obtained problems with meta-analyses. Sharpe (1997) identified three such problems:
from an experiment.
(i) The “Apples and Oranges” problem: Studies that are not very similar to each
Apparent motion:
the illusion of movement other may nevertheless be included within a single meta-analysis.
created by the rapid (ii) The “File Drawer” problem: It is generally more difficult for researchers to
presentation of still images. publish studies with nonsignificant findings. Since meta-analyses often ignore
Meta-analysis: unpublished findings that remain in file drawers, the studies included may not be
an analysis in which all of the
findings from many studies
representative of all the studies on a given topic.
relating to a given hypothesis (iii) The “Garbage in—Garbage out” problem: Many psychologists carrying out
are combined for statistical meta-analyses include all the relevant studies they can find. However, this
testing to obtain an overall
picture.
means that very poor and inadequate studies are often included along with good
quality ones.
FOP-01.qxp:FOP-01 10/9/08 12:46 PM Page 9

Chapter 1 | Introduction 9

Note that the above three problems are identified as potential problems.
Psychologists have become increasingly sophisticated in the ways they carry out
meta-analyses, as a result of which there are now fewer problems than in the past. The
“Apples and Oranges” and “Garbage in—Garbage out” problems can be greatly
reduced by establishing clear criteria that have to be met by any studies included in
the meta-analysis. There are techniques for estimating the magnitude of any “File
Drawer” problem, and it can be reduced by asking leading researchers in the area of
the meta-analysis to supply their unpublished data.
What conclusions can we draw? Our behavior is typically influenced by numerous
factors, most of which can’t be controlled and some of which can’t even be identified.
In view of this complexity, it can be claimed that psychology has made reasonable
progress in meeting the criterion of replicability. Meta-analyses have facilitated the
task of deciding what general trends exist in research in any given area.
4. Testing theoretical predictions Scientific experiments are typically carried out to test
the predictions of some theory. That makes very good sense. There is essentially an
infinite number of experiments that could be carried out, and scientific theories assist
in the task of identifying which experiments are worthwhile.
How does psychology match up to this criterion? There are thousands of theories
in psychology, and most experiments are designed to test one or more of these
theories. However, numerous experiments lack any real theoretical purpose. For
example, hundreds (or even thousands) of brain-imaging experiments were motivated
by curiosity rather than by theory. The researchers concerned wondered which parts
of the brain would be activated when people performed a given task, but had no
theoretical predictions.
5. Falsifiability According to Popper (1969), the hallmark of science is falsifiability.
This is the notion that scientific theories can potentially be disproved by negative
evidence. Why did Popper focus on being able to prove a theory false rather than on
proving it to be correct? The reason is that it is impossible to prove conclusively that
a theory is correct! Suppose that a theory has been supported by the findings from
hundreds of experiments, and there are no findings inconsistent with it. It is still
possible that it may be disproved in the future, perhaps in some culture in which the
theory has not been tested so far.
We can see the power of Popper’s views by considering the fate of turkeys. As the
philosopher Bertrand Russell pointed out, a scientist turkey might form the
hypothesis, “Every day I am fed,” because for all of his life that has been the case.
However, this hypothesis provides no certainty that the turkey will be fed tomorrow,
and if tomorrow is Christmas Eve it is likely to prove false.
How well does psychology meet the criterion of falsifiability? The picture is very
mixed. At one extreme, many of Freud’s theoretical ideas are unfalsifiable. For
example, he argued that the mind is divided up into the ego (conscious mind), the id
(basic motivational forces), and the superego (the conscience). It is difficult (or even
impossible!) to think of any findings that could disprove this position. At the other
extreme, there are numerous theories that are not only falsifiable but have actually
been falsified. For example, several theorists have claimed that we possess the
fundamental attribution error. This involves exaggerating the extent to which other
people’s behavior is determined by their personality and minimizing the role of
situational factors. Several studies (especially those in non-Western cultures) have
failed to obtained any evidence for the fundamental attribution error (see Chapter 17).
In sum, many theories in psychology are falsifiable and many are not. Bear in mind
Key Terms
that falsifying a theory doesn’t necessarily mean that researchers immediately abandon
it. Even in physics, Newton’s theory of gravity was falsified well over a hundred years Falsifiability:
the notion that all scientific
before it was replaced by Einstein’s theories! What is typically the case is that a theory theories can in principle be
is only abandoned when someone puts forward a better and more comprehensive disproved by certain findings.
theory. Even then, the advocates of the discredited theory may be too proud to accept Paradigm:
that they were wrong. according to Popper, a
general theoretical orientation
6. Use of a paradigm According to Kuhn (1962, 1977), the most essential ingredient in commanding wide support.
science is a paradigm. A paradigm is a general theoretical orientation accepted by the
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10 Chapter 1 | Introduction

great majority of researchers in a given field of study. Kuhn

argued that there are three distinct stages in the
development of a science:
(i) There is pre-science, in which there is no paradigm
and a wide range of opinion about the best theoretical
approach to adopt.
(ii) There is normal science, in which there is a generally
accepted paradigm. Most scientists are very attached to
the paradigm they are using, and so the current paradigm
is likely to be adhered to well after its “sell by” date.
(iii) There is revolutionary science, in which problems with
the current paradigm become so great that it is
eventually overthrown and replaced by a different
paradigm. This is known as paradigm shift.
According to Kuhn (1962), psychology has failed to
develop a paradigm and so remains at the pre-science stage.
In support of this argument is the fact that psychology is an
unusually fragmented discipline. It has connections with
several other disciplines including biology, physiology,
Before Copernicus showed that the planets, including the earth,
revolved around the sun, all astronomical theories had been based biochemistry, neurology, and sociology. This fragmentation
on the paradigm that the earth was the center of the universe. The and diversity make it unlikely that agreement can be reached
complete change in science post-Copernicus is an example of a on a common paradigm or general theoretical orientation.
paradigm shift.

CONCLUSIONS
We have seen that some research in psychology (but by no means all) meets most of the
six criteria discussed above. Where does that leave us? In my opinion, it leaves us in a
position resembling that of the psychologist in the old story. A psychologist is walking
along a deserted path late at night with a friend when a thief snatches his wallet and
throws it into a bush 15 yards (14 meters) off the path. The psychologist goes to the
nearest light and starts looking for his wallet there. When his friend points out that he is
looking in the wrong place, the psychologist replies, “But I can see what I’m doing here!”
In similar fashion, many psychologists carry out very respectable scientific research
in the laboratory using the experimental method. However, this research focuses on
aspects of the immediate situation that influence behavior and tends to ignore all the
other important factors involved. As a result, researchers adopting this approach are in
danger of being like the psychologist looking under the light. What they are doing is easy
but unfortunately of limited value. In contrast, researchers who focus on all the other
factors influencing behavior other than the immediate situation are looking in the right
place (i.e., in the bush). However, they are in danger of not being very scientific because
they are studying factors that don’t lend themselves to the scientific method.
The ideas expressed above are somewhat oversimplified. However, it is certainly true
that the challenge for psychology is to study important issues while remaining scientific.
As we will see throughout this book, the good news is that psychologists are increasingly
meeting that challenge. They are making use of more-and-more sophisticated
experimental approaches, they have access to new technology (e.g., brain scanners), and
they are increasingly prepared to address some of the most complex and important issues
in psychology.

PSYCHOLOGY AROUND THE WORLD

Most research in psychology is carried out in the Western world, especially the United
States. According to Rosenzweig (1992), 64% of the world’s 56,000 researchers in
psychology at the start of the 1990s were Americans. Smith and Bond (1998) considered
several textbooks in social and organizational psychology. They concluded as follows:
“The universe of social and organizational behaviors that is being sampled is almost
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Chapter 1 | Introduction 11

entirely restricted to studies done within less than a dozen of the more than 200 countries
in the world, constituting little more than 10 per cent of the world’s population.”
In spite of what has just been said, American psychologists don’t carry all before
them. Haggbloom et al. (2002) identified the 100 most eminent psychologists of the
twentieth century. Just under 20% of them were non-American, nearly all European. For
interest’s sake, the 50 most eminent psychologists in order are shown in the box below.

Rank Name Rank Name Rank Name

1. B.F. Skinner 18. Kurt Lewin 35. R.B. Zajonc
2. Jean Piaget 19. Donald Hebb 36. Endel Tulving
3. Sigmund Freud 20. George Miller 37. Herbert Simon
4. Albert Bandura 21. Clark Hull 38. Noam Chomsky
5. Leon Festinger 22. Jerome Kagan 39. Edward Jones
6. Carl Rogers 23. Carl Jung 40. Charles Osgood
7. Stanley Schachter 24. Ivan Pavlov 41. Solomon Asch
8. Neal Miller 25. Walter Mischel 42. Gordon Bower
9. Edward Thorndike 26. Harry Harlow 43. Harold Kelley
10. A.H. Maslow 27. J.P. Guilford 44. Roger Sperry
11. Gordon Allport 28. Jerome Bruner 45. Edward Tolman
12. Erik Erikson 29. Ernest Hilgard 46. Stanley Milgram
13. H.J. Eysenck 30. Lawrence Kohlberg 47. Arthur Jensen
14. William James 31. Martin Seligman 48. Lee Cronbach
15. David McClelland 32. Ulric Neiser 49. John Bowlby
16. Raymond Cattell 33. Donald Campbell 50. Wolfgang Kohler
17. John Watson 34. Roger Brown

CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY
Similarities and differences across cultures are studied within cross-cultural psychology.
What exactly is a culture? According to Fiske (2002, p. 85), “A culture is a socially
transmitted or socially constructed constellation consisting of such things as practices,
competencies, ideas, schemas, symbols, values, norms, institutions, goals, constitutive
rules, artefacts [man-made objects], and modifications of the physical environment.”
How important is cross-cultural psychology? If human behavior is similar across all
cultures, the findings obtained from American and European research may suffice to
develop adequate psychological theories. In fact, there are major differences across cultures,
and so many theories based only on Western research have limited applicability. Note,
however, that we would expect basic psychological processes (e.g., apparent motion; limited
capacity of attention) to be very similar in every culture. In contrast, most social behavior
is likely to be influenced by the cultural context. Smith and Bond (1998) considered cross-
cultural attempts to replicate several phenomena in social psychology found in American
research. They concluded as follows: “The only topic on which there is much evidence for
consistently successful replication are the studies on obedience” (Smith & Bond, 1998,
p. 31). As you will see in Chapter 19, Milgram (1974) found that most people are
remarkably willing to administer potentially lethal electric shocks to another person.
Most studies in cross-cultural psychology have involved comparisons between Key Term
different countries. However, a country is generally not the same as a culture. For example,
Cross-cultural psychology:
it is generally assumed that the American culture is one based on individual independence an approach to psychology
and responsibility. Vandello and Cohen (1999) found that was the case in the Mountain focusing on the similarities
West and the Great Plains. In the Deep South, however, the culture was based more on and differences across
cultures.
interdependence and sharing of responsibility within the family or other group.
FOP-01.qxp:FOP-01 10/9/08 12:47 PM Page 12

12 Chapter 1 | Introduction

Are you still doubtful whether cultural differences are

sufficiently great to be worth bothering about? Perhaps
you will be convinced by this quotation from Westen
(1996, p. 679) even though it is somewhat over the top:

By twentieth century Western standards, nearly every

human who has ever lived outside the contemporary
West is lazy, passive, and lacking in industriousness.
In contrast, by the standards of most cultures in
human history, most Westerners are self-centered and
frenetic.

Individualism vs. collectivism

One starting point for cross-cultural psychology is to assign cultures to various categories
that capture important differences among them. Many psychologists argue there is a
crucial difference between cultures emphasizing individualism and those emphasizing
collectivism. Oyserman, Coon, and Kemmelmeier (2002, p. 5) defined these terms as
follows: “[We may] conceptualize individualism as a worldview that centralizes the
personal—personal goals, personal uniqueness, and personal control—and peripheralizes
the social . . . the core element of collectivism is the assumption that groups bind and
mutually obligate individuals.”
Oyserman et al. (2002) considered the components of individualism and collectivism
as assessed by 27 questionnaires. They identified six components of individualism and
eight components of collectivism:

Individualism Collectivism
1. Independent (free; control over one’s 1. Related (considering close others as
life). part of the self).
2. Goals (striving for one’s own goals and 2. Belong (enjoying belonging to groups).
achievements). 3. Duty (being willing to make sacrifices
3. Compete (personal competition and as a group member).
success). 4. Harmony (concern for group harmony).
4. Unique (focus on one’s unique 5. Advice (turning to close others for help
characteristics). with decisions).
5. Private self-know (keeping one’s 6. Context (self alters across situations).
thoughts private from others).
7. Hierarchy (emphasis on status issues).
6. Direct communicate (stating clearly
8. Group (preference for working in
what one wants and needs).
groups).

The first theoretical account of individualism and collectivism was proposed by

Hofstede (1980, 1983). He argued that individualism and collectivism are opposites.
Key Terms Individualistic cultures are those with an emphasis on independence and individual
responsibility whereas collectivistic ones emphasize interdependence and group
Individualism: membership.
characteristic of cultures
emphasizing independence,
personal responsibility, and Findings
personal uniqueness. Hofstede (1980, 1983) surveyed work-related values among IBM employees from 53
Collectivism: countries. The countries scoring highest on individualism were the United States (rank 1),
characteristic of cultures
emphasizing Australia (rank 2), Great Britain (rank 3), and Canada and The Netherlands (joint rank 4).
interdependence, sharing of Hofstede assumed (mistakenly as it happens) that countries scoring lowest on
responsibility, and group individualism were the highest on collectivism. Those scoring lowest on individualism
membership.
were Guatemala (rank 53), Ecuador (rank 52), Panama (rank 51), and Venezuela (rank 50).
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
on a chair with crossed legs and his head bent, was talking with
great rapidity in an undertone to himself.
“Gentlemen,” said the stranger, “I have come with the object of
gaining your help. Mr. Connor has told me that he has already
informed you about Reale’s millions. Briefly, I have decided to
forestall other people, and secure the money for myself. I offer you a
half share of the money, to be equally divided amongst you, and as
an earnest of my intention, I am paying each man who is willing to
help me a hundred pounds down.”
He drew from one of his pockets a thick package of notes, and from
two other pockets similar bundles. He handed them to Connor, and
the hungry eyes of the “Borough Lot” focused upon the crinkling
paper.
“What I shall ask you to do,” the stranger proceeded, “I shall tell you
later——”
“Wait a bit,” interrupted Bat. “Who else is in this?”
“We alone,” replied the man.
“Is Jimmy in it?”
“No.”
“Is Angel in it?”
“No” (impatiently).
“Go on,” said Bat, satisfied.
“The money is in a safe that can only be opened by a word. That
word nobody knows—so far. The clue to the word was stolen a few
nights ago from the lawyer in charge of the case by—Jimmy.”
He paused to note the effect of his words.
“Jimmy has passed the clue on to Scotland Yard, and we cannot
hope to get it.”
“Well?” demanded Bat.
“What we can do,” the other went on, “is to open the safe with
something more powerful than a word.”
“But the guard!” said Bat. “There’s an armed guard kept there by the
lawyer.”
“We can arrange about the guard,” said the other.
“Why not get at the lawyer?” It was Curt Goyle who made the
suggestion.
The stranger frowned.
“The lawyer cannot be got at,” he said shortly. “Now, are you with
me?”
There was no need to ask. Connor was sorting the notes into little
bundles on the table, and the men came up one by one, took their
money, and after a few words with Connor took their leave, with an
awkward salutation to the stranger.
Bat was the last to go.
“To-morrow night—here,” muttered Connor.
He was left alone with the newcomer, save for the old man, who
hadn’t changed his attitude, and was still in the midst of some
imaginary conversation.
“Who is this?” the stranger demanded.
Connor smiled.
“An old chap as mad as a March hare. A gentleman, too, and a
scholar; talks all sorts of mad languages—Latin and Greek and the
Lord knows what. He’s been a schoolmaster, I should say, and what
brought him down to this—drink or drugs or just ordinary madness—I
don’t know.”
The stranger looked with interest at the unconscious man, and old
George, as if suddenly realizing that he was under scrutiny, woke up
with a start and sat blinking at the other. Then he shuffled slowly to
his feet and peered closely into the stranger’s face, all the time
sustaining his mumbled conversation.
“Ah,” he said in a voice rising from its inaudibility, “a gentleman!
Pleased to meet you, sir, pleased to meet you. Omnia mutantur, nos
et mutamur in illis, but you have not changed.”
He relapsed again into mutterings.
“I have never met him before,” the stranger said, turning to Connor.
“Oh, old George always thinks he has met people,” said Connor with
a grin.
“A gentleman,” old George muttered, “every inch a gentleman, and a
munificent patron. He bought a copy of my book—you have read it?
It is called—dear me, I have forgotten what it is called—and sent to
consult me in his—ah!—anagram——”
“What?” The stranger’s face was ashen, and he gripped Connor by
the arm. “Listen, listen!” he whispered fiercely.
Old George threw up his head again and stared blandly at the
stranger.
“A perfect gentleman,” he said with pathetic insolence, “invariably
addressing me as the ‘professor’—a most delicate and gentlemanly
thing to do.”
He pointed a triumphant finger to the stranger.
“I know you!” he cried shrilly, and his cracked laugh rang through the
room. “Spedding, that’s your name! Lawyer, too. I saw you in the
carriage of my patron.”
“The book, the book!” gasped Spedding. “What was the name of
your book?”
Old George’s voice had dropped to its normal level when he replied
with extravagant courtesy—
“That is the one thing, sir, I can never remember.”
 CHAPTER IX
THE GREAT ATTEMPT

There are supercilious critics who sneer at Scotland Yard. They are
quite unofficial critics, of course, writers of stories wherein figure
amateur detectives of abnormal perspicuity, unraveling mysteries
with consummate ease which have baffled the police for years. As a
matter of fact, Scotland Yard stands for the finest police organization
in the world. People who speak glibly of “police blunders” might
remember one curious fact: in this last quarter of a century only one
man has ever stood in the dock at the Old Bailey under the capital
charge who has escaped the dread sentence of the law.
Scotland Yard is patiently slow and terribly sure.
Angel in his little room received a letter written in a sprawling,
uneducated hand; it was incoherent and stained with tears and
underlined from end to end. He read it through and examined the
date stamp, then rang his bell.
The messenger who answered him found him examining a map of
London. “Go to the Record Office, and get E.B. 93,” he said, and in
five minutes the messenger came back with a thick folder bulging
with papers.
There were newspaper cuttings and plans and dreadful photographs,
the like of which the outside world do not see, and there was a little
key ticketed with an inscription. Angel looked through the dossier
carefully, then read the woman’s letter again....
Vinnis, the man with the dead-white face, finishing his late breakfast,
and with the pleasurable rustle of new banknotes in his trouser
pocket, strolled forth into Commercial Road, E. An acquaintance
leaning against a public-house gave him a curt nod of recognition; a
bedraggled girl hurrying homeward with her man’s breakfast in her
apron shrank on one side, knowing Vinnis to her sorrow; a stray cur
cringed up to him, as he stood for a moment at the edge of the road,
and was kicked for its pains.
Vinnis was entirely without sentiment, and besides, even though the
money in his pocket compensated for most things, the memory of old
George and his babbling talk worried him.
Somebody on the other side of the road attracted his attention. It
was a woman, and he knew her very well, therefore he ignored her
beckoning hand. Two days ago he had occasion to reprove her, and
he had seized the opportunity to summarily dissolve the informal
union that had kept them together for five years. So he made no sign
when the woman with the bruised face called him, but turned
abruptly and walked towards Aldgate.
He did not look round, but by and by he heard the patter of her feet
behind, and once his name called hoarsely. He struck off into a side
street with a raging devil inside him, then when they reached an
unfrequented part of the road he turned on her.
She saw the demon in his eyes, and tried to speak. She was a
penitent woman at that moment, and hysterically ripe for confession,
but the savage menace of the man froze her lips.
“So,” he said, his thin mouth askew, “so after what I’ve said an’ what
I’ve done you follow me, do you. Showing me up in the street, eh!”
He edged closer to her, his fist doubled, and she, poor drab,
fascinated by the snakelike glare of his dull eyes, stood rooted to the
spot. Then with a snarl he struck her—once, twice—and she fell a
huddled, moaning heap on the pavement.
You may do things in Commercial Road, E., after “lighting-up time”
that are not permissible in the broad light of the day, unless it be
Saturday, and the few people who had been attracted by the promise
of a row were indignant but passive, after the manner of all London
crowds. Not so one quiet, middle-aged man, who confronted Vinnis
as he began to walk away.
“That was a particularly brutal thing to do,” said the quiet man.
Vinnis measured him with his eye, and decided that this was not a
man to be trifled with.
“I’ve got nothing to say to you,” he said roughly, and tried to push
past, but an iron grip was on his arm.
“Wait a moment, my friend,” said the other steadily, “not so fast; you
cannot commit a brutal assault in the open street like that without
punishment. I must ask you to walk with me to the station.”
“Suppose I won’t go?” demanded Vinnis.
“I shall take you,” said the other. “I am Detective-Sergeant Jarvis
from Scotland Yard.”
Vinnis thought rapidly. There wasn’t much chance of escape; the
street they were in was a cul-de-sac, and at the open end two
policemen had made their appearance. After all, a “wife” assault was
not a serious business, and the woman—well, she would swear it
was an accident. He resolved to go quietly; at the worst it would be a
month, so with a shrug of his shoulders he accompanied the
detective. A small crowd followed them to the station.
In the little steel dock he stood in his stockinged feet whilst a deft
jailer ran his hands over him. With a stifled oath, he remembered the
money in his possession; it was only ten pounds, for he had secreted
the other, but ten pounds is a lot of money to be found on a person
of his class, and generally leads to embarrassing inquiries. To his
astonishment, the jailer who relieved him of the notes seemed in no
whit surprised, and the inspector at the desk took the discovery as a
matter of course. Vinnis remarked on the surprising number of
constables there were on duty in the charge room. Then—
“What is the charge?” asked the inspector, dipping his pen.
“Wilful murder!” said a voice, and Angel Esquire crossed the room
from the inspector’s office. “I charge this man with having on the
night of the 17th of February....”
Vinnis, dumb with terror and rage, listened to the crisp tones of the
detective as he detailed the particulars of an almost forgotten crime.
It was the story of a country house burglary, a man-servant who
surprised the thief, a fight in the dark, a shot and a dead man lying in
the big drawing-room. It was an ordinary little tragedy, forgotten by
everybody save Scotland Yard; but year by year unknown men had
pieced together the scraps of evidence that had come to them;
strand by strand had the rope been woven that was to hang a cold-
blooded murderer; last of all came the incoherent letter from a
jealous woman—Scotland Yard waits always for a jealous woman—
and the evidence was complete.
“Put him in No. 14,” said the inspector. Then Vinnis woke up, and the
six men on duty in the charge room found their time fully occupied.

Vinnis was arrested, as Angel Esquire put it, “in the ordinary way of
business.” Hundreds of little things happen daily at Scotland Yard in
the ordinary way of business which, apparently unconnected one
with the other, have an extraordinary knack of being in some remote
fashion related. A burglary at Clapham was remarkable for the fact
that a cumbersome mechanical toy was carried away in addition to
other booty. A street accident in the Kingsland Road led to the arrest
of a drunken carman. In the excitement of the moment a sneak-thief
purloined a parcel from the van, was chased and captured. A
weeping wife at the police station gave him a good character as
husband and father. “Only last week he brought my boy a fine
performin’ donkey.” An alert detective went home with her,
recognized the mechanical toy from the description, and laid by the
heels the notorious “Kingsland Road Lot.”
The arrest of Vinnis was totally unconnected with Angel’s
investigations into the mystery of Reale’s millions. He knew him as a
“Borough man,” but did not associate him with the search for the
word.
None the less, there are certain formalities attached to the arrest of
all bad criminals. Angel Esquire placed one or two minor matters in
the hands of subordinates, and in two days one of these waited upon
him in his office.
“The notes, sir,” said the man, “were issued to Mr. Spedding on his
private account last Monday morning. Mr. Spedding is a lawyer, of
the firm of Spedding, Mortimer and Larach.”
“Have you seen Mr. Spedding?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. Mr. Spedding remembers drawing the money and paying it
away to a gentleman who was sailing to America.”
“A client?”
“So far as I can gather,” said the subordinate, “the money was paid
on behalf of a client for services. Mr. Spedding would not
particularize.”
Angel Esquire made a little grimace.
“Lawyers certainly do queer things,” he said dryly.
“Does Mr. Spedding offer any suggestion as to how the money came
into this man’s possession?”
“No, sir. He thinks he might have obtained it quite honestly. I
understand that the man who received the money was a shady sort
of customer.”
“So I should imagine,” said Angel Esquire.
Left alone, he sat in deep thought drawing faces on his blotting-pad.
Then he touched a bell.
“Send Mr. Carter to me,” he directed, and in a few minutes a bright-
faced youth, fingering an elementary mustache, was awaiting his
orders.
“Carter,” said Angel cautiously, “it must be very dull work in the
finger-print department.”
“I don’t know, sir,” said the other, a fairly enthusiastic ethnologist,
“we’ve got——”
“Carter,” said Angel more cautiously still, “are you on for a lark?”
“Like a bird, sir,” said Carter, unconsciously humorous.
“I want a dozen men, the sort of men who won’t talk to reporters, and
will remain ‘unofficial’ so long as I want them to be,” said Angel, and
he unfolded his plan.
When the younger man had gone Angel drew a triangle on the
blotting-pad.
“Spedding is in with the ‘Borough Lot,’” he put a cross against one
angle. “Spedding knows I know,” he put a cross at the apex. “I know
that Spedding knows I know,” he marked the remaining angle. “It’s
Spedding’s move, and he’ll move damn quick.”
The Assistant-Commissioner came into the room at that moment.
“Hullo, Angel!” he said, glancing at the figures on the pad. “What’s
this, a new game?”
“It’s an old game,” said Angel truthfully, “but played in an entirely new
way.”

Angel was not far wrong when he surmised that Spedding’s move
would be immediate, and although the detective had reckoned
without an unknown factor, in the person of old George, yet a variety
of circumstances combined to precipitate the act that Angel
anticipated.
Not least of these was the arrest of Vinnis. After his interview with old
George, Spedding had decided on a waiting policy. The old man had
been taken to the house at Clapham. Spedding had been prepared
to wait patiently until some freak of mind brought back the memory to
the form of cryptogram he had advised. A dozen times a day he
asked the old man—
“What is your name?”
“Old George, only old George,” was the invariable reply, with many
grins and noddings.
“But your real name, the name you had when you were a—
professor.”
But this would only start the old man off on a rambling reminiscence
of his “munificent patron.”
Connor came secretly to Clapham for orders. It was the night after
Vinnis had been arrested.
“We’ve got to move at once, Mr. Connor,” said the lawyer. Connor
sat in the chair that had held Jimmy a few nights previous. “It is no
use waiting for the old man to talk, the earlier plan was best.”
“Has anything happened?” asked Connor. His one-time awe of the
lawyer had merged in the familiarity of conspiratorship.
“There was a detective at my office to-day inquiring about some
notes that were found on Vinnis. Angel Esquire will draw his own
conclusions, and we have no time to lose.”
“We are ready,” said Connor.
“Then let it be to-morrow night. I will withdraw the guard of
commissionaires at the safe. I can easily justify myself afterwards.”
An idea struck Connor.
“Why not send another lot of men to relieve them? I can fix up some
of the boys so that they’ll look like commissionaires.”
Spedding’s eyes narrowed.
“Yes,” he said slowly, “it could be arranged—an excellent idea.”
He paced the room with long, swinging strides, his forehead
puckered.
“There are two reliefs,” he said, “one in the morning and one in the
evening. I could send a note to the sergeant of the morning relief
telling him that I had arranged for a new set of night men—I have
changed them twice already, one cannot be too careful—and I could
give you the necessary authority to take over charge.”
“Better still,” said Connor, “instruct him to withdraw, leaving the place
empty, then our arrival will attract no notice. Lombard Street must be
used to the commissionaires going on guard.”
“That is an idea,” said Spedding, and sat down to write the letter.

The night of the great project turned out miserably wet.

“So much the better,” muttered Connor, viewing the world from his
Kensington fastness. The room dedicated to the use of the master of
the house was plainly furnished, and on the bare deal table Connor
had set his whisky down whilst he peered through the rain-blurred
windows at the streaming streets.
“England for work and Egypt for pleasure,” he muttered; “and if I get
my share of the money, and it will be a bigger share than my friend
Spedding imagines, it’s little this cursed country will see of Mr.
Patrick Connor.”
He drained off his whisky at a gulp, rubbed the steam from the
windows, and looked down into the deserted street. Two men were
walking toward the house. One, well covered by a heavy mackintosh
cloak, moved with a long stride; the other, wrapped in a new
overcoat, shuffled by his side, quickening his steps to keep up with
his more energetic companion.
“Spedding,” said Connor, “and old George. What is he bringing him
here for?”
He hurried downstairs to let them in.
“Well?” asked Spedding, throwing his reeking coat off.
“All’s ready,” answered Connor. “Why have you brought the old
man?”
“Oh, for company,” the lawyer answered carelessly.
If the truth be told, Spedding still hoped that the old man would
remember. That day old George had been exceedingly garrulous,
almost lucidly so at times. Mr. Spedding still held on to the faint hope
that the old man’s revelations would obviate the necessity for
employing the “Borough Lot,” and what was more important, for
sharing the contents of the safe with them.
As to this latter part of the program, Mr. Spedding had plans which
would have astonished Connor had he but known.
But old George’s loquacity stopped short at the all-important point of
instructing the lawyer on the question of the cryptogram. He had
brought him along in the hope that at the eleventh hour the old man
would reveal his identity.
Unconscious of the responsibility that lay upon his foolish head, the
old man sat in the upstairs room communing with himself.
“We will leave him here,” said the lawyer, “he will be safe.”
“Safe enough. I know him of old. He’ll sit here for hours amusing
himself.”
“And now, what about the men?” asked the lawyer. “Where do we
meet them?”
“We shall pick them up at the corner of Lombard Street, and they’ll
follow me to the Safe Deposit.”
“Ah!”
They turned swiftly on old George, who with his chin raised and with
face alert was staring at them.
“Safe Deposit, Lombard Street,” he mumbled. “And a most excellent
plan too—a most excellent plan.”
The two men held their breath.
“And quite an ingenious idea, sir. Did you say Lombard Street—a
safe?” he muttered. “A safe with a word? And how to conceal the
word, that’s the question. I am a man of honor, you may trust me.”
He made a sweeping bow to some invisible presence. “Why not
conceal your word thus?”
Old George stabbed the palm of his hand with a grimy forefinger.
“Why not? Have you read my book? It is only a little book, but useful,
sir, remarkably useful. The drawings and the signs are most
accurate. An eminent gentleman at the British Museum assisted me
in its preparation. It is called—it is called——” He passed his hand
wearily over his head, and slid down into his chair again, a miserable
old man muttering foolishly.
Spedding wiped the perspiration from his forehead.
“Nearly, nearly!” he said huskily. “By Heavens! he nearly told us.”
Connor looked at him with suspicion.
“What’s all this about the book?” he demanded. “This is the second
time old George has spoken like this. It’s to do with old Reale, isn’t
it?”
Spedding nodded.
“Come,” said Connor, looking at his watch, “it’s time we were
moving. We’ll leave the old man to look after the house. Here,
George.”
Old George looked up.
“You’ll stay here, and not leave till we return. D’ye hear?”
“I hear, Mr. Connor, sir,” said old George, with his curious
assumption of dignity, “and hearing, obey.”
As the two men turned into the night the rain pelted down and a
gusty northwesterly wind blew into their faces.
“George,” said Connor, answering a question, “oh, we’ve had him for
years. One of the boys found him wandering about Limehouse with
hardly any clothes to his back, and brought him to us. That was
before I knew the ‘Borough Lot,’ but they used him as a blind. He
was worth the money it cost to keep him in food.”
Spedding kept the other waiting whilst he dispatched a long telegram
from the Westbourne Grove Post Office. It was addressed to the
master of the Polecat lying at Cardiff, and was reasonably
unintelligible to the clerk.
They found a hansom at the corner of Queen’s Road, and drove to
the Bank; here they alighted and crossed to the Royal Exchange.
Some men in uniform overcoats who were standing about
exchanged glances with Connor, and as the two leaders doubled
back to Lombard Street, followed them at a distance.
“The guard left at four o’clock,” said Spedding, fitting the key of the
heavy outer door. He waited a few minutes in the inky black
darkness of the vestibule whilst Connor admitted the six uniformed
men who had followed them.
“Are we all here?” said Connor in a low voice. “Bat? Here! Goyle?
Here! Lamby? Here!”
One by one he called them by their names and they answered.
“We may as well have a light,” said Spedding, and felt for the switch.
The gleam of the electric lamps showed Spedding as pure a
collection of scoundrels as ever disgraced the uniform of a gallant
corps.
“Now,” said Spedding in level tones, “are all the necessary tools
here?”
Bat’s grin was the answer.
“If we can get an electric connection,” he said, “we’ll burn out the
lock of the safe in half——”
Spedding had walked to the inner door that led to the great hall, and
was fumbling with the keys. Suddenly he started back.
“Hark!” he whispered. “I heard a step in the hall.”
Connor listened.
“I hear nothing,” he began, when the inner door was thrown open,
and a commissionaire, revolver in hand, stepped out.
“Stand!” he cried. Then, recognizing Spedding, dropped the muzzle
of his pistol.
White with rage, Spedding stood amidst his ill-assorted bodyguard.
In the searching white light of the electric lamps there was no
mistaking their character. He saw the commissionaire eying them
curiously.
“I understood,” he said slowly, “that the guard had been relieved.”
“No, sir,” said the man, and the cluster of uniformed men at the door
of the inner hall confirmed this.
“I sent orders this afternoon,” said Spedding between his teeth.
“No orders have been received, sir,” and the lawyer saw the
scrutinizing eye of the soldierly sentry pass over his confederates.
“Is this the relief?” asked the guard, not attempting to conceal the
contempt in his tone.
“Yes,” said the lawyer.
As the sentry saluted and disappeared into the hall Spedding drew
Connor aside.
“This is ruin,” he said quickly. “The safe must be cleared to-night. To-
morrow London will not hold me.”
The sentry reappeared at the doorway and beckoned them in. They
shuffled into the great hall, where in the half darkness the safe
loomed up from its rocky pedestal, an eerie, mysterious thing. He
saw Bat Sands glancing uncomfortably around the dim spaces of the
building, and felt the impression of the loneliness.
A man who wore the stripes of a sergeant came up.
“Are we to withdraw, sir?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Spedding shortly.
“Will you give us a written order?” asked the man.
Spedding hesitated, then drew out a pocketbook and wrote a few
hasty words on a sheet, tore it out, and handed it to the man.
The sergeant looked at it carefully.
“You haven’t signed it or dated it either,” he said respectfully, and
handed it back.
Spedding cursed him under his breath and rectified the omissions.
“Now you may go.”
In the half-light, for only one solitary electrolier illuminated the vast
hall, he thought the man was smiling. It might have been a trick of
the shadows, for he could not see his face.
“And am I to leave you alone?” said the sergeant.
“Yes.”
“Is it safe?” the non-commissioned officer asked quietly.
“Curse you, what do you mean?” cried the lawyer.
“Well,” said the other easily, “I see you have Connor with you, a
notorious thief and blackmailer.”
The lawyer was dumb.
“And Bat Sands. How d’ye do, Bat? How did they treat you in
Borstal, or was it Parkhurst?” drawled the sergeant. “And there’s the
gentle Lamby trying hard to look military in an overcoat too large for
him. That’s not the uniform you’re used to wearing, Lamby, eh?”
From the group of men at the door came a genuinely amused laugh.
“Guard the outer door, one of you chaps,” said the sergeant, and
turning again to Spedding’s men, “Here we have our respected
friend Curt Goyle.”
He stooped and picked up a bag that Bat had placed gingerly on the
floor.
“What a bag of tricks,” the sergeant cooed, “diamond bits and
dynamite cartridges and—what’s this little thing, Bat—an ark? It is.
By Jove, I congratulate you on the swag.”
Spedding had recovered his nerve and strode forward. He was
playing for the greatest stake in the world.
“You shall be punished for this insolence,” he stormed.
“Not at all,” said the imperturbable sergeant.
Somebody at the door spoke.
“Here’s another one, sergeant,” and pushed a queer old figure into
the hall, a figure that blinked and peered from face to face.
He espied Spedding, and ran up to him almost fawning.
“The Safe Deposit—in Lombard Street,” he cackled joyously. “You
see, I remembered, dear friend; and I’ve come to tell you about the
book—my book, you know. My munificent patron who desired a
puzzle word——”
The sergeant started forward.
“My God!” he cried, “the professor.”
“Yes, yes,” chuckled the old man, “that’s what he called me. He
bought a copy of my book—two sovereigns, four sovereigns he gave
me. The book—what was it called?”
The old man paused and clasped both hands to his head.
“A Study—a Study” he said painfully, “on the Origin of—the
Alphabet. Ah!”
Another of the commissionaires had come forward as the old man
began speaking, and to him the sergeant turned.
“Make a note of that, Jimmy,” the sergeant said.
Spedding reeled back as though he had been struck.
“Angel!” he gasped.
“That’s me,” was the ungrammatical reply.
Crushed, cowed, beaten and powerless, Spedding awaited
judgment. What form it would take he could not guess, that it would
effectively ruin him he did not doubt. The trusted lawyer stood self-
condemned; there was no explaining away his companions, there
could be no mistaking the meaning of their presence.
“Send your men away,” said Angel.
A wild hope seized the lawyer. The men were not to be arrested,
there was a chance for him.
The “Borough Lot” needed no second ordering; they trooped through
the doorway, anxious to reach the open air before Angel changed his
mind.
“You may go,” said Angel to Connor, who still lingered.
“If the safe is to be opened, I’m in it,” was the sullen reply.
“You may go,” said Angel; “the safe will not be opened to-night.”
“I——”
“Go!” thundered the detective, and Connor slunk away.
Angel beckoned the commissionaire who had first interrogated
Spedding.
“Take charge of that bag, Carter. There are all sorts of things in it that
go off.” Then he turned to the lawyer.
“Mr. Spedding, there is a great deal that I have to say to you, but it
would be better to defer our conversation; the genuine guard will
return in a few minutes. I told them to return at 10 o’clock.”
“By what authority?” blustered Spedding.
“Tush!” said Angel wearily. “Surely we have got altogether beyond
that stage. Your order for withdrawal was expected by me. I waited
upon the sergeant of the guard with another order.”
“A forged order, I gather?” said Spedding, recovering his balance.
“Now I see why you have allowed my men to go. I overrated your
generosity.”
“The order,” said Angel soberly, “was signed by His Majesty’s
Secretary of State for Home Affairs”—he tapped the astonished
lawyer on the shoulder—“and if it would interest you to know, I have
a warrant in my pocket for the arrest of every man jack of you. That I
do not put it into execution is a matter of policy.”
The lawyer scanned the calm face of the detective in bewilderment.
“What do you want of me?” he asked at length.
“Your presence at Jimmy’s flat at ten o’clock to-morrow morning,”
replied Angel.
“I will be there,” said the other, and turned to go.
“And, Mr. Spedding,” called Jimmy, as the lawyer reached the door,
“in regard to a boat you have chartered from Cardiff, I think you need
not go any further in the matter. One of my men is at present
interviewing the captain, and pointing out to him the enormity of the
offense of carrying fugitives from justice to Spanish-American ports.”
“Damn you!” said Spedding, and slammed the door.
Jimmy removed the commissionaire’s cap from his head and
grinned.
“One of these fine days, Angel, you’ll lose your job, introducing the
Home Secretary’s name. Phew!”
“It had to be done,” said Angel sadly. “It hurts me to lie, but I couldn’t
very well tell Spedding that the sergeant of the commissionaires had
been one of my own men all along, could I?”
 CHAPTER X
SOME BAD CHARACTERS

It happened that on the night of the great attempt the inquisitive Mr.
Lane, of 76 Cawdor Street, was considerably exercised in his mind
as to the depleted condition of his humble treasury. With Mr. Lane
the difference between affluence and poverty was a matter of
shillings. His line of business was a humble one. Lead piping and
lengths of telephone wire, an occasional door-mat improvidently left
outside whilst the servant cleaned the hall, these represented the
scope and extent of his prey. Perhaps he reached his zenith when
he lifted an overcoat from a hatstand what time a benevolent old lady
was cutting him thick slices of bread and butter in a basement
kitchen.
Mr. Lane had only recently returned from a short stay in Wormwood
Scrubbs Prison. It was over a trifling affair of horsehair abstracted
from railway carriage cushions that compelled Mr. Lane’s retirement
for two months. It was that same affair that brought about his
undoing on the night of the attempt.
For the kudos of the railway theft had nerved him to more ambitious
attempts, and with a depleted exchequer to urge him forward, and
the prestige of his recent achievements to support him, he decided
upon burglary. It was a wild and reckless departure from his regular
line, and he did not stop to consider the disabilities attaching to a
change of profession, nor debate the unpropitious conditions of an
already overstocked labor market. It is reasonable to suppose that
Mr. Lane lacked the necessary qualities of logic and balance to
argue any point to its obvious conclusion, for he was, intellectually,
the reverse of brilliant, and was therefore ill-equipped for
introspective or psychological examination of the circumstances
leading to his decision. Communing with himself, the inquisitive Mr.
Lane put the matter tersely and brutally.