STANDARDS FOR CITING REFERENCES IN PSYCHOLOGY

(adapted from Supnick, 1986)

The question of how to indicate the source of ideas, facts, and opinions that are not one's own in a paper usually causes confusion and uncertainty; errors and omissions of this type often result in a poorer grade. In order to minimize these problems, the standard to be used by all students in writing papers for my courses is adapted from that used by the American Psychological Association and is described fully in its Publication Manual (1983). Students who learn and use this style will find that it is easy and efficient; those who do not will be penalized through the grade received for their papers.

I. The Standard Form For Citations in the Text of a Paper

A. Single Authors


Footnotes or endnotes are not used in psychological papers to indicate sources. Rather, the author-(date) method is used; that is, the author's surname and date of publication are inserted at the appropriate point, as in the examples below:

1. Green (1976) compared reaction times . . .
2. In a recent study of hyperkinetic boys (Gerard, 1978), it was shown that . . .
3. In 1904, Angell published his version of a functionalistic Psychology textbook.
4. Several learning theorists have made a similar assumption (Hull, 1950; Skinner, 1931; Underwood, 1962).



Subsequent reference to the same source within the same paragraph do not have to include both author and date if no ambiguity results.

B. Two or More Authors



When citing a work with two authors, always cite both names when the reference occurs in the text. If the work has more than two authors, cite all the authors the first time the reference occurs; subsequently only the first author, followed by "et al.," is used.



1. As shown by Chip and Dale (1967) . . . . . .
   
   
2. Behavior therapy is widely practiced (Marx & Hillix, 1973).
   
   
3. PCP is an easily synesized hallucinogen (Sammet, Cronbach, & Smith, 1975 . . . . illegal use of PCP or "angel dust" is growing rapidly (Sammet et al., 1975).
   
   
   
   

C. When Page Numbers Are Needed



Page numbers are always given for a quotation. Page numbers are generally not used when the reference is to a journal or other short piece, but when the source is a book, it is usually required to indicate page numbers or chapters, even if a direct quote is not used.



1. "Habit is the mainspring of society" (James, 1892, P. 125).
   
   
2. Skinner and Ferster state that VR schedules produce high rates of responding that are resistant to extinction (1957, p. 116).
   
   
3. Humanistic psychologists tend to look at human nature in a positive light (Rogers, 1961, pp. 13-16).
   
   

Exceptions: In the following examples of references to a book, no page numbers are given because the statements do not refer to particular facts, ideas, or opinions but, instead, concern conclusions or ideas derived from the entire book.



4. Levinson (1975) has attempted to apply psychoanalytic theory to problems of management.
   
   
5. Glasser draws primarily upon his own case material to validate his theory (1961).
   
   
   
   

II. Citing Secondary Sources

Never, NEVER cite as a reference a source that you have not personally read. The citation of material from secondary sources should always indicate the source actually used.

1. Smith found that females did better than males on all developmental tasks (cited in Carter, 1966)
2. Asch, as reported by Aronson (1972), studied conformity to a group norm.
   
   

Indicating a date of publication, when the study you are citing is one you have read about in another source, confuses the reader about the actual reference. Do not do this:

3. Lockhart (1981) reported no sex differences on pursuit rotor tasks with young children (Egleston, 1983).
   
   

To correct the ambiguity, omit the "(1981)" entirely.

III. References to "Unpublished" Material

Material that is not widely available, such as unpublished manuscripts, papers read at meetings, bulletins with limited circulation, etc., should also be included in the reference section.

1. Supnick (1978) found conflicting results.
   
   
2. Most theorists today reject Freud's view on the question (Grossman, 1986).
   
   

Look at these two commonly occurring types of references in the example reference section below. See the APA Manual for illustrations of other kinds.

IV. Bibliography vs. References

References indicate the sources actually used in writing a paper. A bibliography provides the reader with sources for background or further reading. Unless specifically requested by the instructor, bibliographies are not required for papers in psychology courses. In those cases where one is required, it should follow the reference section and use the same format for references and reference notes as exemplified below:

References: An Example



(The following material will usually start on a new page in a written paper, but for Special Events it can be placed at the bottom of the worksheet.)

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References

American Psychological Association. (1974). Publication manual. (2nd ed.) Washington, D.C.: Author.



Archer, P.W. (1950). The tactile perception of roughness. American Journal of Psychology, 63 365-373.



Briggs, G.E., Thompson, R.F., & Brogden, W.J. (1954). Retention functions is reproductive inhibition. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 48, 419-423.



Grossman, R.W. Personal communication, January 27, 1978.



Hull, C.L. (1943). Principles of behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.



Supnick, L. (1986). Standards for citing references in psychology. (Available from L. Supnick, Department of Psychology, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI 49007.)