Module 13: F-Distribution and One-Way ANOVA
The F Distribution and the F-Ratio
Barbara Illowsky & OpenStax et al.
The distribution used for the hypothesis test is a new one. It is called the F distribution, named after Sir Ronald Fisher, an English statistician. The F statistic is a ratio (a fraction). There are two sets of degrees of freedom; one for the numerator and one for the denominator.
For example, if F follows an F distribution and the number of degrees of freedom for the numerator is four, and the number of degrees of freedom for the denominator is ten, then F ~ F4,10.
Note
The F distribution is derived from the Student’s t-distribution. The values of the F distribution are squares of the corresponding values of the t-distribution. One-Way ANOVA expands the t-test for comparing more than two groups. The scope of that derivation is beyond the level of this course.
To calculate the F ratio, two estimates of the variance are made.
- Variance between samples: An estimate of σ2 that is the variance of the sample means multiplied by n (when the sample sizes are the same.). If the samples are different sizes, the variance between samples is weighted to account for the different sample sizes. The variance is also called variation due to treatment or explained variation.
- Variance within samples: An estimate of σ2 that is the average of the sample variances (also known as a pooled variance). When the sample sizes are different, the variance within samples is weighted. The variance is also called the variation due to error or unexplained variation.
- SSbetween = the sum of squares that represents the variation among the different samples
- SSwithin = the sum of squares that represents the variation within samples that is due to chance.
To find a “sum of squares” means to add together squared quantities that, in some cases, may be weighted.
MS means “mean square.” MSbetween is the variance between groups, and MSwithin is the variance within groups.
Calculation of Sum of Squares and Mean Square
k = the number of different groups
nj = the size of the jth group
sj = the sum of the values in the jth group
n = total number of all the values combined (total sample size: ∑nj)
x = one value: ∑x = ∑sj
Sum of squares of all values from every group combined: ∑
x2
Between group variability:
SStotal = [latex]displaystylesum{{x}^{{2}}}-frac{{sum{x}^{{2}}}}{{n}}[/latex]
Total sum of squares:
[latex]displaystylesum{x}^{{2}}-frac{{{(sum{x})}^{{2}}}}{{n}}[/latex]
Explained variation: sum of squares representing variation among the different samples:
[latex]displaystyle{S}{S}_{{text{between}}}=sum{[frac{{({s}{j})}^{{2}}}{{n}_{{j}}}]}-frac{{(sum{s}_{{j}})}^{{2}}}{{n}}[/latex]
Unexplained variation: sum of squares representing variation within samples due to chance:
[latex]displaystyle{S}{S}_{{text{within}}}={S}{S}_{{text{total}}}-{S}{S}_{{text{between}}}[/latex]
df‘s for different groups (df‘s for the numerator): df = k – 1
Equation for errors within samples (df‘s for the denominator):
dfwithin = n – k
Mean square (variance estimate) explained by the different groups:
[latex]displaystyle{M}{S}_{{text{between}}}=frac{{{S}{S}_{{text{between}}}}}{{{d}{f}_{{text{between}}}}}[/latex]
Mean square (variance estimate) that is due to chance (unexplained):
[latex]displaystyle{M}{S}_{{text{within}}}=frac{{{S}{S}_{{text{within}}}}}{{{d}{f}_{{text{within}}}}}[/latex]
MSbetween and MSwithin can be written as follows:
- [latex]displaystyle{M}{S}_{{text{between}}}=frac{{{S}{S}_{{text{between}}}}}{{{d}{f}_{{text{between}}}}}=frac{{{S}{S}_{{text{between}}}}}{{{k}-{1}}}[/latex]
- [latex]displaystyle{M}{S}_{{text{within}}}=frac{{{S}{S}_{{text{within}}}}}{{{d}{f}_{{text{within}}}}}=frac{{{S}{S}_{{text{within}}}}}{{{n}-{k}}}[/latex]
The one-way ANOVA test depends on the fact that
MSbetween can be influenced by population differences among means of the several groups. Since MSwithin compares values of each group to its own group mean, the fact that group means might be different does not affect MSwithin.
The null hypothesis says that all groups are samples from populations having the same normal distribution. The alternate hypothesis says that at least two of the sample groups come from populations with different normal distributions. If the null hypothesis is true,
MSbetween and MSwithin should both estimate the same value.
Note
The null hypothesis says that all the group population means are equal. The hypothesis of equal means implies that the populations have the same normal distribution, because it is assumed that the populations are normal and that they have equal variances.
F-Ratio or F Statistic
[latex]displaystyle{F}=frac{{{M}{S}_{{text{between}}}}}{{{M}{S}_{{text{within}}}}}[/latex]If
MSbetween and MSwithin estimate the same value (following the belief that H0 is true), then the F-ratio should be approximately equal to one. Mostly, just sampling errors would contribute to variations away from one. As it turns out, MSbetween consists of the population variance plus a variance produced from the differences between the samples. MSwithin is an estimate of the population variance. Since variances are always positive, if the null hypothesis is false, MSbetween will generally be larger than MSwithin.Then the F-ratio will be larger than one. However, if the population effect is small, it is not unlikely that MSwithin will be larger in a given sample.
The foregoing calculations were done with groups of different sizes. If the groups are the same size, the calculations simplify somewhat and the
F-ratio can be written as:
F-Ratio Formula when the groups are the same size
[latex]displaystyle{F}=frac{{{n}cdot{{s}_{overline{{x}}}^{{ {2}}}}}}{{{{s}_{{text{pooled}}}^{{2}}}}}[/latex]where …
- n = the sample size
- dfnumerator = k – 1
- dfdenominator = n – k
- s2pooled = the mean of the sample variances (pooled variance)
- [latex]displaystyle{{s}_{overline{{x}}}^{{ {2}}}}[/latex] = the variance of the sample means
Data are typically put into a table for easy viewing. One-Way ANOVA results are often displayed in this manner by computer software.
| Source of Variation | Sum of Squares ( SS) |
Degrees of Freedom ( df) |
Mean Square ( MS) |
F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factor(Between) | SS(Factor) | k – 1 | MS(Factor) =SS(Factor)/(k – 1) | F =MS(Factor)/MS(Error) |
| Error(Within) | SS(Error) | n – k | MS(Error) =SS(Error)/(n –k) | |
| Total | SS(Total) | n – 1 |
Example
Three different diet plans are to be tested for mean weight loss. The entries in the table are the weight losses for the different plans. The one-way ANOVA results are shown in in the table here.
3.5
| Plan 1: n1 = 4 |
Plan 2: n2 = 3 |
Plan 3: n3 = 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3.5 | 8 |
| 4.5 | 7 | 4 |
| 4 | ||
| 3 | 4.5 |
s1 = 16.5, s2 =15, s3 = 15.7
Following are the calculations needed to fill in the one-way ANOVA table. The table is used to conduct a hypothesis test.
[latex]displaystyle{{S}{S}}_{{text{between}}}=sum{left[frac{{{({s}_{j})}^{2}}}{{{n}_{j}}}right]}-frac{{(sum{{s}_{j})}^{2}}}{{n}}[/latex][latex]displaystyle=frac{{{{s}_{1}}^{2}}}{{4}}+frac{{{{s}_{2}}^{2}}}{{3}}+frac{{{{s}_{3}}^{2}}}{{3}}[/latex]where
n1 = 4, n2 = 3, n3 = 3 and n = n1 + n2 + n3 = 10
[latex]displaystyle=frac{{({16.5})^{2}}}{{4}}+frac{{({15})^{2}}}{{3}}+frac{{ ({5.5})^{2}}}{{3}}-frac{{ {({16.5}+{15}+{15.5})}^{2}}}{{10}}[/latex][latex]displaystyle{{S}{S}}_{{text{between}}}={2.2458}{S}_{{text{total}}}=sum{x}^{2}-frac{{{(sum{x})}^{2}}}{{n}}[/latex][latex]displaystyle=left({5}^{2}+{4.5}^{2}+{4}^{2}+{3}^{2}+{3.5}^{2}+{7}^{2}+{4.5}^{2}+{8}^{2}+{4}^{2}+{3.5}^{2}right)[/latex][latex]displaystyle{-}frac{{{left({5}+{4.5}+{4}+{3}+{3.5}+{7}+{4.5}+{8}+{4}+{3.5}right)}^{2}}}{{10}}[/latex][latex]displaystyle={244}-frac{{{47}^{2}}}{{10}}={244}-{220.9}[/latex]
Using a Calculator
One-Way ANOVA Table: The formulas for
SS(Total), SS(Factor) = SS(Between) andSS(Error) = SS(Within) as shown previously.
The same information is provided by the TI calculator hypothesis test function ANOVA in STAT TESTS (syntax is ANOVA(L1, L2, L3) where L1, L2, L3 have the data from Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 3 respectively).
| Source of Variation | Sum of Squares ( SS) |
Degrees of Freedom ( df) |
Mean Square ( MS) |
F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factor(Between) | SS(Factor)=SS(Between)= 2.2458 | k – 1= 3 groups – 1= 2 | MS(Factor)=SS(Factor)/(k– 1)= 2.2458/2= 1.1229 | F =MS(Factor)/MS(Error)= 1.1229/2.9792= 0.3769 |
| Error(Within) | SS(Error)= SS(Within)= 20.8542 | n – k= 10 total data – 3 groups= 7 | MS(Error)=SS(Error)/(n– k)= 20.8542/7= 2.9792 | |
| Total | SS(Total)= 2.2458 + 20.8542= 23.1 | n – 1= 10 total data – 1= 9 |
Try it
As part of an experiment to see how different types of soil cover would affect slicing tomato production, Marist College students grew tomato plants under different soil cover conditions. Groups of three plants each had one of the following treatments
- bare soil
- a commercial ground cover
- black plastic
- straw
- compost
All plants grew under the same conditions and were the same variety. Students recorded the weight (in grams) of tomatoes produced by each of the n = 15 plants:
| Bare: n1 = 3 |
Ground Cover: n2 = 3 |
Plastic: n3 = 3 |
Straw: n4 = 3 |
Compost: n5 = 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,625 | 5,348 | 6,583 | 7,285 | 6,277 |
| 2,997 | 5,682 | 8,560 | 6,897 | 7,818 |
| 4,915 | 5,482 | 3,830 | 9,230 | 8,677 |
Create the one-way ANOVA table.
Enter the data into lists L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5. Press STAT and arrow over to TESTS. Arrow down to ANOVA. Press ENTER and enter L1, L2, L3, L4, L5). Press ENTER. The table was filled in with the results from the calculator.
One-Way ANOVA table:
| Source of Variation | Sum of Squares ( SS) |
Degrees of Freedom ( df) |
Mean Square ( MS) |
F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factor (Between) | 36,648,561 | 5 – 1 = 4 | [latex]displaystylefrac{{{36},{648},{561}}}{{4}}={9},{162},{140}[/latex] | [latex]displaystylefrac{{{9},{162},{140}}}{{{2},{044},{672.6}}}={4.4810}[/latex] |
| Error (Within) | 20,446,726 | 15 – 5 = 10 | [latex]displaystylefrac{{{20},{446},{726}}}{{10}}={2},{044},{672.6}[/latex] | |
| Total | 57,095,287 | 15 – 1 = 14 |
The one-way ANOVA hypothesis test is always right-tailed because larger
F-values are way out in the right tail of the F-distribution curve and tend to make us reject H0.
Notation
The notation for the F distribution is F ~ Fdf(num),df(denom)
where df(num) = dfbetween and df(denom) = dfwithin
The mean for the F distribution is [latex]displaystylemu=frac{{{d}{f}{(text{num})}}}{{{d}{f}{(text{denom})}}}-{1}[/latex]
References
Tomato Data, Marist College School of Science (unpublished student research)
Concept Review
Analysis of variance compares the means of a response variable for several groups. ANOVA compares the variation within each group to the variation of the mean of each group. The ratio of these two is the
F statistic from an F distribution with (number of groups – 1) as the numerator degrees of freedom and (number of observations – number of groups) as the denominator degrees of freedom. These statistics are summarized in the ANOVA table.
Formula Review
[latex]displaystyle{S}{S}_{{text{between}}}=sum{[frac{{({s}{j})}^{{2}}}{{n}_{{j}}}]}-frac{{(sum{s}_{{j}})}^{{2}}}{{n}}[/latex]SStotal = [latex]displaystylesum{{x}^{{2}}}-frac{{sum{x}^{{2}}}}{{n}}[/latex]
[latex]displaystyle{S}{S}_{{text{within}}}={S}{S}_{{text{total}}}-{S}{S}_{{text{between}}}[/latex]dfbetween = df(num) = k – 1
dfwithin = df(denom) = n – k
[latex]displaystyle{M}{S}_{{text{between}}}=frac{{{S}{S}_{{text{between}}}}}{{{d}{f}_{{text{between}}}}}[/latex][latex]displaystyle{M}{S}_{{text{within}}}=frac{{{S}{S}_{{text{within}}}}}{{{d}{f}_{{text{within}}}}}[/latex][latex]displaystyle{F}=frac{{{M}{S}_{{text{between}}}}}{{{M}{S}_{{text{within}}}}}[/latex]F ratio when the groups are the same size: [latex]displaystyle{F}=frac{{{n}{{s}_{overline{{x}}}^{{ {2}}}}}}{{{s}_{{text{pooled}}}^{{2}}}}[/latex]
Mean of the F distribution:[latex]displaystylemu=frac{{{d}{f}{(text{num})}}}{{{d}{f}{(text{denom})}}}-{1}[/latex]
where:
k = the number of groups nj = the size of the jth group sj = the sum of the values in the jth group n = the total number of all values (observations) combined x = one value (one observation) from the data [latex]displaystyle{{s}_{overline{{x}}}^{{ {2}}}}[/latex] = the mean of the sample variances (pooled variance)


84 On the Move: The Transportation Revolution
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the development of improved methods of nineteenth-century domestic transportation
- Identify the ways in which roads, canals, and railroads impacted Americans’ lives in the nineteenth century
Americans in the early 1800s were a people on the move, as thousands left the eastern coastal states for opportunities in the West. Unlike their predecessors, who traveled by foot or wagon train, these settlers had new transport options. Their trek was made possible by the construction of roads, canals, and railroads, projects that required the funding of the federal government and the states.
New technologies, like the steamship and railroad lines, had brought about what historians call the transportation revolution. States competed for the honor of having the most advanced transport systems. People celebrated the transformation of the wilderness into an orderly world of improvement demonstrating the steady march of progress and the greatness of the republic. In 1817, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina looked to a future of rapid internal improvements, declaring, “Let us . . . bind the Republic together with a perfect system of roads and canals.” Americans agreed that internal transportation routes would promote progress. By the eve of the Civil War, the United States had moved beyond roads and canals to a well-established and extensive system of railroads.
ROADS AND CANALS
One key part of the transportation revolution was the widespread building of roads and turnpikes. In 1811, construction began on the Cumberland Road, a national highway that provided thousands with a route from Maryland to Illinois. The federal government funded this important artery to the West, beginning the creation of a transportation infrastructure for the benefit of settlers and farmers. Other entities built turnpikes, which (as today) charged fees for use. New York State, for instance, chartered turnpike companies that dramatically increased the miles of state roads from one thousand in 1810 to four thousand by 1820. New York led the way in building turnpikes.
Canal mania swept the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century. Promoters knew these artificial rivers could save travelers immense amounts of time and money. Even short waterways, such as the two-and-a-half-mile canal going around the rapids of the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, proved a huge leap forward, in this case by opening a water route from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. The preeminent example was the Erie Canal, which linked the Hudson River, and thus New York City and the Atlantic seaboard, to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Valley.
With its central location, large harbor, and access to the hinterland via the Hudson River, New York City already commanded the lion’s share of commerce. Still, the city’s merchants worried about losing ground to their competitors in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Their search for commercial advantage led to the dream of creating a water highway connecting the city’s Hudson River to Lake Erie and markets in the West. The result was the Erie Canal. Chartered in 1817 by the state of New York, the canal took seven years to complete. When it opened in 1825, it dramatically decreased the cost of shipping while reducing the time to travel to the West. Soon $15 million worth of goods (more than $200 million in today’s money) was being transported on the 363-mile waterway every year.
The success of the Erie Canal led to other, similar projects. The Wabash and Erie Canal, which opened in the early 1840s, stretched over 450 miles, making it the longest canal in North America. Canals added immensely to the country’s sense of progress. Indeed, they appeared to be the logical next step in the process of transforming wilderness into civilization.
As with highway projects such as the Cumberland Road, many canals were federally sponsored, especially during the presidency of John Quincy Adams in the late 1820s. Adams, along with Secretary of State Henry Clay, championed what was known as the American System, part of which included plans for a broad range of internal transportation improvements. Adams endorsed the creation of roads and canals to facilitate commerce and develop markets for agriculture as well as to advance settlement in the West.
RAILROADS
Starting in the late 1820s, steam locomotives began to compete with horse-drawn locomotives. The railroads with steam locomotives offered a new mode of transportation that fascinated citizens, buoying their optimistic view of the possibilities of technological progress. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad was the first to begin service with a steam locomotive. Its inaugural train ran in 1831 on a track outside Albany and covered twelve miles in twenty-five minutes. Soon it was traveling regularly between Albany and Schenectady.
Toward the middle of the century, railroad construction kicked into high gear, and eager investors quickly formed a number of railroad companies. As a railroad grid began to take shape, it stimulated a greater demand for coal, iron, and steel. Soon, both railroads and canals crisscrossed the states, providing a transportation infrastructure that fueled the growth of American commerce. Indeed, the transportation revolution led to development in the coal, iron, and steel industries, providing many Americans with new job opportunities.
AMERICANS ON THE MOVE
The expansion of roads, canals, and railroads changed people’s lives. In 1786, it had taken a minimum of four days to travel from Boston, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island. By 1840, the trip took half a day on a train. In the twenty-first century, this may seem intolerably slow, but people at the time were amazed by the railroad’s speed. Its average of twenty miles per hour was twice as fast as other available modes of transportation.
By 1840, more than three thousand miles of canals had been dug in the United States, and thirty thousand miles of railroad track had been laid by the beginning of the Civil War. Together with the hundreds of steamboats that plied American rivers, these advances in transportation made it easier and less expensive to ship agricultural products from the West to feed people in eastern cities, and to send manufactured goods from the East to people in the West. Without this ability to transport goods, the market revolution would not have been possible. Rural families also became less isolated as a result of the transportation revolution. Traveling circuses, menageries, peddlers, and itinerant painters could now more easily make their way into rural districts, and people in search of work found cities and mill towns within their reach.
Section Summary
A transportation infrastructure rapidly took shape in the 1800s as American investors and the government began building roads, turnpikes, canals, and railroads. The time required to travel shrank vastly, and people marveled at their ability to conquer great distances, enhancing their sense of the steady advance of progress. The transportation revolution also made it possible to ship agricultural and manufactured goods throughout the country and enabled rural people to travel to towns and cities for employment opportunities.
https://www.openassessments.org/assessments/970
Review Question
- What were the benefits of the transportation revolution?
Answer to Review Question
- The Cumberland Road made transportation to the West easier for new settlers. The Erie Canal facilitated trade with the West by connecting the Hudson River to Lake Erie. Railroads shortened transportation times throughout the country, making it easier and less expensive to move people and goods.
Glossary
Cumberland Road a national highway that provided thousands with a route from Maryland to Illinois
Erie Canal a canal that connected the Hudson River to Lake Erie and markets in the West
Mohawk and Hudson Railroad the first steam-powered locomotive railroad in the United States


Main Body
The Story of Joy Kogawa
Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.
Joy Kogawa remembers her childhood home in Vancouver fondly. The house always had the smell of wood burning in the fireplace. The walls were covered with paintings, photos, and bookcases. The sounds of music, storytelling, and laughter sailed through the air. Her bedroom had toy boxes filled with cars, dolls, and games. A cherry tree stood in the yard outside her window. But her happy days there were cut short.
In 1941, a warplane from Japan dropped a bomb on the United States. Canada went to war with Japan. The prime minister of Canada thought that Japanese Canadians might be spies. So he had all Japanese Canadians taken from their homes. They were sent to live and work in camps. To pay for the camps, their homes and belongings were sold. Most of the people sent to the camps were born in Canada. Half of them were under the age of 19. Both the RCMP and the military agreed the prime minister’s decision did not make sense. But the prime minister did it anyway. He wanted Canada to be mostly for white people. He hoped the Japanese Canadians would just go back to Japan.
Joy Kogawa was six years old when her family was forced from their home. They were put onto a train and shipped to a camp in Slocan, British Columbia. The family had to live in a one-room shack. It was a heat trap in the summer and an ice box in the winter. Her family was forced to work on a farm. Joy had to work alongside them in the beet fields — often instead of going to school. She dreamed of going back to her home in Vancouver.
After the war, Joy did not want to be thought of as Japanese. She thought of herself as a white person. It was a way of trying to forget the painful past. One day, Joy came across some letters. They were written by a Japanese Canadian woman from Vancouver and sent to her brother in Toronto. The letters were about how terrible it was to live in a time of so much racism. The writer called for justice. These letters gave Joy an idea. She decided to write a story based on what had happened to her family. She wrote a book called Obasan. As she wrote it, she began to accept herself as Japanese Canadian. And she began to want justice, too.
Joy began to work for justice for the Japanese Canadians who had been put in camps. She worked with others to hold meetings, write letters, and organize rallies. Her book, Obasan, helped people across Canada to understand the terrible things that had happened. Finally, in 1988, the federal government said it was sorry for what had happened. It paid back part of what it had taken from Japanese Canadians. It promised to work to make sure such a terrible injustice never happens again.
In 2005, Joy’s childhood house in Vancouver was going to be torn down. Joy helped raise enough money to buy it back. To this day, the house still stands in Vancouver. It stands as a reminder of the injustice of racism and war. If we remember our past, we can avoid making the same mistakes in the present.
Media Attributions
- A_young_evacuee_of_Japanese_ancestry_waits_with_the_family_baggage_before_leaving_by_bus_for_an_assembly_center. © U.S. National Archives and Records Administration is licensed under a Public Domain license
- Japanese_internment_camp_in_British_Columbia © JKelly is licensed under a Public Domain license
- Joy Kogawa & Places That Matter plaque © monnibo is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives) license
In a loving way
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, also known as Mounties
The army, navy, and air force
Unfair treatment


21 Parenting
If you’re a parent, you get plenty of suggestions on how to raise your child. From experts to other parents, people are always ready to offer advice. Parenting tips, parents’ survival guides, dos, don’ts, shoulds and shouldn’ts—new ones come out daily.
The truth is there is more than one “right” way to be a good parent. Good parenting includes
- Keeping your child safe
- Showing affection and listening to your child
- Providing order and consistency
- Setting and enforcing limits
- Spending time with your child
- Monitoring your child’s friendships and activities
- Leading by example
There are many different kinds of families. Some have two parents, while others have a single parent. Sometimes there is no parent and grandparents raise grandchildren. Some children live in foster families, adoptive families, or in stepfamilies.
Families are much more than groups of people who share the same genes or the same address. They should be a source of support and encouragement. This does not mean that everyone gets along all the time.  Many issues can lead to conflict, such as illness, disability, addiction, job loss, school difficulties and marital problems. Listening to each other and working to resolve conflicts are important in strengthening the family.
Learning Activity: Immunization
Watch this video—Get the Picture: Childhood Immunizations:
https://youtu.be/3uVvq7dbf4s
After talking with parents across the country, CDC put together this short video to help answer the tough questions that real moms had about childhood immunizations. Understanding the importance of vaccines is crucial for you to protect your children’s health.
Learning Activity
Watch this video—Baby Steps: Learn the Signs. Act Early:
Early recognition of developmental disabilities such as autism is key for parents and providers. CDC realized the impact on families and invested in a campaign to help parents measure their children’s progress by monitoring how they play, learn, speak and act.
Show Sources
Sources
Source: Parenting, Medline Plus, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/parenting.html.


1.1 Problem-Solving Approach to Design
Business communications tasks are often designed to solve a problem or improve a situation. Design thinking processes are often enlisted to get to the true heart of the problem. A clearly-articulated design process provides a clear, step-by-step plan for finding the best solution for your situation.
Take a moment to search the Internet for the term “design thinking process” and look at “images.” You will find many variations. Have a look at several of them and see if you can find a common pattern.
One commonality you will likely find in the images is this: the first step in designing any solution is to fully Discover the problem. Figure 1.1.1 shows a typical design thinking process, from discovery to innovation. Think about the kind of communication and interaction with customers that each step of this process might entail for a business.
Design thinking encourages multiple perspectives and variations at the heart of the issue: You think about solutions to customers problems until you have a clear empathetic understanding of the problem. This critical first stage of the design process requires investigation, beyond your initial assumptions. Creating this empathetic relationship to the problem allows for deeper understanding; however it cannot be done alone.
For our purposes, we will use Barry Hyman’s Problem Formulation model [2] to clearly define a problem. Hyman’s Problem Formulation model consists of 4 elements:
- Need Statement: recognizes and describes the need for a solution or improvement to an “unsatisfactory situation.” It answers the questions, “what is wrong with the way things are currently? What is unsatisfactory about it? What negative effects does this situation cause?” You may need to do research and supply data to quantify the negative effects.
- Goal Statement: describes what the improved situation would look like once a solution has been implemented. The goal statement defines the scope of your search for a solution. At this point, do not describe your solution, only the goal that any proposed solution should achieve. The broader you make your goal, the more numerous and varied your solutions can be; a narrowly focused goal limits the number and variety of possible solutions.
- Objectives: define measurable, specific outcomes that any feasible solution should optimize (aspects you can use to “grade” the effectiveness of the solution). Objectives provide you with ways to quantifiably measure how well any solution will solve the problem; ideally, they will allow you to compare multiple solutions and figure out which one is most effective (which one gets the highest score on meeting the objectives?).
- Constraints: define the limits that any feasible solution must adhere to in order to be acceptable (pass/fail conditions, range limits, etc.). The key word here is must — constraints are the “go/no go” conditions that determine whether a solution is acceptable or not. These often include budget and time limits, as well as legal, safety and other regulatory requirements.
Communication as Solution
This model can apply to a communications task as well as more physical design tasks. Imagine your communications task as something that will solve a problem or improve a situation for a target customer. Reflect back to the one-liner, what visual elements would be required to communicate the solution?
- Understand the Need: consider the discovery and empathy phases of the design thinking process. Does the target audience lack sufficient information, time or money? What is the unsatisfactory situation that needs to be remedied by the business? What specifically is unsatisfactory about it?
- A potential client lacks sufficient information on whether the solution I have proposed to solve the client’s problem will be feasible, affordable, and effective.
- Establish a Goal: define the business’ purpose. What do you want your customer to do, think, or know?  Will the business change opinions or behaviours? Follow a course of action? What is the desired outcome? And what form and style of communication will best lead to that outcome? For example:
- Provide the customer with visuals showing you understand their needs and have a solution. Keep the information specific, appealing and in a readable format so it makes the business purpose an ideal solution for the problem.
- Define Objectives: consider the specifics of your message and your target audience to determine what criteria you should meet. What form should it take? What content and design elements will you need to include? What kind of research will be required? What information does your audience want/need? What do they already know?
- Perform market research and a design critique to investigate what similar businesses are doing to meet the objectives.
- Perform market research and a design critique to investigate what similar businesses are doing to meet the objectives.
- Identify Constraints: where are your customers most likely to engage? Consider your rhetorical situation. What conditions exist that present barriers or challenges to communication? How can you address them? For example,
- How much time is your target audience willing to give you? How long should you make your reel, one-liner, or website header.
- What format and style do they expect?
- How much time do you have to create it?
Businesses looking to clarify their message and truly determine their unique selling position (USP) should start with communication and delving into the discovery stage with their customers. A simple example of this is a Net Promoter Survey used by businesses like Quickbooks to ask a simple question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend Quickbooks to your friends or colleagues?” Followed by an open-ended question asking the customer to define the chosen value. This type of question allows Quickbooks to perform both qualitative and quantitative analysis on their services.
When businesses ask for feedback from customers surprising information can be found. Perspectives and use-cases can be found on issues and problems the business didn’t know existed. Balsamiq, a website wireframe builder, harnesses the power of discover by empowering their customer service team.[3]
Essentially, businesses that communicate regularly with their current customers are more likely to be able to determine their target audience and ensure their products and services are meeting real needs.
- Mvtestani, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons ↵
- B. Hyman, “Ch. 2: Problem formulation,” in Fundamentals of Engineering Design, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002, pp. 40-54. ↵
- [Smashing Community]. (2022, May 24). User Research in the Real Messy World with Billy and Jessica at The Meets For What? May 2022. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/418IsX2BN5k ↵


9.2 The Attention-Getter: The First Step of an Introduction — Stand up, Speak out
9.2 The Attention-Getter: The First Step of an Introduction
Learning Objectives
- Understand the different tools speakers can use to gain their audience’s attention.
- Name some common mistakes speakers make in trying to gain attention.
Stephen Velasco – IMG_1422 – CC BY-NC 2.0.
As you know by now, a good introduction will capture an audience’s attention, while a bad introduction can turn an audience against a speaker. An attention-getter is the device a speaker uses at the beginning of a speech to capture an audience’s interest and make them interested in the speech’s topic. Typically, there are four things to consider in choosing a specific attention-getting device:
- Appropriateness or relevance to audience
- Purpose of speech
- Topic
- Occasion
First, when selecting an attention-getting device, you want to make sure that the option you choose is actually appropriate and relevant to your specific audience. Different audiences will have different backgrounds and knowledge, so you should use your audience analysis to determine whether specific information you plan on using would be appropriate for a specific audience. For example, if you’re giving a speech on family units to a group of individuals over the age of sixty-five, starting your speech with a reference to the television show Gossip Girl may not be the best idea because the television show may not be relevant to that audience.
Second, you need to consider the basic purpose of your speech. As discussed earlier in this text, there are three basic purposes you can have for giving a speech: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. When selecting an attention-getter, you want to make sure that you select one that corresponds with your basic purpose. If your goal is to entertain an audience, then starting a speech with a quotation about how many people are dying in Africa each day from malnutrition may not be the best way to get your audience’s attention. Remember, one of the basic goals of an introduction is to prepare your audience for your speech. If your attention-getter differs drastically in tone from the rest of your speech (e.g., dying in Africa when you want your audience to laugh), the disjointedness may cause your audience to become confused or tune you out completely.
Your third basic consideration when picking an attention-getting device is your speech topic. Ideally, your attention-getting device should have a relevant connection to your speech. Imagine if a speaker pulled condoms out of his pocket, yelled “Free sex!” and threw the condoms at the audience in the beginning of a speech about the economy. While this may clearly get the audience’s attention, this isn’t really a good way to prepare an audience for a speech about bull and bear markets. Not every attention-getter is appropriate for a given topic. Instead, a speaker could start this speech by explaining that “according to a 2004 episode of 60 Minutes, adults in the United States spend approximately $10 billion annually on adult entertainment, which is roughly the equivalent to the amounts they spend attending professional sporting events, buying music, or going out to the movies” (Leung, 2004). Notice how effective the shocking statistic is in clearly introducing the monetary value of the adult entertainment industry.
The last consideration when picking an attention-getting device involves the speech occasion. Different occasions will necessitate different tones, or particular styles or manners of speaking. For example, a persuasive speech about death and dying shouldn’t be happy and hilarious. An informative speech on the benefits of laughing shouldn’t be dull, dreary, and depressing. When selecting an attention-getter, you want to make sure that the attention-getter sets the tone for the speech.
Now that we’ve explored the four major considerations you must think of when selecting an attention-getter, let’s look at a range of different attention-getters you may employ. Miller (1946) discovered that speakers tend to use one of eleven attention-getting devices when starting a speech. The rest of this section is going to examine these eleven attention-getting devices.
Reference to Subject
The first attention-getting method to consider is to tell your audience the subject of your speech. This device is probably the most direct, but it may also be the least interesting of the possible attention-getters. Here’s an example:
We are surrounded by statistical information in today’s world, so understanding statistics is becoming paramount to citizenship in the twenty-first century.
This sentence explicitly tells an audience that the speech they are about to hear is about the importance of understanding statistics. While this isn’t the most entertaining or interesting attention-getter, it is very clear and direct.
Dave Dugdale – Attentive Audience – CC BY-SA 2.0.
Reference to Audience
The second attention-getting device to consider is a direct reference to the audience. In this case, the speaker has a clear understanding of the audience and points out that there is something unique about the audience that should make them interested in the speech’s content. Here’s an example:
As human resource professionals, you and I know the importance of talent management. In today’s competitive world, we need to invest in getting and keeping the best talent for our organizations to succeed.
In this example, the speaker reminds the audience of their shared status as human resource professionals and uses the common ground to acknowledge the importance of talent management in human resources.
Quotation
Another way to capture your listeners’ attention is to use the words of another person that relate directly to your topic. Maybe you’ve found a really great quotation in one of the articles or books you read while researching your speech. If not, you can also use a number of sources that compile useful quotations from noted individuals. Probably the most famous quotation book of all time is Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations (http://www.bartleby.com/100), now in its seventeenth edition. Here are some other websites that contain useful databases of quotations for almost any topic:
- http://www.quotationspage.com
- http://www.bartleby.com/quotations
- http://www.moviequotes.com
- http://www.quotesandsayings.com
- http://www.quoteland.com
Quotations are a great way to start a speech, so let’s look at an example that could be used for a speech on deception:
Oliver Goldsmith, a sixteenth-century writer, poet, and physician, once noted that “the true use of speech is not so much to express our wants as to conceal them.”
Reference to Current Events
Referring to a current news event that relates to your topic is often an effective way to capture attention, as it immediately makes the audience aware of how relevant the topic is in today’s world. For example, consider this attention-getter for a persuasive speech on frivolous lawsuits:
On January 10, 2007, Scott Anthony Gomez Jr. and a fellow inmate escaped from a Pueblo, Colorado, jail. During their escape the duo attempted to rappel from the roof of the jail using a makeshift ladder of bed sheets. During Gomez’s attempt to scale the building, he slipped, fell forty feet, and injured his back. After being quickly apprehended, Gomez filed a lawsuit against the jail for making it too easy for him to escape.
In this case, the speaker is highlighting a news event that illustrates what a frivolous lawsuit is, setting up the speech topic of a need for change in how such lawsuits are handled.
Historical Reference
You may also capture your listeners’ attention by referring to a historical event related to your topic. Obviously, this strategy is closely related to the previous one, except that instead of a recent news event you are reaching further back in history to find a relevant reference. For example, if you are giving a speech on the Iraq War that began in 2003, you could refer back to the Vietnam War as way of making a comparison:
During the 1960s and ’70s, the United States intervened in the civil strife between North and South Vietnam. The result was a long-running war of attrition in which many American lives were lost and the country of Vietnam suffered tremendous damage and destruction. Today, we see a similar war being waged in Iraq. American lives are being lost, and stability has not yet returned to the region.
In this example, the speaker is evoking the audience’s memories of the Vietnam War to raise awareness of similarities to the war in Iraq.
Anecdote
Another device you can use to start a speech is to tell an anecdote related to the speech’s topic. An anecdote is a brief account or story of an interesting or humorous event. Notice the emphasis here is on the word “brief.” A common mistake speakers make when telling an anecdote is to make the anecdote too long. Remember, your entire introduction should only be 10 to 15 percent of your speech, so your attention-getter must be very short.
One type of anecdote is a real story that emphasizes a speech’s basic message. For example, here is an anecdote a speaker could use to begin a speech on how disconnected people are from the real world because of technology:
In July 2009, a high school girl named Alexa Longueira was walking along a main boulevard near her home on Staten Island, New York, typing in a message on her cell phone. Not paying attention to the world around her, she took a step and fell right into an open manhole (Whitney, 2009).
A second type of anecdote is a parable or fable. A parable or fable is an allegorical anecdote designed to teach general life lessons. The most widely known parables for most Americans are those given in the Bible and the best-known fables are Aesop’s Fables (http://www.aesopfables.com). For the same speech on how disconnected people are with the real world because of technology, the speaker could have used the Fable of The Boy and the Filberts:
The ancient Greek writer Aesop told a fable about a boy who put his hand into a pitcher of filberts. The boy grabbed as many of the delicious nuts as he possibly could. But when he tried to pull them out, his hand wouldn’t fit through the neck of the pitcher because he was grasping so many filberts. Instead of dropping some of them so that his hand would fit, he burst into tears and cried about his predicament. The moral of the story? “Don’t try to do too much at once” (Aesop, 1881).
After recounting this anecdote, the speaker could easily relate the fable to the notion that the technology in our society leads us to try to do too many things at once.
While parables and fables are short and entertaining, their application to your speech topic should be clear. We’ll talk about this idea in more detail later in this chapter when we discuss how to link your attention-getter explicitly to your topic.
Startling Statement
The eighth device you can use to start a speech is to surprise your audience with startling information about your topic. Often, startling statements come in the form of statistics and strange facts. The goal of a good startling statistic is that it surprises the audience and gets them engaged in your topic. For example, if you’re giving a speech about oil conservation, you could start by saying, “A Boeing 747 airliner holds 57,285 gallons of fuel.” You could start a speech on the psychology of dreams by noting, “The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year.” A strange fact, on the other hand, is a statement that does not involve numbers but is equally surprising to most audiences. For example, you could start a speech on the gambling industry by saying, “There are no clocks in any casinos in Las Vegas.” You could start a speech on the Harlem Globetrotters by saying, “In 2000, Pope John Paul II became the most famous honorary member of the Harlem Globetrotters.” All four of these examples came from a great website for strange facts (http://www.strangefacts.com).
Although startling statements are fun, it is important to use them ethically. First, make sure that your startling statement is factual. The Internet is full of startling statements and claims that are simply not factual, so when you find a statement you’d like to use, you have an ethical duty to ascertain its truth before you use it. Second, make sure that your startling statement is relevant to your speech and not just thrown in for shock value. We’ve all heard startling claims made in the media that are clearly made for purposes of shock or fear mongering. As speakers, we have an ethical obligation to avoid playing on people’s emotions in this way.
Question
Another strategy for getting your audience’s attention is to ask them a question. There are two types of questions commonly used as attention-getters: response questions and rhetorical questions. A response question is a question that the audience is expected to answer in some manner. For example, you could ask your audience, “Please raise your hand if you have ever thought about backpacking in Europe” or “Have you ever voted for the Electoral College? If so, stand up.” In both of these cases, the speaker wants her or his audience to respond. A rhetorical question, on the other hand, is a question to which no actual reply is expected. For example, a speaker talking about the importance of HIV testing could start by asking the audience, “I have two questions that I’d like you to think about. How many students on this campus have had sexual intercourse? Of those who have had sex, how many have been tested for HIV?” In this case, the speaker does not expect the audience to give an estimate of the numbers of students that fit into each category but rather to think about the questions as the speech goes on.
Humor
Humor is another effective method for gaining an audience’s attention. Humor is an amazing tool when used properly. We cannot begin to explain all the amazing facets of humor within this text, but we can say that humor is a great way of focusing an audience on what you are saying. However, humor is a double-edged sword. If you do not wield the sword carefully, you can turn your audience against you very quickly. When using humor, you really need to know your audience and understand what they will find humorous. One of the biggest mistakes a speaker can make is to use some form of humor that the audience either doesn’t find funny or finds offensive. Think about how incompetent the character of Michael Scott seems on the television program The Office, in large part because of his ineffective use of humor. We always recommend that you test out humor of any kind on a sample of potential audience members prior to actually using it during a speech.
Thinkmedialabs – Audience laughing – CC BY-NC 2.0.
Now that we’ve warned you about the perils of using humor, let’s talk about how to use humor as an attention-getter. Humor can be incorporated into several of the attention-getting devices mentioned. You could use a humorous anecdote, quotation, or current event. As with other attention-getting devices, you need to make sure your humor is relevant to your topic, as one of the biggest mistakes some novices make when using humor is to add humor that really doesn’t support the overall goal of the speech. So when looking for humorous attention-getters you want to make sure that the humor is nonoffensive to your audiences and relevant to your speech. For example, here’s a humorous quotation from Nicolas Chamfort, a French author during the sixteenth century, “The only thing that stops God from sending another flood is that the first one was useless.” While this quotation could be great for some audiences, other audiences may find this humorous quotation offensive (e.g., religious audiences). The Chamfort quotation could be great for a speech on the ills of modern society, but probably not for a speech on the state of modern religious conflict. You want to make sure that the leap from your attention-getter to your topic isn’t too complicated for your audience, or the attention-getter will backfire.
Personal Reference
The tenth device you may consider to start a speech is to refer to a story about yourself that is relevant for your topic. Some of the best speeches are ones that come from personal knowledge and experience. If you are an expert or have firsthand experience related to your topic, sharing this information with the audience is a great way to show that you are credible during your attention-getter. For example, if you had a gastric bypass surgery and you wanted to give an informative speech about the procedure, you could introduce your speech in this way:
In the fall of 2008, I decided that it was time that I took my life into my own hands. After suffering for years with the disease of obesity, I decided to take a leap of faith and get a gastric bypass in an attempt to finally beat the disease.
If you use a personal example, don’t get carried away with the focus on yourself and your own life. Your speech topic is the purpose of the attention-getter, not the other way around. Another pitfall in using a personal example is that it may be too personal for you to maintain your composure. For example, a student once started a speech about her grandmother by stating, “My grandmother died of cancer at 3:30 this morning.” The student then proceeded to cry nonstop for ten minutes. While this is an extreme example, we strongly recommend that you avoid any material that could get you overly choked up while speaking. When speakers have an emotional breakdown during their speech, audience members stop listening to the message and become very uncomfortable.
Reference to Occasion
The last device we mention for starting a speech is to refer directly to the speaking occasion. This attention-getter is only useful if the speech is being delivered for a specific occasion. Many toasts, for example, start with the following statement: “Today we are here to honor X.” In this case, the “X” could be a retirement, a marriage, a graduation, or any number of other special occasions. Because of its specific nature, this attention-getter is the least likely to be used for speeches being delivered for college courses.
Key Takeaways
- In developing the introduction to your speech, begin by deciding upon a statement to capture the audience’s attention.
- Attention-getters can include references to the audience, quotations, references to current events, historical references, anecdotes, startling statements, questions, humor, personal references, and references to the occasion.
Exercises
- Make a list of the attention-getting devices you might use to give a speech on the importance of recycling. Which do you think would be most effective? Why?
- You’ve been asked to deliver a speech on the use of advertising in children’s media. Out of the list of ten different possible attention-getting devices discussed in the chapter, how could you use four of them to start your speech?
References
Aesop (1881). Aesop’s fables. New York, NY: Wm. L. Allison. Retrieved from http://www.litscape.com/author/Aesop/The_Boy_and_the_Filberts.html
Leung, R. (2004, September 5). Porn in the U.S.A.: Steve Kroft reports on a $10 billion industry. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com.
Miller, E. (1946). Speech introductions and conclusions. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 32, 181–183.
Whitney, L. (2009, July 13). Don’t text while walking? Girl learns the hard way. CNET News Wireless. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10285466-94.html


Culture and Further Reading
Jeannie Bail
Introduction
An important part of doing business in another country is researching and learning its unique business and cultural customs as there is no one universal way to communicate even among countries where there is no language difference. For example, the word “trainer” in Canada and the United States can have a tech industry-related meaning (one who provides training on software, systems, etc.). However, in the U.K. a “trainer” refers to a sneaker.
A good place to start is a resource produced by The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) titled Spotlight on Intercultural Business. This resource lists the below as key business protocols to learn before entering into a cross-cultural exchange:
Key Business Protocols
- Language usage
- Exchange of business cards
- Introductions
- Appropriate socializing
- Gift giving
- Meeting protocols
- Ethical standards
Creating a list of business dos and don’ts for countries or markets you hope to enter is a good way to ensure that communication is kept respectful and polite, which will help facilitate and guide positive business dealings and boost your intercultural competence.
Below are a few sources you can use to discover more information on cultural norms and business practices for countries around the world.
Cultural Resources
Canada
Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) > Country and sector information for international business: Contains Doing Business In guides for countries worldwide, along with contact information for local Consulate General offices.
United States
International Trade Association (ITA) > Country Commercial Guides: Features a Business Travel section for each profiled country. This section contains information on business customs, language and in-country travel safety/security.
International
Human Rights Watch: Independent organization that tracks and reports on human rights abuses around the world. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) entails being a good corporate citizen and protecting the human rights of those directly and indirectly affected by business practices and activities. Thus, part of doing due diligence on a country is being aware of how human rights are respected. You can search by topic, country or region for news and reports on topics like economic justice and rights, LGBTQ+ rights and technology and rights.
Cultural Atlas: A collaborative project between the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), International Education Services (IES), and Multicultural NSW that features cross-cultural profiles on the biggest migrant populations within the country with the goal of cross-cultural awareness and understanding. Each profile contains sections on Business Culture, Communication, Greetings, Do’s and Don’ts and lots more.
Country and Culture Guides (Commisceo Global Consulting): Basic introductions that feature overviews on social etiquette and customs and business culture and etiquette.
Hoftede Insights: Country Comparison Tool: This tool provides values for countries around the world for 6 dimensions, including: Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation and Indulgence.
Books Available Via UNB Libraries
- Gesteland, R. R. (2012). Cross-cultural business behavior : a guide for global management (5th ed.). Samfundslitteratur.
- Henry, E. (2019). Business cultures around the world : a practical guide. Presses universitaires de Grenoble.
- Molinsky, A. (2013). Global dexterity : how to adapt your behavior across cultures without losing yourself in the process. Harvard Business Review Press.
- Tomalin, B., & Nicks, M. (2014). World business cultures : a handbook (Third edition, completely revised and updated). Thorogood Publishing.
QUICK TIP
The more you learn about how to conduct business in a foreign country, the more confident you will be when communicating cross-culturally.
Further Reading
The library has many additional resources in its collection that will complement and expand your knowledge of international business. Below are just a few stand-out resources.
Journals (useful for staying up-to-date with current international developments)
- Foreign Affairs: Published by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) since 1922, Foreign Affairs is a leading source of discussion and well-informed views on American foreign policy and global affairs.
- Euromoney: Provides in-depth coverage of the global financial sector with a focus on international cross-border capital markets.
- The Economist: Independent publication with an international audience that, since 1843, covers topics such as geopolitics, technology, finance and economics.
- Financial Times: A leading global business and economics daily newspaper based in London.
Books
- Foley, C. F., Hines, J. R., & Wessel, D. (Eds.). (2021). Global Goliaths: multinational corporations in the 21st century economy. Brookings Institution Press.
- Joshi, M. K., & Klein, J. R. (2021). Global business in the age of transformation (First). Oxford University Press.
- Nambisan, S., & Luo, Y. (2022). The digital multinational : navigating the new normal in global business (Ser. Management on the cutting edge series). MIT Press.
- Sander, H. (2022). Understanding the new global economy: a European perspective. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Related UNB Libraries’ Research Guides
International Business
Law, Business
Note: The Library has many international business dictionaries for languages such as French, Spanish, German and Japanese.


Teacherage 1 (1901-1904)
This first church building also served as a schoolhouse and a parsonage/teacherage. Imagine the pastor and his family having to make sure that their underwear was put up and breakfast finished before the school children arrived in the morning.[1]
Zion Lutheran Church -Alva – First Church, Parsonage, and School.In the April 19, 1903, voters’ assembly minutes show that it was decided to put up Pastor Meier, in an apartment, until a partition in the church/school/parsonage could be completed. In July of 1903, it was decided to build a parsonage relieving the pastor and his family from having to live in the church/schoolhouse, or relieving the congregation from having the pastor in the church/schoolhouse, depending on how you look at the matter. The two story parsonage was finished in 1904.
Teacherage 2 (1929-1955)
In 1929, a house with lot was purchased and remodeled at the cost of $3,000. This teacherage was located just across the street northwest of the school.
Teacherage 3 (1955-1967)
In 1955, the house serving as the teacherage was sold and moved to allow building of a new brick teacherage.
After the Zion Lutheran School was closed in 1967, the teacherage and lot were sold for $25,500.
Notes
- Zion Lutheran Church – Alva, Oklahoma 100 year celebration booklet “Zion Lutheran Church 1899-1999 Alva, OK”. 1999.


12.3 The Mouth, Pharynx and Oesophagus
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the structures of the mouth, including its three accessory digestive organs
- Group the 32 adult teeth according to name, location, and function
- Describe the process of swallowing, including the roles of the tongue, upper oesophageal sphincter and epiglottis
- Trace the pathway food follows from ingestion into the mouth through release into the stomach
In this section, you will examine the anatomy and functions of the three main organs of the upper gastrointestinal tract—the mouth, pharynx, and oesophagus—as well as three associated accessory organs—the tongue, salivary glands and teeth.
The Mouth
The cheeks, tongue, and palate frame the mouth, which is also called the oral cavity (or buccal cavity). The structures of the mouth are illustrated in Figure 12.3.1.
At the entrance to the mouth are the lips, or labia (singular = labium). Their outer covering is skin, which transitions to a mucous membrane in the mouth proper. Lips are very vascular with a thin layer of keratin; hence, the reason they are “red.” They have a huge representation on the cerebral cortex, which probably explains the human fascination with kissing! The lips cover the orbicularis oris muscle, which regulates what comes in and goes out of the mouth. The labial frenulum is a midline fold of mucous membrane that attaches the inner surface of each lip to the gum. The cheeks make up the oral cavity’s sidewalls. While their outer covering is skin, their inner covering is mucous membrane. This membrane is made up of non-keratinised, stratified squamous epithelium. Between the skin and mucous membranes are connective tissue and buccinator muscles.  Additionally, notice how these muscles work when you are speaking.
The pocket-like part of the mouth that is framed on the inside by the gums and teeth, and on the outside by the cheeks and lips is called the oral vestibule. Moving farther into the mouth, the opening between the oral cavity and throat (oropharynx) is called the fauces (like the kitchen “faucet”). The main open area of the mouth, or oral cavity proper, runs from the gums and teeth to the fauces.
When you are chewing, you do not find it difficult to breathe simultaneously. The next time you have food in your mouth, notice how the arched shape of the roof of your mouth allows you to handle both digestion and respiration at the same time. This arch is called the palate. The anterior region of the palate serves as a wall (or septum) between the oral and nasal cavities as well as a rigid shelf against which the tongue can push food. It is created by the maxillary and palatine bones of the skull and, given its bony structure, is known as the hard palate. If you run your tongue along the roof of your mouth, you’ll notice that the hard palate ends in the posterior oral cavity, and the tissue becomes fleshier. This part of the palate, known as the soft palate, is composed mainly of skeletal muscle. You can therefore manipulate, subconsciously, the soft palate—for instance, to yawn, swallow, or sing (see Figure 12.3.1).
A fleshy bead of tissue called the uvula drops down from the centre of the posterior edge of the soft palate. Although some have suggested that the uvula is a vestigial organ, it serves an important purpose. When you swallow, the soft palate and uvula move upward, helping to keep foods and liquid from entering the nasal cavity. Unfortunately, it can also contribute to the sound produced by snoring. Two muscular folds extend downward from the soft palate, on either side of the uvula. Toward the front, the palatoglossal arch lies next to the base of the tongue; behind it, the palatopharyngeal arch forms the superior and lateral margins of the fauces. Between these two arches are the palatine tonsils, clusters of lymphoid tissue that protect the pharynx. The lingual tonsils are located at the base of the tongue.
The Tongue
Perhaps you have heard it said that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body. Those who stake this claim cite its strength proportionate to its size. Although it is difficult to quantify the relative strength of different muscles, it remains indisputable that the tongue is a workhorse, facilitating ingestion, mechanical digestion, chemical digestion (lingual lipase), sensation (of taste, texture, and temperature of food), swallowing, and vocalisation.
The tongue is attached to the mandible, the styloid processes of the temporal bones, and the hyoid bone. The hyoid is unique in that it only distantly/indirectly articulates with other bones. The tongue is positioned over the floor of the oral cavity. A medial septum extends the entire length of the tongue, dividing it into symmetrical halves.
Beneath its mucous membrane covering, each half of the tongue is composed of the same number and type of intrinsic and extrinsic skeletal muscles. The intrinsic muscles (those within the tongue) are the longitudinalis inferior, longitudinalis superior, transversus linguae, and verticalis linguae muscles. These allow you to change the size and shape of your tongue, as well as to stick it out, if you wish. Having such a flexible tongue facilitates both swallowing and speech.
As you learned in your study of the muscular system, the extrinsic muscles of the tongue are the mylohyoid, hyoglossus, styloglossus, and genioglossus muscles. These muscles originate outside the tongue and insert into connective tissues within the tongue. The mylohyoid is responsible for raising the tongue, the hyoglossus pulls it down and back, the styloglossus pulls it up and back, and the genioglossus pulls it forward. Working in concert, these muscles perform three important digestive functions in the mouth: (1) position food for optimal chewing, (2) gather food into a bolus (rounded mass), and (3) position food so it can be swallowed.
The top and sides of the tongue are studded with papillae, extensions of lamina propria of the mucosa, which are covered in stratified squamous epithelium (Figure 12.3.2). Fungiform papillae, which are mushroom shaped, cover a large area of the tongue; they tend to be larger toward the rear of the tongue and smaller on the tip and sides. In contrast, filiform papillae are long and thin. Fungiform papillae contain taste buds, and filiform papillae have touch receptors that help the tongue move food around in the mouth. The filiform papillae create an abrasive surface that performs mechanically, much like a cat’s rough tongue that is used for grooming. Lingual glands in the lamina propria of the tongue secrete mucus and a watery serous fluid that contains the enzyme lingual lipase, which plays a minor role in breaking down triglycerides but does not begin working until it is activated in the stomach. A fold of mucous membrane on the underside of the tongue, the lingual frenulum, tethers the tongue to the floor of the mouth. People with the congenital anomaly ankyloglossia, also known by the non-medical term “tongue tie,” have a lingual frenulum that is too short or otherwise malformed. Severe ankyloglossia can impair speech and must be corrected with surgery.
The Salivary Glands
Many small salivary glands are housed within the mucous membranes of the mouth and tongue. These minor exocrine glands are constantly secreting saliva, either directly into the oral cavity or indirectly through ducts, even while you sleep. In fact, an average of 1 to 1.5 litres of saliva is secreted each day. Usually just enough saliva is present to moisten the mouth and teeth. Secretion increases when you eat, because saliva is essential to moisten food and initiate the chemical breakdown of carbohydrates. Small amounts of saliva are also secreted by the labial glands in the lips. In addition, the buccal glands in the cheeks, palatal glands in the palate, and lingual glands in the tongue help ensure that all areas of the mouth are supplied with adequate saliva.
The Major Salivary Glands
Outside the oral mucosa are three pairs of major salivary glands, which secrete the majority of saliva into ducts that open into the mouth:
- The submandibular glands, which are in the floor of the mouth, secrete saliva into the mouth through the submandibular ducts.
- The sublingual glands, which lie below the tongue, use the lesser sublingual ducts to secrete saliva into the oral cavity.
- The parotid glands lie between the skin and the masseter muscle, near the ears. They secrete saliva into the mouth through the parotid duct, which is located near the second upper molar tooth (Figure 12.3.3).
Saliva
Saliva is essentially (95.5 percent) water. The remaining 4.5 percent is a complex mixture of ions, glycoproteins, enzymes, growth factors, and waste products. Perhaps the most important ingredient in salvia from the perspective of digestion is the enzyme salivary amylase, which initiates the breakdown of carbohydrates. Food does not spend enough time in the mouth to allow all the carbohydrates to break down, but salivary amylase continues acting until it is inactivated by stomach acids. Bicarbonate and phosphate ions function as chemical buffers, maintaining saliva at a pH between 6.35 and 6.85. Salivary mucus helps lubricate food, facilitating movement in the mouth, bolus formation, and swallowing. Saliva contains immunoglobulin A, which prevents microbes from penetrating the epithelium, and lysozyme, which makes saliva antimicrobial. Saliva also contains epidermal growth factor, which might have given rise to the adage “a mother’s kiss can heal a wound.”
Each of the major salivary glands secretes a unique formulation of saliva according to its cellular makeup, for example the parotid glands secrete a watery solution that contains salivary amylase. The submandibular glands have cells like those of the parotid glands, as well as mucus-secreting cells. Therefore, saliva secreted by the submandibular glands also contains amylase but in a liquid thickened with mucus. The sublingual glands contain mostly mucous cells, and they secrete the thickest saliva with the least amount of salivary amylase.
Homeostatic Imbalances
The Parotid Glands: Mumps
Infections of the nasal passages and pharynx can attack any salivary gland. The parotid glands are the usual site of infection with the virus that causes mumps (paramyxovirus). Mumps manifests by enlargement and inflammation of the parotid glands, causing a characteristic swelling between the ears and the jaw. Symptoms include fever and throat pain, which can be severe when swallowing acidic substances such as orange juice.
In about one-third of men who are past puberty, mumps also causes testicular inflammation, typically affecting only one testis and rarely resulting in sterility. With the increasing use and effectiveness of mumps vaccines, the incidence of mumps worldwide has decreased dramatically. Since the foundation of the vaccine in 1983, there have been no recorded childhood deaths due to mumps. Almost 95% of Australian toddlers (24 months old) were fully vaccinated against mumps in 2017, however the reported incidence rate has been gradually increasing in Australia. Majority of the outbreaks have been recorded in people 18-24 years of age, and it is speculated that this group missed their vaccination as children as they were born in a time when the disease rate was low. These outbreaks have been most commonly seen in the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island populations.
Regulation of Salivation
The autonomic nervous system regulates salivation (the secretion of saliva). In the absence of food, parasympathetic stimulation keeps saliva flowing at just the right level for comfort as you speak, swallow, sleep, and generally go about life. Over-salivation can occur, for example, if you are stimulated by the smell of food, but that food is not available for you to eat. Drooling is an extreme instance of the overproduction of saliva. During times of stress, such as before speaking in public, sympathetic stimulation takes over, reducing salivation and producing the symptom of dry mouth often associated with anxiety. When you are dehydrated, salivation is reduced, causing the mouth to feel dry and prompting you to take action to quench your thirst.
Salivation can be stimulated by the sight, smell, and taste of food. It can even be stimulated by thinking about food. You might notice whether reading about food and salivation right now has had any effect on your production of saliva.
How does the salivation process work while you are eating? Food contains chemicals that stimulate taste receptors on the tongue, which send impulses to the superior and inferior salivatory nuclei in the brain stem. These two nuclei then send back parasympathetic impulses through fibres in the glossopharyngeal and facial nerves, which stimulate salivation. Even after you swallow food, salivation is increased to cleanse the mouth and to water down and neutralise any irritating chemical remnants, such as that hot sauce in your burrito. Most saliva is swallowed along with food and is reabsorbed, so that fluid is not lost.
The Teeth
The teeth, or dentes (singular = dens), are organs like bones that you use to tear, grind, and otherwise mechanically break down food.
Types of Teeth
During the course of your lifetime, you have two sets of teeth (one set of teeth is a dentition). Your 20 deciduous teeth, or baby teeth, first begin to appear at about 6 months of age. Between approximately age 6 and 12, these teeth are replaced by 32 permanent teeth. Moving from the centre of the mouth toward the side, these are as follows (Figure 12.3.4):
- The eight incisors, four top and four bottom, are the sharp front teeth you use for biting into food.
- The four cuspids (or canines) flank the incisors and have a pointed edge (cusp) to tear up food. These fang-like teeth are superb for piercing tough or fleshy foods.
- Posterior to the cuspids are the eight premolars (or bicuspids), which have an overall flatter shape with two rounded cusps useful for mashing foods.
The most posterior and largest are the 12 molars, which have several pointed cusps used to crush food so it is ready for swallowing. The third members of each set of three molars, top and bottom, are commonly referred to as the wisdom teeth, because their eruption is commonly delayed until early adulthood. It is not uncommon for wisdom teeth to fail to erupt; that is, they remain impacted. In these cases, the teeth are typically removed by orthodontic surgery.
Anatomy of a Tooth
The teeth are secured in the alveolar processes (sockets) of the maxilla and the mandible, with this joint known as a gomphosis. Gingivae (commonly called the gums) are soft tissues that line the alveolar processes and surround the necks of the teeth. Teeth are also held in their sockets by a connective tissue called the periodontal ligament.
The two main parts of a tooth are the crown, which is the portion projecting above the gum line, and the root, which is embedded within the maxilla and mandible. Both parts contain an inner pulp cavity, containing loose connective tissue through which run nerves and blood vessels. The region of the pulp cavity that runs through the root of the tooth is called the root canal. Surrounding the pulp cavity is dentin, a bone-like tissue. In the root of each tooth, the dentin is covered by an even harder bone-like layer called cementum. In the crown of each tooth, the dentin is covered by an outer layer of enamel, the hardest substance in the body (Figure 12.3.5).
Although enamel protects the underlying dentin and pulp cavity, it is still nonetheless susceptible to mechanical and chemical erosion, or what is known as tooth decay. The most common form, dental caries (cavities) develops when colonies of bacteria feeding on sugars in the mouth release acids that cause soft tissue inflammation and degradation of the calcium crystals of the enamel. The digestive functions of the mouth are summarised in Table 12.3.1.
Table 12.3.1. Digestive Functions of the Mouth
| Structure | Action | Outcome |
| Lips and cheeks | Confine food between teeth |
|
| Salivary glands | Secrete saliva |
|
| Tongue’s extrinsic muscles | Move tongue sideways, and in and out |
|
| Tongue’s intrinsic muscles
|
Change tongue shape |
|
| Taste buds | Sense food in mouth and sense taste |
|
| Lingual glands | Secrete lingual lipase |
|
| Teeth | Shred and crush food |
|
The Pharynx
The pharynx (throat) is involved in both digestion and respiration. It receives food and air from the mouth, and air from the nasal cavities. When food enters the pharynx, involuntary muscle contractions close off the air passageways.
A short tube of skeletal muscle lined with a mucous membrane, the pharynx runs from the posterior oral and nasal cavities to the opening of the oesophagus and larynx. It has three subdivisions. The most superior, the nasopharynx, is involved only in breathing and speech. The other two subdivisions, the oropharynx and the laryngopharynx, are used for both breathing and digestion. The oropharynx begins inferior to the nasopharynx and is continuous below with the laryngopharynx (Figure 12.3.6). The inferior border of the laryngopharynx connects to the oesophagus, whereas the anterior portion connects to the larynx, allowing air to flow into the bronchial tree.
Histologically, the wall of the oropharynx is like that of the oral cavity. The mucosa includes a stratified squamous epithelium that is endowed with mucus-producing glands. During swallowing, the elevator skeletal muscles of the pharynx contract, raising and expanding the pharynx to receive the bolus of food. Once received, these muscles relax and the constrictor muscles of the pharynx contract, forcing the bolus into the oesophagus and initiating peristalsis.
Usually during swallowing, the soft palate and uvula rise reflexively to close off the entrance to the nasopharynx. At the same time, the larynx is pulled superiorly and the cartilaginous epiglottis, its most superior structure, folds inferiorly, covering the glottis (the opening to the larynx); this process effectively blocks access to the trachea and bronchi. When the food “goes down the wrong way,” it goes into the trachea. When food enters the trachea, the reaction is to cough, which usually forces the food up and out of the trachea, and back into the pharynx.
The Oesophagus
The oesophagus is a muscular tube that connects the pharynx to the stomach. It is approximately 25.4 cm in length, located posterior to the trachea, and remains in a collapsed form when not engaged in swallowing. As you can see in Figure 12.3.7, the oesophagus runs a mainly straight route through the mediastinum of the thorax. To enter the abdomen, the oesophagus penetrates the diaphragm through an opening called the oesophagus hiatus.
Passage of Food Through the Oesophagus
The upper oesophagus sphincter, which is continuous with the inferior pharyngeal constrictor, controls the movement of food from the pharynx into the oesophagus. The upper two-thirds of the oesophagus consists of both smooth and skeletal muscle fibres, with the latter fading out in the bottom third of the oesophagus. Rhythmic waves of peristalsis, which begin in the upper oesophagus, propel the bolus of food toward the stomach. Meanwhile, secretions from the oesophageal mucosa lubricate the oesophagus and food. Food passes from the oesophagus into the stomach at the lower oesophageal sphincter (also called the gastroesophageal or cardiac sphincter). Recall that sphincters are muscles that surround tubes and serve as valves, closing the tube when the sphincters contract and opening it when they relax. The lower oesophageal sphincter relaxes to let food pass into the stomach, and then contracts to prevent stomach acids from backing up into the oesophagus. Surrounding this sphincter is the muscular diaphragm, which helps close off the sphincter when no food is being swallowed. When the lower oesophageal sphincter does not completely close, the stomach’s contents can reflux (that is, back up into the oesophagus), causing heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Histology of the Oesophagus
The mucosa of the oesophagus is made up of an epithelial lining that contains non-keratinised, stratified squamous epithelium, with a layer of basal and parabasal cells. This epithelium protects against erosion from food particles. The mucosa’s lamina propria contains mucus-secreting glands. The muscularis layer changes according to location: In the upper third of the oesophagus, the muscularis is skeletal muscle. In the middle third, it is both skeletal and smooth muscle. In the lower third, it is smooth muscle. As mentioned previously, the most superficial layer of the oesophagus is called the adventitia, not the serosa. In contrast to the stomach and intestines, the loose connective tissue of the adventitia is not covered by a fold of visceral peritoneum. The digestive functions of the oesophagus are identified in Table 12.3.2.
Table 12.3.2. Digestive Functions of the Oesophagus
| Action | Outcome |
| Upper oesophageal
sphincter relaxation
|
Allows the bolus to move from the laryngopharynx to the oesophagus |
| Peristalsis
|
Propels the bolus through the oesophagus |
| Lower oesophageal sphincter relaxation
|
Allows the bolus to move from the oesophagus into the stomach and prevents chime from entering the oesophagus |
| Mucus secretion | Lubricates the oesophagus, allowing easy passage of the bolus |
Deglutition
Deglutition is another word for swallowing—the movement of food from the mouth to the stomach. The entire process takes about four to eight seconds for solid or semisolid food, and about one second for very soft food and liquids. Although this sounds quick and effortless, deglutition is, in fact, a complex process that involves both the skeletal muscle of the tongue and the muscles of the pharynx and oesophagus. It is aided by the presence of mucus and saliva. There are three stages in deglutition: the voluntary phase, the pharyngeal phase and the oesophageal phase (Figure 12.3.8). The autonomic nervous system controls the latter two phases.
The Voluntary Phase
The voluntary phase of deglutition (also known as the oral or buccal phase) is so called because you can control when you swallow food. In this phase, chewing has been completed and swallowing is set in motion. The tongue moves upward and backward against the palate, pushing the bolus to the back of the oral cavity and into the oropharynx. Other muscles keep the mouth closed and prevent food from falling out. At this point, the two involuntary phases of swallowing begin.
The Pharyngeal Phase
In the pharyngeal phase, stimulation of receptors in the oropharynx sends impulses to the deglutition centre (a collection of neurons that controls swallowing) in the medulla oblongata. Impulses are then sent back to the uvula and soft palate, causing them to move upward and close off the nasopharynx. The laryngeal muscles also constrict to prevent aspiration of food into the trachea. At this point, deglutition apnoea takes place, which means that breathing ceases for a very brief time. Contractions of the pharyngeal constrictor muscles move the bolus through the oropharynx and laryngopharynx. Relaxation of the upper oesophageal sphincter then allows food to enter the oesophagus.
The Oesophageal Phase
The entry of food into the oesophagus marks the beginning of the oesophageal phase of deglutition and the initiation of peristalsis. As in the previous phase, the complex neuromuscular actions are controlled by the medulla oblongata. Peristalsis propels the bolus through the oesophagus and toward the stomach. The circular muscle layer of the muscularis contracts, pinching the oesophageal wall and forcing the bolus forward. At the same time, the longitudinal muscle layer of the muscularis also contracts, shortening this area and pushing out its walls to receive the bolus. In this way, a series of contractions keeps moving food toward the stomach. When the bolus nears the stomach, distention of the oesophagus initiates a short reflex relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter that allows the bolus to pass into the stomach. During the oesophageal phase, oesophageal glands secrete mucus that lubricates the bolus and minimises friction.
Section Review
In the mouth, the tongue and the teeth begin mechanical digestion, and saliva begins chemical digestion. The pharynx, which plays roles in breathing and vocalisation as well as digestion, runs from the nasal and oral cavities superiorly to the oesophagus inferiorly (for digestion) and to the larynx anteriorly (for respiration). During deglutition (swallowing), the soft palate rises to close off the nasopharynx, the larynx elevates, and the epiglottis folds over the glottis. The oesophagus includes an upper oesophageal sphincter made of skeletal muscle, which regulates the movement of food from the pharynx to the oesophagus. It also has a lower oesophageal sphincter, made of smooth muscle, which controls the passage of food from the oesophagus to the stomach. Cells in the oesophageal wall secrete mucus that eases the passage of the food bolus.
Review Questions
Critical Thinking Questions
Click the drop down below to review the terms learned from this chapter.


1 What are the social sciences?
Some of the earliest written and spoken accounts of human action, values, and the structure of society can be found in Ancient Greek, Islamic, Chinese and indigenous cultures. For example, Ibn Khaldoun, a 14th-century North African philosopher, is considered a pioneer in the field of social sciences. He wrote the book Muqaddimah, which is regarded as the first comprehensive work in the social sciences. It charts an attempt to create a universal history based on studying and explaining the economic, social, and political factors that shape society and discussed the cyclical rise and fall of civilisations. Moreover, indigenous peoples across the world have contributed in various and significant ways to the development of scientific knowledge and practices (e.g., see this recent article by Indigenous scholar, Jesse Popp – How Indigenous knowledge advances modern science and technology). Indeed, contemporary social science has much to learn from indigenous knowledges and methodologies (e.g., Quinn 2022), as well as much reconciling to do in terms of its treatment of indigenous peoples the world over (see Coburn, Moreton-Robinson, Sefa Dei, and Stewart-Harawira, 2013).
Nevertheless, the dominant Western European narrative of the achievements of the enlightenment still tends to overlook and discredit much of this knowledge. Additionally, male thinkers have tended to dominate within the Western social sciences, while women have historically been excluded from academic institutions and their perspectives largely omitted from social science history and texts. Therefore, much of the history of the social sciences represent a predominantly white, masculine viewpoint. That is not to say that the concepts and theories developed by these male social scientists should be outright discredited. Nevertheless, in engaging with them we must understand this context; they are not the only voices, nor necessarily the most important. Indeed, it is crucial therefore that the history of the social sciences is continually re-examined through a critical lens, to identify gaps within social scientific knowledge bases and allow space for critical revisions that broaden existing concepts and theories beyond an exclusively masculine, Western-centric perspective. We seek to adopt such an approach throughout this book. However, to critique and question Western social scientific perspectives, we must first understand them.
Social sciences in the Western world
The study of the social sciences, as developed in the Western world, can be said to emerge from the Age of Enlightenment in the late 17th Century. Beginning with René Descartes (1596-1650), both the natural and social sciences developed from the concept of the rational, thinking individual. These early Enlightenment thinkers argued that human beings use reason to understand the world, rather than only referring to religion. Other thinkers around this time such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), M. de Voltaire (1694-1778) and Denis Diderot (1713-1784), began to develop different methodologies to scientifically explain processes in the body, the structure of society, and the limits of human knowledge. It was during this period that the social sciences grew out of moral philosophy, which asks ‘how people ought to live’, and political philosophy, which asks ‘what form societies ought to take’. Rather than only focusing on descriptive scientific questions about ‘how things are’, the social sciences also sought answers to normative questions about ‘how things could be’. This is one of the central differences between the natural sciences and the social sciences. This era of Enlightenment marked an important turning point in history that gave way to further developments in both the natural and social sciences.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is often regarded as one of the most influential philosophers for the development of the social sciences. In his work, Kant develops an epistemology that accounts for the objective validity of knowledge, due to the capacities of the human mind. In other words, how can we as individual people come to know facts about the world that are true for all of us. Social scientists, such as Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) and Max Weber (1864-1920) critically developed the work of Kant to explain social relations between individuals.
Émile Durkheim prioritised the validity of social facts over the values themselves, continuing the tradition of ‘positivism‘ (an ontological position that we discuss later in this Chapter). Durkheim argued that there is a distinction between social facts and individual facts. Rather than viewing the structure of the human mind as the basis for knowledge like Kant, Durkheim argued that it is society itself that forms the basis for the social experience of individuals. Social facts should therefore, “be treated as natural objects and can be classified, compared and explained according to the logic of any natural science” (Rose, 1981: 19). Durkheim developed his methodology using analogies to the natural sciences. For example, he borrowed concepts from biology to understand society as a living organism.
TRIGGER WARNING
The following section contains content which may be triggering for certain people. It focuses on the sociology of suicide, including discussion of self-harm and different forms of suicide as it exists within society.
Durkheim and Suicide
Emile Durkheim’s 1879 text ‘Suicide: a Study in Sociology’ is a foundational work for the study of social facts. Durkheim explores the phenomenon of suicide across different time periods, nationalities, religions, genders, and economic groups. Durkheim argues that the problem of suicide can not be explained through purely biological, psychological or environmental means. Suicide must, he concludes, “necessarily depend upon social causes and be in itself a collective phenomenon” (Durkheim 1897: 97). It was and continues to be a work of great impact that demonstrates that, what most would consider an individual act is actually enmeshed in social factors.
In his text, Durkheim identifies some of the different forms suicide can take within society, four of which we discuss below.
Egoistic Suicide
Egoistic suicide is caused by what Durkheim terms “excessive individuation” (Durkheim 1897: 175). A lack of integration within a particular community or society at large leads human beings to feel isolated and disconnected from others. Durkheim argues that “suicide increases with knowledge”(Durkheim 1897: 123). This is not to say that a particular human being kills themselves because of their knowledge; rather it is because of the decline of organised religion that human beings desire knowledge outside of religion. It is thus, for Durkheim the weakening organisation of religion that detaches people from their (religious) community, increasing social isolation. According to Durkheim, the capacity of religion to prevent suicide does not result from a stricter prohibition of self-harm. Religion has the power to prevent someone from committing suicide because it is a community, or a ‘society’ in Durkheim’s words. The collective values of religion increases social integration and is just one example of the importance of community in decreasing rates of suicide. Isolation of individuals, for Durkheim, is a fundamental cause of suicide: “The bond attaching man [sic] to life relaxes because that attaching him [sic] to society is itself slack” (Durkheim 1897: 173).
Altruistic Suicide
Durkheim notes another kind of suicide that stems from “insufficient individuation” (Durkheim 1897: 173). This occurs in social situations where an individual identifies so strongly with their beliefs of a group that they are willing to sacrifice themselves for what they perceive to be the greater good.  As such, Durkheim notes that some people have even refused to consider altruistic suicide a form of self-destruction, because it resembles “some categories of action which we are used to honouring with our respect and even admiration”(Durkheim 1897: 199).
Anomic Suicide
The third kind of suicide Durkheim identifies is termed anomic suicide. This type is the result of the activity of human beings “lacking regulation”, and “the consequent sufferings” that are felt from this situation (Durkheim 1897: 219). Durkheim notes the similarities between egoistic and anomic suicide, however he notes an important distinction: “In egoistic suicide it is deficient in truly collective activity, thus depriving the latter of object and meaning. In anomic suicide, society’s influence is lacking in the basically individual passions, thus leaving them without a check-rein” (Durkheim 1897: 219).
Fatalistic Suicide
There is a fourth type of suicide for Durkheim, one that has more historical meaning than current relevance. Fatalistic suicide is opposed to anomic, and is the result of “excessive regulation, that of persons with futures pitilessly blocked and passions violently choked by oppressive discipline” (Durkheim 1897: 239). These regulations occur during moments of crises, including economic and social upheaval, that destabilise the individual’s sense of meaning. It is the impact of external factors onto the individual, where meaning is thrown to the wind for the individual, that characterises fatalistic suicide.
Durkheim’s sociological study of suicide was a groundbreaking work for social sciences. His methodology, multivariate analysis, provided a way to understand numerous interrelated factors and how they relate to a particular social fact. His findings, particularly the higher suicide rates of Protestants, compared to Jewish and Catholic people, was correlated to the higher rates to individualised consciousness and the lower social control. This study, despite criticisms of the generalisations drawn from the results, has had a remarkable impact on sociology and remains a seminal text for those interested in the social sciences.
Max Weber was also influenced by the work of Kant. Unlike Durkheim, Weber “transformed the paradigm of validity and values into a sociology by giving values priority over validity” (Rose, 1981: 19). Culture is thus understood as a value that structures our understanding of the world. According to Weber, values cannot be spoken about in terms of their truth content. The separation between values and validity means that values can only be discussed in terms of faith rather than scientific reason. For Weber, only when a culture’s underpinning values are defined can facts about the social world be understood.
The philosophy of G.W.F. Hegel (1770-1831) also greatly shaped the development of the social sciences. As argued by Herbert Marcuse (1941: 251-257), Hegel instigated the shift from abstract philosophy to theories of society. According to Hegel, human beings are not restricted to the pre-existing social order and can understand and change the social world. Our natural ability to reason allows human beings to create theories about our world that are universal and true.
Karl Marx (1818-1883), often regarded as the founder of conflict theory, was deeply influenced by the philosophy of Hegel. For example, Hegel emphasises that labour and alienation are essential characteristics of human experience, and Marx applies this idea more concretely to a material analysis of society, dividing human history along the lines of the forces of production. In other words, Marx understood that labour was divided in capitalist society according to two classes that developed society through a perpetual state of conflict: the working class, or ‘proletariat’, and the class of ownership, or ‘bourgeoisie’ (we talk more about Marx’s conflict theory in Chapter 3).
Overall, the social sciences have a long and complex history, influenced by many different philosophical perspectives. As alluded to earlier, however, any account of the historical beginnings of the social sciences must be understood to be embedded within dominant systems of power, including for example colonisation, patriarchy, and capitalism. Indeed, any history of the social sciences is already situated within a narrative, or ‘discourse’. Maintaining a critical lens will allow for a deeper understanding of the genesis of the social sciences, as well as the important ability to question social scientific approaches, understandings, findings, and methods. It is this disposition that we seek to cultivate throughout this book. After all, as Marx famously wrote, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.”
Defining Key Terms
Descriptive: A descriptive claim or question seeks to explain how things work, what causes them to work that way, and how things relate to one another.
Normative: A normative claim or question seeks to explain how things ought to work, why they should work a certain way, and what should change for things to work differently.
Labour: For Marx, labour is the natural capacity of human beings to work and create things. Under capitalism, labour primarily produces profits for the ruling class. (Please note, we return to the notion of labour in later chapters, and explore other understandings and definitions of this term.)
Alienation: Workers, separated from the products of their labour and replaceable in the production process, become separated or ‘alienated’ from their creative human essence. (Please also see Chapter 3 for a further explanation of the concept of alienation under Marxism.)
Resources to support further learning
Relevant readings:
- Gorton, W. ‘The Philosophy of Social Science.’
- Flyvbjerg, B. 2001. ‘The science wars: a way out.’ In. Flyvbjerg, B. Making social science matter, chapter 1. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
- Carré, D. 2019. ‘Social sciences, what for? On the manifold directions for social research.’ In. Valsiner, J. (Ed.) Social philosophy of science for the social sciences, pp. 13-29. Springer: Cham.
- Schram, S. 2012. ‘Phronetic social science: an idea whose time has come.’ In Flyvbjerg, B., Landman, T. and Schram, S. (Eds.) Real social science: applied phronesis. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
- Bunge, M. (2003). Emergence and Convergence: Qualitative Novelty and the Unity of Knowledge. University of Toronto Press.
Other resources:
- Video: Soomo, ‘An animated introduction to social science’ (YouTube, 4:35).
- Video: ‘Introduction to the social sciences’ (YouTube, 8:34).
- Podcast: Theory and Philosophy Podcast, ‘Bent Flyvbjerg – Making Social Science Matter’ (YouTube, 44:06). (Note, discussion of phronesis starts at 7:51)
- Video: ‘Importance of social science with Professor Cary Cooper’ (YouTube, 4:13).