public class Foo { public int a; public Foo() { a = 3; } public void addFive() { a += 5;} } and: public class Bar extends Foo { public int a; public Bar() { a = 8; } public void addFive() { this.a += 5; } } invoked with: Foo foo = new Bar(); foo.addFive(); System.out.println("Value: " + foo.a);