link
Link to our worksheets and essay.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
QUIZ
Here's the quiz:
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/bio111/stdygd/Chapters/APP2009Fall.pdf
And this is where you put what you got:
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Outline
Learning Strategies:
Teacher presentation of material in class
Teacher demonstration of material in class
Teacher's hand outs/textbooks
Asking teacher questions
Listening to others ask questions and listening to the answer
Asking other students
Group work
Personal research
Informal/formal discussion of topic in different setting
Essential Question:
How are we going to teach Neuroscience to all students with various learning styles without just having them memorize. Does the students environment and interests aid in their learning?
Key Questions: that we would ask in order to create the most effective learning style
How do you learn?
What learning style suits you best?
What enviroment do you learn best in? Loud, silent etc.
What kind of help do you need from the teacher?
Are you actually interested in Neuroscience?
If not what are you interested in?
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that each person is intelligent and learns in a different way. We will attempt to help students discover what environment they learn best in and also pique their interests in psychology. We hypothesize that if the enviroment is conducive to the students personal learning style, the students will learn quickly and without just memorization. Unless that is how they learn best.
Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of learning objectives within education. We want students to move beyond the first stage of just remembering and end up reaching the stage analysis and evaluation.By making the students interested in the topic by relating it to their already existing interests, we will help them move up to deeper more analytical and natural learning.
Due to the interest in the material students will engage in learning outside the class room. The teachers role would be for clarification and answering questions, unless some students prefer the lecturing method.
Teacher presentation of material in class
Teacher demonstration of material in class
Teacher's hand outs/textbooks
Asking teacher questions
Listening to others ask questions and listening to the answer
Asking other students
Group work
Personal research
Informal/formal discussion of topic in different setting
Essential Question:
How are we going to teach Neuroscience to all students with various learning styles without just having them memorize. Does the students environment and interests aid in their learning?
Key Questions: that we would ask in order to create the most effective learning style
How do you learn?
What learning style suits you best?
What enviroment do you learn best in? Loud, silent etc.
What kind of help do you need from the teacher?
Are you actually interested in Neuroscience?
If not what are you interested in?
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that each person is intelligent and learns in a different way. We will attempt to help students discover what environment they learn best in and also pique their interests in psychology. We hypothesize that if the enviroment is conducive to the students personal learning style, the students will learn quickly and without just memorization. Unless that is how they learn best.
Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of learning objectives within education. We want students to move beyond the first stage of just remembering and end up reaching the stage analysis and evaluation.By making the students interested in the topic by relating it to their already existing interests, we will help them move up to deeper more analytical and natural learning.
Due to the interest in the material students will engage in learning outside the class room. The teachers role would be for clarification and answering questions, unless some students prefer the lecturing method.
Phase II Part IV definitions 21-25
Echoic Memory: A phenomenon in which there is a brief mental echo that continues to sound after an auditory stimulus has been heard, like replaying a sound in the mind.
Long-term Potentiation (LTP): Long lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons that results from stimulating them at the same time, similar to long-term memory.
Amnesia: A condition in which memory such as stored memories is disturbed or lost. Organic causes are things such as damage to the brain, while functional causes are things such as a mental disorder.
Implicit Memory: A type of memory in which previous experiences aid in the performance of a task without concious awareness of the previous experiences.
Explicit Memory: The conscious, intentional recollection of previous experiences and information.
Hippocampus: A component of the brain in mammals that belings to the limbic system. It plays important roles in long-term memory and spatial navigation. Alzheimer's Disease tends to affect the hippocampus, impairing memory.
Long-term Potentiation (LTP): Long lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons that results from stimulating them at the same time, similar to long-term memory.
Amnesia: A condition in which memory such as stored memories is disturbed or lost. Organic causes are things such as damage to the brain, while functional causes are things such as a mental disorder.
Implicit Memory: A type of memory in which previous experiences aid in the performance of a task without concious awareness of the previous experiences.
Explicit Memory: The conscious, intentional recollection of previous experiences and information.
Hippocampus: A component of the brain in mammals that belings to the limbic system. It plays important roles in long-term memory and spatial navigation. Alzheimer's Disease tends to affect the hippocampus, impairing memory.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Definitions 7-12 and Questions 2 and 3
Ivan Pavlov’s Experiment (outline, goals): to prove or disprove the theory that a neutral stimulus, when paired with an unconditioned reflex, would cause dogs to salivate
Findings of Pavlov’s Experiment (responses and stimulus): In the experiment, Pavlov created a conditioned stimulus by associating it with the natural reflex of salivation, causing the dogs to salivate when they heard the metronome.
Acquisition: the early stages of learning in which a conditioned response is established; In Pavlov’s experiment, this would be salivation when the dogs heard the metronome.
Provide an example of classical conditioning not found in your book: Someone can overcome his or her fears by pairing something scary with surrounding that are pleasant. For example, going to the dentist may be a fear for many people. However, this can be reversed with a relaxing environment, which would replace the fear.
Extinction: The point when the conditioned response decreases because an unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with a conditioned stimulus; with Pavlov’s dogs, if the metronome was no longer introduced before the dogs were fed, the dogs would eventually stop salivating in response to the metronome.
Spontaneous Recovery: when the conditioned response begins to reoccur, which happens soon after a conditioned response and an unconditioned response are disassociated from each other
2. Explain Operant Conditioning using a scenario that you have created. Do not use the book lists. Try to explain this type of conditioning using something that is relevant to your life: school, home, or work could all be areas you can pull from.
Reinforcement and punishment in school are examples of operant conditioning in everyday life. Positive reinforcement for good behavior could be extra credit in class. Negative reinforcement would be taking away homework for good behavior. However, bad behavior might result in punishment involving either giving a student a detention or taking away certain privileges. All of these methods are used in the hopes that students will learn that their behavior is either good or bad, and that they will either increase or decrease it accordingly.
Phase II, Part 4: Definitions 11-20, Question 2
Ebbinghaus’ retention curve: Ebbinghaus created this curve to observe the relationship between the number of times he rehearsed a set of nonsense syllables and the time it took to recall them the next day. He found that the more he rehearsed the syllables, the less time it took to remember them. This principle can then be transferred to many other scenarios. EXAMPLE: If a ballerina only rehearses her dance routine once during a practice session, she will recall little of it the next time she practices. However, if she rehearses it repeatedly, it becomes more deeply encoded in her memory, and she will be able to remember the majority of it the next time she dances.
Spacing Effect: When information is rehearsed repeatedly over a long span of time, it is easier to retain than if it was rehearsed all at once. EXAMPLE: If a student studies their notes every night for a week, they will be able to retain the information better when taking a test than a student who only studied for 5 hours the night before.
What We Encode: When a brain encodes information, it is storing it in its memory for later recollection. However, what is encoded may not necessarily be what was presented. EXAMPLE: After hearing a catchy song on the radio, you find yourself humming the melody a few hours later without recalling the title, artist, or lyrics. What was encoded in this situation wasn't the song exactly as it was presented, but instead it was just the melody.
Kinds of Encoding: There are three kinds of encoding, visual, acoustic, and semantic. Visual is images, acoustic is sounds, and semantic is meaning. EXAMPLE: After seeing a play, visual encoding would be remembering the sets and the faces of the actors, acoustic encoding would be remembering how the actors said they're lines, and semantic encoding would be remembering the themes of the plot.
Levels of Processing: While visual and acoustic encoding provide some means for later recognition, semantic encoding is what really embeds a concept in someone's memory. EXAMPLE: If a person listens to a song while reading the lyrics, they may be able to recall bits of each, but not a majority of them. However, if that person can find meaning in the song, they will be much more likely and willing to remember more of it.
Imagery and Memory: Experiences and words that lend themselves to vivid mental pictures are much easier to recall than anything abstract. This is because concrete nouns and events contain both semantic and visual encoding (they can be understood and seen by the mind). When something is reinforced by two types of encoding, it makes the memory of it that much stronger. EXAMPLE: When comparing the words clarinet and theme, clarinet is much easier to remember because it is something that can be seen and touched. There is one distinct image that goes along with it, which is the instrument itself. Conversely, theme is an abstract concept that is completely ambiguous. It could be the theme in a song, a book, a play, anything. It cannot be seen or touched. There is no image to associate with it. Without a clear image, a concept is much harder to remember.
Mnemonics: These are devices used to aid memory. They are usually associated with vivid imagery and are organizational. EXAMPLE: In elementary school we were taught the mnemonic device "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" in order to memorize the order of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto).
Ways to Organize Information for Encoding: Two ways to organize information are chunking and hierarchies. Chunking consists of forming information into groups that are meaningful. EXAMPLE: To remember the notes in the spaces of a treble clef staff (F, A, C, & E) you can simply use the word FACE./ Hierarchies start with the broadest concept in the set of information and break it down into specific topics. The same is then done with these next topics until the information is broken down into its simplest components. EXAMPLE: A hierarchy that starts with the word "cells" could be broken down into the topics "animal" and "plant." These topics could then be further broken down into their separate parts contained within one cell.
Memory Trace: Information is retained through a process completed by the brain. Each memory is recalled through a series of cues that bring it back. EXAMPLE: If someone walks past a wet floor sign in a grocery store and then proceeds to fall and sprain their ankle, when they see a wet floor sign in a grocery store their memory of spraining their ankle will be recalled. The wet floor sign and the grocery store acted as the triggers for the memory, and, therefore, the memory can be traced through those.
Iconic Memory: A quickly disappearing, yet photographic memory. It only lasts fractions of a second, but in that time, a memory can be recalled in exact detail. EXAMPLE: After witnessing a car accident, for a tenth of a second afterward, someone could recall every detail from the direction the car flipped to the moment that windshield began to crack perfectly. However, the memory wouldn't last long enough for them to communicate it.
2. How is the human mind faulty in remembering information? Explain how that could impact the construction of your learning strategy (provide 3 examples)
Absent-mindedness causes forgetfulness due to inattention to detail. This would affect the construction of our learning strategy because we need to be sure that the details of each topic are impossible to look over. They would have to be as big of a part of the studying as the main concepts. Transience makes memory faulty because information that isn't used eventually fades. This creates the need for the learning strategy to include repetition. Repetition will ensure that the information continues to be used, so it won't be forgotten. Blocking is the inability to access information. This could be avoided by including imagery in the learning strategy. If the concepts are accompanied by a vivid image, they will be easier to remember and more accesible.
Spacing Effect: When information is rehearsed repeatedly over a long span of time, it is easier to retain than if it was rehearsed all at once. EXAMPLE: If a student studies their notes every night for a week, they will be able to retain the information better when taking a test than a student who only studied for 5 hours the night before.
What We Encode: When a brain encodes information, it is storing it in its memory for later recollection. However, what is encoded may not necessarily be what was presented. EXAMPLE: After hearing a catchy song on the radio, you find yourself humming the melody a few hours later without recalling the title, artist, or lyrics. What was encoded in this situation wasn't the song exactly as it was presented, but instead it was just the melody.
Kinds of Encoding: There are three kinds of encoding, visual, acoustic, and semantic. Visual is images, acoustic is sounds, and semantic is meaning. EXAMPLE: After seeing a play, visual encoding would be remembering the sets and the faces of the actors, acoustic encoding would be remembering how the actors said they're lines, and semantic encoding would be remembering the themes of the plot.
Levels of Processing: While visual and acoustic encoding provide some means for later recognition, semantic encoding is what really embeds a concept in someone's memory. EXAMPLE: If a person listens to a song while reading the lyrics, they may be able to recall bits of each, but not a majority of them. However, if that person can find meaning in the song, they will be much more likely and willing to remember more of it.
Imagery and Memory: Experiences and words that lend themselves to vivid mental pictures are much easier to recall than anything abstract. This is because concrete nouns and events contain both semantic and visual encoding (they can be understood and seen by the mind). When something is reinforced by two types of encoding, it makes the memory of it that much stronger. EXAMPLE: When comparing the words clarinet and theme, clarinet is much easier to remember because it is something that can be seen and touched. There is one distinct image that goes along with it, which is the instrument itself. Conversely, theme is an abstract concept that is completely ambiguous. It could be the theme in a song, a book, a play, anything. It cannot be seen or touched. There is no image to associate with it. Without a clear image, a concept is much harder to remember.
Mnemonics: These are devices used to aid memory. They are usually associated with vivid imagery and are organizational. EXAMPLE: In elementary school we were taught the mnemonic device "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" in order to memorize the order of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto).
Ways to Organize Information for Encoding: Two ways to organize information are chunking and hierarchies. Chunking consists of forming information into groups that are meaningful. EXAMPLE: To remember the notes in the spaces of a treble clef staff (F, A, C, & E) you can simply use the word FACE./ Hierarchies start with the broadest concept in the set of information and break it down into specific topics. The same is then done with these next topics until the information is broken down into its simplest components. EXAMPLE: A hierarchy that starts with the word "cells" could be broken down into the topics "animal" and "plant." These topics could then be further broken down into their separate parts contained within one cell.
Memory Trace: Information is retained through a process completed by the brain. Each memory is recalled through a series of cues that bring it back. EXAMPLE: If someone walks past a wet floor sign in a grocery store and then proceeds to fall and sprain their ankle, when they see a wet floor sign in a grocery store their memory of spraining their ankle will be recalled. The wet floor sign and the grocery store acted as the triggers for the memory, and, therefore, the memory can be traced through those.
Iconic Memory: A quickly disappearing, yet photographic memory. It only lasts fractions of a second, but in that time, a memory can be recalled in exact detail. EXAMPLE: After witnessing a car accident, for a tenth of a second afterward, someone could recall every detail from the direction the car flipped to the moment that windshield began to crack perfectly. However, the memory wouldn't last long enough for them to communicate it.
2. How is the human mind faulty in remembering information? Explain how that could impact the construction of your learning strategy (provide 3 examples)
Absent-mindedness causes forgetfulness due to inattention to detail. This would affect the construction of our learning strategy because we need to be sure that the details of each topic are impossible to look over. They would have to be as big of a part of the studying as the main concepts. Transience makes memory faulty because information that isn't used eventually fades. This creates the need for the learning strategy to include repetition. Repetition will ensure that the information continues to be used, so it won't be forgotten. Blocking is the inability to access information. This could be avoided by including imagery in the learning strategy. If the concepts are accompanied by a vivid image, they will be easier to remember and more accesible.
Phase II Part II 3 & 4
Classical Conditioning: involves neutral simulus along with a stimulus of some significance. The neutral stimulus may be any even that does not result in an overt behavioral response from the subject.
Operant Conditioning: the use of a behaviors consequence to influence to occurance and form of behavior. Unlike Classical conditioning, operant conditioning deals with the modification of voluntary behavior. It uses the environment and is maintained by its consequences, while classical conditioning deals with the conditioning of reflex behaviors and are not maintained bysonsequences.
Do you think either plays a role in how you respond to teachers and academic role here at Wilson? Yes. If we know we will have a consequence, we will not act out or do anything innapropriate.
Operant Conditioning: the use of a behaviors consequence to influence to occurance and form of behavior. Unlike Classical conditioning, operant conditioning deals with the modification of voluntary behavior. It uses the environment and is maintained by its consequences, while classical conditioning deals with the conditioning of reflex behaviors and are not maintained bysonsequences.
Do you think either plays a role in how you respond to teachers and academic role here at Wilson? Yes. If we know we will have a consequence, we will not act out or do anything innapropriate.
Phase II Part 1
The impact of television: The more time spent watching television, the less time spent talking, studying, playing, reading, and socializing. Television puts children at risk for violent and aggressive behavior.
The good news about TV (from Chapter 1): "Correlation does not imply causation." Aggressive behaviors may stem from abusive households or abusive parents may stick their children in front of the TV more often, causing more violence.
Provide one example of Observaional Learning from your lifetime: I have learned how to keep a good work ethic and how to be a high acheiving individual through watching my mother with her work. she continually demonstrated a high acheiving work ethic and I have grown up watching that.
The good news about TV (from Chapter 1): "Correlation does not imply causation." Aggressive behaviors may stem from abusive households or abusive parents may stick their children in front of the TV more often, causing more violence.
Provide one example of Observaional Learning from your lifetime: I have learned how to keep a good work ethic and how to be a high acheiving individual through watching my mother with her work. she continually demonstrated a high acheiving work ethic and I have grown up watching that.
Part V Terms 9 and 10 and Question #3
Mental set: a type of fixation in which want to re-use methods or solutions that have worked before; relying on past success instead of finding new solutions. Example: If someone has always been able to get an A on a test by cramming the night before, that person might experience this mental set in college, finding themselves confused when their past method doesn't work on a college exam. They'll have to overcome this and find a new method of studying, instead of relying on their past success.
Functional fixedness: perceiving the function of objects as fixed and unchanging; not being able to imagine different, creative ways to use things, especially if they were only made for a certain task. Example: Not being able to see a cardboard moving box as anything other than a box to store items. Instead, a person could have taken a bunch of cardboard boxes and made a hideout (complete with tunnels and rooms).
3. Explain the relationship between functional fixedness and problem solving. Provide an example that illustrates the relationship (this should be no more than 2 sentences).
-Functional fixedness inhibits and limits problem solving. For example, a person who is being mugged as they go to their car could limit their problem solving abilities by failing to see that their car key could also be used as a weapon, and not just a tool to open their car door.
Functional fixedness: perceiving the function of objects as fixed and unchanging; not being able to imagine different, creative ways to use things, especially if they were only made for a certain task. Example: Not being able to see a cardboard moving box as anything other than a box to store items. Instead, a person could have taken a bunch of cardboard boxes and made a hideout (complete with tunnels and rooms).
3. Explain the relationship between functional fixedness and problem solving. Provide an example that illustrates the relationship (this should be no more than 2 sentences).
-Functional fixedness inhibits and limits problem solving. For example, a person who is being mugged as they go to their car could limit their problem solving abilities by failing to see that their car key could also be used as a weapon, and not just a tool to open their car door.
Phase II, Part 5: Definitions 11-18, Questions 1 & 5
Representativeness Heuristic: to use a prototype to decide the likelihood of an event EXAMPLE: You see a tall man with a well-built body and a stern look in his face. After seeing this you would most likely assume that the would fight instead of flee in a life or death situation because he looks strong and tough.
Availability Heuristic: to use previous knowledge to make judgments. EXAMPLE: When you see someone go to get lunch at the same time every day for a week, you continue to expect it to happen from then on.
Overconfidence: A combination of wanting to prove one's beliefs, using heuristics to make judgments, and excusing shortcomings. EXAMPLE: You come out of a test feeling very confident that you got an A, only to find out the next day that you failed.
Framing: The approach one takes to display an issue to elicit different responses. EXAMPLE: You're going to a 3-week training session. Saying you'll only be there for 3 weeks elicits a more positive response than saying that you'll only be home one week out of that month.
Belief Bias: People make false conclusions and distort their logic using the beliefs they already have. EXAMPLE: Someone may reason that concerts are loud. Riots aren't concerts. Therefore, riots aren't loud. This is distorted logic, but based on their preexisting beliefs, they come to this false conclusion.
Belief Perseverance: Holding onto beliefs even if they have been proven false. EXAMPLE: A student finds an answer to a math problem. Their teacher then proves that their answer is incorrect, but the student still claims that it is correct.
Artificial Intelligence: Computer systems that are created to imitate human thought processes. EXAMPLE: On AOL Instant Messenger, there are computer generated "people" that you can have conversations with. These robots were designed to mimic human communication.
Computer Neural Networks: Computer systems that imitate the connective network of neurons in the brain. EXAMPLE: A computer that, through a series of connective circuits, can realize when a virus has entered its system.
1. Why does everything covered in chapters 8,9 and 10 fall under the field of cognitive psychology? Provide three different examples of how it does (one from each chapter would be best) Learning falls under cognitive psychology because it is a series of conscious processes that leads to a behavior being learned. The subject has to consciously decide to respond to the stimulus being given. Memory is classified as cognitive because it takes a conscious process to remember what kind of cake you had at your 10th birthday party or to remember the name of someone you just met. Thinking and language are cognitive because they both require a conscious process to occur. Thinking is the definition of a conscious process, and in order to speak, you have to consciously decide to make noise.
5. How can you use your knowledge of language acquisition and the way that
we read, speak and think to help create your learning strategy? Thinking and language are intertwined. They both determine the other. Keeping this in mind, our learning strategy would need to incorporate both speaking and thinking without speaking. So, maybe it would have to incorporate discussions with other students in small groups, and time spent looking at a term and defining it in your head.
Availability Heuristic: to use previous knowledge to make judgments. EXAMPLE: When you see someone go to get lunch at the same time every day for a week, you continue to expect it to happen from then on.
Overconfidence: A combination of wanting to prove one's beliefs, using heuristics to make judgments, and excusing shortcomings. EXAMPLE: You come out of a test feeling very confident that you got an A, only to find out the next day that you failed.
Framing: The approach one takes to display an issue to elicit different responses. EXAMPLE: You're going to a 3-week training session. Saying you'll only be there for 3 weeks elicits a more positive response than saying that you'll only be home one week out of that month.
Belief Bias: People make false conclusions and distort their logic using the beliefs they already have. EXAMPLE: Someone may reason that concerts are loud. Riots aren't concerts. Therefore, riots aren't loud. This is distorted logic, but based on their preexisting beliefs, they come to this false conclusion.
Belief Perseverance: Holding onto beliefs even if they have been proven false. EXAMPLE: A student finds an answer to a math problem. Their teacher then proves that their answer is incorrect, but the student still claims that it is correct.
Artificial Intelligence: Computer systems that are created to imitate human thought processes. EXAMPLE: On AOL Instant Messenger, there are computer generated "people" that you can have conversations with. These robots were designed to mimic human communication.
Computer Neural Networks: Computer systems that imitate the connective network of neurons in the brain. EXAMPLE: A computer that, through a series of connective circuits, can realize when a virus has entered its system.
1. Why does everything covered in chapters 8,9 and 10 fall under the field of cognitive psychology? Provide three different examples of how it does (one from each chapter would be best) Learning falls under cognitive psychology because it is a series of conscious processes that leads to a behavior being learned. The subject has to consciously decide to respond to the stimulus being given. Memory is classified as cognitive because it takes a conscious process to remember what kind of cake you had at your 10th birthday party or to remember the name of someone you just met. Thinking and language are cognitive because they both require a conscious process to occur. Thinking is the definition of a conscious process, and in order to speak, you have to consciously decide to make noise.
5. How can you use your knowledge of language acquisition and the way that
we read, speak and think to help create your learning strategy? Thinking and language are intertwined. They both determine the other. Keeping this in mind, our learning strategy would need to incorporate both speaking and thinking without speaking. So, maybe it would have to incorporate discussions with other students in small groups, and time spent looking at a term and defining it in your head.
Part IV Definitions 6-10
Sensory memory (include all types): the initial recording of information that we get through our senses (taste, smell, see, etc.) Includes iconic memory (a visual image and remembrance that we only have for a few tenths of a second, a fleeting photographic memory) and echoic memory (a fleeting memory for auditory images, or things that we hear). Example: seeing a billboard and being able to clearly remember it for a VERY short time, but then only remembering parts of it.
Long-term memory (include storage): the memories that remain in our brains for years, or even our lives. The storage of long term memory is essentially limitless; there is no limit to how much we can remember. Example: My dad memorized parts of Shakespeare that he can still quote from highschool.
Short term memory: information that is quickly forgotten, especially for lack of rehearsal. Often it can last for only a few seconds, and we can only remember approximately seven pieces of short-term info (Magical Number Seven). Example: Quickly reading the words of a book and not being able to remember exactly what the sentence(s) were a few seconds later.
The role of emotion in memory: we remember more when we're excited or emotional. The same hormones that we release when we're stressed or excited help boost memory, and the amygdala (deals with emotion) also helps to increase memory activity. Example: Someone remembering their wedding, including minute details he/she might not have remembered in a different situation.
The Steps of Encoding: we either encode memories through automatic processing (without conscious thought) or through effortful processing (concsciously, with effort and attention we can rehearse/repeat information or use other ways to boost memory). The memories that we encode can deal with meaning (semantic encoding), imagery (visual encoding), or sound (acoustic encoding). Example: unconsciously noting the room that I'm sitting in would be automatic, while forcing myself to repeat song lyrics in my head so I can memorize it would be effortful processing.
Long-term memory (include storage): the memories that remain in our brains for years, or even our lives. The storage of long term memory is essentially limitless; there is no limit to how much we can remember. Example: My dad memorized parts of Shakespeare that he can still quote from highschool.
Short term memory: information that is quickly forgotten, especially for lack of rehearsal. Often it can last for only a few seconds, and we can only remember approximately seven pieces of short-term info (Magical Number Seven). Example: Quickly reading the words of a book and not being able to remember exactly what the sentence(s) were a few seconds later.
The role of emotion in memory: we remember more when we're excited or emotional. The same hormones that we release when we're stressed or excited help boost memory, and the amygdala (deals with emotion) also helps to increase memory activity. Example: Someone remembering their wedding, including minute details he/she might not have remembered in a different situation.
The Steps of Encoding: we either encode memories through automatic processing (without conscious thought) or through effortful processing (concsciously, with effort and attention we can rehearse/repeat information or use other ways to boost memory). The memories that we encode can deal with meaning (semantic encoding), imagery (visual encoding), or sound (acoustic encoding). Example: unconsciously noting the room that I'm sitting in would be automatic, while forcing myself to repeat song lyrics in my head so I can memorize it would be effortful processing.
Phase III
Here's the link to the quiz (btw it's just the first two pages): http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/bio111/stdygd/Chapters/APP2009Fall.pdf
Once you're done, just answer the question at this link (it just asks you what your result was)
https://docs.google.com/a/share.wilsonsd.org/document/d/18qVISdAnTIZFAMGGeN7UvIev-GnLRazGA-2PlP5klmg/edit#
Once you're done, just answer the question at this link (it just asks you what your result was)
https://docs.google.com/a/share.wilsonsd.org/document/d/18qVISdAnTIZFAMGGeN7UvIev-GnLRazGA-2PlP5klmg/edit#
Monday, November 22, 2010
Phase II, Part 2: Questions 7 & 8 (AS)
7. Punishment impacts learning at school in several ways. First, positive punishment is used through consequences like detention. Detention is given when a student misbehaves. This is intended to stop misbehaving from occurring in order to avoid receiving the detention. Suspension and expulsion are used in the same way. Negative punishment is used when privileges are taken away. For example, if a student is failing a class, there privilege to participate in extracurricular is taken away. The purpose of this is to force student to get and keep their grades up in order to retain their extracurricular privileges.
8. Grades do fall into this unit. They come into play because they are a kind of positive reinforcement. When a student works hard and studies, they receive good grades as a reward. Conversely, when a student fails to do the required amount of work, they receive poor grades. Both kinds of grades can affect learning and behavior. Good grades makes students work to keep them that way, and poor grades make students want to work harder to turn them into good grades.
8. Grades do fall into this unit. They come into play because they are a kind of positive reinforcement. When a student works hard and studies, they receive good grades as a reward. Conversely, when a student fails to do the required amount of work, they receive poor grades. Both kinds of grades can affect learning and behavior. Good grades makes students work to keep them that way, and poor grades make students want to work harder to turn them into good grades.
Phase III
Here's another good one...this might be better. Btw, it's just the first few pages.
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/bio111/stdygd/Chapters/APP2009Fall.pdf
We could additionally post a simple survey, asking whether students preferred
A. Lecture
B. Notes
C. Worksheets
D. Projects
E. Other option
F. Combination
The survey's just a thought though
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/bio111/stdygd/Chapters/APP2009Fall.pdf
We could additionally post a simple survey, asking whether students preferred
A. Lecture
B. Notes
C. Worksheets
D. Projects
E. Other option
F. Combination
The survey's just a thought though
Phase III
Here's a link I found to a quiz that will help evaluate learning styles.
http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test-b.html
http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test-b.html
Phase II, Part V Definition/Concepts 1-8
Cognition: all of the mental processes involved in thinking, understanding, remembering, and communicating; everything involved in the way we consciously think (judge, decide, etc.) Example: Making a decision on what to buy at the grocery store...memorizing vocabulary words...all fall under the category of cognition.
Concept: a mental grouping of similar objects, events, idease, or people; a group we mentally create, placing associated or connected items/ideas/people together to stay mentally organized and to be able to generalize many specific and related objects into one category. Example: "Woman" is a concept, encompassing a number of individuals with different physical features, backgrounds, beliefs, etc.
Prototype: a mental image of a category; the best mental picture a person has to describe a concept. The better something matches our prototype, the more quickly we identify it with a category. Example: Going to the beach for some people may be a prototype for the concept of vacation, rather than something else like camping (because more people often associate the beach with vacation).
Algorithm: a step by step procedure that guarantees a solution; a methodical system that promises a result. Example: Finding a needle in a haystack by examining every piece of hay.
Heuristics: a simple strategy that uses logic, but is also error-prone. Example: Figuring out approximately where the needle was dropped in the hay and then searching that area.
Insight: flashes of inspiration; an "aha" moment, a sudden comprehension that brings satisfaction. Example: Suddenly realizing how to solve a difficult math problem.
Confirmation bias: looking for evidence that confirms our beliefs. Example: Remembering bizarre events that transpired during a full moon, especially over bizarre events that happened on other days.
Fixation: the inability to look at a problem from a different point of view. Example: hearing a riddle and thinking it's impossible because you can't see another way to look at it/you can't think outside the box.
Concept: a mental grouping of similar objects, events, idease, or people; a group we mentally create, placing associated or connected items/ideas/people together to stay mentally organized and to be able to generalize many specific and related objects into one category. Example: "Woman" is a concept, encompassing a number of individuals with different physical features, backgrounds, beliefs, etc.
Prototype: a mental image of a category; the best mental picture a person has to describe a concept. The better something matches our prototype, the more quickly we identify it with a category. Example: Going to the beach for some people may be a prototype for the concept of vacation, rather than something else like camping (because more people often associate the beach with vacation).
Algorithm: a step by step procedure that guarantees a solution; a methodical system that promises a result. Example: Finding a needle in a haystack by examining every piece of hay.
Heuristics: a simple strategy that uses logic, but is also error-prone. Example: Figuring out approximately where the needle was dropped in the hay and then searching that area.
Insight: flashes of inspiration; an "aha" moment, a sudden comprehension that brings satisfaction. Example: Suddenly realizing how to solve a difficult math problem.
Confirmation bias: looking for evidence that confirms our beliefs. Example: Remembering bizarre events that transpired during a full moon, especially over bizarre events that happened on other days.
Fixation: the inability to look at a problem from a different point of view. Example: hearing a riddle and thinking it's impossible because you can't see another way to look at it/you can't think outside the box.
Phase II Part IV Quesitons 1 and 3
1. Provide 5 different ways to use memory to create an effective learning strategy.
-Use rhyme or song (acoustic encoding)
-Make it connect emotionally through real world examples people can personally relate to
-Play a game to peak interest/anecdotal stories
-Postive reinforcement (candy, extra credit for right answers/going over and above)
-Overlearning (repetition-repeat important or difficult concepts)
-Use spacing effect: don't just repeat information 2x in a row. Instead, say it one day, then another day, or repeat that question on different worksheets
-Use powerpoints instead of just talking (visual encoding)
-Ask conceptual questions that don't just require remembering what the teacher said
-Chunking (organize notes into meaninful sections, outline format)
3. Strategies to study for AP exam
-repetition (re-read things)
-writing (take notes)
-Thinking about concepts/applying (practice esssay ?'s and real world exmaples)
-Visual (example for neuroscience look at diagrams of the brain to remembe rparts)
-Use rhyme or song (acoustic encoding)
-Make it connect emotionally through real world examples people can personally relate to
-Play a game to peak interest/anecdotal stories
-Postive reinforcement (candy, extra credit for right answers/going over and above)
-Overlearning (repetition-repeat important or difficult concepts)
-Use spacing effect: don't just repeat information 2x in a row. Instead, say it one day, then another day, or repeat that question on different worksheets
-Use powerpoints instead of just talking (visual encoding)
-Ask conceptual questions that don't just require remembering what the teacher said
-Chunking (organize notes into meaninful sections, outline format)
3. Strategies to study for AP exam
-repetition (re-read things)
-writing (take notes)
-Thinking about concepts/applying (practice esssay ?'s and real world exmaples)
-Visual (example for neuroscience look at diagrams of the brain to remembe rparts)
Jackie Rader Phase II Part 1
Positive Reinforcement: Strengthens a response or behavior by giving a typically, but nit always, pleasurable stimulus after a response. ex. Providing an allowance for a child to encourage good behavior at home.
Negative Reinforcement: Strengthens a response or behavior by reducing or removing an adverse stimulus. ex. PTaking Xanax to immediately reduce symptoms of anxiety.
Primary Reinforcers: Innately reinforcing stimuli, innately satisfying, ex, getting food when hungry.
Conditioned Reinforcers: Also secondary reiforders, are learned. It it a stimulus that gains its power through its association with primary reinforcers. Each reinforcer in linked to a basic primary reinforcer.
Immediate Reinforcers: Samll, immediate rewards or consequences.
Delayed Reinforcers: Postponed rewards for a greater, lond-term reward. Delayed gratification. Big reward later rather than small reward now. This fosters maturity, high acheiving, socially competent children with more control over impulses.
Negative Reinforcement: Strengthens a response or behavior by reducing or removing an adverse stimulus. ex. PTaking Xanax to immediately reduce symptoms of anxiety.
Primary Reinforcers: Innately reinforcing stimuli, innately satisfying, ex, getting food when hungry.
Conditioned Reinforcers: Also secondary reiforders, are learned. It it a stimulus that gains its power through its association with primary reinforcers. Each reinforcer in linked to a basic primary reinforcer.
Immediate Reinforcers: Samll, immediate rewards or consequences.
Delayed Reinforcers: Postponed rewards for a greater, lond-term reward. Delayed gratification. Big reward later rather than small reward now. This fosters maturity, high acheiving, socially competent children with more control over impulses.
Phase II Part IV definitions 1-5
Memory: any retained learning; all the experiences, people, ideas, and places that we remember. Example: Recalling a past vacation or remembering part of a class lecture would be a memory.
Memory loss: the inability to have new memories/the inability to recall past memories. Example: Jason Bourne (experiences memory loss and can't remember anything up to a certain point).
Memory feats: being able to recall vast amounts of information and minute details, especially in comparison to the average person. Example: Sean from Psych can recall tiny details of a situation.
Memory like a computer: like a computer we encode (get into our brain or register), store (retain), and retrieve (get back out) information. Unlike computers, our brains our slower and more fragile, but can process different things at one time. Example: a person who translates books translates a book (encodes in a new language), writes the words in a new book (stores), and can later retrieve it (retrieval).
How neuroscience fits into memory: gives us the physical, scientific basis for how memory works on a biological level. Example: Studying which brain areas are at work when recalling a memory.
Memory loss: the inability to have new memories/the inability to recall past memories. Example: Jason Bourne (experiences memory loss and can't remember anything up to a certain point).
Memory feats: being able to recall vast amounts of information and minute details, especially in comparison to the average person. Example: Sean from Psych can recall tiny details of a situation.
Memory like a computer: like a computer we encode (get into our brain or register), store (retain), and retrieve (get back out) information. Unlike computers, our brains our slower and more fragile, but can process different things at one time. Example: a person who translates books translates a book (encodes in a new language), writes the words in a new book (stores), and can later retrieve it (retrieval).
How neuroscience fits into memory: gives us the physical, scientific basis for how memory works on a biological level. Example: Studying which brain areas are at work when recalling a memory.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Phase II Question #1 and Question A
1. Explain classical conditioning using a situation you have created.
-Usually whenever I'm at home and my mom yells my name, it's usually because she wants me to do some sort of task or chore. I gret to associate my mom yelling my name (stimulus 1) with chores (stimulus 2). The Unconditioned Response in this case is my natural dislike of chores. The Undconditioned Stimulus is chores, and the Condintioned Stimulus is the sound of my mom yelling my name, and the Conditioned Response is wanting to escape/feeling dread.
A. How do our first two units fit into the midterm project?
-We need to know the history of psychology to understand the subdivisions of it (like learning, memory, etc.) Example 1: our first chapter gave us a very brief intro to important psychologists like Pavlov. Knowing where his viewpoint comes from and which psychologists contributed to Pavlov's views will give us a better understanding of how Pavlov reached the point he did. Example 2: Knowing the subdivisions of psychology like neuroscience and cognitive give us a background for what the chapters we're reading are referring to in more depth (ex. we have to have a basic knowledge of the cognitive part of psychology to understand the memory and learning chapters). Furthermore, we need to know the scientific method (what it is and basic terms involved with it) to even understand what the textbook is talking about. Example 3: The chapters we're reading mention experiments, but we wouldn't have had the background knowledge of why experiments are so important (in certain cases they're better than surveys, correlation graphs, etc.) if we hadn't read the chapter about applying science to psychology.
-Usually whenever I'm at home and my mom yells my name, it's usually because she wants me to do some sort of task or chore. I gret to associate my mom yelling my name (stimulus 1) with chores (stimulus 2). The Unconditioned Response in this case is my natural dislike of chores. The Undconditioned Stimulus is chores, and the Condintioned Stimulus is the sound of my mom yelling my name, and the Conditioned Response is wanting to escape/feeling dread.
A. How do our first two units fit into the midterm project?
-We need to know the history of psychology to understand the subdivisions of it (like learning, memory, etc.) Example 1: our first chapter gave us a very brief intro to important psychologists like Pavlov. Knowing where his viewpoint comes from and which psychologists contributed to Pavlov's views will give us a better understanding of how Pavlov reached the point he did. Example 2: Knowing the subdivisions of psychology like neuroscience and cognitive give us a background for what the chapters we're reading are referring to in more depth (ex. we have to have a basic knowledge of the cognitive part of psychology to understand the memory and learning chapters). Furthermore, we need to know the scientific method (what it is and basic terms involved with it) to even understand what the textbook is talking about. Example 3: The chapters we're reading mention experiments, but we wouldn't have had the background knowledge of why experiments are so important (in certain cases they're better than surveys, correlation graphs, etc.) if we hadn't read the chapter about applying science to psychology.
Phase II Definitions
Respondent behavior: a behavior that occurs automatically in response to a certain stimulus. For example, if you wanted to train a dog to do a trick, offering him a treat (the stimulus) and and the dog would respond with shaking his paw (respondent behavior).
Operant behavior: occurs when an act operates on the environment to produce rewarding or punishing stimuli. for example, instead of associating two unrelated events, the treat and the trick, the dog would associate performing a trick with the positive consequence of getting a treat (linking the behavior with a positive consequence).
Law of effect: if people are rewarded, they'll continue with the behavior that earned that reward. Conversely, if they're punished, they will reduce that behavior. Rewarded behavior is likely to recur.
Skinner box (operant chamber): a box used in operant conditioning. It contains a bar or key that an animal could activate to receive a reward: food or water. It includes a device to monitor how often the animal manipulates the key or the bar.
Shaping: a method in which reinforcers are used to increase or encourage a desired behavior. It is used in operant conditioning. For example, giving a child allowance for doing his/her chores is shaping.
Successive approximations: In trying to achieve a certain behavior, using reinforcers or rewards to guide someone or something closer to the desired behavior. For example, getting my dog to go up our stairs by putting treats on successively higher steps (and ignoring any retreating he may do) is using successive approximations.
Reinforcement: any act that increases the frequency of a desired behavior. It can be a "negative" or a "positive" action.
Modeling: observing and imitating a certain behavior. Example: a little girl seeing her mother put on makeup and trying to do the same thing.
Albert Bandura: pioneering researcher of obsevational learning. He implemented a series of experiments that showed that people, especially children, are prone to imitating what they see others do. This is especially true when we see or model as similar to us or admirable. Whether or not we model a person also depends on rewards and punishments that we or our model receives. (If we see the model punished for an action, we're less likely to repeat it). Basically, he proved that we do learn from and imitate other people.
Operant behavior: occurs when an act operates on the environment to produce rewarding or punishing stimuli. for example, instead of associating two unrelated events, the treat and the trick, the dog would associate performing a trick with the positive consequence of getting a treat (linking the behavior with a positive consequence).
Law of effect: if people are rewarded, they'll continue with the behavior that earned that reward. Conversely, if they're punished, they will reduce that behavior. Rewarded behavior is likely to recur.
Skinner box (operant chamber): a box used in operant conditioning. It contains a bar or key that an animal could activate to receive a reward: food or water. It includes a device to monitor how often the animal manipulates the key or the bar.
Shaping: a method in which reinforcers are used to increase or encourage a desired behavior. It is used in operant conditioning. For example, giving a child allowance for doing his/her chores is shaping.
Successive approximations: In trying to achieve a certain behavior, using reinforcers or rewards to guide someone or something closer to the desired behavior. For example, getting my dog to go up our stairs by putting treats on successively higher steps (and ignoring any retreating he may do) is using successive approximations.
Reinforcement: any act that increases the frequency of a desired behavior. It can be a "negative" or a "positive" action.
Modeling: observing and imitating a certain behavior. Example: a little girl seeing her mother put on makeup and trying to do the same thing.
Albert Bandura: pioneering researcher of obsevational learning. He implemented a series of experiments that showed that people, especially children, are prone to imitating what they see others do. This is especially true when we see or model as similar to us or admirable. Whether or not we model a person also depends on rewards and punishments that we or our model receives. (If we see the model punished for an action, we're less likely to repeat it). Basically, he proved that we do learn from and imitate other people.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Phase II, Part 1: Definitions 13 through 19, 45, 48, & 49 (AS)
Generalization: Generalization is the tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus. Pavlov's dogs displayed this tendency when they had been conditioned to salivate when they were rubbed, but they would also salivate when scratched.
Discrimination: The learned ability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and irrelevant stimuli. For example, Pavlov's dogs learned to respond to only one tone and not to others.
Importance of Cognitive Processes in Classical Conditioning: Cognitive processes are important in classical conditioning because associations are strengthened or weakend by them. When the test subject experiences the CS and UCS a couple times, the second event gains a predictibility. The test subject makes the association through being able to expect the second event. The best conditioning takes place when the CS and UCS have the relationship that the CS causes the UCS.
Importance of Biology in Classical Conditioning: The biological predispositions of each species dispose it to learn the particular associations that enhance its survival. Biology allows animals to adapt to their environments through learning, and can be used as a safe way to control predators through taste aversion.
Taste Aversion: Learning to avoid a food that makes you sick. This avoidance can take place even if the sick reaction takes place hours after the food is consumed. It shows that the UCS doesn't have to immediately follow the CS.
An Example of Taste Aversion Not In Book: A couple years ago I ate dinner at Red Lobster, and then I got to my stomach sick later that night. I now have an aversion to food at Red Lobster, specifically the cheddar biscuits because I associate them with getting sick.
Watson, Rayner, and Research After Pavlov: Watson and Rayner's research showed that human emotions and behavior are mainly made up of conditioned responses along with biology. They showed how fears are conditioned through their Little Albert experiments. Watson later worked for the J. Walter Thompson ad agency and used associative learning to develop campaigns.
Prosocial Models: Positive and helpful models. Examples of these are Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. They both drew on being prosocial models by making nonviolent action a powerful force through first demonstrating it themselves. This compelled other people to follow the same ideology.
Desensitizing of Youth: Prolonged exposure to violence causes indifference to events in media or real life. For example, if a teenager watches exceedingly violent movies for a long period of time or on a frequent basis, they become less reactive to a murder story featured on the news.
One Example of Observational Learning From My Lifetime: When I was little, I saw my grandmother burn her forehead with her curling iron. This taught me to keep my curling iron at a safe distance from my head and be extremely cautious when I started using one.
The First Six Definitions.
Learning: acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines.
Associative Learning: A type of learning principle based on the assumption that ideas and experiences reinforce one another and can be linked to enhance the learning process.
Classical conditioning: A process of behavior modification by which a subject comes to respond in a desired manner to a previously neutral stimulus that has been repeatedly presented along with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits the desired response.
Operant Conditioning: A process of behavior modification in which the likelihood of a specific behavior is increased or decreased through positive or negative reinforcement each time the behavior is exhibited, so that the subject comes to associate the pleasure or displeasure of the reinforcement with the behavior.
Behaviorism: A school of psychology that confines itself to the study of observable and quantifiable aspects of behavior and excludes subjective phenomena, such as emotions or motives.
Observational Learning: learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining and, in the case of imitation learning, replicating novel behavior executed by others.
Associative Learning: A type of learning principle based on the assumption that ideas and experiences reinforce one another and can be linked to enhance the learning process.
Classical conditioning: A process of behavior modification by which a subject comes to respond in a desired manner to a previously neutral stimulus that has been repeatedly presented along with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits the desired response.
Operant Conditioning: A process of behavior modification in which the likelihood of a specific behavior is increased or decreased through positive or negative reinforcement each time the behavior is exhibited, so that the subject comes to associate the pleasure or displeasure of the reinforcement with the behavior.
Behaviorism: A school of psychology that confines itself to the study of observable and quantifiable aspects of behavior and excludes subjective phenomena, such as emotions or motives.
Observational Learning: learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining and, in the case of imitation learning, replicating novel behavior executed by others.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Questions 11 & 12 (AS)
11. How does the culture we were brought up in influence the way that we perceive others?
Culture has a major influence on our perception of others around the world. Events that take place, particularly tragic ones, that involve people from another culture often cause stereotypes to be made. For example, after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, people in the US began to stereotype all Muslims and people from the Middle East as terrorists. This is completely false, but the people of the US were angry and upset and needed an outlet for these feelings. Hence, the stereotype and the hatred. Every culture possesses these types of intolerance, and that transfers almost every person within that culture's ideas and perception of others.
12. Do you believe that men and women can be perfectly equal in our society?
Based on my knowledge of biology and psychology, I don't believe that men and women can be perfectly equal in our society. I believe this because each gender has different strengths and weaknesses. Men are superior in a physical aspect because biology and evolution have made them stronger than women. Conversely, women are superior psychologically. Women are wired to be more emotional and have the maternal instinct lacking in men. Due to these factors, men and women can never be equal because they're each built for different things that the other gender can't do.
Culture has a major influence on our perception of others around the world. Events that take place, particularly tragic ones, that involve people from another culture often cause stereotypes to be made. For example, after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, people in the US began to stereotype all Muslims and people from the Middle East as terrorists. This is completely false, but the people of the US were angry and upset and needed an outlet for these feelings. Hence, the stereotype and the hatred. Every culture possesses these types of intolerance, and that transfers almost every person within that culture's ideas and perception of others.
12. Do you believe that men and women can be perfectly equal in our society?
Based on my knowledge of biology and psychology, I don't believe that men and women can be perfectly equal in our society. I believe this because each gender has different strengths and weaknesses. Men are superior in a physical aspect because biology and evolution have made them stronger than women. Conversely, women are superior psychologically. Women are wired to be more emotional and have the maternal instinct lacking in men. Due to these factors, men and women can never be equal because they're each built for different things that the other gender can't do.
I'm not sure about a couple of these
Peer influence: pressure, either planned or unplanned, exerted by peers to influence personal behavior.
Culture: the customs, traditions, mores, values, institutions, and art of a certain society or group.
Variations over time: the change in individuals' personalities and character traits over time, often studied by developmental psychologists.
The nature and nurture of gender: the role that nature and nurture provide in making genders different. (Example: are we different because biologically we are different, or because our environments contribute to and magnify those differences through setting up different roles and ideas of how different sexes should behave?)
Culture: the customs, traditions, mores, values, institutions, and art of a certain society or group.
Variations over time: the change in individuals' personalities and character traits over time, often studied by developmental psychologists.
The nature and nurture of gender: the role that nature and nurture provide in making genders different. (Example: are we different because biologically we are different, or because our environments contribute to and magnify those differences through setting up different roles and ideas of how different sexes should behave?)
HB additional concept question
Consider Wilson's social environment. How often does peer pressure play a role in the decisions that students make here? Provide an example to prove your point.
-Peer pressure plays a major role in the decisions that students make here, from who they hang out with to how they act to who they date. For example, even the choice of clothing and the brands that students buy are influenced by peer pressure. Certain kids might feel pressured to buy a certain brand of clothing (for example, hypothetically american eagle) to fit in with the rest of their friends.
-Peer pressure plays a major role in the decisions that students make here, from who they hang out with to how they act to who they date. For example, even the choice of clothing and the brands that students buy are influenced by peer pressure. Certain kids might feel pressured to buy a certain brand of clothing (for example, hypothetically american eagle) to fit in with the rest of their friends.
How does neuroscience help or hinder the credibility of psychology as a science?
How do the brain and body work together to explain how humans think, feel and act?
The answer to this question depends on which school of thought you belong to in terms of mind/body relations. If you follow this link and look at the different types, you can infer that depending on the schools of thoughts the answers will vary. http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2002/mindbody.htm
What is the difference between cognitive psychology and neuroscience?
Cognitive psychology studies the mental processes, including thinking and perceiving, while neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. It deals with the physical part of the brain. However, they are often used together, cognitive psychologists typically use neuroscience to explain or back up their theories.
How do gender roles play a role in how we study human beings and how they think?
Well, basically the gender roles mean that for psychologists to get accurate measurements and accurate data they must construct experiments that take into account that males and females are different. There is definite proof that the male and female brains are different and this results in guys and girls thinking very differently. An excellent website for further reading is: http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n11/mente/eisntein/cerebro-homens.html
How does culture play a role in how people behave?
Culture basically determines one's lifestyle and lifestyle is a collection of behaviors and habits that one perpetuates. This basically means that one's culture determines ones behaviour. A good example of this is with food. in different cultures, belching is a good behaviour and one should belch to show apreciation. As most of us can attest, belching in our culture is not considered the most attractive behaviour. So, in reality our culture basically determine how we behave.
How do studies of twins help us to understand the genetics behind psychology?
Basically, I am going to put a link here because Psychology Today has two articles that anwser this question better than I can. So here they are: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200303/twin-observations-what-psychology-can-learn-twins, and http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/looking-in-the-cultural-mirror/201006/why-twin-studies-dont-separate-genetic-and-environmental-Basically, the main reason is that twins are useful in Pscyhology is for resolving the Nature vs Nurture debate.
Explain how evolution plays a role in Psychology?
Basically, by studying evolution psychologists are able to prove or disprove some of their theories. Also, since we have already determined that the brain and body have a lot to do with our personal psychology, and evolution is basically the creation of our bodies..., evolution plays a very large role in Psychology.
How does technology play a role in helping us understand the brain and its functions better?
Technology helped us develop machines like the MRI scan and such, this has revolutionized the study of the mind and how it works. Also, with computers and cell phones we are able to perform more surveys and have access to a greater number of people. Of course the technology is also changing how our brains work, so it might not be really as benefecial in the study of the brain.
Well, the simple answer would be the fact that it has science in its name would help in terms of credibility. Neuroscience is defined as the scientific study of the nervous system. Normally a sub-part of biology, it is also used as a part of psychology. This infusion of biology and hard science really helps to legitimize the claim that psychology is a science.
How do the brain and body work together to explain how humans think, feel and act?
The answer to this question depends on which school of thought you belong to in terms of mind/body relations. If you follow this link and look at the different types, you can infer that depending on the schools of thoughts the answers will vary. http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2002/mindbody.htm
What is the difference between cognitive psychology and neuroscience?
Cognitive psychology studies the mental processes, including thinking and perceiving, while neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. It deals with the physical part of the brain. However, they are often used together, cognitive psychologists typically use neuroscience to explain or back up their theories.
How do gender roles play a role in how we study human beings and how they think?
Well, basically the gender roles mean that for psychologists to get accurate measurements and accurate data they must construct experiments that take into account that males and females are different. There is definite proof that the male and female brains are different and this results in guys and girls thinking very differently. An excellent website for further reading is: http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n11/mente/eisntein/cerebro-homens.html
How does culture play a role in how people behave?
Culture basically determines one's lifestyle and lifestyle is a collection of behaviors and habits that one perpetuates. This basically means that one's culture determines ones behaviour. A good example of this is with food. in different cultures, belching is a good behaviour and one should belch to show apreciation. As most of us can attest, belching in our culture is not considered the most attractive behaviour. So, in reality our culture basically determine how we behave.
How do studies of twins help us to understand the genetics behind psychology?
Basically, I am going to put a link here because Psychology Today has two articles that anwser this question better than I can. So here they are: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200303/twin-observations-what-psychology-can-learn-twins, and http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/looking-in-the-cultural-mirror/201006/why-twin-studies-dont-separate-genetic-and-environmental-Basically, the main reason is that twins are useful in Pscyhology is for resolving the Nature vs Nurture debate.
Explain how evolution plays a role in Psychology?
Basically, by studying evolution psychologists are able to prove or disprove some of their theories. Also, since we have already determined that the brain and body have a lot to do with our personal psychology, and evolution is basically the creation of our bodies..., evolution plays a very large role in Psychology.
How does technology play a role in helping us understand the brain and its functions better?
Technology helped us develop machines like the MRI scan and such, this has revolutionized the study of the mind and how it works. Also, with computers and cell phones we are able to perform more surveys and have access to a greater number of people. Of course the technology is also changing how our brains work, so it might not be really as benefecial in the study of the brain.
Question 14
The current foreign language program at Wilson starts in sixth grade. Considering what you know about brain development, is that a good age to start studying a foreign language or is it not necessarily the best age to start? Explain using at least two examples.
It would be best for schools to start teaching foreign languages at a younger grade than sixth grade. Children learn most easily earlier in life, and it would be best for them to learn a new language and become fluent within the earliest stages of life. Secondly, correlations show that children who learn foreign languages are more proficient in reading. Therefore, it would be best for children to learn a foreign language early in order to suceed in their early grades.
It would be best for schools to start teaching foreign languages at a younger grade than sixth grade. Children learn most easily earlier in life, and it would be best for them to learn a new language and become fluent within the earliest stages of life. Secondly, correlations show that children who learn foreign languages are more proficient in reading. Therefore, it would be best for children to learn a foreign language early in order to suceed in their early grades.
Concepts:
1) How does neuroscience help or hinder the credibility of psychology as a science?
-Neuroscience helps psyhcology as a science because it adds a new perspective, creaitng amore complete picture of psychology as a whole. For example, take a case study of a person with ADHD. Looking at the person from a behavioral aspect, a psychologist could study how tha tperson behaves, especially in compariso nto an average person without ADHD. From a behavior gentics point, he could see how much of the ADHD was due to heredity and how much was due to environment. However, from a neuroscience perspective he could look at how differences in the brian, chemical imbalances, etc. may have influenced the condition, giving more depth (and therefore more credibility) to the equation.
2)How do the brain and the body work together to explain how humans think, feel and act?
-The brain influences the body by sending signals down that influence the body and vice versa. For example, in a moment of danger the brian would trigger hormones that increase the heartrate in the body. Conversely, if aperson burned their hand, that sensation would travel up the nervous system to the brain, enabling a person to recognize pain. Recognizing how the brain and body work can therefore better help us understand hwy peole behave and think the way they do through understanding how bodily processes trigger thoughts and behaior. For example, to examine why psycopaths act with no apparent remorse or guilt for the destruction they've caused, we could look at differences (compared to normal people) in their brains. Fore example, may bone particular area is distorted/smaller/different from the average person's brain.
3)What is the difference between cognitive psychology and neuroscience?
-Cognitive psychology: how we encode, store, and process info.
-Neuroscience: how the brain and body cause emotions, behavior, thought processes.
-Neuroscience looks at a more biological, hard science aspect, going into the phsyical structure of the brain and body, while cognitive psy chology is more concerned with actual thought processes (
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Definitions 15-19
evolutionary psychology: the brach of psychology that focuses on the study of mental adaptations of humans to changes in their environment, including changes in brain structure, cognition, and behavior
natural selection: the process in nature through which, according to Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory, only the organisms that are best adapted to their environment are able to survive and pass on their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generations; organisms that are less able to adapt are eliminated.
sexuality/gender: the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with a certain sex; each society has specific guidelines and expectations for individuals based on gender
behavior genetics: the field of study that examines the effects of genetics and hereditary factors on animal and human behavior
twins (importance of studies): the study of twins is an essential part of behavioral genetics that allows psychologists to study and compare the role of environment and genetics on behavior
Definitions 9 through 14 (AS)
Methods of researching the brain: There are several methods used to study the brain. One is studying a human's behavior after a part of the brain has been damaged either due to an accident or a lesion (destruction of brain from a disease). Other methods involve brain imaging. First there is the Electroencephalogram or EEG. This monitors the brain's electrical activity through electrodes on the scalp. Next, is the Computerized Axial Tomography or CAT scan. In this test, X-ray cameras are used to create a 3-D image of the brain. The Positron Emission Tomography, or PET scan, shows brain function by observing how it processes an injection of radioactive glucose. Last, is the Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI. MRI's use magnetic fields that react with atoms in the brain in order to produce an image.
Parts of the brain: There are three main parts of the brain, the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brain stem. There are four lobes located in the cerebrum (frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal). The limbic system is also located in the cerebrum. The cerebellum is smaller than the cerebrum and is located at the base of the skull. The brain stem connects the brain to the spinal cord and consists of three parts, midbrain, pons, and medulla.
Plasticity: Plasticity is the brain's ability to change throughout its lifetime. It is a physical change and a mental change simultaneously. When the brain learns something new, it changes its neural pathways, and gray matter can actually grow or shrink. Conversely, the brain can change in the respect that it can weaken and lose connections. When pathways are created, information is remembered. When they are broken, information is forgotten. Plasticity is at its peak in infant brains when they are learning everything about the outside world. However, the brain changes continually throughout its lifetime whenever it encounters a new experience. Plasticity is also extremely prevalent after being damaged when it has to re-learn information and, in a sense, repair itself. The older brain tends to have changes in the form of decline, but it is also able to grow too.
The Divided Brain (Functions of each side): There are two sides to the brain, the left and the right. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body. The left side is responsible for skills like listening, speaking, reading, and writing, analyzing information in detail, and memory of information that is spoken and written. The right side of the brain is responsible for judging the position of the body and other things around it, memory of things done and seen, and compiling information in order to understand the entire picture. The left is more logical, while the right is more creative.
Nature vs. Nurture: This is one of the oldest debates in Psychology. The nature side of this debate says that a person is born with their character traits. This implies that personalities are present from the time of birth, and are not influenced by environment. Nurture takes the opposite view. This side says that all character traits are learned. This means that personality is developed through experience and completely influenced by a human's environment.
Genes / DNA: Genes are segments of chromosomes that determine the physical traits (eye color, hair color, etc.) of human beings. They are inherited from parents and can be either dominant or recessive. Dominant genes are more prevalent while recessive genes are less common. Genes are made up DNA. DNA is a double-stranded molecule in the form of a double helix that makes up the unique genetic code of each human being.
Parts of the brain: There are three main parts of the brain, the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brain stem. There are four lobes located in the cerebrum (frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal). The limbic system is also located in the cerebrum. The cerebellum is smaller than the cerebrum and is located at the base of the skull. The brain stem connects the brain to the spinal cord and consists of three parts, midbrain, pons, and medulla.
Plasticity: Plasticity is the brain's ability to change throughout its lifetime. It is a physical change and a mental change simultaneously. When the brain learns something new, it changes its neural pathways, and gray matter can actually grow or shrink. Conversely, the brain can change in the respect that it can weaken and lose connections. When pathways are created, information is remembered. When they are broken, information is forgotten. Plasticity is at its peak in infant brains when they are learning everything about the outside world. However, the brain changes continually throughout its lifetime whenever it encounters a new experience. Plasticity is also extremely prevalent after being damaged when it has to re-learn information and, in a sense, repair itself. The older brain tends to have changes in the form of decline, but it is also able to grow too.
The Divided Brain (Functions of each side): There are two sides to the brain, the left and the right. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body. The left side is responsible for skills like listening, speaking, reading, and writing, analyzing information in detail, and memory of information that is spoken and written. The right side of the brain is responsible for judging the position of the body and other things around it, memory of things done and seen, and compiling information in order to understand the entire picture. The left is more logical, while the right is more creative.
Nature vs. Nurture: This is one of the oldest debates in Psychology. The nature side of this debate says that a person is born with their character traits. This implies that personalities are present from the time of birth, and are not influenced by environment. Nurture takes the opposite view. This side says that all character traits are learned. This means that personality is developed through experience and completely influenced by a human's environment.
Genes / DNA: Genes are segments of chromosomes that determine the physical traits (eye color, hair color, etc.) of human beings. They are inherited from parents and can be either dominant or recessive. Dominant genes are more prevalent while recessive genes are less common. Genes are made up DNA. DNA is a double-stranded molecule in the form of a double helix that makes up the unique genetic code of each human being.
Definitions 19-24 (JR)
Adoption Studies: Adopted individuals are generally compared with nonadopted persons in a clinical or general population. They may also be compared to other members of their birth family who were no adopted, or other members of their adoptive family who were not adopted. These studies help to illustrate the impact of environment and heredity on the individual.
Temperamnet/Heritability: Temperament is no simply environmental, but gentic as well. Theorists Buss and Plomin concluded that the temperament trait has to be early appearing, relativiely stable/consistant, and heritable. It cannot be due to environment alone, but to genetics. It shows up in the individual early, has been inherited from parental genes, and is a characteristic that would be prevalent even if the environment had been different.
Genes and the Environment: Variation in a given trait is not due primarily to either genetics or environment, but is due to the interaction between genes and the environment.
Molecular Genetics: The field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level, employing methods of gentics and molecular biology. The studies show how genes are transferred from generation to generation, and allow genetic mutations to be studied and better understood. Molecular information is used to determine patterns of descent and the correct classification of organisms.
Parental Influence/Interference: Parental genes affect the genes of the offspring, and determine how the offspring will grow. Each parent has different traits, and depending on the dominant trait, the offspring will inheret those traits (only genes from one of the two sets of parental chromosomes are expressed in the offspring). This is due to 'imprints' laid down in the parental germ cells. Imprinted genes affect growth in the womb and behavior after birth. Faulty or mutated genes cause disturbances in behavior or growth.
Temperamnet/Heritability: Temperament is no simply environmental, but gentic as well. Theorists Buss and Plomin concluded that the temperament trait has to be early appearing, relativiely stable/consistant, and heritable. It cannot be due to environment alone, but to genetics. It shows up in the individual early, has been inherited from parental genes, and is a characteristic that would be prevalent even if the environment had been different.
Genes and the Environment: Variation in a given trait is not due primarily to either genetics or environment, but is due to the interaction between genes and the environment.
Molecular Genetics: The field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level, employing methods of gentics and molecular biology. The studies show how genes are transferred from generation to generation, and allow genetic mutations to be studied and better understood. Molecular information is used to determine patterns of descent and the correct classification of organisms.
Parental Influence/Interference: Parental genes affect the genes of the offspring, and determine how the offspring will grow. Each parent has different traits, and depending on the dominant trait, the offspring will inheret those traits (only genes from one of the two sets of parental chromosomes are expressed in the offspring). This is due to 'imprints' laid down in the parental germ cells. Imprinted genes affect growth in the womb and behavior after birth. Faulty or mutated genes cause disturbances in behavior or growth.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Neuroscience: Definitions 1 through 7-HB
Neural communication: the way in which neurons (a bunch of interconnected cells that form the body's information system) interact electrically.
The impact of neurotransmitters: they generate neural impulses by "jumping" the synaptic gap between neurons and binding to the next neuron to decide whether it will send an inhibitory or excitatory signal.
Impact of drugs/chemicals on neural communication: they can excite or inhibit (block) the neurons from firing. "Agonists" excite and "antagonists" block. Ex. Opium excites neurons, causing them to fire even more signals to produce a "happy high" and maximize pleasure.
Nervous system: The body's communication system, divided into the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. It is composed of neurons including: sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons. Sensory neurons send information from tissue/organs to the brain and the spinal cord aka central nervous system. Interneurons process the information from the sensory neurons. Motor neurons carry the processed information from the interneurons to muscles and glands in the body. Impact: the nervous system takes electric signals and turns them into conscious movement or other actions that help regulate the body.
Peripheral nervous system: composed of sensory and motor neurons bundled into cable-like nerves. The PNS transfers information from the CNS to msucles glands, and sense receptors. It helps us move, experience the fives senses, and regulate our bodies. It consists of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system and the somatic (voluntary) nervous system. Basically, if we consciously move our arm, it's because of the somatic nervous system. If our heart rate rises because we're nervous, it's because of the autonomic nervous system. Within the the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the body (increased heartbeat and blood sugar, decreased digestion) to prepare for defensive action (fight or flight). The parasympathetic nervous system calms the body to preserve energy by lowering heartbeat, etc.
Endocrine system: a slower communication system than neural communication. Consists of glands that send hormones (aka chemical messengers) into the bloodstream.
Limbic system: a doughnut shaped neural system near the brainstem. It consists of the amygdala (2 almond-shaped neural clusters) and the hypothalamus (another neural structure). The amygdala deals is linked to aggression and fear, while the hypothalamus helps body regulation (sparks hunger and thirst, regulates temperature), controls the pituitary gland (master of the endocrine system) and is a reward center.
The impact of neurotransmitters: they generate neural impulses by "jumping" the synaptic gap between neurons and binding to the next neuron to decide whether it will send an inhibitory or excitatory signal.
Impact of drugs/chemicals on neural communication: they can excite or inhibit (block) the neurons from firing. "Agonists" excite and "antagonists" block. Ex. Opium excites neurons, causing them to fire even more signals to produce a "happy high" and maximize pleasure.
Nervous system: The body's communication system, divided into the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. It is composed of neurons including: sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons. Sensory neurons send information from tissue/organs to the brain and the spinal cord aka central nervous system. Interneurons process the information from the sensory neurons. Motor neurons carry the processed information from the interneurons to muscles and glands in the body. Impact: the nervous system takes electric signals and turns them into conscious movement or other actions that help regulate the body.
Peripheral nervous system: composed of sensory and motor neurons bundled into cable-like nerves. The PNS transfers information from the CNS to msucles glands, and sense receptors. It helps us move, experience the fives senses, and regulate our bodies. It consists of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system and the somatic (voluntary) nervous system. Basically, if we consciously move our arm, it's because of the somatic nervous system. If our heart rate rises because we're nervous, it's because of the autonomic nervous system. Within the the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the body (increased heartbeat and blood sugar, decreased digestion) to prepare for defensive action (fight or flight). The parasympathetic nervous system calms the body to preserve energy by lowering heartbeat, etc.
Endocrine system: a slower communication system than neural communication. Consists of glands that send hormones (aka chemical messengers) into the bloodstream.
Limbic system: a doughnut shaped neural system near the brainstem. It consists of the amygdala (2 almond-shaped neural clusters) and the hypothalamus (another neural structure). The amygdala deals is linked to aggression and fear, while the hypothalamus helps body regulation (sparks hunger and thirst, regulates temperature), controls the pituitary gland (master of the endocrine system) and is a reward center.
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