A project of Pratt Institute's Cognitive Psychology Course

Ambien and Re-Cognition

2011-12-01T18:16:00.002-05:00

Hey guys, it's not my turn to post on the blog or anything but I"m stuck in the computer lab at work and just ran across an article saying Ambien can restore cognition to brain damaged patients. I highly recommend watching the video and seeing for yourself.

Anyway, just thought some of you might find this interesting!

The bubbles on the board in class today

2011-11-28T18:39:00.004-05:00

Review this document on Semantic Network Models. What are the strengths and weaknesses?

rebecca

Photographic memory?

2011-11-27T05:01:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlNiAqYN6ZQ

This video shows a guy who supposedly have a photographic memory. He was flown across the city of Rome in a helicopter for 45 minutes and he was challenged to draw the entire city's aerial view within the following three days. He managed to draw out every single street, building (including the number of doors and windows); even though there were a few minor mistakes, his drawing was still fairly accurate.

It seems that he really does have a photographic memory, yet psychologists have evidence which suggest that it's impossible for a human to remember every single detail of an image. a psychology professor at St. Lawrence University says that some people may have phenomenal memories, yet their reports were never 100% accurate. He also states that children are more likely to have this ability, yet they lose it as they grow older.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200603/the-truth-about-photographic-memory

Explore your memory

2011-11-17T01:24:00.000-05:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/memory/

This is a web site with a test on memory for research at Edinburgh University in the UK. I thought it might show me more clearly what sort of strategies I used for remembering things, because I seem to have such a bad memory, even for important things.

It is online, and looks at spatial manipulation, working memory capacity, delayed recall, visual memory, visual memory capacity, binding and digit span.

I discovered that if I am able to rehearse things verbally I did much better – even with the digit span I added ‘chunking’ as the amount of numbers grew and was much more successful. Visual memory was much more difficult for me, and although I understand some people can picture in their minds a whole image, I don’t seem to be able to do that, and I am not sure if there are strategies available to help me improve that skill.

I would be interested to know how many in our class have the same difficulty with visual memory, because we are all studying art/design type subjects and the other visual imagery examples. I wonder if this ability has any impact on our visual skills

Why You Should Get More Sleep

2011-11-16T20:46:00.005-05:00

People Learn While They Sleep, Study Suggests

Considering the enormous class emphasis on memory, I found a recent article regarding a ‘different kind’ of memory, one rooted in sleep. The study mentioned did not identify what kind of memories improve with sleep, but instead focused on how the conscious and unconscious processes of memory are linked, and how much more productive the unconscious version may be. It would seem that it is significantly more.

(See the study abstract here.)

It has been known for a while that while the conscious mind is sleeping, the rest of the brain is working to consolidate and store away the day’s data and experiences. My last psychology teacher always told his students to do a little extra studying right before falling asleep, that the information would then be rolling around in the mind all night, and hopefully have stuck by morning. I would often use this tactic the night before biology tests and end up dreaming of mitosis and mRNA, and then continue mulling over such subjects all through my routine the next morning while still far too groggy for such complex mental processes.

The short article does not actually describe what ‘memory’ they are speaking of in any real way, or offer any sort of definition for us, but perhaps it is this sort of ‘memory’ that they have discovered and are now working to explore.

Dream Consciousness

2011-11-16T12:54:00.000-05:00

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810010001844

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105381001000259X

Researchers said that consciousness have something to do with awareness. One can confirm that, based on one’s own experiences. The conscious reflects knowledge, the environment and the daily activities one does. Those actions are sometimes reflected in dreams, and are interpreted in a different way. In the, “The dreaming brain/ mind, consciousness and psychosis” article, it is said that “Human experience may be divided in three broad mental states: waking consciousness, dream consciousness and non-consciousness.” It is still difficult for researchers to state of the brain/mind within which dreams occur. But one can say that dreams are related to one’s emotional and affective life.

From the experimental evidence, it’s mentioned that “Dream bizarreness is a cognitive construct which refers to the formal architecture of mental processes in dreams, and has been conceptualized as the distinguishing feature of dream consciousness, characterize by improbability, incongruity and vagueness in the domains of dream plot, characters, objects, etc. and in the dreamer’s thought processes and emotion.”

It is always hard to figure out what happened in the dreams. It is even harder for one to remember all of it when one wakes up. The dreams end in a vague situation and undefined. It is just a perception that happened in one’s mind. Dreams are results of consciousness; the having of perception, thoughts, feelings, and awareness. It is hard to define the whole term and articles written about are still unclear about the subject. One could interpret consciousness according to what one has experienced.

Testing the Correlation Between Reading Proficiency and IQ

2011-11-07T13:13:00.002-05:00

In Susan A. Rose and Judith F. Feldman's article "Memory and Speed: Their Role in the Relation of Infant Information Processing to Later IQ" (1997), the authors experiment in order to determine if there is a correlation between infant memory and speed of processing and later IQ scores, with surprising results. The observing 80 or so 7-month-old infants through their formative years taking note of the children's visual recognition memory, habituation, learning, object permanence, and various measures of attentions. It was proven in this that a child who is able to visually recognize something over a 7-month gap is more likely to have an IQ, in fact almost all cases yielded such a result compared to the infant who could not visually recall objects. Furthermore, speed and memory were found to show continuity across age and contributed to both infant cognition and later IQ.

What I found most interesting about this article is how it compares to our discussion last class about how IQ can only ever go down. In this article, the researchers seem to be agreeing with this sentiment in their claim that speed and memory remained relatively unfazed by aging through the formative years, IQs expectantly followed suit. If this is so, what is it that makes a baby so adept at these things? Are we therefore, some of us, born with the genius already inside of us, just waiting to absorb enough information to be known, or does it in fact come from some nurturing aspect? This article doesn't answer that question, but I"m sure someone can.

National Geographic Brain Games: Remember This!

2011-11-04T12:37:00.001-04:00

(originally aired 10/9/11)

Okay, like any short program, Brain Games gives multiple examples throughout the episode that have to do with the main subject. The example that I would like everyone to focus on, is the crime portrayed at the opening of the episode and how the witnesses remember the event.

(Unfortunately the videos were taken down...)

In Part 2, eight witnesses observe a lineup.Overwhelmingly, the man in the lineup that the witnesses determined to be the thief was number five. When I was watching this myself, I was certain that when I saw the lineup, number three was the thief. Lucky for me, I stuck to my guns and did not let the other witnesses persuade my opinion. Sure enough, the thief was lineup number three.

According to the neuroscience professor featured on the episode, this phenomenon is called "unconscious transference". It occurs when the brain recognizes a face that is not necessarily the individual that they are trying to conjure. As a result, the brain transfers the identity of the unknown to the recognized face, even creating false scenarios around this transference in order to validate the memory. The problems and issues that arise from this function of the brain are multiplied two-fold when it applies to lineup testimonies.

As the detective stated, "eyewitness testimony is considered by judges and most people to be the most reliable information." This is distressing because as the episode continues to show, eyewitness testimony is definitely not all it's cracked up to be. Realistically, eyewitness testimony should be the least convincing piece of evidence since the major cause of wrongful convictions is faulty human memory.

The Science of Magic

2011-10-30T21:01:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since the first few days of class but in doing research for our papers, I began to think back to those first few lessons. We learned a lot about perception and illusory tricks which got me interested in the idea of the brain and exactly how magic works. I was led to this article:

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/07/22/40176.aspx

and the abstract for the study which the article is about can be found here:

http://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/abstract/S1364-6613(08)00177-0

Researchers at Durham University believe that magic holds the key to a better understanding of human cognition and perception. Data is taken from the three different types of magic: misdirection (controlling a viewer's attention), illusion (distorting a viewer's perception), and forcing (influencing a viewer's choice). Using these areas of magic, they developed various tricks that would show how the mind worked. These findings were then compared to other scientific research. In one experiment, subjects watched a video of a misdirection trick in which a magician makes a cigarette and lighter "disappear." The subjects' eye movements were recorded as they watched, revealing that although many saw the items being dropped into the magician's lap the likelihood of them actually perceiving it was quite low. These observations directly relate to research in vision studies which says that we are only consciously aware of a small portion of what we see. It was most interesting to me how the researchers hope to use their findings. By understanding how people think and act better, they hope to make improvements in human computer interfaces. Understanding what holds a person's attention has very practical uses especially in today's ultra-competitive market and using magic to help this understanding is a very clever solution to an everyday challenge.

Brain Imaging to reveal movies in our mind

2011-10-18T23:38:00.006-04:00

In a recent experiment from the Gallant Lab at UC Berkeley, scientists used brain imaging (fMRI) and computational models to decode and reconstruct people's dynamic visual experience (in this case, Hollywood movie trailers). This technology, however, can only reconstruct movie clips that people already viewed. However, the implication of this experiment is that this could be done with dreams and memories. Decoding brain signals generated by moving pictures is one of the major hurdles scientist had to overcome. The article claims practical applications such as incites into the brains of non-verbal patients. "Our natural visual experience is like watching a movie,” said Shinji Nishimoto, lead author of the study and a post-doctoral researcher in Gallant’s lab.

While this experiment is particularly related to neuroscience, the most interest aspects for me are the potential abilities to reconstruct dreams and memories. This would enable humans to overcome false memory, distortion, and other problems relating to memory. We could be able to replay memories on Youtube using our smartphones anywhere we are located. This experience would be similar to how we use computers and the internet as spaces that we write down our thoughts and experiences and access them when we forget. This would be especially helpful during trials when false memory may effect an outcome unjustly. The practical claims that the article makes with improvements in this technology are also interesting. Non-verbal patients would be able to speak through past memories and allow us to have a deeper understanding of situations that may have led up to their loss of speech. Since our natural experience is like watching a movie, these videos of memories and dreams could also teach us about how we perceive reality in new and different ways.

Many questions arise related back to our readings we have done so far such as if the family members were shown visual memories of their grandparent's Nazi experience, would they still deny their involvement? Would the false recollections of the O.J. Simpson trial and Challenger news happen if this technology was present? Would people still believe in their actual memories of events or would the visual memories become the sole memory?

Links:

Original article and video: http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/09/22/brain-movies/
Gallant Lab Site with FAQs: https://sites.google.com/site/gallantlabucb/publications/nishimoto-et-al-2011
Original Paper: http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2811%2900937-7?script=true

A Tendency Towards Optimism

2011-10-15T10:44:00.002-04:00

I recently came across an article regarding recent research, done in the UK, which showed that in many people (80% of those tested), the brain preferentially processes positive thoughts over negative ones. Of course, that might seem obvious- there's really no mystery as to why we would prefer to remember or accept something positive over something negative. However, in some people, the positive beliefs are maintained even after learning the (negative) truth; in effect, the brain simply rejects the notion that the negative thoughts could be true, and sticks to the positive ones regardless of the reality.

While we'd like to think that we're capable of objectively and logically processing information in order to arrive at an accurate understanding of a situation, our brains themselves might be thwarting the efforts at objective analysis. Most of us have a natural bias in favor of positive news.

Our brain is constantly "testing ... predictions against reality" (Dr. Chris Chambers); in this case, specifically, subjects' brains tested empirical, statistical predictions against their perceived reality, but sided with whichever was more positive.

I would like to see additional evidence for this claim, however, as this study was conducted with only 14 subjects. I do not have doubts about the existence of this tendency, but I'm very curious as to what can be discovered about how or why this tendency developed. Other studies have showed that optimism is good for one's health, and can even contribute to longer lifetimes (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8193180.stm), which makes me wonder about optimism's evolutionary benefits; or, possible disadvantages, as unrealistic optimism can hamper risk-assessment. I also think more in-depth research would be necessary to determine the variation of this tendency among different age groups, as instinctive responses to the idea of death, for example, varies greatly over the course of a person's lifetime. I doubt a group of 14 people was diverse enough to represent the various biases inherent in different ages, genders, or cultural groups.

Furthermore, research published in January of this year showed that there had been serious limitations with previous research on unrealistic optimism, and, though the University College of London study was conducted in June of this year, it is not unlikely that their research suffered the same constraints that earlier studies had.

News Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15214080

Abstract (full text- paid access only): http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.2949.html#/author-information

Abstract regarding uncertainty about optimism bias' existence:

http://psycnet.apa.org/?&fa=main.doiLanding&doi=10.1037/a0020997

The Riddle of Experience vs. Memory

2011-10-12T19:01:00.001-04:00

In his TED talk, Daniel Kahneman discussed how understanding memory is a key factor to understanding wellbeing and happiness. He explained that we have two selves: the experiencing self and the remembering self. The experiencing self is constantly in the present, where as the remembering self maintains the story of our life through memories of the past. Most moments of the experiencing self’s life are lost; very few are stored by the remembering self.

One of Kahneman’s first anecdotes is quite relevant to our recent class discussions on memory. He told of a man who was enjoying listening to a beautiful concert; his experiencing self was delighting in every minute of the music, until there was a loud screeching noise at the end of the concert, which ruined the whole experience. Kahneman points out that it was not the experience that was ruined, but rather the memory of the experience that was ruined. Only one moment of the concert was unenjoyable, however, it tainted the entire memory.

Another question related to memory that Kahneman asked is: Why do we put so much more importance on memory relative to the importance we put on experience?

Déjà Vu

2011-10-09T15:18:00.000-04:00

The other day I went out to dinner with a friend. While we were waiting for food I suddenly had the feeling that all of this had already happened before. As he spoke I already knew what he was going to say and the way his hands moved were all familiar, even the people around us were all the same as some event in the past. I told him I was having Déjà Vu and all this made me think about cognitive psychology. So I looked it up and found that Déjà Vu might be a natural process of the brain or a minor malfunction of the brain. Not a lot has been discovered but there are a few hypothesis's out there that explain the phenomenon. My search brought me to this site.

The author explains that Déjà Vu (or DV) might be caused when the areas of the brain involving memory retrieval and processing are falsely activated. In this moment everything that is perceived seems to be familiar. His observations of subjects experiencing DV describe that the patient claims "to recognize every single detail of a scene, as if comparing it to a photograph, and nevertheless one has no idea how it looks behind one's back or around the next corner".

Uriah Voth

Testing Prevents Forgetting

2011-10-05T20:14:00.002-04:00

This article from The Journal of Memory and Language is quite long, but it's not necessary to read the whole thing. In effect, it's about how testing and providing feedback helps slow the rate at which things are forgotten.

For some of us, this seems counter-intuitive. We study like crazy to pass a test, take the test, and then forget everything immediately. Right?

Well, according to this study, that isn't entirely true. Generally, testing strengthens memory for items that are correctly recalled. The flip side of that is, the things you fail to recall become comparatively weaker. Restudying and retesting can remedy that, and help strengthen recall for those items that were weaker.

What interests me about this is that, as college students, we generally hate taking tests -- for the reason I mentioned before. It seems futile because we will only remember the information for the test and then immediately forget everything, not just the things we got wrong. I wonder why so many of us feel that way, and if it might be more an issue of not being asked to recall the information again. Thinking we've forgotten it because we haven't actively called it up again since.

Reconstructive Memory & Torture

2011-09-28T20:53:00.002-04:00

In class last week I brought up the effects of torture and whether or not it would affect reconstructive memory. Although it was mentioned that torture was a form of ‘coercion’ and would therefore affect reconstructive memory, I decided to research it more in depth on my own.

Despite torture’s notorious political polarity I did not want my research or my post to be. I just wanted to see what this type of severe ‘stress’ does scientifically to the brain when it’s trying to recall facts. This topic has been in my mind for quite a while. My mother read the book How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq a few years ago and always told me to read it. Although I have yet to do that I feel the research I completed was very similar in conclusion.

In the study, they looked at brain scans of people who had be severely tortured and it was noted that their frontal and temporal lobes showed abnormal activity suggesting that their ability to access verbal memory for the recall of a traumatic event was compromised; implying that the knowledge gained from a suspect may be incorrect when tortured.

I have attached both the article that caught my attention from Science Insider as well as Dublin’s Trinity College professor Shane O’Mara’s research. I would suggest reading the Science Insider report first as it will help clarify many of the more abstract points in the research paper.

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/torture-cant-pr.html

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/entry-assets/Torturing%20the%20Brain%20TiCS%202009%20SOM%20non-proof%20version.pdf

Rachel O’Donnell

Education and Creativity

2011-09-27T19:26:00.003-04:00

I am very interested in the ways in which hyper-exposure to technology may affect cognition. Pursuing this idea, I found an article about technology as a learning tool:

http://blog.aace.org/2011/09/02/social-media-and-the-classroom/

which linked me to a TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson :

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

In the talk, Robinson explains how current Western education models (he focuses on elementary and middle school) "stigmatize mistakes" (where mistakes are, in fact, one of the many agents of creativity) to an extent that "mistakes are the worst thing you can make" in a system, and more importantly in a society, which ascribe to arcane models of intelligence, hierarchically designed for office workers to have more job opportunities and financial success than, say, a dancer. He states that schools are "educating people out of their creative capacities" and that we need to "radically rethink our view of intelligence" to foster, rather than suppress, creative individuals. To do this, intelligence needs to be viewed as interactive, diverse, related to our sensory perceptions, our kinetics (he states, "some people need to move to think") rather than concentrated in textbook, 'heady' learning.

Relative to the article, Robinson's ideas are valid in that incorporating interactive technology, such as video games and, say, Ipads, into the classroom will cater to more kinetic learners, but when I thought about this in terms of my question, Robinson's model seems to suggest two things: 1) for less creative individuals, exposure to interactive technology and learning, especially at this early age, may implant more interactive modes of learning into these individuals, diversifying their intelligence and enhancing their creativity, and 2) for creative individuals, technology may not change the way that they think and process information rather than finally provide them with a suitable agent in which to learn: creativity, in a sense, surpassing technology.

think like a thin person

2011-09-26T01:41:00.002-04:00

While we have been discussing basic cognitive psychology concepts these first few classes I could not help but think about an episode of Oprah I had seen a few years ago. The episode was about a diet plan designed by Dr. Oz and involved associating food that people craved with undesirable things so that the dieter would no loner crave those particular foods. While searching for an article about it, I stumbled upon this, an entire book about this type of dieting. It was also written by Judith Beck, daughter of famed psychologist who pioneered cognitive therapy.

http://www.oprah.com/health/How-to-Lose-Weight-Think-Like-a-Thin-Person

basic emotions

2011-09-20T14:48:00.002-04:00

http://the-mouse-trap.com/2011/08/31/basic-emotions/

this is an article about emotions and how they re connected and opposed to each other. the article also talks about the different point of views of Ekman and Tomkins. The article is also related to this topic as well:

http://the-mouse-trap.com/2010/03/07/happiness-opposed-to-despairennui-sadness-to-angerirritability/

it talks about 6 or 8 basic emotions that we feel and easily perceive and how the other emotions evolves from the others. One would note that on Plutchik’s wheel Fear is opposed to Anger; Happiness to Sadness; Disgust to Trust (contempt in our scheme) and Surprise to Interest.

sedefgali

Video Games and Cognitive Thought

2011-09-19T17:01:00.001-04:00

I looked into the effect of video games on cognitive development...with not-so-shocking results:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915131637.htm

Because of my recent re-involvement with video games, I decided to look into how beneficial they might actually be. Well, turns out they aren't. It was assumed that by having players need to strategic planning and constant vigilance for sneak-attacks, video games would boost cognitive development, especially in games such as Medal of Honor. This idea however is "fundamentally flawed" according to Florida State University professor of Psychology Walter Boot. Past studies, he said, didn't take into account that people with better cognitive skills may just be drawn to gaming (instead of gaming making for better cognitive skills). "If people are playing games to improve their cognition, they may be wasting their time," Boot said. "Play games because you enjoy them, not because they could boost your brain power."

Collective Memory

2011-09-19T12:10:00.000-04:00

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-makes-us-human/201109/commemoration

There are certain monumental events in my life that I will always remember because of my specific and individual relationship to them (ex. my first day of school, my first kiss). There are events that i can remember with my family or a small group of people (ex. my grandparents death, family vacations, that epic 3-day sleepover). But then there are memories that I share with the country or the world. Every year since 9/11 I always end up having a conversation with a group of people about where we were when we found out about the attacks. It is a memory that we all have. The article from a blogger for Psychology today reflects on her own memories of 9/11 and how they were affected by the common account seen on tv and through the news that has become the memory of the masses.

Another thing about the Turing Test

2011-09-19T01:11:00.002-04:00

This site addresses the debate about if and when a "machine intelligence" will be able to pass as human. It raises a few interesting questions, or it did for me.

Turing tests are conducted in writing. To pass, a machine must be able to communicate persuasively in writing. This means that it must be able to generate language that makes sense, is sufficiently formal or informal, uses appropriate turns of phrase, etc. It must then be able to fabricate a plausible history for itself. This is an extremely difficult task for an organic human intelligence, and at a certain level of complication, it is impossible to do off-hand.

So, is a Turing test a fair way to evaluate machine intelligence? It seems to require a greater capacity for storing, interpreting, and inventing to pass as human than it does to have a conversation of the same caliber as a human.

If the point is for a machine to pass as a human, does it even matter if it's a fair test?

What would it mean for humans if an artificial intelligence did pass a Turing test?

Cleverbot and the turning test

2011-09-19T00:24:00.002-04:00

I came across this quote in the Hunt reading. "If a computer can prove a theorem, navigate a space craft... who is to say that it is a mindless automaton, or that a human being is not one?" And the answer was the turning test. I was wondering if there is more to it than that? Will a computer be capable of thought and self awareness as soon as it is able to pass the turning test? My submission is a site I found that does a pretty good job of simulating a human conversation.

http://cleverbot.com/

Sensory Overload

2011-09-18T23:20:00.002-04:00

Whilst looking for an article for our blog, I couldn't help by be distracted: my TV was on and I was starting at the computer screen with multiple tabs open. This being over inundated with information is now part of our lives. I've even been on dates where the guy is too distracted by his iphone to carry on a conversation. If our brain is being over taxed with extraneous information just in our day -to-day lives, I wondered, how overwhelmed is the mind of a doctor or naval officer in today's world full of technological advances.

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/03/72996?currentPage=1

By Rachel O'Donnell

Language and Meaning

2011-09-18T22:24:00.002-04:00

Steven Pinker's talk on the relationship between language and human nature.
Here's a link in case the embedding didn't work:

http://youtu.be/3-son3EJTrU

Basically, Pinker discusses the phenomenon of mutual knowledge, its distinction from individual knowledge, and how individuals verbally relate to one another in various situations. For example, one of the main subjects he covers has to do with the appropriateness of certain behavior or language when applied in a friendly situation, vs. in a professional situation (or any other relationship mode). I found this a very interesting subject, particularly when he discusses innuendo and implied meanings, since discerning between the actual words said and the real content of those words must be a rather complicated cognitive process. I never thought something like 'awkwardness' could be discussed scientifically/linguistically, but here it is.
I also highly recommend checking out the whole RSA Animate series, as they have LOTS of great animated lectures available on all kinds of great subjects.

Alisa Nadolishny

Brain Calisthenics for Abstract Ideas

2011-09-18T20:56:00.001-04:00

New York Times- June 6, 2011

Article By Benedict Carey

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/health/07learn.html?pagewanted=1

Researchers at several different universities developed computer programs aiming to strengthen students’ pattern recognition abilities, especially in math and science subjects such as fractions and graphs. The computer programs were generally fast-paced and forced students to select answers quickly and intuitively rather than slowly using the school-taught methods or formulas. Correct intuitive response is a product perceptual learning and pattern recognition. Perceptual learning is much different than the typical instruction given in schools. Schools tend to favor “top-down” problem solving: first learn the rules, theorems, laws of physics, then try the homework problem. Perceptual learning is the opposite; it is a “bottom-up” technique grounded in pattern recognition and intuition applied to problem solving. Cognitive scientists propose that students, teachers and schools should take advantage of perceptual learning.

Sofie Kofodimos

Space Alien Abductions: Are Your Memories Real?

2011-09-18T17:53:00.003-04:00

Construction Of Space Alien Abduction Memories

I came across this article after searching for cognitive psych related subjects such as memory, perception, etc., and found the subject quite abnormal. The connection between perception, hypnosis, nightmares, and hallucinations has all been likened in one way or another to the thousands of alien abduction stories that have been told over the years.

Something that struck me as particularly interesting in the article was the comment on the research that shows a negative correlation between confidence and the accuracy of a memory. The blame placed on hypnosis and the suggestive, influential effect it can have was also note-worthy, especially considering the effects such a thing has on those with confusing psychological disorders such as Dissociative Identity Disorder. All of this helps to shed a little light on such an odd, seldom thought of phenomenon.

Replace Magic Potions with Cognitive Solutions: An Article by Vivian Diller, Ph.D.

2011-09-18T16:45:00.004-04:00

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/face-it/201010/replace-magic-potions-cognitive-solutions

Beauty is much more than skin deep according to psychologist Vivian Diller. By using some simple cognitive tips, we can change the way we think about beauty and how we perceive ourselves. Beauty is both objective and subjective- pretty women have been known to feel ugly while less traditionally attractive women have been known to have a confidence in their looks that influences the way others see them. Diller points out that "self-image is fluid and timeless"; how you see yourself is constantly changing and if you only try to fix yourself externally you will never feel truly beautiful. She points out that one's identity is composed of many different factors and to define yourself entirely by your looks will ultimately lead to unhappiness- substance does in fact count for something. Beauty, while obviously influenced by physical factors, has much more to do with psychology than one would expect.

This article is especially important in today's society where physical beauty is valued over all else (except for perhaps money). I thought this article was effective because unlike other articles that seem to spit cliches about inner beauty at you while lacking any hard evidence, this article admitted to the importance of physical attractiveness but also showed psychology's influence over beauty. By changing how we think about beauty we can begin to affect how we see ourselves.

Homework: Quality over Quantity

2011-09-17T17:41:00.000-04:00

The Trouble with Homework by Annie Murphy Paul

Homework, at all levels of education, is now being examined with a scientifically critical eye. A new discipline called Mind, Brain, and Education is being implemented to see if it has any impact on how we learn through accomplishing homework. Certain techniques, such as "spaced repetition" and "interleaving", are proving to be superior to previous teaching practices for homework. Students who applied these techniques scored much higher on tests and retained the information longer.

I think that we can all relate to this article that I found in the New York Times. Typically for me, homework has often felt more like busywork rather than actual studying. Understanding the ways in which we learn could help future generations possibly even enjoy their education. Such a large part of learning and grading is placed on homework. If homework isn't improved, it will eventually effect everything from graduation percentages to how we evolve as a nation. Not be cliche, but children truly are the future - we have to improve education to further improve ourselves.

Memory

2011-09-15T21:26:00.002-04:00

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF REMEMBERING: A MEMORY LIKE A JOURNAL by Maria Konnikova

This article is about the act of remembering and how it influences of sense of self and the world around us. I am interested in the analogues to photography and writing in this article because these art forms also acts as aids to remember details and events sometimes that our memory fails to capture. As tools, are photography and writing helpful or is the process of doing these take away from our imperfect memory? I also have never heard of the condition known as, "hyperthymesia" (an ability to be able to recall the minute details from any day on demand). I guess this is like a hyper-photographic memory?

http://bigthink.com/ideas/40163?utm_source=Big+Think+Weekly+Newsletter+Subscribers&utm_campaign=8ea178ec45-Wednesday_Newsletter_September_14_2011&utm_medium=email

Language & Personality

2011-09-15T18:21:00.005-04:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1493260/A-second-language-changes-personality.html

(& incase you don't know Basil Fawlty)

http://www.4shared.com/video/pzqHLzVp/Fawlty_Towers_-_1x06_-_The_Ger.html

Dan Dennett on our consciousness

2011-05-01T13:53:00.005-04:00

I wasn't assigned to post this week, but I haven't done one yet and the semester seems to be ending quickly. I found this video on the TED Talks website. We talked about wanting to know more about general things about consciousness, and this video gives an interesting perspective from Dan Dennet, not a cognitive psychologist, but a professor, philosopher, and scientist. The video isn't too long, and he's a pretty entertaining speaker. He starts with a small scientific explanation of consciousness by the way of neurons firing and what not, but then goes on to compare the ideas of consciousness with magic tricks. It reminds me of many of previous blog posts that show ways in which our minds trick us. He shows a video example of how our eyes miss large pieces of information when concentrating on other things. In a way he seems to be saying that our minds are far less intriguing than we think they are, which I thought was strange, and do not entirely agree with. Nonetheless, it was an interesting new perspective.

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_on_our_consciousness.html

Dreams

2011-04-27T19:02:00.001-04:00

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200710/dreams-night-school?page=3

As I mentioned in class on Monday, I’m very interested on why we dream, so I decided to research the topic. A study done by Antti Revonsuo on rats, showed that rats who were deprived of REM(the part of the sleep cycle in which you dream) sleep were unable to preform basic survival skills. Revonsuo believes this is because dreaming helps one practice for real life danger. A majority of our dreams involve threats that we could come into contact with in everyday life(i.e. car accident, robbery, attack) because they’re setting the stage for us to practice how to function in these situations. However, many researchers believe that dreams do more than help us practice for potential threats. They can also help us learn and solve problems in a creative way. Either way, dreaming doesn’t seem as senseless as it use to.

Improving on Tradition

2011-04-25T12:56:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share two interesting examples of people trying to improve everyday systems for the sake of cognitive optimization.

The first is a simple attempt to improve the layout of the keyboard, which was originally designed to slow typing down. The Dvorak Simplified keyboard was developed in the 30's, and has been shown to allow for significantly faster typing speeds, but has yet to become widely adopted. More info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard

The second interesting example is a "constructed language" called Ithkiul. The most interesting and relevant aspect of this creation is the claim that "a fluent speaker of Ithkuil... would think 'about five or six times as fast' as a speaker of a typical natural language."

RSA Animate – Language as a Window into Human Nature

2011-04-18T11:02:00.000-04:00

RSA Animate – Language as a Window into Human Nature

This isn't a post just sending it out for you too watch.

RSA is one of my favorite sites, especially when they animate these fantastic lectures.

-Francesca

God on the Brain

2011-04-13T19:04:00.002-04:00

http://documentaryheaven.com/god-on-the-brain/#

To continue with the video we watched last class, I found a documentary I watched a few weeks ago that featured Dr. Ramachandran's experiments on patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. The documentary focuses on temporal lobe epilepsy and the brains relationship to religion.

I would definitely recommend watching the whole thing, but those pressed for time can find the segment on Dr. Ramachandran at about 18:30 into the video. The experiment was like the one we saw in the video during class. He measured subjects's galvanic skin responses to words flashing on a screen. He performed this experiment on people with temporal lobe epilepsy and people without. The words were a mix of neutral, religious and sexual. He found that epileptic patients had more intense responses to religious words, and the normal subjects had more intense responses to sexual words (which is normal).

Also, at around 22 minutes in, there's a really interesting segment on a Canadian scientist who is experimenting with artificial magnetic fields that go across the temporal lobe and allegedly creates the same religious sensation that an epileptic person would have. Again, I would definitely recommend watching the whole thing, but if not that's fine. I would love to hear your thoughts on these experiments and anything related to the topic.

-Taylor Quinn

Your mind's eye

2011-04-09T07:49:00.001-04:00

http://www.all-about-psychology.com/optical-illusions.html

This video is a little bit long..but it's definitely worth watching. Scroll down a little bit and it is the first video on the page by Al seckel. He is a scientist who does extensive research on visual illusions and how different people perceive them and so forth. He makes a point of showing how things that look the same can become very different by a simple change. Our brains really don't need a lot of information to make something different from another. Another very interesting bit- He shows an image of a cross with two balls crossing over one another. He does it the first time with no noise, and the second time with a little sound effect. Now, the balls seem to be bouncing off one another, however they are in fact doing the same thing as they were the first time. Just by hearing this little noise our brain sees it as being different and our visual perception changes. Definitely make sure you try to watch the whole thing, there are definitely some funny parts to it as well. Especially the little girl drawing the picture of her mommy "pole dancing" and the true meanings behind all of these examples.

Monument Research

2011-03-24T01:27:00.003-04:00

A monument can be many things. The Eiffel tower and The Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. are two examples of extremely effective monuments that are completely different. The Eiffel is a multi-faceted monument, symbolizing more than one point in French History. The visitor can thusly, make his or her own interpretation because it’s not a representational image of image of a certain point of French History. In my opinion, I think it may be easier to remember what the monument is supposed to represent because the image is so striking.
The Holocaust museum in D.C. also uses striking imagery to help people remember the Holocaust. Although, the imagery is definitely more grounded in realism the images being shown aren’t necessarily the grossest and goriest images. They are more clever in their depiction of the event, making it easier to remember.

http://www.tour-eiffel.com/
http://www.u shmm.org/

The Effects of Gender, Age, Route Complexity, and Familiarity With the Environment in Maps

2011-03-23T22:48:00.003-04:00

http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.pratt.edu:2048/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=HRCA&docId=A62278071&source=gale&srcprod=HRCA&userGroupName=nysl_me_pml&version=1.0

This study looked at the differences between men and women in their mapmaking. They looked specifically to see how different factors of the person they were directing with the map would affect their mapmaking. They were given a description of the wayfarer based on gender, age, and familiarity with the campus, and those making the maps had ranked themselves according to familiarity with the campus and confidence that their map would get the wayfarer to the destination without difficulty. They were either asked to draw a simple route or a complex route.

The results were fairly unsurprising. Men's maps seemed to be more detailed and helpful, and more often included cardinal values. They were also more confident. They thought this may be because men are stereotypically more associated with maps.

I decided to pick this article because we had just read the one on how blind children navigated. The article did not focus, however, on whether the person asking for directions was foreign or of the same. This seems like a more pressing matter in the world in terms of a lost person in a different country, rather than someone who just wants to find something on a campus community where there are, typically, maps anyway.

-Megan Fajardo

creative integrity.

2011-03-03T17:57:00.002-05:00

Sorry this is a day late... but I wanted to spark an argument and see what you get from this article. It comes from Nigel Barber, who received his Ph.D. in Biopsychology from Hunter College, and teaches Psychology at Bemidji State University and Birmingham Southern College.

He discusses the developmental terms of the creative genius, (you and I), but I feel like this article which is on the Psychology Today Blog, is completely misdirected. It accounts for the classic, "hard life, deep emotional artist" case; claiming that people who grew up in comfortable homes are intelligent but less likely to be creative. I agree this could be a trend, but I feel the diversity in the art world is very difficult to write about and this is just an attempt at dissecting it. Its hard to say what developmental factors led to our creative genius, but I think each kid has the chance to hold a cheap crayon when they are little and it may be a hit with them or it may not, its just a personal difference.

I am a twin, both my brother and I drew/colored when we were little, I was the one who just continued, because I got something else out of it, instead of him.

-Francesca

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201009/the-secret-creativity-oblique-perspective

Smell and Memory.

2011-02-27T13:29:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the delay of this post, I totally forgot about it until this morning. It was probably because I was not given a scented pencil when assigned this blog topic. A study mentioned in at the link below provides an experiment testing olfaction and memory. In the experiment one group of students were given scented pencils and another group received regular pencils. Both groups were told a few key points about the pencils. The group who got the scented pencils remembered the facts about the pencils better.

I was curious to learn more about scent/smells and memory. Many of my own memories have a distinct scent memory attached to them; this may be because I spent quite a bit of my childhood in India. The link below does state that, “Autobiographical memory is enhanced more by scent than by any of the other senses, beginning even before birth.”

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/6360

Source Monitoring Error

2011-02-24T16:08:00.003-05:00

http://web.uvic.ca:8080/psyc/lindsay/publications/1993JohnHashLind.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source-monitoring_error

According to Johnson, Source Monitoring Error is when the brain incorrectly attributes the source of a memory to the memory itself. This can occur for many reasons: when the brain's encoding process is disrupted by either stress, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, distractions, etc... OR because the brain is limited in its ability to encode information properly because it is not yet fully developed (i.e. childhood). Our brains encode information in two ways, heuristic (automatic) judgements, and systematic (analytic) judgements. There are also 3 different types of source monitoring errors: internal, external, and reality. Internal monitoring errors apply to the individual's inability to correctly conjure memories about their own experiences. Whereas external monitoring errors, in contrast, refer to the individual's inability to correctly remember information about events outside of themselves. Reality monitoring errors are when the individual is unable to determine between internal and external memories.

An example of this would be dreaming something and then waking up and thinking it actually happened.

-Elysia

The Picnic Test

2011-02-16T20:07:00.001-05:00

I found this YouTube video of a memory experiment by Daniel Schacter, author of The Seven Sins of Memory. It’s of a picnic scene and Alan Alda is told to keep track of how many times the picnic-ers get up—but that’s not even part of what Schacter is looking for. Schacter afterwards shows Alda photographs from the picnic, some happened, and some did not. What the experiment did was attempt to place false memories into Alda’s brain—and it did. Alda “remembered” objects, such as a nail file and water bottle, that never happened. The explanation is that memories are not stored in one area, but in many areas. To recall a memory requires that we take bits and pieces of a scene and put them back together, whether Alda got the memories through the photos or the real picnic scene.

What do you think of this? Do you ever have some memories where you aren’t sure if it actually happened or if you just saw it some place? Do you think it’s possible to collect pieces of memories and piece them back together into something that never happened?

~Emily Vukson

Radiolab: "Adding Memory"

2011-02-10T06:12:00.005-05:00

Hey All,

I wanted to share this excellent segment from an old episode of Radiolab featuring Elizabeth Loftus for this week's blog entry.

The entire episode deals with "Memory and Forgetting" and can be found here.

Mental Models

2011-02-07T16:47:00.002-05:00

Here are some links to information about mental models, which are the ways in which we form understandings of things in our lives. Sometimes they are inaccurate, which can be funny. From a design standpoint, understanding the importance of mental models in the way that people approach interactions can be very helpful in avoiding confusing and making things easier to use.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_model
rosenfeldmedia.com/books/mental-models/
icos.groups.si.umich.edu/gentleintro.html

Jacob

P.S. This is unrelated, but may be interesting: brain-map.org

Messing With Your Mind

2011-02-07T15:58:00.002-05:00

http://www.exploratorium.edu/memory/messingwithyourmind/index.html
The article by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty starts with a small experiment. There are two set of words that the reader is asked to read and then write down the ones that he remembers. First set has words like sugar, honey, chocolate, sweet. The second set has emotion, hate wrath, enrage. Later when the results are compared, it is found that most people falsely remember the word sweet for the first group, and angry for the other group, even though these words don't exist on the list.
The reason is that human memory is associative and thinking about one thing can get you thinking related thoughts. Relative experiments are described through out the article. In some cases, people remembered made up events or falsely accuse the wrong person as being the rapist.

2011-02-07T13:57:00.004-05:00

The Use of Melodic and Rhythmic Mnemonics to Improve Memory and Recall in Elementary Students in the Content Areas

The link to the reading should be able to be accessed through the title above but I am having trouble all together getting the links in here so the PDF for the full text reading is: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED504997.pdf
and the website where I got the article from is ERIC and the Title of the article is the same as my title and the author is Orla C. Hayes.
The direct link to the website where I got the article is telling me that I have to re-enter my search..

This is a great reading. It is like 40 pages...and I doubt anybody will actually want to read the whole thing, and I definitely skimmed several parts but overall, the topic is great, and actually fun.

The reading is all about mnemonic devices used with children in elementary schools, grades K-5; and how beneficial these memory strategies really are. Studies show that students learn and retain much more information when taught through these mnemonic and musical devices. One example given in the very beginning was that a teacher taught her 1st grade students a little song to remember something for math. 7 years later (the kids were in 8th grade), she saw some of her students using the technique she taught them to remember some math skills.
I can think of plenty of mnemonic devices I have taught myself or have been taught by someone else that I literally still use today. I believe it is very beneficial.

The problem being addressed is that these devices are not used nearly enough as they should be for children in grades K-5. The paper is a study of these elementary school children to determine the effect of these musical mnemonics for memorization and being able to recall facts.
This study focuses on the "retrieval of facts" in the regular elementary school core classes such as Language Arts, English, Math, Social Studies, and Science.

This study is trying to prove that these mnemonic devices are successful through providing thorough tangible,proof and then leading into the discussion and question of, if this study proves that this is beneficial then what is preventing teachers from using this device more frequently in class?

This paper includes background information and history, medical research to back up their data, discussions, case studies, a teachers survey and comparisons.

-Alexandra

Change Blindness

2011-02-07T13:32:00.004-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAnKvo-fPs0

I found this video a few weeks ago and thought it was really interesting. This experiment focused on change blindness and how the brain focuses on key aspects of the scene, yet omits certain visual changes. Subjects would enter a waiting room and go up to one experimenter at a counter to fill out a consent form. After they're done, the experimenter ducks down behind the counter to put the form away and a second experimenter takes his place. 75% of people didn't notice the change. It really makes you think how much you are really seeing, and how different another person's perception of the same event may be.

-Taylor

2011-02-07T08:46:00.002-05:00

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201102/focusing-differences-lets-me-understand-you-better

"Let me understand you better..."

This essay discusses how negotiating, assuming and then relying on certain information may lead to a positive approach in understanding a person or a specific situation. The first part discusses the role of the entrant trying to relate differences rather than searching for similarities. They will find that changing your perspective on a situation or a person can be a more accurate way of informing.

Differences can improve the way perspective is negotiated. When some people use similarity comparisons they are also trying to distinguish why these things are based on these similarities.

When people recognize differences between someone they may also reason with similar differences they have with another friend.

It's not our similarities but differences that cause better communication

2011-02-05T22:19:00.002-05:00

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201102/focusing-differences-lets-me-understand-you-better

I always have thought of myself as a person who was good at listening to others, and relating to people despite obvious differences. This article points out why that is. People who are able to recognize that people are different (your point of view is one of many) are more likely to be able to communicate better with that person. To me, I have always tried to understand others and not let my own personal biases get in the way of effectively communicating with people. This is an important thing to understand in everyday situations and is another reason to believe that differences could bind us, not just similarities.

Flashbulb Memories and 9-11

2011-02-05T20:41:00.003-05:00

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=continuing-effects-of-9-11

After reading the articles for class on flashbulb memories, I became interested in looking up any studies that may have been done on the subject in relation to 9-11. I found a segment of an article from Scientific American that discussed some discoveries that had been made regarding people that were present when or very near the towers when they fell. In 2007, researchers at Cornell and N.Y.U. compared brain scans of people who were near the World Trade Center when the attacks occurred to the brain scans of people who were farther away. These studies showed that those who were closer to the event still show heightened activity in the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that regulates emotional intensity and creates emotional memories. The studies also showed that people who were close enough to the attack that physically saw, heard and smelled the results of the attack showed a depressed activity in the parahippocampal cortex, which encodes neutral peripheral details. This, according to the article, shows how altered brain activity might help explain how flashbulb memories are formed.

Magnetic Mind Control

2011-02-05T13:44:00.001-05:00

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/mind-control-TMS.html

I actually stumbled on a PBS NOVA series show entitled “How the Brain Works,” and it had a lot of very interesting discussions and experiments about the brain, its function, and how it effects the way we think. I found that this particular segment about TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) was especially interesting. (The video posted above is about 10 minutes, but it’s well worth a watch.)

Essentially, TMS is a magnetic pulse that can be administered to different parts of the brain from the outside of someone’s head, and it can potentially alter the way we think! For instance, sessions of the TMS pulse can help severely depressed patients by altering the electrical currents in the pre-frontal cortex, similar to ‘jump-starting your car.’ In another study, a quick pulse of TMS altered people’s judgment between right and wrong. When presented with a story of one brother trying to poison the other brother, people given a pulse of TMS to a certain part of their brain were more apt to judge the first brother less harshly than without TMS.

Can you see the gorilla?

2011-02-02T21:40:00.004-05:00

http://bigthink.com/ideas/20596

The information at this link provides a demonstrative example of how bad our ability to multi-task can be. This can give us some insight on how unreliable eye-witness testimony can be because often witnesses are not paying full attention even though they are called to testify.

Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris, both psychologists, talk about their research in attention and multi-tasking. They say that we are out of touch which how well we are doing things when we are multi-tasking. I found it particularly interesting when they explain that listening to music during studying –according to their research music does not help you study! Their website explains many topics covered in their book, The Invisible Gorilla. (http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/)

Sleeping Helps Memory

2011-02-01T23:17:00.000-05:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110201172603.htm

I guess cramming minutes before a big test is definitely not going to help you do better on your exam. A study conducted by Jan Born proves that people who sleep on information that they know they need for a later date will commit it to memory better after sleeping. This is because during sleep the brain cycles through the process of determining what information should be committed to long-term memory with an emphasis on storing information that will be necessary in the futures. Researchers suggest that memories considered important in the cortex are transferred to the hippocampus for consolidation during sleep. Sleeping helps enhance both declarative memories (or memories that can be consciously recalled) and procedural memories (or memories that are recalled unconsciously like a skill). So, the next time you have a test the definitive best thing to do would be to study and get a good night’s sleep!

Turning Short-Term Memory into Long-Term Memory

2011-01-31T11:47:00.003-05:00

http://www.suite101.com/content/turning-short-term-memory-into-long-term-memory-a302798

This article is really interesting. First, it gives you a little brief intro on what sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory are. Which some of the information was new to me and really cool. The difference between sensory and short-term memory is interesting. The next time you want to remember someones name, "elaborate on it" and it will turn into a short-term memory for you (hopefully).
There is some neuroscientist, Gary Lynch, who developed ampakines, a drug that increases communication between brain cells. The drug's receptive neurons are now more likely to store long-term memories. It seems like this whole idea is maybe in the process? Since there wasn't a huge amount of information about the actual drug and what it does or has done, I thought that maybe it was something that could progress into something big later on.

-Alexandra Kaplan

Multiple Intelligences

2011-01-31T01:05:00.002-05:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo/thinker_quiz/research.shtml

This is a survey to show different ways in which people think. It is designed by Dr Shearer based on Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences. The thoery argues that the IQ Tests are not enough to measure intelligence, since it plots everyone on the same scale. As opposed to IQ tests, this survey doesn't tell if you are smart or not, it tell you what kind of thinker you are.
It's made of simple personal questions and takes only 5 minutes. I'm sure there are more complex tests based on the same theory. I turned out to be a Kinaesthetic thinker, which is said to "have an aptitude for working with hands." What a surprise for someone in Industrial design!
There are 9 different types of thinking styles that are tested in the survey;
-Logical/ Mathematical Thinkers
-Linguistic Thinkers
-Interpersonal Thinkers
-Intrapersonal Thinkers
-Naturalist Thinkers
-Existential Thinkers
-Musical Thinkers
-Spatial Thinkers
-Kinaesthetic Thinkers

The titles are pretty self-explanatory. And of course the result of the test doesn't mean that it's the only way one can think. it is possible to improve on other kinds of thinking styles too.

Superhuman Hearing in the Blind

2011-01-30T23:51:00.003-05:00

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-can-some-blind-people-process

The article which I have chosen explains how the brains of some blind people are able to rewire themselves in a way that enables them to process speech faster than any sighted person. I think it's safe to say that everyone has heard that once you lose one sense, the others get stronger in order to compensate. Researchers from the University of Tübingen in Germany have backed up this belief with several experiments that proved some blind individuals can comprehend speech that is sped up far beyond the sighted person can understand. Through an MRI machine, the researchers were able to see that the part of the brain that normally responds to vision was responding to the sped up speech. The age at which you lose your sight is critical to how and if your brain rewires itself. They also found that those people were able to read (listen to) three books in the time it would take a sighted person to read one. I personally found this fascinating, and makes me wonder how this skill could be utilized everyday life, in education, and possible new career fields for the blind.

Taylor Quinn

Facial Recognition and Race

2011-01-30T22:37:00.005-05:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100805172341.htm

Dr. Kazuyo Nakabayashi, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the Teeside University's Social Futures Institute, is beginning a research project to find out why it is that people find it harder to recognize faces of people from other races than their own. Dr. Nakabayashi plans to carry out experiments in Japan and the UK over a 15 month period to try and understand more about cognitive processes underlying cross-racial recognition. One of the experiments will involve recording eye movements while people look at a set of Caucasian faces and a set of Asian faces in order to find out which parts of the face they look at and how much time is spent on each feature.

I found this article interesting because I honestly was not aware that it was a known fact that most people find it easier to recognize their own race than others. I'd find it interesting to follow Dr. Nakabayashi's research and see if he is able to uncover some new information about cross-racial recognition.

Souls or Consciousness

2011-01-30T21:21:00.004-05:00

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1580394-1,00.html

This article articulates the many mysteries of consciousness and the questions that may or may not be answerable about it. What I found particularly interesting, however, was that discovering or pinpointing a specific location in the brain where consciousness may exist will seem to nullify the existence of the soul, i.e., we would have science supporting that we not exist past death, that our consciousness will die when our brain ceases to function. That is a separate theological discussion that is briefly explored, but the implications of a possible discovery like this one is interesting to ponder.

Megan Fajardo

Eyewitnesses Are Not as Reliable as One Might Believe

2011-01-30T20:15:00.001-05:00

Eyewitnesses Are Not as Reliable as One Might Believe

http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/01/110125092233.htm

Farhan Sarwar, of Lund University will be defending his PhD thesis on memory psychology, under the premise that eyewitnesses to crimes are much less of a reliable source for information than police accredit to them.

According to Sarwar, the more a story is retold, the more likely the witness is incorrectly recall important details, such as the weapons used or clothing worn by a perpetrator, though their recollection of the events are intact. Sarwar recommends that witnesses write down what they know before discussing it. Witnesses who write before they speak are more accurate than those that do not. Furthermore, when witnesses discuss whatever criminal activity they have seen, they become more confident in the way they tell the story; their confidence is misinterpreted as accuracy.

Sarwar has developed a program using algorithms to calculate the accuracy of a witness statement. Though testing of this method is far from completion, Sarwar and his colleague Sverker Sikström predict it will be useful in many aspects of law enforcement.

Cassie Brown

Working Memory

2011-01-30T18:12:00.004-05:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_memory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baddeley's_model_of_working_memory

Above are some links to wikipedia entries about memory. I found these recently when looking into the reason behind 7 Digit phone numbers. Apparently, it was determined that 7 is the optimal number of digits for people to be able to remember.

Below is a link to an interesting talk by designer Chris Fahey about humans and devices.

http://vimeo.com/12530344

This the book that his talk was named after:

http://www.amazon.com/Humane-Interface-Directions-Designing-Interactive/dp/0201379376

Jacob

What is deja vu?

2011-01-30T18:02:00.002-05:00

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201001/what-is-d-j-vu

I personally decided to search about deja vu (as I've done in the past) and picked an article that I found credible, but still not very concrete about theories on deja vu. The reason I don't really buy any theories I've heard about deja vu is that they are usually only associated with visual deja vu (deja vu means "already seen"). I don't know about anyone else, but when I have deja vu, what I'm hearing is just as familiar as what I see (sometimes more). I hear someone say something that I think I've heard before or I feel almost like I could finish the phrase. Although I don't think deja vu is as simple as it has been spelled out in a variety of theories, I do find it to be one of the most interesting studies in cognitive psychology.

Neurotheology - your brain on religion

2011-01-30T17:13:00.001-05:00

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132078267/neurotheology-where-religion-and-science-collide

This NPR interview was based on a book called Principles of Neurotheology by Dr. Andrew Newberg. Neurotheology is a relatively new branch of neurology that studies how the brain changes during religious or meditative practice. The author said he first studied expert practitioners of meditations using an MRI scan. These scans were successful in showing long term effects of meditation on individuals who had about fifteen to twenty years of experience meditating and were able to get into a meditative state while hooked up to the trappings of the MRI. Though initially successful, it could not be effective in studying the effects of meditation for the rest of the public. SPECT imaging was also used in the research in this book; it provides a picture of the brain during the meditative activity. There was an observable change in brain activity after an ongoing meditation practice; these changes were measured using scans of the brain before and after starting to meditate. Meditation was also effective for elderly patients who suffered from memory loss. The research subjects were asked to meditate for a few minutes per day. A study found that meditation improved thought processes, reaction times, focus, attention and memory.

Apologies Fail to Live Up to Our Expectations

2011-01-30T12:56:00.002-05:00

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=apologies-fail-to-live-up

According to a new study, real apologies may not mean as much to us as imagined ones. I found this very odd at first, but after thinking about it, it seems somewhat true. Have you ever had someone do wrong to you, and then apologize? Often times this apology doesn’t seem all that apologetic, and we can feel very untrusting afterwards. After all, words are cheap.

In a study, participants were put in a situation where they were the victims. One group was given a letter of apology, a second was asked to imagine an apology, and the third received no apology at all. The ones who fared the situation the best were those who imagined the apology. Actually, I’ve had this happen. After I was angry with someone who wronged me, I daydreamed of some elaborate apology, and I was fine after that. I never got a real apology and I was fine with it. Have you had this happen to you, too?

Think Different: How Perception Reveals Brain Differences

2011-01-30T10:49:00.000-05:00

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=think-different-jan-11

This is a link to an article in Scientific American-Mind Magazine that focuses on how perceptions differ from person to person. While this article cannot give a definite answer, it gives a nice overview of how cognitive psychologists would investigate the matter. It talks about a variety of things from our individual preferences in color to our perception of illusions. It also mentions the use of fMRIs and other tests used for brain imaging.

IAT: Test or Game

2011-01-29T14:38:00.003-05:00

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/

So, after we talked about the IAT(Implicit Association Test) in class on Monday, I decided to check it out. I looked into the origins, and even in participated in a few tests myself. The biases of the development of the test was to allow individuals to gain an awareness of their unconscious beliefs because many people are either not willing to admit them or are not even aware of what they are. Basically, the test gauges your reaction time by asking you to put certain words into a certain category. However, all the tests run in the exact same pattern(two categories, two different categories, both categories together, the first categories switch positions), so it seems that it would be easy to mess with the results once you understand the pattern. Maybe I don’t understand enough about Cognitive Psychology to understand that to fix the answers is impossible, but it seems that once one learns the pattern one can easily distinguish what categories things need to be placed in, kind of like a video game.

Here are some snapshots to clarify what I'm saying:

Link to Final Exam Questions

2010-12-06T18:14:00.000-05:00

Here

SOO MANY INTELLIGENCES THERE ARE LIKE MULTIPLE OF THEM

2010-12-06T16:07:00.004-05:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1337-2004Sep6.html

I found this article after class last week which i thought was interesting even though its sorta dated (sooooo 2004). However, it kind of was on topic with our class discussion and presentations in regards to multiple intelligences and how the debate lives on. This article pretty much talks about the two different sides of the argument - seperated by those who agree with Howard Gardner (the Gardnerites) and those who don't. Its pretty much the traditionalist intelligence view against Gardner and his new theory and what it has done or hasn't done for schooling systems. The argument continues, with the Garner side saying that the theory wasn't developed to enhance educational intervention, but to explore the mind. To be honest, I don't really know what all the fuss is about - he developed this theory and if people want to agree with it then fine but if they don't then remain with the traditional definition of intelligence, who cares? Use the theory in situations where it applies and if you think it limits you in some way, don't use it. I don't understand what the point of arguing about it is - seeing that the theory exists and once it exists it's not going anywhere - it hasn't for over 21 years now. I don't think a 21-year long argument can still be called a "debate." I think that's called a grudge.

Talking Mice!

2010-12-01T14:58:00.002-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/science/29mouse.html?ref=language_and_languages

Pinker would be pleased to hear that there's now even more evidence to argue language is a developed human trait. We have the genes that give us the capacity to create a means of communication. Scientists have decided to experiment by giving one of those genes, FOXP2, to a group of mice. There are many genes that aid language, yet it seems like one is already enough to change the sounds mice use to interact with one another. Svante Paabo, the man who runs these labs said at the completion of the experiment "We will talk to mice". Creepy. With the development of vocal cords and the correct genes, do you think it'll be possible to have talking animals in the near future?

Schadenfreude

2010-11-29T11:40:00.004-05:00

Schadenfreude is a German word that, when literally translated, roughly means "harmful joy" or "bad joy." It is a term that has now entered the English language and is the name given to the feeling of glee that one sometimes experiences when observing someone else's misfortunes. Scientific American Mind (Nov. 2010) chronicles several new discoveries through research on schadenfreude about its origins and dangers.

Feeling good about someone else's shortcomings or misfortune is, not surprisingly, biological. More specifically, it is related to competitiveness; the article gave the examples of, thousands of years ago, the individual benefits of "a sexual competitor breaking a leg or a hunting rival falling ill." In the likely Darwinian scenario, those that felt good about such misfortunes undoubtedly had little moral opposition to taking advantage of the opportunities they presented, and prospered.

Today, schadenfreude is experienced often but admitted to rarely. In a society that claims to encourage compassion yet revels in the mistakes of celebrities, reality TV, and political drama, this seems at the very least hypocritical. While seen on an individual-towards-individual basis as mostly harmless, researches warn that schadenfreude could have larger, more dangerous implications when experienced by or towards a group of people. This can lead to the generation of prejudice that eventually can turn to violence, and several researchers believe that exploiting schadenfreude is a tactic many fear groups, such as Rwandan soldiers, Nazis, and militant jihadists use for recruitment.

I'd ask the question, what do you think should, or could be done, about schadenfreude? If it's biological I don't think it can be eliminated, but I also wouldn't want it exploited to harm others. My opinion is that an individual should acknowledge it within themselves and try to keep an eye on it should it grow too strong or in one particular direction.

"Can Living Abroad Make You More Creative?"

2010-11-29T10:48:00.004-05:00

The article written by Sternberg, "Creating a Vision of Creativity: The First 25 Years," discusses the theories of creativity in the human mind. Since there are still an abundance of questions surrounding the topic of creativity, Sternberg attempts to describe, " the three stages of his attempt to understand, measure, and develop creative thinking."

Art Markman, Ph.D. delves further in the theory of creativity by examining whether or not studying abroad in a place foreign to oneself in affect develops ones own creativity further. He discusses a test ran by William Maddux, Hajo Adam, and Adam Galinsky in June 2010 in which three different groups of people were tested with the same procedure called the Remote Associates Test. This test presented individuals with three different words that were related, and their task was to come up with a fourth word that did the same. The difference between the three different groups was that two were presented with memory tasks (remembering an experience of another or your own culture) and the third did not experience this initial procedure.

The Remote Associates Test in turn proved the power of studying abroad as a significant learning opportunity and concluded that people that successfully experienced cultures other than ones own are more "creative in a variety of other circumstances." The researchers discussed that the hallmark of creativity stems from understanding how the same tasks present different solutions and understanding why the individuals facilitate these solutions.

Although this article presented a new and interested aspect to psychology and creativity, I felt that it was not thorough enough, and could have investigated the idea further.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Are there any other examples you've found that prove this finding?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201006/can-living-abroad-make-you-more-creative

The G-Factor

2010-11-28T17:56:00.005-05:00

Arthur J. Jensen, one of the authors of last week's reading, is considered an "educational psychologist" as per the article after the cut. One would infer from his title that he studies the psychology of education. Apparently this includes the study of intelligence, an aspect he so thoroughly examines as to mince it between races, looking closely at the genetic effect on certain groups' intelligences.

_____

In this short biography of Arthur J. Jensen <http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/jensen.shtml> his major ideas are outlined — the universal factor of intelligence, blind to cultural influence, broken into two levels:

— Level I abilities account for memory functions and simple associative learning, and Level II abilities comprise abstract reasoning and conceptual thought.

What this signifies is an attempt to separate inherent intellectual potential from that which is affected by cultural influences (realized stereotypes i.e. parents of Asian children that force them to study, since conception, as if the BAR exam could come upon them at any moment). While I agree with this goal, I cannot accept that the "natural" ability of a group, or then, of an individual, is not affected by cultural factors over time.

If a group is continually subjected to unequal treatment in the educational and socio-political arenas, then that individual will not realize any potential he or she may indeed have. Then, it stands that the genes may be affected consequently. Over time, as a sample does not make use of a gene, it will be pruned away, producing what seems to be a natural advantage or disadvantage inherent to the race.

The reason this has any bearing on the subject is because it suggests that in order to better understand education and to better mold it to be effective for everyone, we should be looking at the genetics of a group to be educated. This is a nonsensical waste of time, given that education is a purely social construct anyway, and if any progress is to be made in its understanding and subsequent execution, it must be attacked from the inside — problems with agreement between the culture our students are a part of and the way in which they are educated. Mentalities are completely different today then they were even fifty years ago, and so must education. The workings of a constructed institution must bend to the needs of those who use it, otherwise its existence is null.

It's thus inane to make any mention of differences between racial groups in "general intelligence" when the goal is to equalize students' educational values and to throw away what was once considered racist propaganda.

I understand the role of these studies, and even acknowledge that this judgment is probably far too harshly worded, but when droves of high-school students don't care whether they're in school or at home watching TV, to spend any time or money examining the subtle genetic differences between races seems completely off-mark and wasteful of an entire society's time, and this will be painfully obvious in ten, twenty, or thirty years when this youth is running the world with no idea why it even needs to run.

Marc

Men vs Women IQ

2010-11-19T22:30:00.002-05:00

To further my investigation about the IQ test among a group of people, I found this article comparing the intelligence among men and women. This article explores the misconception of men being more intelligent them women. Instead it introduces another idea that “height is positively correlated with intelligence: Taller people on average are more intelligent than shorter people.” He also includes that by comparing a man and a women who are the same height, women are more intelligent then men. In other words, between a 5’10’’ men and 5’10”, the women is more intelligent. That sounds so absurd, but in our other reading by Jensen and Rushton, the brain sized varied in each race, determining their intelligence. White people have a bigger brain then black. What do you guys think? Is science racist? Sexist? Or just logical?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/200901/why-men-are-more-intelligent-women

A Global Peek at the Deaf Community

2010-11-10T10:27:00.003-05:00

I found this video (link is at the bottom) while looking for documentaries on the deaf community, whatever context that may be in. Surprisingly, one of the first things I found was this short piece that outlines the lives of a community of deaf in the Philippines. Specifically, they take a look at the children in various villages, who are "physically and emotionally abused " and tended to sit "in the corner" of a room when chores were being done. The concept of being deaf does not exist in these small worlds, and accordingly the deaf children are called "Anang" — mute.

The video continues to show a woman who ventures to these villages to find the deaf children and provide them a chance to grow up in a healthy, social environment where they can develop within themselves, with others like them, and with the world at large.

The interesting thing to note here is the deaf's position in the isolated villages, the community they become a part of after rescued, and then to compare this to the nature of the deaf community in America. In all of these cases, isolation is inevitable. However, in civilized contexts where the disability is identified and rationalized, the isolation lends itself towards communal existence. In America, this existence becomes elitist (many parents of expected deaf children, when given the choice, will keep their children deaf instead of medically alleviating the issue). These comparisons allow us to understand the nature of disabilities and normalcy, and their roles/outcomes in different social and personal contexts.

Anang Deaf Community Video

- Marc

PS: Sorry for the late post, it's been a little crazy recently.

Motion Perception

2010-11-08T15:56:00.002-05:00

Based off the Hock article on perception and consciousness, I stumbled upon this article, which explores the question of "is perception innate or learned?" but through the study of motion perception. The article analyzes the neuroscience and brain mapping during the times of perception to motions and the visual experience. The article suggests that, in fact, the perception of motions is in fact not innate and it must be learned through the study of visual cortex development. Interestingly, the part about the time frame being essential to sensory perception/experience for development determines if you use this or lose it.

http://www.mcb.harvard.edu/Lichtman/JDclub/pdfs/sengpiel.pdf

"Babies on the Edge"

2010-11-08T15:32:00.003-05:00

In this year's November/December issue of Scientific American Mind I found an article detailing a procedure almost identical to the one in our reading for this week. Entitled "Babies on the edge," 12 to 18-month-old infants were placed on a wooden "cliff" and again encouraged by their mothers to advance over the edge. (Instead of a glass surface preventing the babies from toppling, the experiment called for lab staff who actually caught the babies, a lapse in safety procedures that I found a little shocking.) This additional experiment revealed more about infants' sense of depth and comprehension. Those babies that were familiar with crawling and had been doing it for months generally did not go over the drop-off; nor did babies who were experienced (relatively) with walking. However, those babies that had recently begun to walk would "march straight over [the] drop-offs," even if they had been competent crawlers. What the experimenters believe this suggests is that when switching forms of locomotion—namely going from crawling to walking—humans must "recalibrate how they perceive their abilities," or re-learn to see their world and the dangers and challenges it presents.

VISUAL VISUAL CLIFF

2010-11-08T14:50:00.002-05:00

This is a video that sort of just makes the reading that we did for today a lot more accessible for visual learners like myself. What I think was interesting was the part with nonverbal communication...that if the mother on the opposite end simply smiled, it made the child more inclined to crawl across the plexiglass/visual cliff. It really shows how important non verbal, facial communication can be - especially when dealing with children who haven't developed verbal communication.

video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyxMq11xWzM

GESTURES AND PEOPLE USING THEM

2010-11-01T16:30:00.003-04:00

After reading the article assigned for class I was interested in the concept that blind people don't use gestures as often as people who are not blind so I did a little researching and found this article which seems to contradict the experements done by Iverson and the other folks we read for class. However, this chick quotes Iverson and Goldin-Meadow as saying that " Kids who are blind from birth use gestures when they talk, even when speaking to other sightless people (Iverson and Goldin-Meadow 1998)." and maybe I read the reading completely wrong but I thought that the Kids in the Cafeteria article was saying that they used gestures way LESS than the children who could see. Regardless, I found it interesting that "science has proven" that kids who use hand gestures when they talk learn better than those who do not. The article doesn't talk too much about blind kids and gestures, it only mentions it that one time, but it does talk about the different ways gestures help "free up working memory," help them remember things they've learned in school, and even help them learn new words. It pretty much just pulls conclusions from other experiments and scientific research regarding gestures and children and sums it up into one big article.

don't kill me but I forgot how to make it so you can click the link and it takes you there so ya gotta copy and paste, sorry.

http://www.parentingscience.com/gestures.html

2010-10-25T16:53:00.002-04:00

The Following website addresses memory in history and the public display of monuments, focusing on many types of historical moments in time. It is more of an anthropology of collective memory and the choice of public display of these memories through memorials. One of the interesting parts of the article is the focus monuments not initially only being sculptures, architecture but other forms of language and art.

http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=250:anthropology-of-collective-memory&catid=67:general-books&Itemid=94

Museum as a Monument

2010-10-25T16:37:00.003-04:00

The link I am providing is not a article, but a website about the Museum of Native American Cultures and Spirituality. I chose this website to post because it gives another idea of what a monument could be- a museum. This one in particular considers itself a monument of Native American history, built using architecture referencing various tribes of the past. Not only is the building monumental, but the contents inside the museum as well, including art that helps represent the culture of Native Americans. It helps to educate people of the past histories tribes faced in hopes of creating more of a global awareness.

http://www.monumentmuseum.org/

How much do children really remember?

2010-10-25T15:41:00.000-04:00

A study has shown that how much children remember seems to depend on how the actual question its self is asked - basically because children and adults focus on and remember very different aspects of the same events and the same things.

When asked to freely recall a day at the museum, the children seemed to remember a tremendous amount of information and detail, and even more so when they were allowed to draw at the museum.
However in a comprehension test with questions, the results were much poorer, naturally because the questions had been devised by adults.

http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2009/09/day-at-museum-how-much-do-children.html

Feeling Sad Makes Us More Creative?

2010-10-25T14:24:00.000-04:00

This particular article talks about how negative feelings might make us more creative for a time being - an experiment was conducted where two groups were either given negative or positive feedback after a speech. Afterwards, they were told to create a collage and the collage was evaluated by professional artists. Results found that the group that received negative feedback made more "creative" pieces.

Apparently sadness and negative feelings make us more attentive to details in general. The article goes on to talk about how other experiments have shown that we seem to recall more in terms of memory, when the subject is in a state of melancholy and etc.

Personally, I think the experiment testing "creativity" is a little bit wonky, especially the bit where professional artists were told to come in a evaluate how "creative" the pieces were. But in any case, it seems to make sense that we are more attentive to details when we are unhappy, as things tend to glaze over when we're excited or ecstatic about something - "time flies when you're having fun" after all.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/10/feeling-sad-makes-us-more-creative/

DOCTA SUESS MEMORIAL

2010-10-24T19:46:00.002-04:00

http://gonewengland.about.com/cs/maforfamilies/a/aaseussmemorial.htm

This "sort-of" article talks about the Dr. Seuss Memorial in Springfield Massachusetts. It is part of the Springfield Library & Museums Association. Each piece is sculpted by Dr. Seuss’ stepdaughter. The series of bronze sculptures consists of the Grinch, Horton the elephant and the cat in the hat as well as an outdoor sculpture garden with lots of other sculptures of famous Dr. Seuss characters. The memorial is open to the public daily. What I found odd was I would have thought a Dr. Seuss memorial would have been much more interactive than just huge bronze sculptures that are just in one random spot in Massachusetts. However, the characters included in this memorial are immediately recognizable for children which serves the purpose of a memorial very well.

Selecting war memorials

2010-10-22T23:22:00.002-04:00

This article talks about how children approach the past. How do they deal with history when they are not off that country or time? In this article, it talks about how kids become "more interested in the past when they know that they are apart of it". Similarly enough, memorials are a great place for children to get involved and interested in what happened in the past. For example, experiencing a memorial or a setting, such as a war fortress, may rally up children into getting more people aware of history and how to change things for the future.
http://www.goethe.de/ges/pok/dos/dos/ern/lag/en3501814.htm

"The Brain's Language Processing in Williams Syndrome and Autism"

2010-10-16T14:20:00.008-04:00

Williams syndrome causes "discrepancy between language ability and IQ" so much so that the individual's use of vocabulary and social skills contradicts their IQ level. This article focuses on one individual whose IQ is 60, cannot read or write (probably will never develop the skills), however his social skills and vocabulary show no signs of affliction whatsoever. Unlike a person with autism, tending to have no social skills thus being "socially withdrawn and isolated," causing the individual to struggle with effectively learning and using language.

A study was done at the Salk Institute comparing brainwaves of people with Williams syndrome and autism regarding aspects of semantics in language. Researcher's studied N400, the electrical activity the brain generates in response to "words and other meaningful stimuli." They presented individuals with certain sentences that ended oddly, such as when making muffins you mix flour, eggs, and hair. The N400 response in the brain of a person with Williams syndrome indicated that they are sensitive to semantics in language, whereas the brain activity in a person with autism is less than normal when it comes to language. "These results indicate that people with autism may be less adept at getting the meaning of a word from its context." Researchers are also investigating how "specific genes may produce the social behavioral and language characteristics of the syndrome."

www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-sense/201008/the-brains-language-processing-in-williams-syndrome-and-autism

"Thinking About Thinking: Grounding Introspective Ability in the Brain"

2010-10-07T20:42:00.007-04:00

Thinking About Thinking is an article focusing on the humans ability to introspect, that is, to think about one is thinking. The ability to introspect plays an important role in our decision making and how certain actions of ours play out throughout our lives. An example given in the article uses a person studying for an exam. They will most likely accurately memorize what they are studying if they are able to "introspect on whether he/she has understood the material in the textbook."

A study was done at University College London by Dr. Stephen Fleming in order to determine what parts of the brain play a part in introspecting and if it is possible whether or not the ability to introspect can improve over time. Their experiment consisted of a visual decision making task where they asked people to identify the brightest color patch out of a certain group of patches. They came to the conclusion that, "the more of a match between people's decision-making accuracy and their confidence, the better their introspective abilities." Researches then used MRIs to pinpoint what part of the brain has the most activity during this process. They found out that people's introspective ability lies in the anterior prefrontal cortex, the frontal lobes of the brain.

This study brought up the question of whether or not introspective thinking is due to brain anatomy or the individuals experiences and lifestyle. Although it is too soon to tell the answer, other studies suggest that practice through experience can change ones ability. This idea relates to the Warren Harding article in that one can "alter the way we thin-slice by changing the experiences that comprise those impressions." For example, racial impressions.

Thoughts?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/choke/201010/thinking-about-thinking-grounding-introspective-ability-in-the-brain

"Brain Scans Of The Future: Psychologists Use fMRI To Understand Ties Between Memories And The Imagination"

2010-10-03T22:37:00.003-04:00

Within the past few years, psychologists have discovered prominent similarities between people’s thought patterns to recall the past and imagine the future. Studies were conducted at Washington University where college students were given 10 seconds to develop a vivid mental imagery of themselves “in a range of common life experiences.” This mental imagery was probed with “a series of memory cues—such as getting lost, spending time with a friend, or attending a birthday party.” Ultimately, students used memories from the past to help envision themselves in future situations. Researchers used fMRIs to conduct these studies, which are brain scans that help to identify the regions of the brain where neural activity is taking place. The results challenge the former beliefs that neural activity in the brain exists solely in the frontal lobe when having thoughts about the future. In fact, multiple regions of the brain are used. These regions are also the same as when thinking about the past and the brain activity is shown in similar patterns. People use past experiences and memories to help identify “visual and spatial context for our imagined future.” These new discoveries suggest that it could potentially help cases of amnesia and depression, however the article does not go into detail as to how.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070102092224.htm

Cognitive Psychology!

2010-10-03T20:08:00.000-04:00

This Article reviews a “real time video performance” called Selective Memory that investigates the notion of nostalgia for relationships that never existed and situations that never happened. In other words, it explores the misinterpretations of “real” and “distorted” sounds and images and the power that the distortions have on essentially “erasing the truth.” The way it works is a woman is behind a huge screen and the audience can see her in two sections: a close up of her face and then her lower body as it is, underneath the huge screen. The idea is that the camera close-up on her face represent distortion due to the fact that it changes the woman. The woman then turns around really slowly and you start to see different parts of her face, from all different angles being revealed by the screen. The definition of selective memory (courtesy of the all-knowing wikepedia.com) is: “A form of amnesia, a rare side effect of head injuries when the victim loses certain parts of his/her memory.” I think this project does a good job of conveying the concept of selective memory and I thought it was an interesting way of putting the concept into perspective for those who do not have selective memory loss.

Heres the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/10/arts/dance/10memory.html?scp=2&sq=memory&st=cse

Here’s a better description of what the project is

http://www.chocolatefactorytheater.org/e_selectivememory_fall2010.html

and also, what is this?

Are Distractable People More Creative?

2010-09-26T15:27:00.000-04:00

In the article "Are Distractable People More Creative", written by science writer Jonah Lehrer, he discusses the benefits of low latent inhibition. Latent Inhibition is the ability to tune out sounds around you, like the air conditioner or other peoples conversations. It has long been thought that an ability to focus on one thing at a time, give your full attention to it, helps to you achieve greater success in that task. A recent study at Harvard, however, proved that the most "eminent creative achievers" were seven times more likely to have low latent inhibition. Because they let everything in, they are more open-minded to possibilities and have more sources to draw from. So if you have ADD and you go to art school, it might be a good thing!
Check out the article and lots of other good ones-http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/frontal-cortex

The Moment That Lasts Forever: How Intensely Emotional Memories Remain Vivid

2010-09-22T19:57:00.002-04:00

This blog post by science author Jeff Wise focuses on flashbulb memory from the perspective of an individual directly experiencing something emotionally intensive rather than hearing about it secondhand.

Unlike what we talked about in class, Wise claims that flashbulb memories in this context are actually more accurate than reconstructed, which he backs up with Christa McIntyre's rat study. According to her experiment, the reason that these memories remain so vivid is because they stimulate the amygdala by releasing the hormone noradrenalin, signaling to the individual that they are in danger. Therefore, it is "the stressful, emotionally intense memories that will live with us the longest."

I find it interesting that the individuals who shared their stories in this article say that they remember their exact thought process immediately before the event. Did Alice from Jupiter really ask herself all of those questions before the car hit her, or did her mind plant them there as she relived the moment over and over? I would imagine that most New Yorkers also felt a lesser but still extremely high sense of danger and fear after first hearing about 9/11, but even these memories have proven to be susceptible to distortion over time.

Thoughts?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/extreme-fear/201009/the-moment-lasts-forever

The Human Calculator

2010-09-21T11:15:00.003-04:00

There is a new show on the history channel called "Stan Lee's Superhumans." The show follows the host Daniel Smith on his quest to find extraordinary people who are in a sense "Superhuman."

This past week they found a man named Scott Flansburg also known as "the human calculator." Scott possesses the rare gift of solving math problems faster then a calculator. After being put to the test doctors test his brain using an MRI to see how brain is functioning and if it is any different than a normal brain.

The test results showed that unlike a normal person, Scott uses multiple parts of his brain rather than just one key area to solve problems.

The link below is part of the episode that documents Scott Flansburg and his rare skill.

http://www.history.com/shows/stan-lees-superhumans/videos/human-calculator#human-calculator

MIND OVER MASS MEDIA

2010-09-20T12:56:00.002-04:00

This article in the New York Times, written by cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker, talks about how critics of new media and technology are constantly saying that it has the potential to lower our intelligence. It discusses Twitter, Microsoft Power Point, Google, Search Engines and other internet technologies in regards to attention span and I.Q levels. Pinker questions whether the use of this media is too addictive or distracting, but argues that the key is self control, because in actuality, these new forms of media will not decrease our intelligence, but rather enhance it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/opinion/11Pinker.html?_r=1&ref=intelligence

The brain is a delicate machine.

2010-09-20T12:48:00.003-04:00

Recently I read an article written by a skateboarder who had experienced severe brain trauma after falling without wearing a helmet. To say that his life was changed/affected forever would be an understatement. He lost his sense of smell and taste, the ability to focus, do simple math and draw basic shapes, or perform simple memory recall. He can't control his emotions, has little to no spatial orientation or ability to adapt to new tasks, and has a severely lessened visual memory. The damage to his frontal lobe essentially rewrote him as a person.

The article terrified me. I think people consider consciousness and thought to be some ethereal, abstract gift (whether or not they believe in God) that are inherent and undeniable, and go hand-in-hand with being alive. Apparently they don't. The brain is a physical part of one's body and, just like other organs, stops working correctly if it gets damaged. For me it's almost incomprehensible to not be able to do math, or draw a cube, or remember a series of twelve words. How can you not be able to think?

The URL for the article, if you're interested in reading it, is below. It's not really a happy one though, if you're looking for the underdog-survivor-becomes-genius-physicist story it's not this. http://blog.bustinboards.com/?p=988

Ant Death Spiral

2010-09-13T20:13:00.006-04:00

An interesting (if not terrifying) video of ants illustrating a natural phenomenon which happens every so often when disoriented ants somehow separate from the colony and start to follow one another in circles. It is known as the "ant death spiral" because the ants will literally march in circles until they die of exhaustion.

While not directly related to cognitive psychology in a modern context, it seems to nudge at the idea of behaviorism, with the ants following each other to their own deaths without a sense of free will, because of their innate instinct to operate as a unified entity.

http://www.buzzhunt.co.uk/2009/07/15/ants-spiral-of-death/
http://theantroom.blogspot.com/2006/11/ant-death-spiral.html

The Power of Pretending

2010-05-04T16:03:00.000-04:00

Researchers have recently been trying to discover if pretending has implications for child development. When we see kids at play we are reminded that children live in a far more wondrous, whimsical world than the rest of us. A pile of wooden blocks is a vast city, and some sticks the inhabitants. Indeed, often about the time babies begin to walk and talk, they also begin to pretend--giving a stuffed animal a sip from their cup or covering up a doll for sleep. There are definite indications that having a good imagination translates into more creativity as an adult but is it possible to connect pretend play and the ability to get along socially in the world? Researchers are specifically looking at whether pretend play facilitates the development of children’s theory of mind- the ability to understand that others have thoughts and feelings all their own. "It's been a big focus of research recently and some of the work is really fascinating," says developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik, PhD, of the University of California at Berkeley. "The only downside is, no one has an answer yet." There are studies being done examining how well and at what stage children distinguish reality from fantasy and theories are being developed about the role of imagination and pretend play in child development. For now, the questions are mainly academic, but some day the answers could lead to a better grasp of how imaginative play influences how well children get on in the world.

http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar02/pretend.aspx

Research finds firstborns gain the higher I.Q.

2010-05-04T15:17:00.000-04:00

A study found that firstborn children have higher IQs than younger sibling. The difference was only about three points the difference between a high B average and a low A, for instance. Researchers have long had evidence that firstborns tended to be more dutiful and cautious than their siblings, and some previous studies found significant I.Q. differences. The researchers found that this difference was probably not due to biological factors by also looking at people who had become the oldest after the death of an older sibling. They found the same results for this group. One theory social scientists have about this effect is that the older sibling gets more parental attention before other siblings are born that can never be made up for by other children, who must always share their parents' attention. Older children may also gain from teaching younger siblings, benefitting more from the lessons than their students. Younger siblings may be more likely to excel in other areas not measured by intelligence tests, such as Darwin, Copernicus, and Descartes who all had older siblings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/science/22sibling.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1257541222-owB847dFELv8zZEl2IuU0Q

Is lying really part of an entrepreneur's job description?

2010-05-04T14:10:00.002-04:00

Well is it, an entrepreneurship professor at Babson College in Wellesley, named Daniel Isenber, Mass., recently wrote that a veteran venture capitalist told him "if a person does not know how to seriously twist the truth from time to time, he (or she) cannot be an entrepreneur." "All are against it in theory, but in reality, most practice it to some degree," he says. "Some don't like the term lying, they prefer to call it stretching the truth, or even marketing. the scary idea is that truthfully many entrepreneurs feel they have to embellish or fabricate some truths, to help level the playing field in thier business ventures. How does one tell a harmless little white lie, from a dangerous one?

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/todays-paper/Twisting+truth+tempting+some+entrepreneurs/2982473/story.html

Flame retardants impact on fertility

2010-05-04T13:14:00.002-04:00

Up until 2004 Polybrominated diphenyl ethers were mostly used as flame retardants in furniture, carpets, and plastics. these PBDE's may be the same cause for impaired fertility in women and the disruption of cognitive development in children. Up to 97 percent of Americans have PBDEs in their blood, higher concentrations of PBDEs in umbilical cord blood at birth were associated with imparied psychomotor, mental and verbal development later in childhood. IQ at the age of three years was significantly lower for children with higher levels of the chemical in their cord blood, than those with not. Even though production of most PBDE's ended in 2004, there are still millions of people exposed from old carpets, bedding and plastic consumer goods.

http://newmexicoindependent.com/53150/flame-retardants-impact-fertility-childrens-iq-new-studies-suggest-epa-improves-access-to-chemical-risks-data

‘Patients’ who act like the real thing

2010-05-04T13:08:00.000-04:00

Albert "Skip" Rizzo, PhD, a psychologist at University of Southern California, is working on a project that could possibly change the future of psychology training: creating virtual patients. He draws upon artificial intelligence research to design realistic-looking and –acting patients that will be used primarily in the training of new clinicians. By using principles from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) and input gathered from clinicians and users, the team is programming these AI patients to respond to questions with realistic answers that will help students to learn the right information from real patients. The “patients” are viewed on a computer screen or are projected onto a screen to be life-sized. The project team has already created two patient models, one is a treatment-resistant boy named Justin and the other is a girl programmed as the victim of a sexual assault named Justina. "I think at first people say, 'This is whacked,'" says Rizzo, "but all of a sudden when they get a legitimate answer to a question or two or three, they start acting like it's the real thing." He wants to someday create models of patients that represent all diagnoses in the manual of mental disorders and have students use them regularly as training tools. "Based on a person's training needs, you could then drag and drop any model onto a specific patient," he says.

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/09/patients.aspx

Anesthesia: What if you regain consciousness much earlie

2010-05-04T13:04:00.002-04:00

A new phenomenon called intra-operative awareness or anesthesia awareness, has developed in our hospitals lately. It is when the patient's anesthesia wears off before surgery is finished, according to experts accidents of awareness occur once or twice per 1,000 surgeries performed under general anesthesia. Intra-operative awareness remains an undesirable complication with potential for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. The patient must engage in a program of psychological rehabilitation to reduce long-term consequences, if intra- operative awareness ever occurs. Medical history or knowledge of the patients family records of this occurrence can help in any to prevent this problem form happening, or at least prepare doctors better for this unforeseen outcome.

Epilepsy

2010-05-04T12:58:00.002-04:00

Epilepsy has been found in 3 million americans, with 200,000 new cases popping up every year. Epilepsy symptoms are usually caused by types of seizures, which can be detected by an EEG or electroencephalogram machine, that detects any electrical activity, that creates seizures. in the brain. DNA also plays a major role in epilepsy, especially if people are missing large portions of chromosome 16 in their DNA. However this doesn't apply to everyone, in a study, only 23 people were recorded to be epileptic from the 3,800 that researched.

http://www.empowher.com/news/herarticle/2010/05/03/genetics-and-risk-epilepsy