February 2011 Archives

Modern Social Darwinism?

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Wisconsin Protesters Resist Police Order To Leave Capitol

 

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Union leaders and other protesters say they plan to make a peaceful stand when police begin clearing out the state Capitol nearly two weeks after demonstrators first occupied the building.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/27/wisconsin-protesters-resist-police-capitol_n_828861.html

How does this relate to the backlash of Social Darwinism?

Physiological Perspective - Reflex Arc

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How does thi relate to Dewey's view of the reflex arc?

Reading Activity Week #12 (Due Monday)

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Please read the chapter assigned for this week.
(Reading Schedule:
http://www.uni.edu/~maclino/hybrid/hs_book_s11.pdf)

After reading the chapter, please respond to the following questions:

Of the various aspects of History & Systems presented in the chapter, which did you find the most interesting? Why? Which did you find least interesting? Why? What are three things you read about in the chapter that you think will be the most useful for you in understanding History & Systems? Why? What are some topics in earlier chapters that relate or fit in with this chapter? How so?

Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.

Make a list of key terms and concepts you used in your post.

Let me know if you have any questions.

--Dr. M

Reading Activity Week #11 (Due Monday)

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Please read the chapter assigned for this week.
(Reading Schedule:
http://www.uni.edu/~maclino/hybrid/hs_book_s11.pdf)

After reading the chapter, please respond to the following questions:

Of the various aspects of History & Systems presented in the chapter, which did you find the most interesting? Why? Which did you find least interesting? Why? What are three things you read about in the chapter that you think will be the most useful for you in understanding History & Systems? Why? What are some topics in earlier chapters that relate or fit in with this chapter? How so?

Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.

Make a list of key terms and concepts you used in your post.

Let me know if you have any questions.

--Dr. M

Reading Activity Week #10 (Due Monday)

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Please read the chapter assigned for this week.
(Reading Schedule:
http://www.uni.edu/~maclino/hybrid/hs_book_s11.pdf)

After reading the chapter, please respond to the following questions:

Of the various aspects of History & Systems presented in the chapter, which did you find the most interesting? Why? Which did you find least interesting? Why? What are three things you read about in the chapter that you think will be the most useful for you in understanding History & Systems? Why? What are some topics in earlier chapters that relate or fit in with this chapter? How so?

Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.

Make a list of key terms and concepts you used in your post.

Let me know if you have any questions.

--Dr. M

Reading Activity Week #9 (Due Monday)

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You have done an excellent job keeping ahead of me with the readings there is no reading assignment for week #9. But if you want to read something interesting check out this article from Psychology Today about kids teaching themselves to read...

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201002/children-teach-themselves-read

Topical Blog Week #12 (Due Friday)

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Topics in the News?

What I would like you to do is to start applying what we are learning in class to real world matters. Some might ask, "What good is learning psychology if we can't apply it to real world matters?" So that is what we are going to do with this topical blog assignment.

What I would like you to do is to either go to NPR (http://www.npr.org/ ), the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ ) or any news site listed at the bottom of this page (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ listed in their news sources) and read, watch, or listen to something that is interesting to you and relates to what we have been learning in the class.

Please respond the blog by BRIEFLY telling us in essay format:

What your topic is and what the piece you chose was. Why you picked it (what made it interesting for you) and what did you expect to see. What did you find most interesting about the piece

Next discuss IN DETAIL how it relates to the class using terms, terminology, and concepts that we have learned so far in class. Include definitions.

Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.

Include the URL in your post.

Make a list of key terms and concepts you used in your post.

Let me know if you have any questions.

--Dr. M

Topical Blog Week #11 (Due Friday)

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Topics in the News?

What I would like you to do is to start applying what we are learning in class to real world matters. Some might ask, "What good is learning psychology if we can't apply it to real world matters?" So that is what we are going to do with this topical blog assignment.

What I would like you to do is to either go to NPR (http://www.npr.org/ ), the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ ) or any news site listed at the bottom of this page (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ listed in their news sources) and read, watch, or listen to something that is interesting to you and relates to what we have been learning in the class.

Please respond the blog by BRIEFLY telling us in essay format:

What your topic is and what the piece you chose was. Why you picked it (what made it interesting for you) and what did you expect to see. What did you find most interesting about the piece

Next discuss IN DETAIL how it relates to the class using terms, terminology, and concepts that we have learned so far in class. Include definitions.

Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.

Include the URL in your post.

Make a list of key terms and concepts you used in your post.

Let me know if you have any questions.

--Dr. M

Topical Blog Week #10 (Due Friday)

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Topics in the News?

What I would like you to do is to start applying what we are learning in class to real world matters. Some might ask, "What good is learning psychology if we can't apply it to real world matters?" So that is what we are going to do with this topical blog assignment.

What I would like you to do is to either go to NPR (http://www.npr.org/ ), the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ ) or any news site listed at the bottom of this page (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ listed in their news sources) and read, watch, or listen to something that is interesting to you and relates to what we have been learning in the class.

Please respond the blog by BRIEFLY telling us in essay format:

What your topic is and what the piece you chose was. Why you picked it (what made it interesting for you) and what did you expect to see. What did you find most interesting about the piece

Next discuss IN DETAIL how it relates to the class using terms, terminology, and concepts that we have learned so far in class. Include definitions.

Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.

Include the URL in your post.

Make a list of key terms and concepts you used in your post.

Let me know if you have any questions.

--Dr. M

Topical Blog Week #9 (Due Friday)

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Topics in the News?

What I would like you to do is to start applying what we are learning in class to real world matters. Some might ask, "What good is learning psychology if we can't apply it to real world matters?" So that is what we are going to do with this topical blog assignment.

What I would like you to do is to either go to NPR (http://www.npr.org/ ), the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ ) or any news site listed at the bottom of this page (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ listed in their news sources) and read, watch, or listen to something that is interesting to you and relates to what we have been learning in the class.

Please respond the blog by BRIEFLY telling us in essay format:

What your topic is and what the piece you chose was. Why you picked it (what made it interesting for you) and what did you expect to see. What did you find most interesting about the piece

Next discuss IN DETAIL how it relates to the class using terms, terminology, and concepts that we have learned so far in class. Include definitions.

Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.

Include the URL in your post.

Make a list of key terms and concepts you used in your post.

Let me know if you have any questions.

--Dr. M

Technological Advances

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How does having access to technology that allows us get the information and images below help or hiner our appreciation of the lens technology related discoveries people such as Galileo, Ramon y Cajal, and Sherrington made in the past?

(Thanks to Peggy for sending)

Social Scientist Sees Bias Within

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"Discrimination is always high on the agenda at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology's conference, where psychologists discuss their research on racial prejudice, homophobia, sexism, stereotype threat and unconscious bias against minorities. But the most talked-about speech at this year's meeting, which ended Jan. 30, involved a new "outgroup." "

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/science/08tier.html?_r=2&hp

What are your thoughts on this?

How might this relate to the different divisions of psychology?

(thanks to Xavier for sending)

Animal Intelligence or Instinct?

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Cat and Crow are "friends."

Is this an example of animal intelligence or animal instinct?
How does this relate to comparative psychology?

(thanks to my sister Laura for sending)

Widner Penfield - Brain Stimulation

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Apparently this was a commercial from Canadian TV.

 

below is a trailer for a PBS documentary

 

Q: Who was Penfield and how did he contribute to the history of psychology?
Q: How does Penfield's work relate to phrenology? 

Pseudoscience - From Abracadabra to Zombies

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A pseudoscience is set of ideas based on theories put forth as scientific when they are not scientific.

Scientific theories are characterized by such things as (a) being based on empirical observation rather than the authority of some sacred text; (b) explaining a range of empirical phenomena;...

http://www.skepdic.com/pseudosc.html

Q: What is pseudoscience and how does it relate to the history of psychology?
Q: How can psuedoscience be used to evaluate scientific theories such as Darwin's theory of evolution?

 

Skeptic's Phrenology

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"This pseudoscience is based on the false assumption that mental faculties are located in brain "organs" on the surface of the brain and can be detected by visible inspection of the skull. The Viennese physician Franz-Joseph Gall (1758-1828) claimed there are some 26 "organs" on the surface of the brain which affect the contour of the skull, including a "murder organ" present in murderers."

http://www.skepdic.com/phren.html

Q: What is phrenology and how does it relate to the history of psychology?
Q: What is pseudoscience?

 

Reading Activity Week #8 (Due Monday)

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Please read chapter 8. After reading chapter 8, please respond to the following questions:

What were two things from the chapter that you found interesting? Why were they interesting to you? Which two things did you find the least interesting? Why? What did you read in the chapter that you think will be most useful to in understanding the history of psychology? Finally indicate two topics or concepts that you would like me to cover in more depth in class.

Include a list of the terms and concepts you used in your post. (example - Terms: positive reinforcer, extinction, reinforcer, discriminative stimulus...)

Let me know if you have any questions,

--Dr. M

Topical Blog Week #8 (Due Friday)

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What I would like you to do is to find a topic from chapter 8 that you were interested in and search the internet for material on that topic. You might, for example, find people who are doing research on the topic, you might find web pages that discuss the topic, you might find youtube clips that demonstrate something related to the topic, etc. What you find and use is pretty much up to you at this point. But use at least 3 sources.

Once you have completed your search and explorations, I would like you to say what your topic is, how exactly it fits into the chapter, and why you are interested in it. Next, I would like you to take the information you found related to your topic, integrate/synthesize it, and then write about it. At the end, please include working URLs for the three websites.

By now you all should be skilled at synthesizing the topical material you have obtained from the various web sites you visited. If you need a refresher please let me know.

Thanks,

Reading Activity Week #7 (Due Monday)

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Please read chapter 7. After reading chapter 7, please respond to the following questions:

What were two things from the chapter that you found interesting? Why were they interesting to you? Which two things did you find the least interesting? Why? What did you read in the chapter that you think will be most useful to in understanding the history of psychology? Finally indicate two topics or concepts that you would like me to cover in more depth in class.

Include a list of the terms and concepts you used in your post. (example - Terms: positive reinforcer, extinction, reinforcer, discriminative stimulus...)

Let me know if you have any questions,

--Dr. M

Topical Blog Week #7 (Due Friday)

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What I would like you to do is to find a topic from chapter 7 that you were interested in and search the internet for material on that topic. You might, for example, find people who are doing research on the topic, you might find web pages that discuss the topic, you might find youtube clips that demonstrate something related to the topic, etc. What you find and use is pretty much up to you at this point. But use at least 3 sources.

Once you have completed your search and explorations, I would like you to say what your topic is, how exactly it fits into the chapter, and why you are interested in it. Next, I would like you to take the information you found related to your topic, integrate/synthesize it, and then write about it. At the end, please include working URLs for the three websites.

By now you all should be skilled at synthesizing the topical material you have obtained from the various web sites you visited. If you need a refresher please let me know.

Thanks,

Reading Activity Week #6 (Due Monday)

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Please read chapter 6. After reading chapter 6, please respond to the following questions:

What were two things from the chapter that you found interesting? Why were they interesting to you? Which two things did you find the least interesting? Why? What did you read in the chapter that you think will be most useful to in understanding the history of psychology? Finally indicate two topics or concepts that you would like me to cover in more depth in class.

Include a list of the terms and concepts you used in your post. (example - Terms: positive reinforcer, extinction, reinforcer, discriminative stimulus...)

Let me know if you have any questions,

--Dr. M

Topical Blog Week #6 (Due Friday)

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What I would like you to do is to find a topic from chapter 6 that you were interested in and search the internet for material on that topic. You might, for example, find people who are doing research on the topic, you might find web pages that discuss the topic, you might find youtube clips that demonstrate something related to the topic, etc. What you find and use is pretty much up to you at this point. But use at least 3 sources.

Once you have completed your search and explorations, I would like you to say what your topic is, how exactly it fits into the chapter, and why you are interested in it. Next, I would like you to take the information you found related to your topic, integrate/synthesize it, and then write about it. At the end, please include working URLs for the three websites.

By now you all should be skilled at synthesizing the topical material you have obtained from the various web sites you visited. If you need a refresher please let me know.

Thanks,

History in the Making?

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What is happening in Egypt?

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

How does this relate to the history of psychology?
How does this relate to psychology proper?