Re: [tips] Stats on airplane terrorism
One must consider marginal utility and limited resources. How many lives would be saved by committing a billion dollars to: 1. Combatting terrorism. 2. Reducing automobile accidents. 3. Making the food supply safe. Two and three also have social and economic costs. And then there are the wars and resources committed to medical advertising and the production of 'me-too' drugs rather than research. On Dec 29, 2009, at 5:29 AM, Lilienfeld, Scott O wrote: All true, and I don't dispute the statistics. But there's a good reason to be (much) more concerned about terrorist attacks than lightning: lightning doesn't learn from experience. Were terrorists able to find a dependable way of bringing explosive devices on board planes with low risk of detection, all it would take is one or at most two downed commercial planes to paralyze (temporarily, one would hope) the airplane industry, national and international travel, and much of the world economy. Again, I don't dispute that the absolute risks are at present extremely low. I just wouldn't want us to leap to the unjustified conclusion that the amount of worry we should devote to such incidents should be much less than to lightning strikes, as the issues involved here are markedly different. Scott From: Paul Brandon [paul.bran...@mnsu.edu] Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 1:19 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Stats on airplane terrorism Not to mention the risks of being killed by an infected cheeseburger. We cheerfully tolerate many higher but less dramatic risks than 'terrorism'. On Dec 29, 2009, at 12:03 AM, Christopher D. Green wrote: Here are some statistics on the probability of being the (attempted) victim of terrorism on a commercial flight that may make for interesting discussion in your courses: http:// www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/12/odds-of-airborne-terror.html Here's the best bit: the odds of being on given departure which is the subject of a terrorist incident have been 1 in 10,408,947 over the past decade. By contrast, the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are about 1 in 500,000. This means that you could board 20 flights per year and still be less likely to be the subject of an attempted terrorist attack than to be struck by lightning. Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] State Dependent Wine Perception/Appreciation
California wine has been terminally Parkerized ('jammy') and French
wine is moving that way.
Personally, I like: Pacific Northwest; New Zealand (Oz is going the
way of California) and Spain.
There are still very good French and Italian wines, but they are
getting priced beyond my reach.
On Dec 28, 2009, at 12:50 PM, Ken Steele wrote:
The topic of wine ratings also reminds me of the famous battles
over whether better wines come from California or France.
Wikipedia provides a good entry into the story, along with the
individual ratings by the judges and the good question of whether
differences in these ratings are meaningful...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_of_Paris_(wine)
Ken
Mike Palij wrote:
Some folks around this time of year start to wonder about what brand
of champagne they should get for New Year's Eve, whether they should
get something cheap like American sparkling wine (e.g., Korbel, which
technically is not a champagne), a French champagne that that is
moderate
in price (for example, see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/dining/reviews/23wine.html?
emc=eta1 )
or something really expensive under the assumption that there is a
strong
linear relationship between price and objective quality.
But it is refreshing to note that some people don't rely upon price
or the score that Wine Spectator assigns to a particular wine to
judge whether a wine is good or not (snob appeal aside). To see
this attitude in people who recommend wines for a living is even
more surprising. Which is why I suggest looking the following
column by Brecher Gaiter on the Delicious Wines of 2009, see:
http://online.wsj.com/article/tastings.html
As they point out, the perception and appreciation of wine, as with
many things especially works of art, is not just a function of the
objective
properties of the wine but also our expectations, the reasons why
we are drinking it, the situation/environment in which we drink it,
and so on, representing a very high order of interaction. What may
be great one time, may not be great or even bad another. There is
the old saying of you can not step in the same river twice which
can be altered to you can not drink the same wine twice.
-Mike Palij
New York Unviersity
m...@nyu.edu
--
---
Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. steel...@appstate.edu
Professor and Assistant Chairperson
Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
USA
---
---
To make changes to your subscription contact:
Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Paul Brandon
10 Crown Hill Lane
Mankato, MN 56001
pkbra...@hickorytech.net
---
To make changes to your subscription contact:
Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Stats on airplane terrorism
Not to mention the risks of being killed by an infected cheeseburger. We cheerfully tolerate many higher but less dramatic risks than 'terrorism'. On Dec 29, 2009, at 12:03 AM, Christopher D. Green wrote: Here are some statistics on the probability of being the (attempted) victim of terrorism on a commercial flight that may make for interesting discussion in your courses: http:// www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/12/odds-of-airborne-terror.html Here's the best bit: the odds of being on given departure which is the subject of a terrorist incident have been 1 in 10,408,947 over the past decade. By contrast, the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are about 1 in 500,000. This means that you could board 20 flights per year and still be less likely to be the subject of an attempted terrorist attack than to be struck by lightning. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] List of Psychological Studies the Public Might Know
I believe that the first presentation of schedules of reinforcement (and the serendipitous nature of their discovery) was presented in the B of O (The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. New York: Appleton-Century, 1938. ), but I doubt that that had much public impact. For that I'd nominate: Baby in a box. Ladies' Home Journal, October 1945, pp. 30-31, 135-36, 138. (the Aircrib). Walden Two. New York: Macmillan, 1948. Beyond freedom and dignity. New York: Knopf, 1971. On Dec 27, 2009, at 10:09 AM, Christopher D. Green wrote: Britt, Michael wrote: The Technique of Correlation is developed 1890 I thought the Pearson r wasn't published until the first years of the 20th century. What publication did you have in mind? And if you're going to include the correlation coefficient, why not the t- test (Gossett, aka Student) and ANOVA (Fisher)? Animal Intelligence (Law of Effect is developed) - Edward Thorndike - 1898 As I recall, the Law od Effect didn't appear explicitly until the expanded 1911 version of Animal Intelligence (the book). The 1898 version was just his dissertation, published, I think, in _Psych Monographs_. [] Conditioned Reflexes - Pavlov 1927 What of Skinner's schedules of reinforcement? Is that too obscure for your needs? I think they appeared in his 1938 book _Behavior of Organisms_ (but the may have appeared earlier in an article). Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] another Christmas story
Ah, days of innocence. On Dec 24, 2009, at 12:02 PM, David Hogberg wrote: (composed by Grinch Keillor)(The Writer's Almanac, today) Dancing Dan unslings his Santa sack, opens the package he'd had under his arm when he came into the speakeasy hours before, and dumps out a bunch of diamonds — diamond rings, diamond bracelets, diamond brooches and diamond necklaces — into Grandma's hung stocking. The narrator suddenly remembers headlines from the afternoon papers about the robbery of a diamond merchant. A few weeks later, he learns that Grandma O'Neill dies just after Christmas believing that there is a God. Her daughter, Muriel, called the diamond merchant to return the stolen goods, and he rewards her with $10,000 for her honesty. And outlaw Dancing Dan has gone off to San Francisco to reform himself of his outlaw ways so that he can train to become a dance instructor and in good faith court Miss Muriel O'Neill. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Three psychologists walk into a bar...
And the planetarium attached to it! And of course the Metropolitan Museum across the Park. (I grew up in these places). On Dec 23, 2009, at 8:52 AM, Beth Benoit wrote: Depending on their interests...my favorite place in New York is the American Museum of Natural History. It's right on the edge of Central Park and 79th Street. I just checked their website and they again have the live butterflies in a conservatory, that were there when I was there last. Just enchanting. They'll land right on your head and arms, and the staff check you when you're ready to leave to make sure some don't accidentally leave when you do! http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/butterflies/?src=e_h Then, if they like Indian food, they can walk around the corner (well, a few blocks and then around the corner) and go into what looks like a surprisingly cheesy condominium, right on Central Park South (#30), take the elevator to the top (15th) floor, and walk into the most amazing little Indian restaurant with Indian decor. But the best is that it has a breathtaking view of Central Park. Not to be missed!! Eating tikka masala while looking over Central Park, and at The Dakotas (site of John Lennon's murder) is our favorite New York experience. Hope they have a great time. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Three psychologists walk into a bar...
And if they've got some period music scheduled, so much the better. On Dec 23, 2009, at 8:38 PM, Jeffrey Nagelbush wrote: As far as I am concerned, at this time of year the best place to go in NYC is the Cloisters at Fr. Tryon park. The weather adds to the mood of the place. And those wonderful unicorn tapestries. Jeff Nagelbush nagel...@hotmail.com Ferris State University Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] A student request - Any comments
And to link to the 'plagiarism' thread: She's asking to substitute work of unknown provenance for test results done under direct observation. On Dec 20, 2009, at 5:51 AM, Louis E Schmier wrote: Bob, Popeye the Sailor says youse gets out whats youse puts in. It's not that her grade was low or that your grading was unfair. It was that her committment and performance was not up to snuff. She knew what she had to do and didn't do it. Where was she during the term after she got the first failing grade with her pleas? If she has true testitis, she should go see a psychologist. :-)) The real world doesn't give extra credit. Louis Dr. Bob Wildblood wrote: I got the message below yesterday from a student who, in spite of what she says did not attend approximately 1/3 of the classes. What you see is a copy of her email without editing. My syllabus states clearly that the grade is based on the four scheduled tests (and I offer an optional final exam so that a student who misses a test or who wants to try to improve their grade by replacing a low grade on one of the four tests). Her grades were 49, 60, 65, and 70 and she did not take the optional final exam. The syllabus also says there are no extra credit opportunities. Any comments? WWYD? Dr. Wildblood I know this is very late but after reviewing my grades for this semester I realized that my grade for your class, Psychology was my only grade that was below a B. I am applying to Radiology school at Mary Washington Hospital in Janurary and they willl not accept an application with a gade that i received in your class. I know that the grade reflects work that i did in your class,but i shpwed up tp class everyday and took notes and payed attention. This is my second time taking psychology because my credit from last year at UVA WISE did not transfer and i happened to have a B in that class. (go figure). Although the only thing that helped me receive that B was extra work and assigments that were given in class by the professor. I am not a good test taker as you can see. I study for the tests and think i know the information. But when i am given the test i do horrible. Is there anything i can do, an extra paper or something that i can turn in or email you that will raise my g! rade to a B. i need it for Radiology school. If i need to make an appoitment and come in i am willing to do that. thank you . Robert W. Wildblood, PhD Riverside Counseling Center and Adjunct Psychology Faculty @ Germanna Community College drb...@rcn.com . The soundest argument will produce no more conviction in an empty head than the most superficial declamation; as a feather and a guinea fall with equal velocity in a vacuum. - Charles Caleb Colton, author and clergyman (1780-1832) . Be like the fountain that overflows, not like the cistern that merely contains. -Paulo Coelho, Brazilian Author and Lyricist . We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools. We must make sure that people who have the grades, the desire and the will, but not the money, can still get the best education possible. - Barack Obama, President of the United States of America --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] A student request - Any comments
I don't see any reason not to give her the grade she earned according to your syllabus. On Dec 19, 2009, at 12:01 PM, Dr. Bob Wildblood wrote: I got the message below yesterday from a student who, in spite of what she says did not attend approximately 1/3 of the classes. What you see is a copy of her email without editing. My syllabus states clearly that the grade is based on the four scheduled tests (and I offer an optional final exam so that a student who misses a test or who wants to try to improve their grade by replacing a low grade on one of the four tests). Her grades were 49, 60, 65, and 70 and she did not take the optional final exam. The syllabus also says there are no extra credit opportunities. Any comments? WWYD? Dr. Wildblood I know this is very late but after reviewing my grades for this semester I realized that my grade for your class, Psychology was my only grade that was below a B. I am applying to Radiology school at Mary Washington Hospital in Janurary and they willl not accept an application with a gade that i received in your class. I know that the grade reflects work that i did in your class,but i shpwed up tp class everyday and took notes and payed attention. This is my second time taking psychology because my credit from last year at UVA WISE did not transfer and i happened to have a B in that class. (go figure). Although the only thing that helped me receive that B was extra work and assigments that were given in class by the professor. I am not a good test taker as you can see. I study for the tests and think i know the information. But when i am given the test i do horrible. Is there anything i can do, an extra paper or something that i can turn in or email you that will raise my g! rade to a B. i need it for Radiology school. If i need to make an appoitment and come in i am willing to do that. thank you . Robert W. Wildblood, PhD Riverside Counseling Center and Adjunct Psychology Faculty @ Germanna Community College drb...@rcn.com . The soundest argument will produce no more conviction in an empty head than the most superficial declamation; as a feather and a guinea fall with equal velocity in a vacuum. - Charles Caleb Colton, author and clergyman (1780-1832) . Be like the fountain that overflows, not like the cistern that merely contains. -Paulo Coelho, Brazilian Author and Lyricist . We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools. We must make sure that people who have the grades, the desire and the will, but not the money, can still get the best education possible. - Barack Obama, President of the United States of America --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the BF in Skinner?
Of course there was one contemporary who did call Skinner 'Burrhus'; his long time (from grad school unto death) friend and colleague Fred Keller. Keller felt that since he was several years older he had priority on the name 'Fred', and thus referred to Skinner (even directly) as 'Burrhus'. But no one else did. On Dec 17, 2009, at 3:58 AM, Allen Esterson wrote: ���Michael Britt wrote on why Skinner preferred to be called Fred: If I had a name like Burrhus I'd probably do the same thing. A rather more famous person (in the UK at least) had a similar problem, but resolved it differently. Chief Inspector Morse, of the Oxford Criminal Investigation Department, insisted that people call him just Morse (though on one occasion he told someone his first name was Inspector – tee, hee!). For some reason he was bashful about revealing that his name was Endeavour. http://www.itv.com/drama/copsandcrime/morseweekend/ castandcharacters/default.html Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org Re: [tips] Who put the BF in Skinner? Britt, Michael Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:09:29 -0800 If I had a name like Burrhus I'd probably do the same thing. Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com Twitter: mbritt On Dec 16, 2009, at 2:04 PM, Paul Brandon wrote: Besides, he never liked his given first name, and much preferred 'Fred'. Anecdote: I got this story from C. B. (Charlie) Ferster; one of Skinner's first grad students: Ferster (a frequent visitor at Skinner's home) once walked into Skinner's living room to find Skinner seated on a sofa with a sign around his neck saying FRED. On Dec 16, 2009, at 12:29 PM, Jim Dougan wrote: At 12:22 PM 12/16/2009, you wrote: I could swear that your students will not know. Btw,why is he the only behavioral scienist we address with his first two inititials? We do not say P Brandon,C Green, S Black,or C Hull,so why the BF Skinner? Was there a Jaywalking episode where Jay Leno asked people what the BF stands for in BF Skinner? I am told by my graduate advisor (F.K. McSweeney) that it is something of a Harvard tradition to publish that way. Herrnstein sometimes went as R.J. Herrnstein. Stevens went by S.S. Stevens, etc. They are respectively called Fran Dick and Smitty by friends - but they published using initials. Of course, Skinner's friends called him Fred so he does not break the pattern. Of course there is JER Staddon and MEP Seligman if we want to go to 3 initials. -- J.D. Dougan Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] It's that plagiarism time of year again...
I'd suggest you talk to your Dean about that. My experience has been that (particularly in state institutions) the benefit of the doubt goes to the customers (er, students) and that the standard of proof required to administer sanctions approaches that of criminal law. On Dec 17, 2009, at 5:36 PM, Paul C Bernhardt wrote: I'm not sure that proof beyond reasonable doubt is the correct standard. We aren't sending anyone to prison. Paul C. Bernhardt Department of Psychology Frostburg State University Frostburg, Maryland -Original Message- From: Paul Brandon [mailto:paul.bran...@mnsu.edu] Sent: Thu 12/17/2009 5:33 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] It's that plagiarism time of year again... The problem is that 'most likely' is not the same as 'proof beyond a reasonable doubt' as the basis for sanctions against a student you are accusing of cheating. On Dec 17, 2009, at 3:54 PM, Beth Benoit wrote: I think the key, John, is comparing performance records. The bright student continued on to have an excellent exam. The poor student, who was close to failing (and also happened to sit near the good student) suddenly had an astounding performance. Applying Occam's Razor here: What seems like the most likely explanation is the most likely explanation. And he/she probably couldn't see her neighbor's paper clearly enough to add the fine computation her neighbor provided, so just gave the answer. I continue to marvel, as you and I discussed this afternoon, that all too frequently, the poor students don't realize that to suddenly turn in an almost perfect exam, or as in Carol's student's case, an excellent paper, is just TOO suspicious. Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 4:00 PM, John Kulig ku...@mail.plymouth.edu wrote: Yes, that time of year again! I have never used Turnitin.com but I want to introduce another problem I just encountered ... Two students in stats both turned in an exam with the exact same multiple choice answers(35 out of 39 correct, and both the correct AND incorrect choices were identical). I have never seen this happen before. One student was aceing the class and the other was on the verge of failing. I have a pretty solid case of copying not just on this point on other parts of the exam because the poorer student also had correct AND incorrect answers on the computation part out to two decimal places (including a proportion of variance effect size of 2.15 which is bogus), all without computation, just answers written down. Because I am grading non- stop and need a diversion, I am intrigued with guestimating the probability of the MC being identical on all 39 given no cheating. It's obviously a low probability as my MC scores average close to optimal difficulty level (in the 60 - 70% range), so it's not the case that most people get most of them correct. Anybody ever try to model this problem? I can assume they both knew 35 answers, get the frequencies of all the wrong answers for the class, and assume people guess randomly when they don't know. But they only missed 4. I can also regress this exam on previous exam scores and show that the poor student getting only 4 wrong is an outlier, but that may not be convincing enough .. and thoughts would be appreciated. If the student were brigher they should have changed a few answers and scribbled a few computations here and there on the sheet! -- John W. Kulig Professor of Psychology Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 -- - Original Message - From: DeVolder Carol L devoldercar...@sau.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 2:56:53 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] It's that plagiarism time of year again... Hi, I have a student who has done poorly on his exams but has turned in a stunningly good paper. Frankly, I don't think he wrote it but I'm having difficulty showing that. I have Googled key phrases but nothing has turned up, so I don't think he copied and pasted, I think he bought it. Can anyone give me some idea of what Turnitin.com charges for an individual license? It's the only thing I can think of, other than confronting the student, which will most likely be my next step. I hate this stuff, it takes so much time and really takes a toll on my enthusiasm for grading. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. Carol Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chair, Department of Psychology St. Ambrose University Davenport, Iowa 52803 phone: 563-333-6482 e-mail: devoldercar...@sau.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe
Re: [tips] Who put the BF in Skinner?
Besides, he never liked his given first name, and much preferred 'Fred'. Anecdote: I got this story from C. B. (Charlie) Ferster; one of Skinner's first grad students: Ferster (a frequent visitor at Skinner's home) once walked into Skinner's living room to find Skinner seated on a sofa with a sign around his neck saying FRED. On Dec 16, 2009, at 12:29 PM, Jim Dougan wrote: At 12:22 PM 12/16/2009, you wrote: I could swear that your students will not know.Btw,why is he the only behavioral scienist we address with his first two inititials? We do not say P Brandon,C Green, S Black,or C Hull,so why the BF Skinner? Was there a Jaywalking episode where Jay Leno asked people what the BF stands for in BF Skinner? I am told by my graduate advisor (F.K. McSweeney) that it is something of a Harvard tradition to publish that way. Herrnstein sometimes went as R.J. Herrnstein. Stevens went by S.S. Stevens, etc. They are respectively called Fran Dick and Smitty by friends - but they published using initials. Of course, Skinner's friends called him Fred so he does not break the pattern. Of course there is JER Staddon and MEP Seligman if we want to go to 3 initials. -- J.D. Dougan Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the BF in Skinner?
Fred On Dec 16, 2009, at 1:16 PM, DeVolder Carol L wrote: How is Burrhus pronounced? -Original Message- From: Britt, Michael [mailto:michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 1:09 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Who put the BF in Skinner? If I had a name like Burrhus I'd probably do the same thing. On Dec 16, 2009, at 2:04 PM, Paul Brandon wrote: Besides, he never liked his given first name, and much preferred 'Fred'. Anecdote: I got this story from C. B. (Charlie) Ferster; one of Skinner's first grad students: Ferster (a frequent visitor at Skinner's home) once walked into Skinner's living room to find Skinner seated on a sofa with a sign around his neck saying FRED. On Dec 16, 2009, at 12:29 PM, Jim Dougan wrote: At 12:22 PM 12/16/2009, you wrote: I could swear that your students will not know.Btw,why is he the only behavioral scienist we address with his first two inititials? We do not say P Brandon,C Green, S Black,or C Hull,so why the BF Skinner? Was there a Jaywalking episode where Jay Leno asked people what the BF stands for in BF Skinner? I am told by my graduate advisor (F.K. McSweeney) that it is something of a Harvard tradition to publish that way. Herrnstein sometimes went as R.J. Herrnstein. Stevens went by S.S. Stevens, etc. They are respectively called Fran Dick and Smitty by friends - but they published using initials. Of course, Skinner's friends called him Fred so he does not break the pattern. Of course there is JER Staddon and MEP Seligman if we want to go to 3 initials. -- J.D. Dougan Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the BF in Skinner?
But Rachlin prefers 'Howie' ;-) On Dec 16, 2009, at 3:00 PM, Lilienfeld, Scott O wrote: Interestingly, we have one radical behaviorist on our psychology faculty at Emory (Ph.D. student of Howard Rachlin, whom I believe in turn was a Ph.D. student of Skinner at Harvard) – and he often goes by J.J. McDowell. …Scott Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Crazy Ambien Sex?
Of course, the same could be said for ethanol. On Dec 13, 2009, at 11:02 AM, Helweg-Larsen, Marie wrote: I like the quote from the first link: Experts say the claims of Ambien as a sexual enhancer don't jibe with science. I've never heard of it being used in that kind of context, said Ralph Tarter, the director of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research. It reduces arousal, rather than heightens arousal. If anyone is anticipating a romantic engagement, one would be more inclined to use a drug that doesn't put you to sleep. Marie Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Department Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology Kaufman 168, Dickinson College Carlisle, PA 17013, office (717) 245-1562, fax (717) 245-1971 Office hours: Mon/Thur 3-4, Tues 10:30-11:30 http://users.dickinson.edu/~helwegm/index.html -Original Message- From: Mike Palij [mailto:m...@nyu.edu] Sent: Saturday, December 12, 2009 4:30 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Cc: Mike Palij Subject: [tips] Crazy Ambien Sex? TiPS has been a Tiger Woods Free Zone (unless I've missed some posts) and I am loathe to infect with it with TW news but as I was going through the Sunday NY Daily News this morning a headline caught my eye: Ambien is aphrodisiac, swear randy bloggers NOTE: the online version of this story has a slightly different title: http://tinyurl.com/ydr95ed As an occasional user of Ambien I admit to having been surprised to read this (if the claim is true that one can engage in wild sex and not remember it then I may have even more things to be surprised about). A quick search of the web confirms that the claim was made on bloggers' websites relative to Woods; see: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/12/ skank_week_is_not_yet_over_the.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/archive/2009/12/07/tiger- woods-crazy-ambien-sex.aspx http://www.celebitchy.com/83467/ tiger_woods_mistress_we_have_crazy_ambien_sex/ There are other bloggers who also report sexual side effects prior to the Woods disclosure; for example: http://ezinearticles.com/?Ambien-Side-Effects-May-Make-You-Think- Twice-Before-Using-Itid=430781 This article was submitted on January 25, 2007. Quoting it: |In the same vein as the above side effects of Ambien is that some |people become sexually uninhibited and display extreme sexual |behavior while on Ambien. Again, most do not remember acting |that way or that they engaged in sexual activity when they wake up |the next morning. While some may find this to be a side benefit |rather than a side effect it can be dangerous. Often the person |tends to not have inhibitions about WHO they have sex with. |One woman reported that several people who knew she was |taking Ambien used it as an opportunity to have sex with her when |she normally would not have done so with them. Now, a check of side effects shows that there are a variety of side effects including various activities where the person appears to be awake but has no memory for the activities; for example, see: http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-9690-Ambien+Oral.aspx? drugid=9690drugname=Ambien+Oral Although it seems possible to have sex while on Ambien it doesn't appear to function either as an aphrodisiac (that is, increase one's desire to have sex) or to engage in more extreme sex though these behaviors may not have been reported by the people who particiapted in the original studies validating Ambien as a sleep aid (perhaps they were embarassed to report such things or thought that they were unrelated to Ambien use). So, crazy Ambien sex: mass delusion/urban legend/self-fulfilling prophecy or unexpected side effect affecting a small proportion of people or whatever? -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Three Psychologists Walk Into A Bar or What To Do Instead of Academia
Funny, but not funny enough. On Dec 14, 2009, at 7:41 PM, michael sylvester wrote: Mike: Please note that the Tipster of the year award is copyrighted and is my domain.Any more onfringement could subject you to hard labor at the U,S-Canada-Russian front. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] MBTI
Seems to be very popular in schools of business, which is why your administrators are into it. On Dec 10, 2009, at 7:58 AM, Bourgeois, Dr. Martin wrote: I just received the following email from my university, and before responding, I thought I'd get some other opinions. Here's the email: Based upon Carl Jung’s research on psychological types, the Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother Katharine Cook Briggs, and has become the most widely trusted personality inventory in the United States and throughout the world. Participants will complete the MBTI inventory, learn about personality types, and receive their individual personality profiles during this series. In Session #1, participants will complete the MBTI inventory, with program and results covered in Session #2. My understanding is that the MBTI is held in low regard by personality psychologists, and has shown little validity. Any thoughts? --- Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Help with hysteria
Q1: Beware of simply substituting labels; what were thought to be natural fracture points between classes of phenomena fifty years ago are not so regarded now. Q2: Or possibly 'iatrogenic' (a condition created or made worse by a treatment). There is always a third possibility beyond 'made better' and 'no effect'. On Dec 3, 2009, at 3:13 PM, Lilienfeld, Scott O wrote: Hi Annette - Q1 is complicated, and doesn't have a clear-cut answer, largely because hysteria was such a remarkably broad category. But by and large, though, what was then called hysteria probably largely subsumes what are now somatoform disorders (especially somatization disorder and conversion disorder) and dissociative disorders (e.g., dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, dissociative identity disorder, once called multiple personality disorder) - which were split into separate categories in 1980 in DSM-III (a decision that is still debated). For a discussion, see Hyler and Spitzer (1978): http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/135/12/1500 Answer to Q2 is indeterminate, but the best informed guess is probably None. -Original Message- From: tay...@sandiego.edu [mailto:tay...@sandiego.edu] Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 3:32 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Help with hysteria One of the students in my intro psych course is writing a paper for her English class on hysteria. I am not a clinician and I have a very limited ability to answer her questions she asked me. I could probably google some information--but then so could she. I know wikipedia has a good treatise. Specifically, she'd like to know two things: (1) what do we now label the disorders that used to be called hysteria. (2) what effect did the old-fashioned treatment for hysteria have on those disorders. Well, I know a little bit such as these are now pretty much subsumed by somatoform disorders and I have a sense that the treatments were quite ineffective back in the day when the diagnosis of hysteria was quite in vogue, such as complete sensory deprivation, isolation, a slap in the face, or cold water in the face, probaby just make the person more hysterical. Then along came psychoanalysis. Not sure how much that helped other than for factors common to most therapeutic interventions that are at least kindly. So any specific guidance to sources would be appreciated. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Music Therapy Requirements?
There's a national association of music therapists that has a certification program. http://www.musictherapy.org/ At least in Minnesota, there don't seem to be any State requirements. On Dec 2, 2009, at 5:13 PM, Britt, Michael wrote: Last year I interviewed music therapist Kamile Geist from Ohio University. She says in the interview that anyone who wants to contact her to talk about the field of music therapy can certainly do so. Might send your student to her. Here's the link: http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2008/05/episode-56-what-is-music-therapy/ On Dec 2, 2009, at 4:24 PM, Wehlburg, Catherine wrote: Fellow TIPsters, An undergraduate student (majoring in music composition) and taking my general psychology course, has decided that he is interested in learning more about becoming a music therapist. Are there programs for this? Licensing requirements? Any insight that you have that I can share with my student would be much appreciated. Thank you! Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Views: A Defense of the Lecture - Inside Higher Ed
But of course this means that the ideal (live) lecture is too far ahead fo half the students and too far behind for the other half. On Nov 20, 2009, at 6:49 AM, Christopher D. Green wrote: Maybe lectures aren't so bad after all, says this writer. Maybe they are better pitched (than discussion) at the typical level of student reading abilities. http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2009/11/20/kotsko Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ == --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Critique of Harris's book: The Nurture Assumption/Study in Social psychology?
Stephen-- Since I was talking primarily about my own behavior, I find it strange to be accused of being judgmental. My main point was to explain why I had dropped out of the discussion, including the fact that I had not read the book. This was my main point; not a debate of Harris. That is why I'm not going to post further on this topic. The final judgement on Harris will not be made on this list; it will be the pragmatic effects of her writings. Since Harris' arguments do not rest on a single study, one counterexample would not refute them. The question is not whether Harris's conclusions are true or false; it is whether they are well enough supported to be more than an interesting hypothesis on which one should withhold judgement (my opinion). I'll simply ask you one specific question (if I had a copy of the book available I'd answer it myself ;-): how many recent studies (the past 20 years ) from the behavioral literature did she cite? On Nov 18, 2009, at 7:19 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: I've been away and seem to have missed the fun. But I can't help but join in on this judgemental comment from Paul, which is rather daring of him considering that he admits that he has not read Harris' book. On 18 Nov 2009 at 11:02, Paul Brandon wrote: E.g., I think that Joan has a valid point about Harris' failure to address a considerable behavioral literature in the past 20 years showing the effects of parental actions on child behavior snip but since I don't have a copy of the book available, I am not prepared to debate it with someone who has. Where did Paul get the idea that Harris failed to address the behavioural literature on parental actions? In fact, her skillful treatment of this literature is one of the strengths of her book. In a detailed, insightful chapter on methodology (The Nature and Nurture of the Evidence), she discusses the flawed nature of this research, in particular its failure to consider that the results reported for parental effects could be explained as readily by heredity as by upbringing. Joan also fails to understand this (see her critique). Harris says: [Behaviour geneticists] are still overwhelmingly outnumbered by socialization researchers. Perhaps that is why most socialization researchers find it easy to ignore the results of behavioral genetic studies. The behavioral geneticists, on the other hand, do not ignore the work of socialization researchers. They have pointed out time and again that the failure to control for the effects of heredity makes the results of most socialization studies uninterpretable. And they are right. In her next chapter, Harris reviews the literature on parental actions through a detailed discussion of a major and lengthy review paper by Maccoby and Martin on the topic. She cites their conclusion, The implications are either that parental behaviors have no effect, or that the only effective aspects of parenting must very greatly from one child to the other within the same family (which Harris then further discusses). Although Maccoby and Martin published back in 1983, one only has to pick up a current textbook or journal of child psychology to see that the problems they (and later Harris) identified with parenting studies are still with us today. Joan, despite claiming to have read Harris' book, seems oblivious of these problems. Harris does consider examples of socialization research as well, notably the deeply flawed work on birth order effects, but also such matters as research on parenting styles so beloved by Joan, day care, and unconventional homes, and finds all these sources of evidence wanting in support for parental effects. She also reviews such topics as attachment studies, studies of deprived children, the effects of father absence, divorce, and spanking. How many more such studies would Joan have Harris repetitively plod through if every one shows the same defects? To recyle a familiar phrase, garbage in = garbage out. This is why I did not ask Joan to provide a verbose, rambling, nit-picking essay consisting mostly of false accusations against Harris of incorrect referencing. I asked her to provide us with one single experiment which, in her opinion, unequivocally blows Harris' research-buttressed contention away, and shows, once and for all, that parental upbringing does have a lasting effect on the adult personality. Harris' claim that it does not is what horrifies Joan, and it's the substantive issue I expected Joan would respond to in her critique. Not misguided trivia about referencing, style, and illustrative anecdotes. I'm still waiting. Stephen - Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada -- - --- To make changes to your subscription
Re: [tips] Critique of Harris's book: The Nurture Assumption/Study in Social psychology?
--- Re: [tips] Critique of Harris's book: The Nurture Assumption/Study in Social psychology? Joan Warmbold Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:58:06 -0800 I received around the same number of commendations as I did criticisms of my critique of The Nurture Assumption, but the former ALL were sent directly to me whereas the latter were ALL posted to the listserv. I found that kind of weird as it seems to imply that folks feel a bit intimidated to go public with their positive reactions to a critique of Harris? Regardless, it's of little import, as I quite appreciated each and every one of you who took time out of your busy schedule to provide helpful feedback relative to which aspects were cited as being valid and important as well as segments that were cited as requiring revision. I am moving forward with this critique as certain parties have expressed interest in bringing it to a wider audience. But, never fear, I won't be sending any further installments to the TIPS listserv. For those of you who would like to receive the completed critique (and have not already expressed an interest in such), I will be more than pleased to provide such. Joan jwarm...@oakton.edu Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] News: 'The College Fear Factor' - Inside Higher Ed
See Fred Keller's 'Goodbye Teacher' -- an early description of the PSI method of behavioral instruction which is a unit mastery self paced system not dependent on lectures. I used it for 40 years without lecturing. Keller, F. S. (1968). Good-bye, teacher.. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,. 1, 79-89. On Nov 18, 2009, at 8:05 AM, Bourgeois, Dr. Martin wrote: I'll admit ignorance on this topic. Is there any good empirical evidence that alternative instructional approaches are as effective as, or better than, the traditional lecture? I wonder if there may be some truth to students' perceptions that some of these methods are irrelevant ‘b.s.,’ a waste of time, or simply a lack of instruction.' From: Christopher D. Green [chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 8:49 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] News: 'The College Fear Factor' - Inside Higher Ed An interesting article, especially for those who prefer not to lecture, in favor of discussion/participation models of teaching. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/11/18/fearfactor Here area couple of tidbits: some students 'interpreted the absence of a lecture as the absence of instruction.' 'Students' firmly held expectations undermined the instructors’ efforts to achieve their pedagogical goals,' Cox [the researcher] writes. 'Ultimately, students’ pedagogical conception led to overt resistance and prevented them from benefiting from alternative instructional approaches, which they perceived variously as irrelevant ‘b.s.,’ a waste of time, or simply a lack of instruction.' Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ == --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Behaviorism's Dark Side (Humorous...)
Appears to be inspired by Skinner's 'Pigeon in a Pelican'. On Nov 18, 2009, at 7:46 AM, Helweg-Larsen, Marie wrote: Very cute. Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Department Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology Kaufman 168, Dickinson College Carlisle, PA 17013 Office: (717) 245-1562, Fax: (717) 245-1971 http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/psych/helwegm/ -Original Message- From: Britt, Michael [mailto:michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 7:23 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Behaviorism's Dark Side (Humorous...) Put this in the Now look what you've gone and done department: here's what (could) happen when you teach pigeons to peck at buttons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEjUAnPc2VA Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Article in WSJ on study how brain develops without Dad.
Two basic issues: First, it's hard to talk about a cause when there's no observable effect. Second, we must assume no effect absence evidence of one. Two basic principles of scientific inference. So, while it is certainly possible that there is an effect, we must assume otherwise until we have evidence of the existence of an effect; not simply plausibility. On Nov 2, 2009, at 9:58 PM, Michael Smith wrote: oops At the end of my last post I meant to say that I don't know the literature but it seems implausible to me that one can claim that there are no long lasting effects of divorce and day-care etc. As mentioned, the issue is complex and their are many intervening variables between the daycare years and adulthood. But I would be suspicious anyway since it seems to be just what our society wants to hear to qualm uneasy consciences. That is, Don't worry North America, increased divorce rates and increased farming of children out to daycare doesn't and won't have any bad or lingering effects on the kids. Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Can anyone call him/herself a psychotherapist?
This would be a matter of state law; as far as I know your statement is correct for Minnesota. On Nov 2, 2009, at 8:03 AM, Paul Okami wrote: My understanding is that in the UK, Canada, and the USA, anyone can call him or herself a therapist or psychotherapist and practice, as long as that person does not claim to be licensed, use the word psychologist or Doctor and so forth. I'm virtually positive this was true at one time, and various web sites claim that it is true, but recently someone challenged this statement and told me that at least in some states the law requires anyone claiming to be a therapist to be licensed. Does anyone know about this with some measure of certainty? Thanks, Paul Okami Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Article in WSJ on study how brain develops without Dad.
But of course, no indication of how well these assertions are supported (the authors are journalists after all, not psychologists). On Nov 1, 2009, at 6:33 PM, Michael Smith wrote: Actually, you will be glad to know that we already have the answer about kids and involved dads. Specifically, involved dads raise more aggressive kids and should not be involved at all, or at least go back to the threatening/punishing mode (ah always knew me da was write!). As you will see in tThe news article reporting on the book in which U.S. journalists Ashley Merryman and Po Bronson boil down a decade of psychology, neurobiology and social-science research... a link: http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/progressive-dads-are-why-kids-act- out-in-school-sesame-street-will-make-junior-bossy-praise-sets-your- child-up-to-fail-play-time-is-the-road-to-self-control/ article1337898/?service=mobile --Mike On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 3:59 PM, Don Allen dal...@langara.bc.ca wrote: Hi Mike- Glad you agree with me that most typical childhood experiences (dacare, divorce, etc.) will have little or no long term effect on the kids. Unfortunately, there are still plenty of helicopter parents out there who feel that if their precious darling spent a day away from them then they'd be scarred for life. I keep hoping that I'll find someone to take the bait, uh I mean bet, but so far no luck. -Don. - Original Message - From: Michael Smith Date: Sunday, November 1, 2009 6:31 am Subject: Re: [tips] Article in WSJ on study how brain develops without Dad. To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) I think we have pretty well established that kids do fine when raised by two same-sex parents If doing fine means they are alive and surviving then yes of course, and I don't think that doing fine can mean much more than that. I have a standing bet of $10,000 that no one can reliably determine whether an adult was raised in day care or at home by observing their behaviour and their interactions with others. Well, that sounds like a pretty safe bet. I doubt whether anyone can reliably determine anything about your typical adult's early life experiences by observing their current adult behavior. -- Mike --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Don Allen, Retired Formerly with: Dept. of Psychology Langara College 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Y 2Z6 Phone: 604-733-0039 --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] The Psychological Record
J.R. Kantor was long an anonymous commentator for Psych Rec. On Oct 30, 2009, at 1:09 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: On 30 Oct 2009 at 13:55, Wuensch, Karl L wrote: A colleague of mine asked the editor of The Psychological Record about page charges. In her reply, the editor made it clear that The Psychological Record does NOT have page charges, and never has. Thanks, Karl. It will be interesting to see how the discrepancy between this and Annette's experience of paying exorbitant page charges to the Record is resolved. Does false memory strike again? So, was I also right about _Psychological Record_ favouring a behaviouristic orientation? :-) (Reminds me of the joke about the rabbi mediating a dispute. He listens to the wife first, and concludes You're right. He then listens to the husband, nods wisely, and concludes You're right. A bystander protests, Rabbi, they can't both be right. The rabbi replies,You're right too! ) Stephen - Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada -- - --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Teach both evolution and creationism say 54% of Britons | Science | The Guardian
All well and good but Teaching Creationism is too easily construed as teaching that Creationism is a validly scientific theory, which of course it isn't. In these terms, the response is that if you want to teach it (as opposed to teaching _about_ it (that is, exposing its weaknesses in scientific terms) you should do so in a class on religion. We don't want to give a wedge to those public school (in the American usage) teachers who want the right to teach Creationism as valid science on equal terms with evolution, as you point out. I'm not sure that the average junior high school science teacher (who may have taken two science courses in college) is equipped or inclined to lead a class through a critical analysis. On Oct 28, 2009, at 6:39 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: On 28 Oct 2009 at 17:43, Christopher D. Green wrote: More Brits than Americans now favor creationism in science classes... http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/25/teach-evolution- creationism-britons For shame! And on Darwin's home ice too. Opinion among scientists seems to be uniformly against allowing any mention of creationism in the classroom. The understandable fear is that allowing creationism to be discussed will elevate it in the eyes of students to the status of an alternative scientific theory worthy of attention. In a worst-case scenario, it might allow creationist teachers the chance to promote creationism over evolution. But I think this misses an important opportunity. Students are likely to be confused because, on the one hand, they are told that science operates, not by decree, but by asking questions and examing the evidence dispassionately, and on the other, are told that what may appear to them as a credible alternative theory cannot be discussed in the classroom. Yes, science promotes free and open inquiry. No, you may not talk about intelligent design in the classroom. So creationism should be taught. But it should be taught in order to contrast it with evolution as a scientific theory, supported by evidence, capable of being disproved, subject to modification as new evidence is obtained, and leading to new knowledge and applications. Creationism as a religious belief can do none of these things. Students should be able to appreciate the difference, and where better to teach this than in the science classroom. In short, I think it is important to teach students not only why evolution is a scientific theory, but why intelligent design is not. This seems to be a distinctly minority position. But I notice that one person quoted in the Guardian article comes close to this position: But Alison Ryan, policy adviser of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers Union, said that if a good teacher handled the lesson, presenting creationism and intelligent design need not be problematic. Science teachers could introduce creationism as a theory that some people hold, but that is not based on evidence. Much better, it seems to me, than saying Creationism is not a scientific theory and we will not discuss it here. Try Sunday school. On a related note, as a member of the privileged group Project Steve, I have now received my (free!) t-shirt from the National Center for Science Education ( www.ncseweb.org ). It says on the front Over 1000 scientists named Steve agree and it then lists them in tiny letters (I'm between Steven D. Black and Stephen Blackmore). At the bottom it advises Teach Evolution! More names on the back. At the bottom it says In memoriam Stephen Jay Gould 1941-2002. It's very cool. Tom, Dick (and Jane), Harry, and all the Michaels on this list, I'm sorry, but you can't have one. Project Steve at http://ncse.com/taking-action/project-steve Stephen - Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada -- - --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] question about op cond and drug use
I'm not sure that operant conditioning can EXPLAIN drug addiction, but it certainly has been used to analyze and treat it. Drugs are very potent reinforcers -- generally regarded as positive reinforcers, although avoidance of withdrawal symptoms can be looked at as negative reinforcement. Strictly speaking, an addictive drug is one that produces physiological changes in the user that results in withdrawal symptoms when use is discontinued. Drugs are primary reinforcers (reinforcing in their own right; not because of their association with other reinforcers), so it's hard to simply extinguish drug using behavior. Reinforcing incompatible behaviors is usually more effective. There's an extensive literature on this (unfortunately I don't have examples available). So, drug addiction (as a state) is a pattern of behaviors maintained by drugs as reinforcers. Simple conceptually; hard to deal with in practice because of the difficulty of competing with a potent established reinforcer whose reinforcing effects are much more immediate than its negative consequences, and also often more effective than the reinforcers for competing behaviors which are more healthful in the long run. I know that this is very sketchy, but it's a start. On Oct 7, 2009, at 10:34 AM, DeVolder Carol L wrote: I am embarrassed to ask this question because I should know the answer, but I have a bad cold and am on lots of drugs (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). How is drug addiction explained in terms of operant conditioning? I can explain it using words, but when I try to employ my four-cell contingency table I screw myself up. I realize this model is an inadequate explanation for drug addiction, but I need to present it clearly before I critique it. Thanks, Carol (who really does know more about operant conditioning than this message implies...) Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chair, Department of Psychology St. Ambrose University Davenport, Iowa 52803 phone: 563-333-6482 e-mail: devoldercar...@sau.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] question about op cond and drug use
Explaining WHY a drug is reinforcing would rely on a respondent (Pavlovian) conditioning model; explaining HOW a drug affects behavior requires operant (Skinnerian) conditioning. On Oct 7, 2009, at 11:27 AM, Marc Carter wrote: I'd want to explain that drug addiction (withdrawal and tolerance) are best explained with respondent conditioning; avoidance of withdrawal and drug seeking behavior are best explained with operant conditioning. But the addiction, per se, is really better explained with respondent conditioning. The treatments for addiction that are most effective are very much like systematic desensitization, so the addiction itself seems more Pavlovian than Skinnerian. (I know that last part's a logical fallacy, but there are mechanisms in the theory, like compensatory response that make it more reasonable.) I think m -- Marc Carter, PhD Associate Professor and Chair Department of Psychology College of Arts Sciences Baker University -- -Original Message- From: Paul Brandon [mailto:paul.bran...@mnsu.edu] Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 11:15 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] question about op cond and drug use I'm not sure that operant conditioning can EXPLAIN drug addiction, but it certainly has been used to analyze and treat it. Drugs are very potent reinforcers -- generally regarded as positive reinforcers, although avoidance of withdrawal symptoms can be looked at as negative reinforcement. Strictly speaking, an addictive drug is one that produces physiological changes in the user that results in withdrawal symptoms when use is discontinued. Drugs are primary reinforcers (reinforcing in their own right; not because of their association with other reinforcers), so it's hard to simply extinguish drug using behavior. Reinforcing incompatible behaviors is usually more effective. There's an extensive literature on this (unfortunately I don't have examples available). So, drug addiction (as a state) is a pattern of behaviors maintained by drugs as reinforcers. Simple conceptually; hard to deal with in practice because of the difficulty of competing with a potent established reinforcer whose reinforcing effects are much more immediate than its negative consequences, and also often more effective than the reinforcers for competing behaviors which are more healthful in the long run. I know that this is very sketchy, but it's a start. On Oct 7, 2009, at 10:34 AM, DeVolder Carol L wrote: I am embarrassed to ask this question because I should know the answer, but I have a bad cold and am on lots of drugs (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). How is drug addiction explained in terms of operant conditioning? I can explain it using words, but when I try to employ my four-cell contingency table I screw myself up. I realize this model is an inadequate explanation for drug addiction, but I need to present it clearly before I critique it. Thanks, Carol (who really does know more about operant conditioning than this message implies...) Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chair, Department of Psychology St. Ambrose University Davenport, Iowa 52803 phone: 563-333-6482 e-mail: devoldercar...@sau.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments thereto (e-mail) is sent by Baker University (BU) and is intended to be confidential and for the use of only the individual or entity named above. The information may be protected by federal and state privacy and disclosures acts or other legal rules. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e- mail in error please immediately notify Baker University by email reply and immediately and permanently delete this e-mail message and any attachments thereto. Thank you. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Kitty Genovese/The Windy City
Mike-- Your post is ridiculous. Go back and read what Ken and Jim actually said. The situation was dangerous. The proper assessment is fear, not apathy; there is a difference. Plenty of people called 911; they were just understandably reluctant to enter a war zone. And how much time have YOU spent living in a black community in Chicago? Please spare us your Daytonacentric analyses ;-) On Sep 29, 2009, at 11:36 PM, michael sylvester wrote: Ken,Jim: Are you trying to say that there were no bystanders' apathy because two black gangs were involved? Your posts are ridiculous. Are bystanders' apathy only reserved for white people? I saw the video too but the video did not capture folks who were 100 or 200 yards away. There were ordinary people around and this fact has been a matter of discussion on the major news network.Obviously you all know nothing about a black community.Gimme a break. Keep your eurocentric cognitive imperialistic analysis in the classrom.dude. Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Football players, concussions and early onset of Alzheimer's
Some specifics from the article: Sean Morey, an Arizona Cardinals player who has been vocal in supporting research in this area, said: “This is about more than us — it’s about the high school kid in 2011 who might not die on the field because he ignored the risks of concussions.” The Michigan researchers found that 6.1 percent of players age 50 and above reported that they had received a dementia-related diagnosis, five times higher than the cited national average, 1.2 percent. Players ages 30 through 49 showed a rate of 1.9 percent, or 19 times that of the national average, 0.1 percent. and So the Michigan findings suggest that although 50 N.F.L. retirees would be expected to have dementia or memory-related disease, the actual number could be more like 300. This would not prove causation in any individual case, but it would support a connection between pro football careers and heightened prevalence of later-life cognitive decline that the league has long disputed. I'd be curious about the relative dementia incidence rates of former high school football and hockey players compared to the pro's and to the population in general. Were the increased dementia incidence cited in this (as yet unreviewed and unpublished) article due to injuries as pro's, or earlier high school injuries. I've read that concussion rates are higher in high school athletes than in pro's (less training, more blind aggression). Raises some interesting questions that ought to be answered -- I'm more concerned about hundreds of thousands of former high school footballers than a few thousand well compensated pro's. On Sep 30, 2009, at 7:08 PM, Joan Warmbold wrote: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/sports/football/30dementia.html?em Amazing how long it has taken for a study to be conducted and acknowledged by the NFL that reveals the relationship between concussions and early cognitive impairments of professional football players. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Dead salmon detects human emotion
Was the dead fish also a co-author? On Sep 17, 2009, at 5:08 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: Remarkable new experiment, a fMRI study by Bennett et al reported at the 15th annual meeting of the Organization for Brain Mapping in June this year in San Francisco. Meeting announcement at http://www.meetingassistant3.com/OHBM2009/index.php From the Methods section of the abstract: Subject: One mature Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) participated in the fMR study. The salmon was...not alive at the time of scanning. Task: The task administered to the salmon involved completing an open-ended mentalizing task. The salmon was shown a series of photographs depicting human individuals in social situations with a specified emotional valence. The salmon was asked to determine what emotion the individual in the photo must have been experiencing. http://prefrontal.org/files/posters/Bennett-Salmon-2009.jpg for the abstract of the poster presentation (the poster itself, actually) And if that doesn't make itself clear, try this: http://tinyurl.com/mww9tj Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Early Spankings Make for Aggressive Toddlers, Study Shows - Yahoo! News
The usual-- It was a retrospective verbal report study, they didn't assign toddlers randomly to spanked/nonspanked groups etc etc. They could just as well concluded that more aggressive toddlers are more likely to be spanked. On Sep 15, 2009, at 1:59 PM, Christopher D. Green wrote: Apropos of the earlier debate on spanking here. http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090915/hl_hsn/ earlyspankingsmakeforaggressivetoddlersstudyshows Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Placebos getting stronger?
Sounds like you've been drinking too much -- habituated to ethanol. On Aug 30, 2009, at 11:19 AM, michael sylvester wrote: I could hardly differentiate between a glass of cream soda and one that supposedly contained Canadian whiskey. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Determining major and minor
An interesting conjecture. On Aug 29, 2009, at 1:49 PM, michael sylvester wrote: Michael: Perhaps for a change you could send *us* something: For instance, some statistically-based evidence for your assertion. Allen Esterson If I was going about looking for evidence,I would be brain dead. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] The compassion of Braveheart
Allen-- Mea Culpa -- I took a small leap there. My point was that, at least on the basis of the evidence that I've seen in the media, al-Megrahi's role was at best that of a minor contributer (like the driver of a getaway car in a bank robbery who's convicted of murder because someone was killed in the robbery). I suspect that he was simply the largest fish that they could catch, under considerable political pressure to come up with someone. There's no indication that anyone actually placed him and the bomb in the same location at the same time, much less that he was actively involved in planting it. Under these circumstances I find it hard to get upset about the Scots showing more compassion than al-Megrahi did. And remember that American Intelligence (sic) (I'm not sure who was the source of the evidence about al-Megrahi) has a record of alluding to information that either never materializes, or turns out to be less conclusive than the original allusion. And I don't argue that the Libyan government was involved in al- Megrahi's homecoming -- just that it may have been in fact a calibrated response. On Aug 25, 2009, at 1:16 AM, Allen Esterson wrote: On 25 August 2009 Paul Brandon wrote: Please note that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was not convicted of _committing_ mass murder. He was convicted on the grounds that a Maltese shopkeeper said that he had purchased a shirt whose remnants were found wrapped around the bomb http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111881314. I'll leave alternative explanations to the readers. Paul, I don't understand this. You've conflated what Megrahi was convicted of, and the evidence on which he was convicted. As the Scottish Daily Record says: In January 2001, Megrahi was found guilty of mass murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years. http://tinyurl.com/n88a9p Incidentally, the cited NPR article does not say quite what Paul states above. It says largely on the grounds of that evidence. My recollection of seeing a TV programme about the evidence some years ago is that there was considerably more to it than that. (A first appeal by Megrahi was turned down by the appeal court.) Nevertheless I am of the view that the conviction was unsafe, on the grounds that a major item in the evidence was the Maltese shopkeeper's identification of Megrahi, and that such witness identification is inherently unreliable. I was of the opinion that, had the second appeal gone ahead, significant information about the episode might well have emerged. This is not the view of Professor Peter Duff, who spent three-and-a-half years reviewing the case as a member of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission: I think it highly unlikely that the truth is out there and would have emerged as a result of the appeal. I don't know if it's out there any more. http://tinyurl.com/n88a9p Incidentally, I wonder how those in the Libyan welcome home crowd who waved Scottish flags got hold of them. I find it difficult to imagine that Scottish flags are obtainable by individuals at short notice in Libya. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] The compassion of Braveheart
Please note that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was not convicted of _committing_ mass murder. He was convicted on the grounds that a Maltese shopkeeper said that he had purchased a shirt whose remnants were found wrapped around the bomb http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111881314. I'll leave alternative explanations to the readers. On Aug 24, 2009, at 1:51 PM, Michael Smith wrote: Well let me see. No I don't have a character or personality analysis of MacAskill that indicates the type of person he is. I don't think that psychology has a good enough handle on character and personality to produce a very valid one, and anyway I wouldn't be qualified to conduct one since I'm not in clinical. So, my assessment is my opinion based on how I read the situation (as are many of the posts by many of the posters in TIPS). Nevertheless it is an assessment that seems reasonable. The big question to me is how is it compassionate to have compassion on a single individual when doing so will cause great grief and sufferring to hundreds of others? I maintain that MacAskill's decision to deliberately and knowingly force great grief and suffering upon hundreds of people (including many of his own countrymen) for the sake of having compassion on a single individual who committed mass murder is a farce and has nothing to do with compassion. Rather, as a representative of the people in issues of justice he is a total and complete failure. To pile up all sorts of 'considerations' and torturous judgement processes poor MadAskill had to go through in this decision is merely to try to obscure the central issue of his misguided and malicious judgement. He could well have done the responsible and truly compassionate thing and stamped the application: Application denied. We will never know his true motivation which could range from twisted libertarian ethics, to a desire for notoriety to blackmail. But it certainly shouldn't be recorded as compassion when he alone willingly and willfully forced additional grief and suffering on hundreds of individuals who have already suffered greatly. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] The compassion of Braveheart
to parallel debates in other countries. (This is not to say that American *should* line up with everyone else, just that they *don't*, and haven't for such a long time that it is regarded as a brute fact rather than a minor fluctuation on which there will eventually be more accord.) On this particular case, I was astonished (well, not really) to hear many Americans (and a few Brits) ask rhetorically why this man should be shown any compassion because (if he indeed did it) he didn't show any compassion to those who were killed on the flight. Well, because I would think that we *want* to show more compassion than a cold-blooded mass murderer (even to a mass murderer), that's why. It seems quite bizarre that we would let our own moral sense be dictated by the moral sense of someone we have declared to be immoral. Regards, Chris Green York U. Toronto --- From: Rick Froman rfro...@jbu.edu Subject: RE: The compassion of Braveheart Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:58:59 -0500 Are there also cultures that think it is a good idea to welcome a mass murderer of innocent people home with the equivalent of a ticker tape parade when they had agreed that they would basically bring him in through the back door so he could compassionately spend his final days with his family? Rick Dr. Rick Froman rfro...@jbu.edumailto:rfro...@jbu.edu -- --- From: Helweg-Larsen, Marie helw...@dickinson.edu Subject: RE: The compassion of Braveheart Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:31:48 -0400 I think that US and British officials *requested* a backdoor welcome. Obviously that request was not granted. It is always shocking to Americans when other countries really don't care what the U.S. thinks or requests. Marie -- --- - From: Michael Smith tipsl...@gmail.com Subject: Re: The compassion of Braveheart Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:03:19 -0600 I think we also need to remember that it wasn't Europeans or Brits or the Scots who wanted the guy released. It was a single misguided individual imposing his will on everyone involved. Another case of Judicial fiat by an irresponsible individual who no doubt thinks he can create a better world by forcing his opinion on everyone else. --Mike --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] The compassion of Braveheart
The jurisdiction is the UK -- Scotland; not the USA. We have no legal say over it. And even in the USA a 'life sentence' does not necessarily mean 'die in jail' unless it is explicitly 'without parole'. In this case his sentence was not 'life' (the civilized world does not have such a sentence) so Scotland could not sentence him to life in prison. As for MacAskill, he is responsible to the Scots; not to you. On Aug 23, 2009, at 9:32 PM, Michael Smith wrote: As I understand comments from the people in the States via the news, It was agreed by the US that the terrorist would serve a life sentence in Scotland. That means he is supposed to die in prison. That's the point. That was the sentence. The fact that he gets terminal cancer doesn't change the sentence: He is supposed to die in prison. Again, that was the point. If he gets terminal cancer then he will die sooner--- in prison. MacAskill chose on his own to usurp the agreed upon judgement and sentence, by his own will, and on his own. He did have the responsible choice of denying the application. It isn't a case of two wrongs don't make a right as he claims at the end of the text interview. There is no 'wrong' in keeping him in prison until he dies. Again, that was the judgement and sentence agreed upon by the US and the court system of Scotland that sentenced him. I think MacAskill should be removed from office, stripped of any protections afforded by that office, and all legal means (criminal and civil suits) should be pressed against him. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] The compassion of Braveheart
or maybe just the fact that most of the dead were Americans, not Scots. On Aug 21, 2009, at 10:43 AM, michael sylvester wrote: The release of the Libyan terrorist by Scottish authorities so that he could spend his terminal days at home and with family is an example of differential cross-cultural attitudes between Europe and the U.S. Obviously it demonstrates that Scottish judges took into account that there is more to justice than the tit-for-tat mentality of the Americans. It is interesting that the Europeans weigh various aspects of consequences of certain actions and did not blindly reject the human element that to even in our worse hour , being compassionate is truly the quintessential human quality. There are other attitudes that distinguishes Europeans from the Americans in terms of prostitution,addiction,euthanasia,death penalty and many other. One distinguishing characteristic between the two continents is that there is an ambivalence about values in U.S culture and Americans appear to have a need to seek approval.As the cross-cultural dude on Tips,the Sottish justice system seem to take into account that justice may lead to some incarceration,compassion is right and needs no consensus from across the ocean.We all regret the loss of lives,but two wrongs do not make a right. This is beginning to remind me of bumper stickers I used to see in Florida We don't care how you do it up North. Europeans may be expressing a similar theme-We don't care how you do it in the U.S I understand that in some European countries even the a life sentence is viewed as cruel. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] What Does Tenure Protect?
--- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo Office: 416-736-2100 ext. 66164 Fax: 416-736-5814 = --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] US Armed Forces planning to use Training in Positive Psychology to offset PSTD
And of course, it's an attempt to fudge the real problem -- multiple tours of combat duty. If we're going to fight two wars, we need a much larger army to spread the load. In other words, a draft. On Aug 18, 2009, at 4:47 PM, Jim Clark wrote: Hi It appears to me that important evaluative steps are being ignored or inadequately dealt with in this proposed program. They've already decided that millions will receive the training when there is limited reason to believe the program will be effective, unless one thinks it is valid to generalize from middle and high school students to soldiers in wartime. I use the DEOMI video in my culture class (it's about the military's equal opportunity program) and again wonder about the strength of the evidence for this approach to changing race-related attitudes and behaviors. It is not that they have ignored evidence, just they have looked for it with weak (i.e., non-experimental) methods. Ironically, with so many thousands to expose to programs, it would be easy to use random selection to set up true evaluations for these programs. Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca Joan Warmbold jwarm...@oakton.edu 18-Aug-09 4:28:06 PM http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/health/18psych.html?em Thought this article reveals a relatively enlightened perspective in some in our armed forces. Joan jwarm...@oakton.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Grand canyon/Blacks/Jung
I seem to recall reading that Mohawk high iron workers were generally scared s**tless. They simply needed the money and had limited options. At best, their culture may have equipped them to deal with fear. On Aug 18, 2009, at 9:03 PM, michael sylvester wrote: Whew! For a minute there I was afraid this was going to get speculative and not stick to parsimonious explanations! Tim ___ My speculations are not as far fetched as they may appear.Do you know that among the Native American people the sky carries alot of symbolism? The members of the Mohawk nation are still numero uno when it comes to working on skycrapers.As a matter of fact they are the best skycraper workers.They do not seem to exhibit fear of heights.This smacks in the face of the psychological idea that depth perception is innate. I would like to see a study of the visual cliff with Anglo babies and Mohawk babies. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] We're here, we're queer (now and for always)
I've seen the same argument made about Lincoln. But before central heating, men often shared beds simply for the warmth. On Aug 7, 2009, at 1:18 AM, Allen Esterson wrote: In our sophisticated modern times no doubt there are people who argue that Laurel and Hardy must have been gay -- after all they quite often slept in the same bed! But those were more innocent times (and,who knows, maybe more sensible in some ways -- though certainly not in others, before people jump in to protest!). Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] We're here, we're queer (now and for always)
And I seem to recall that Ishmail was not immediately happy about cohabiting with Queequeg. On Aug 7, 2009, at 12:27 PM, Marc Carter wrote: Gosh, who hasn't read Moby Dick? That book made me sense that it was customary that people -- including strangers -- shared beds. And bundling boards! Remember those? :) m -- Marc Carter, PhD Associate Professor and Chair Department of Psychology College of Arts Sciences Baker University -- -Original Message- From: Dr. Bob Wildblood [mailto:drb...@rcn.com] Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 12:25 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] We're here, we're queer (now and for always) Actually, historically when a traveler stayed at an inn it was likely that he (women didn't travel and stay in inns) would have to share a bed with up to 7 others. In Fredericksburg, VA (where I now live) one inn boasted that a guest would not have to share a bed with more than four others. Pretty good deal in those revolutionary days, and for years beyond the Revolution. Original message Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2009 10:31:10 -0500 From: Paul Brandon paul.bran...@mnsu.edu Subject: Re: [tips] We're here, we're queer (now and for always) To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu I've seen the same argument made about Lincoln. But before central heating, men often shared beds simply for the warmth. On Aug 7, 2009, at 1:18 AM, Allen Esterson wrote: In our sophisticated modern times no doubt there are people who argue that Laurel and Hardy must have been gay -- after all they quite often slept in the same bed! But those were more innocent times (and,who knows, maybe more sensible in some ways -- though certainly not in others, before people jump in to protest!). Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments thereto (e-mail) is sent by Baker University (BU) and is intended to be confidential and for the use of only the individual or entity named above. The information may be protected by federal and state privacy and disclosures acts or other legal rules. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e- mail in error please immediately notify Baker University by email reply and immediately and permanently delete this e-mail message and any attachments thereto. Thank you. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Gates, Crowley, and eyewitness testimony
The actual transcripts of the call showed that the person who phoned in did NOT identify anyone by race. On Jul 26, 2009, at 3:06 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: There's an interesting essay on the Gates-Crowley mess on the Associated Press website by Jesse Washington titled, Analysis: What they saw during the Gates arrest. According to Crowley's police report, the neighbour who called the police told Crawley on the sidewalk outside Gates' house that she observed what appeared to be two black men with backpacks on the porch ... her suspicions were aroused when she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door. What Crawley says about this I find striking in this day and age when I would expect police to be educated in one of the strongest findings of psychological forensic research. Witnesses are inherently reliable, he said later. She told me what she saw. Would the outcome of this unfortunate encounter have been different if Crowley had known that this belief is not true, that eyewitness testimony is inherently unreliable? http://tinyurl.com/n7lunt Stephen - Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ -- - --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] What is behavior?
Or monkeys controlling mechanical arms through a brain-computer connection. On Jul 22, 2009, at 10:54 AM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: My two cents. Whatever behaviour is, I'm sure that oak trees don't do it. So any definition which allows oak trees to behave will not do. The same goes for Canadian maple trees. Dogwood--maybe, because of their bark. I have to say I find Dave Palmer's definition (from Paul Brandon's post) that a behaviour is anything sensitive to operant or classical conditioning persuasive. This could even include EEG as a behaviour, assuming it's been shown to be conditionable (which takes us back to the Neal Miller debacle, doesn't it?). Stephen - Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ -- - --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] What is behavior?
This raises the issue of levels of observation and definition. When talking about group behavior, we can either view (and define) it as an aggregate of individuals (molecular), or as an emergent process at a higher level of observation (molar), in which case we have a new phenomenon which doesn't simply obey the rules of a sum of individuals and requires a new definition at its own level of observation. This often has practical (applied) advantages since we usually measure practical success at a more molar level of observation. On Jul 22, 2009, at 1:59 PM, John Kulig wrote: Mike I agree ... also thinking of the ant colonies (and bees) which also behave en-masse ... they are certain societal rules that regulate their group behavior. Hempel (vis Chris Green) said it best I think in cautioning that strict definitions might discourage the openness of inquiry. By 'profitability' below I meant whether the work advances theory and/or practical applications ... Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
[tips] Fwd: Definition of behavior
Here's a definition of behavior from a prominent behaviorist: Begin forwarded message: Date: July 21, 2009 9:14:03 AM CDT To: tb...@listserv.uhd.edu tb...@listserv.uhd.edu Subject: [TBA] Definition of behavior Reply-To: Teaching Behavior Analysis tb...@listserv.uhd.edu Dick Malott has famously argued that behavior is anything a dead man can't do, and in many cases that seems to be a useful touchstone, but I prefer my own definition, which is discussed in a paper on cognition in Latall Chase's book, Behavior Theory and Philosophy. I propose that we define behavior as any activity that is sensitive to contingencies of operant or classical conditioning. If it responds to behavioral principles, those that have emerged under controlled conditions in the laboratory, then it can be usefully called behavior. Therefore it need not be observable, peripheral, or muscular. This definition necessarily means that some examples will be tentative, since we cannot perform the experimental manipulations to demonstrate such sensitivity to contingencies. When I visualize an orange, reminisce about my childhood, or look ahead in a chess game, are such activities sensitive to reinforcement? Can they come under stimulus control? Can they be extinguished? All that any scientist can do, in the absence of experimental control, is to offer plausible interpretations that are compatible with those few facts that are at hand. The interpretive work of Skinner and others on cognitive processes depends on the plausible but not demonstrable claim that thought, imagery, recall, etc. are behavior. The tentative nature of such claims should not be cause for despair, because the problem cannot be escaped by fleeing to another paradigm. But technology evolves, and the boundary of what can be observed and manipulated changes. Recent experiments on both monkeys and humans have shown that both arbitrary individual neurons and arrays of neurons in the motor cortex can be operantly conditioned. Such experiments offer hope that those with spinal injuries might be able to recover some functions by by-passing the spinal cord. But they also serve as an excellent test case for a definition of behavior. According to my definition, such neural activity is behavior, for sensitivity to contingencies has been demonstrated, and I see no drawback to the claim. Unusual findings of this sort help us stake out the boundaries of the concept of behavior and lend some indirect support to our interpretive work. Dave Palmer Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Fwd: Definition of behavior
Like airplanes? Skinner talked about actions by intact living organisms. One might add sensitivity to environmental variables to the definition. On Jul 21, 2009, at 4:06 PM, michael sylvester wrote: Behavior is anything that moves within a molecular.micro,and molar levels. Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Skinnerian quote
I agree that it is out of character. While not a pacifist per se, his objections to punishment and the use of aversive control is well known. As I understand it, Skinner's pursuit of Project Pigeon was opportunistic on the sense that he saw an opportunity to get funding for basic research and to demonstrate its applicability; not that he was primarily interested in the development of weapons. And I'm not aware that he was directly involved in Project Orcon. On Jul 18, 2009, at 6:31 PM, Christopher D. Green wrote: I do not know if Skinner ever said such a thing, but it seems out of character for him. He was no pacifist, however, leading Project Pigeon during WWII and later its successor Project Orcon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon Also, Russell was 32 years older than Skinner, not his contemporary. michael sylvester wrote: BF was no pacifist as his other contemporaries - Bertrand Russel and biologist George Wald.But did he ever make a statement that we should get the Russians before they get us? Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Upending conventional wisdom: On violence
But a better question is: Is modern society more violent than it could be? Is Pinker arguing that human violence is unavoidable (genetic)? I would guess that that would be an implication of his argument (which I've seen before). The other point is that our potential for annihilation is greater than it was in the past. On Jul 16, 2009, at 4:37 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: Steven Pinker asks whether modern society is more violent than in earlier supposed idyllic times. His verdict is no. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/2009april/Pinker054.php Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Upending conventional wisdom: On violence
OK -- I actually read the article. Pinker does NOT seem to be propounding a genetic basis for violence. On the other hand, there's a lot of speculation there. In particular, using modern hunter-gatherer societies as a proxy for our ancestors presents problems. These are marginal groups living under marginal and stressed conditions. In many cases, they have 'culturally devolved' from agriculturalists to hunter/gatherers as a result of being driven off of more productive land into the jungle. One explanation for the current decrease in violence that has not been raised is that our capability of mass destruction has effectively scared the shit out of us. Before WWI there was little mass destruction in the current sense. When the Romans 'decimated' (killed every tenth person) a city, they did it one by one with swords. The gas warfare of WWI, and of course Coventry, Dresden, Tokyo and Hiroshima brought an impersonal element of destruction far beyond starting fires in a city with a balista. Another small matter: Pinker talks a good deal about violence prevalence in Europe, but does not compare it with the United States. On Jul 16, 2009, at 5:18 PM, Paul Brandon wrote: But a better question is: Is modern society more violent than it could be? Is Pinker arguing that human violence is unavoidable (genetic)? I would guess that that would be an implication of his argument (which I've seen before). The other point is that our potential for annihilation is greater than it was in the past. On Jul 16, 2009, at 4:37 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: Steven Pinker asks whether modern society is more violent than in earlier supposed idyllic times. His verdict is no. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/2009april/Pinker054.php Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Utility of BMI - from a professional
Of course your REAL BMI (calculated from immersion, not estimated from height and weight) is probably not in the overweight range. On Jul 13, 2009, at 7:24 PM, drna...@aol.com wrote: Hi, According to my trainer, who has a degree and certifications in this area, BMI is relatively accurate as a health index for sedentary folks or those whose activity levels could be described as average (little regular exercise). It is not accurate for those who are athletic and tend to carry more than average muscle mass. It makes them appear to be overweight or even obese because it does not distinguish between body fat and muscle, the latter of which weighs more and pays more rent in terms of calories. Thus BMI can also be normal or underweight and not indicate that the person in question has other health issues. My BMI is overweight and I am most definitely neither overweight nor unhealthy (I lift weights, box and do cardio on a regular basis). Nancy Melucci Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Persistent myths in feminist scholarship
As I indicated, I respect her work. However, she is paid by the American Enterprise Institute, which has a definite agenda. On Jul 4, 2009, at 6:32 AM, Allen Esterson wrote: In reponse to Stephen Black's citing an article by Christina Hoff Sommers, Paul Brandon wrote: ...and slightly right wing, though she often makes good points. Dare I suggest that Hoff Sommer's work should be treated on its merits, regardless of whether her socio-political views are right or left of centre! As Hoff Sommers notes, there are certainly what she calls serious scholars in feminist studies, but, apart from her own *Who Stole Feminism? (1994), Patai Koertge's *Professing Feminism: Education and Indoctrination in Women's Studies* (2003) highlights numerous causes for concern about academic standards in women's studies. I've had my own brush with an example of this in the person of Senta Troemel-Ploetz, a linguist who came to prominence in 1990 when the sensational claims that Einstein's first wife made substantive contributions to his epoch-making 1905 papers first surfaced: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12517061.700.html Many of the erroneous assertions in Troemel-Ploetz's woefully unscholarly article Mileva Einstein-Maric: The Woman Who Did Einstein's Mathematics are uncritically recyled, including on Women in Science websites, and notoriously on the PBS co-produced Einstein's Wife documentary. Howes and Herzenberg's book *Their Day in the Sun: Women of the Manhattan Project* (1999) even lists Mileva Maric among five women who were Founding Mothers in nuclear science. (Unsurprisingly, Troemel-Ploetz is referenced for this section.) I have no direct information about whether Troemel-Ploetz is right wing or left wing, but I regard that as irrelevant to a consideration of the accuracy of her contentions. (Her denunciation of what she calls the cultural imperialism of the U.S. academic establishment perhaps gives a clue, or maybe not.) References Mileva Einstein-Maric: The Woman Who Did Einstein's mathematics, Women's Studies International Forum, Vol. 13, Issue 5, 1990, pp. 415-432 http://tinyurl.com/http-www-sciencedirect-com-s Exchanges with Troemel-Ploetz on MSNBC's Cosmic Log: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/11/27/15908.aspx http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/11/20/15370.aspx Critique of Troemel-Ploetz (1990): http://www.butterfliesandwheels.com/articleprint.php?num=218 Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org *** Michael Smith Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:19:13 -0700 ...I guess that will balance the slightly left wing That reminds me, I still have to read her book The War Against Boys --Mike On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 3:51 PM, Paul Brandon paul.bran...@mnsu.edu wrote: and slightly right wing, though she often makes good points. On Jul 3, 2009, at 2:59 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: The admirable and incisive Christina Hoff Sommers is at it again on the myths and fake statistics propagated by certain feminist authors (for example, the old rule of thumb canard), Shame on them for giving scholarship a bad name. http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i40/40sommers.htm Stephen Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net Don't let your email address define you - Define yourself at tunome.com today! --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Persistent myths in feminist scholarship
and slightly right wing, though she often makes good points. On Jul 3, 2009, at 2:59 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: The admirable and incisive Christina Hoff Sommers is at it again on the myths and fake statistics propagated by certain feminist authors (for example, the old rule of thumb canard), Shame on them for giving scholarship a bad name. http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i40/40sommers.htm Stephen Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] How would you estimate the IQ of a robot?
I wouldn't -- apples and oranges. IQ scores are the result of people performing specific tasks. The underlying variable is not well defined. On Jun 17, 2009, at 11:56 PM, Ronald C. Blue wrote: How would you estimate the IQ of a robot? DARPA has asked for solicitations on making a machine with Physical Intelligence, http://www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/baa09-63.htm This raised the question for me, how do you estimate the IQ of a robot. Many would use humans as the top species, but dophins are probably smarter than we are. Maybe elephants are smarter. DARPA want a minimum of 10,000 electronic units in the PI unit. LB is a self controlling and self programming robot. It is not controllable. LB movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmXfLNRWkwUfeature=channel_page LB-1 uses 64 transistors to make one memory unit wavelet processor. So 169 (13x13) units times 64 equals 10,816 electronic parts. If LB-1's IQ for one unit was 1 then would IQ of 169 be a fair guess? If LB-1's IQ is about 30 would an estimate of 5,070 IQ be a fair guess? Does IQ increase linearly with more units, decline with more units, or is there an exponential increase? Naturally an educated guess is rarely as accurate as an experimental results occurring in the future. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] APA Board Letter on Torture
...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] How Homeopathy Harms
When you don't have to spend money on research or quality control On Jun 17, 2009, at 8:17 AM, tay...@sandiego.edu wrote: I heard about the lawsuits against Zicam years ago and wondered how they were able to stay in business all these years. This article says $12 million. So they MUST be making enough money to pay off the lawsuits and still make a good profit! It amazes me. Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 tay...@sandiego.edu Original message Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:32:02 -0400 From: Mike Palij m...@nyu.edu Subject: [tips] How Homeopathy Harms To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Cc: Mike Palij m...@nyu.edu Apropos the recent discussion on TiPS about alternative medicine and giving people the placebo that they desire, consider the following article from the NY Times on the FDA's warning against the use of the homeopathic cold treatment Zicam because of the number of cases reporting the loss of the ability to smell (anosmia); see: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/health/policy/17nasal.html?hp For a skeptical history of homeopathy, see the following: http://www.skepdic.com/homeo.html One good thing that may come from the Zicam situation is that the U.S. Congress may finally give the FDA the ability to force recalls (removal from the market) of those nostrums that are often called supplements but not drugs (removing them from the jurisdiction of the FDA) though their selling point is that they have drug-like effects. -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] GO ORLANDO MAGIC
Gone Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Vaccine wars
Only one in four? Not bad! On May 28, 2009, at 8:31 AM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: New article in PLoS Biology (Public Library of Science, open-access as its name indicates). Disturbing quote: Despite overwhelming evidence that vaccines don't cause autism, one in four Americans still think they do. Lots more quotable stuff there. Gross L (2009.) A Broken Trust: Lessons from the Vaccine-Autism Wars. PLoS Biol 7(5): e1000114. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000114 www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio. 1000114 Stephen Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] New Autism Theory
Wouldn't the appropriate term be 'hypothesis'? On May 14, 2009, at 11:18 AM, Jeffrey Nagelbush wrote: Has anyone heard anything about this new theory of autism and its possible treatment? http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp- documentid=100237035 Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] $25,000 Darwinian quote
I've heard this comment attributed to many people. First YOU do some research and provide a specific reference supporting Darwin making the comment. And your reward does not seem to be worth anything: Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe has persisted since the early 2000s, shortly after that country's confiscation of white-owned farmland and its repudiation of debts to the International Monetary Fund. Figures from November 2008 estimated Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate at 89.7 sextillion (1021) percent (i.e. prices double every 24.7 hours).[1] In April 2009, Zimbabwe abandoned printing of the Zimbabwean dollar, and the South African rand and US dollar became the standard currencies for exchange. The government does not intend to reintroduce the currency until 2010. [2] On May 12, 2009, at 10:02 AM, msylves...@copper.net wrote: This question appeared on HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE: WORTH $25,000 Who did Darwin refer to when he said that this person was like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that does not exist? A. physicist B. astronomer C.archaeologist D.mathematician Please swear that you did not research the answer.Winners get paid in Zimbabwe dollars. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] They all look alike to me.....
Jim-- Not a direct answer to your question, but Seems to me that stimulus discrimination training handles it adequately. We have more practice in discriminating between members of our own ethic group, since we see more of them than we do members of other groups (at least when we're in the majority group). Hence more discrimination training and finer discriminations. Prediction from this: Members of minority groups who interact with more members of the majority group than their own should make finer discriminations between members of the majority group. Data, anyone? On Apr 29, 2009, at 1:44 PM, Jim Dougan wrote: TIPsters Yesterday my daughter asked me the technical term for thinking that everyone in another ethnic group looks the same. I assume there is a term for it - but I don't know what it is. Anyone? -- Jim Dougan Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] biofeedback and Leo DiCara's suicide
I remember talking to Miller after an APA presentation sometime in the '70's. As I recall, it was less a complete failure to replicate than a gradually decreasing effect size. Miller attributed it to progressive inbreeding in the strain of rats that he was using. I asked him why he didn't try some more robust hybrid rats. He never really gave me an answer. Personally, I suspect it was more an artifact of the conditionability of graduate assistants. On Apr 29, 2009, at 5:53 PM, William Scott wrote: I have often covered the origins story of biofeedback in class with the narrative of Miller and DiCara's work with curarized rats that turned out to be not replicable. DiCara did not help with the attempts at replication when he went to the University of Michigan to set up his lab there. He, instead, committed suicide. Miller, and none of his other graduate minions, ever replicated the MD'C outstanding results. Does anyone know anything about Leo DiCara's suicide or the Miller replication results that are beyond the Miller failure to replicate article that to my knowledge never had a published reply? Thanks to anybody. This is a good story for classes, but I need resolution. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Uneasiness with Evolutionary Psychology
Of course, not everyone agrees with Dawkins ;-) Since natural selection acts across generations (determining which characteristics (denoted by genes) are perpetuated), it cannot act on individuals. That's the difference between genetics-as-we-know-it and the Lamarckian mechanisms that Darwin (unaware of Mendel's work) favored. Since the species (however fuzzily defined) is the outcome of the mechanism of selection, it is at least in some sense selected. The question, as others have noted, is the details of the mechanisms that produce this result. On Apr 27, 2009, at 9:32 AM, Rick Froman wrote: Ed Pollak wrote: You have one thing completely wrong, Michael. Evolution by natural selection has nothing to do increasing species' survival. Natural selection acts to increase or decrease the frequency of genes. It does so by acting on the survival and reproduction of individuals and their close kin. A minority opinion suggests it act on groups of unrelated kin. But to my knowledge, no one seriously suggests that natural selection acts on species. Besides, species is a somewhat arbitrary concept, a scientific attempt to use a binomial system to describe a continuous world. This notion of natural selection favoring survival of the species is, IMO, one of the most ubiquitous and persistent misconceptions in the modern history of science. (The best treatment of this topic I've ever seen is Dawkins' The Selfish Gene.) I guess Darwin titling his classic text, On the Origin of Species, probably didn’t help clarify this point very much. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Prof kills three
See On Apr 25, 2009, at 1:42 AM, msylves...@copper.net wrote: - Original Message - From: Paul Brandon To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2009 1:01 AM Subject: Re: [tips] Prof kills three So? A little tailor killed seven in one blow. Reference,please. Michael Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] In Memoriam
curmudgeon She was an actress reading a script. And a good one. What did she do as an individual? /curmudgeon On Apr 26, 2009, at 11:24 AM, Michael Britt wrote: Bea Arthur was unique. I recall that she did a two-parter for her series Maude which was very unique: both episodes took place in a therapist's office. She did all the talking, analyzing herself, and the audience never heard from nor saw the therapist. It was a marvelous performance. I assume you can get it on DVD. I'll have to look. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Prof kills three
So? A little tailor killed seven in one blow. On Apr 24, 2009, at 3:37 PM, msylves...@copper.net wrote: UGA marketing prof kills three. Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] On recognizing mental illness
. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Dying To See The Doctor
Huh? Medicare is a reimbursement program -- it doesn't run clinics. And it reimburses plenty of private physicians. On Apr 24, 2009, at 5:57 PM, Peter Kepros wrote: Can't help but notice that the event in question occurred in a private clinic. Certainly glad it wasn't part of Medicare. :-} Peter Kepros kep...@unb.ca At 07:25 PM 4/24/2009, you wrote: Gee, glad those type of horrific stories never occur in the US of A, eh? Instead, we just send the critically-ill patients to the public- aid type hospitals like Cook County! Joan jwarm...@oakton.edu Canada has a killer health systen, eh? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM. 20090423.wwaitinggta23art2243/BNStory/National/home or http://tinyurl.com/cm3cxz -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] info: pigeons or rats
Which is not difficult. A fixed ratio contingency selectively reinforcers high rates (the faster the subject responds, the sooner it gets reinforced), so that's where we usually see high rates. It's also easy to more specifically shape rates -- requiring (as Stephen said) shorter and shorter inter-response times for reinforcement. I had students doing this in cases where they had trouble building high ratios with rats. Usually had them reinforce first two responses with less than a one second IRT, then three when they got up to five they almost always had a high overall rate, with the usual topographic shift, And back when I was investigating the effects of ethanol on behavior I shaped rats on a reaction time task; requiring successively short latencies after a stimulus presentation for reinforcement. On Apr 22, 2009, at 12:30 AM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: On 21 Apr 2009 at 17:24, Ken Steele wrote: I have had a few rats that have produced very high response rates. In one case, the rat was grabbing the bar with its teeth and shaking the bar like it had caught a prey. I've also observed this -- a classic case of an existing genetically determined behavior being co-opted by reinforcement contingencies and becoming an operant. I also found it typical on ratio schedules for rats to put one paw above the lever and one below it and flutter the lever faster than a simple gravity return. Again, the effect of the ratio contingency; not explicit shaping. The weirdest lever pressing topography I ever had was a rat who learned to press a lever by sitting on it! Of course if you want _really_ high rates, you have to selectively reinforce for them (progressively targeting shorter inter-response times). I've heard that you can get a pigeon to peck fast enough that way to melt its beak, undoubtedly an exaggeration, and fortunately, because the PETA people would be rather put out if it were true. Ken also said, in another post: Many people who work with rats for a long time develop various kinds of allergic reactions to the rats. Doesn't have to be long. And it can be rabbits too. I offer myself as a prime example of a victim of both. Arriving in graduate school I was assigned a desk...a few feet from a rack of cages full of rats. Not having been warned about this nasty consequence, and never having experienced an allergy before, it took me a long time to catch on. In the meantime I wondered why my nose was always running, my itchy eyes bulged out from rubbing them, I had coughing fits, and my lungs gurgled when I breathed. Finally, one day after running out of the lab feeling I was either having a heart attack or suffocating, it dawned on me. I dealt with it mostly by taking anti-histamines, which only partially worked and left me feeling spaced-out. Protective clothing and a mask were hot and uncomfortable, and I don't even want to talk about sneezing into your mask while doing stereotaxic surgery. Looking back, I'd have to say it was a dangerous thing to do, and I'd advise anyone with a similar problem nowadays to switch to human research. But when I get the allergy question from doctors, I enjoy telling them, yes, to rats. This puzzles 'em. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] info: pigeons or rats
The main reasons that Skinner switched from rats to pigeons were: 1. Their visual system (in terms of acuity and color sensitivity) is much like humans. 2. They were available for free on the window sill of his lab on the 7th floor of the Pillsbury flour mill that he used during WWII. He was working (with Army support) on a pigeon guided bomb, so pigeons were an ideal subject. He and his students continued to work with them. On the other hand, rats (and monkeys) are preferred for behavioral pharmacology work. To answer your question as written: Both species can be and are used to DEMONSTRATE operant conditioning principles. Their use in experimental research depends on the experimental question being asked. On Apr 20, 2009, at 2:53 PM, msylves...@copper.net wrote: Are pigeons preferred in demonstrating conditioning principles than rats or vice versa? What are the pros and cons? Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] info: pigeons or rats
On Apr 21, 2009, at 2:40 PM, Ken Steele wrote: msylves...@copper.net wrote: Are pigeons preferred in demonstrating conditioning principles than rats or vice versa? It depends on the phenomenon under investigation. One advantage of pigeons is that they are very long-lived. You can run a variety of parametric manipulations for years without worrying that your subjects may die of old age. They also produce a wider range of response rates--which makes it easier to demonstrate differences. Actually, this is a manipulanda artifact. I've used pigeon response keys with rats, and gotten rates over 5 responses per second. I've never tried to push the low end -- pigeons may tolerated longer intervals, 'tho I'm skeptical. On the other hand, about all pigeons can do easily is peck at objects. Rats can press levers, turn wheels, jump, swim, run in wheels, run through mazes, pull on strings, etc. Many people who work with rats for a long time develop various kinds of allergic reactions to the rats. The incidence of allergic reactions to pigeons is lower in my experience. But pigeons are a source of histoplasmosis (and other nasty infections) due to the inhalation of fecal material in the clouds of pigeon dust that are produced when one walks into a colony. Rats can bite but pigeons have soft beaks that can't break the skin. (But don't run with a pigeon or you may put out an eye.) Ken --- Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. steel...@appstate.edu Professor and Assistant Chairperson Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu Appalachian State University Boone, NC 28608 USA --- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] B F Skinner and pets
Had a discussion about this once with his daughter Julie Vargas. As I recall, they did have pets, but did not use them as research subjects. And B.F.Skinner was known as Fred, not BF. On Apr 13, 2009, at 1:25 PM, msylves...@copper.net wrote: Did BF had any pets (not his experimental animals) ? And if he did (say a cat or a dog) did he write about any conditioning with his personal household pets? Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Bowel cancer risk in older women could be reduced by more soya in diet | Science | The Guardian
When you say if you happen to be the one in ten thousand who does die as a side effect, that means something only after the fact -- if you know that it has happened. Before the fact, you're evaluating relative risks: the risk of dying from a disease and the risk of dying from the treatment of it. In those terms, being one of the ten thousand is outweighed by the greater risk of dying from the disease. On Apr 14, 2009, at 6:28 PM, Michael Smith wrote: Paul Brandon wrote: Or what if you're one of the 5 who would die in a bathtub fall. Would you quit bathing? It's post hoc reasoning. Perhaps you can explain a bit more about what you mean? --Mike --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Bowel cancer risk in older women could be reduced by more soya in diet | Science | The Guardian
Or what if you're one of the 5 who would die in a bathtub fall. Would you quit bathing? It's post hoc reasoning. On Apr 13, 2009, at 5:02 PM, Michael Smith wrote: Hmmm. But what if you are one of those two? --Mike On Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 10:31 PM, Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca wrote: Here's another example of misleading medical statistics example you might want to use in class. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/apr/11/bowel-cancer-soya The report says that more soy in the diet (it doesn't say how much more) can reduce women's chance of death from bowel cancer by 30%. (Actually, it says those in the top third of soya intake had a 30% decrease in bowel cancer deaths, compared to the bottom third -- NOTE: not from the national average -- but it doesn't give any indication of how much soy each group actually ate.) So let's work the numbers. 16,600 women die from bowel cancer per year in the UK. There are about 60 million people in the UK. Half are female: 30 million. Lose the 20% children and we have 24 million women. So, the chance of dying of bowel cancers for women in any one year is: 16,600/30 million = .0007, or 7 in 10,000. A 30% reduction would lower that chance to 5 in 10,000. So (even if the causal implication that is not actually demonstrated here were correct), if increasing your soy intake by a fair bit could decrease your chances of dying by bowel cancer by 30%, that would represent a tiny reduction of just 2 in 10,000 per year. Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ == --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Thinking Critically About Neuroscience: From Molecules to Full Brain Circuit Maps
This is getting a bit esoteric, and since I retired I can't pull volumes off my bookshelf the way I used to. In brief: Schusterman Kastak (1993) has never been replicated, so the jury is still out, particularly since attempts at showing equivalence class formation in nonhuman primates and cetaceans have all failed. I'm quite familiar with Dave Palmer and his work (including that review). see: Dialogue on private events. DC Palmer, J Eshelman, P Brandon, TVJ Layng, C … - The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 2004. He's quite skeptical about some of the Hayes bunch claims, but does not dismiss framing relationally out of hand. And Skinner DID use the term relational framing (in Verbal Behavior, I believe), although he didn't develop it the way Hayes did. There's a considerable applied literature on verbal behavior demonstrating the extension of the operant conditioning principles originally derived from animals (and extended to human animals -- see Darwin, C) over the past half century. Again, there's a considerable literature on the application of equivalence and framing to teaching verbal behavior; I'm not going to try to summarize it here. One core finding is symmetry and transitivity -- basic definitional criteria of equivalence. For example, if one teaches responding to pictures with words, a symmetrical responding to words by pointing to pictures emerges. This has been demonstrated convincingly only with human subjects (pace Schusterman). Similarly, if one teaches responding to spoken words with written words, and responding to written words with pictures, responding to spoken words with pictures will emerge, despite the fact that this has never been taught. The relevance of this to human language should be clear (an exercise left to the reader ;-). On Apr 8, 2009, at 11:30 AM, Mike Palij wrote: On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:46:05 -0700, Paul Brandon wrote: On Apr 6, 2009, at 1:54 PM, Mike Palij wrote: On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:13:50 -0700, Paul Brandon writes: Actually, there's no conflict between being a rat running behaviorist and believing that the CNS (central or conceptual as the case may be) What's that sound? Is that B.F. spinning in his grave? No. Cups hand to ear and concentrates Yep, he's spinning, He's also saying something about RFT but he's using a different F- word. He's also saying something about people should read David Palmer's 2004 review of Relational Frame Theory in JEAB before associating his name with the Hayes Barnes-Holmes crowd. is an integrated interactive system all of which is involved in any given instance of behavior. And of course we talk a great deal about verbally mediated behavior in all of its complexity. I may be mistaken but I think my original point has been lost: (1) Conditioning studies involving animals [insert your favorite species here] including humans That's pretty trans-species of you. However, last I checked, animals don't have language systems like those used by humans, so whether conditioning studies based on animals might be modified by language processes that humans can use is still a question. may have questionable generalizability to humans because animals do not have language or high level symbolic processing capability see the operant conditioning literature on Stimulus Equivalence and Relational Framing. Neither process has been convincingly demonstrated with nonhuman subjects. Schusterman Kastak (1993) called. The sea lion says that he's going to sue you for libel if you keep on saying that he can't form equivalence relations. With all respects to Sidman, I really don't see the relevance of ER and RFT to human language. But that's just my opinion. -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu They are an integral part of verbal behavior in all its glory. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Thinking Critically About Neuroscience: From Molecules to Full Brain Circuit Maps
Actually, there's no conflict between being a rat running behaviorist and believing that the CNS (central or conceptual as the case may be) is an integrated interactive system all of which is involved in any given instance of behavior. And of course we talk a great deal about verbally mediated behavior in all of its complexity. On Apr 6, 2009, at 12:01 PM, Mike Palij wrote: On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:16:19 -0700, Gerald Peterson writes: But this: Mike Palij opined: How does the human use of language and symbolic representations affect the conclusions about learning and memory observed in animals, especially species that are not close to us genetically? Seems to beg the question. Depends upon what you mean by this. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question Do psychologists--especially neuro-physio folks attempt to address the experience or psychological representations of language? I believe that this depends upon how behavioral the researcher is and whether they believe that all brain components (i.e., molecules, neurotransmitters, neurons, etc.) that are directly relevant to a phenomenon have been indentified. I assume that most people who are using conditioning procedures with rodents or other animals would think that a very limited neural circuit is involved and other brain areas play minor roles. In humans, however, the use of language allows one to make an interpretation of an event which can fundamentally change the nature of the experience. Take cognitive appraisal is an example of how interpretation (again, using concepts represented by language) can affect one's experience, say, whether a specific stimulus either stressful or annoying, painful or uncomfortable or merely stimulating (I personally don't care for it but pouring hot candle wax on a partner's skin can be interpreted in positive and erotic ways), and whether an event is overwhelming or bearable. I believe that one version of the cognitive theory of panic attacks is that a catastrophic interpretation of physiological signs (i.e., heart beating very fast, high anxiety, difficulty breathing, etc.,) leads one to believe that one will die shortly. Therapy for this is to make the person recognize the symptoms, not to become upset by them, take countermeasures (e.g., deep breathing, etc.), and telling oneself that this will pass shortly. This makes the experience much less unpleasant and can lead to reduction of the fequency of panic attacks. Language and other symbolic processing capabilities, it seems to me, allows humans to simulate their experiences cognitively which can either reinforce the whatever brain processes that were involved in the experience or to weaken them. Mice and other animals may have much more limited symbolic processing capabilities and, perhaps, be more affected by conditioning procedures than humans. -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Thinking Critically About Neuroscience: From Molecules to Full Brain Circuit Maps
On Apr 6, 2009, at 1:54 PM, Mike Palij wrote: On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:13:50 -0700, Paul Brandon writes: Actually, there's no conflict between being a rat running behaviorist and believing that the CNS (central or conceptual as the case may be) What's that sound? Is that B.F. spinning in his grave? No. is an integrated interactive system all of which is involved in any given instance of behavior. And of course we talk a great deal about verbally mediated behavior in all of its complexity. I may be mistaken but I think my original point has been lost: (1) Conditioning studies involving animals [insert your favorite species here] including humans may have questionable generalizability to humans because animals do not have language or high level symbolic processing capability see the operant conditioning literature on Stimulus Equivalence and Relational Framing. Neither process has been convincingly demonstrated with nonhuman subjects. They are an integral part of verbal behavior in all its glory. that would mediate their learning. Thus, the results of studies like that described in the NY Times can only be speculatively extended to humans. Especially if one is going to link human dementias to the use of a drug that blocks the formation of long-term memories. Examination of one of the relevant articles for the NYT story makes it clear that the researchers are using the term memory in a very broad way but relies heavily on associative learning mechanisms; see: http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get- documentdoi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0060318ct=1 (2) Perhaps long-term memories of conditioning are purely mediated by PKMzeta in rodents and maybe it applies to some limited cases of conditioning in humans but it is unlikely to be plausible for many/ most human long-term memories. The classic levels of processing experimental result showing that processing a word's appearance results in poorer memory than processing its meaning is clearly a problem if one relies upon a molecular mechanism or a single neuron mechanism (the problem is similar to that for the classic grandmother or yellow volkswagen account of pattern recognition). At the very least, a neural circuit is needed and perhaps a more complex neural network is needed if one is going to rely on purely associative mechanisms in contrast to general rule and symbol architectures. -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] That conficker virus?
Get a Mac ;-) On Mar 30, 2009, at 11:13 AM, Beth Benoit wrote: A quick question to those among us who are more computer savvy than I: Any easy advice to help protect against the conficker virus, which was discussed on 60 Minutes last night? I went to the Microsoft support site, and downloaded three pages of small print directions, with 26 steps. Surely there's something simpler? But if not, it sounds like it's worth the effort. Or is it? Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Learning Styles interview
Part of the problem is (as usual) definition. When people talk about learning styles (often their own), they talk as if these were immutable characteristics (i.e., genetic) rather than (simply) a set of learned skills. I have no problem with the latter interpretation as long as people acknowledge that a lack of ability to learn from books can be overcome, rather than being an excuse for compensating with some other learning method that is usually less efficient. On Mar 29, 2009, at 7:03 AM, Michael Britt wrote: Please excuse the promotion, but I think this is a topic of broad interest. Dr. Dan Willingham, author of Why Don't Children Like School discusses the idea of learning styles in the latest episode of my podcast and he does a great job of clarifying what we think is true from what the research shows. Specifically, he explains his view that: 1) students do not have learning styles 2) attempting to match a teaching method with a student's supposed learning style is fruitless 3) there are some interesting explanations for why we continue to think that learning styles exist (confirmation bias is one) I've had many a student enthusiastically write a paper about learning styles and I have to admit that I was a believer up until recently. This is, I think, an interesting interview and a good basis for a discussion on critical thinking. Here's the link: http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2009/03/29/episode-90-the-learning- styles-myth-an-interview-with-daniel-willingham/ Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Motivation by Shame
Yes -- avoidance behavior. An old behavioral technique also mentioned by Thaler and Sunstein in Nudge. On Mar 27, 2009, at 10:03 AM, Michael Britt wrote: Interesting article on the front page of the Chronicle this week called, Falling Behind? Try Shame, Fear, and Greed. Basically the idea is that people are trying to motivate themselves by taking a contract out on themselves on a site called, StickK (http:// www.stickk.com/ ). Despite the slick website, the idea actually seems pretty basic: you decide that if you don't reach a certain goal (say, lose X amount of weight, or, more pertinent to us, let's say, write the introduction section to my manuscript) by X date/time, you agree to do something negative (say, donate money to a cause you don't really endorse). If you accomplish your goal, the negative thing will not happen. Sounds like simple negative reinforcement? Michael Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Op-Ed Contributor - Dear A.I.G., I Quit! - NYTimes.com
It's interesting that no one on this list has said anything about athletes and other entertainers, some of whom 'earn' as much yearly as the entire AIG bonus list! And yes, you pay for their salaries through advertising costs passed on to you through the products you purchase (where do you think that the money comes from?). On Mar 25, 2009, at 10:21 PM, Michael Smith wrote: Well, it wouldn't change my opinion. No one, I believe, should receive $742,006.40 bonus after taxes. If that is the bonus, what was his salary!!!??? And, whatever his salary was, he thinks he earned it because the areas he was involved with made lots of money. Unlike most Canadians and probably Americans I think salaries and bonuses like this far exceed anyone's contribution to anything. No one should ever be paid these amounts. Democracy and Capitalism are not the same thing. Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Op-Ed Contributor - Dear A.I.G., I Quit! - NYTimes.com
And my wife's retirement account is managed by VALIC, now an AIG subsidiary. I suspect that you could do a similar calculation dividing the bonuses by the total number of clients of AIG and its many subsidiaries. On Mar 26, 2009, at 3:02 PM, David Epstein wrote: On Thu, 26 Mar 2009, Paul Brandon went: It's interesting that no one on this list has said anything about athletes and other entertainers, some of whom 'earn' as much yearly as the entire AIG bonus list! And yes, you pay for their salaries through advertising costs passed on to you through the products you purchase (where do you think that the money comes from?). I've frequently thought about that, and I don't see a problem with it. If David Letterman gets $30 million a year and averages five million viewers per night (on each of approximately 200 nights per year), he can justify his income by providing a mere three pennies' worth of entertainment to each viewer each night. I'm not being facetious about that. A daily or weekly dose of a TV show can enhance the quality of life of each viewer who enjoys it. So, in the aggregate, a TV performer can provide many millions (perhaps billions) of dollars' worth of pleasure, if the metric of pleasure is How much would you, the individual viewer, pay for the experience you just had? AIG executives provided no such service. --David Epstein da...@neverdave.com --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Op-Ed Contributor - Dear A.I.G., I Quit! - NYTimes.com
Back in the twentieth century one solution to disparities of wealth was a real progressive tax structure, as opposed to the current structure where the working poor pay a larger proportion of their incomes in taxes than do the very rich. On Mar 26, 2009, at 3:59 PM, Michael Smith wrote: Yes. I read the $1. If that's true (which I doubt), then it is only $1 so that he and others like him can keep as much money as possible through, no doubt, some well worn tax loopholes. However, I have no faith whatsoever that any of these so called executives act with any degree of conscience at all. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the whole letter was another scam by AIG to get some good press via the back door. Also, just because he says he will donate his bonus doesn't mean he will (and I am 99.9% confident that he wont). And if he really can afford to give away 3/4 million dollars then yes he has way too much money. Regardless of mathematical models I still say that no one should be compensated with so much money for anything. That goes for sports figures, movie stars, etc, etc. Maybe especially sports figures, I mean come on, bouncing this reddish ball and throwing it in a net! When some people make tens of millions of dollars and others can't afford soup, then something is very, very, wrong. And for a connection to psychology? I think that the CEO's and others who make it in business especially are smart sociopaths, so making up this phony letter would be just another effort to play by the rules (of conscience that guides most people) so that they can continue to pillage society at large. --Mike On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 4:47 AM, Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca wrote: Michael Smith wrote: Well, it wouldn't change my opinion. No one, I believe, should receive $742,006.40 bonus after taxes. If that is the bonus, what was his salary!!!??? Read the letter again. It was $1. Chris Green === On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 8:45 PM, Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca wrote: So, this has absolutely nothing to do with teaching psychology, but you are interesting people who like interesting things. It is a letter of resignation from an executive at AIG that may change your view of the current bonus scandal. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/opinion/25desantis.html Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ == --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Roll over, Darwin
Only if you believe that ALL discriminations are inappropriate. It is inappropriate to discriminate on the basis of religion. It is NOT inappropriate to discriminate on the basis of a stated willingness to do a job as specified and contracted. On Mar 23, 2009, at 1:41 AM, Michael Smith wrote: But do they? That was the point. Would you hire a Christian Scientist to direct a public health program? Yes. Would a Christian Scientist not be able to direct a public health program? If you are apriori excluding Christian Scientists from directing public programs then that is discrimination based on religion. Could said minister be a creationist and still do his job admirably? Yes. But very unlikely. We screen out unlikely candidates all the time. Could Richard Dawkins impartially and sensitively carry out his obligations as Chair for the Public Understanding of Science? See my post on objectivity. Well, OK, some things aren't possible, but I think my main point still stands. --Mike On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 10:13 PM, Paul Brandon paul.bran...@mnsu.edu wrote: When religious beliefs conflict with one's function as a science minister they become relevant to job function. Would you hire a Christian Scientist to direct a public health program? One has a right to one's beliefs; one does not have a right to hold a job that one refuses (for whatever reason) to perform properly (according to contract, job description, etc). And in this case it doesn't sound like there was any problem knowing what his beliefs were (at least to the extent that they compromised his support for science). On Mar 22, 2009, at 10:38 PM, Michael Smith wrote: Hmmm. Seems all the good stuff happens when I'm not around. (I wonder if that's a conspiracy...nah...can't be...I think) Why is it important to know his beliefs? Are we not supposed to hire people for positions without predjudice with regard to religion, color, sexual orientation etc? --Mike On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 6:24 PM, William Scott wsc...@wooster.edu wrote: Chris Green sez: -- I think the major reason that attention has suddenly become focused on the Science Minister is that his government just cut the budgets of the major research funding agencies as part of their economic stimulus package. Go figr. -- But he, himself, objected to those cuts!! I'm taken with the following comments by Lorna Dueck in the Toronto Globe Mail: He made a defensive stumble in an environment he assumed would not allow the breadth of questions needed to explore Christianity and science. He drew the line around his faith tightly, with what appears to be a Don't ask, don't tell policy. The fact that we cannot intelligently explore a science minister's personal beliefs in God because it's deemed political suicide in a sound-bite culture should alarm us all about the erosion of our freedoms. While I agree that it is important to know his beliefs, I do understand the defensiveness which led to his statements. Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca 03/18/09 7:53 PM sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: Our Science Minister, (yes, our _science_ minister), with the proud title of federal Minister of State for Science and Technology, was asked whether he believed in evolution. And then... Shame on us. Indeed. However, it has been long known that the current Minister of International Trade (and former Leader of the Opposition) Stockwell Day is a young Earth creationist. I think the major reason that attention has suddenly become focused on the Science Minister is that his government just cut the budgets of the major research funding agencies as part of their economic stimulus package. Go figr. Chris Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon 10 Crown Hill Lane Mankato, MN 56001 pkbra...@hickorytech.net --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Roll over, Darwin
When religious beliefs conflict with one's function as a science minister they become relevant to job function. Would you hire a Christian Scientist to direct a public health program? One has a right to one's beliefs; one does not have a right to hold a job that one refuses (for whatever reason) to perform properly (according to contract, job description, etc). And in this case it doesn't sound like there was any problem knowing what his beliefs were (at least to the extent that they compromised his support for science). On Mar 22, 2009, at 10:38 PM, Michael Smith wrote: Hmmm. Seems all the good stuff happens when I'm not around. (I wonder if that's a conspiracy...nah...can't be...I think) Why is it important to know his beliefs? Are we not supposed to hire people for positions without predjudice with regard to religion, color, sexual orientation etc? --Mike On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 6:24 PM, William Scott wsc...@wooster.edu wrote: Chris Green sez: -- I think the major reason that attention has suddenly become focused on the Science Minister is that his government just cut the budgets of the major research funding agencies as part of their economic stimulus package. Go figr. -- But he, himself, objected to those cuts!! I'm taken with the following comments by Lorna Dueck in the Toronto Globe Mail: He made a defensive stumble in an environment he assumed would not allow the breadth of questions needed to explore Christianity and science. He drew the line around his faith tightly, with what appears to be a Don't ask, don't tell policy. The fact that we cannot intelligently explore a science minister's personal beliefs in God because it's deemed political suicide in a sound-bite culture should alarm us all about the erosion of our freedoms. While I agree that it is important to know his beliefs, I do understand the defensiveness which led to his statements. Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca 03/18/09 7:53 PM sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: Our Science Minister, (yes, our _science_ minister), with the proud title of federal Minister of State for Science and Technology, was asked whether he believed in evolution. And then... Shame on us. Indeed. However, it has been long known that the current Minister of International Trade (and former Leader of the Opposition) Stockwell Day is a young Earth creationist. I think the major reason that attention has suddenly become focused on the Science Minister is that his government just cut the budgets of the major research funding agencies as part of their economic stimulus package. Go figr. Chris Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] dangers of drinking distilled water - critical thinking article
All authorities are not created equal. There was a long thread discussing Dr. Rona's credentials, and whether they had been misleadingly presented. On Mar 22, 2009, at 10:57 PM, Michael Smith wrote: Oh sure! Now you're just substituting one authority (Dr. Rona) for another (Dr. Schwarcz) And we don't even get to see his statements! Instead they are relayed through a friend. Reminds me of that book (Urantia?) I had a quick look at the article seemed fine to me (lol). --Mike On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 5:59 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: On 22 Mar 2009 at 11:14, tay...@sandiego.edu wrote: The article is here: http://shop.snyderhealth.com/article_info.php?articles_id=6 The claim that distilled water is dangerous to drink makes no sense on theoretical grounds, and my PubMed search in my previous post showed that the claim has not the slightest empirical support either. As I noted, I am offended that Dr. Rona should be peddling such outrageous scaremongering while advertising his M.D. degree from McGill University, the same internationally-respected university where I received my undergraduate degree. But help is at hand. There is a Ph.D. chemist who has a well-deserved reputation and awards for debunking health claims, especially those relating to the supposed dangerous effects of chemicals and chemical additives. In a way, he is the Amazing Randi of chemistry. Around these parts he is known for his newspaper columns and radio and TV commentaries, which provide refreshingly good common-sense and scientifically-accurate advice on all things chemical. This man is Dr. Joseph Schwarcz. By some amazing cosmic coincidence Dr. Schwarcz is both a Ph.D. graduate of McGill and currently holds a position there as professor of chemistry. He is also Director of McGill University´s Office for Science and Society which is dedicated to demystifying science for the public, the media and students. Who better to provide an opinion on the deadly distilled water claims of McGillian Zoltan Rona than Dr. Schwarcz? So I wrote him. No more than an hour later I had my response. Bearing in mind that I didn't ask for permission to repost his letter, I won't say what's in it. But I think I am safe in relaying his statement that he is aware of Dr. Rona's activities, and he believes the distilled water claim to be ridiculous nonsense. I think he just might write a column about it. I hope so. More on Dr. Schwarcz: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Schwarcz Office for Science and Society: http://oss.mcgill.ca/schwarcz.php Stephen Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Dolphin Video
I believe that the classic article is: Pryor, K. W., Haag, R., O'Reilly, J. (1969). The creative porpoise: Training for novel behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 12, 653-661. Two rough-toothed porpoises (Steno bredanensis) were individually trained to emit novel responses, which were not developed by shaping and which were not previously known to occur in the species, by reinforcing a different response to the same set of stimuli in each of a series of training sessions. A technique was developed for transcribing a complex series of behavior on to a single cumulative record so that the training sessions of the second animal could be fully recorded. Cumulative records are presented for a session in which the criterion that only novel behaviors would be reinforced was abruptly met with four new types of responses, and for typical preceding and subsequent sessions. Some analogous techniques in the training of pigeons, horses, and humans are discussed. On Mar 18, 2009, at 8:05 AM, Paul C Bernhardt wrote: First time I saw this in a shorter clip I was skeptical because of the way the bubbles moved defying buoyancy. But, after watching this longer version it appears to me that the dolphins are creating eddies that control the movement of the bubble rings. Might be good for animal learning topics, to launch a discussion on creativity (are we seeing artistic creativity in the dolphins and how do we operationalize creativity, etc.). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuVgXJ55G6Y Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Today is Kitty Genovese Day
Outside of a small circle of friendsPhil Ochs On Mar 13, 2009, at 8:13 AM, Mike Palij wrote: Back on March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese was attacked and killed. We now have a somewhat different view of the events surrounding her death, particularly the issue of bystander apathy. For example, see: http://kewgardenshistory.com/ss-nytimes-3.html And others remember the event in their own way. For example, see: http://deathaday.blogspot.com/2008/03/march-13-kitty-genovese.html Of renewed relevance to younger folks, she plays a minor role in the Watchmen graphic novel: see: http://www.scifimoviepage.com/upcoming/previews/watchmen-2.html Make it help a stranger day. -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Today is Kitty Genovese Day
No real message -- just free associating. I figured if there was a 'day', that might be the theme song. I'm aware that even then it was an oversimplified reaction to oversimplified news reports, and definitely a product of its times. Very much a '60's statement about a lack of social responsibility and individual isolation. On Mar 13, 2009, at 7:31 PM, Mike Palij wrote: On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:27:17 -0700, Paul Brandon wrote: Outside of a small circle of friendsPhil Ochs The first lines in the above song are: |Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed |They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed |Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain |But Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game |And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody |Outside of a small circle of friends. But I have to admit to being unsure about the message that Paul is intending. He is saying that Kitty Genovese's death is no longer relevant to most people? Our petty interests trump the suffering and death of a person? For psychology, Kitty Genovese is of less importance than the work of Latane and Darley that was in response to her death? Or something else? I really don't understand. -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu On Mar 13, 2009, at 8:13 AM, Mike Palij wrote: Back on March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese was attacked and killed. We now have a somewhat different view of the events surrounding her death, particularly the issue of bystander apathy. For example, see: http://kewgardenshistory.com/ss-nytimes-3.html And others remember the event in their own way. For example, see: http://deathaday.blogspot.com/2008/03/march-13-kitty-genovese.html Of renewed relevance to younger folks, she plays a minor role in the Watchmen graphic novel: see: http://www.scifimoviepage.com/upcoming/previews/watchmen-2.html Make it help a stranger day. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Dr. Gordon Neufeld
My understanding is that he is essentially trying to bring a paradigm shift in how we raise children. Sounds more like he's trying to make a paradigm shift in his own lifestyle. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Clever Hans
Looking at a picture of Clever Hans on Wikipedia, the horse's reins are draped across his back. The handler is standing on the other side of the horse, with his hands obscured. If he (or Bertrand's handler) was in fact holding the reins, that would be one source of a subtle cue. On Mar 5, 2009, at 3:27 PM, sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote: Clever Bertrand could do everything that Clever Hans could do. There was only one difference between the two horses: Clever Bertrand was totally blind. This is undoubtedly the first literally true blind study, and seems to rule out the Clever Hans effect. So how did Clever Bertrand do it? Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] the matching law and toilet paper
On Mar 4, 2009, at 1:34 PM, Rick Froman wrote: We are talking about Herrnstein’s Matching Law in my Theories of Learning class this week and as I was in the restroom, I started contemplating the fact that whenever two rolls are equally available, they dwindle at approximately the same rate. Of course, that defeats the purpose of two rolls which is so you can use up one and then use the back up until the janitor can re-stock the other roll. Some toilet roll racks have been designed to actively thwart this tendency by making it so the new roll doesn’t drop into place until the old one is used up and removed. In those situations where both are always available, I wonder if this is an example of the Matching Law in which the number responses made to each choice will match the work required to achieve the reinforcement. Therefore, if both require the same amount of work, you would expect both rolls to be depleted at a similar rate. If one was more difficult to obtain (or contained a lower quality of toilet paper), I wonder if matching would still hold (the degree to which one was superior or easier to access would match the rate at which it was used) or if people would just use the easier to access or the superior quality until it ran out and then switch to the other one? I'm not sure that the magnitude of the reinforcers or response cost is high enough to affect choice in this situation. For a behavioral explanation I'd look at the individual's history of learned rules. I suppose someone could make a dissertation out of a functional analysis of relative position and size or TP rolls. Of course, you'd have to add a changeover delay to minimize switching between rolls ;-) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Dirk Wittenborn: a history of brain candy
Any procedure since the advent of IRB's would require rescuing the subject. These days you couldn't even drown a goldfish! On Mar 4, 2009, at 5:27 PM, William Scott wrote: There is another form of the forced swimming test which is a better indicator of the development of hopelessness. Rats are sequentially exposed to regular increases in forced swimming time until the next trial will be beyond their endurance. At that point they don't swim and give up. If an antidepressant has an effect on such hopelessness, it will extend the number of trials before the rat gives up. As far as I know, the procedure calls for rescuing the rat. I forget the name of this procedure, if there is one, but I imagine this is what Wittenborn is referring to. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Conservatives are biggest consumers of porn?
On Mar 3, 2009, at 7:48 AM, Beth Benoit wrote: But my favorite example is that there was more porn purchased in states where the majority agreed with the statement: I have old- fashioned values about family and marriage, What's more old-fashioned than porn? Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] vaccines cause autism????
, at the same time, they are quietly managing a separate 'vaccine court' that is ruling in favor of affected families and finding that vaccines, in fact, were the cause. For most of the autism community the question is no longer whether vaccines caused of their child's autism. The question is why is their government only promoting the rulings that are in favor of the vaccine companies. Why is a secret court, which no one knows about or understands, quietly paying these families for vaccine injuries and autism? Deirdre Imus, Generation Rescue board member and founder of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology says, Over the past 20 years, the vaccine court has dispensed close to $2 billion in compensation to families whose children were injured or killed by a vaccine. I am not against vaccines and my own child has been vaccinated. But, I share the growing concerns of many parents questioning the number of vaccines given to children today, some of the toxic ingredients in vaccines, and whether we know enough about the combination risks associated with the multiple vaccines given to children during critical developmental windows. To help spread the word of the Banks ruling, Generation Rescue also bought a full-page ad that will run in the USA Today on 02/25/2009, which has a daily circulation of 2,272,815. Generation Rescue seeks to answer these questions and many more on a daily basis as they fight for the truth and to recover children with autism around the world. To learn more please visit www.generationrescue.org, write to me...@generationrescue.com == Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 tay...@sandiego.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
