Re: [tips] Using Taking Sides
No, sorry, those are some of the reasons why I don't like it. I think students get a lot of diversity of views and opposing talking heads, but they need to learn ways to think more clearly about the views they encounter, not just hear more. I want to first see if they can learn some basic critical thinking skills and present them with models of how to critique and evaluate information. I find also that they need help actually comprehending the views they read or hear. I have seen folks using those taking sides books, but haven't been impressed with their use in the classroom. Some good students do mimic the prof's ideas well though ;-) and learn how to cater to expectations, but can they really articulate and defend their own thoughts well? How can we expect them to unless we provide skills and criteria for careful thinking before they encounter those diverse views? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Sunday, January 3, 2010 10:46:52 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Using Taking Sides Over the years, I've used the Taking Sides readers for various courses. I love the concept, like many of the articles, find some a little vague for their purported purpose, but overall, do appreciate the diversity of opinion offered for whatever course I'm teaching. My problem though, is that I don't feel I'm incorporating it within my course as well as I might be. Here are some things I've tried: 1. Having students do a discussion in a debate forum. That was generally a waste. They tended to take the topic and run with it with their own opinions on the topic. And of course, most read only the article they had to present. 2. Having students write brief summaries of specific topic forums. That turned out to be a lot of work for me, and I didn't feel they got full use of the book, as they probably read only what they were required to read for the paper they had to write. 3. Hoping the students will read the assigned articles so they can be discussed in class. Well, emphasis is on the word hoping, for a guess about how well that worked. I'm going to try again this coming term in my Human Sexuality class, with Wm. Taverner's Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Human Sexuality. My goal is to open students' minds a bit more on the topics I cover in Human Sexuality, and of course make it worth their while that they had to buy a second book for the course. Has anything worked for any of you? Or do any of you have any suggestions? Many thanks, Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Cannabis damages young eurocentric rat brains
Thanks for the response Stephen! I was beginning to think I should have added something about eurocentric biases to get some TIPS response ;-) I agree as to the problematic news report about the study, but just was unsure about the relevance to my students in a research methods class. I think now that the clear relevance has to do with how the research process is itself clearly tainted by commercialization and the pressure to glamorize, and make socially relevant, one's efforts. This may be especially so at universities where research findings need to be touted to alumni and donors. Best holiday and new year wishes to TIPSTERS! Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: sbl...@ubishops.ca To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Sunday, December 27, 2009 8:55:30 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Cannabis damages young brains I said: Read this news report. Then answer a simple question: who were the subjects of this alarming study? - Cannabis Damages Young Brains More Than Originally Thought, Study Finds On 24 Dec 2009 at 13:47, Gerald Peterson wrote: Is the objection to the sweeping generalities in the piece? Is it to the emotionalism in the news notice? snip Is it that a rat model is not appropriate to answer questions about cannabis effects? Is the rat model not at all relevant to human teen brains? It seems that my outrage has been met with puzzlement. I wasn't disputing the importance of animal research, or its relevance for understanding the human brain. I fully support animal research for advancing neuroscience. What I do not support is omitting essential information from a press release and from news article based on that release. The significant information was the word rat. It seems to me there was likely a deliberate attempt to prevent the reader from learning that the study was carried out in rats, and instead to encourage the conclusion that humans were studied. This was done by using terms such as adolescent, teens, and even Canadian teenagers, all of which (unless some rats have taken to wearing baggy pants, dissing their parents, and listening to hip-hop) invariably makes us think of not-fully-grown humans. I never heard a rat called a teenager before this study, Canadian or not. Why they did it is obvious. Studies demonstrating the dangers of cannabis for teenagers are sexy; such studies for rats, not so much. If you want publicity, you go with what is sexy, and hide what can impair it. It's also wrong. Rat studies are important. But it's a truism that rats are not people, and we cannot simply assert their interchangeability, at least not without further evidence. At a minimum, I would have expected responsible researchers to say something like this, While this study was carried out in rats, future research may lead to the discovery of similar brain changes in teenagers. But if they did that, everyone, including journalists, would say ho-hum. Because we've had more than a few generations of dire warnings about the toxic and brain-damaging properties of pot, none of which have been supported by credible evidence. One more rat study wouldn't do it for most people. Moreover, if these researchers were so determined to show that cannabis is harmful to humans, why weren't they studying humans in the first place? Yes, we have to use rats to study changes in neurochemicals in the brain, because teenagers won't lend us their brains for the purpose. But the neurochemical changes--- depression hypothesis is in trouble, and jumping from neurochemical changes in the rat brain to human depression is a leap as great as the best of Evel Knievel's. Note that the behavioural measures in this study were such things as forced swim and sucrose preference for depression, and novelty-suppressed feeding test for anxiety. When was the last time we diagnosed depression and anxiety in teenagers with those kind of tests? OK, rant ends. I repeat the offending news report below so you can compare it with the above. As you read it, remember, they're really talking about rats for their findings. Stephen ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2009) - Canadian teenagers are among the largest consumers of cannabis worldwide. The damaging effects of this illicit drug on young brains are worse than originally thought, according to new research by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a psychiatric researcher from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. The new study, published in Neurobiology of Disease, suggests that daily consumption of cannabis in teens can cause depression and anxiety, and have an irreversible long-term effect on the brain. We wanted to know what happens
Re: [tips] Cannabis damages young brains
Is the objection to the sweeping generalities in the piece? Is it to the emotionalism in the news notice? Is it the author's over-generalizations that are the central problems? The over-stating and over-generalization---problems of external validity? Is it that a rat model is not appropriate to answer questions about cannabis effects? Is the rat model not at all relevant to human teen brains? In many instances rat models have been valuable in psych eh? What is the relevance or point that we might make in our research methods class here? My students would expect the problem is just that a representative sample of the brains of human teens were not studied. Is that really the problem here? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: sbl...@ubishops.ca To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2009 1:43:09 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Cannabis damages young brains Read this news report. Then answer a simple question: who were the subjects of this alarming study? - Cannabis Damages Young Brains More Than Originally Thought, Study Finds ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2009) - Canadian teenagers are among the largest consumers of cannabis worldwide. The damaging effects of this illicit drug on young brains are worse than originally thought, according to new research by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a psychiatric researcher from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. The new study, published in Neurobiology of Disease, suggests that daily consumption of cannabis in teens can cause depression and anxiety, and have an irreversible long-term effect on the brain. We wanted to know what happens in the brains of teenagers when they use cannabis and whether they are more susceptible to its neurological effects than adults, explained Dr. Gobbi, who is also a professor at McGill University. Her study points to an apparent action of cannabis on two important compounds in the brain -- serotonin and norepinephrine -- which are involved in the regulation of neurological functions such as mood control and anxiety. Teenagers who are exposed to cannabis have decreased serotonin transmission, which leads to mood disorders, as well as increased norepinephrine transmission, which leads to greater long-term susceptibility to stress, Dr. Gobbi stated. Previous epidemiological studies have shown how cannabis consumption can affect behaviour in some teenagers. Our study is one of the first to focus on the neurobiological mechanisms at the root of this influence of cannabis on depression and anxiety in adolescents, confirmed Dr. Gobbi. It is also the first study to demonstrate that cannabis consumption causes more serious damage during adolescence than adulthood. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091217115834.h tm or http://tinyurl.com/yc99kal The answer is: They studied rats, teenage rats. See for yourself. Abstract of the published study at http://tinyurl.com/ygrcbye It's not the fault of the science daily journalist, though, because this egregious misinformation is present in the original press release from McGill University. Shame, McGill! http://muhc.ca/newsroom/news/cannabis-and-adolescence- dangerous-cocktail or http://tinyurl.com/yhyedn5 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Grade inflation: A comparison?
I agree with Annette here, but don't mind sharing some general info. Add also the problem of plus and minus grading...faculty here voted that in and the average grade soon became a B. My averages, even after withdrawals, are typically 67-70% and I have gone to 65% of total points for a C. About 30% or more in Psych 100 get Ds and Fs. mostly because of serious reading and study problems, or just not attending. I am tenured and full-time, so not facing the same kind of pressure as adjunct or new faculty to please or be popular. I am not trying to be a hard ass, but just maintain some minimal college level standard. I do extra credit only in Psych 100 to promote research participation, and have feebie pts awarded for class exercises, demos, review games, etc., in all classes. Some students complain when the average is 70% as they now expect a B just for hanging around most of the semester. And so it goes... Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: tay...@sandiego.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 10:34:14 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Grade inflation: A comparison? I sort of like the idea except that there are so very many variables that go into each class's grades--which class it is (I have lower grades in lower division courses and in research methods sections), what type of pedagogy is used; what types of assessments are used; some people give extra credit and some people don't; some people carry their grades to the nth decimal place whereas some people don't believe they are using a true objective system and are willing to round up (seldom down, ha ha); some of my sections are honors sections and some are not and the honors students' grades tend to be much higher on average; and so on and so on. So, I'm not sure what we'd achieve by such as sharing because of all the factors and variables. Hmmm, I think I've talked myself out of the idea. Sorry. 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: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:16:05 -0500 From: Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com Subject: [tips] Grade inflation: A comparison? To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu I've been wondering about the whole grade inflation idea, as have all of you, for years. In light of this, I'm curious how all of you grade, and thus if you might be seen to be guilty, based on the grades in your courses. We all know that some years you just seem to have a lot of bright, hard-working achievers, and some years you don't. Sodo you think it's acceptable, worthwhile and ethical for us to compare grades? I'll be the first to offer my gradebook, from the last several years and from three different colleges, but only if you all agree that it's something to consider and would be a worthwhile topic. Naturally, names of students shouldn't be used, nor should the names of the colleges. (I've actually taught at five different colleges in the last nine years and I could pull up grades from all of them. And I would not divulge which grades came from where. Perhaps, in the interest of anonymity, if you've only taught at one college and recoil at the thought of having your home base publicized, you could ask another member of TIPS to post your grades without your name. This is particularly important to consider knowing that TIPS is able to be viewed by anyone. While it might not be unethical to post grades that are known to come from just one school, it would be likely to be insensitive to the administration.) Also, if there is such a thing as grade inflation, it shouldn't matter whether you teach at a high school, a community college, a 4-year college, university, etc. Grade inflation appears to exist everywhere. So what think you, colleagues? If you think it's a good idea, let's do it. But if I've overlooked some slumbering dragon, then I'll let this idea die. Beth Benoit Granite State College (now) Plymouth State University (now) and three others I shall not name... --- 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)
Re: [tips] Copperfield trick
Is this, and other magic effects, just further evidence that applied, non-scientific practitioners acquire a knowledge of principles that science only later learns about and systematizes? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Riki Koenigsberg rikikoe...@gmail.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2009 12:33:06 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Copperfield trick All the cards are gone. He replaced them with other queens, kings, and jacks, but since you only paid attention to your own card, you didn't notice. This is another example of inattentional blindness. On Sun, Dec 20, 2009 at 8:11 AM, Britt, Michael michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com wrote: Does anyone know how this trick is done? Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com Twitter: mbritt [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] Now send it to some of your Friends, so they can have fun also. ! Windows 7: Unclutter your desktop. Learn more. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.427 / Virus Database: 270.14.111/2570 - Release Date: 12/17/09 08:30:00 = Vicky Kryoneris 516.921.3469 tel 516.521.0139 cell vicky...@optonline.net = --- 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)
Re: [tips] tips digest: December 15, 2009 - RE LEanring Styles
Yes, welcome Jordan...and regarding learning styles check out the latest Psych Science in the Public Interest: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/123216067/PDFSTART Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Jordan Lippman lippm...@hotmail.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, December 18, 2009 2:06:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE:[tips] tips digest: December 15, 2009 - RE LEanring Styles Hello everyone, I have recently begun to read this list-serve and while I find the daily digest hard to actually digest and think an online forum would be a better venue for this set of discussions, I deeply appreciate many of the discussions i have read. The topic of learning styles is one in which I have had a long interest. I was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD as a kid and always had an intuitive feel that I learned differently than others. While I still think that is true - because executive skill deficits make it harder for me to stay on task and and phonological processing deficits make it harder for me to process text than others - i dont think this is the notion of learning style differences professed by proponents of this idea. My initial enthusiasm for this idea has succumbed to the weight of my education as a cognitive psychology / learning sciences graduate student at UIC and I am now agnostic about whether learning styles exist or matter. I am in the final months of my grad program (I am procrastinating from wiring my dissertation thesis right now) and will be teaching research methods in Psychology for the first time and will be asking students to critique some popular psychological myths/psudeo-psychological ideas. I am going to ask them to find sources from the web that support the ideas and then provide them skeptically-leaning articles. I am thinking learning styles will be one of the topics I use. I just found this short-ish article critiquing learning styles and wanted to share it with the list, as I am considering using it next term as the scientific source on learning styles. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/pspi/PSPI_9_3.pdf happy holidays, Jordan Lippman, ABD http://www.jordanlippman.net Subject: learning styles From: Lilienfeld, Scott O slil...@emory.edu Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:47:11 -0500 X-Message-Number: 2 Hi All: FYI regarding a topic that periodically surfaces on this listservScott http://chronicle.com/article/Matching-Teaching-Style-to/49497/ Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D. Professor Editor, Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice Department of Psychology, Room 473 Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences (PAIS) Emory University 36 Eagle Row Atlanta, Georgia 30322 slil...@emory.edu (404) 727-1125 Psychology Today Blog: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140513111X.html Scientific American Mind: Facts and Fictions in Mental Health Column: http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciammind/ - This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments). -- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] tips digest: December 15, 2009 - RE LEanring Styles
Ha, okay same article. I have end of semester learning style ;-) Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Gerald Peterson peter...@svsu.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, December 18, 2009 3:39:53 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] tips digest: December 15, 2009 - RE LEanring Styles Yes, welcome Jordan...and regarding learning styles check out the latest Psych Science in the Public Interest: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/123216067/PDFSTART Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Jordan Lippman lippm...@hotmail.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, December 18, 2009 2:06:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE:[tips] tips digest: December 15, 2009 - RE LEanring Styles Hello everyone, I have recently begun to read this list-serve and while I find the daily digest hard to actually digest and think an online forum would be a better venue for this set of discussions, I deeply appreciate many of the discussions i have read. The topic of learning styles is one in which I have had a long interest. I was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD as a kid and always had an intuitive feel that I learned differently than others. While I still think that is true - because executive skill deficits make it harder for me to stay on task and and phonological processing deficits make it harder for me to process text than others - i dont think this is the notion of learning style differences professed by proponents of this idea. My initial enthusiasm for this idea has succumbed to the weight of my education as a cognitive psychology / learning sciences graduate student at UIC and I am now agnostic about whether learning styles exist or matter. I am in the final months of my grad program (I am procrastinating from wiring my dissertation thesis right now) and will be teaching research methods in Psychology for the first time and will be asking students to critique some popular psychological myths/psudeo-psychological ideas. I am going to ask them to find sources from the web that support the ideas and then provide them skeptically-leaning articles. I am thinking learning styles will be one of the topics I use. I just found this short-ish article critiquing learning styles and wanted to share it with the list, as I am considering using it next term as the scientific source on learning styles. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/pspi/PSPI_9_3.pdf happy holidays, Jordan Lippman, ABD http://www.jordanlippman.net Subject: learning styles From: Lilienfeld, Scott O slil...@emory.edu Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:47:11 -0500 X-Message-Number: 2 Hi All: FYI regarding a topic that periodically surfaces on this listservScott http://chronicle.com/article/Matching-Teaching-Style-to/49497/ Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D. Professor Editor, Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice Department of Psychology, Room 473 Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences (PAIS) Emory University 36 Eagle Row Atlanta, Georgia 30322 slil...@emory.edu (404) 727-1125 Psychology Today Blog: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140513111X.html Scientific American Mind: Facts and Fictions in Mental Health Column: http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciammind/ - This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments). -- --- 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)
Re: [tips] It's that plagiarism time of year again...
Did they use cell phones to take a picture of one exam and send to the other? Apparently, that is becoming a big problem in some classes. That, and texting each other. I ban cell phones during exams, but it is very hard to police in large classes. Anyone have a problem with cell phone cheating? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: John Kulig ku...@mail.plymouth.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 4:00:04 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] It's that plagiarism time of year again... 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...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Simulated hallucinations
This is a nice effort to depict some aspects of schizophrenic experiences and can be easily played in class and facilitate discussion. I have found also that some of the experiences of word salad, thought intrusion, and distortions of what people hear and see when listening or speaking can be described via case studies and shared personal experiences. You can use small groups in class to then try to create their own simulations and describe what they are trying to depict. You may even find that some students have had psychotic episodes, hallucinations,etc., and that they may be willing to share their own experiences. Some students are also able to share their perceptions/thoughts regarding the use of various anti-psychotic medications. After a better appreciation of the experiences, we can then discuss theory or related ideas as to mechanisms of speech, perception, attentional control, etc., that might be producing such experiences. Just some thoughts, Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Sue Frantz sfra...@highline.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Monday, December 7, 2009 11:01:28 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Simulated hallucinations Hi all, Here are simulated visual and auditory hallucinations produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals: http://www.janssen.com/janssen/mindstorm_video.html Note that this video was apparently made for use in a workshop, thus the reference to olfactory hallucinations and flagging a facilitator if one is bothered by the experience. Thanks to the Teaching High Psych Blog for the link: http://teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com/2009/12/mindstorm-and-schizophrenia.html -- Sue Frantz Highline Community College Psychology, Coordinator Des Moines, WA 206.878.3710 x3404 sfra...@highline.edu Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology, Associate Director Project Syllabus APA Division 2: Society for the Teaching of Psychology APA's p...@cc Committee --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
[tips] God agrees with me!
An interesting piece to discuss false consensus, egocentrism, self-serving biases,etc. in relevant classes. See: http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/11/creating_god_in_ones_own_image.php gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Music Therapy Requirements?
I have always wondered about such fields. Wouldn't it make more sense to become a clinical/counseling or rehabilitation psychologist and then employ music and perhaps other art forms as appropriate? I guess I should look into such fields more myself as students do now and then express interest in such areas. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 5:00:48 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Music Therapy Requirements? Our 30-year-old son was very interested in becoming a music therapist, but all the programs he looked at required what looked like advanced expertise in musical theory, instrumentation like piano, and other serious musical requirements. He's terrific on the guitar, and can read music, but really felt he couldn't fulfill the strict music theory requirements. He's getting an M.B.A. instead. Too bad. I think he'd be terrific as a music therapist. Your student should probably be aware of the requirements in this area. Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Wed, Dec 2, 2009 at 4:49 PM, Elizabeth Gassin lgas...@olivet.edu wrote: You might check out musictherapy.org , the site of the American Music Therapy Association. I believe it has info on programs, certification, etc. *** Elizabeth (Lisa) A. Gassin, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Department of Behavioral Sciences Olivet Nazarene University 1 University Avenue Bourbonnais, IL 60914 Phone: 815-928-5569 Fax: 815-928-5571 *** Wehlburg, Catherine c.wehlb...@tcu.edu 12/2/2009 3:24 PM 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! --Catherine ** Catherine M. Wehlburg, Ph.D. Assistant Provost for Institutional Effectiveness TCU Box 297098 -- Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX 76129 Phone: (817) 257-5298 Fax: (817) 257-7173 Email: c.wehlb...@tcu.edu Website: www.assessment.tcu.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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Music Therapy Requirements?
Thanks. Looks like a serious and evidence-based field. I am happy to suggest this as options for certain students. Going to the music therapy association web sites however, made me think that music therapists can cure or help with ingrown toe-nails, balding, and all sorts of other maladies! I am more impressed when I go to professional sites and they point out research suggesting where/when the therapy is NOT efficacious. And so it goesGary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 6:13:41 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Music Therapy Requirements? 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/ Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com Twitter: mbritt 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! --Catherine ** Catherine M. Wehlburg, Ph.D. Assistant Provost for Institutional Effectiveness TCU Box 297098 -- Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX 76129 Phone: (817) 257-5298 Fax: (817) 257-7173 Email: c.wehlb...@tcu.edu Website: www.assessment.tcu.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)
Re: [tips] Famous Narcissists?
Dr. Phil? Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 8:22:45 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Famous Narcissists? In my next episode I plan to discuss the study that was published last year on the topic of how narcissism can be detected by looking at Facebook pages. Since I'm going to talk about narcissism in general, and I assume that many of your do in your classes on this topic, here's my question: I'd like to refer to someone that just about everyone would know and just about everyone would agree is a narcissist. Who would make for a good example? Oh yes, it would be better if this person were dead. ;) 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)
Re: [tips] News: 'The College Fear Factor' - Inside Higher Ed
Hmmm, yes, let's interpret this as resistance. Something familiar about that. Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 8:49:12 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 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)
Re: [tips] Friday the 13th and ghost hunting
Yes, and here's another: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09316/1012545-55.stm Let's explore some ways to bring it in our classes? The above suggests such superstitions might be less in younger folks and, implies the amygdala is just getting too filled up with fearful events to have strong reactions to friday the 13th?! I just love naive neuroscience. I've held superstition bashes on friday the 13th where we walk under ladders, break mirrors, etc. I always invite local therapists to bring any ocd or phobic patients around for some moderate exposure treatment ha. I have one ocd friend who blames me for problems on wall street after our last superstition bash! What I find more interesting in class is how popular ghost-hunting shows are. I have been using those to illustrate several aspects of poor scientific testing, mental set, confirmation biases, features of pseudosciences, etc. Here is a fun news link that covers some aspects of such experiences: http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/10/29/2113402.aspx Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 10:10:14 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Friday the 13th This article was in our paper this morning, about FDR, Henry Ford and others who had a Friday the 13th phobia: http://wtop.com/?nid=104sid=1810896 On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 9:50 AM, tay...@sandiego.edu wrote: I thought it would be fun to talk a little about Friday the 13th in class today so I downloaded some info primarily from wikipedia, for today. I thought I might as well as share it with the list. I especially liked the last two paragraphs because I always wonder about the statistics that show a change in behavior related to specific dates like the number of accidents over a holiday weekend. OK, so 38 people died in accidents in my state, but how many die on any other Friday night through Tuesday morning time frame? This is a nice exposition that takes account of base rates. (note: I did simplify it a bit for class, there are more stats on wikipedia) - Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of good or bad luck. The superstition is rarely found before the 20th century, when it became extremely common. Fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, derived from the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή) (Friday), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς) (13), and phobía (φοβία) (fear). Triskaidekaphobia derives from the Greek words tris, 'three', kai, 'and', and deka, 'ten'. The word was derived in 1911 and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953. In numerology, the number 12 is considered the number of completeness, i.e., 12 months of the year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 hours of the clock, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 Apostles of Jesus, 12 gods of Olympus, etc.; 13 was considered irregular, violating this completeness. There is also a superstition, deriving from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, that having 13 people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners. Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales, and many others have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s (but good luck for shopping on the day after Thanksgiving!). It has also been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, according to Christian scripture and tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday. The Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics has found that fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft occur when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday maybe because people are more careful. Statistically, driving is slightly safer on Friday 13th, at least in The Netherlands, the average figure falling when the 13th fell on a Friday. However, a 1993 study in the British Medical Journal comparing traffic accidents between Friday 6th and Friday 13th found a significant increase in traffic-related accidents on Fridays the 13th. BUT there are more accidents on Fridays than average weekdays (irrespective of the date) probably because of alcohol consumption. Therefore it is less relevant for this purpose to compare Friday 13th with, say, Tuesday 13th. 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 (
Re: [tips] Seligman's Explanatory Style
Yes, I like some of his ideas but is his theory presented in peer-reviewed journals or just in his popular books? Does he spell out clear explanations or is he merely describing what he thinks is an important moderating factor namely, attribution or post-event thinking? While such attributional processes are interesting, I think even he has noted (with actual research citations) that it does not really predict well depression or similar problems. Most likely this attribution process is promoted by the proneness to depression. Just wonderin' Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 12:32:46 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Seligman's Explanatory Style It's a favorite of mine too. I always cover it in just about every class. I even manage to sneak it into my Psychology of Love and Sex class. (Use your imagination for the example I use in that class!) I think it gives students a world of information about looking at behavioral explanations for depression. I introduce the basic concept of learned helplessness, then the negative explanatory style. I'm attaching the PowerPoint slides I made to use when explaining the IGS (internal, global, stable) explanatory style. Feel free to use it. The example I usually use to go through the points is, You applied for a job, but didn't get it. How will you explain to yourself why you didn't get the job? Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 11:42 AM, Britt, Michael michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com wrote: One of my favorite theories (which has now found a home in the positive psychology movement) is Seligman's ideas regarding the effects of your explanatory style (especially in your reaction to negative events) on your mood. In the early days he talked about a negative style as one that is Internal (I'm stupid!), Stable (I'll never get this!) and Global (I'm going to fail at other things as well!). Recently in his more popular books I see that he has changed these terms to Personal, Persistent and Pervasive. Whatever you call them, I rather like the whole theory and certainly think it's worth teaching at the introductory level. I checked a couple of intro books and to my surprise I found very little in-depth coverage of these ideas. I found explanatory style covered briefly in the Personality chapter, and then in the Stress chapters of two other intro books. Too bad - for such a useful theory. Why do you think it doesn't get more exposure? Too much material to cover in one book I suppose. 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Seligman's Explanatory Style
Would his ideas constitute a model, a formal theory, a moderator variable, a theoretical line of research, or in other words, just a theoretical idea? I just teach undergrads about features of formal scientific theories, but they soon find that anything passes for theory in psych textbooks and journals, and authors research various principles, effects, etc., without necessarily seeking the explanatory prowess of a developed theory. Learned helplessness in animals can be shown, but indeed, the human equivalent seems linked to styles/habits of attribution while its causal involvement in producing such experiences remains moot. It may be more relevant when covering cognitive therapies for these fundamentally neurobiological disorders. I enjoy mentioning the attributional style ideas when covering issues in adjustment, abnormal, etc., but am not convinced it deserves more than a gleeful mention allowing me to express my social-cognitive biases. Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Scott O Lilienfeld slil...@emory.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 1:07:11 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [tips] Seligman's Explanatory Style Gary et al.: Seligman's attributional model has been presented and tested in many peer review articles over the past three decades, e.g., Abrahamson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49–74. (just noticed that this article has been cited a whopping 4181 times according to Google Scholar). In dozens of published studies, the stability and globality attributional dimensions have held up well as correlates of depression, the internality dimension somewhat less so (although admittedly I haven't tracked this literature all that closely of late). There is, as Gary notes, lively debate about causal directionality. Lauren Alloy and others have conducted longitudinal studies of these dimensions as predictors of depression in high risk samples; such studies may strengthen the argument for causal directionality, although of course they do not demonstrate it definitively given the inherent logical problem with post-hoc ergo hoc conclusions. ...Scott Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D. Professor Editor, Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice Department of Psychology, Room 473 Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences (PAIS) Emory University 36 Eagle Row Atlanta, Georgia 30322 slil...@emory.edu (404) 727-1125 Psychology Today Blog: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140513111X.html Scientific American Mind: Facts and Fictions in Mental Health Column: http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciammind/ The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his intellectual passions. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him – he is always doing both. - Zen Buddhist text (slightly modified) -Original Message- From: Gerald Peterson [mailto:peter...@vmail.svsu.edu] Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 12:52 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Seligman's Explanatory Style Yes, I like some of his ideas but is his theory presented in peer-reviewed journals or just in his popular books? Does he spell out clear explanations or is he merely describing what he thinks is an important moderating factor namely, attribution or post-event thinking? While such attributional processes are interesting, I think even he has noted (with actual research citations) that it does not really predict well depression or similar problems. Most likely this attribution process is promoted by the proneness to depression. Just wonderin' Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 12:32:46 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Seligman's Explanatory Style It's a favorite of mine too. I always cover it in just about every class. I even manage to sneak it into my Psychology of Love and Sex class. (Use your imagination for the example I use in that class!) I think it gives students a world
Re: [tips] Intro Statistics Text recommendation
I haven't taught stats in ages but I have noticed students not really understanding concepts or how-to lately. They have an spss class with their experim. class but have had stats before these classes. They are still struggling with how to enter data approp. for whatever analyses, but when they get the results they a) don't really know what was done to their entering numbers, and b) don't seem too confident in how to interpret the results. I think hand calculations can aid conceptual understanding. Maybe you could produce some notebook (on-line or hard copy)complementing whatever they think an appropriate psych stats text might be? Insist students use your notebook to work problems and to practice? Sorry for the whining---I am in the process of grading lab papers ;-) Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: drna...@aol.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 3:28:13 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Intro Statistics Text recommendation Hi, I have been asked to teach baby Stats (again) for psychology at a school where my teacher evaluations have been generally decent but the faculty evaluator, who looks at our course materials, does not like my choice of book. I use Bluman Brief Edition (4th) which is not a Psych Stats book. The examples and practice problems (of which there are a lot, that's why I like the book) cover a variety of social, educational, criminal justice and business applications...there are a few pure psych problems mixed in, not many. The course includes lecture time (during which I teach concepts and lots of by hand-solving of problems) and an SPSS lab. I would like to keep my job at this CSU (a concern in our current budget environment), but I am reluctant to part with my book. I like it. Other stats for psych books I've used have had far fewer practice problems available and emphasize teaching the concepts. I hate that. I know I can supply my own problems but I was hoping that someone out there knows of a stats for psych book that at least provides a balance between conceptual understanding and teaching students to grasp and perform the processes of statistical calculation with lots of real practice problems, related to psych and the social sciences closely allied to it. Before I go through the nuisance of doing this and having to learn someone else's way of doing some of the procedures (every book has a few of its own idiosyncratic presentations of formulae), I thought I might at least find a book, with your help, that provides a decent number of practice problems. PS. I don't want to discuss whether teaching the hand calculations is necessary. I could never learn mathematics by reading descriptions of how to do it. Before they learn SPSS, they need to learn at least a very basic version of what SPSS does. It's like teaching someone to use a calculator without teaching them to add, subtract, multiply etc. with his or her own brain first. Thanks for your help - and have a good weekend too. Nancy Melucci Long Beach CIty College Long Beach CA -Original Message- From: Gerald Peterson peter...@vmail.svsu.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2009 12:12 pm Subject: Re: [tips] Seligman's Explanatory Style Would his ideas constitute a model, a formal theory, a moderator variable, a theoretical line of research, or in other words, just a theoretical idea? I just teach undergrads about features of formal scientific theories, but they soon find that anything passes for theory in psych textbooks and journals, and authors research various principles, effects, etc., without necessarily seeking the explanatory prowess of a developed theory. Learned helplessness in animals can be shown, but indeed, the human equivalent seems linked to styles/habits of attribution while its causal involvement in producing such experiences remains moot. It may be more relevant when covering cognitive therapies for these fundamentally neurobiological disorders. I enjoy mentioning the attributional style ideas when covering issues in adjustment, abnormal, etc., but am not convinced it deserves more than a gleeful mention allowing me to express my social-cognitive biases. Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Scott O Lilienfeld slil...@emory.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 1:07:11 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [tips] Seligman's Explanatory Style Gary et al.: Seligman's
Re: [tips] Assessment of learning, not grades?
Grades do reflect learning for some of us! Students must explain and illustrate and elaborate answers on exams or other assignments. They must do a review, carry out stat tests, interpret stats, etc. Not in all classes tho. Given grade inflation and the busy extra credit or group activities that students can earn credit for--it's not surprising that such grades are not or should not, be the only consideration. I have students in my lab who say they got good grades in research methods and stats, but they cannot do the stats and do not understand the stats. They did a group project in their methods class and do not know how to put together an apa formatted lab paper by themselves. I suspect knowing the material and merely having to regurgitate what they are told on mickey mouse types exams is a little different. I would suggest having dept. assess actual competencies that are expected and hope they do correlate with grades. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Rob Weisskirch rweisski...@csumb.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 12:57:37 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Assessment of learning, not grades? TIPSfolk, Our university has jumped on the assessment bandwagon and those who have drunk the kool-aid talk about assessment of student learning and looking at student evidence. I continue to ask why looking at grade distribution is not an indicator of learning. The response is that grades are not an accurate reflection of learning Assuming that there are no points for participation or attendance, shouldn't final grades be an indicator of how much students are learning? If we engage in good practices like using rubrics and norming grading of assignments, shouldn't grades be a reflection of learning? Thanks for any insight, Rob Rob Weisskirch, MSW. Ph.D. Professor 90.77% Furlough 9.23% Associate Professor of Human Development Certified Family Life Educator Liberal Studies Department California State University, Monterey Bay 100 Campus Center, Building 82C Seaside, CA 93955 (831) 582-5079 rweisski...@csumb.edu This message is intended only for the addressee and may contain confidential, privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not use, copy or disclose any information contained in the message. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Feedback on Psychology Today
See also the mindhacks.com site as providing some valuable links to psych related articles that are likely to be of generally higher quality than psych today. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:48:36 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Feedback on Psychology Today If you're looking for articles that critically examine popular topics, you might try Skeptic or The Skeptical Inquirer magazines. I always check those two magazines to see get their point of view. Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com On Oct 27, 2009, at 10:26 AM, tay...@sandiego.edu wrote: I tried to find the issue on line so I could see the articles for myself in the latest issue, but the online issue must be one back, which is extremely unusual in my experience, with commercial magazines. None of the articles in the September issue even vague alluded to any topics you mentioned. And I guess that says it all. Commercial magazines. I read a couple of the articles in the latest online issue and they were very poor in quality. There were no direct references to any scientific studies published in reputable journals. The test that one article did was to state, a study found... Even ladies' magazines do better than that! I'd be extremely cautious. Ever since Psych Today was sold by the APA to a commercial enterprise the quality of information has been based on how well the issues will sell and not on any other primary standard. Everything else is secondary. Sales are number one. That doesn't mean that a quality piece doesn't get published; but quality of evidence is not what drives the publication. In addition, anything that relates human behavior to astrology cannot be anything other than entertainment given the widespread knowledge that that is the best anyone can do with astrology. There is a great Penn Teller BullShit episode on astrology--if you surf the Showtime website it might even be online. They have very many clips online from the show. I use several in class. 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: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:13:19 -0400 From: James K. Denson james.den...@vbschools.com Subject: [tips] Feedback on Psychology Today To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu I am asking for feedback from the experts on the research/teaching value of Psychology today. This month's issue had, (in my humble High School Psychology teacher opinion), great articles on sleep disorders and personality traits correlated with astrological signs. I know in the past many professionals have dismissed the research in this publication. Can any of you help me here? On the surface this seems to be good information that I can share with my students. Thanks in advance for your assistance. J. Kevin Denson AP Psychology Teacher Social Studies Department Chair Kempsville High School 5194 Chief Trail Virginia Beach, VA 23464 james.den...@vbschools.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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Fechner Day! -- that darn date
Is psychophysics being taught at the undergrad level? I was introduced to Fechner in an undergrad Exper. Psych class and then in the capstone History and Systems class, but I don't see references to psychophysical methods in most Experimental psych texts. I would think it would be covered in our SP class. I do mention Fechner and Weber in Intro tho. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: William Scott wsc...@wooster.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 5:44:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Fechner Day! -- that darn date A long time ago an old friend introduced me to the tradition of serving cake in class on Fechner day. I recommend it. Some places can even put a photo in the icing. Fechner's mug makes everyone take a small piece so one cake can stretch through a large class. Bill Scott Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca 10/22/09 5:28 PM The Zend-Avesta was a religious text (after a manner of speaking) by Fechner, in which he outlined his daylight view of science (a kind of pan-psychist, post-Romantic view of the world), as opposed to he called the twilight view (of materialism). (The Avesta is a sacred text of Zoroastrians, who (to a first approximation) worship the sun.) He also wrote abook about the soul life of plants. Neither has ever been translated to my knowledge, but Michael Heidelberger's biography of Fechner is an excellent source (if a bit dense). 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/ == Ken Steele wrote: I have been wondering about the report of that dream, because it is repeated so often--but without attribution. I looked at the 1966 English translation of Elements of Psychophysics (Vol I) and no mention of the date or a dream occurs in the text. (The translation of the volume was NIH-funded to celebrate the centennial of the publication of E of P. I guess we will need to wait until 2066 to see the translation of Vol. II). E G Boring does the introduction to the translation and repeats the dream story--without attribution of course. Even more irritating is an article by Boring (1961), in which the date/dream story is higlighted several times, still without attribution. However, Boring (1929/1950) does provide an interesting bit of info in his Experimental Psychology. Fechner wrote a book, Zend-Avesta, oder uber die Dinge des Himmels und des Jenseits, which was published in 1851. Boring (1929/1950, p. 279) notes: Oddly enough this book contains Fechner's program of psychophysics... 1851 would be a year after the famous dream and the dream/idea would still be fresh. The Elements contains mainly the results of the program Google books has the Zend-Avesta online but my rusty knowledge of German and the old font system have managed to block my efforts to find the psychophysics section. Perhaps another scholar will have better luck. Happy Fechner's Day, Ken Boring, E. G. (1961). Fechner: Inadvertent founder of psychophysics. Psychometrika, 26, 3-8. --- 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)
Re: [tips] response to Ed Callen
I agree and so voted. Hope Bill can resist any intimidation or threat and just get the bozo off the list. Wow 15 years or more. Generally been a good group with some helpful ideas and tips! Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Tim Shearon tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 12:04:29 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [tips] response to Ed Callen All I agree primarily with the idea of elimination of behavior through extinction. However, as the person-of-interest already pointed out, it doesn’t work if a behavior is self-reinforcing. It clearly is- and for what appear to me to be mean-spirited reasons. The comment came from this individual recently was something to the effect that “good luck finding people who agree with you”. Add my name. A list is a community- participation in which requires a certain degree of self-control and empathy. Self-proclaimed superiority hardly matches the claims of community and egalitarian principles necessary in an open forum. Bill, I appreciate your patience and I respect your efforts running the list- it is, almost without exception, my favorite list * because of * the lack of rules and structure- but I do think it is possible to go too far. Tim From: Dennis Goff [mailto:dg...@randolphcollege.edu] Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 10:35 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] response to Ed Callen I know that I am quiet on the list, but I have been here a long time and am not leaving. There is too much of value here to let one person drive me away. As others have pointed out, that monitored list is not a replacement for the knowledge or sense of community on TIPS. I have used filters for the list for much of the time that I have been here so I do not see the “exuberant” posts that begin these discussions. Those messages go straight into my delete folder. My guess is that Bill Gates and his minions invented the delete folder for exactly this purpose. Thanks to Bill Southerly for maintaining the list. It must seem something of a thankless job at times like this. Dennis -- Dennis M. Goff Charles A. Dana Professor of Psychology Department of Psychology Randolph College ( Founded as Randolph-Macon Woman's College in 1891 ) Lynchburg VA 24503 dg...@randolphcollege.edu From: Frantz, Sue [mailto:sfra...@highline.edu] Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 11:04 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] response to Ed Callen I, too, have been on this list for 15 years, and I’m not going anywhere. This community has been too valuable to me. For those of you who lean toward public protests, I’ve set up a poll on the TIPS subscribers page ( http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/index.htm ) where you are welcome to vote on whether M.S. should be retained or removed from TIPS. I’m not saying that the voting will have any impact one way or another, but raw numbers are easier to see, for everybody here, than speculation. For those who are more likely to protest in a less public manner, here again are the instructions for setting up filters in Outlook. If you use a different email system and would like assistance, you are welcome to email me off-list. Best, Sue From: Frantz, Sue [mailto:sfra...@highline.edu] Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 9:34 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Hi all, There’s no need to leave the list because of one person. If you have Outlook, here’s how you can use filters to delete messages before you even see them. 1. In the top menu, select “Tools” then “Rules and Alerts.” Select “New Rule.” In the “Start from a blank rule” section, choose “Check messages when they arrive.” Click “Next.” 2. Check the option, “From people or distribution list.” Notice that this has been added to the box at the bottom of the screen. In that box, click on “people or distribution list.” In the “From” box, type in the email address of the person you’d like to delete. 3. Click “OK” then “Next.” Now check “Delete it.” 4. Click “Next,” then add an exception if you’d like. Then “Next” again. Click “Finish” and you’re done. If you’d like to delete replies to that person’s messages, create a new rule like you did in step 1. In step 2, select “with specific words in the body.” In the box at the bottom of the screen, click “specific words” and type in the person’s email address or name, depending on how much you want to filter. As long as people respond with
Re: [tips] When Medicine and Faith Clash
And this is relevant to my teaching of???Political Behavior Analysis maybe? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Mike Palij m...@nyu.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Cc: Mike Palij m...@nyu.edu Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2009 10:03:51 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] When Medicine and Faith Clash Some of you may be aware that there is a major battle going on in the U.S. Congress over health insurance, who should it cover, what it should cover, and how to keep the insurance companies wealthy while bleeding the federal government dry (that last bit is just a joke). The process of making law has been likened to making suasage (i.e., the result might be tasty but you really don't want to know what they put in it), with amendments added to bills to either correct definiciencies or remove existing protections (or just to be a pain in the ass of someone). Consider the following blog entry in the Washington Post titled Health Funding for Science, Not Faith, see: http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/herb_silverman/2009/09/health_funding_for_evidence_not_faith.html?hpid=talkbox1 or http://tinyurl.com/y8d3y6w The article lists amendments proposed for the Baucus Health Care Bill (which recently passed in the finance committe with the support of one Republican Olympia Snow). Consider: |First is the bipartisan amendment sponsored by Senators |Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and John Kerry (D-Mass.). Under |current law, religious people who object to medical care |may have some spiritual care covered by Medicare and |Medicaid, including reimbursement for payments that Christian |Scientists make to members of the Church who pray for them |when they are ill. Numerous children have died while receiving |this spiritual care, when modern science could easily have |saved their lives. And |We also oppose an amendment by Senator Mike Enzi |(R-Wyoming), which would allow doctors to deny patients |any care or information that violates the doctor's religious |beliefs. This violation of medical ethics is labeled with the |Orwellian term Conscience Clause. This amendment |cruelly places the religious beliefs of practitioners such as |pharmacists above the medical needs of patients. And |Lastly, we object to an amendment by Senator Orrin |Hatch (R-Utah), requesting that funding for Title V |abstinence-only-until-marriage programs be restored. |Congress has already wasted $1.5 billion on such programs |since 1996, despite the fact that there is no evidence that |abstinence-only programs have been effective in stopping |or even delaying teen sex. Given these amendments to only one of the bills (I believe that there are two in the U.S. senate and four in the house of representatives) I suggest that it might be worthwhile for people, especially U.S. citizens, to be aware of what is in the ultimate health care bill. Unless, of course, you don't mind paying for someone else religious beliefs with your health plan. -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)
Re: [tips] When Medicine and Faith Clash
Thanks Mike! I knew you could bring this out. Thanks also for the link to Coker's guidelines. I don't know that I could do justice to the depth of these issues in the undergrad classes I have, but it's food for thought. It would require great care and tact to raise these political/religious issues in relation to criteria of pseudoscience--especially if one were not a tenured, senior faculty. Perhaps others do so and find these issues relevant to clarifying issues in their methods or social psych or other classes? I have all I can handle when I try to convey the idea of operationism, etc., but do agree that the content of these amendments could be relevant. I would use them to just point out how general scientific knowledge or lack of such, is indeed relevant to important issues being politically deliberated. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Mike Palij m...@nyu.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Cc: Mike Palij m...@nyu.edu Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2009 11:41:57 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: re: [tips] When Medicine and Faith Clash On Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:39:50 -0700, Gerald Peterson wrote: And this is relevant to my teaching of???Political Behavior Analysis maybe? If the relevance to your teaching of psychology is not immediately obvious, let me suggest these points that you might want to think about: (1) When teaching research methods we may distinguish among different types of explanations (I often use Bordens Abbott, currently in 7th edition, which make the distinctions I'm highlighting): (a) Scientific explanations, which a research methods course whould spend significant time explaining (see chapter 1 in BA). (b) Commonsense explanation, which are based on a common set of beliefs, knowledge, history, culture and societal practices which people rely upon in order to behave in predictable ways and maintain social cohesion (the problem is that commonsense explanations are not subject to the same evaluation as scientific explanations and false beliefs, false knowledge, etc., may be maintained though false, e.g., complex social behavior is instrintive). (c) Belief-based explanation, which are based on knowledge that is accessible only throught certain special means or special authority. Belief in an inerrant Bible and that it provides all one needs to know about how to live in the world is an example. Religious beliefs are rarely evalauted in the same way that scientific explanations are and, indeed, it is not at all clear one can apply the same criteria to both (e.g., scientific explanations and theories are tentative and subject to disproof by new observations; religious beliefs are not supposed to be tentative or disprovable by observation because they frequently require an act of faith that transcends mere rationality and empiricism). Decisions based on belief-based systems, whether on the Bible or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, might seem reasonable within the belief community but may seem to be absurd to people with different beliefs (e.g., abstinence only sex education program should be supported regardless of empirical evidence against their effectiveness -- it is an expression of deeply held beliefs that transcend mere empiricist concerns). (2) Some Tipsters have expressed being sick and tired of politics running our lives but seem to fail to understand that is not really politics but religious beliefs that fuel the drive to (a) reduce the influence of science in teaching and popular culture and (b) the promotion of a particular religious dogma as a substitute for science. There has been the lament of late on Tips on how clinical psychologists appear to be lacking in scientific orientation and questions of how to make clinical psychologists at least as scientific as medical doctors. However, why should we bother when medical science gets trumped by religious belief? Should a healthcare reform bill be concerned with the promotion of evidence-based procedures, with programs that have been empirically demonstrated to work? If so, why is an amendment being provided to support prayer and spiritual care? Why an amendment to re-fund abstinence only sex Ed when there is no support for the effectiveness of such a program? If you ask your students these questions, what is their answer? That religious beliefs take precedence over scientific beliefs and our laws should reflect this? If this is their answer, I put it to you that you and other teachers of psychology have not done their job in teaching critical thinking and an appreciation of the power of science. (3) If you gave the amendments listed below to your class and asked them to use Rory Coker's guidelines for distinguishing between science and psuedoscience, what would your
Re: [tips] *Nature* on APA and clinical psychology
I use K. Stanovich's How to Think Straight About Psychology in our relatively new course called Scientific Foundations of Psychology. It is a key class as students begin our research sequence of stats, computer applications, and then experimental psych. Some of the central issues Stanovich addresses pertain to conceptions of psychology as mainly populated by pop-psych gurus and a-scientific practitioners. I do find here that students (who had no clue from their Intro Psych class) are shocked and surprised by the stress given to understanding research. A few move on to consider other fields such as social work, but others know that if they can make it thru these research-oriented classes, they will have no trouble sailing through most of their other psych classes. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Jim Clark j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 2:43:22 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [tips] *Nature* on APA and clinical psychology Hi James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca Lilienfeld, Scott O slil...@emory.edu 15-Oct-09 1:26:35 PM Can we persuade individuals who enter graduate school with an indifference or even antipathy toward science to care about science - or at least care about finding ways of minimizing their propensity toward errors - with proper training? I don't know, although that's the focus of our manuscript. I believe (?) I've had a few scattered successes over the years in my graduate teaching and mentoring, but there's no question that it's hard work. JC: This suggests that perhaps the problem is better addressed prior to grad school; i.e., at the undergraduate level. We want to inculcate in our students the firm belief that science is THE way to address most issues about human behavior and experience. This also serves to address the problem that it it may not be just clinical psychology that experiences ascientific students ... might this not be similarly characteristic of other applied domains? And if we take the arrival of too many students into clinical psychology without a strong scientific orientation, does that indicate a shortcoming in our current practices with respect to inculcating science in our students? Take care Jim --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Men Explain Things to Chicks
If people are offended and feel demeaned, especially since it is not the first incident, then I do NOT feel the list has to intellectualize and expend time and space to analyze the issue over and over. Off-list discussions are possible with either party or parties. Now in class, should someone wish to refer to colleagues or students as chicks, I might enjoy sitting in on the possible resulting meetings. gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: sbl...@ubishops.ca To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 12:28:34 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Men Explain Things to Chicks On 12 Oct 2009 at 11:31, Deborah S Briihl wrote: And, speaking of searches Here is my shirt (I have a sweatshirt version). http://www.amazon.com/Chick-Brains-Ladies-T-Shirt-XX-Large/dp/B000EJODTG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=apparelqid=1255361179sr=8-1 Concerning the sentiment expressed on Deb's t-shirt, do chicks really have brains? You bet! See http://tinyurl.com/yghov96 And this gives me a chance for an afterthought about her light- hearted comment that I should get another hobby. Words do matter. If some on this list thought it important enough to denounce a TIPSster for his word choice, isn't it important enough to consider whether the reprimand was well-founded? Now back to my leaves. 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Beyond analysis
I am not sure if some of these are real, actual empirical problems unsolved or merely the wistful meanderings of famous psych folks as they reflect on favorite topics. I am not sure science can resolve these issues or offer the comfort they may crave. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Allen Esterson allenester...@compuserve.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, October 8, 2009 4:02:32 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Beyond analysis Beyond analysis: Inside the minds of the world's top psychologists From belief in God to the irresistible urge to flirt with the opposite sex, there are some human impulses that even the biggest brains in psychology are unable to explain. Here are their greatest unanswered questions http://tinyurl.com/ydcxrrx Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
[tips] clinical workers and evidence
Here is an interesting article about the problems of evidence-based clinical workers. I don't like them calling all therapists psychologists, nor the subtitle of psychologists rejecting science, and it's a bit of over-simplification, but might be of interest to some. See: http://www.newsweek.com/id/216506 Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] for Marc Carter
I agree with Nancy. I wish we could have been able to address this issue more effectively long ago, but some love trying to think they can educate him or spin off his comments, or just can't resist his poorly informed, posts, most of which are not relevant to the teaching of psych. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: drna...@aol.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, October 2, 2009 9:29:24 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] for Marc Carter I swear, if we could just all make ourselves stop responding to these provocative, mean-spirited trolls, first we'd see an escalation, (the pre-extinction burst) and then they would go away. As long as we continue to indulge this nonsense, it will dominate our TIPS list, and many good contributors will be driven away. I am tired of the MSTIPS list activity. It's not our list anymore, it's his. I and a few other valiant souls are trying to ignore him, but as long as other people continue to respond, we'll continue to have this crap inflicted on us. Nancy Melucci Long Beach City College Long Beach CA njm Make a Small Loan, Make a Big Difference - Check out Kiva.org to Learn How! In a message dated 10/2/2009 6:25:43 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, marc.car...@bakeru.edu writes: I was likewise puzzled. Apparently some scholars say that recruiting Latinos from countries where baseball is huge is contributing to the de-American-Africanization of American baseball. But here's my puzzlement: Michael asserts that *to Americans*, most Dominicans would be considered to be of African descent (as indeed most are, along with Caribbean Indian -- and btw, they are the most beautiful people I have ever seen). So, I find preposterous in the extreme the idea that there's some nefarious plot among the owners and managers of American baseball teams to exclude Americans of African descent in favor of Latinos of African descent. Maybe I'm just thick, but that just makes no sense at all. m -- Marc Carter, PhD Associate Professor and Chair Department of Psychology College of Arts Sciences Baker University -- -Original Message- From: Allen Esterson [mailto:allenester...@compuserve.com] Sent: Friday, October 02, 2009 7:21 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] for Marc Carter On 1 October 2009 in a posting headed for Marc Carter Michael Sylvester wrote: I saw where you posed a question to me in the Tips archives but I did not receive the post in my regular mail. I am preparing to take action against Frostburg State through the ACLU if my First amendment rights are been violated FSU could lose some federal funds. The only question posed by Marc recently (as far as I can see) is the following: I lived in the Dominican Republic; baseball is bigger there than it is here, so naturally there are going to be a lot of good players coming out of there. In what way is that a bad thing? Why Michael follows his remark about a question f rom Marc with his reference to First Amendment rights is unclear. It would make more sense in relation to Jim Matiya's criticisms of Michael's language and tone in a couple of his recent postings (see below) followed by Bill Southerly's response, This matter is being addressed. My immediate reaction to Bill's comment was a concern that some action was being considered in relation to Michael's comments that some people (most I suggest) find offensive. My own feeling about such comments is that if they are continued after objections have been made (as in the case of his use of chicks for women), then subsequent postings from Michael should be ignored. Of course we don't know w hat Bill meant by the matter being addressed, but I think that (within limits - something of course difficult to define) there should not be heavy-handed action against someone who uses language most of us find offensive, or as in the following instance, unworthy of a response: Ken,Jim: Your posts are ridiculous. Are bystanders' apathy only reserved for white people?... Obviously you all know nothing about a black community. Gimme a break. Keep your eurocentric cognitive imperialistic analysis in the classrom. dude. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org -- --- --- 0A[tips] for Marc Carter michael sylvester Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:37:38 -0700 I saw where you posed a question to me in the Tips archives but I did not receive the post in my regular mail. I am preparing to take action against Frostburg State
Re: [tips] The false consensus bias and political discourse
Jim, it seems to fit fine as an illustration of false consensus. A key component, for many social psych folks, is that this pervasive presumption that others share our views is due to our social-political associations (similarity) and the availability heuristic. As you likely have found, it is uncomfortable and hard to immerse yourself among those who have very different views and values. Most cable shows, most social networking, blogging, etc., is geared to find and cater to those who are similar to us. Also, when we immerse ourselves in the opposition camps, it is challenging to know how to really communicate and have a rational conversation without some agreed-upon ways to overcome the emotional biases and implicit cognitive biases that prevent constructive dialogue. Rock on! Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Jim Dougan jdou...@iwu.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, October 1, 2009 10:49:04 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] The false consensus bias and political discourse TIPsters. I just did a blog post applying the false consensus bias to ongoing political discourse. You can find it here: http://hippieprofessor.com/2009/10/01/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-as-long-as-you-agree-with-me/ You know and I know that I am not a social psychologist - so I am way out of my league here. The blog audience for the most part knows no psychology, so I feel comfortable doing this - but I would be interested in what those of you more knowledgeable think of the analysis. -- Jim Dougan *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Be sure to see my blog! http://hippieprofessor.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)
Re: [tips] Sin map
This can make for some interesting discussion of sexuality, denial, and erotophobia among the more conservative and fundamentalist religions...that bible belt is not about chastity. See W. Fisher's work in this area. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: tay...@sandiego.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 2:26:58 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Sin map Note that Florida seems to be particularly prone to deadly sins ;-) 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: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:13:27 + (GMT) From: Don Allen dal...@langara.bc.ca Subjct: [tips] Sin map To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Those of you teaching Stats might want to take a look at the Sin Map of the US. http://www.wired.com/culture/education/magazine/17-09/st_sinmaps It could be an attention grabbing way of leading into the perils/benefits of graphical data display. It's also a lot of fun. -Don. Don Allen Dept. of Psychology Langara College 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Y 2Z6 Phone: 604-323-5871 --- 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)
Re: [tips] Psychological research involving food
Paul Rozin's stuff on magical thinking in relation to disgust and contamination. Older work where foods were colored and shaped in various ways---purple mashed potatoes, etc and this presumably affected taste? Don't recall ref tho. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 9:07:10 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Psychological research involving food I'm noodling with an idea and I was wondering if anyone in tips land can help. Do you recall any research studies involving food in any way? Thanks, 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)
Re: [tips] Psychological research involving food
You are noodling over food? I am sure TIPS can provide a feast of possible references you may find to your taste. GP Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 9:07:10 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Psychological research involving food I'm noodling with an idea and I was wondering if anyone in tips land can help. Do you recall any research studies involving food in any way? Thanks, 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)
Re: [tips] Garrison Keillor Explains What A Stroke Feels Like
Ah, the value of good description. Something that psych seems to have bypassed in its physics envy? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Sue Frantz sfra...@highline.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 3:10:20 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Garrison Keillor Explains What A Stroke Feels Like This is a short 2-minute video. “It’s numb, as if you’d been to the dentist and had 4 martinis. And you feel this odd disconnect.” nprnews nprnews Garrison Keillor Explains What A Stroke Feels Like http://su.pr/1E3dUb Fri, Sep 18 12:00:27 from Su.pr --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Fabulous Flubadub and Winky Dink
Yes, I loved my Winky Dink kit lol! It was always fun to see the secret info with the special sheet over the TV. I long ago lost this, but it would be a cool collectible now. Even then I enjoyed learning secrets and being curious about how things were produced. Winky Dink itself was rather rinky dink tho, but engaging nevertheless. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Michael Lavin mla...@sbu.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Cc: Michael Lavin mla...@sbu.edu Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 4:06:11 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [tips] Fabulous Flubadub and Winky Dink Winky Dink and You staring Jack Berry. http://www.tvparty.com/requested2.html Interactive TV at its finest. You bought this kit, if I remember correctly, which included a transparent sheet you could put on your TV and when Winky was in trouble you fastened that sheet onto the TV and drew ladders and ropes and cars anything that would save the day for Winky so he/she could get in trouble again. We could not afford the kit the first year so we just drew on the TV. mike lavin Michael J. Lavin Professor Emeritus St. Bonaventure University mla...@sbu.edu http://web.sbu.edu/psychology/lavins 914-564-9531 Chicago -Original Message- From: Don Allen [mailto:dal...@langara.bc.ca] Sent: Thu 17-Sep-09 03:54 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Fabulous Flubadub Not only do I remember Howdy Doody I also remember Princess Summerfallwinterspring. As I was just entering puberty I thought that she was the hottest woman I had ever seen. She was much more memorable than the rest of the peanut gallery -Don. - Original Message - From: tay...@sandiego.edu Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:26 pm Subject: Re: [tips] Fabulous Flubadub To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) I remember Howdy Doodie quite well and the name Flubadub sounds familiar but I can't place it very well. Only Kukla, Fran and Ollie come to mind as puppets that I can visualize (well, not Fran ;). I must not be old enough for this set of memories. yeah! Or, I might be losing it.:( 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: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:43:49 + From: David Hogberg Subject: Re: [tips] Fabulous Flubadub To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Maybe that was after my time. I'm talking ~56 years ago for Lucky Pup. Yikes! On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 3:58 PM, Wallen, Douglas J wrote: I never saw Lucky Pup, but I do remember a hand puppet show of that era called Time for Beanie featuring Cecil the seasick sea serpent. It returned as a cartoon 10 or 15 years later. Doug Wallen Psychology Department, AH 23 Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, MN 56001 E-mail: douglas.wal...@mnsu.edu Phone: (507) 389-5818 On 9/17/09 8:47 AM, David Hogberg wrote: I, too, remember Flub. How about memories of another TV production of the period, one done with hand puppets (vs. marionettes) called Lucky Pup? Its main characters were Foudini and Pinhead and they appeared, perhaps, on the DuMont Television Network. DKH On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 8:36 AM, Pollak, Edward wrote: Tommy Texino writes, Now who remembers The Flubadub? Well I do, and he was a puppet on The Howdy Doody Program back in the 1950s. The Flub was an animal made up of various other creatures, sort of like them things they got down in Australia. Anyway, Well, It occurred to me that with Mr. Stuart having the boots of Grandpa Jones and the head of Elvis Presley and the flashy clothes of a Porter Wagoner that he was a regular human Flubadub I hope that this information causes your insides to settle, for while The Flubadub was strange , he was a good soul, as I should imagine Mr. Stuart to be as well. Well said by our very own, irascible (but lovable), Phineas T. Bluster! Ed Mandatory bluegrass content: we could learn a few things about bluegrass stage attire from Buffalo Bob. --- -- Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania http://home.comcast.net/~epollak --- -- Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist bluegrass fiddler .. in approximate order of importance. --- - --- To make changes to your subscription contact:
Re: [tips] Correlation and Causation Video
Good work Michael. Should help with coverage and promote some discussion. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Sunday, September 13, 2009 5:07:16 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Correlation and Causation Video Couldn't help it. I must have had too much time on my hands. Here's a humourous video (hopefully) on correlation and causation. A little mashup of green screening, Google Earth and some bad accents. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNonyq1yhiE Michael -- Michael Britt, Ph.D. Host of The Psych Files podcast www.thepsychfiles.com mich...@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)
Re: [tips] Undergraduate Research Directors and Programs at 4-year schools
An undergrad research director? Paid? On top of the 24 credits we must teach in a two-semester year? We encourage all our faculty to involve students in research. Some are more active than others, but the faculty may limit the number of students depending on their own needs. We have no requirement that students must meet, but we encourage such experience. In addition, the university has an honors program where psych students may be mentored in a research thesis, plus various sources of funding for student research. We have an annual dept. poster session, and also have students presenting at state and national conventions. No director, no additional pay, but student-generated or faculty-generated research is encouraged. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: tay...@sandiego.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Sunday, September 13, 2009 8:19:04 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [tips] Undergraduate Research Directors and Programs at 4-year schools I think it has wide interest and I'd like to hear replies on list. I've heard it discussed in many venues. We work probono. That's it. All of us work with students and we all just have them enroll in directed research which nets us nothing. My colleague and I are collaborating on a project for which we have 7 undergrad research assistants this fall. I will have them sign a contract this year, which I have not done in the past and then hate myself when they disappear just when I need them the most. I'm anxious to hear how the whole idea of faculty compensation is worked out at other institutions. 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: Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:25:53 -0400 From: kmorgan kmor...@wheatonma.edu Subject: [tips] Undergraduate Research Directors and Programs at 4-year schools To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Hi all, I am looking for information on how undergraduate research is managed institution-wide at private 4-year colleges. If you teach at such an institution, I am especially interested in whether or not your institution has an undergraduate research director, how that person is compensated, what he or she does, etc. Please reply off line as this may be a topic with limited interest to the rest of the list, and thanks!:-) --Kathy Morgan Wheaton College Norton, MA 02766 kmor...@wheatonma.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)
Re: [tips] psychology is not a science
Yes, stereotypes about science abound, but the question is what constitutes a science and many would argue it has to do with methodological approaches not subject matter. Yes, psych had physics envy, and psych is quite diverse in its fields and approaches, generally we approach our work with scientific methods. Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: tay...@sandiego.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 11:01:19 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] psychology is not a science This is my reject during the tips-cation (new word like 'staycation' for staying at home vacation; now when tips does down for a few days we can call it a 'tipscation.' == I came across this article while seaching for something else. Certainly a very narrow perspective but explains why so many fail to see psychology as a 'science'. -- I was slightly taken aback when I heard a speaker at a psychology lecture meeting claiming confidently that psychology was a science. Of course, if we define science broadly, as the systematic search for knowledge, psychology would qualify for that label. But it is not terminology that is at issue here, but a matter of substantial importance. When we talk of science, we primarily think of physical science. If a mother said that her son was studying science at Cambridge, would psychology come first to the listener’s mind? The paradigm of the physical sciences is physics, because its elegant theories based on ample observation and experimentation provide clear explanations and reliable predictions. It also provides the foundations for the technologies which have transformed our lives. The man on the Clapham bus may not understand the laws of physics, but he happily relies on the means of transport based on those laws. In consequence, the methods of physics become the model of scientific methodology. Full article available at: http://www.philosophynow.org/issue74/74rickman.htm 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] We all need to be condemning this behavior....
I think you are right to be concerned given the extremely vile rhetoric promoted by the anti-Obama factions. I think, along with the increase in white supremacist activities (as tracked by the SPLC), there is potential for more outbreaks of violence promoted now by religious extremists. Certainly issues relevant to political and social psychology courses. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Jim Dougan jdou...@iwu.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2009 10:53:31 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] We all need to be condemning this behavior TIPsters Apologies for somewhat borderline psychological content here - though I certainly think there is a social psychology aspect to this (i.e., mob behavior, social influence, etc). I have become something of a political nutcase lately, and started a blog a week or so ago. Last night I blogged about what I think is some very disturbing news. You can find my post here: http://hippieprofessor.com/2009/09/03/wake-up-everyone-right-or-left-must-condemn-this-behavior/ I know we have a variety of political views here on TIPs, but I hope that everyone can agree with me that we indeed need to condemn this behavior. I am not sure what I expect you to actually do with this information. I am trying to make sure my students see it by posting it on facebook and elsewhere. I think there is probably a teaching moment to be had here. See... I guess there was some teaching-related content after all. Thanks for listening and putting up with my insanity... ;) -- Jim Dougan *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Be sure to see my blog! http://hippieprofessor.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)
Re: [tips] Spanking - an idea that won't go away
Thanks for the info Mike. I wonder though if our students really can relate to spanking. Be interesting to survey our classes, but I would think faculty might relate, but not as many of our students. I will ask. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 1:41:59 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Spanking - an idea that won't go away In the latest episode of my podcast I interviewed the author of a great parenting book: Raising Children You Can Live With. Although the author discuss a lot of great ideas regarding how to interact with your child, it seems that my brief thoughts regarding the ineffectiveness of spanking is getting the most response. There's an interesting comment on the episode from a listener who strongly feels that spanking is needed in response to certain behaviors. You'll see my response as well. Also, I feel there's a nice marriage I think between behavioristic and humanistic philosophies in the author's approach to dealing with undesirable behavior from children. Since spanking is an experience that most students have had, the episode could make for an interesting discussion or homework around these two different approaches to modifying a child's behavior. If you want to check it out: http://bit.ly/vj4dZ Michael -- Michael Britt, Ph.D. Host of The Psych Files podcast www.thepsychfiles.com mich...@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)
Re: [tips] Fw: TIPSTER OF THE WEEK
Would he be considered eurocentric? gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: michael sylvester msylves...@copper.net To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 5:15:55 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Fw: TIPSTER OF THE WEEK EDWARD M KENNEDY WE WILL MISS YOUR SUPPORT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES,DUDE! Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] UFOs/British open minded
To educate students (and others) about open-mindedness, science and critical thinking, the following video may be of some class-value. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: michael sylvester msylves...@copper.net To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 12:44:26 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] UFOs/British open minded The Brits have released i9 years of data collection on UFO and alien visitations.In contrast to the debunking of such alleged appearances in the U.S,the Brits appear open-minded to the possibility. Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Scare tactics and driving while texting
I believe the classic research suggests that fear/arousing messages can be effective in getting attention, but you need to know your audience, and you need a message that will then be processed and, most importantly, suggest action. There may thus be an inverted U function to fear/arousing messages; that is, if too extreme for that audience, it will interfere with processing as it produces emotions incompatible with thoughtful processing. Perhaps some of this is related to the healthcare town halls and the tactics of insurance companies and republican obstructionists? Alas, I digressHowever, sticking to the issue of cell phone use while driving, I think such ads can raise awareness, but the key will be ads showing young people (or others) communicating effectively and expressing no-texting norms. That is, don't you know that psych research has shown you are worse than a drunk bastard for driving us around while texting... you moron! Just a suggestion from the end of my summer break. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Tim Shearon tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:03:28 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [tips] Scare tactics and driving while texting Yep. I seem to remember that the research showed people insulate themselves from processing the information. I think Cialdini discusses this in his Influence and related work. But I'm very sure I remember that these ads have very limited effectiveness. That would be a good starting place, I think- but perhaps someone one the list whose area of expertise is social influence could add more. Tim ___ Timothy O. Shearon, PhD Professor and Chair Department of Psychology The College of Idaho Caldwell, ID 83605 email: tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu teaching: intro to neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; general; history and systems You can't teach an old dogma new tricks. Dorothy Parker From: Michael Britt [michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 8:28 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Scare tactics and driving while texting I don't know if you've noticed, but more videos are appearing that are attempting to get people to stop texting while driving by showing videos of young people getting into scary accidents. This reminds me of other attempts to get young people to stop smoking by showing them images of cancerous lungs and by the whole Scared Straight program. Weren't these influence attempts shown to not be effective? Michael -- Michael Britt, Ph.D. Host of The Psych Files podcast www.thepsychfiles.com mich...@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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
[tips] happiness studies?
If people are interested, here's a fun project on happiness by the British psych guy Richard Wiseman. Don't know if he'll ask about iphones or the Rorschach tho ;-) See: http://www.scienceofhappiness.co.uk/ gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
[tips] Sotomayor and biased judgment
One issue that has emerged from the always-biased, political hearings for Sotomayor is the contention that a judge's decision can be/or at least should be, made without being biased by personal history, experience, political leanings, etc. She stressed this, while the Republicans want to say that her statements imply that, as a wise Latina she will let her experiences/perspective over-rule the letter of the law. Can such judgments (legal or clinical) be made without bias? Many apparently feel that such biases need to be brought to self-awareness and then willfully controlled. Ahhh, what a historically interesting conception of volition, consciousness, and will-power eh? I am sure at least one tipster would see this as a eurocentric bias. Much social-cognitive psych research would seem to suggest that cognitive and social biases are not so easily overcome, indeed, they make up the very way we apprehend our task, but that most consider themselves to be less vulnerable than others or those average others. See http://www.mindhacks.com/ for reference to Emily Pronin's recent research on the self-serving nature of this bias about one's biases. Sotomayor contends that a good judge should be self-aware and take into account such potential biases of background or perspective. Is this possible? Is it valuable to at least attempt? What does one do here? Is this like an attempt to cognitively suspend one's biases, weight it differently, separate it, or somehow subtract it from one's judgment? This may indeed be relevant to various qualitative research efforts where the observer attempts to suspend or bracket, and otherwise make apparent to oneself or others, the nature of the approach or naive perspective with which one comes to describe/observe the phenomenon in question. Hasn't social-cognitive research played a role in training judges better, or exploring ways to help them see how they may have actually weighted information versus how they think they have? Anyway, I thought such issues might be of use in class discussion regarding social-cognitive biases and how psych research is relevant to various forms of professional judgment and training. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Cursing and pain tolerance
Michael, I have to confess that after some of your posts I have found cussing and humor to be of some utility! I am sure there are other uses as well as it is a great distractor but it may also make matters worse when it merely helps to increase blood pressure. It is not always cathartic as it can enhance and not lessen the anger/pain. Cheers, Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: michael sylvester msylves...@copper.net To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2:15:22 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Cursing and pain tolerance A recent study done in England discovered that subjects who cursed while in pain could tolerate the pain longer.Experimental subjects inserted their hands in a bucket of very cold ice water and told to curse repeatedly.Results showed that subjects who repeated f--- U kept their hands in the cold water longer than subjects repeating non-curse words.Wow,maybe Canadian doctors can now recommend cursing while their clients wait 9 months for treatment for back pain. Can tipsters think of other practical applications of cursing? Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] New cheating technique: the corrupted file
I know I am way behind in experiencing these hi tech approaches. I never have these problems as I specifically state that all final/major papers can only be handed in as paper copies. It's amazing how well the technology works that way. I do look at drafts as attachments, etc, but do not accept the final paper that way. Why should I have to waste my office/dept. paper? I must just be an old curmudgeon. Now, the most frequent excuse is still that the file was lost, computer ate the paper, viruses, etc., but that is a production problem that is the student/employee responsibility and not my problem. Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu - Original Message - From: Dean Amadio dama...@siena.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Sunday, June 7, 2009 9:37:34 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re:[tips] New cheating technique: the corrupted file There's a simple solution to this: tell students if they try to get an assignment to you some other way rather than in person and you don't get it or can't read it, it's late or you've never received it. I have gotten corrupted files, files no software would read, papers under my door which mysteriously disappeared, e-mails that were never received, forgotten attachments to e-mails, etc. These have been happening for years! Recently I've been using Turnitin in addition to paper copies, so there's no excuse now... Dean Amadio Siena College dama...@siena.edu Absolutely ingenious!! ¨ The New Student Excuse? Most of us have had the experience of receiving e-mail with an attachment, trying to open the attachment, and finding a corrupted file that won't open. That concept is at the root of a new Web site advertising itself (perhaps serious only in part) as the new way for students to get extra time to finish their assignments. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/05/corrupted --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
[tips] Robin's new book!
Congrats Robin! Wisdom and good humor---always a good fit! The book would be a good graduation gift, or perhaps, something to provide for new faculty ha. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@vmail.svsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Reality check/Reading compreh.
Thanks Miguel! An interesting issue here is that I suspect some students have problems with reading comprehension, and this presents even further challenges for them when attempting to summarize or rephrase points or ideas in a paragraph they have read. Many students tell me they read the text or chapter but do not understand anything. No wonder they miss my subtle wit!Again, given the lack of reading experience in new students, this lack of comprehension makes it very inviting to merely copy everything and stay at a superficial level in their writing. I think it would be a useful class exercise to give students--as you did here--some paragraphs and explore what the author was saying, what the major point was, and what other ideas, assumptions, suggestions might be found in that paragraph. Then, when it comes to summarizing it or paraphrasing, students should have a better sense of how the points covered can be described differently while retaining and giving credit to the key ideas the author presented. At the same time, such exercises, in groups or as class activities, might help with problems of reading comprehension. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu roig-rear...@comcast.net 5/10/2009 9:05 pm I agree that the Indiana site is one of the best ones to send undergraduates to, especially because of that certificate of completion that can be mailed directly to you. And for a little shameless self-promotion, in the future you should consider having your students read my short piece in Eye on Psi Chi titled Avoiding those little inadvertent lies when writing papers: http://www.psichi.org/Pubs/Articles/Article_666.aspx : Miguel - Original Message - From: Paul C Bernhardt pcbernha...@frostburg.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 8:32:11 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [tips] Reality check I am finding the same patterns increasingly. I do not think I have become better at spotting the pattern. I think that there is an increasing level of acceptance of these kinds of plagiarism, possibly due to an attitude of I got it off a web page, there is no ownership on the internet, therefore, I can't be stealing. I, too, will have my students complete the Indiana University School of Education (Bloomington) tutorial, requiring each supply me with their certificate of completion by the end of the first week of the course. Here's the link: http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/ Paul C. Bernhardt Department of Psychology Frostburg State University Frostburg, Maryland -Original Message- From: DeVolder Carol L [mailto:devoldercar...@sau.edu] Sent: Sun 5/10/2009 5:00 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] Reality check Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I have been grading papers nonstop for several days now (with a brief recess for graduation). Generally, what I am finding is that my C and D students are the ones who are stringing together sentences that are not their own. I start reading a paper that is grammatically poor, maybe started with the phrase In this paper I am going to talk about... and then suddenly shifts to a beautiful, fully-formed sentence or set of sentences. Of course I Google it immediately and sometimes have some luck, other times it doesn't come up. If I am still suspicious, I go to the database and look up the original article. Students sometimes reference the article, although there have been some who have omitted references. Sometimes I find entire paragraphs taken verbatim, other times I find phrases here and there, interspersed with other phrases lifted from other articles. I believe the student could not figure out a way to rephrase what the article said, and took the lazy (and deceitful) way out. I would rather have a poorly written paper(poor from a grammatical standpoint) than one in which the student made no attempt to understand the material. One the other hand, I had one student who wrote her paper on stroke because both her sister and father had strokes and she wanted to understand what happened in each case. She told me that one of her articles was too difficult and she was going to find an article that she could understand. I respect that. I believe if I repeat this assignment, I am going to have all students complete a plagiarism tutorial before handing in their papers, and as Tim mentioned, I'm not going to wait until the end of the semester to collect the papers. I can't remember which school has the excellent plagiarism tutorial--one of the Indiana Schools? Thanks again, I appreciate your collective insight. If nothing else, I'm learning a great deal (though becoming somewhat more cynical as I do). Carol Carol L.
Re: [tips] memory eye movements claim
Michael, You asked: 1. Have you ever heard this claim, or some other version of it? No. I never heard of it before. Sounds like some pop-psych idea? 2. Do you have an idea what the source of this claim is? No, it hasn't found its way into any of the cognitive/memory texts I have. I've heard of things like looking left or right to supposedly activate one hemisph more than another, but not this. 3. Are you aware of any prior attempts to put this claim to empirical test? No. If people believe that shaking their left foot will help them recall, or if they use that during encoding, then perhaps it could serve as some kind of retrieval cue. If there is support for this idea, then perhaps that's how it might work? Should be interesting to see what turns up! Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Donnelly, Michael donnel...@uwstout.edu 5/11/2009 1:01 pm Hi TIPsters: This question is for those of you with a better memory than mine about the memory literature. I have a student who is conducting a research methods project based on that oft-repeated claim that looking up while you try to remember something improves recall. When she came to me with that idea, I could recall having heard it myself at some point, as could my wife (who has a background in memory research), but when I started doing some searches online with her, I could find nary a paper or chapter that documents that claim, anywhere. So here are my questions for you: 1. Have you ever heard this claim, or some other version of it? 2. Do you have an idea what the source of this claim is? 3. Are you aware of any prior attempts to put this claim to empirical test? She has some interesting data, which suggest that beliefs about the claim may be partly correct, but in a way that I will not reveal here, as we may decide to create a larger scale study for her senior project based on this work. As always, references to published work would be most welcome. Note that this claim is about upward gaze, not side to side eye movements, which is a different thing I think, and there are lots of papers out there about the side-to-side eye movements and memory, owing to the high interest that exists related to EMDR (whether or not the claims of it's practitioners are correct). Thanks in advance, Michael Donnelly, PhD UW-Stout/CNERVE --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Reality check/Reading compreh/reciprocal teaching
Ha, good one Mike! College today IS largely junior high with students and parents expecting a lot of hand-holding, and they want a teacher (not some idea of a professor) to arrange power-point show and tell and mickey mouse class activities that are largely high school games where they can get participation credit. Don't get me started ;-) I am totally wrapped up in trying to engage my students as best I can and any sound interaction to improve their reading comprehension skills is a plus for me. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Michael Smith tipsl...@gmail.com 5/11/2009 2:23 pm Perhaps they shouldn't be allowed into university. University is after all supposed to be a school of HIGHER learning, not a junior-high --Mike On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 10:30 AM, Joan Warmbold jwarm...@oakton.edu wrote: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at6lk38.htm In the 1980's while at the University of Illinois, Ann Brown developed a terrific strategy on reciprocal teaching that is basically what Gary has described below--an ongoing interaction between the instructor and students clarify the major ideas, answer questions, making predictions, etc. The above URL takes you to an excellent description of this process. However, if you google reciprocal teaching you will also get to various other sources for how to use this strategy to improve readers' comprehension, one of which even includes a film of a teacher practicing this procedure with students. Joan Joan Warmbold Boggs Professor of Psychology Oakton Community College jwarm...@oakton.edu I think it would be a useful class exercise to give students--as you did here--some paragraphs and explore what the author was saying, what the major point was, and what other ideas, assumptions, suggestions might be found in that paragraph. Then, when it comes to summarizing it or paraphrasing, students should have a better sense of how the points covered can be described differently while retaining and giving credit to the key ideas the author presented. At the same time, such exercises, in groups or as class activities, might help with problems of reading comprehension. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu roig-rear...@comcast.net 5/10/2009 9:05 pm I agree that the Indiana site is one of the best ones to send undergraduates to, especially because of that certificate of completion that can be mailed directly to you. And for a little shameless self-promotion, in the future you should consider having your students read my short piece in Eye on Psi Chi titled Avoiding those little inadvertent lies when writing papers: http://www.psichi.org/Pubs/Articles/Article_666.aspx : Miguel - Original Message - From: Paul C Bernhardt pcbernha...@frostburg.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 8:32:11 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [tips] Reality check I am finding the same patterns increasingly. I do not think I have become better at spotting the pattern. I think that there is an increasing level of acceptance of these kinds of plagiarism, possibly due to an attitude of I got it off a web page, there is no ownership on the internet, therefore, I can't be stealing. I, too, will have my students complete the Indiana University School of Education (Bloomington) tutorial, requiring each supply me with their certificate of completion by the end of the first week of the course. Here's the link: http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/ Paul C. Bernhardt Department of Psychology Frostburg State University Frostburg, Maryland -Original Message- From: DeVolder Carol L [mailto:devoldercar...@sau.edu] Sent: Sun 5/10/2009 5:00 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] Reality check Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I have been grading papers nonstop for several days now (with a brief recess for graduation). Generally, what I am finding is that my C and D students are the ones who are stringing together sentences that are not their own. I start reading a paper that is grammatically poor, maybe started with the phrase In this paper I am going to talk about... and then suddenly shifts to a beautiful, fully-formed sentence or set of sentences. Of course I Google it immediately and sometimes have some luck, other times it doesn't come up. If I am still suspicious, I go to the database and look up the original article. Students sometimes reference the article, although there have been some who have omitted references.
Re: [tips] educating participants in research
I agree it can be a problem, but feel researchers have an obligation to engage the participants. I encourage a variety of extra credit options and so students not having time or motivation can do other things. I also ask my Gen. Psych students to write up a paragraph describing the study and its possible relevance to the class. In addition, when I taught experimental I had my student researchers include a paragraph given to the participants outlining the relevant area in Gen. Psych most closely tied to the project. In Gen. Psych we discuss their experiences as they relate to topics covered, researcher responsibilities, ethics, etc. They need to see its importance and relevance in relation to what psych is all about! So should the student researchers. I agree with David H. as to the early and late students signing up and thought there was some research on this issue of motivation in Teaching of Psych. Just as we have trouble/challenges in motivating/engaging these students in class, so also will our researchers find similar difficulties. I wouldn't jump to extreme reactions however and conclude that all is lost and all data are suspect. I tell my student researchers ways that they might first engage, motivate, and encourage participation of their fellow classmates. Whenever the only motivation is seen to be mickey mouse, extrinsic, just rewarding them showing up, and not tied to what they should be learning, then this will be a problem. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Blain,e Peden cyber...@charter.net 5/6/2009 2:47 pm Our students and faculty conduct research with participants from introductory psychology and other courses. Some participants seem to do the studies in great haste and with little sincerity and thereby raise concerns about the quality of their data. Have you developed strategies or instructional materials that explain the process and purpose of psychological research to future participants and also promotes their involvement and integrity? I welcome any comments, suggestions, or resources. thanks so much, blaine --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
RE: [tips] educating participants in research
Yes, I should also note that my Gen. Psych students generally enjoy their research participation and I integrate their experience with the research/science theme that I stress as integral to psychology. No one is coerced and they have many more options to earn extra credit. Gary Peterson Bourgeois, Dr. Martin mbour...@fgcu.edu 5/6/2009 8:28 pm Disclaimer: I was once accused of being a fox in charge of the henhouse when I chaired our subject pool committee at my previous institution. But I'm convinced that participating in research does provide a valuable educational experience to students taking intro psych courses. The responsibility is on the researchers to use the debriefing to make it a learning experience, explaining the hypotheses and the methods in detail. Our students report almost uniformly positive reactions to participating. Of course, we provide them an alternative assignment if they don't want to participate. From: Joan Warmbold [jwarm...@oakton.edu] Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 8:05 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] educating participants in research Boy am I going to provoke reactions here but to me it seems unethical to require psychology students to be participants in research studies. And is it any surprise that forced participants sometimes don't take the research seriously? They might be irritated and/or feel they are being taken advantage of, and rightly so. There has to be a better way to obtain participants for research studies other than literally coercing students to do so if they wish to get credit in a course. Joan jwarm...@oakton.edu We tryto various levels of success. We try to emphasize the ethics involved and have decided as as department to incorporate a discussion of honest participation during the teaching of research ethics. Also, we encourage students to do the alternate assignment if they really don't want to do the studies. That's the best we can do. I'm anxious to hear better solutions to this problem. I just ran a study where I am sure about 15% of my sample was just blowing off a requirement because they performed so poorly :( I'm not sure how to handle the data. 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, 6 May 2009 13:47:51 -0500 From: Blaine Peden cyber...@charter.net Subject: [tips] educating participants in research To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Our students and faculty conduct research with participants from introductory psychology and other courses. Some participants seem to do the studies in great haste and with little sincerity and thereby raise concerns about the quality of their data. Have you developed strategies or instructional materials that explain the process and purpose of psychological research to future participants and also promotes their involvement and integrity? I welcome any comments, suggestions, or resources. thanks so much, blaine --- 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Clever Hans
Gee thanks Stephen! I am familiar with Christopher's tome. I checked amazon for another magician's account of such things: Ricky Jay's book on Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women..see: http://www.amazon.com/Learned-Pigs-Fireproof-Women-Ricky/dp/0374525706 The index does show clever hans and lady wonder and there is a Bertolotto in the index, but it is not likely the so-called blind horse you noted as it is not near the same pages of his discussion of horses. thanks again, what a memory! Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu sbl...@ubishops.ca 4/30/2009 9:50 AM I said, back in early March, when we were discussing the celebrated nag Clever Hans: Oskar Pfungst's brilliant elucidation of the true nature of Clever Hans' abilities notwithstanding, I've always been intrigued by a statement in Nicholas Wade's (1980)_ article on the animal language wars (which makes the War of the Roses look like a teddy-bears' picnic). Wade was reporting, facetiously, on a conference organized by the linguist Thomas Sebeok for the New York Academy of Sciences. According to Wade: As noted by Sebeok [probably in his book _Speaking of Apes_--sb], Clever Hans had a French imitator called Clever Bertrand. 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? I now answer my own question, belatedly but, like an elephant, I never forget (NOT!). Anyway, I have to give back the library books, so it's now or never. First Sebeok's enigmatic statement was not in _Speaking of Apes_, nor even in the report of the New York Academy Conference (1981), where he was alleged to have said it. He did write it, however, in an earlier book he edited, _How Animals Communicate_ (1977), p. 1068. He there tells us that there were many such clever beasts, including talking horses, learned dogs, reading pigs, and a goat of knowledge. The horse, it turns out, was really called Berto, and it was blind yet gave excellent results when the attendant thought that the questions had been written on its skin or uttered aloud [that quote within a quote was attributed to Katz, 1937]. The explanation for blind Berto's clever performance is simple, according to Sebeok. Fraud. He says All of them were assiduously coached performers intentionally cued by their trainers, who were entertainingly exposed by the prominent American illusionist and historian of conjuration, Christopher (1970). So I went to Christopher. He describes a number of bizarre cases, including Lady, the Wonder Horse, who could spell, add, subtract, multiply, divide, tell time, and answer questions, and who was claimed by the _New York World_ to read minds, predict the future, and converse in Chinese, even predicting Harry Truman winning over Thomas Dewey in the 1932 election. Now that's clever! Christopher recounts how he exposed Lady as a fake, but does not mention examining Berto. Presumably, then, the claim that Berto too was a fraud was by extrapolation from other exposed cases (unless an additional reference to a source in German, Maday, 1914, which I didn't check, is the definitive one). But I have little difficulty in believing that fraud was the answer for blind Berto. Stephen Wade, N (1980). Does man alone have language? Apes reply in riddles, and a horse says neigh. Science, 208, 1349-- Sebeok, T., Rosenthal, R. (1981). The Clever Hans phenomenon: communication with horses, whales, apes, and people. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 364. Sebeok, T. (1977). Zoosemiotic components of human communication. In: _How animals communicate_, ed. T. Sebeok, Indiana University Press. Katz, D. (1937). Animals and men: Studies in comparative psychology. London: Longmans, Green and Co. Christopher, M. (1970). Ch. 3. ESP in animals.In _ESP, seers psychics._ New York: Thomas Crowell. - 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
RE: [tips] New edition of publication manual
I would guess that the new changes will center around referencing electronic media, DOI, etc. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Wuensch, Karl L wuens...@ecu.edu 4/28/2009 6:59 pm I certainly hope for one in particular -- DO give the issue number in citations even when the journal is paginated by volume -- it can be very helpful when retrieving an article online, especially from sources (like the APA) that label folders with issue numbers but not page numbers. Cheers, Karl W. -Original Message- From: tay...@sandiego.edu [mailto:tay...@sandiego.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 6:36 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] New edition of publication manual Does anyone know whether there are any major changes we need to know about in the new edition of the publication manual? From the 4th to the 5th there were some pretty major changes, such as the change on how to include figures and tables into papers. Those of us old-timers remember that dreadful thing we had to center on the page that said Insert Figure X about here. That took a while to get used to. Then there was the change from subjects to participants and from passive voice and third person only to active voice and more use of first person than not. So, is anyone in the know enough to tell us in the teaching trenches what we will have to look out for in the new edition? Thanks Annette --- 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)
RE: [tips] Prof kills three
After such events, there are often good examples of the problems of hindsight/retrospective analyses. Gary Rick Froman rfro...@jbu.edu 4/27/2009 8:40 AM Has anyone else checked out his rateyourprofessor.com page? This was one of the comments: 2/18/08 mark101 3 1 1 3 emoticon_unhappyflagWitty guy, some information useful. But he demonstrated himself to be cold hearted and just plain nasty when I needed help. Stay away from this man. Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 rfro...@jbu.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)
Re: [tips] Relevance of science to psych work?
Thanks Mike, I don't agree with your view entirely, but my point also was that the authors are forgetting that many psychologists are not scientifically oriented and that the field is divided (after all such dispositions are supposedly stable personality traits). While I feel that clinical and social workers DO need to know and use the findings of psychological science, like you, I do not feel they need to be scientists but might better pursue training as an applied professional outside of the confines of academic or science-based psychology. But then, I am just exploring ideas and thought the authors should have been more innovative in their suggestions. Gary Michael Smith tipsl...@gmail.com 4/22/2009 12:31 PM I personally have no problem with psych students who want to be clinicians not being interested in the science of psychology. I always find it funny that the science types are sooo concerned that everyone should take science very seriously. Are the authors EQUALLY concerned about the state and training of the empirical psychologists' human empathy and social interaction skills? I bet not. And if what the authors are saying is true, how come there arnt oodles of positions available for empirical psychologists? :) --Mike --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Schools for research in -uality
Is that human spirituality? Now now Beth you can say it--let's promote a little transference and overcome these resistances ;-) gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com 4/22/2009 1:01 PM I entitled the subject for this post (and the word below) because I didn't want it to get dumped into everybody's spam bin. I have a student in my Human __uality course who's interested in grad. school for research in that area. I've tried to help her find some schools, and have had some luck (Widener seems to be at the top of the heap), but wonder if anyone else has any recommendations. Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
RE: [tips] Relevance of science to psych work?
I agree, but might the clinical or practice-oriented student obtain this information in a professional program like social work or human services rather than having to major in psych and go on to (at least some) science/research grad programs? Perhaps this is what already takes place in professional practitioner programs--where conducting psych science is not stressed? Isn't this what the psy.d. is about? Perhaps we need a social or human service track connected to social work programs rather than psych for undergrads? I am cringing as I write this, but just wanted to explore ideas and views. Those going in to a field like Biology may have a goal of pre-med, but they may also have a more realistic appreciation of the math and science they would be expected to learn. Psych students apparently don't. Gary tay...@sandiego.edu 4/22/2009 2:24 PM I completely agree with Rick. Anyone who is a clinician has all the MORE reason to be extremely cognizant of the science of psychology; to wit all the crap therapy approaches that do more harm than good, in which I define more harm than good to include those therapies that do no harm but while they are being pursued keep a person from pursuing evidence-based therapies. Finally, we should all be thinking like scientists in our daily lives; this morning on the news a recent survey of US citizens shows that global warming is last on their list of priorities relative to preservation of the planet. Sigh. People in general do not know how to interpret scientific findings or to know simple things like: one million testimonials are less evidence than one single good, clean experiment. Double Sigh. And as Rick said, the empiricists don't need good people skills but it helps a lot when it comes to disseminating information and as we can see by the sad state of dissemination of good findings, perhaps this is an area we need to develop. 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, 22 Apr 2009 11:42:42 -0500 From: Rick Froman rfro...@jbu.edu Subject: RE: [tips] Relevance of science to psych work? To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu There is no accounting for interest and I am sure those interested in clinical and counseling work will not be as excited about research as those who are interested in learning about people and why they act the way they do. However, interested or not, understanding of the science of psychology is an important prerequisite to being a psychological clinician. As to Mike's equivalency: Research psychologists do not need training in human empathy and social interaction to do their jobs. Clinical and counseling psychologists need to use empirical research to inform their practice or they are no more than entrepreneurs selling snake oil. If your practice is not based on empirically-based methods, I think you shouldn't call yourself a psychologist. There are a number of names you can use for yourself that would not imply that there is an empirical basis to favor your techniques over anyone else's. Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Box 3055 x7295 rfro...@jbu.edu http://tinyurl.com/DrFroman Proverbs 14:15 A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps. From: Michael Smith [mailto:tipsl...@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 11:31 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Relevance of science to psych work? I personally have no problem with psych students who want to be clinicians not being interested in the science of psychology. I always find it funny that the science types are sooo concerned that everyone should take science very seriously. Are the authors EQUALLY concerned about the state and training of the empirical psychologists' human empathy and social interaction skills? I bet not. And if what the authors are saying is true, how come there arnt oodles of positions available for empirical psychologists? :) --Mike --- 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)
Re: [tips] Relevance of science to psych work?
I second Joan's recommendation here. This is the book I use in my Scientific Foundations of Psych class required of all our students before they can proceed to our required Computer Applications and Experimental psych classes. Gary Joan Warmbold jwarm...@oakton.edu 4/22/2009 5:52 pm Just BTW, a book that I would highly recommend on this general topic is Thinking Straight About Psychology by Stanovich. I'm using it in my honors Social Research Methods class that has a number of college graduates who are moving on to clinical programs. They have spontaneously admitted during class discussions how surprised they are at their unexpected appreciation of how their understanding of science will be so crucial relative to their future effectiveness as a therapist. I have suggested that they need to be prepared for students as well as professors who will be surprised, skeptical and possibly hostile to their new found belief in the importance of the scientific, evidence-based perspective within the field of clinical psychology. Joan jwarm...@oakton.edu Michael Smith wrote: I personally have no problem with psych students who want to be clinicians not being interested in the science of psychology. I always find it funny that the science types are sooo concerned that everyone should take science very seriously. Are the authors EQUALLY concerned about the state and training of the empirical psychologists' human empathy and social interaction skills? I bet not. And if what the authors are saying is true, how come there arnt oodles of positions available for empirical psychologists? :) Dear Colleagues, By way of an analogy, I'm not really concerned whether medical researchers have a great deal of empathy or social interaction skills. These are skills I do value in my doctor. Nonetheless, I very much want my physician/surgeon to be grounded in the science of medicine. I would similarly hope that medical students also care about science. Clinical work is more than social interaction and empathy. If that was all that was required, we would just need a few good friends. Clinical work should be grounded in empirically valid and culturally appropriate practice. This represents many challenges, in part, as we are still learning so much particularly in relation to biological and multicultural influences. Nonetheless, the APA Ethics Code 2.04 Bases for Scientific and Professional Judgments is quite clear--Psychologists' work is based upon established scientific and professional knowledge of the discipline. For students to not care about the science of psychology suggests that they do not understand psychology or the skills/knowledge needed related to clinical practice. In terms of science-related psychology positions, there are many positions within business, government, law, industry, NASA, etc. The /Monitor/ has had several articles highlighting science careers outside of academia (e.g., see http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/04/careers.html and http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb01/careerpath.html ). The APA Science Directorate has an interesting page illustrating several career options - http://www.apa.org/science/nonacad_careers.html . Best wishes, Linda -- Linda M. Woolf, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology and International Human Rights Past-President, Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, Violence (Div. 48, APA) http://www.peacepsych.org Webster University 470 East Lockwood St. Louis, MO 63119 Main Webpage: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/ http://www.webster.edu/%7Ewoolflm/ wool...@webster.edu Outside of a dog, a book is a man's (and woman's) best friend. . . . Inside a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx Kiva - loans that change lives http://www.kiva.org --- 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)
RE: [tips] Relevance of science to psych work?
And I also used this to develop a true/false misconception test that I use as a pre-post measure in our Scientific Foundations class. In the Stanovich book he argues that psychologists should offer the public two guarantees: First that claims are based on established scientific findings in psychology, and second, that applications/treatments have been developed and tested/evaluated scientifically. I have long argued (ok, may a little tongue-in-cheek) that clinical workers without such guarantees, do not differ from my sincere friends who are psychic readers, healers, and self-taught spiritual counselors. The experience, intuitive insights, and training from seminars, etc., unless tested systematically and based on established scientific consensus, offer no better judgment, diagnostic acumen, or therapy effectiveness than psychic healers, readers, counselors. Alas, that's why I feel psychology students oriented toward human service, do need to be critical thinkers and scientifically literate. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Helweg-Larsen, Marie helw...@dickinson.edu 4/22/2009 6:37 pm I also love Stanovich and we require the book to be read by all our majors (as part of the research methods class). It is really an excellent introduction to what psychology is really all about and nicely addresses each of the misperceptions that our students have about psychology as a field. 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 http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/psych/helwegm/ -Original Message- From: Joan Warmbold [mailto:jwarm...@oakton.edu] Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 5:53 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Relevance of science to psych work? Just BTW, a book that I would highly recommend on this general topic is Thinking Straight About Psychology by Stanovich. I'm using it in my honors Social Research Methods class that has a number of college graduates who are moving on to clinical programs. They have spontaneously admitted during class discussions how surprised they are at their unexpected appreciation of how their understanding of science will be so crucial relative to their future effectiveness as a therapist. I have suggested that they need to be prepared for students as well as professors who will be surprised, skeptical and possibly hostile to their new found belief in the importance of the scientific, evidence-based perspective within the field of clinical psychology. Joan jwarm...@oakton.edu Michael Smith wrote: I personally have no problem with psych students who want to be clinicians not being interested in the science of psychology. I always find it funny that the science types are sooo concerned that everyone should take science very seriously. Are the authors EQUALLY concerned about the state and training of the empirical psychologists' human empathy and social interaction skills? I bet not. And if what the authors are saying is true, how come there arnt oodles of positions available for empirical psychologists? :) Dear Colleagues, By way of an analogy, I'm not really concerned whether medical researchers have a great deal of empathy or social interaction skills. These are skills I do value in my doctor. Nonetheless, I very much want my physician/surgeon to be grounded in the science of medicine. I would similarly hope that medical students also care about science. Clinical work is more than social interaction and empathy. If that was all that was required, we would just need a few good friends. Clinical work should be grounded in empirically valid and culturally appropriate practice. This represents many challenges, in part, as we are still learning so much particularly in relation to biological and multicultural influences. Nonetheless, the APA Ethics Code 2.04 Bases for Scientific and Professional Judgments is quite clear--Psychologists' work is based upon established scientific and professional knowledge of the discipline. For students to not care about the science of psychology suggests that they do not understand psychology or the skills/knowledge needed related to clinical practice. In terms of science-related psychology positions, there are many positions within business, government, law, industry, NASA, etc. The /Monitor/ has had several articles highlighting science careers outside of academia (e.g., see http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/04/careers.html and http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb01/careerpath.html ). The APA Science Directorate has an interesting page illustrating several career options -
[tips] Relevance of science to psych work?
Ask your graduates if they believe that scientific research is really essential to being a working psychologist? A good exit question. See Friedrich (1996) below for a full scale. What is that old theme of the tender-minded vs. tough-minded student? You know, the idea of those interested in soft areas and practice or human service versus hard, analytical scientific pursuits? A recent article in Teaching of Psychology seems to revisit this issue. This article (Holmes Beins, 2009) reiterates earlier findings that while students learn content and results of psychological research, they do not necessarily come to believe that psychology is or should be a science. Students enter the major or even graduate schools generally seeking practitioner interests and values and do not feel they are entering a scientific field with the aim to advance knowledge, but rather to serve or help others. This isn't the case for all students of course. We do have some who are science-oriented types, but do we have many that become science-oriented? Research suggests not. The authors cite research that shows such practitioner interests are present even after graduate school and that such different approaches may be tied to personality orientations. They then describe their own research with undergraduate majors. Their results further support the fact that most students entering psychology do so on the basis of practitioner interests not scientific interests, and that these values remain strong throughout their traversing the psych curriculum. Students did become more scientifically literate but this did not relate to scientific interest or seeing science as a necessary part of psychology. While supporting prior research suggesting that students coming to psychology generally have no scientific interests, and that their orientations may reflect stable personal dispositions, the authors nevertheless go on to discuss the unrealistic scientist-practitioner model and urge teachers to continue to help students understand the relevance of scientific practices in psychology. They suggest trying to integrate research throughout the psych curriculum thus, inadvertently recognizing that there are many psychology programs (graduate and undergraduate) where scientific thinking and investigation are tangential. The recognize this as problematic given the strong stereotypes and non-scientific interests of students and some faculty. So they call for some kind of approach where it presumably becomes incongruous for students to major in psychology when they hate math and science. They do not spell out how this revolution might occur, but suggest activities where students might be led to think like scientists in testing hypotheses about clients, or be led to write counter-attitudinal essays. I found the article thought-provoking, but was surprised the authors simply argue to continue the good fight when the data suggest that psychology programs (graduate and undergrad) are not all equally science or scientist-practitioner oriented, and that many of the students entering psych soon are in shell-shock when faced with requirements for statistics, lab work, research design, etc. They plod on and indeed, may become more scientifically literate but do not end up believing that such things are necessary to become a practicing psychologist, or that scientific work is necessary to learn anything important about what they want to do, or that psychology is necessarily a science. Do students entering Biology, even with applied interests end up with similar disdain for its scientific foundation? I thought the authors ignored the fact that many faculty, classes, schools, and programs are not all equally scientifically oriented. Is the answer the old idea of a dual track curriculum? Or perhaps, this old issue needs more creative exploration? Or, perhaps we just need to re-fresh our efforts to integrate scientific thinking and work throughout our curriculum as these authors suggest? Just some end-of-semester thoughts and questions. Gary Friedrich, J. (1996). Assessing students' perceptions of psychology as a science: Validation of a self-report measure. Teaching of Psychology, 23, 6-11. Holmes, J. D., Beins, B. C. (2009). Psychology is a science: At least some students think so. Teaching of Psychology, 36(1), 5-11. Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Critical Thinking Exercise
I think a fun class discussion topic now would be to ask how many in class would like to have worked for the CIA in helping interrogate such prisoners? Lead in to a focus on the justifications for such actions. Bring in the Milgram study then and other relevant news info. Many will gladly act as willing agents if you simulate the post 9-11 context. Hence, you can talk about the power of situational forces and the ethical issues of torture vs. potential, but unknown population risks. All sorts of possibilities and directions for discussion. Next time, in my social psych class, I want to explore relations between parental political interests and that of my students as they relate to these and other issues. Gary Michael Smith tipsl...@gmail.com 4/18/2009 3:29 am Well, I think the original post was about ethics and thinking about them and how they are instantiated (which, of course, includes law) in situations such as obedience to authority as in the Milgram studies. The particular example of waterboarding is just an example or springboard for the discussion. My point about highest justice authority in the land was given simply because that is our highest authority of dispute reslotution over items of law and ethics. So, whether the supreme court ever got to hear and rule about this particular example is immaterial to the main discussion of ethics and obedience to authority. Indeed, if one does not obey the highest legal/ethical authority in the land one is prosecuted. So, presumably, one can be prosecuted for not obeying an authority and for obeying one (if your actions were later determined to be against the ethical considerations of some future authority). I think it would be very easy to get sidetracked into discussions about particular legal cases, but the original post as I understood it is not particularly about law, but about ethics. --Mike --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
[tips] naturopaths prescribing in canada
Gee, who will be pushing drugs next? Psychologists? Psychic healers? Or have they already given them such powers? See http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/10/bc-naturopaths.html?ref=rss Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] naturopaths prescribing in canada
Yes, I agree. I did not wish to do more than raise the news piece and I do not have an issue with psychologists or psychic healers, spiritual counselors, homeopaths, naturopaths, etc getting in bed with big pharma--it's already a crowded bed and ethical and professional issues have been raised and should be raised about ALL, and proper training and certification is indeed an important issue. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu tay...@sandiego.edu 4/13/2009 6:09 PM Given the stats on how many people are coming out of professional schools, and given that my experience as an adjunct in one of southern california's biggest professional schools left me more than a bit dismayed at the quality of and quantity of graduate work, I have a negative knee jerk reaction to the thought of psychologists prescribing meds. I'll agree that in SOME (not all) university based clinical programs there is some biopsych and psychopharmacology taught. But are 2-3 courses enough? And how many students have to take them, rather than opt to take them? Is that more than med students? Don't med students have a larger number of courses in basic chemistry and pharmacology? I don't keep track of academic programs for med school or even grad school any longer. Anyone on the list have some first hand info on what is happening nationwide? 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: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:26:45 -0400 (EDT) From: Dr. Bob Wildblood drb...@rcn.com Subject: Re: [tips] naturopaths prescribing in canada To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Gerald Peterson wrote: Gee, who will be pushing drugs next? Psychologists? Psychic healers? Or have they already given them such powers? Several states do allow properly educated and certified psychologists to prescribe psychoactive drugs. What's the problem with that when you recognize that psychologists are required to have far more education on psychoactive meds than most medical schools provide for their medical students in all drug categories. Personally, I will probably never qualify because I'm not willing to go back to school to get that kind of certification, but I know that there are some out there who would be as good or better than those who prescribe most of the psychoactive meds in our country, that being family practice or internal medicine physicians. Bob Wildblood, PhD, HSPP Lecturer in Psychology Indiana University Kokomo Kokomo, IN 46904-9003 rwild...@iuk.edu - drb...@erols.com 765-236-0583 - 765-776-1727 We*re trading a dogmatic president for one who*s shopping for a dog. It feels good. - Maureen Dowd Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose. -Garrison Keillor 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 --- 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)
Re: [tips] Thinking Critically About Neuroscience: From Molecules to Full Brain Circuit Maps
But this: 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. Do psychologists--especially neuro-physio folks attempt to address the experience or psychological representations of language? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Mike Palij m...@nyu.edu 4/6/2009 9:53 AM Let me start by pointing out that there is an article in today's NY Times (04/06/09) by Benedict Carey with the eye-catching title Brain Researchers Open Door to Editing Memory. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/health/research/06brain.html?_r=1th=emc=thpagewanted=all Now, I do feel a little bit of pride that the research referred to is being done locally (at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center) but I am frustrated by an all too common habit in the media to overextend research findings from animal experiments to humans. In this case, the molecule PKMzeta is implicated in memory formation and a drug called ZIP which interferes with it. All of the research makes use of mice or rats and though the results *MAY* apply to some aspects of human memory functioning, an important point that is never addressed is: 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? Moreover, the focus on molecules as the basis of memory raises its own host of problems, for example, representing a ridiculuous reductionism that cannot begin the hold or represent the kind of information that has to be processed. If molecules affect memory, I believe that one has to examine the context in which it operates, namely the neural circuit(s) where they may influence the operation of neurons. On the latter point, there is another interesting news story (actually a press release) from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories (another local joint but out on Long Island), focusing on a call to neuroscientists to focus on developing a map of the major neural circuits in the brain, comparable to the genone project. See: http://www.cshl.edu/public/releases/09_brain_circuits.html Although the first attempts would be to map out the brains of mice/rodents, it would eventually develop toward identification and modeling of human brains. My feeling is that this is the right direction to go though it will probably take a long time to achieve. I think that eventually, once we have the major and minor circuits of the brain mapped out, we can simulate how the operates in much more detail (e.g., do molecules have an affect only within a local context or a global context or is there a cascade effect from a local context to the entire brain). Perhaps each of us will have our own brain simulations to compare our actual brain activity against which might allow us to identify how and why brain or cognitive functions are either positively or negatively affected (e.g., we observe minimal cognitive impairment: is it due to natural aging processes or does it represent an early stage of a dementia -- our brain simulation can show how our brain needs to be functioing to be consistent with one or the other hypothesis which can then be compared with empirical biological and cognitive indicators). Different ways to think about the mind and neuroscience, with different implications for future research programs. -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)
Re: [tips] Thinking Critically About Neuroscience: From Molecules to Full Brain Circuit Maps
Yes, in Mike's case it appeared that his emphasis on language and symbolic representation and presumption of genetic dissimilarity presumed the point he was making about the disparity between animal and human studies. The level of analysis reflected in his quote also seemed at first blush to me not at the level of analysis for those research studies he was citing. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca 4/6/2009 2:39 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 Ah, one of my pet peeves. There is only one proper use for begs the question. When one begs the question, one assumes the conclusion in the premises of one's argument. Somewhere along the line (in the early 1990s, I think), journalists got hold of the idea that begging the question is a kind of intensification of raising the question -- as in, His recent conduct raises the question of whether he is sane. Replacing the phrase with begs the question This is a plain misuse (born of poor education in basic informal logic/argument theory, adopted presumably for its heightened dramatic effect -- begging connotes more devotion to the topic on the part of the journalist than mere raising) but it has become so popular in the mass media, that it has begun to overtake the correct use. An easy way to tell whether the phrase is being misused is whether it is immediately followed by a prepositional phrase (e.g., begs the question THAT, begs the question OF...). This does not occur in the correct usage. It simply refers to a fallacious form of argument. 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)
Re: [tips] labs in intro psych
No to the Gen. Psych students doing research. Yes, we have labs and senior research, but it is not our capstone. We have a history and systems class where students work on writing and oral presentations. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Manza, Louis ma...@lvc.edu 3/30/2009 8:48 AM Hi all . . . We're considering some curriculum changes here at LVC, and I'm taking an informal poll of practices at other schools. If anyone can provide answers to the following questions (I'm just looking for YES or NO; elaboration is not necessary), it would be greatly appreciated. 1. Do the General/Introductory psychology courses in your curriculum have a lab component (and I don*t mean participation here--I'm looking at whether or not the students enrolled in these courses engage in research (in any form) as an experimenter)? 2. Do you have a capstone requirement (within the psych major) whereby upper-level students carry out data collection-based research projects? Thanks! Lou - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Lou Manza, Professor Chairperson, Department of Psychology, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA 17003 Phone: (717) 867-6193; Fax: (717) 867-6894; E-Mail: ma...@lvc.edu Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up. --- Dean Karnazes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This e-mail is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the individual to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use or disclosure of this information is strictly prohibited. Your compliance is appreciated. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Learning Styles interview
I don't know what you mean, but it sounds nice. Still, the student can have multiple supports or opportunities yet not be motivated, nor well-prepared, and without knowing how to learn, will continue to flounder. With more excuses, and indeed, pressure to pass them on, why should they take responsibility for beginning the hard work to take advantage of those opportunities or multiple methods? It's clearly up to you teachers to teach me and if you haven't then you have failed. Rock on! Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com 3/29/2009 6:50 pm it still makes sense to use multiple methods to support learning - absolutely agree, and I'm sure Willingham would agree with you on this point. Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com On Mar 29, 2009, at 5:04 PM, Shapiro, Susan J wrote: Often learning styles see to describe ways that are comfortable, easy, or possibly ene physically possible for us. (can a blind person be a visual learner?) Students often resist doing things that take effort. They assume that if something is hard they cannot do it. (Common with statistics) Starting by using an old style of manipulating information can support underdeveloped skills. It still makes sense to use multiple methods to support learning. Suzi shapiro Indiana University East sjsha...@iue.edu Please forgive the brevity. Sent from my phone. --- 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)
re: [tips] TIPS Messages
With regard to the nol. 2 point...is there evidence that the undergrad population has really been that much of a problem? Or is this more a reflection of the political / historical context of psych? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Mike Palij m...@nyu.edu 3/27/2009 9:48 AM On Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:33:56 -0700, Bill Southerly wrote: We need to get back to discussing issues more directly related to the teaching of psychology. Those of you that have been on this list for awhile know that I don't often make statements like this but it looks like we are starting to get into a topic(s) that may lead to a lengthy discussion that has little or no application to the teaching of psychology. Indeed, I wholeheartedly agree with Bill's Southerly's recommendation. I would hasten to add that when we teach psychology to our students we might keep the following points in mind and, prehaps, even convey them to our students: (1) Psychology, conceived as a scientific discipline that attempts to understand behavior, cognition, affect, and related topics, does not exist in vacuum, it is influenced by the social, cultural, economic, and intellectual context in which it finds itself. Psychologists ignore these contextual factors at their own peril because doing so may lead students to perceive psychology as being irrelevant to the real world (in contrast, say, to understanding how these factors affect the conduct of psychology). Students, under pressure to get gainful employment after their school experience (in order to pay back student loans, etc), will recognize that certain fields allow them to succeed (i.e., at the very least get a job, at best make fabulous amonts of money and living a very comfortable lifestyle) and others fields, not so much. Hopefully, psychology is not one of those not so much fields. (2) Psychology will attempt to provide insights into human behavior but this depends upon which people we have access to and can use in our research. We might point out that much psychological research relies upon college undergraduates and that limits what we can say about why people behave in the ways they do. We might have to admit that there are subcultures that we have very limited access to, very little research on, and most of what we have to say about them is pure speculation (e.g., stock brokers, investment bankers, the business elite) though they may influence all of us in direct and indirect ways. And given the power and influence some of these subcultures have, psychologists are unlikely to gain access to them. So, perhaps psychologists should avoid the issue of what role does executive compensation in business decision-making because we actually know and understand very little about this and the context in which it operates. Far better for us to discuss something we are familiar with, such as how to use clickers in class (that is, for those instructors who have clicker systems at their institutions). (3) As teachers we need to focus on psychology as a science even though this is not the perception of most people in the larger cultural context. We need to be persistent in cultivating critical thinking, honesty, and sincerity even though the larger social context demonstrates that one can easily succeed without them while making fabulous amounts of money, and get great fame by engaging in sloppy thinking, being an effective liar (indeed, learning how to lie effectively is a much prized skill as represented by those who have reached the highest levels of achievement in business and government), and being smarmy and hypocritical. We need to point out that mere material success is not as important as knowing that one is being true to one's principles even if such a belief makes us poor and powerless. So, which intro psych textbook do people think is best and why? -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)
RE: [tips] TIPS Messages
I like it, but just haven't used it yet. Gary Marc Carter marc.car...@bakeru.edu 3/27/2009 10:15 AM My favorite is still Mynatt Doherty's _Understanding Human Behavior_ -- especially the first edition. But as far as I know, I'm the only person in the world who likes that text. I like it because it has small, focused chapters centered around empirical generalizations, and the chapters themselves are the evidence for the generalization. Little theory, gobs of data and research. Few pictures, but tons of figures. There was no Freud in the first edition. I really liked it. But I think I'm deviant m -- Marc Carter, PhD Associate Professor and Chair Department of Psychology College of Arts Sciences Baker University -- From: Beth Benoit [mailto:beth.ben...@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 9:01 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] TIPS Messages Dave Myers'. Excellent writing, lots of multicultural information, classic as well as current research, thought-provoking questions and comments, interesting stories accompanied by vivid storytelling, fun and helpful photos and drawings, and the very best Instructor's Resource Manual and extra materials that I've ever received. Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 9:48 AM, Mike Palij m...@nyu.edu wrote: So, which intro psych textbook do people think is best and why? -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) 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Article on paper mills in the The Chronicle of Higher Ed.
Interesting stuff. I wonder if people on tips have many of these kinds of problems? I have paper requirements that are not easily the kinds of things one can purchase: Research reports that the students conduct in research classes with a number of drafts, specific applications of social psych to specific local situations, and narrow reviews of psych research journals. All of these can pose problems regarding some plagiarism, but not the kind of things that essay mills can easily handle. Maybe we should ask, what kinds of papers are more appropriate? Does anyone really require the old-fashioned global, general term paper these days? Just wonderin' Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu sbl...@ubishops.ca 3/19/2009 9:39 pm On 19 Mar 2009 at 13:39, roig-rear...@comcast.net wrote: the latest issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education has published an article titled: Cheating Goes Global as Essay Mills Multiply that attempts to provide an in-depth look at how these operations work, who owns them, etc The article provides an interesting view from the outside. For an interesting view from the inside, try: First Person The Term Paper Artist The lucrative industry behind higher ed's failings. By Nick Mamatas The Smart Set October 10, 2008 http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article10100801.aspx Another, much older but still revealing description from the inside is this one, unfortunately not available on the web: This pen for hire: On grinding out papers for college students by Abigail Witherspoon [pseudonym], Harper's Magazine, June, 1995, p. 49--57 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] The Secret
Loved it! Now at last some value to the book lol! Aren't those prison conversion experiences so moving?! ;-)Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Patrick Dolan pdo...@drew.edu 3/10/2009 7:33 pm I know The Secret has been discussed on TIPS before. A very moving review of it appears on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2X2TB3S4O5I60/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt Patrick :) -- Patrick O. Dolan, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Chair of Psychology Drew University Madison, NJ 07940 973-408-3558 pdo...@drew.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)
Re: [tips] vaccines cause autism????
I found this very interesting and appreciate Stephen's digging into this. I think Annette's concluding point is quite relevant as I try to teach critical thinking about such issues, whether they be so-called altern. medicine or pseudosciences. Personal, vivid and dramatic experiences can prime all sorts of motives and emotions that quickly overcome any informationally-based learning from our classes. I am trying to move toward more active and dramatic refutations of nonsense, and more active ways that students practice investigating powerful experiences that typically lead people to throw out the lessons of their education. gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu tay...@sandiego.edu 3/7/2009 9:32 am Thanks Stephen, this is an excellent article; I am going to consider using it for my intro psych class as I use other good Newsweek articles as well. I will send it on to my true believer. Sadly, after graduation, she went the holistic health / alernative medicine route as a massage therapist and is very lost to reality.As history, and I think this is so common, she had just started down the massage therapy path, and was still very empirical in her thinking, when she became extremely ill followed by discovery of mold in the walls of her home she was renting. She was very sick for at least a year, and then still 'felt sick' for a couple of years afterwards. I think some of this was real illness and some maybe a bit exaggerated. As she went to court on a lawsuit against the owners of the home she rented (and won big against their insurance company) I think she may have convinced herself of how very sick she was. Anyway, throughout that illness she moved more and more to alternative medicine because she said mainstream medicine wasn't doing anything to help her. Ironically, she has never fully recovered. I don't know how m! ! uch of this is a true sequela of the mold infection. I see this need to blame someone for our misfortunes as typical of people who end up going the holistic / alt med route; or people who do have an illness that traditional medicine is not very good with, such as fibromylagia. There are illnesses that traditional medicine just can't help much. Unfortunately, the alt med route, like some cults and religions draws in people while they are weak, and they seem to lose all of their objectivity. Sigh. THAT to me is the phenomenon worth researching...how going through a tragedy can alter our good sense. 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: Sat, 07 Mar 2009 08:46:42 -0500 From: sbl...@ubishops.ca Subject: [tips] vaccines cause autism To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu On 3 Mar 2009 at 8:57, tay...@sandiego.edu wrote: Here is an email a former student (who argues with me constantly about all kinds of psychobabble) sent me. She has been adamant for years that vaccines cause autism and will not listen to any of my evidence. I don't for one minute believe there is evidence to support the contention that vaccines cause autism, but leave it to wiser folks to pick this one apart Student's e-mail: Read the latest stories in the Huffington Post written by David Kirby and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. featuring the Banks family who recently won a landmark case against the governmentsnip - Both Paul Brandon and I replied to this query both suggesting that the student was sadly misguided (big surprise). I did discuss in my post two recent cases involving the US government vaccine court, the Hannah Poling case, and the results of three test cases on behalf of more than 5,000 parents of autistic children. But I didn't know about Banks. Now I do. It was a positive decision in favour of Bailey Banks, whose family claimed that he was harmed by vaccination. The case was decided in July 2007 but for procedural reasons wasn't announced until late in February, 2009. Naturally, the anti-vaccination nutters saw conspiracy in this delay. Decision at: www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/Abell.BANKS.02-0738V.pdf But the case hardly gives comfort to the vaccines-cause-autism true believers. For one, the injury was acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which in turn produced what was diagnosed as pervasive developmental delay. This is a broader classification than autism. What happened to Bailey Banks is an extremely rare reaction to vaccination. In all the excitement of the true believers in celebrating this win, they somehow fail to mention that in the main event, the three test cases on behalf of 5,000 parents alleging that vaccination caused autism in their kids, the three
Re: [tips] Clever Hans
Wow, I hadn't heard about this effort to emphasize the group investigating Clever Hans was scientific and that they were totally befuddled. Good examples of revisionist history surround such episodes tho. I will have to check my old class notes where this was always presented. Herman Spitz, in his wonderful little book Nonconscious movements: From mystical messages to Facilitated Communication explores the fact the Stumpf was apparently upset about a news Note in the journal _Nature_ that stated the committee had concluded the demonstrations indicated significant mental powers of the animal. This news note indicates, or implies, the committee had status as a commission and was scientific with its membership including the director of the Zoo, a Veterinary surgeon, and professor of the Physiology Institute at Berlin University. Despite Stumpf's more cautious conclusions (apparently), Spitz points out that Stumpf had initially been impressed by the animal's performance (Pp. 26-27). Others were also doubtful about the committee's conclusions---as presented in the press--and Spitz notes that a report appeared in _Nature_ by a J. Meehan that concluded essentially that the commitee was not gullible. (Spitz, P. 28). Having checked my old notes from graduate classes and seminars, etc, I find that this commission was typically presented in class more cautiously as the commission being, indeed, impressed, having found no intentional fraud, and suggesting further investigation. Then Stumpf is often reported to have handed off the problem to his student Pfungst who gloriously employs more systematic and controlled procedures. This is not actually historically correct either of course, but psychologists love their origin myths as one of my favorite profs used to say. Gary Spitz, H. H. (1997). Nonconscious movements: From mystical messages to facilitated communication. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Allen Esterson allenester...@compuserve.com 3/5/2009 4:05 am On 4 March 2009 Michael Smith wrote (no doubt tongue in cheek) on the issue of the definition of science: Reminds me of Clever Hans. Apparently the scientists found repeated consistent evidence by independent observers and reached a tentativley accepted truth. But fortunately, a psychologist came to the rescue. Several websites recycle the statement that a team of scientists upheld the Clever Hans claim, e.g., http://tinyurl.com/buf3gn and http://skepdic.com/cleverhans.html I haven't been able to ascertain the membership of the team, but according to the Wikipedia entry the Commission set up to examine the claims consisted of a veterinarian, a circus manager, a Cavalry officer, a number of school teachers, and the director of the Berlin zoological gardens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_Hans It is evident that the Commission failed to use a blind test of the claims (a procedure known since the beginning of the nineteenth century), so their examination of the horse's abilities can hardly be described as scientific. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org *** Subject: Re: Does the new definition of science measure up? | Science | guardian.co.uk From: Michael Smith tipsl...@gmail.com Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 18:14:12 -0700 Reminds me of Clever Hans. Apparently the scientists found repeated consistent evidence by independent observers and reached a tentativley accepted truth. But fortunately, a psychologist came to the rescue. I think the definition of science is problematic and no definition will satisfy everyone (unless it is as long as the APA guide for writing). And probably, there is a difference between what science should be and what it actually is. Which one should be defined? Both? If science as practiced is defined would it (should it?) mention things like science being steered by money interests and societal gestalt? Science, as practiced, is after all a social phenomenon. --Mike --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Clever Hans
Correction: Meehan's report in Nature about the committee was that the committee was not ungullible. That is, he felt the original committee WAS gullible. Gary Gerald Peterson peter...@svsu.edu 3/5/2009 9:12 AM Wow, I hadn't heard about this effort to emphasize the group investigating Clever Hans was scientific and that they were totally befuddled. Good examples of revisionist history surround such episodes tho. I will have to check my old class notes where this was always presented. Herman Spitz, in his wonderful little book Nonconscious movements: From mystical messages to Facilitated Communication explores the fact the Stumpf was apparently upset about a news Note in the journal _Nature_ that stated the committee had concluded the demonstrations indicated significant mental powers of the animal. This news note indicates, or implies, the committee had status as a commission and was scientific with its membership including the director of the Zoo, a Veterinary surgeon, and professor of the Physiology Institute at Berlin University. Despite Stumpf's more cautious conclusions (apparently), Spitz points out that Stumpf had initially been impressed by the animal's performance (Pp. 26-27). Others were also doubtful about the committee's conclusions---as presented in the press--and Spitz notes that a report appeared in _Nature_ by a J. Meehan that concluded essentially that the commitee was not gullible. (Spitz, P. 28). Having checked my old notes from graduate classes and seminars, etc, I find that this commission was typically presented in class more cautiously as the commission being, indeed, impressed, having found no intentional fraud, and suggesting further investigation. Then Stumpf is often reported to have handed off the problem to his student Pfungst who gloriously employs more systematic and controlled procedures. This is not actually historically correct either of course, but psychologists love their origin myths as one of my favorite profs used to say. Gary Spitz, H. H. (1997). Nonconscious movements: From mystical messages to facilitated communication. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Allen Esterson allenester...@compuserve.com 3/5/2009 4:05 am On 4 March 2009 Michael Smith wrote (no doubt tongue in cheek) on the issue of the definition of science: Reminds me of Clever Hans. Apparently the scientists found repeated consistent evidence by independent observers and reached a tentativley accepted truth. But fortunately, a psychologist came to the rescue. Several websites recycle the statement that a team of scientists upheld the Clever Hans claim, e.g., http://tinyurl.com/buf3gn and http://skepdic.com/cleverhans.html I haven't been able to ascertain the membership of the team, but according to the Wikipedia entry the Commission set up to examine the claims consisted of a veterinarian, a circus manager, a Cavalry officer, a number of school teachers, and the director of the Berlin zoological gardens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_Hans It is evident that the Commission failed to use a blind test of the claims (a procedure known since the beginning of the nineteenth century), so their examination of the horse's abilities can hardly be described as scientific. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org ( http://www.esterson.org/ ) *** Subject: Re: Does the new definition of science measure up? | Science | guardian.co.uk From: Michael Smith tipsl...@gmail.com Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 18:14:12 -0700 Reminds me of Clever Hans. Apparently the scientists found repeated consistent evidence by independent observers and reached a tentativley accepted truth. But fortunately, a psychologist came to the rescue. I think the definition of science is problematic and no definition will satisfy everyone (unless it is as long as the APA guide for writing). And probably, there is a difference between what science should be and what it actually is. Which one should be defined? Both? If science as practiced is defined would it (should it?) mention things like science being steered by money interests and societal gestalt? Science, as practiced, is after all a social phenomenon. --Mike --- 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)
Re: [tips] Dr. Gordon Neufeld
My only quick reaction is that his evidence speaks for itself...and most should know the evidential value of personal experiences. As you note: Dr. Neufeld states that the work he presents is the accumulation of his research, clinical, and life experiences. I am sure he is insightful, stimulating, fun and ... yet, I wonder what questions people are/should be asking him, whether they engage in critical thinking any more than our students?Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Jean-Marc Perreault jperrea...@yukoncollege.yk.ca 3/5/2009 10:21 AM Hi Everyone, I have recently come accross work by Dr. Gordon Neufeld, clinical and developmental psychologist. He is presently in my town giving a week-long workshop entitled: Making Sense of Kids. Although I am not attending the workshop, my partner (who is a teacher in primary school) is. She is loving it. The entire workshop is revolving around attachment issues and how society is moving in a direction that does not foster proper attachment between kids and their parents. I have looked at the workshop document and it looks good, but it does not have references. Instead, Dr. Neufeld states that the work he presents is the accumulation of his research, clinical, and life experiences. I was wondering if anyone on this list has knowledge of his work, and whether you would like to comment on the validity of what he presents. As I said, his stuff makes a lot of sense, thus has much face value. I am wondering about what the scientific community is thinking. My understanding is that he is essentially trying to bring a paradigm shift in how we raise children. Any info would be much appreciated. Cheers all! Jean-Marc --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Conservatives are biggest consumers of porn?
You saw those too?! ;-) Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com 3/3/2009 11:13 AM Maybe prostitution? But then there are those cave paintings - by the highway. Beth Benoit On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 10:56 AM, Paul Brandon paul.bran...@mnsu.edu wrote: 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) -- We will not learn how to live in peace by killing each other's children. - Jimmy Carter Are our children more precious than theirs? --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] back to tips
Why, where is you know who? ;-0 He's been absent lately? Good to see you back. Gary tay...@sandiego.edu 2/27/2009 5:56 pm Hi Bill: I had a backchannel message today telling me it was safe to go back on tips, so if you could put me back on, I think I'll at least lurk for a while. 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 --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
[Fwd: Re: [tips] BBC NEWS | Health | Drink a day increases cancer risk]
I agree with Chris about the value of the Gigerenzer article. It also inspired me to think of how we might help our graduating students teach health professionals about assessing medical research and communicating risk assessments more clearly to their patients. I think psych students--even undergrads, often have a good research and stats background that might be of use in the areas of consulting and training of health professionals. I wonder if others have students trying to establish such a career track? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca 2/26/2009 8:41 am Yesterday in my rant about the BBC (and other media) coverage of the recent correlational alcohol-cancer study (below), I mentioned Gerd Gigerenzer's work on how commonly-used conventions about the reporting of medical statistics misleads many people (including doctors) about the real risks involved. (Indeed, there is evidence that some pharmaceutical companies intentionally manipulate the format of statistics to maximize the appearance of benefit and minimize the appearance of risk.) For anyone interested, I have a pdf of Gigerenzer's latest and most detailed publication in this vein: Helping Doctors and Patients Make Sense of Health Statistics (/Psychological Science in the Public Interest/, 2008). I've attached the abstract of the article below. It is longish (44 pp.) but it is so good that I have been thinking about basing an entire course around it. The widespread misunderstanding of cancer and AIDS rates (and the tests that are supposed to detect them) are used as examples throughout. Although I normally teach the standard statistics course in my department (t, r, F, etc.), a course based on this information would be of much greater benefit to much wider range of students. Because the file is 1.8Mb, I don't want to clog up the entire list with it, but I would be happy to forward a copy to anyone who asks me (off list, please). Regards, 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/ == SUMMARY Many doctors, patients, journalists, and politicians alike do not understand what health statistics mean or draw wrong conclusions without noticing. Collective statistical illiteracy refers to the widespread inability to understand the meaning of numbers. For instance, many citizens are unaware that higher survival rates with cancer screening do not imply longer life, or that the statement that mammography screening reduces the risk of dying from breast cancer by 25% in fact means that 1 less woman out of 1,000 will die of the disease. We provide evidence that statistical illiteracy (a) is common to patients, journalists, and physicians; (b) is created by nontransparent framing of information that is sometimes an unintentional result of lack of understanding but can also be a result of intentional efforts to manipulate or persuade people; and (c) can have serious consequences for health. The causes of statistical illiteracy should not be attributed to cognitive biases alone, but to the emotional nature of the doctor--patient relationship and conflicts of interest in the healthcare system. The classic doctor--patient relation is based on (the physician's) paternalism and (the patient's) trust in authority, which make statistical literacy seem unnecessary; so does the traditional combination of determinism (physicians who seek causes, not chances) and the illusion of certainty (patients who seek certainty when there is none). We show that information pamphlets, Web sites, leaflets distributed to doctors by the pharmaceutical industry, and even medical journals often report evidence in nontransparent forms that suggest big benefits of featured interventions and small harms. Without understanding the numbers involved, the public is susceptible to political and commercial manipulation of their anxieties and hopes, which undermines the goals of informed consent and shared decision making. What can be done? We discuss the importance of teaching statistical thinking and transparent representations in primary and secondary education as well as in medical school. Yet this requires familiarizing children early on with the concept of probability and teaching statistical literacy as the art of solving real-world problems rather than applying formulas to toy problems about coins and dice. A major precondition for statistical literacy is transparent risk communication. We recommend using frequency statements instead of single-event probabilities, absolute risks instead of relative risks, mortality rates instead of survival rates, and natural frequencies instead of conditional probabilities.
[tips] car crash consciousness
Here is a story regarding the development of car safety features in a side crash test. The authors make the point that the system and the crash occur faster than the time it would take to register all the mini-events consciously. They also imply that the common experience of time slowing for people in a car crash is due to hindsight memory. I thought this info would be of use when discussing consciousness in Gen. Psych. I don't doubt the delay in conscious registering of events, but do doubt the explanation of the slow-down experience. I think we must also take into account that the event is continuous and that what we experience is the result of (often hyper-aroused) detailed complexity which can promote altered time perception both during and after. Anyhow, does anyone know of psych research on the slowed time experience during such things as car crashes? Gary See: http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=56781vf=26 Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] We get visited
Over here the Republicans are blaming him for any problem, obstructing any initiative, and looking to any mistake as a sure sign of his political naivete and incompetence. But he is cute eh!? Now would you guys just send more troops to Afghanistan please? ;-) Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu sbl...@ubishops.ca 2/19/2009 6:32 pm Hey! Skinny guy with a funny name shows up in Ottawa today, eats a beavertail, leaves. We didn't have a gun in our pocket and we were glad to see him. Woman on the street interviewed on the CBC: Interviewer: If you could say one thing to Barack Obama today, what would it be? Woman: Will you marry me? 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes - NYTimes.com
Nothing new about that. They are used to getting those grades in high school...or the college of ed?! Points out that today it is very important to give a mini-orientation to your classes where you lay out expectations and obligations of student and teacher. I point out typical problems, that grades are earned and reflect degree of mastery, lay out my role, etc. Still, they feel that it takes a lot of effort to make it to class, and it's hard to cram and even open the book up before an exam so if they put effort into things they must be studying ha. Despite this, I am sure we are all even more appreciative of those students who don't have that entitlement attitude and are more genuinely motivated in their study. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca 2/18/2009 8:35 AM According to a UC Irvine report covered by the NYT today, about one third of students expect B*s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent believe they earn B*s by doing required reading. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/education/18college.html?_r=2 If I had only known... 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)
RE: [tips] need suggestions for a student
Social work, occupational therapy,school psych, masters in counseling with additional training in programs using art? Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Beyer, Alisa abe...@dom.edu 2/16/2009 11:24 AM Perhaps occupational therapy. Sounds like a talented student. Alisa Miller Beyer, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Psychology Dominican University 7900 W. Division St. River Forest, IL 60305 (708) 524-6583 -Original Message- From: DeVolder Carol L [mailto:devoldercar...@sau.edu] Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 9:58 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] need suggestions for a student Hi, I have a student/advisee that I am trying to help figure out some things. She is a lovely young woman who is multi-talented. She is bright and enthusiastic with a love of psychology, plus a double-major in art, plus a coaching certificate (she was set to play semi-pro basketball but a torn ACL quashed that). She wants a career that will combine all of those things. She considered clinical or counseling psych but wants to integrate the art and the movement (she also has a background in dance). She considered sports psychology but feels it's too limiting. We talked about art therapy, but she thinks that's too limiting as well. Plus, she wants to work with children. Can anyone suggest a possible career path that might combine some or all of her talents? I think she holds a great deal of promise, and I want to help her explore some options. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, 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 rg.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)
Re: [tips] Psychic's business booming in tough economy - CNN.com
I'm with you Mike. I've done Tarot, handwriting analyses, palm reading, and
even the Myers-Briggs...but only for entertainment at parties or as class
demonstrations. Now if only I could get my conscience out of the way. I can
tell people what they want to hear much more easily than teaching them what is
actually known! Gary
Michael Smith ersaram...@yahoo.com 2/7/2009 7:42 pm
This seems reasonable enough to me (reasonable perhaps being a pun).
As pointed out, lottery sales are recession proof too.
And really, aren't these decisions driven by emotion? Decisions in the throws
of desperation I think are mostly emotional. And I believe that when it comes
to a battle between emotion and reason, reason doesn't stand a chance!
And ultimately, this is good news as I am thinking of entering this venerable
area of work :)
After all, if soothsaying isn't the world's oldest profession then it must be
the second oldest--it has stood the test of time; time I cashed in :))
--Mike
--- On Sat, 2/7/09, Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca wrote:
From: Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca
Subject: [tips] Psychic's business booming in tough economy - CNN.com
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu
Date: Saturday, February 7, 2009, 11:01 AM
When there's not enough money for rent and food, what do people spend their
money on? Psychics, apparently. I would think that even people who normally go
in for this kind of stuff would regard it as an amusing luxury; one of the
first things to be cut when times get tough. But I am wrong because, as is my
wont, I reflexively assume that most people are minimally rational (despite the
massive number of times I have been shown otherwise by both research and
everyday experience). So what is the psychological explanation for this? That
when hard time are upon us people feel more desperate than ever for an extra
little edge, and they think that psychics might provide it?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/02/05/psychics.economy/index.html
Then again, perhaps the whole article is junk. This is just one psychic who
just happens to say, in the midst of a rare and enormous promotional
opportunity (being intereviewed by CNN), that business is better than ever
before and that even people in business suits have begun to come 'round. I only
hope this is the case.
Chris
--
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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/
==
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Re: [tips] alcohol and pregnancy redux
I would suggest abstinence also..especially since the guidelines are not clear. One of my colleagues here did his dissertation work on fetal alcohol syndrome and, as I recall, he mentioned that the effects can depend also on the time (third trimester) and consistency of ingestion (a highball or equivalent a day can be bad). It can promote some useful class discussion. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu DeVolder Carol L devoldercar...@sau.edu 2/6/2009 11:50 am Dear Tipsters, I tried posting this on the other list (PSYTEACH) but it was rejected because it serves no purpose to carry this any further since it has strayed from the teaching of psychology. This list is easier, and if you're not interested, then just delete it. I think it relates to teaching psych because I want to provide my students with what I consider valid information. So, I'm copying what I sent to the other list for what it's worth. The question on PSYTEACH to which I am referring dealt with how much alcohol is safe during pregnancy, and whether we are using scare tactics to unnecessarily frighten people. I've been waiting to write this message because I wanted to hear back from a colleague, Dr. Jennifer Thomas, at San Diego State University. In my opinion, Jennifer is a well-respected expert in this field and is past president of the Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group. I also went to grad school with Jen and remember her work with rat pups and their exposure to alcohol (that's my disclosure about potential bias, but really I'd still consider her an expert). I asked her for her opinion on acceptable levels of alcohol ingestion during pregnancy and the threshold for adverse fetal effects, and she acknowledged that there is very active debate on the topic, with the consensus in the US being somewhat different from the consensus in the UK. (The position in the US is abstinence, in the UK the accepted level is a glass per day.) In her words, The problem really is that there is so much variability in response to alcohol(genetics, nutrition, other exposures) that one cannot make a prediction of the risk for an individual and so there is NO known safe level of alcohol exposure during pregnancy. We certainly see changes with low levels of exposure with the animal models. It is more difficult to study in humans. Jennifer also pointed me to two sites, which I am including here: http://www.rsoa.org/fas.html and http://www.rsoa.org/fas-Response.pdf . The second link has a reference list. My opinion remains unchanged--I still believe in complete abstinence during all phases of pregnancy. I realize there are anecdotes about people who drink and their baby came out just fine, but I'd rather be safe than sorry as much as possible. 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)
Re: [tips] Site may harm (was: Darwin, Science, and Religion)
Do hallucinations follow delusions? ha..I believe you Stephen! gary peterson Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu sbl...@ubishops.ca 1/31/2009 10:40 am I just breathlessly reported on an apparently massive attack on Google, giving the warning This site may harm your computer to every search result. I just tried again, and it's gone. But it happened. Really, it did. Please believe me. 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) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Piaget and Poetry
It would simply be the effort to understand it (the new poetry) with the old schematic conception of poetry and then this may result in disequilibrium presuming that process is found not to work. Note how this presumes some context in which we are actively engaged in / with the object or item. Or at least that our efforts would receive feedback from social interaction which might get us to Vygotsky. Piaget argued it must be part of an environmental challenge that is posed. Note how this may be unlike the simple reaction to hearing some reading in a crowd/audience. A more appropriate illustration of this process is here on tips as people think about what constitutes poetry, altho there is hardly the environmental challenge that is more salient in (Piagetian) cognitive development. As efforts of assimilation fail, we experience a tension or discord that motivates accommodation and presumably movement toward equilibrium/cognitive adaptation. Well, at least that's my schema... Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com 1/29/2009 10:40 AM Ok. I'll buy that. So, can you give an example of how assimilation would occur in this context? Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com ( http://www.thepsychfiles.com/ ) On Jan 28, 2009, at 8:02 PM, rikikoe...@aol.com wrote: Any time you modify a schema to take in new information, that is accomodation. In a message dated 1/28/2009 1:08:57 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com writes: So the first question is: Is adding into your schema of poetry that poetry is words that evoke images an example of assimilation or accommodation? I'm thinking assimilation. A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! ( http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/10075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=DecemailfooterNO62 ) --- 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)
[tips] irreligious societies more moral?
We have often heard about the association of religiosity, however defined, with more positive well-being, etc. We seldom hear about the failure of the prayerful and religious ideologies to successfully promote more moral and rational societies. Hence, this article discussing an association between more secular societies and rational well-being was of interest. Perhaps just another illusory correlation, but at least presenting a different take on the usual associations we see touted. Gary See http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=gqchf08syrq7qfcxqfzjh9d949ndm2k2 --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] [Fwd: The Straight Dope on Learning Styles]
Some good points, but not strongly presented regarding the lack of evidence for such distinctions. I would predict that many students would read this and come away thinking they can embrace learning styles, that there is a kind of face validity to the ideas, but that psychologists are wishy washy about it. I guess I am just a skeptical intuitive. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca 1/28/2009 1:59 pm An interesting take on the problems with learning styles -- so short and straightforward that it may be good for undergraduates (especially the ones who want you to do extra work because they are visual learners or some such). This piece might be a little more politic that Don't give me that NLP blither (which is what I am usually tempted to say). :-) http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2009/01/the_straight_dope_on.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)
Re: [tips] Study Sees an Obama Effect as Lifting Black Test-Takers - NYTimes.com
I have noticed a change in dress on campus, but my sampling is limited. Gary chri...@yorku.ca 1/24/2009 12:29 am s it possible that the simple fact of Obama having been sworn into office has changed black test scores? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/education/23gap.html?ref=education 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)
Re: [tips] emotional reasoning/critical thinking
Thanks Beth! I'm not sure of some of these myself--I guess I still need to see the evidence objectively ha. They might relate to emotional reasoning in terms of the emotional investment or attachment people might have to them, how we often take-for-granted beliefs that become part of pop-culture, etc. People might defend them emotionally, but need to be reminded to look at the evidence, controlled studies, seek more reasonable explanations, etc. Usually I see emotional reasoning in class, on tips, and in dept. meetings when people are emotionally passionate or defensive/assertive, AND that becomes the paramount feature when raising the claim or issue. They may not want to examine alternative positions/explanations, spell out carefully their reasoning and the nature of the evidence for the claim, or recognize that, when guided emotionally, they tend to make blanket over-generalizations--over-simplifying. I am not interested in debunking, but having the students think about what kinds of evidence would be needed to test these ideas (systematic, controlled tests). Thanks to all tipsters for their contributions here! On another topic, did anyone else attend that on-line STP workshop yesterday dealing with teaching the millennial student? I was interested in that ARIES game D. Halpern was talking about to teach critical thinking. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Beth Benoit bethben...@metrocast.net 1/24/2009 10:17 am And more medical myths:1. Turkey makes you drowsy 2. Dim light ruins your eyes 3. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day (Stephen Black did early research for us on that one!) Beth Benoit Granite State College New Hampshire On Sat, Jan 24, 2009 at 10:06 AM, Beth Benoit bethben...@metrocast.netwrote: A little late, but here's the list I was looking for. It's a list of medical myths, from Tara Parker-Pope's blog, nytimes.com/well: 1. Sugar makes children hyperactive 2. Suicide increases over the holidays 3. Poinsettias are toxic 4. You lose most of your body heat through your head 5. Night eating makes you fat 6. Hangovers can be cured On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 1:13 PM, Beth Benoit bethben...@metrocast.netwrote: Gary,The autism/vaccine argument The moon effect argument (nurses and police officers often argue hotly on that one - I had one police officer who was SO convinced that a full moon = more crime, etc. that I offered him extra credit if he could find any study that showed this to be the case. He couldn't, of course, and sheepishly admitted it by the end of the course. Nice guy, though, and he was a good sport about it.) I'll keep thinking... Beth Benoit Granite State College New Hampshire On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 1:00 PM, Gerald Peterson peter...@svsu.eduwrote: I am going over critical thinking guidelines in class and want to present examples of emotional reasoning. I want to help the students realize that the passion for a claim or issue is not the key problem, but rather the emotionalism that often directs/distorts one's further examination. Can tipsters see or develop other examples of where emotionalism is a problem in problem-solving, investigation? Emotional reactions or defensiveness can often be the culprit in closing off discussion or hinder openness eh? I am trying to find examples that would help students make the distinction here. Appreciate any ideas. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) -- We will not learn how to live in peace by killing each other's children. - Jimmy Carter Are our children more precious than theirs? --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) -- We will not learn how to live in peace by killing each other's children. - Jimmy Carter Are our children more precious than theirs? -- We will not learn how to live in peace by killing each other's children. - Jimmy Carter Are our children more precious than theirs? --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] False memories/Missing tipsters
Yes, I will miss Annette and Don, but hopefully they will check in from time to time. Given the same reasoning Annette used tho, we should stop subscribing to TV...instead of simply turning it off or changing channels. The delete key is our option for posts or threads that we might not be interested in. TIPS remains a valuable resource for sharing info, teaching struggles, classroom tips, exploring different perspectives, and just venting. I find the perspectives useful to illustrate the challenges of critical thinking and courtesy. I also try not to take psychology, myself, or the field too seriously and TIPS has really helped there! Of course, this may just be a false memory, but it's a kind that is good to construct. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Beth Benoit bethben...@metrocast.net 1/18/2009 8:54 am There IS a way, but alas, it was Annette Taylor, who unhappily (for us) has left TIPS who told us how to do it. So for now, I'll just be saving the link and hoping it stays up. (I also miss Don McBurney, who left for the same reason...) On second thought, maybe I'll email Annette and tell her I miss her on TIPS. She was one of our most frequent and thoughtful contributors. I was surprised that no one commented about our loss, but then I didn't either. Beth Benoit Granite State College New Hampshire On Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 9:24 PM, Michael Smith ersaram...@yahoo.com wrote: Can one save the video, or only the link? --Mike --- On *Sat, 1/17/09, Beth Benoit bethben...@metrocast.net* wrote: From: Beth Benoit bethben...@metrocast.net Subject: Re: [tips] False memories To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Date: Saturday, January 17, 2009, 7:04 AM That wonderful video will play well in class when teaching memory. Thanks for sending it, Allen. I'll be saving it. Beth Benoit Granite State College New Hampshire On Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 1:45 AM, Allen Esterson allenester...@compuserve.com wrote: Chris's link to the Mind Hacks website led to my following their link to Remembering, which brought up a rather charming short illustration of how one's false memories can feel true. One of the delicious ironies of memory is that, even when our recollections are utterly false, they still feel true. Consider this wonderful tale from the upcoming season of This American Life: http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2008/05/false_memory.php Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) -- We will not learn how to live in peace by killing each other's children. - Jimmy Carter Are our children more precious than theirs? --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) -- We will not learn how to live in peace by killing each other's children. - Jimmy Carter Are our children more precious than theirs? --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Weighty problem
A cumulative exam that fairly reflects the objectives / content of the class developed in collaboration with the instructor, but independently (not sympathetically, but objectively) graded. If the student can pass this exam then give a C. This is giving special consideration while maintaining agreed upon standards. The student must agree beforehand to this procedure. Extra credit just to pass him along is not acceptable. Just one suggestion. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu DeVolder Carol L devoldercar...@sau.edu 1/10/2009 12:08 pm Dear Colleagues, I need to weigh this one carefully and would appreciate input; I'll try to be brief. There is a student who has been struggling through classes for several years. This student has managed to earn As and Bs, mostly through luck, a bit through hard work, and somewhat because some faculty members have given *sympathy grades.* In other words, this student is marginal at best. The student comes from an environment where the mother was a hard drug user*crack, coke, you name it*and the mother is paying a heavy price (currently dying of hepatitis and cirrhosis). The student wants to graduate, and actually to be the first in the family to attend college and subsequently graduate before the mother dies. There have been other issues that have cropped up from time to time (i.e. an incomplete in three courses because the student was unable to attend classes due to a broken leg from an assault). Eventually the student finished the courses, but it took a great deal of time (and energy from the faculty). Here*s thecurrent problem: This student recently received a D in a course that is required for the major, and must have Cs or better in all major coursework. The professor who assigned the D is a fair and compassionate individual, and he has worked with this student a great deal over the course of the semester (which the student acknowledges). Now that the student has been informed that, in order to graduate as expected, all grades in the major must be of a certain level, the student wants another exception made and is willing to write papers or do any type of extra credit to have the grade raised to a C. There have been many exceptions made for this student in the past. On the other hand, retaking the course is problematic because of limited financial resources (financial aid won*t cover it and the student has little income). How much should be done to facilitate this student*s graduation? At what point does the integrity of the degree take precedence over the efforts of a student whom life has dealt a raw deal? At this point, I*m not the one who will make the decision, but I have been asked for my advice. I plan on thinking about this at length, but I really want to hear what others have to say. Although this isn*t a typical scenario, there have been relatively similar cases in the past. Morally and ethically, what would you advise? Carol L. DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chair, Department of Psychology St. Ambrose University 518 West Locust Street Davenport, Iowa 52803 Phone: 563-333-6482 e-mail: devoldercar...@sau.edu web: http://web.sau.edu/psychology/psychfaculty/cdevolder.htm The contents of this message are confidential and may not be shared with anyone without permission of the sender. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Dave Myers' text
The first problem was giving credibility to MS's views. Best regards, Gary Dap Louw louwda@ufs.ac.za 1/7/2009 2:38 pm I'm speechless about Michael Sylvester's rating of the Myers text. I may be wrong but I believe it's the intro text most widely prescribed internationally, one reason being that it is much less myopic than its American counterparts. We use it in South Africa and find it wonderful. One of its strongest points is that the language is very student-friendly, which a country in a country like South Africa with 11 official languages, is a very important prerequisite. In a recent email Michael Sylvester wrote something about Dave Myers being a millionaire. I don't know whether that is the case (if it is, good for him), but I wonder how many colleagues have read the following on the inner title page of most (all?) of Dave's books (it's in fine print): All royalties from the sale of this book are assigned to the David and Carol Myers Foundation, which exists to receive and distribute funds to other charitable organizations. If David Myers is indeed a millionaire, we surely need more millionaires like him. Regards from a sunny (southern hemisphere) South Africa. Dap Louw Dap Louw, Ph.D.(Psych.), Ph.D. (Crim.) Head: Centre for Psychology and the Law Professor: Department of Psychology University of the Free State P.O. Box 339 Bloemfontein 9300 South Africa Tel: (051+) 401-2444 (work) (051+) 436-3423 (home) Fax: (051+) 444-6677 Email: louwda@ufs.ac.za Cell: 083-391-8331 _ University of the Free State: This message and its contents are subject to a disclaimer. Please refer to http://www.ufs.ac.za/disclaimer for full details. Universiteit van die Vrystaat: Hierdie boodskap en sy inhoud is aan 'n vrywaringsklousule onderhewig. Volledige besonderhede is by http://www.ufs.ac.za/vrywaring beskikbaar. _ --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] using Outliers in the classroom
Is this an effect--or rather an association? Also, stat. significance simply means that it is not likely chance, not that it absolutely could not be due to chance. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Beth Benoit bethben...@metrocast.net 1/6/2009 1:59 pm Annette,Interesting! Gladwell was talking about Canadian hockey teams though. I suspect that Malcolm is right, and there is an effect across the board, but perhaps not as robust as he suggests except in specific teams. More to ponder Beth Benoit Granite State College New Hampshire On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 1:39 PM, tay...@sandiego.edu wrote: I must have nothing else to do today because I decided to print out all the NHL rosters. Here is what I found: 205/682 players are listed with birth dates in JanFebMar. A chi-square analysis suggests this is significant at less than .01 and hence could not have occurred by chance. Of course, the same holds true for a comparison of players who list their home towns in North America (where presumably the elite teams are decided by birth dates, versus those whose home towns are outside North America (the VAST majority from former Soviet Union or Scandinavian countries--don't know what to think about Korea or Brazil, except these kids must have lived elsewhere) and for whom I don't know if the birthdate thing holds true where the figures are: North American born JanFebMar=142 North American born AMJJASOND = 339 outside NA born JanFebMar = 63 outside NA born AMJJASOND = 138 Now this all gets more dramatic if you look at top and bottom 4 teams in the current (midseason just about) standing: Top 4 teams: San Jose, Boston, Detroit, Washington: JFM = 39 players rest = 63 players So 38%, or more than the expected 33.3% Bottom 4 teams: Islanders, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Ottawa JFM = 29 players rest = 72 players So 32%, or slightly less than the expected 33.3% So, Beth, maybe overall there is something to Gladwell's hypothese--although I do like your caveat to check things out :) Annette 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: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 09:59:34 -0500 From: Dennis Goff dg...@randolphcollege.edu Subject: RE: [tips] using Outliers in the classroom To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Similar results have been found for US soccer players in the Olympic Development Program. The effect might only hold for male athletes though. I remember seeing a similar result for professional players in Europe. I am working from home today and don't have access to the references. I think that a search for birth date and elite athlete on Google Scholar will find some of that research. Best Dennis -Original Message- From: beth.ben...@gmail.com on behalf of Beth Benoit Sent: Tue 1/6/2009 9:30 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] using Outliers in the classroom What a perfect follow-up study, Jim. Interesting thought that older players (January - June birthdates) continue to play minor hockey till a later age than do the younger players (July - December birthdates) who tend to drop out of the sport. Hmmm...do you think this is a good subject pool though? It was only one hockey program, one season, almost 25 years ago: METHOD Subjects The team rosters of all players registered in the hockey program of the Edmonton Minor Hockey Association for the 1983-84 season comprised the sample for this study. Beth Benoit Granite State College New Hampshire On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 8:15 PM, Jim Clark j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca wrote: Hi Here's a nice study with data. http://www.socialproblemindex.ualberta.ca/RelAgeMinorHockeyCJBS.pdf Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca Department of Psychology University of Winnipeg Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9 CANADA Christopher D. Green chri...@yorku.ca 05-Jan-09 6:30 PM Beth Benoit wrote: The section I'm considering using is the claim that Canadian ice hockey players are more likely to be born in the first few months of the calendar year. I'll probably follow the same method as above, breaking students into groups to examine the roster I'll hand out, then giving them Gladwell's explanation. I'd also be interested in thoughts from our Canadian brethren about the concept of early birthdates being helpful to hockey success. Stephen, Chris? Funny, I had just heard this claim over Christmas from a relative of mine. She said that something like half of NHLers are born in the first three or four months of the year. But for
Re: [tips] longevity thoughts
Just those of us still in the woodwork since the early nineties. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Beth Benoit bethben...@metrocast.net 1/3/2009 11:48 am In the tradition of thinking about the past, which seems to be a popular activity this week: I'm curious about how long any of you have been on TIPS. I believe I first joined in mid-1993 - shortly before I taught my first college class. As I recall Stephen Black was already a member. I have early recall of Bob Wildblood, Rick Froman, Mike Scoles, Ken Steele and Robin (then Pearce?) Abrahams, and of course TIPS creator Bill Southerly, but it seems that many of the others who were in my freshman class have long gone. I remember when the multicultural dude joined - though not what year - as his posts were puzzling and there was a buzz about whether he actually was who he said he was. What ever happened to Ron Blue? What was the theory he always offered? Opponent-process model? Any other Oldster Tipsters around? And Happy New Year to Oldsters and Newsters. Beth Benoit Granite State College New Hampshire -- We will not learn how to live in peace by killing each other's children. - Jimmy Carter Are our children more precious than theirs? --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Proof of spiritual life
Yes, I did see that Mike. I saw the apparition shown also that helped the mother attribute the event to the work of angels. I think Jim C and others have given sound responses should one be really interested in carefully examining such episodes and exploring more reasonable explanations. The mother, like most who experience anomalous events, is not motivated to learn or investigate, but rather to make things fit, to have them make sense in light of her life beliefs. Clearly the mother has a spiritual belief framework that is meaningful to her and apparently one the physicians will not question. My interest is what role people think the doctors SHOULD take? What about clinical psychologists, social workers, life coaches, counselors, etc.? If you were a (clinical, counseling) psychologist working with the mom and family would anyone here seriously try to insert a scientific, or critical thinking perspective? Is your aim really education? Would it not be more reasonable and ethically responsible to offer professionally sanctioned support, comfort, and encouraging her integration of events to her particular spiritual belief frameworkeven if this is false? I think this is likely to be the approach of most psychologists, but I think either stance carries burdens. If the mother were a student in my class and I thought she was really interested in learning (a very challenging perspective that; being a real student), then I might respond more as an investigator or scientific psychologist. I rarely see that attitude however, and certainly not in this kind of example. Happy new year to all. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Michael Smith ersaram...@yahoo.com 12/28/2008 1:07 am So did anyone catch the CNN video interview with a doctor at the hospital where a Christmas miracle in which the girl who was taken off life support and expected to die within a short time was healed? Even though the Drs had tried to wean her several times before. The explanation of the pediatric doctor and others (including the photo of course) was that an angel had come and healed her. Is this not enough proof of the existence of angels, the afterlife, etc? --Mike P.S. I cant find the video clip anymore. It seems to have dissappeared from the CNN site otherwise I would have included the link --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Fortunate times for the scientists among us!
As long as it's straight science, I'll ask pastor Warren to pray for them ;-) Gary Joan Warmbold jwarm...@oakton.edu 12/22/2008 2:47 pm http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/us/politics/21science.html?_r=1ref=science --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Dancing Elf Psychologists
As my psych 100 students know, Freud would be a psychiatrist, but then I suppose he has got to dance with someone. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu Michael Britt michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com 12/22/2008 6:36 pm Okay, I couldn't help myself from doing this again this year. For a laugh... http://www.thepsychfiles.com/psychelves.html 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)
