Re: Your Thoughts [about make-up exams]

Payam Heidary wrote: > how do most of you handle situations where > students are absent on the day of exams and when > assignments are due. For examinations: I always allow a student to take exams BEFORE the scheduled time. That way, if they know something is coming up for them, they can plan

Re: "Law of Parsimony", Reductionism, and Complexity

In addition to what I stated and the article I included in my last post, I also wanted to send you links to two other articles relevant to Phillipe's questions: Lloyd Morgan’s Canon: A History of Misrepresentation by Roger K. Thomas (2001) http://htpprints.yorku.ca/documents/docs/00/00/00/17/htp0

RE: Richard Dawkins on Suicide Bombings

al Rd.FAX Number: (480) 423-6298 Psychology Department[EMAIL PROTECTED] Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626 Listowner: Psychologists Educating Students to Think Skeptically (PESTS) http://www.sc.maricopa.edu/sbscience/pests/index.html Jeff Ricker forwarded the foll

The (possible) myth of the vestigial appendix

As I was going through the Sci Am web site, I stumbled across the following discussion about a possible function of the human appendix. That is, we may be wrong when we say that the appendix is a vestigial part of our anatomy. Since we sometimes discuss common scientific myths on this list, I thou

The Science and Technology of Terrorism

Scientific American has put together a set of links to articles on terrorism that might be of some use in your courses: The Science and Technology of Terrorism http://www.sciam.com/page.cfm?section=terrorism Jeff -- Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213 9000 E. Chaparra

Gallup data on effects of NYC disaster

Given the discussion of the last several days, I thought the following item of information from the Gallup organization (http://www.gallup.com/tuesdaybriefing.asp) might be of general interest: "A majority of Americans favor having Arabs, even those who are U.S. citizens, being subjected to separ

Re: Student Question (sleep disorder)

Nancy, This sounds like Kleine-Levin Syndrome. According to information on the "Kleine-Levin Syndrome Foundation" web site (http://www.KLSFoundation.org/), the disorder is defined in the following way: "Kleine-Levin Syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by the need for excessive amounts of sl

Re: Spectacles and IQ

Here are some other articles I have just found on this topic. Some of them reproduce the ones that Stephen Black cited. Jeff --- Belkin, M. and M. Rosner. "Intelligence, Education, and Myopia in Males," Archives of Opthamology (November 1987) 1508-11. Benbow, C.P. "Physiological Correl

Ritalin Acts Much Like Cocaine

An interesting article in the most recent JAMA. I excerpted what seemed to be the main point. Jeff -- http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v286n8/ffull/jmn0822-1.html Pay Attention: Ritalin Acts Much Like Cocaine by Brian Vastag Children with ADHD produce weak dopamine signals, mea

Re: Scientology Web Sites

Harry, I believe that this may be one such site: Say No To Psychiatry: The Dangers and Harm of the Modern Sham Pseudoscience Known as Psychiatry Jeff Harry Avis wrote: > This semester I am trying something new (for me). In addition to using > Infotrac, I am requiring th

Schools' Backing of Behavior Drugs Comes Under Fire

August 19, 2001 Schools' Backing of Behavior Drugs Comes Under Fire By KATE ZERNIKE and MELODY PETERSEN Children return to classrooms this fall amid an increasingly pitched battle over Ritalin and other drugs used to treat millions with behavioral and emotional problems in school. Some of Rital

The Quantitative Study of Dreams

I found a web site on dream research at http://psych.ucsc.edu/dreams/ called, "The Quantitative Study of Dreams." After a brief look, it seems to be a very good site. I found the following article on this site. It describes research on a subject that has come up on TIPS before: what people who ha

More College Students Drop Out Than Graduate

Wednesday August 15 More College Students Drop Out Than Graduate By Leslie Gevirtz BOSTON (Reuters) - Fewer than half of U.S. college students make it to graduation, which means that Americans have a better chance of getting an accurate weather report than they have of getting a university degr

Bizarre Science

While going through the New Scientist web site this morning, I came across a section called, "Bizarre Science" (http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/bizarre/). It looks ideal for those times you are sitting on the can while playing with your laptop (something about that last phrase sounds strange

Rhinotillexomania: A new mental disorder?

>From the current New Scientist. Jeff http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opfeedback.jsp?id=ns230399#21 Nose Picking--The Shameful Truth NOSE PICKING is a form of human behaviour that has received far too little scientific attention, but at last that neglect is be

The secret to academic success: hours--and hours--of study

The secret to academic success: hours--and hours--of study COLUMBUS, Ohio - Improving a lackluster grade point average takes more than a few extra hours of study each week. In fact, a study of 79 college students found that a one-letter-grade increase in quarter GPA was associated with a 40-hour

Clues to Future Suicide Contained in Poets' Words

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010725/od/poets_dc_1.html Wednesday July 25 8:17 AM ET Clues to Future Suicide Contained in Poets' Words By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The writings of poets of various nationalities who committed suicide contain words and language patterns that give cl

The Crack-Up of Psychiatry

http://www.businessweek.com:/print/magazine/content/01_28/b3740034.htm?mainwindow JULY 9, 2001 BOOKS BY By Paul Raeburn The Crack-Up of Psychiatry OUT OF ITS MIND Psychiatry in Crisis: A Call for Reform By J. Allan Hobson and Jonathan A. Leonard Perseus 292pp $26 Each year, about 1,200 slot

Misconceptions about abnormal psychology

I was wondering if anyone had some examples of common student misconceptions about the field of abnormal psychology. I would like to address some of these misconceptions when I teach the course. Jeff -- Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213 9000 E. Chaparral Rd.

Damaged Brains and the Death Penalty

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/21/arts/dailyarts/21LEWI.html JUL 21, 2001 Damaged Brains and the Death Penalty By LAURA MANSNERUS You don't have to be a psychiatrist, Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis says, to know that something was terribly wrong with Ricky Ray Rector, who before his execution in Ark

Hollywood puts the 'psycho' in psychologist

I don't recall seeing anything about this study on TIPS when the following report came out last year. This news item describes an interesting investigation of the way that psychologists are often portrayed in the popular media. Jeff --- http://www.trustmed.co

Personal Life Towel Boy

the more serious game that I call "Big-League Life," also have the services of your own personal life towel boy? Jeff Ricker Personal Life Towel Boy (in training) Certified Member of AAPLTB -- Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213 9000 E. Chaparral Rd.

Re: Question #2

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have seen demonstrations of those word lists that are organized around a central theme, but lack the most obvious word. They are read to a subject who then tries to recall them, usually giving the theme word as one of those read aloud, even though it wasn't.  I have tri

Accurate dream recall unlikely

I thought some of you might be interested in the following article. Jeff http://neurology.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2001/06/06.12/20010611clin002.html Accurate Dream Recall Unlikely CHICAGO (Reuters Health) Jun 11 - Individuals are not very reliable witnes

Re: Malnutrition

I'm glad to be contributing to TIPS (haven't done so in a while). Probably someone else will send in the answer even before I finish typing this, but here goes anyways (I just won't read my mail until after I hit the "send" button). Jean Edwards wrote: > I was asked by a student why kids who are

A tall tale

An interesting piece on male height and reproductive success. By the way, I'm 5'9" (and I may even be fudging just a bit on that) and I have one daughter. And she's adopted. I'm convinced. Jeff - http://www.newscientist.com/newsletter/news.jsp?id=ns229041

Capgras Delusion

Some of you might find the following article to be of interest. Jeff http://www.dallasnews.com/science/columnists/346200_tomcol_23liv.html Scientists learn how familiarity breeds delusion 04/23/2001 By TOM SIEGFRIED / The Dallas Morning News The next

Culture and mental illness

Here is an article from the most recent NY Times Magazine you may find interesting. Jeff - http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/06/magazine/06LATAH.html May 6, 2001 Regional Disturbances By LAWRENCE OSBORNE Americans get anorexia. Nigerians get 'brain fag.' Mala

Re: the face of a tipster

OK, since there seems to be so much interest in this topic, here's the most recent photo of me. I'm a bit embarassed: the photo was taken just after I had jreturned home from a party in which I had had a little too much to drink. I'll never forgive my wife for taking it. http://members.nbci.com/u

Re: the face of a tipster

People tell me that I somewhat resemble a cross between the "Elephant Man" and Mickey Rooney, with just a dash of George Clooney thrown in (only my left nostril). I hope this helps you get a better idea of what I look like. Jeff -- Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213

Exorcising the Homunculus

A good article in the current issue of "Free Inquiry": Exorcising the Homunculus: There’s no one behind the curtain by David C. Noelle http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/noelle_21_2.html From the conclusion: "The traditional view of the will as a kind of little man in your head needs to

Why Johnny Can't Read, Write, Multiply or Divide

An interesting article on educational standards from the NY Times. Jeff --- http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/weekinreview/15ZERN.html April 15, 2001 Why Johnny Can't Read, Write, Multiply or Divide By KATE ZERNIKE "The book I would like to write about is called "Of

Re: That's it...we're done

I wrote: > A silly question occurred to me after I finished reading another paper... As I re-read my post, I realize that I meant the question more seriously than this statement suggests. A characteristic of science is that we express tentativeness regarding our conclusions because we understand

That's it...we're done

A silly question occurred to me after I finished reading another paper (one of thousands in my career) that ended with the line, "...but more research is necessary." Has there ever been a paper that ended with something like the following line: "We have answered this question, no more research is

Nonacademic jobs for psychology Ph.D.s

A recent Ph.D. in cognitive psychology is interested in looking for nonacademic positions. She asked me the following question: >You don't happen to know a headhunter who works with PhDs out there, do you? Does anyone have an answer? Or is there any other relevant advice you can give to her? Je

Re: The Lucifer Principle - redirect

Beth Benoit wrote: I still think the topic would be good for TIPS but it sounds as if it's going to go off on a religious tangent again.  Sorry everybody! It's alright, Beth, it's not your fault. In fact, maybe we can put all this religious talk to our advantage! Perhaps the Templeton Foundation

Suicide, dentists, and psychiatrists

I think that it was someone on TIPS (probably Stephen Black...that's my recollection, at least) who turned me on to Cecil Adams and "The Straight Dope." Here is a recent column on a topic that may be of interest to some of you. Jeff - http://www.strai

Summer reading recommendations

Somebody wrote: >Whatever happened to summer reading list recommendations? >I guess someone finally saw the light and is no longer >recommending this type of bourgeois (sp) activity. Nope, your spelling is just fine. In fact, it suggests that, at some point in your life, reading may not have be

Brain activity and religious experiences

Given the extent to which religion gets discussed on TIPS in recent years, I thought that some of you might be interested in reading the following article from the current New Scientist. I have reproduced the first few paragraphs below. Jeff --

Re: Classification of OCD

Mark A. Casteel wrote: > Are any tipsters aware of recent research arguing that OCD may be more a > form of a depressive disorder than an anxiety disorder? ... > A student has tried to argue with me that his therapist believes that OCD > is a depressive disorder (I should point out that this stud

Re: Faith-based TIPS? (Transpersonal Psychology)

Jim Clark wrote: > [B]elow are a small sampling of the readily > attainable quotes that critique the methods of science. Having > spent far too much time over the past 20 years reading critiques > of science like this, I can affirm that the challenges are very > deep (although vacuous) Alth

Pavlov never thought of this

Perhaps you can work the following story, from the current New Scientist, into a class discussion on classical conditioning. Jeff --- http://www.newscientist.com/newsletter/feedback.jsp?id=ns228628 14 April 2001 THIS STORY has all the hallmarks of an urban

Belief, Faith, and Science

These discussions about religion that have arisen often on TIPS over the last year or so are always fascinating for any number of reasons. The latest discussion seems to be focused on the instrumental value of religion (specifically, the association of religious belief with moral behavior). Religi

I used to be an idiot

I know. Some of you are thinking, "he USED to be an idiot?" My header refers to the following article. Some of you may find it to be of some interest. I have reproduced the first few paragraphs. The rest can be found at the URL given below. Jeff -

Using the number of Internet hits as data

Jim Clark wrote: >Personally, I am skeptical as to the need for religion in order >to promote moral living, but other far more notable figures than >I appear to believe otherwise. Below is a link to a paper by >David Myers on the subject. >http://www.christianityonline.com/ct/2000/005/6.94.html

Re: class questions

I just got back from the local convenience store where I invested a quarter of my pay check in lottery tickets: just preparing for my retirement. With my "9-commandments plaque" (there's one that I still have some questions about) firmly affixed to the wall next to my computer terminal, I now am r

An update on John Gray's alma mater

Students occasionally ask us about John Gray ("Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus"). Thus, his name has come up on TIPS before. At those times, we discussed Columbia Pacific University, the school where John Gray is said to have obtained his Ph. D. I thought that you might want an update on G

Interesting NY Times book review

For those of you interested in sociological analyses of life in the US--especially those focused on issues of individualism and morality (which are of much interest to me)--then there is a NY Times book review for you: "Have a Nice Life: Alan Wolfe finds that in matters of morality, Americans are

Money & Happiness

I have a student in my intro-psych course who is trying to decide on his career options. While considering this issue, his thoughts apparently wandered to state lotteries, and he began to wonder whether or not psychologists have ever studied individuals who win large lottery prizes. It seemed to m

Walloonphobia--fear of geography

Yesterday, I wrote: > Walloonphobia- Fear of the Walloons. (I don't know what a Walloon is, > but I shrieked when I read the word.) Both Joe Hatcher and Philippe Gervaix informed me that Walloons are French Belgians. This makes sense to me since I also diagnosed myself with Dutchphobia and, geog

Be afraid . . . be VERY afraid

I found a site that lists the terms for hundreds of phobias as well as their definitions (go to: http://www.phobialist.com/). I thought that it might be fun to hand out in your courses when you discuss anxiety disorders. Being someone who suffers from many anxiety problems, I examined the list ca

Re: Random thought on John Edwards

Miguel Roig wrote: > for the true skeptic, > there is no psi involved; that is, psi does not exist. ;-) For the skeptic regarding psi (note that I left out the word "true"), there is no evidence that psi is involved in John Edwards' act. Furthermore, a skeptic regarding psi may argue that, becau

A student is not an input

Here is an interesting commentary on the business model of higher education by Michele Tolela Myers, the president of Sarah Lawrence College. Jeff -- http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/26/opinion/26MYER.html March 26, 2001 A Student Is Not an Input

Re: The myth continues

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Jeff: > Do you know if it's [the cartoon is] available online? > thanks > annette Yes, you can find it at: http://www.cartoonbank.com/cartoon_closeup.asp?pf%5Fid=45285&dept%5Fid=1001&mscssid=0K2LWUDDR6S92M5000GPBQXDM6E6B579 I'm thinking that you may have to register

The myth continues

We have had discussions before on TIPS about the origins of what seems to be a myth regarding the need to drink eight glasses of water per day. For those who may discuss various myths in their courses, you may want to take a look at page 61 of the New Yorker. A cartoon on this page shows a man sit

Ig Noble prize for MRI coitus photos

What a title! Some time ago, I believe it was Stephen Black who mentioned an article by W. W. Schultz, P. van Andel, I. Sabelis, and E. Mooyaart in the British Medical Journal (Vol. 319, 1999, pp 1596-1600) called, "Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Male and Female Genitals During Coitus and Female

Re: The purpose of education

I noticed that my last message was missing an important word, which I have placed in brackets, in the following sentence: >Wisdom should allow one to make decisions "wisely"-- >to make decisions informed by good judgement and a >well-developed [MORAL] sense. Jeff -- Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D.

The purpose of education

I have been thinking about the question posed by Pat Cabe the other day regarding the theme of a speech he is to give at his school's commencement: >I've been thinking that it might be nice to talk about >some of the correlates of obtaining a college education. Some of the possible correlates he

Oliver Sacks on autism

Hello all, In the current issue of the NY Review of Books, there is an article by Oliver Sacks in which he reviews a book written by an autistic person. I have excerpted the first paragraph, but I just noticed that you can get the entire article at http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/WWWfeatdisplay.cgi?

Re: Oliver Sacks on autism

Jeff Ricker wrote: > ...there is an article by > Oliver Sacks in which he reviews a book written [BY] an autistic person I meant to say ABOUT instead of BY. The book was written by the person's mother. Jeff -- Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213 9000 E. C

Re: Correlates of a college education

How about emphasizing the enormously positive effects on the economy of having a group of young people with a great deal of disposable income stuck at school for four years with little to do but spend money (assuming that their studies take up little of their time)? Also, how about mentioning the

Article on evolution and creationism

Here is an article from The Scientist 15[6]:1, Mar. 19, 2001. I send this because of the discussion that occurred recently here on TIPS regarding this topic. Jeff - http://www.the-scientist.com/yr2001/mar/russo_p1_010319.html Fi

Re: pests-l need critical thinking video

Annette Taylor wrote: > So I'd like to know what all of you tipsters and/or pests use for > teaching critical thinking. Which videos have you seen/shown that > were good, and which were not so good. Annette, You can find on the PESTS web site a listing of videos that subscribers have found usef

Re: abnormal psychology

Jim Guinee wrote: > > Jeff Ricker wrote: > > > I have had several students develop psychotic episodes during the > > semester (and sometimes show up for class during them) > > How do you know they had developed a psychotic episode? Doesn't that > sound more l

Re: Abnormal Psychology

Regarding an assignment she gives to students in her abnormal-psychology course, the ever-informative Beth Benoit wrote: >So I often have them select a character from a book or movie (preferably >with an obvious diagnosis, such as Glenn Close's "Fatal Attraction" >character, who was a borderline,

Re: Abnormal Psychology

Beth Benoit wrote: >I worry a lot, when teaching abnormal psych., that having the students >attempt to apply abnormal psychology concepts to themselves can be >dangerous. They don't have the expertise, of course, and they're very >vulnerable. My comments are somewhat tangential to the original

Re: Nobel prize; psychologists [and others]

Dap Louw wrote: > I'm looking for info on psychologists who have made important > research contributions . For example, as far as I know two trained > psychologists have received the Nobel Prize: Roger Sperry for his > split-brain research, but I don't know who the other person and > what his

Re: Student goals, expectations

Back on Feb. 21st, I sent a post to TIPS relevant to this thread. Among other things, I said the following: >One thing that has struck me this semester is that many of my students >seem to take little pride in their work in my courses. I began to wonder >about what it is that causes us to take pr

Preventive lobotomies?

Last night, a student mentioned that a previous psychology teacher ("Professor Bob") had told his class that, during the 1940s, people without any mental disorder sometimes had lobotomies done as a sort of preventive measure--or perhaps to improve their mental functioning, I wasn't sure from her d

Re: Brain-Net

It sounded to me as if this was a form of patterning therapy, but I am not sure. If this is a form of "patterning," then yes, there are reasons to be very wary: "Patterning is a series of exercises designed to improve the 'neurologic organization' of a child's neurologic impairments. It requires

Re: Student question

The infamous Dr. Nanjo wrote: "Is it true that when someone is asked a question and they look up and to the left, that they are accessing the visual cortex of their brain indicating that they are telling the truth, and that if they look up and to the right that they are accessing the creative sid

RE: Pride in Education

Louis, This answer is much more useful to me. Thank you for sending it. I accept your apology and understand that you meant no offense. I am sorry if I misunderstood your original intentions. Jeff Ricker -- Original Message -- > Dave, thank you for your words. I can understand what

Pride in education

One thing that has struck me this semester is that many of my students seem to take little pride in their work in my courses. I began to wonder about what it is that causes us to take pride in something. It seems to me that we take pride in something when we consider it to be a valued activity--wh

Re: psychology vs philosophy

Philippe Gervaix wrote: > The definitons given have all been given in the singular, as though there > was one recognised and admitted definition of what psychology and what > philosophy is. It would be clearer to me if we admitted that the > definitions given are those of scientific psychology on

Psychic parrot

The following is from Michael Shermer's e-skeptic list. I send it because the subject of the "psychic parrot" recently came up on TIPS. Jeff E-SKEPTIC MAGAZINE FOR FEBRUARY 14, 2001 Copyright 2001 Skeptic magazine, Skeptics Society, Michael Sherme

Re: Cheesy debate

Oh, no!! I'm having a paradigmatic identity crisis! I am a boomer (born 1957: rock on, dead Elvis) and the parent of a 12-year-old daughter. You would think that this is all you'd need to know about me to know where I stand on the issue of "The Nurture Assumption." Blaming my daughter's genes

Re: The 5% solution

I received several replies to my post yesterday, both on- and off-list, that contained references. I thought that some of you might be interested in getting the complete list. Thanks to all who responded; and especially to those who provided the following references (Paul Smith, Ken Steele, and S

Re: Netiquette and introductions

Stephen Black wrote: > While introductions are interesting and welcome, there`s nothing > either in the the TIPS guidelines (see the TIPS website at the > url in my signature file) or in our general practice which > requires this. Many of us (ahem!) have never done so. So the > blunder concern is

The 5% Solution

I just finished reading a paper by Camac (1995) titled "Public perceptions of psychology" (an interesting paper: I recommend it). In a section in which she was discussing difficulties that arise in the teaching of psychology, she mentioned a finding reported in Ellis & Rickard (1977): "Even if we

Re: mind/body/spirit

It seems like ages ago that Kitty Jung posted the following message: >A student looking towards research in mind/body/spirit >asked which universities would be best for her to apply >to in terms of who(m) is doing the most work in this area. >I suggested doing a focused web search in the meantime

Re: Alzheimer's question

The infamous Dr. Nanjo wrote: Does aluminum in drinking water really have an effect on Alzheimer's?  Does it effect ACH levels?  Or is it a myth that the environment can have much to do with this disease? There is an article on Alzheimer's in the December issue of the Scientific American. I read

An educational premonition?

I am reading a book by Walter Gratzer (2000) called "The Undergrowth of Science: Delusion, Self-deception and Human Frailty" (Oxford University Press). In a chapter on Lysenko and Soviet "science" of the Stalin era, Gratzer gave an example of one of the effects of the promotion of pseudoscience (a

Re: teaching brain parts/functions

Marcia McKinley-Pace wrote: > I'm preparing for next semester and am trying to figure out how I want > to present brain parts and functions. In the past, I have lectured > (briefly) about this and then asked the class to play neuroscientist and > identify damaged brain parts from Sacks' work. T

Cross-cultural Abnormal Psychology

Joe Hatcher referred me to an interesting textbook called "Social Psychology: Exploring Universals Across Cultures" by F. M. Moghaddam (1998). The text integrates cultural issues well with the traditional subject matter of social-psychology courses. I wondered if there might be a similar kind of

Head Physician

A couple years ago, a question was asked about whether or not the head remains conscious for a time after an execution by beheading. David Likely provided an example from the history-of-psych textbook by Hergenhahn. The other day, an article from the New Scientist was posted on the BP/BNnews list.

Re: Professor (?) Freud

Stephen Black wrote: > The actor who plays Freud has lines which I'm certain are taken > verbatim from his writings, although there are no references. At > one point the video has this (exclusive transcription I've just > made exclusively for the benefit of TIPS): > > Voiceover: > > It was not un

If only there were extra credit for everything

I know that I haven't been a very good teacher this semester. I've been having some personal problems, my car got a flat tire just before an important lecture, I graded one of the tests after drinking a few glasses of wine, and, well, I guess I just wasn't trying as hard as I could have. Is there

Re: Professor (?) Freud

David Likely wrote: > History Question: Was Freud a Professor? > > It's long been textbook wisdom that some professions, > including the academic, were "closed to Jews" in Austria > and other European countries in the 19th century. That's > why Freud, a relatively poor man, took a medical degree

Re: culture-bound mental disorders

Jean Edwards wrote: > Does anyone have any info regarding culture-bound mental disorders? I've > found TKS, Koro, and Windigo but would like a few more examples. Any help > would be appreciated. The DSM-IV has a glossary of culture-bound syndromes that begins on page 844. There also is a good bo

Re: office hours

Dr. Joyce Johnson wrote: > 2) Arrange the office furniture so that the student's (visitor's) chair is > on the same side of the desk as the teacher's (authority's) chair. Be aware > that the desk is seen as a fortress or barrier. Place the desk in such a > position that it does not separate you

Historical and cross-cultural course

Hello, I have been off of TIPS for the past few months because I have been very busy this semester; but I have rejoined and will remain here for the forseeable future. For various reasons, I am thinking of designing a course, tentatively entitled "Psychology in Other Times and Cultures." A very

Brahms and sleep apnea

An interesting example of a possible case of sleep apnea to discuss in any courses in which you cover sleep disorders: "Brahms' Lullaby Revisited -- Did the Composer Have Obstructive Sleep Apnea?" Mitchell L. Margolis, MD, FCCP, From the Pulmonary Section, Philadelphia VA Medical Center and Hosp

Re: Yawning and its function(s)

The infamous Dr. Nanjo wrote: > 1) What exactly is the role of yawning in the course of human physiological > functioning? Is there any truth to that "yawning is contagious" business? According to Baenninger (1997), yawning probably functions to increase arousal in situations of low stimulation,

Here I go again

I constantly am disturbed by what I see to be a conflict in the goals held by many of us teachers, on the one hand, and many of our students, on the other. As we have discussed in the past, many students are in college because they have been told that this is the path to a career that will give th

Memetics: Pro and Con

In the most recent issue of _Free Inquiry_, there is a brief article by Susan Blackmore arguing for the usefulness of the concept of memes and a second, even briefer, article by someone else (I left the issue at home and I don't remember his name) arguing against the usefulnes of the concept. For

Tickling question

Dr. Nanjo wrote: > Is there any comprehensible explanation available for why it is impossible to tickle >oneself? Not that I am aware of. There was an article last summer in the American Scientist by Christine Harris entitled "The mystery of ticklish laughter." One possibility that she conside

Re: sneezing

In order to get to the page that Mike Kane mentioned, you'll need to add an "l" at the end of "htm,": http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_304.html There are also a couple of other interesting columns on sneezing at this site: (1) Why do I sneeze after every orgasm? http://www.straightdope

Research on happiness

Stuart Mckelvie wrote: > You may or may not be > aware of fellow-tipster Dave Myers work in this area (see his > introductory text, book on the psychology of happiness and recent > contribution to the American Psychologist special issue. He shows > that when income level and subjective happiness

[Fwd: observational learning]

Dan Willingham had difficulty sending the folowing message to TIPS Jeff Ricker Jeff tried to send this to the list and it got bounced back. . . Marc Hauser's book "Wild Minds" has a chapter full of interesting cases of observational learning, including the classic of of

Re: Observational learning (and those damned cetaceans confuse me)

I see that I was wrong: I believed that the number of species having the ability to learn through observation was fairly small. Probably a vestige of my desire to believe in some version of a "chain of being," with us, of course, being near the top (just below the angels). Thank you all--Susan Mo

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