Article 1

The Science of Psychology

     Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Behavior is any action that other people can observe. While cognitive activities (mental processes) include thoughts, memories, dreams and perceptions. Psychology is a social science. Social sciences study the structure of the human society and the nature of the individuals who make up society. Psychologists are most interested people’s emotions. Emotions can affect an individual’s behavior or mental processing. Many psychologists are interested in research. They look for the factors that lead to certain behaviors or mental processes. Others consult, meaning that they give therapy to people wanting to change their behavior to be able to meet their goals.

       People have always been interested with what is going on in our minds, so psychology has been around since ancient times. In Ancient Greece Plato who was a student of Socrates recorded a phrase that would influence psychology for many years. This phrase was “Know thyself.” Socrates believed that we could learn a lot about ourselves by using what psychologists now call introspection. Introspection means “looking within” and it consists of examining our thoughts and emotions. Aristotle who was a philosopher and Plato’s student raised many questions of the human mind that are still discussed today. Aristotle showed how experiences remind us of past experiences, how the face of a loved one brings so much security and how thought can lead to ideas as we dream or day dream. He stated the laws of associationism which are still of massive importance to psychology today. Ancient Greece was a time of prosper for science yet other eras were not. In the Middle Ages people believed that mental problems were caused by “demonic possession”. “Tests needed to be done to prove a person was possessed, like chaining them up and throwing them in a lake. If they floated, they were possessed and burned at the stake. If they sank they were innocent but they would drown.

(Woman in the Middle Ages being put in the Water-float test for “witchcraft”)

       The 1800s were the birth of modern psychology. Most historians believe that psychology became a science in the year 1879. Wilhelm Wundt was one of the era’s great psychologists. He was the founder of structuralism which is divided into objective sensations and subjective feelings. Objective sensations are what we perceive from the outside world and subjective feelings included emotional responses and mental images. William James was a professor at Harvard University and he was one of the founders of functionalism who studied how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment. John B. Watson was the founder of the school of behaviorism and strongly believed that psychology was the study of observable behavior. B.F. Skinner was a Harvard University psychologist who strongly believed in behaviorism. He added to it by introducing reinforcement which stated that humans learn to behave in certain ways because they are reinforced to. Sigmund Freud was the most famous of the early psychologists and was the founder of psychoanalysis which looks at the unconscious motives that determine human behavior.

(Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis)

       There are many modern perspectives of psychology and these perspectives approach different topics. One of them is the biological perspective, which looks for the connection between biology and behavior. The evolutionary perspective studies the evolution of mental processes and behavior and how some behavior is hereditary. Cognitive perspective emphasize on the role of thoughts on behavior. It has roots based on structionalism and on Socrates’ “Know thyself.” The humanistic perspective emphasizes that we humans have the great capacity to make choices. That we are not mechanical and that humans also have the capacity for self fulfillment and importance of consciousness. The psychoanalytic perception stresses that there is a big influence of unconscious forces on human behavior. Many of these psychologists follow Freud’s ideas. Finally the learning perspective stresses that experience affects behavior. They emphasize of the importance of the environmental influences on a person. The social learning theory states that people can change their environment or make a new one.

       One of the most interesting perspectives is Sociocultural perspective studies the connection of ethnicity, gender, culture and socioeconomic status to behavior and mental processes. Ethnicity is a kind of diversity that unites people who are members of the particular ethnic group by common cultural heritage, race, language or history. Gender roles are also widely studied by sociocultural theorists. People’s behavior and aspirations can be affected by gender roles because of the complexity of cultural expectations and social roles. Sociocultural perspective is one of the best perspective because it also has features of the other two main social sciences; anthropology which studies cultures and sociology which studies society.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Article 2

Methods of Psychology

      Psychology is a social science that focuses on an individual’s mind. It is considered a soft science for drawing conclusions instead of finding certainty. Psychology is still an experimental science no matter if it is a soft one. Therefore it must follow the steps of scientific research. There are a variety of methods used by psychologists to study mind and behavior. Many of these methods differ in great amounts but they still use similar steps to apply these methods. These steps are what form scientific research.

       There are seven steps to scientific research and the first one is coming up with a research question. An example is why are Siamese fighting fish so aggressive? Aggressiveness is a psychological construct which means that it is present but cannot be measured. The next step is forming a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an educated guess which can be tested by research. An example is, “If fighting fish are aggressive, then they will attack each other.” Testing the hypothesis is very important in this process. No matter how good or convincing a hypothesis sounds, it cannot be verified or proved correct if there are no tests that prove it correct. A way to test the fish hypothesis is to place a mirror in front of the fighting fish and see if it attacks its own reflection. Now scientists look at their results and think about what they meant. This step is analyzing the results. In the experiment the reaction of the fish had to be analyzed. Based on this conclusions were drawn, the fish was in a defensive position. Finally the experiment must be replicated, meaning that it must be repeated and show the same results for it to be verified. In this case the testing with the fish would have to be repeated or furthered. Two fish could be placed in the same bowl and see if they attack each other or not.

(Siamese fighting fish and it’s reacting to its reflection)

       A very popular way of gathering information is the survey method. In a survey people are asked to answer a series of questions on a subject. It is a very effective way to gather information from the general public and it is also a quick way of getting information. A problem with surveys is that a person may or may not be completely honest when answering the questions. The people that are being asked are part of the target population which is the group that researchers want to study. It is impossible to interview every single person in the target population so they ask a sample which is the group of individuals they are asking. There are problems that come with surveys. One of them is generalizing results. Researchers cannot draw conclusions on preferences of all people if they only study or ask a group of people. Of course it would be unpractical or impossible to ask all people so researchers must be careful when displaying their results. Another problem is volunteer bias which is that the volunteers participating may have a different outlook than people who do not volunteer for research.

       The six methods of observation are more research tools that can be used by professionals. One of them is the testing method which is several types of tests (intelligence, personality, etc) which are used to determine certain behavior, abilities, traits, etc. The case study method  is a very popular method among researchers. A case study is an investigation of a certain group or individual.  Case studies are based on interviews which may affect the results because of dishonesty of the subjects or because individuals cannot remember certain details. The longitudinal method is in which researchers select a group or individual and study them for a long period of time, many of these studies last years. This is the disadvantage to this method, it is very time consuming. The opposite of the longitudinal method is the cross sectional method. In this method instead of studying individuals over a period of years, researchers study samples of different age groups. The disadvantage to this is that individuals differ in many different other than age. Researchers study people or animals in their natural habitat with the naturalistic observation method. This method allows researchers to observe how people or animals act in their natural life or habitat, the problem is that they have no control over the setting. This method has an opposite which is the laboratory observation method. Here the environment in which subjects or animals are being observed in is artificial. Its benefit is that the researcher has absolute control of the setting but no artificial setting will never be the same as a natural one.  To analyze these observations correlations are used. This is a measurement of how one thing is related to another. Correlations can be positive or negative correlations.  A positive correlation is the need for achievement and salaries. As one goes up, the other goes up as well. A negative correlation is stress and health. As one goes up, the other goes down.

       An experiment is when subjects receive a treatment and researchers observe how this treatment affects their behavior. Participants being introduced to a new drug are an example. Experiments have variables which are factors that change. The independent variable is the factor that is manipulated to determine its effect, while the dependent variable depends on the independent variable.  In the tested groups there needs to be an experimental group to actually test the treatment and the control group for comparison.

       Ethics play a big part in psychology. There is a standard set of ethics that psychologists follow to protect the dignity of the individual. When dealing with people, psychologists treat records and clients with confidentiality because of people’s right to privacy. This may be broken if the individual reveals plans to harm others or him/herself. Informed consent is when people agree to participate in research and are fully aware of the conditions. Sometimes though an experiment cannot run without deceiving the subjects, for example in some drug experiments subjects can be told that they are taking an actual drug but they are actually receiving fake pills or vice versa.

       As a science, psychology runs many experiments by many different methods. Something is discovered everyday by simply asking a question and then taking the right steps to find the answer. The first steps are always the universal scientific method but there are many ways to research, observe and test these questions.  Psychology is not a science like biology or physics but it tests, verifies or falsifies hypothesis and theories just like any other science.

Article 3

The Biological Perspective

       One of the many perspectives in psychology is the biological perspective. This perspective is all about the biological part of psychology. It deals with how the brain functions but more importantly how our brain influences our behavior. Psychologists who are oriented to this perspective look for connections between brain activity and human emotions, behavior, mental processes etc. By studying the brain we can understand where our behavior comes from. For example some behavior is transmitted genetically or a person started behaving differently after an accident and it turns out that they had damages a part of their brain. Thanks to the biological perspective many theories about mental processes, medical conditions, behavior and even the brain itself have arisen.

       The nervous system is the control center of our body. It controls every movement whether is voluntary or involuntary, our mental processes, our actions and everything that we do. The nervous systems cells are called neurons which are messenger cells. Neurons send impulses all over our body and it is estimated that we have more than 100 billion neurons. An impulse inters the neuron through its dendrites which are like branches that spread out to the axon terminals. The impulse then travels along the axon and the message goes to the axon terminals where it is passed to the dendrites of the next cell. The nervous system is divided into the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system includes the spinal cord and the brain. The peripheral nervous system is outside of the central nervous system and it transmits impulses from the central nervous system out to the rest of the body. There are many parts of the brain all of which have a different ´purpose. The hind brain holds the medulla which is responsible for involuntary actions like breathing and heart rate. It also holds the pons which is responsible for body movement and the cerebellum which is responsible for balance and coordination. Then there is the midbrain which contains the reticular activating system who’s involved in attention sleep and arousal. The forebrain contains the thalamus which transmits sensory information. The hypothalamus is also in the forebrain. The hypothalamus is involved in behavior and many psychological functions. It also regulates body temperature. The limbic system is what controls learning, memory, emotion, hunger sex and aggression. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It is 70% of the weight of the brain and its surface is called the cerebral cortex.  This part of the brain is divided in two hemispheres and what connects them is called the corpus callosum. The hemispheres work in opposite ways meaning that the left brain controls the right side of the body and the right brain controls the left side of the body. Each hemisphere is divided in four parts which are the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and temporal lobe. The primary visual area is located in the occipital lobe. The hearing/auditory area is in the temporal lobe. Skin senses are projected by the sensory cortex and the motor cortex is in the frontal lobe. The association areas are in charge of problem solving, making plans and decisions. The left and right hemispheres are very different and can perform different functions. Language abilities lie on the left hemisphere. There are two key areas for language, the Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. Damage to either of these areas can result in serious language disabilities. As mentioned before both hemispheres are very different. The left brain is associated with logic, language, problem solving and mathematical computation. The right brain is associated with imagination, art, feelings and special relations. There are many methods to study the brain, one of them is studying brains that have been in some kind of accident. Another is electrical stimulation of the brain which is used to show functions of specific areas. The electroencephalogram is a device that records the electrical activity of the brain. Scans are used to show images of the brain. There are many types of scans like the CAT scans and MRIs.

               (Anatomy of the Brain)

       Glands are what control our hormones. There are a variety of different glands throughout the body. The most important gland is the pituitary gland. This gland controls growth and the development of all the other hormones. The thyroid gland affects the body’s metabolism, this is possible because this gland produces thyroxin. The adrenal glands are located in the kidneys. They secrete cortical steroids which increase resistance to stress. The testes (male) and ovaries (female) produce male or female sex hormones. Finally the pineal gland controls our wake/sleep patterns. Heredity and genetics are very influential to psychology. A simple example is how behavior like shyness or aggressiveness can be inherited as previously mentioned in this article.

       As previously mentioned one of the ways of studying the brain is accidents. Some interesting cases have lead to discovery of sources of psychological problems and have helped understand the mystery that is our brain. One interesting case is the Phantom Limb case. In this case the individual had his arm amputated after an accident. After the amputation he claimed to feel pain in his missing arm. Another interesting factor of this case was that whenever he touched his face he would also feel something on his missing limb. Neurologist Ramachandran came up with the theory that since the sensory area of the face is next to the sensory area of the arm the area of the face took over the area of the arm because it was “hungry” for stimuli. This theory was shown to be accurate by doing a scan and detecting that the sensory area of the face was a lot larger than normal since it had taken over the sensory area of the arm. Another interesting case is the Kapgra delusion (which is in the same documentary as the first) was a patient who was in a car accident. He seemed not to have brain damage and didn’t have abnormal behavior. Yet he started saying that his parents were impostors, that they weren’t really his parents. What was happening was that he couldn’t find an emotional connection with his parents. When we look at something it goes to the occipital lobe and then it goes to the amigdala. Here is where we do any emotional connection we have to the object or person. In the accident the patient had damaged this part of the brain so when he looked at his parents he did not feel the emotional connection. Therefore his brain reasoned that those people were not his parents, they were impostors because he couldn’t find the emotional connection. This was proven by a lie detector, a photo of his mother or father was shown and the detector did not detect any emotion in him.

       The brain has 100,000,000,000 elements. This means that the human brain is the most complex thing in the whole universe. The brain the organ of which we know least about. There are people living perfectly fine with only half a brain yet there are people who are permanently psychologically damaged because of an injury to a small part of the brain. Our brain’s biology is very important and it is the key to solving numerous psychological mysteries.

(Dr. Ramachandran) 

Article 4

The Power of Perception

        We all live in this world. To live in it we have to feel it, we have to sense and perceive it. Our senses tell our brain what is going on around us. Sensation is when the sensory nerves are stimulated and the information is transmitted to the central nervous system. These stimulations are transmitted by light (vision), sound (hearing), chemicals (taste and smell) and physical (touch). The process by which the brain interprets the sensory stimulation is called perception. Without sensation or perception our brain wouldn’t be able to interpret the world. We wouldn’t be able to see, hear, feel or even communicate with each other. Perception does more than tell us what is around us. Perception allows us to see patterns, motion and can even trick our brain with illusions. Our whole world is technically an illusion. Perception just makes it more realistic.

       There are five basic senses in the body which are vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. All of these have a specific stimulus like electromagnetic energy, sound waves, chemical substances in the air, chemical substances in the saliva and pressure on the skin. These senses also have an absolute threshold which is the weakest amount of stimulation that can be sensed. Some examples are a candle flame viewed 30 miles away on a dark night or the ticking of a watch from about 20 feet away in a quiet room. It is amazing that our brain can detect small changes in our environment but it can also differentiate small changes. An interesting illusion is the image of two squares on top of each other, on seems lighter than the other but in reality they are the same color. Because of the position of these blocks our brain tricks us into thinking one is darker. The difference threshold is the minimum amount of difference that can be detected between two stimuli. An example is differentiating two boxes that are blue but one is slightly darker than the other. Our brain is also capable of ignoring stimuli by a method called the signal detection theory in which the most important stimuli is focused on and the unnecessary stimuli is ignored.

(The five body senses)

       Vision is the sense that gives the most information to the brain than the other senses.  The colors that we see are light waves that reflect an object. In the human eye light travels through the pupil to the lens and then it is reflected onto the retina. When it reaches the optic nerve it sends the information to the brain. Photoreceptors are neurons sensitive to light which also take the information to the brain. Unfortunately not all of us have the ability to see, in the documentary there was a man who was blind but used other senses to see. What he did is that he would make a click sound which would bounce off whatever was around him therefore he could technically see what was around him. This is a technique that bats are known for doing.

       There are fifteen rules of perception which help us organize what we perceive. The first is closure which is the tendency to perceive a complete figure even if there are gaps in what your senses tell you. An example in the documentary was when they had the actors act scenes in special suits that would only show a bunch of dots. Most people were able to recognize the dots were people because of the position of the dots and their motion. Figure ground is what we perceive versus what we perceive as a background. A universal example is the image that seems like two people staring at each other and a vase at the same time. Proximity is to associate an object with another.  A great organization method that the brain uses is similarity which is the thought of similar objects belonging together. Then we have continuity which the organization of perceptions. This allows us to see smooth patterns. Common fate is to perceive that objects that are moving together belong together. An example is a group of joggers running in the same direction. One assumes that they are running together and that they are going to the same place. Movement is the perception to see an object change its position relative to other objects. Movies are a collection of photos that are progressing so rapidly that they appear to be moving. This is the illusion of stroboscopic motion. Depth is to perceive how far away something is from us. An illusion usually done in paintings is monocular cues which are when objects are farther away to make the illusion of depth. To perceive an objects size no matter how far away the object is, is called size constancy. To differentiate shadows and colors we have color and brightness constancy. When looking at a door from different angles we get the impression that the door is different sizes but shape constancy helps us know that an object is only one shape no matter the angle that it is in. Finally visual illusions are basically the brain tricking the eye or any other sense into sensing something else.

(The illusion of color)

        Perception is what allows us to live in a world full of illusions. Without perception we wouldn’t be able to do absolutely nothing. Our perception helps us get around and it also reflects learning expectations and attitudes. Without perception we would have nothing to interpret our senses and that is the same as feeling nothing.

Article 5

Meditation Experience

       Meditation is a method that has been used for centuries in many different cultures. The purpose of meditation is to unlock and journey into the depths of the unconscious mind. This can be accomplished by focusing on peaceful and repetitive stimuli such as soothing sounds and not being disturbed by the outside world. In class we listened to a recording that would help us meditate. It was a woman with a soothing voice who was saying instructions that we had to imagine. This was accompanied by peaceful, soothing and repetitive sounds that would stimulate the brain to meditate.

       At first I didn’t feel anything. I simply started a journey feeling relaxed as I walked down a pathway. The experience of walking down a pathway and finding magical objects was fascinating though. The pictures were very clear in my head, at some points I even felt I was really there. The place was completely magical and I was building it little by little according to my likes. What fascinated me the most out of this experience is how realistic the different lights that shone upon me were. I was curious the whole time, I wanted to go further into the journey, and I wanted to know what else would happen. The feelings involved here confused me. For the most part I felt relaxed and curious. Yet in some parts I don’t know exactly what it was I felt. This happened every time there was a light shinning upon me. It was a mixture of being careless and light. In the first light I felt no joy, yet I wasn’t sad or anything like it. In the violet light I did feel something close to joy and excitement and in the green one I felt at ease. When I was with my “guardian” I felt safe and all the other emotions I felt when under the lights. I really don’t know what to make of what I felt or what I saw but I would defiantly try meditation again to try and find out what to make of everything I felt.

Article 6

Mysterious Consciousness

       We are aware of everything that is around us. Right? There are many things that we don’t detect. Many things that we don’t know are there, many feelings, many thoughts that we have no idea about. Our brain can detect many things that we don’t even notice.      

       Consciousness is a psychological construct meaning it cannot be measured. Other psychological constructs are intelligence and emotion. Most regularly conscious is defined by awareness. One has to note that there are many different types of awareness. Selective attention is to focus on a particular stimulus. This makes our senses keener, for example selective attention allows us to pick out the speech of a person in a loud party. There are three levels of consciousness. The first is preconscious , these are ideas are ideas that we are not aware of at a moment but are able to be recalled later. The unconscious level is for the most part unavailable to awareness or it is “hidden” from us. Finally the non conscious level is what many of our biological functions rely on like blinking or breathing. Sleeping is what we call an altered state of consciousness, in which a person’s sense of self or sense of the world changes. Our dreams can take us to numerous worlds and adventures and it is all happening in our mind. There are five stages to sleep. Stage 1 is light sleep where it is believed that dream like images occur. After that we go to stage 2, 3 and 4. Stages 3 and 4 are what we call deep sleep. The final stage is called rapid eye movement or REM. Its name comes from the fact that our eyes move rapidly during this stage. It is here where we have our most vivid dreams. Other altered states of consciousness are meditation in which people narrow their consciousness so that he stresses of the outside world fade away. Biofeedback is a system where information is received of what is going on in the body. People who do this are usually ones training to control a body function like heart rate. Finally hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness during which people respond to suggestions and behave as though they are in a trance. Other ways to experience altered states of consciousness are through consciousness altering substances.

(Stages of sleep)

       Consciousness altering substances, most commonly known as drugs are very popular. There are three categories and of these substances; stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens. Stimulants are physically addictive and like the name says it, they stimulate the brain. Substances like caffeine, nicotine and amphetamine are stimulants. Depressants are also physically addictive and substances that fall into this category are alcohol, heroine and opium. Morphine (which is used as a pain killer) is also a depressant. Hallucinogens are their own category. Unlike the other substances, they are not physically addictive. Popular substances that fall into this category are marijuana and LSD.

(Stimulants and other Consciousness altering drugs)

       Throughout history humans have been obsessed with hallucinogens. Hallucinogens for religious purposes are most common. An example is the Native American church which uses peyote (a cactus) for a religious use. They are not the only ones, Brazilian religions such as the Santo Daine and the Unio Vegetal use a hallucinogen called Ayuahuasca which stimulates the production of DMT, a chemical produced by the pineal gland. The Mayans and Aztecs used magic mushrooms to have religious/ divine experiences. In the 20^th century psychologists were interested in the effects of hallucinogens. Some could imitate psychological disorders which would help psychologists understand the disorders and help the patients through it. It was also discovered that hallucinogens were able to cure alcoholism. Today since substances like LSD are illegal, experimentation is under tight government control and there is only 10-15 experiments allowed. Psychedelics like LSD are used to “expand the mind”. LSD imitates the brain chemical serotonin which is a neurotransmitter. This stimulates perception, emotion, appetite, etc. LSD can be a cure for cluster headaches (many times worse than a migraine). Albert Hofmann, the creator of LSD, was looking for a cure for headaches when he invented it. It has also been observed that LSD can increase the creativity of the user and have good personality changes. For example, LSD was given to a group of senior students and then had them solve a problem that they had been working on for months. They were able to solve those problems because they readdressed them in a fresher more relaxed way. Why is LSD illegal then? One of the reasons why it is illegal is because it was stolen from the lab and given to thousands of people which created a social revolution that no one had seen before. People were simply abusing the drug.  Also it is very unpredictable. A dose of LSD can send the user to paradise or give the user “a trip to hell”. This is why there is strict government control over experiments, because even experts don’t know for sure what will happen when a dose of LSD is administered.

(Albert Hofmann, the inventor of LSD)

       There are positives and negatives when it comes to the use of Consciousness altering drugs. Who wouldn’t want to get out of this world and experience a psychedelic experience that would expand the mind? A small dose can send someone to whole other worlds, have divine experiences and even push up their creativity. Hallucinogens can even help psychologists understand disorders a little better. Like when LSD was injected in rats and they started to mimic schizophrenia, this could eventually lead to a cure for schizophrenia. The problem with these substances is that they are abused by the population. Nothing in excess is healthy and this is why most of these substances are illegal. In my opinion hallucinogens are something that could help our society scientifically.

       Our brain is an adventure. We can visit other worlds by simply going to sleep or stimulating it with ether a technique or a substance. There are many different mysteries hidden in the depths of our unconscious mind. We may have the meaning of life hidden in there and we may not even know it.   

Article 7

Methods of Learning

       What is the most important capability of a human being? Learning. We learn things since we are babies. We learn who our parents are, we learn how to walk, we learn how to talk, etc. Even animals have the ability to learn. You can teach a dog to sit or roll on command.  There are many methods and concepts that deal with learning which shows that humans and animals can learn in many different ways.  Another way to refer to learning is conditioning. Classical Conditioning is a form of learning in which a stimulus calls forth a response. A classic example of classical conditioning is how dogs salivate when they see meat. If a bell is rung when the meat is being served, then the dogs will learn to salivate when they hear the bell. Another common learning method is operant conditioning. This is where people or animals learn to do things, or not to do things, because of the results that they would get. An example is littering. If a person litters, then they have to pay a fine (punishment). Therefore the person will no longer litter. Some learning we do by ourselves, for example observational learning. In this method we learn by simply looking at what others are doing. A normal example is when you are in class and you are not sure what to do, to get an idea you look at what your partner is doing. Finally latent learning is learning that remains hidden until we need it. For students a good method of learning and studying is the PQ4R method which helps students get the most out of the readings.

(Example of Classical conditioning)

       Skimming or previewing a chapter is really helpful to get an idea of what the chapter is about. By reading subheadings and bolded words I understand some of the main concepts of the reading. By skimming through the sections I picked up bolded words like “reinforcement”, “generalization” and “discrimination”. If I wouldn’t have read the chapter before I would have easily picked up the idea of reinforcement and a picture on how reinforcement is used as a method of learning. Previewing will make it easier to ask questions about the reading. Having the main idea of the information is always good so that one can pick up the details when one gets to the stage of actually reading.

       Previewing has not only helped me understand the concept more clearly but has also helped me go through the reading faster. By knowing the main concept one just picks up the rest of the details while reading. It is also easier to read something that you somewhat know about which can be done by simply skimming through a chapter.

       Asking or writing down questions about the reading is another way for you to get through the reading faster and for you to comprehend better. It is easier to learn when we already have questions that we will answer as we read. A good way to do this is looking at the headings or at the first sentences in paragraphs. This is a simple way of coming up with simple questions about the reading. Reading bolded words is also helpful to come up with questions.

      Questions can be very useful in some cases but not in others. In this case some of my questions were: what is classical conditioning? What is operant conditioning? What is the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment? In this case I could have understood the reading without having to ask questions. To me questioning is more effective in more complicated readings. It depends on the difficulty level of the reading or the amount of comprehension on the subject. I had also read the chapter already so I knew the answers to these questions.

       Reading the chapter is the next step. Now that the chapter has been previewed it will be easier to read through it. Also if you asked any questions, answer them as you read. Taking notes is also very helpful while reading. Just write anything that you might forget or that you think is really important. Read carefully to make sure you understand completely.

       To make sure that the reading was understood reflect on it. This is a good way to remember the content of the reading. As you read create mental images and example of the information given to you. One way to reflect is to relate old information with new information. You can also relate information to your own personal life. You can also relate it to someone else’s life.  For example you can relate classical conditioning to something that you or a friend experienced.

    Reflecting is a very helpful method to memorize information. Creating images in my head that relate to the topic or remembering past experiences is very effective. The more you can relate to a topic the easier it will be to learn it.

       For memorization, reciting is a very effective method. One is more likely to remember something when he or she says it out loud. It is like children learning the alphabet by repeating the alphabet song. Repeating a key word out loud will help a person memorize it better.

       Reciting is very helpful for me especially for studying. It is a simple way to memorize something quick. Sometimes it is very easy to learn something when it is said out load. Putting a little tune to it always helps so it can stick to your head.

       Finally review. Learning can take time and to learn something well you have to reread it, and repeat the content. A simple way to study is to review the material constantly and according to your schedule. This will help the information stick in your head and also reduce the amount of study time right before the test. Another great way of reviewing is quizzing yourself or have a partner quiz you to see what information you know and what you don’t know.

     Reviewing is the way to make sure you have learned the material. Before a test it is very important to review. To me it has proved very helpful to learn things that I missed in this chapter.

       Learning is a crucial part to our society. Whether it is training a dog to catch a ball, a child learning the alphabet or a medical student studying for exams. Without the ability to learn humans never would have been able to build the society we live in. Our brain can learn in many ways and there are plenty of methods of learning. Thanks to these methods we obtain more knowledge and with more knowledge we obtain a more prosper life.

Article 8

Unlimited Memory

       Our whole lives we base ourselves on memory. We need to remember to turn assignments in, remember things for a test or project, remember things for our job and even remember our parents. Memory is the process by which we recollect prior experiences and information and skills learnt in the past. There are many kinds, stages and processes of memory. There are also many ways we can forget things and many ways in which we can remember them. There are many tools and methods to improve our memory and prevent us from forgetting things.  Without memory we wouldn’t know any events, information, and skills.

(Human memory at work)

       There are three types of memory. The first is called episodic memory. These are memories of a specific event like the thing what you ate for dinner or your last quiz. Some events are so important that we remember them like a photograph. These are called flashbulb memories these are very detailed. The second type of memory is called semantic memory which is our general knowledge and unlike episodic memory we don’t remember when we acquired the information. For example you may know the alphabet but you don’t remember where or when you learnt it. Episodic and semantic memories are examples of explicit memory which are things that are clear or clearly stated. The last kind of memory is implicit memory which is the opposite of explicit memory. Here things are implied and not clearly stated, throwing a ball, skipping a rope or swimming are examples.

Like in kinds of memory there are three processes of memory. The first is encoding which is the translation of information into a form in which it can be stored. Like computers our brain stores the information. After the information is encoded it must be stored. Storage is the second process of memory and it is the maintenance of the encoded information. Finally retrieval is the last process which consists of locating the stored information and retrieving it to conscious thought.

       We cannot remember everything that happens around us. Our brain can only perceive and process so much information. Remembering something depends on how it passes through the three stages of memory. The first stage is sensory memory which consists of the initial recording of information. To remember it a person must take measures to remember it because a visual stimuli stored in the sensory memory can decay within a second. Images that we store in our memory are called icons and they are stored in the iconic memory. Our sensory register is called echoic memory and unlike iconic memory, echoic memory last longer. It is always easier to remember a little tune than an image on a card. To remember information it must be passed from the sensory memory to the short term memory this is the second stage of memory and we use this to remember names, phone numbers and addresses along with other basic info that only stay in your memory for a limited amount of time. Finally we have long term memory. In long term memory we encode things which means we translate them so that we are able to store them. Since they are kept in our long term memory we can just recall it since we already have it in our brain.

       It can be easy or hard to remember something. Even if it is easy we always have to do some effort to remember something. On contrast we have to do little or no effort to forget something. We have small slips of the mind constantly. We forget to do homework, we forget where we leave things, and we forget names and addresses and many more. However there are other forms of memory loss. Amnesia is severe memory loss which is divided into four. The first is dissociative amnesia caused by a psychological trauma. The second is infantile amnesia which is how we usually don’t remember anything before the age four years old. The third is anterograde amnesia which is caused by physical trauma to the brain.  Finally there is retrograde amnesia which is forgetting the period leading up to the traumatic event.  There are also many methods one can use to improve one’s memory. One of them is called drill and practice which consist of repeating information over and over till the brain has memorized it. Sometimes this method can be tedious and inefficient for some.  An effective method is relating to things you know. By relating information to past experiences we are more likely to remember it. Then there is to form unusual associations with the information which like relating it to past information increases the ability to remember it. In a memory game presented to us by our classmates, we had to remember sets of initials. To remember them I used unusual association which proved to be very useful because not only was it easier to remember them but I obtained better results than when I didn’t use it.

(Representation of amnesia)

       Our memory is crucial for our daily lives. It is also very mysterious and there is no limit of memory that we know of. We can forget things in the blink of an eye and we can remember the smallest of details for years. We live off our past experiences, we live off our memory. If we were to lose even a slight part of our memory, it would be really hard to stand up and continue the life we lived.

The Stages of Life Article 11

       We live our life at the moment. But have we ever wandered, how do we develop from a little baby, to an adolescent, to an adult? There are stages to our life that we will all go through and that will someday end. Also do we think differently in all of these stages or is it always the same mentality? Our lives pass in front of us in the blink of an eye. So the best is to enjoy every single one of these next stages.

       We start our life in our infant days. Then we move on to our sweet and dearly remembered childhood years. Specifically during these stages of life we experience maturation. This is the automatic and sequential process of development. For example, the older we grow we experience maturation in height and weight. We also have reflexes as motor skills. A reflex is an involuntary reaction. Babies for example have the Babinski reflex which makes their feet fan out when their soles are touched. Other than physical development, children go through social development. Here they learn to relate to other people. For example, a toddler is able to play by himself even when there are other children around. But as he grows, he develops social skills and starts playing with other kids. In addition to social development there is also cognitive development. Piaget’s theory if cognitive development was inspired by the wrong answers given by children. He theorized that children’s thinking developed in stages. The first is the Sensorimotor stage, in which infants learn to coordinate sensation and perception with motor activity. The second is the Preoperational stage here children start learning symbols and language. Then they enter the concrete-operational thinking. Here they start showing signs of adult thinking, yet they are only logical about specific objects. At this stage they cannot understand abstract concepts. Then in the last stage, which they hit in about puberty, they can finally think abstractly. This stage is called the formal-operational stage. Other than Piaget there is also Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development. The first level is the preconventional level in which what they believe is “good” is what helps them avoid punishment. Next is the conventional moral reasoning level, here moral values are made by acts of conformity or what the society deems as good. Then there is postconventional reasoning in which the moral judgments of a person are reflected by their own personal values.

       Adolescence can be the most joyful or the most miserable days of our lives. Here we experience sudden growth spurts and reach the point where we develop sexually or hit puberty. Not only are there biological changes but also changes in the home and psychological changes as well. The teens have more adult-like responsibilities but are still dependent and are not fully responsible. Parents are usually afraid that peer influences may lead their child into delinquency or drug abuse but in reality peer influence usually leads to more positive aspects like good grades. In this time of their lives, teens reach an identity crisis in which he or she examines his or her values. To add to the list of changes adolescents face there are also many challenges like eating disorders, substance abuse, juvenile delinquency and sexuality.

       Finally we reach adulthood, but do all of our troubles vanish from here? No, there are still challenges that individuals have to face in their young, middle or late adulthood. First in young adulthood there are many things that one needs to adjust to. There are more responsibilities. One has to learn to live with someone else, maybe to marriage and even parenthood. Then we have middle adulthood. This is where the famous midlife crisis kicks in. this is a period of reassessment that someone reaches in their early 40s. This is a time where one becomes an “expert” at what they do and it is considered a period of creativity. Finally one reaches late adulthood. Here, like in young adulthood, one has to adjust to many things. One is the fact that one is aging and another is accepting the fact that one is going to die. When one is at this stage they are more prone to disorders like Alzheimer’s which a condition of slow deterioration of mental processes is.  

Young and old adult.

       Our lives pass our eyes at an incredible speed. One day we are a young teenager and the next and old man. And then someday we realize that we are not immortal and that someday we will die. And finally that day comes.

Article 10

What is Intelligence?

       We all plan and hope for a successful future. Most of us think that getting there requires time, effort, responsibility, and intelligence. But, have we ever stopped ourselves and thought, “what is intelligence?” Is intelligence really the kid in class that gets straight As or is it something else? Does achievement have anything to do with intelligence? Is there a specific factor that determines if someone is intelligent or not? All these questions have circled around the minds of experts in the past century but even today there is no real concrete and specific definition of intelligence because of all the different theories and opinions.

       There are many theories to what influences intelligence and what intelligence is made up of. Many psychologists agree that there is more than one type of intelligence. Psychologist Charles Spearman labeled two types of intelligence, g for general intelligence and s for specific intelligence. This is known as the two factor theory. Other psychologists like Howard Gardner suggests that there are multiple intelligences. These are a list of talents or abilities which are referred as intelligences because they are very different from each other. Gardner proposes that each intelligence is independent from the other unlike other psychologists who believed that the combination of certain abilities is what made up intelligence. Gardner’s theory is called the theory of multiple intelligences.

(The multiple intelligences)

       Everyone wishes to know just how intelligent we are. Over the years intelligence measuring tests have been developed. One of them is the outdated Stanford-Binet Scale in which explored different age levels. It was expected that intelligence increased with age and that older children would have to answer questions of higher difficulty. Another intelligence test that is still used this day is the Welchsler Scales and it differs greatly from the Stanford-Binet Scale. It measures both verbal and nonverbal abilities and its scores are not based on age.

       In my opinion everyone is intelligent in one way or another. There are multiple intelligences and everyone’s talents or abilities fit into at least one category. People don’t have to be geniuses to be intelligent.  To me intelligence cannot be measured completely, the most accurate tests are the ones who measure which type of intelligence we have.

       There have been debates whether nature or nurture influence intelligence. To me they are both dependent on each other. It has been shown that direct family members have similar IQs but also that adopted children have similar IQs from their adoptive parents. In my opinion, if an “intelligent” gene is passed down to a child but the child grows up in an environment where it cannot learn then that gene won’t work. If a child doesn’t have an “intelligent” gene but grows up in a healthy environment where it can learn, then the child will still be “intelligent”.

      We all see intelligence as a virtue. But have we ever stopped and thought what intelligence really is? Is the scientist more intelligent than the artist? The answer is that probably both of them are more intelligent than the other. They are more intelligent than the other in certain areas. Intelligence doesn’t really have a concrete definition and maybe knowing all the answers is not really intelligence.

Thinking, Problem Solving and Language. Article #9

        Throughout our lives we communicate to the outside world in many different ways. The world is also communicating to us in various ways. Since we are young we are taught the meaning of symbols, language and how to solve problems. As we develop, as we gain experience we acquire more knowledge. Sometimes we are gaining experience and solving problems by doing the simplest of things.

       The skill that we all perform throughout our existence is thinking. The mental activity we call thinking is the understanding, processing and communicating of information. We have the capacity to think thanks to symbols and prototypes. A symbol is something that stands for something else. Our world is literally composed of symbols. The most obvious examples of symbols are the symbols in our numerical system or our alphabetical system. We know that the symbol “A” stands for the sound “aaah” or that the symbol “3” stands for a specific quantity. Another example can be any object like a pencil. The object is not really a pencil. It is something we use to write. We gave it the name pencil and “pencil” is only a set of sounds coming out of our mouth. We will always refer to it as a pencil but the object itself is not a pencil. We think of concepts or ideas all the time and when we imagine a concept or idea a certain picture comes to mind. This is what is called a prototype or an example of a concept that best exemplifies it. Think about a shoe, when you think about it what kind of shoe do you see? Is it a boot, a heel or a sneaker? Whatever it is that is your prototype or example of a shoe.

(The mental activity of thinking.)

       Daily life is composed of problems. There are always problems anywhere you go. This is why problem solving skills are very important to succeed in almost anything. Through experience people learn that different problems are solved in different ways. A way to solve a problem is by using an algorithm which is a specific procedure that, when done properly, will always come up with the solution. A simple example of an algorithm is a mathematical formula like. If used correctly, this formula will always lead to the correct answer. Algorithms though can be really long and tedious. Heuristics on the other hand are quicker than an algorithm but unfortunately will not always lead to the right solution. Some problem solving methods like trial and error are not only algorithms but come instinctively. When we are given a bunch of keys to open a door but we don’t know which key it is, we try key by key and if one doesn’t fit we just try another one. This is an example of trial and error. A heuristic problem solving method is means-end analysis. Here we know certain things we do will have a certain result. Working backwards is like means-end analysis. Here the problem is broken into the difference is that now the person is looking at the final goal first. One of the best ways of solving a problem is following the ABCDs of problem solving. A is to assess, B is to brainstorm approaches, C is to choose and approach, D is to do it and E is to evaluate the results.

       All our lives we are taught to communicate with others. Communication is made possible by language. Language is defined by communication of ideas through symbols that are arranged according to the rules of grammar. There are three stages in which we develop language. The first is crying, cooing and babbling. We do this when we are infants as they are basic human abilities. They are not considered an official language because it lacks the use of symbols. However these are effective ways of verbal expression. After babbling, children start learning actual words. Most children learn their first set of words slowly. Then comes development of grammar. Children just starting to understand language only use the words essential to communicate. As their language develops they start using sentences containing two or more words. When this happens they start imitating their parents on grammatical rules. For example, adding an “s” to make a word plural or an “ed” to make it past tense.

       Communication is crucial for human existence. We are surrounded by symbols that have been created and modified for several years so that communication would be easier. We wouldn’t have been able to create the magic that is language without thinking and problem solving. The modern society that we live in is the product of these three factors.