Top Down Processing

A demonstration of top-down processing from South Kent School cafateria,

Psychology Classes Examine Abnormal Behavior

"At the end of the year, instructor Mr. Stan Vylet has a week called Psychology Week, where abnormal behavior is studied. In this particular week each student had to video record himself doing some kind of abnormality somewhere on the South Kent  campus."       (Zachary Brown)

Demonstrating "abnormal behavior" is the students' favorite class activity. Click the link below to learn more about "abnormal psychology week."

http://www.cardinalnewsnetwork.org/south-kent-community/psychology-classes-examine-abnormal-behavior/

Did You See That?!

Hidden camera & Chris Hansen.

 

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Teaching High School Psychology: AP Psychology Exam - Last Minute Items - 2013

Teaching High School Psychology: AP Psychology Exam - Last Minute Items - 2013

General Information:

• Monday May 06, 2013 in the afternoon
• Bring pencils with erasers and blue or black pens
• Bring a watch that does not beep
• Do not wear any psychology related clothing
• Do not bring anything else: books, papers, calculators, cell phones, etc.

Multiple Choice Section:

• 100 multiple choice questions
• 70 minutes
• 2/3 of the overall grade
• A-E Answers
• Names, charts, graphs, drawings are all possible
• There is no 1/4 point adjustment for guessing, if you are not sure about a question, take your best educated guess after using process of elimination

Free Response Section:

• 2 required Free Response (essay) Questions
• 50 minutes
• 1/3 of the overall grade - 1/6 of grade for each question
• Points are given for correct responses not taken away for incorrect material
• Points can only be removed if one part of an answer contradicts another part
• Read through both questions before doing anything else
• Think through the answer before starting to write
• Write an outline or notes in the test question booklet
• Don’t be afraid to cross something out, if needed
• Write in sentences - DO NOT OUTLINE OR BULLET YOUR ANSWER.
• Be as complete as possible, but keep to the point.
• Watch the time. Don’t get caught short on essay #2
• Structure the answer following the structure of the question

Test Security:

• Do not discuss the multiple-choice section with anyone
• Do not discuss the free response questions for 48 hours. The general rule of thumb is wait until the questions have been posted on the College Board website
• Do NOT post, text, email etc. anything about the exam on the Internet, especially on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks
• Do not come and visit me between the multiple choice section and free response section

Please feel free to leave any other ideas in the comments section below. Best of luck to everyone.
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Re-blogged from: teachinghighschoolpsychology.com

'Quietest place on earth’ causes hallucinations

I have come across the following video and article by Nguyen today and had to re-blog it. It is difficult for me to even imagine how quiet this anechoic chamber in Orfield Laboratory really is. I wonder about the connection between such chamber and let's say being imprisoned in a solitary confinement. Prolonged exposure or stay in both conditions seems to have negative impact on a human being.

"While we all can appreciate getting some peace and quiet every now and then, you might be surprised to learn that there’s only so much of it the brain can take.
That’s what scientists have discovered based on the reported experiences of those who have spent some quality alone time in Orfield Laboratory’s anechoic chamber, a room that’s so soundproof, it’s officially listed as the “Quietest place on earth,” according to Guinness World Record."

(by Tuan C. Nguyen)

Click Here For Full Article

Dying to Be Thin

Anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders are on the rise. What can be done to help those who are suffering? (Aired December 12, 2000 on PBS) 

This spring, as we discuss psychological disorders, we will place a higher emphasis on the issue of eating disorders than we have in the previous years. Aside from all other relevant information about eating disorders, my aim is to look at the impact of various cultures and the world that we live in, on what we do and the choices we make. This PBS story is an excellent way for students to start thinking about this issue, and others related.

A NOVA Production by Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. for WGBH/Boston © 2000 WGBH
Educational Foundation and Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.

Are We Wired For Mobile Learning?

"Because of the proliferation of new technologies, the younger generation today is outgrowing traditional forms of education – remember pencils, chalkboards, textbooks and graphing calculators? Whether we are in the car, on the train, at work, or in a classroom, mobile technology in particular is giving us the ability to learn on-the-go. See the infographic below to learn why we are wired for mobile learning, and how we can use mobile technologies to educate ourselves."  (Voxy on 02/22/11)

Via: Voxy Blog

Lying is common at age two, becomes the norm by three

"They're too young to need to fib about lipstick on their collar or even their unfinished homework but a new study finds the majority of three-year-olds are already practising liars. Deception in very young children has been documented before, but this is the first time it has been systematically tested in a laboratory." (by Christian Jarrett BPS Research Digest)

CLICK THIS LINK FOR FULL POST

Re-blogged from BPS Research Digest

Not All Naps Are Created Equal

     According to preliminary data from the 2013 South Kent School Sleep Study, the right nap in the middle of the day serves many cognitive and health benefits. Evidence from recent studies on the topic also shows that the opposite is true. Not only can brief sleep episode of non-REM sleep help improve memory, alertness, and decision making, but excessive prolonged napping can result in drowsiness, memory loss, and other cognitive impairments (Tucker, 2006). 

A graph showing that those 15 students (in red) who regularly nap for a period of 25- 60 minutes wake up refreshed from their nap, while those with longer naps report fatigue and signs of sleep inertia. 

   At South Kent, many of the students' naps  tend to exceed the recommended 25-45 "power nap" minutes, and last over an hour. Typically, when a student wakes up from a 90+ minute nap, he will likely experience sleep inertia-- grogginess, disorientation, confusion and fatigue. These symptoms are characteristic of just having experienced slow moving delta waves of stage 3, stage 4, and eventually faster waves of REM sleep (rapid eye movement), during which dreaming takes place. 

     The South Kent psychology class has collected wide range of "sleep" data from majority of students on campus. Students' naps in particular were a major focus of the study as many students take regular naps during the academic week. As we predicted, although well intended, some of these mid-day naps do not seem to serve their purpose of rejuvenation. 

     If a student taking a nap enters stage 3 and stage 4 of deep sleep, he probably did not experience enough, or adequate stage 3 and 4 sleep during the previous night. Having several nights of insufficient deep sleep with REM cycles, the student's body will accumulate a sleep debt. This sleep debt will make itself known the next day, as the the student dozes off in class or fights to stay awake throughout the day. Finally, when nap time comes, the body will compensate for last night’s lack of deep sleep and REM by entering the very stages of deep sleep during the nap, waking up some 90 minutes later relatively tired. 

How to take a healthy "power nap"

- A good nap should be approximately 25-45 minutes.
- You should feel refreshed upon waking up from 25-45 minute nap.
- You typically should not dream during a 25-45 minutes nap.
- You should only be in stage 1 & 2 (fast moving Alpha Waves).

Unit 7B- Cognition Flash Cards

The Strange And Curious History of Lobotomy

"It's 75 years since the first lobotomy was performed in the US, a procedure later described by one psychiatrist as "putting in a brain needle and stirring the works". So how did it come to be regarded as a miracle cure? Deep in the archives of London's Wellcome Collection, that great treasure trove of medical curiosities, is a small white cardboard box. Inside is a pair of medical devices. They are simple. Each consists of an 8cm steel spike, attached to a wooden handle."These two gruesome things are lobotomy instruments. Nothing sophisticated," says senior archivist Lesley Hall. "It's not rocket science is it?"These spikes once represented the leading edge of psychiatric science. They were the operative tools in lobotomy, also known as leucotomy, an operation which was seen as a miracle cure for a range of mental illnesses." 

(By Hugh Levinson BBC News, 11/8/2011)

Click this link for the rest of the article

Psychoanalyzing 10 Popular Halloween Costumes

"Think that French maid costume is meaningless fun? Psychologists say it tells us something about you On any other day of the year, a French maid is just a French maid. Batman, just Batman. But on Halloween—she's sexually repressed and flaunting her inner vixen. He clings to fantasies about being an all-powerful superhero. Indeed, experts say our Halloween costumes often aren't random choices. They reveal hidden personality traits, reflecting our inner urges on the one day it's okay to abandon societal rules and regulations."

By Angela Haupt, October 23rd (www.health.usnews.com)

Click this link to the rest of the article

How the mere presence of a mobile phone harms face-to-face conversations

"You sit down for a chat with a new acquaintance but before you're even started they've placed their phone carefully on the table in front of them. Why? Are they waiting for a call? Do they just enjoy marvelling at its chic plastic beauty? Either way, a new study suggests this familiar habit could be interfering with our attempts to socialise." (Research Digest 9/24/12)

Click here for the full article 

The Marshmallow Study Revisited

"You've no doubt heard of Walter Mischel's Marshmallow Test and its followup study, which examined the relationship between delayed gratification (the ability to resist the temptation to eat a marshmallow right away with the promise of more if you succeed) and overall life success. Celeste Kidd, a U Rochester doctoral candidate, has published a paper in Cognition challenging Mischel's findings, arguing that children from more unpredicatable circumstances may choose the single marshmallow because they have a rational basis for suspecting that the experimenter is lying to them about the additional marshmallows that await them if they follow instructions." (Doctorow, C 10/11/2012)

Click here for the rest of the story

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Make Your Own Brain Hat

This was really a fun activity for the class. Something different, more hands-on and enjoyable. In terms of learning the parts of the brain, they know them well. No boring lecture/power-point necessary this time. Sometimes it might be good to just let them figure it out. I found this idea on Pintrest. Click the below link to enter the original site with instructions on how to make these.

Click this link for instructions and more info