Re: Internet graphics, new!
Harry, This is the answer to the prayers of many of us. What a great site! Thank you for sharing it with us. A quick reminder to some of us who need S-I-M-P-L-E directions: on the page that opens after you click advanced search, go below the section labeled Advanced Web Search to the NEXT section of the page that's entitled Image Search (Beta). THAT'S where you'll find Harry's Gold. (Harry essentially gave these directions, but not quite as simply as my non-space-oriented brain could easily follow. At first I first typed in my search in the first section. Don't search there. Scroll down to the next section.) Trust Harry, there's gold in them thar hills. Happily downloading great graphics, Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire on 9/24/01 5:46 PM, Harry Avis at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Google.com has a section that is new to me. Go to the advanced search and there is a section for graphics (a beta version) Ihave typed in depression, brain images, and others and have gotten startling results. Google apparently searchs all the web sites for gifs etc and posts them. I haven't played with using boolean logic or refining my search terms, but 10,000+ hits is sure to lead to a few gems. When you click on the sites listed you get the photo, cartoon, gif or whatever highlighted at the top. There is a disclaimer that the picture might be copyrighted. I have a real difficulty with copyrighting material posted on the internet for all to see but not use. Regardless of your scruples this is an incredible site. I have also looked up brain cartoons, psychology cartoons etc. Harry Avis PhD Sierra College Rocklin, CA 95677 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Life is opinion - Marcus Aurelius There is nothing that is good or bad, but that thinking makes it so - Shakespeare _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
Re: video disk players
Title: Re: video disk players Try eBay. and be sure to use both possible spellings of disk/disc. (A trick I've learned on eBay.) I just checked and found five players offered using disk and 13 using disc. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire on 8/9/01 3:42 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi: We just decided that we love the video disk that comes with the Myers intro text. This disk is about the size of an old 33rpm record. We have one player for disks of this size in our building and would like to suggest the purchase of another. Are players for these disks still available? Are these disks the same as VCD's? Thanks for your help! Joe Joe Horton Psychology and Social Sciences Department 7373 Admiral Peary Highway Mount Aloysius College Cresson, PA 16630 (814) 886-6437 [EMAIL PROTECTED] HEAR ME http://www.pagoo.com/signature/bbenoit3
Re: expected salary?
Title: Re: expected salary? Jessica, I'd bet my sheepskin that you can put any amount you want, but your salary is already figured out. As an adjunct (which is what it sounds like you'll be), you'll find there's a set fee with a tiny bit of wiggling room based on your experience and degrees (Master's vs. Doctorate). Here in New Hampshire it's between $1500 and $1800 per course for an adjunct. (Just preparing you for sticker shock.) Probably a good idea to call the school and find out what the salary range is. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire on 7/29/01 6:46 PM, Jessica Percodani at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello out there, Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should put on an application asking for expected salary to teach one, 3-credit class (probably intro to psychology) at a community college in NJ. This will be my first professional teaching experience. The only other experience I have had is that of a teaching assistant for one semester. I am currently a first year Clinical Psy.D. student and will have my masters degree in counseling psychology by the time of employment. Thanks, Jessica [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Misconceptions about abnormal psychology
Title: Re: Misconceptions about abnormal psychology The four that come immediately to my mind are about schizophrenia. First, the confusion of schizophrenia with multiple personality disorder, or more appropriately, DID. (Students are often quick to argue that schizophrenia means split brain as though that proves it means MPD.) Students probably can't be blamed, since the media use the adjective schizophrenic so frequently to imply there are two ways of looking at things or that a person is duplicitous. The second is the mispronunciation of schizophrenia. (Maybe that will engender another TIPS discussion as did the earlier one of neuron buttons/boutons.) Third is the concept that people on the street/homeless are usually schizophrenic. This is always a good example of critical thinking, since once students factor in the possible effects of sleeplessness, fear, hunger, depression, substance abuse and the necessity for carrying all your belongings with you, they see the homeless in a different light. (Of course the rates of schiz. and other mental disorders are believed to be higher for the homeless, but the last I recall it was closer to 30%.) And fourth is the assertion that schizophrenia can be cured with medication. This isn't surprising coming from a generation that was raised to believe there's a pill for everything. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire on 7/21/01 1:21 PM, Jeff Ricker at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 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. 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 HEAR ME http://www.pagoo.com/signature/bbenoit3
Re: Suicide rates/availability heuristic
Title: Re: Suicide rates/availability heuristic Stephen Black addressed this issue recently on TIPS, so maybe an archive search will turn up the answer. In lieu of that, I believe he quoted the Cecil Adams, the genius of information in the inimitable Straight Dope, so I went back to the source. Here it is: From Cecil's Mailbag by the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board What occupation has the highest suicide rate? Dear Straight Dope: Do you know which occupation has the highest suicide rate? Is it prison guards, by any chance? Or psychiatrists? There is an urban legend, recently repeated on Seinfeld, that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession. This is false. I recently spoke with a public affairs representative at the American Dental Association. They actually did a study on the subject, and found the rate among dentists is about the same as the population as a whole. Prison guards seem to be a likely candidate, since they exist in a rather depressing environment. So do psychiatrists, since as a group, they seem to border on insanity. So which is the correct choice? --Richard A. Koris, Washington, DC SDSTAFF CKDextHavn replies: Well, it hasn't been easy to track this one, and I'm not sure I've got a definitive answer. Let's start by noting that suicide statistics are questionable at best. Many suicides are classified as accident to spare the family from publicity. So the statistics are only a rough indication. I easily found statistics on the Internet about suicides by age, region, gender, and race, but very little about occupation. Actually, since suicide is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. among those age 15 to 24, probably the answer is student, but I don' t think that's what you're looking for. I called the library of the Society of Actuaries, thinking they'd know. The librarian said she used to work at a large psychiatric library, and that about 8 years ago, the answer was psychiatrists/psychologists/related. However, she couldnt quote me a source or cite a statistic, except what she says she knew. A study of 24 states reported data on causes of death by occupation, for people ages 20 to 64, from 1984 to 1988, and came up with physicians, health aides, and food batchmakers as the three highest. Food batchmakers are at the top but only by a small (statistically insignificant) margin. Psychiatrists weren't reported separately from other physicians. I'm not sure exactly what the numbers below mean, perhaps suicides per million of active population: Food batchmakers (241) Physicians (222) and health aides (excluding nursing) (221) Lathe and turning machine operators (199) Biological, life and medical scientists (188) Social scientists and urban planners (171) Dentists (165) Lawyers and Judges (140) Guards/sales occupations were tied at 139 Tool and die makers (126) Police, public servants (118) So, I'd say, it's still pretty ambiguous. --SDSTAFF CKDextHavn Straight Dope Science Advisory Board
Re: When it flows and when it stops
Actually, it's usually the other way around: early puberty = late menopause and late puberty = early menopause. I have a source somewhere if you need it. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire From: Weisskirch, Rob [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 11:46:19 -0700 To: TIPS (E-mail) [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: When it flows and when it stops TIPSizens, Does anyone know if there is a connection between onset of menstruation and onset of menopause? That is, if you go through puberty early, does that mean that menopause will also occur early? Thanks, Rob Weisskirch Rob Weisskirch, MSW, Ph.D. Department of Child and Adolescent Studies California State University, Fullerton P.O. Box 6868 Fullerton, CA 92834-6868 (714) 278-2896 http://faculty.fullerton.edu/rweisskirch
site for community educational psych.
Just found an exciting site to use in my community psych. class. I'm going to take the class into the computer lab to play with this site. This site contains a special project that asks educators to visit a 1960s-style school building gutted of all relics of industrial age learning. The goal is to establish a resource of innovative ideas of what school should be like and what students and staff should be doing to bette prepare to build children's competencies for the future. (description from Dalton, Elias Wandersman's Community Psychology text) Here's the site http://www.landmark-project.com/ncsh Beth Benoit University Systems of New Hampshire
melatonin = immune system boost?
Worth a quick mention when teaching about sleep: that we need darkness to help our immune systems work. In the meantime, I'll try to do a little research (in the absence of Stephen Black) to see if the studies that brought this story about are valid: http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/darkness_wnt010517.html Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire
Re: melatonin = immune system boost?
Title: Re: melatonin = immune system boost? Sounds like this isn't new research. (I guess it just recently caught the attention of ABC news.) Still, I'm thinking about turning off my LED clock, pending my having the time to read the following abstracts... Many papers were presented in Koeln, Germany at a symposium: http://www.uni-koeln.de/symposium2000/ Low frequency EMF, Visible Light, Melatonin and Cancer International symposium May 4-5, 2000 University of Cologne, Germany Organized by: Institute and Policlinic for Occupational and Social Medicine Director: Professor Dr. med. Claus Piekarski Dr. med. Thomas C. Erren ( Deutsch ) The University of Cologne's Institute and Policlinic for Occupational and Social Medicine hosted a two-day international symposium on Low frequency EMF, Visible Light, Melatonin and Cancer in May of this year. Experts from various countries discussed new developments in research on possible relationships between exposure to electomagnetic energy, melatonin and cancer. Our objectives were to bring together leading specialists from clinical, experimental laboratory and epidemiological studies of these issues; to stimulate a critical, multi-disciplinary discussion of consistency and apparent contradictions in published and new results; and to identify aspects requiring further research. Proceedings on the first day concentrated on the hypothesised effects of the electrical components of EMF, and of light, on the development of cancer. Discussion during the second day focussed on the much researched topic of low frequency (50/60 Hertz) magnetic fields. A noteworthy feature of the proceedings was the relaxed, frank and constructive interchanges between scientists from 14 countries. In our view, there is insufficient evidence at present that low frequency magnetic fields affect cancer risks in humans. Strong experimental evidence linking exposure to light with impaired melatonin secretion on the one hand, and reduced melatonin levels with cancer on the other, needs to be investigated more explicitly in epidemiological settings. Results suggesting that the importance of the electrical components of EMF may have been underestimated in the past have yet to be replicated, and the idea could be explored further in future epidemiological studies. We are particularly grateful to the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) and the North-Rhine Westphalian Ministry of Education, Science and Research (Ministerium für Schule und Weiterbildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen) for financial support, and to the Lieselotte und Dr. Karl Otto Winkler Foundation for Occupational Medicine for providing grants enabling young scientists to participate in the symposium. Our sincere thanks go to the editor of this journal for providing his multidisciplinary readership with abstracts of fourteen presentations and four summary assessments by Drs. Reiter, Horrobin, Portier and Stevens. We look forward to continuing these discussion of an important topic in occupational and environmental medicine. Dr. med. Thomas Erren, M.P.H. Professor Dr. med. Claus Piekarski Abstracts of papers Abstracts Reiter RJ Historical account of the research related to EMF, melatonin and cancer Stevens RG The melatonin hypothesis: circadian disruption and breast cancer Henshaw DL Electric components - missing link between EMF and cancer? Brainard GC Light effects on melatonin Bartsch C Melatonin and cancer: experimental and clinical aspects Feychting M Reduced cancer incidence among the blind in Sweden Verkasalo PK Visual impairment and cancer in Finland Erren TC Winter darkness in the Arctic - Cancer in the light of the melatonin hypothesis Löscher W Laboratory studies on magnetic fields, melatonin and cancer Anderson LE Problems in replication of experimental studies Funk RHW ELF-MF (B=100µT) affect the microvesicle velocity and expression of adhesion molecule CD44s in rat astrocytes Erren TC Meta-analysis of EMF-studies: breast cancer Ahlbom A Meta-analyses of EMF-studies: leukemia and brain cancer Schüz J German case-control study of childhood leukemia and residential magnetic fields Summaries of proceedings Abstracts Historical Account of the Research Related to EMF, Melatonin and Cancer Reiter RJ. Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center; San Antonio; Texas USA. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] There are several questions that must be answered when research related to the biological effects and potential health consequences of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposures are evaluated. The tenets of the melatonin hypothesis rely on the fact that artificially generated EMF suppress the product of endogenous melatonin and this reduction increases the likelihood of cancer. The two questions that must be answered
re: Bullying, homophobia, moral relativism, and rabbinical wisdom
Stephen Black wrote: I guess I'm missing something. The argument that both sides will be fortified by evil methods implies that evil can be unambiguously identified. It can't. One side believes that action A is evil and its converse B is moral. The other side believes the reverse. They can't both be right. And as long as there exists no universal agreement on what constitutes evil, then the Lucifer Principle can't be applied. Stephen's last sentence sums up the dialectic problem here. I didn't think we resolved that evil is an absolute. Until we decide on that one, there's probably no agreeing on anything else. I think that evil is in the eye of the beholder. One person's evil act may be another person's unfortunate necessity. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire
Re: Bullying, homophobia, and moral relativism
From: Stephen Black [EMAIL PROTECTED] ...the post on the Christian Coalition provides a good example of the relativity of evil. For members of this organization, it's an act of the highest morality to oppose legislation that would lessen bullying of homosexual children. For them, supporting the act is evil. But for others, it's the position of the Christian Coalition that's evil. So which side do we listen to in applying the Lucifer principle? Both. And a perfect example. The Lucifer Principle doesn't say one side is right or wrong, only that evil may be a survival mechanism. Since both sides want to survive, they will be fortified by evil methods to help them survive. If you're a CC member, having homosexuals survive is against your best interest since they're going to espouse a lifestyle that threatens what you believe in. And if what you believe in is threatened, YOU might be threatened (recall Crusades, witchcraft, etc., etc.). And you can easily reverse this argument for those in favor of the legislation, because at the extreme, those who need this legislation to keep others from bullying them (extreme: killing!?!) need these laws to survive. Perhaps the concept of morality leads us astray here - the Lucifer Principle doesn't seem to be talking about morality (except in the context of some people juding evil acts immoral), but rather that something that might be judged evil (see recent TIPS postings for the controversy on judging what's evil!) may have a raison d'etre: survival. I think it might be interesting to try to get the author of the Lucifer Principle, Howard (not Harold - got that straight after Paul Brandon's slap on the wrist) Bloom to get involved. Worth a shot, eh? I'll get to work on it. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire
re: chalkboard anyone?
Title: re: chalkboard anyone? I always bring extra blank transparencies and use them to write on (using the overhead projector). Since I'm a big transparency user I always have the overhead projector out anyway. I bring a big bunch of the temporary transparency markers so I can erase them and use them again. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire
Re: Lucifer Principle
Title: Re: Lucifer Principle From: Stephen Black [EMAIL PROTECTED] ...as most of us are not Moslem extremists we would probably agree that it would be evil to kill Salman Rushdie. So how would his murder promote the survival of the killer's genes? Easy: if you belong to a group that identifies members of another group as an enemy (in Rushdie's case, those who criticize Allah), then members of your group are more likely to survive particularly if you charge your followers with killing their enemies. Recalling that Moslems were the target of fevered slayings by the Crusaders, it's not actually too much of a stretch to imagine that a we'll get them first philosophy would be a good survival strategy. Perhaps, then, the Lucifer Principle applies only to universal evils, those which everyone in all cultures agree are absolutely abhorent. These are not easy to find. Is infanticide one? Does killing babies promote your genes? Possibly, if you are male, and the baby you kill is not your own. But without access to modern technology, how can you be sure? Killing your own baby is not a good idea, evolution-wise. This thought gave me pause, but then it occurred to me that what is a considered choice for survival can vary from person to person. An example of that is one we use in social psychology all the time. From an evolutionary perspective, what possible function can there be in helping others, especially at the risk of one's own life?... There is an alternative to individual survival. You can also preserve your genes by promoting the survival of those who share your genetic make-up, even if you perish in the effort to help them. (From Brehm, Kassin Fein's Social Psychology textbook) Evil (and by extension, the Lucifer Principle) is not a scientifically meaningful concept. I think it could be as scientifically meaningful as something abstract such as motivation. Of course many scientists criticize Maslow and humanistic explanations for behavior Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire
Movie: Memento
Saw the movie Memento last night and think that it is a must-see for anyone in the field of memory . It's the story of a man whose wife was raped and killed and he suffered a head injury that resulted in his inability to form new memories. He's bent on finding the man who killed his wife but his search is hampered by the fact that he can't remember anything new for more than a few minutes. It's creatively done, though there's a fair amount of violence, so if you're squeemish, be warned - though it's nothing like the violence in Hannibal. Some interesting ethical conundrums. I'd love to hear other TIPSpersons thoughts on it. And there's no religion in it that I could detect. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire
The Lucifer Principle
Title: The Lucifer Principle I've just begun to read a very interesting document, available only online from Barnes Noble (as far as Iknow), and think if others find it interesting, it would be a good new thread. The document is called The Lucifer Principle, by Harold Bloom, and while not a scientific study, is very well documented. The basic thesis is that ... 'evil' is a by-product of nature's strategies for creation and is woven into our most basic biological fabric. Here are a couple of more excerpts to whet (not wet - it's too early in the day) TIPS whistles: Eighteen hundred years ago in the city of Rome, an influential Christian heretic named Marcion took a look at the world around him and drew a conclusion. The god who created our cosmos couldn't possibly be good. The universe was shot through with appalling threads - violence, slaughter, sickness and pain. These were the Creator's handiwork. Surely He must be some perversely sadistic force, one who should be banished form influence over the minds of men... More traditional Christians found another way of dealing with the problem of evil. They created the myth of Lucifer... Mainstream Christians absolved the Almighty of responsibility by blaming all that's wrong on the Prince of Darkness and on man. but in a strange way, Marcion had a better handle on the situation than the more conventional followers of the church, for Lucifer is merely one of the faces of a larger force. 'Evil' is a by-product, a component of creation. In a world evolving into ever higher forms, hatred, violence, aggression and war are a part of the evolutionary plan. But where do they fit? Why do they exist?... The author goes on to posit that ...to dismantle the curse that mother nature has built into us we need a new way of looking at man...a recognition that the enemy is within us [italics mine] and that nature has deposited it there. We need to stare directly into nature's bloody face and realize that she has saddled us with evil for a reason. And we must understand that reason to outwit her. The reason, he feels, is a primitive survival instinct, but it often results in humans behaving in evil ways. BUT our intellects can help us overcome our natural instincts. My husband and I have been discussing the ramifications of this theory for two days. Time for other minds to prevail, or at least have some input! This is the URL: http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?TTL=luciferFMT=ALLEBOOKSuserid=1HC5TZ24TO or, to find this document from scratch, go to www.bn.com, click on ebooks, then on that page, click on mightywords on the left side column. I think you can also enter Lucifer Principle in the title section of the ebooks page, and go from that page to download the Acrobat eReader or other free versions, but Macintosh users (such as I) will only be able to get it to work from mightywords. The cost was $2 per section (there are 9) - just download the first chapter if you're curious - or $9.60 for the whole book. You can then print it up or not. (My Macintosh gave me a lot of trouble. If you are a Mac user and are having trouble, email me and I'll try to talk you through it.) Beth Benoit University Systems of New Hampshire
RE: bystander effect and cross-cultural research
Title: RE: bystander effect and cross-cultural research At the risk of fanning a flame, just a little, I feel I should respond to the following point made by Michael Sylvester, since it was in response to a comment I made: As to attack on opinions,let me say this about that.Some opinions may be based on reliable experiences and observations and inferences based on these should not be discarded... When I compare and contrast cultures,I know what I am noting because I was raised and educated in differing cultures. Come on, Michael, surely you know better than to use one person's (yours) observations as a proof of anything. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire
Re: The Lucifer Principle - redirect
As the originator of this thread, I hope I may have the right (option?) to redirect. Louis Schmier took this thread back on an is there a god? tangent, while I was hoping to see a more psychologically-oriented thread, namely: Is it possible that what we might call evil is actually an inherent part of our biological makeup? And the human part of us (equate with intelligence??) can perhaps reject it. Perhaps this is the ideal of Maslow's self-actualization. I'd hate to be the one who started yet another religious thread on TIPS. But then perhaps an original threader is like a parent. You never know how your children will turn out... Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire From: Louis_Schmier [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: Louis_Schmier [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 13:19:06 -0400 (EDT) To: Beth Benoit [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: TIPS [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: The Lucifer Principle Isn't it curious that when we talk of violence, killing, pain and survival waysin the nature, we call it the natural order of things. When we introduce the same conditions into the human world, as if we were somehow apart from nature, we become judgemental and moralistic, and use terms like evil. Of course, Marcion's adjenda, not being able to reconcile how a perfect and loving God could or would create something imperfect, hence could have the qualities of the perfect Creator, was very selective in what he saw and defined. At the same time, an evil Lucifer, would not and could not create a world in which compassion, love, belief, faith, sympathy, empathy, courage, support and encouragement exists. Such a world would not have the qualities of a fallen creator. Make it a good day. --Louis-- Louis Schmier [EMAIL PROTECTED] Department of History www.halcyon.com/arborhts/louis.html Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA 31698 /~\/\ /\ 229-333-5947 /^\ / \/ /~\ \ /~\__/\ / \__/ \/ / /\ /~\/ \ /\/\-/ /^\_\/__/___/^\ -_~/ If you want to climb mountains, \ /^\ _ _ / don't practice on mole hills -\
Re: bystander effect and cross-cultural research
Interesting statement, Michael. Do you have any research to back up your final sentence? If so, this is an important piece of information to include when covering fundamental attribution error. But if it's opinion, I can't make that statement to a class. Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire From: Michael Sylvester [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 14:33:11 -0400 (EDT) To: TIPS [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: bystander effect and cross-cultural research On Mon, 23 Apr 2001, Ann Calhoun-Sauls wrote: Do any of you have any information on bystander effect research conducted outside of the U.S.? I've checked two Social Psychology texts that have a cultural emphasis (Smith Bond and Moghaddam) and two cultural psychology texts (Cole and Triandis) without any luck. Or - do any of you know of any Kitty Genovese-like incidents that have occurred in other countries? It may not exist in other cultures.The bystander effect may be unique in the U.S -a society influenced by individualism and a growing lack of connecting with other people and an ambivalence about values. The so called Fundamental attribution error can only be observed in a society like the U.S which places emphasis on dispositional attributions . Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida
Classification of OCD
Title: Classification of OCD From: Mark A. Casteel [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Classification of OCD Are any tipsters aware of recent research arguing that OCD may be more a form of a depressive disorder than an anxiety disorder? I'm surprised that this connection isn't familiar as it's been all over the popular press for a while. I'm wondering if it may have started because Prozac and similar meds. work for both. And of course, it may turn out to be true that OCD is a form of depression rather than an anxiety disorder. But I'm learning my lesson to not make a statement without backup, so I went to the NIMH (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/crack.cfm) where they had this to say: Recent Research Findings There is growing evidence that OCD represents abnormal functioning of brain circuitry, probably involving a part of the brain called the striatum. OCD is not caused by family problems or attitudes learned in childhood, such as an inordinate emphasis on cleanliness, or a belief that certain thoughts are dangerous or unacceptable. Brain imaging studies using a technique called positron emission tomography (PET) have compared people with and without OCD. Those with OCD have patterns of brain activity that differ from people with other mental illnesses or people with no mental illness at all. In addition, PET scans show that in patients with OCD, both behavioral therapy and medication produce changes in the striatum. This is graphic evidence that both psychotherapy and medication affect the brain. Can People With OCD Have Other Illnesses? OCD is sometimes accompanied by depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or other anxiety disorders. When a person also has other disorders, OCD is often more difficult to diagnose and treat. Persons with obsessive-compulsive disorder use different brain circuitry in performing a cognitive task than people without the disorder. Rauch SL, et al. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci, 1997:9:568-573. Symptoms of OCD can also coexist and may even be part of a spectrum of other brain disorders, such as Tourette's syndrome. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment of other disorders are important to successful treatment of OCD. I think it's probably very easy for the popular press to confuse coexist with being a form of. I'm still searching for other credible comments (i.e., journals, etc.) Beth Benoit University System of New Hampshire Portsmouth NH campus
re: English as a second language
Title: re: English as a second language Michael Sylvester writes: Btw,has English been declared the national language of the United States? When the Early American Psychologists went to Germany to study under the German Structuralists,did they know German? And when G.Stanley Hall invited the Freudian group to Clark U.did they lecture in English? An example that came immediately to mind is those who decide to attend medical school in a foreign country. (Typically - [perhaps always?] - because they can't get into an American one.) The first thing they have to do is learn the language of the country, which often adds a year to their schooling. Then they attend classes. We know lots of examples. The instructors at the medical schools make no exceptions for their difficulties with the language. And yes, those Early American Psychologists who went to Germany to study under German structuralists (and btw, under Freud) learned German. And when Freud came to Clark University, he delivered his talk in English. I believe Stephen Black directed us to a website with a sound wave track a while ago. (Okay, it was pretty broken English, but he tried!) Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College University System of New Hampshire Portsmouth campuses
A./A. in the movies + a list site
Title: A./A. in the movies + a list site Stephen Black writes: But now I'm wondering about _Shine_, the film about the troubled pianist David Helfgott. Was his problem autism, or was it schizophrenia? The literature that came out at the time of the film maintained that Helfgott still has no diagnosis. And didn't we discuss it on TIPS when SHine came out? (Have never been able to get the TIPS gopher to work, so maybe someone who can might find that info if there's any interest.) The closest I ever heard to a possibility was schizoid characteristics (schizotypal?). (Don't have my DSM-IV here.) Clearly his unorthodox behavior is abnormal. His language distortions and mumbling are interesting. I found this piece about him that might interest TIPS readers: http://www.tranceform.org/helfgott.html The author of the piece takes a Szaszian view that abnormal is in the eye of the beholder, and just because Helfgott marches to a different drummer doesn't mean he should be judged insane. Helfgott certainly makes a good argument for Szasz' iconoclastic view of mental illness. (Or as S. would probably describe it, non-mental illness.) The question got me wondering though, and I found a whole webpage devoted to autism in the movies. Of course we've all seen Rain Man, but of the others I've only seen House of Cards, which was rather bizarre and improbable. The little girl becomes autistic because of grief over her father's death and she gets cured by building a tall structure she bravely climbs. It was pretty weird, but if you're looking for some clips to use that show autistic behavior, it might be a good one to use. But don't waste time showing the whole movie. Here's the site: http://www.autism.org/movies.html For those of you who don't want to look it up, here's a list of the names of the movies: Autism in the Movies Written by Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D. Backstreet Dreams Change of Habit House of Cards Rain Man Silence (also known as Crazy Jack and The Boy) The Boy Who Could Fly Beth Benoit College for Lifelong Learning Daniel Webster College Portsmouth NH campuses
Re: News of the weird
Title: Re: News of the weird Nancy Melucci writes: I just heard a peculiar story on TV earlier today (Spanish news), about a lady who was found to have a worm in her brain, which was eating away at it. Supposedly, it was due to her eating a pork taco in Mexico (she's from Arizona). This was discovered on some medical scanning device. She underwent brain surgery while awake in order to remove the worm. I had never heard of such case like it, so I assume it is rare? It does sound like an urban legend, but according to the ABC news she had neurocysticercosis - a lesion in her brain caused by a parasite common in Latin American countries, found in undercooked pork. She had been sick for 3 weeks after eating the taco. (I was wondering how they could isolate it to one suspicious meal eaten weeks before.) Here's the scoop from ABC news: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/brainworm010410.html Beth Benoit College for Lifelong Learning Daniel Webster College Portsmouth NH campuses
Re: Money Happiness
Jeffry P. Ricker write: It seemed to me that he was asking if big winnings make people happier or more satisfied with their lives; or if, instead, they had such a difficult time coping with the life changes brought about by large winnings that they experienced decreases in happiness and life satisfaction. Does anyone know the answer to his question? Finding happiness and what does and doesn't contribute to it is Dave Myers' forte. He's a TIPSperson. Are you there, Dave? If he's not lurking, I suggest you email him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or find him at his webpage: www.davidmyers.org I've heard him speak on the topic and he's got some interesting information. Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH campuses
Islam questions?
Title: Islam questions? I found the following piece in today's Christian Science Monitor very interesting. It describes a 24-hour hotline for questions about the Koran. With the recent threads about some religions' decisions about things you should do and shouldn't do, thought this might broaden things a bit. Maybe TIPS needs something like this hotline... BTW, for anyone who teaches community or social psychology (or appreciates good writing about national and international news), the Christian Science Monitor is loaded with pertinent articles. I'm not a Christian Scientist, but truly treasure this little daily paper that comes in the mail, M-F. Strong emphasis on news and good writing, and religious proselytizing is limited to two columns - one always in some esoteric language like Icelandic, so it's always fun to look at. I highly recommend... Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH campuses WORLD Need to know if Koran allows soccer? Call Islam Line * The 24-hour service, which answers questions about Islam, plans to go global in coming months. By Sarah Gauch Special to The Christian Science Monitor CAIRO The small man hunches in his pressed gray suit and tie, peering through wire-rimmed glasses at his telephone, as the recorded voice of a younger man rises from the speaker. Is playing soccer forbidden under Islam? the young man asks. No my brother, the game of soccer is accepted by Islam, says the Muslim cleric, speaking thoughtfully but authoritatively into a recording machine. Soccer is one of the sports that gives young men the spirit of cooperation and work ethics. After finishing his answer, Abd Al Moaty Bayoumy goes on to the next call, doling spiritual advice to Muslims he's never met. In this country, where people consult their religion several times a day for guidance, authoritative answers can be as hard to find as Pharoanic treasures entombed in the Giza pyramids. But a new 24-hour hot line called Islam Line makes it as easy as picking up the phone. Islam Line has been so successful since its August launch that the owners plan to expand to the rest of the Arab World, and eventually to Europe and the United States. Just last month it became available to mobile-phone users in Jordan. The hot line, dubbed Dial-a-Fatwa, averages 300 callers a day from men and women of every age and social class. Callers simply dial a number and leave their questions on a recording. Within 24 hours they can call, punch in the number designated for their question, and listen to the answer. The phone service is staffed by six highly respected, moderate clerics trained at Al-Azhar, a thousand-year-old university that's considered the cradle of Islamic learning. On this day, Dr. Bayoumy, dean of theology at Al-Azhar, fields questions such as how to leave a cheating husband and how a promiscuous woman should be treated. Callers asked about divorce, financial dealings, and daily prayers. Until now, many people have relied on religious television call-in programs or a government-sponsored hot line for answers. While the government hot line is free, it's less efficient. Service hours are limited, and answers are sometimes incomplete, prompting some callers to meet with a sheikh in person anyway. But callers say Islam Line offers better service quicker, and from reliable clerics. In Egypt, callers pay 26 cents per minute, and mobile users pay 39 cents. For Jordanians, it's 50 cents per minute. Cherif Abdel-meguid, the project's founder, calls his hot line Islam on a platter - designed for easy access. The best part, he adds, is that callers remain completely anonymous. Religion is a very important aspect of our life. We often refer to our religion three to four times a day to see if something is halal [religiously acceptable] or haram [forbidden], he says. Mr. Abdel-meguid's business partner is Khaled Al Guindi, a young sheikh trained at Al-Azhar. In the coming months, the pair plans to expand the hot line throughout the region. Callers across the Middle East will be able to dial the same number - 1433 - for a direct line to Al-Azhar clerics. Later, Islam Line plans to start exporting religious advice to the Far East, North America, and Europe, complete with translations. Here in Egypt, some traditional Muslims are still warming to the idea of free-market religious advice. When it first started, critics were worried by the idea of profiting from religious advice. But the skepticism has died down since the grand sheikh of Al-Azhar, Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, confirmed his support of Islam Line. A paid service, he said, is legal under Islamic law, or sharia, so long as it's done with both parties' consent. Still, some Muslims think the advice should be offered free or at minimal cost. If there's a charge for religious advice, it shouldn't be expensive, says Rania Hussein, a marketing assistant at a Cairo-based food company. This service should
Christian Science Monitor article URL
Apologies to all - I forgot to include the URL for the article about the "Islam hotline." Since this is a daily archived paper, I'm not sure if the URL will work for longer than today, but here goes: http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/04/06/fp7s2-csm.shtml Beth Benoit
Re: Multiple choice vs. essay
Title: Re: Multiple choice vs. essay Stephen Black wrote: I should also add that marking essay questions is the worst form of academic torture in existence (even worse than attending Senate meetings), a cruel and unusual punishment. Amen to the torture. (And you can quote me.) But additionally, marking essay questions can be so subjective that I dread handing back corrected essay tests. There's always a long line of whiners who insist that I should have somehow known what they meant to say. (And I very seldom agree and make a change, so I don't think I reinforce that behavior, though maybe the seldom is just the problem, as Skinner might assert it's a variable-ratio reinforcer.) Additionally, essay questions seem more likely to result in students lodging formal complaints because they were unfairly graded. I see the potential for trouble there. Hasn't happened to me (yet?) but I do think about it when I'm being tortured (oops - I meant when I'm grading essay questions) and I try to be very methodical about what information I'm looking for in the answer. We are teaching in a very student-empowered time, which is fine of course since it's good we got over the Simon Legree image, yet I can't help but feel a bit beleaguered. I dread the end of semester, when I have to give a final grade. (I seem to recall Stephen Black making a similar statement a couple of years ago.) I'm known (students tell me) as a hard grader, and seldom does a new semester go by when I'm not challenged by a student from the last semester who wants to know why he/she got a certain grade. (And it's almost always a challenge from a student to whom I'd like to say, Duh, could be because you failed the final, didn't hand in your paper and only came to class half the time. But I'm a disciple of Miss Manners, so I don't.) Anybody else feel that multiple choice questions have a bigger safety harbor? Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH campuses
MC idea (Was A student is not an input)
From: "Jim Guinee" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Organization: University of Central Arkansas Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 11:58:02 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: A student is not an input In the multiple choice section students are allowed to write comments on the rationale for their answers, and I reserve the right to give some credit for an incorrect answer that has sound logic, understanding. What a great idea! Yet another gem for us from TIPS. Thanks, Jim! Beth Benoit
Re: Commencement speakers...
I am not being ironic with my suggestion: Tom and Ray Magliazzo of NPR, also known as Click and Clack the Tappet Brothrs. They have a program on cars and car problems which is a gem on radio. They started out in the 60s with a fix it yourself repair shop: you rented the tools and space and did your own work. Both graduated from MIT and Tom went on to a PHD. He taught for a while and then returned to the radio business. He has several books out and more than one essay on education which is enlightening, even if I disagree with it. They gave a commencement speect at MIT and (I think) Harvard not too many years ago. Apparently it was one of the best received speeches ever. They are funny, ironic, satirical and insightful, which is more than I can say for any commencement speakers I have heard since my own college graduation in 1965. They also ran together for President (or co-President, as they named it). They suggested that each of them would take alternate days. One could undo what the other had done the day before. They'd flip for the 7th day, but would decree that nothing should be done on the weekends anyhow. That kind of humor makes my day. They're wildly popular in New England. Lots of people stop their day on Saturday a.m. so they don't miss the show. Beth Benoit
Re: Quick question on learning
- Chuck Huff wrote: I expect however, that one of the flaws of punishment still pertains: it merely suppresses the behavior, rather than eliminating it. If it is turned off AND the dog discovers it no longer works, the previous behavior is likely to be reinstated. I would appreciate comment from others who know of evidence regarding this. As a long-time Invisible Fence user, I can attest that, indeed, some dogs frequently "test" to see if it's still working, and the minute the battery dies, they're off in a flash. Ditto if the system fails because of power failure, accidentally cutting the wire, etc. (Sadly, that happened to one of our dogs who ran into the road and, well, you can figure the rest...) Many of the systems now have alerts built in to let you know if they're not working. And the Invisible Fence people recommend you be on a "battery program" so that you are automatically sent a new battery for the collar every three months or however often you need it. (They're very helpful working with you to make sure the system works. Nice folks.) But having the behavior (leaving the yard) be reinstated isn't a problem. The second you put a new battery in (or fix whatever is wrong with the system) you bring the dog back near the boundary, and he hears the signal warning him. The dog immediately knows he's back to Square One behaviorally speaking and doesn't really need to be retrained. I'm a huge fan of this system, and always use it in class as an example of conditioning. Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH campuses
Re: Oliver Sacks on autism
Title: Re: Oliver Sacks on autism Fascinating stuff, Stephen. I'm particularly drawn to your comment that Kanner was quite possibly considering that nature rather than nurture, might be responsible for the autism: he intended them to indicate that the parents were themselves peculiar and autistic-like, which would support a genetic interpretation A young cousin of my husband is autistic, and his extended family has drawn around the cause of autism - raising money, funding research, getting speakers (Temple Grandin came to speak - amazing!), organizing support, etc. As a result, I have met many, many parents of autistic children. While I can't say that they are all peculiar or autistic-like (and certainly know better, after my years on TIPS, to ever make a statement like that based only on my own observations and not carefully conducted research), I have long held that there seem to be an awful lot of them who are a bit peculiar. Is it hindsight that causes me to predispose my judgment toward looking at these beleaguered parents through the prism of a personality defect microscope? Perhaps, but I don't think so. It could even be argued that years of having to deal with the very specific needs of an autistic child would be enough to create a rather odd personality. But still I don't think so. The problem, of course, may be trying to measure oddness. And worse, trying to quantify it. Goes to the heart of the difficulty that psychology often has of being able to be scientific about something as nebulous as behavior. Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH campuses
Re: Abnormal Psychology
Title: Re: Abnormal Psychology What a creative idea! They'll probably never forget Streetcar after that. I'd guess histrionic personality disorder right off the bat. But certainly some characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder too. But... This might be a good time to point out to the class that having personality traits, even those that may be quite objectionable, do not necessarily mean a person has a personality disorder. (As the DSM-IV says, Many highly successful individuals display personality traits that might be considered narcissistic. Only when these traits are inflexible, maladaptive, and persisting and cause significant functional impairment or subjective distress do they constitute Narcissistic Personality disorder. p. 661) But certainly ol' Blanche had some disorder cooking, since she was carted off to a mental institution at the end of the play. That could initiate some interesting discussion too - about post traumatic stress disorder (she's raped by Stanley), our cultural expectations that a woman must marry (or at least the cultural expectations when the play was written - late 1940's?) and her ensuing despair if she does not, and perhaps even that a personality disorder can sometimes lead to psychosis. Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH They are currently reading A Streetcar Named Desire in English. It has been suggested (by the English teacher)that they could diagnose Blanche but I myself am a little confused as to which personality disorder, if any, would apply. Thank you in advance for any advice India Barrington International Baccalaureate High School Bartow, Florida
Re: Myer's Psychology textbook
I'm a huge fan of Dave Myers' texts - I've used both Social and Intro. (He's a TIPSter as well.) Students love them too. I've used many other texts in the past, but find the student-friendly writing, the strong emphasis on relating to current issues and the intelligent research make them winners. Also, the Instructor's Resource Manual, by Martin Bolt, seems to be a universal favorite - best I've ever used! I haven't used Atkinson, but have used Gleitman, and Myers is much more popular with students Another one that's popular with TIPSters (including me) is Rod Plotnik's. This is a good choice for community college students, I've found. My daughter uses it for high school psychology. It's more basic than Myers'. (It's sometimes referred to as "the MTV textbook." I think this is meant to be disparaging, but I think it says a lot about its being heavy on graphics and simplification of concepts.) Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning From: Diana Issidorides [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 17:22:17 +0100 To: TIPS mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Myer's Psychology textbook Could some of you please share your views on Myers (1998) Psychology textbook. This is the preferred textbook at a (new) liberal arts college I might be teaching at, so I'm very interested in reviews, opinions, and comments. I don't know the textbook myself. Among other things, I was wondering, for example, how it compares to the Atkinson et al. "classic". Plus: does anyone know of statistics showing which introductory psychology textbooks are mostly being used across US campuses? Thanks! Dr. Diana C. Issidorides NEMO (New Metropolis, Science and Technology Center) Postbus 421 1000 AK Amsterdam The Netherlands email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] / [EMAIL PROTECTED] (home)
Re: Abnormal Psychology
From: "Roderick D. Hetzel" am trying to come up with a paper assignment or other assignments that would reflect the student's knowledge in the content area as well as be personally meaningful. 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. 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, or Sigourney Weaver's agoraphobic/panic disorder character in "Copycat"). They must come up with a diagnosis, explain what the disorder is, what its characteristics are, and what behavior the character exhibits to warrant this diagnosis. Then they must come up with two suggested treatment plans, based on at least two different models of psychopathology (most frequent choices are biological and behavioral) and finally, estimate how successful treatment is likely to be, based on observations like family support, past treatment successes or failures, motivation, etc. If there are no clues to any of these, I allow them to suggest things, as long as they document that they're "supplying the information" since the book or movie didn't. Students seem to really get into it. Only side effect was that a couple of students chose movies I hadn't seen, so I rented the movies so I could judge for myself... Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH
Bonsai kittensjoke
Title: Bonsai kittensjoke Stephen Black wrote: Speaking of censorship, would you close down the following site? http://www.bonsaikitten.com/ -Stephen Seems they've already been kicked off a few sites. I have to admit that I belong to the group that didn't find it funny, and of course Stephen obviously didn't either. Guess our senses of humor have been stunted. Here's the scoop (after reading the info at this foolish site, I hesitate to use that word) from the Urban Legends webpage: Beth Benoit Bonsai Kitten Claim: A web site advocates techniques for creating 'bonsai kittens.' Status: False. Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2001] Someone sent me the following link that is just horrible. Can you please see what can be done about such gross cruelty? http://www.bonsaikitten.com Origins: Another example that nothing is so absurd but that some people won't believe it if it doesn't have a huge THIS IS A JOKE! banner slapped across it (and sometimes even that's not enough). Bonsai Kitten is a humor site that purports to be dedicated to preserving the long lost [Oriental] art of body modification in housepets (by raising them inside jars so that they remain small even when mature and their bodies will take on the contours of the vessel used). Plenty of people who don't get the joke (or who get it but don't find it funny) have complained, so first MIT gave Bonsai Kitten the boot, then a commercial ISP kicked them off as well (after initially responding to protests by defending the Bonsai Kitten operator's right to free speech). Bonsai Kitten can still be viewed at various mirror sites. Despite the dark humor of Bonsai Kitten, it provides a perfect example of how easily people let outrage overwhelm their critical faculties, sending them up in arms over nothing more than a comical idea, a page or two of phony instructions, and a few pictures of cats in jars (obviously taken in such a way as to not harm the cats). The horrified reaction to Bonsai Kitten comes from several groups: *Those who simply don't get the joke and think someone is seriously advocating cats be raised to maturity inside of glass jars in order to achieve the same shaping and contouring effects exhibited by bonsai trees. (These are mostly the same people who forward the satirical Harry Potter article all over the Internet as proof of the ghastly influence popular books can have on children these days.) *Those who understand Bonsai Kitten is a joke, but whose senses of humor have become so stunted and self-important that they can't tolerate any joking about certain topics, no matter how broad and satirical it may be. (This group now includes The Humane Society of the United States.) Some topics (such as animal suffering) don't naturally lend themselves to humor, but that doesn't mean they absolutely can't be the basis of humor when the gags are broad and obvious and the target of the humor is the audience itself. Children stricken with serious illnesses are nothing to laugh at, but the parody missive about Billy the Burlap Boy is nonetheless funny (and relevant) because it satirizes not the sick children themselves, but the reactions of people who blindly forward (often fictional) pleas to help them. In short, those who find the obvious humor of Bonsai Kitten offensive are precisely the type of people Bonsai Kitten is lampooning. (Notorious media prankster Joey Skaggs drew similar reactions with his infamous dog soup hoax.) *Those who suffer from OPC (other people's children) syndrome and are terribly concerned that the Bonsai Kitten site will encourage other people's children to stuff kittens into jars. (Why other people don't bear the responsibility of teaching their children how to treat animals appropriately apparently isn't a factor to be considered.) Given the alleged potential for harm that the Bonsai Kitten site poses, PuppyFarm.com should also be shut down before kiddies take inspiration from it and start grinding up their puppies for food, and all copies of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal should be removed from the web before impressionable youngsters take its satire seriously and start eating each other. *Those who maintain that cats were obviously subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment in order to produce pictures which (in the words of the Humane Society) depict live kittens being jammed into glass containers. It is indeed difficult to view a picture such as the one below and not be moved by the little cat's horrifying expression of the terrible pain and suffering it is enduring: The Humane Society proclaims that they share our concern and frustration over the content of sites that promote animal suffering or otherwise glorify the exploitation of animals. Our concern is that they expend their efforts on ameliorating real animal suffering and exploitation, not fretting over satirical web sites that exist because some ISPs have the temerity to allow (in their words) as much free speech
Re: Question about Plagiarism
Title: Re: Question about Plagiarism I know this might sound a little heavy-handed, but in the past I have always found that if my gut said it was plagiarism, it usually was. (In my experience, it always was.) So go in there with a suspicious air, and tell the student you have some serious misgivings and concerns. Essentially, give him enough rope to himself, and he probably will. I'm not talking entrapment, just some advice about approach. Have the parts that concern you ready, and your facts in order. Your biggest concern will probably be how you will handle it after he admits he (probably stupidly) plagiarized. Will you give him another chance, turn him in, fail him?? Fortunately, we've discussed many of these on TIPS, so you might want to check out the archives. Good luck! We ALL find these situations to be very difficult. Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH -- From: Will Will [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Question about Plagiarism Date: Wed, Feb 21, 2001, 6:21 PM I just got in some papers and I suspect that one of them is plagarized. It seems that the student has copied major parts of from one of his articles to become the heart of his assignment. There is no citation or reference for this part, while the rest is cited accordingly. I mentioned to the student that I would like to meet with them tomorrow afternoon, I was wondering what type of advice people might have to handle this? William Frederick Adjunct Faculty, Lake Land College __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices! http://auctions.yahoo.com/
Re: environmental references
Title: Re: environmental references Don't you hate when you get enthused enough to volunteer then have to go home and PLAN something? How about leaning toward social psychology? Then you could get into what I always think of as the sunshine stuff - that people are more likely to report that they feel happy when the sun is shining, as well as being more likely to help others, and less likely to sink into depression, deindividuation and harming others and others' property. For the environmental component, you could point out that a smoggy day could ruin THAT effect. A smoggy day might even increase the incidence of SAD (seasonal affective disorders). Hey, it's a thought. Also, you might bring in other altruistic stuff - what are factors involved in the kind of people who might find environmentalism appealing? (Probably have to do some creative stereotyping there!) And mention all the difficulties with raising funds - more social psych. stuff with topic of social loafing - talk about social riders and how difficult it is to get people to contribute time and money to a cause that is seen as something that others will help out with too. (I always use the fund-raising efforts of public radio as an example in class - how public radio has to use all sorts of other enticements to get people to donate because an individual may think his/her contribution doesn't make that much of a difference, and if he or she doesn't donate, the cause won't die because others will still help. So they have to use gifts to donors, publish the names of donors, delineate just how $5 will help - in the case of environmentalism, maybe buy two blue spruce seedlings, or something.) >From a community psych. aspect, you could stress the difficulties humans encounter when they're too crowded. And the pluses when there are open spaces - parks, and such. When teaching intro I always love to stress some appealing things about darwinistic leanings, such as why we might prefer the sight of an open field/meadow, etc. (Because, so the theory goes, in cave dweller days it would have made us feel safer since we could see approaching saber-toothed tigers, etc.) You could point out that if we keep doing away with parks and open areas, we may contribute to humans' mental stress. Next step mental illness? Of course that's a leap, but you can mention that we don't really know what the connections are, but as Mr. Heckle from Friends used to say, It COULD be there. One more thought (more community psych. stuff) - it's been noted that in communities where the population is very dense (Japan, NYC), there is less interaction between people on the street, neighbors, etc. That may be to help preserve their privacy and sense of self, which may be more threatened by crowding and to cut down on the stress of crowding. Japanese students I've had in class report that when living at home with multiple generations in small quarters - more common at least in those families, family members learn to pretend they don't hear the noise of others. I always envisioned this may have been how, in the old days, they could live in a home that had rice paper walls (though my students didn't live in that kind of home, so didn't hazard a guess about that situation. They politely agreed with me that it was probably so.) This of course would fit in with the environmental stuff - do we want to have our world get so crowded that we all have to resort to having to make a constant effort to not notice each other? Wow, I'm really on a roll here. Want me to journey to Rock Island and give the talk? (JUST KIDDING!) Best wishes on the talk! Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH HEAR ME http://www.pagoo.com/signature/bbenoit3 From: Fenwick, S.A. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 09:01:57 -0600 To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: environmental references Tipsters, Help! In an impulsive moment I agreed to speak to our campus environmental group about psychology and the environment (at least I didn't get too specific). Now time is running short and I'm having a heck of a time finding sources. Possible topics would include beneficial effects of outdoor experiences, etc. Any help would earn my eternal gratitude. Thanks, Fen S.A. Fenwick, Ph.D. Dept. of Psychology Augustana College Rock Island, IL 61201 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
more environmental reference stuff
Title: more environmental reference stuff Just had another thought - but don't have my social psychology text here to refer to (I'm babysitting for my grandson today). And I don't know if you have social psych. background - so pardon if it's repetitious. But you might discuss the concept of the common - which is something they have still in New England, though less of in the midwest. (I'm originally from Ohio, so know that midwest has its own distinctive flavor.) Just about every town in New England still has a common, and it's a well-known and used term. In the old days, the common was a large patch of grazing area in a village or town that was to be used by everybody's stock as needed. But everybody had to be trusted to not abuse it - if, for example, one person brought in his whole herd to graze, the common would not only be overgrazed, it would probably also be ruined for the future. So everybody sort of had to acknowledge that everybody had an obligation for the common good or it was curtains for everybody. This is the basic idea of the prisoner's dilemma game and the Acme Truck and Bolt game. (Depending on how desperate you are to fill up time, you could maybe even briefly explain those.) If everybody shares the concern, it'll work. But sometimes it doesn't take much for somebody to ruin it for everybody. In today's world, we see that with water in the summer when there's a shortage. We have to have rules about watering the lawns - people with addresses with even numbers can water on even days, certain hours, etc., because merely asking people to cut back doesn't work. Or in California, where they have tried forever to ask users to cut back on electricity. (Not enough people did, and they ultimately had shortages.) You could come up with endless examples in the environment. (Forest fires caused by carelessness [I guess Smoky the Bear wasn't enough to do the trick] and toxic dumping come immediately to mind.) Because of many people's refusal to acknowledge their personal responsibility, we have to have rules, laws, watchdog organizations and even snoopy neighbors to keep people in line so the environment isn't ruined. For example, we have a lake house, and of course there are strict rules about dumping. Yet one neighbor was observed to be piping her washing machine rinse water directly into the lake. That was only a few years ago. (There was quite an uproar, as you can imagine. She had tried to conceal the pipe so it wouldn't show.) Well, this Eveready bunny's batteries are probably tapped out now... Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH
Re: Ideas for talk to Psi Chi Initiation?
Title: Re: Ideas for talk to Psi Chi Initiation? If I were you, I think I'd take a look at the stuff at the APA Monitor website(http://www.apa.org/monitor/) - it's got some interesting stuff about the career paths chosen by 21 psychologists forging 21st century careers. There's also an article about whether or not today's faculty supports traditional careers. I'd think career stuff would be of interest. If you don't want to follow that path, the APA website (APA.org) has an interesting article about what makes people happy. I thought I'd see our own Dave Myers' work featured, since that's his specialty, but it wasn't his. But it was an interesting article - maybe a summary of something that's current like that. After also thinking of speech topics for Fen's environmental talk, I'm thinking I should go into consulting about psychology topics... ;-) Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College for Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH Hi. I was asked to give a short talk at my school's upcoming annual Psi Chi Banquet for new members and their families. I don't mind the public speaking part so much, but I truly have no idea what I would talk about. Any ideas? Thank you ahead of time. Liz M Elizabeth Mazur, Ph.D. The University of Michigan - Flint Department of Psychology 303 East Kearsley Street MSB 411 Flint, MI 48502-1950 810-762-3424
Re: Lifespan:Marriage sabbaticals
Taking a marriage sabbatical is been viewed as an important aspect of the growth and strengthening process in marital and family relations. SEZ WHO?? I've been married for 32 years (to the same guy) and while once in a while a "marriage sabbatical" of an hour or two might have had some appeal to ME perhaps (but certainly not to my husband since he's married to a flawless creature ;-) ), I am wondering if MS made that idea up. Is it similar to the "open marriage" idea that some screwballs in the 70's tried to convince everyone was the norm? Beth Benoit -- From: Michael Sylvester [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: TIPS [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Lifespan:Marriage sabbaticals Date: Mon, Feb 12, 2001, 8:25 AM Taking a marriage sabbatical is been viewed as an important aspect of the growth and strengthening process in marital and family relations. So the common sense idea that absence makes the heart grow fonder may enjoy some support. Are there any Developmental texts that include marriage sabbaticals or recommend those sabbaticals in the mid adulthood phase? Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida
Re: info: touchy subject
Can a female interject a thought? How do you handle the following situation? You are lecturing and you observe that your pants is unzippered. I think Harry Avis' student is correct that "it was no big deal." BUT I think a situation like that has the potential to turn into legend (sorry, but that is the kind of story that students love) and needs to be addressed. And I think the only way to address it is with humor. When you discover it, I'd suggest a quick look of mock horror, some self-effacing comment about your insufficient/inefficient attempts at dressing yourself (maybe add a little developmental psychology about how you were supposed to learn that by age 3, or whatever), a quick exit to the hallway (I think students would be better off not seeing their professor do that little hop that men do when they zip up - sorry again, maybe it's just a personal thing) then return, a quick, "Now I'm presentable," or somesuch, and then IMMEDIATELY back to business. Let the students have a quick laugh at your expense, deal with it, and get on to more important matters. I think it would be a good life lesson for them. Everybody has embarrassing things happen now and then. What's important is how you deal with it. Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College of Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH
Re: How would you handle this situation?
About 20 minutes into this 80 minute midterm exam, the powers that be started testing the fire alarms in the building...some students have complained (and I don't blame them) that the alarms didn't allow them to fully concentrate during the exam. I'd tell the students that I'm going to add 5 points to everybody's grade. I'd announce it in a VERY sympathetic voice. Even if their overall grades are about average with other semesters, it will make them feel better and help counteract that persecution complex that can be so easily engendered in situations like that. I know some TIPSters will disagree, but I'm a tough grader, yet one who recognizes its importance in individual classroom situations. There is bound to be a rumble about how unfair the testing circumstances were. Squashing it immediately with a five-point gift may be all that's needed. Ten points is way too much, but five points won't make that much difference. Looking forward, as usual, to the suggestions of others, Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College of Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH
Re: Student Question
Title: Re: Student Question Some of the cadavers used have requested in their wills that their bodies be donated. In that case, the ashes are returned (with gratitude, I'd hope) to the families. But as for the ashes of unclaimed bodies, I don't know. (If you're about to eat lunch, skip the following.) Incidentally, my husband said that in medical school, on the first day with their cadavers, they were always told that among these cadavers were the bodies of a judge, a doctor, etc., so that the students would treat the bodies with more respect than they might if they thought they were the bodies of vagrants. I think it probably helped. The shenanigans occasionally shown in movies didn't take place where he went to medical school, at least. But he used to regale us with the grizzly story of going down to the basement of the medical school where the cadavers were stored in a huge vat. (He had to get a new cadaver because his had begun to decompose.) The hardware required to fish out a cadaver reminded me of a Michael Crichton thriller. Not a pretty thought. Beth Benoit College for Lifelong Learning and Daniel Webster College, Portsmouth NH
Community psychology text?
Just found out I'll be teaching community psychology for the first time in 5 years, so I'd appreciate any input anyone has about textbooks. The last time I taught, Frank Wong and Karen Duffy had the only textbook out. Before that, I'd used a combination of sources, mostly articles here and there. This is an undergraduate 200-level course. Many thanks in advance. Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College of Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH
Multicultural slant on apologies
Title: Multicultural slant on apologies Interesting for multicultural consideration... (From front page of today's New York Times.) Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College of Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH January 3, 2001 TIANJIN JOURNAL For a Fee, Chinese Firm Will Beg Pardon for Anyone By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL The New York Times IANJIN, China As summer waned in this industrial port, Mr. Song, a middle-aged businessman, longed to make up with his estranged father. The two had once been partners in a clothing company, until the younger Mr. Song stormed off after an argument over money several years back. The two had not spoken since. But time passed and Mr. Song, the son, now has his own successful business. So last September during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional time for family reunions, he went to see his father, bearing gifts, only to have the presents thrown away and the door slammed in his face. He was desperate for a reconciliation. So who ya gonna call? The Tianjin Apology and Gift Center, of course a company, just a few months old, whose motto is We Say Sorry for You. `'Of course it is more sincere if you apologize by yourself, but often in China that is difficult or not possible, explained Liu Qing, the founder of the apology company, which recently took on the case of Mr. Song, who was too embarrassed by his situation to allow his full name to be used. Apologies are complicated matters in Chinese culture, weighty acts that are rarely offered or accepted, which must be delivered just so, with the proper gravity. To Chinese, apologies require a great loss of face, and face is not something spent down lightly. The offhand American sorry about that would never fly here. It's much easier for a Westerner to say sorry than compared with a Chinese I mean they're always saying `excuse me' and `sorry,' said Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor at People's University and a frequent television commentator. As a society, China lacks the spirit of apologizing. But Chinese consumers, however awkwardly, seem to be warming to the concept. Tianjin and the central city of Xian now boast new, successful apology companies. And apology call-in shows on state radio have also started to appear. Apologies help adjust relationships between people and so can reduce stress and solve problems, Mr. Liu said. It is understandable that Chinese might need a little extra help in that department, of course, since they have few high-profile role models. Americans have President Clinton, who has apologized, live on television, to get himself out of personal and political trouble, Professor Zhou pointed out. In contrast, Chinese officials have never openly apologized to the tens of millions of Chinese who were imprisoned, beaten or even killed during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, even though the Communist Party has acknowledged that errors were made and that the period was a disaster. Inspired by Mao, millions of students denounced teachers and other intellectuals as bourgeois rightists, harassing and humiliating them, ransacking their homes and subjecting them to beatings. At one school I visited recently, the party secretary was beaten to death and the principal left handicapped, Professor Zhou said. Today the students who attacked them are all grown up, many of them teachers and parents themselves. But up to now there is not a single person who has gone back and apologized for what they did. It is a problem with the whole society. He added that many Asian cultures are apologetically challenged. Germany has been good at making apologies for what it did during World War II, he said. But the Japanese are not good at this, nor are the Chinese. They are always looking for excuses and forgetting misdeeds. Some Chinese scholars suggest that the Western penchant for apologies grows out of the Judeo-Christian tradition, in which a simple confession brings prompt absolution. In contrast, an apology in China involves a much more formal and traumatic event. Indeed, in 1999 most Chinese were outraged at President Clinton's first apology after the NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade because it was too casual delivered while Mr. Clinton was outdoors and wearing a polo shirt. Initially, the Chinese media did not even broadcast the tape, with editors huffing that it was not really an apology at all. Against that backdrop, Mr. Liu, a former lawyer with a long interest in psychology, decided that the people of Tianjin needed some help apologizing, as a way of relieving pressure, reducing barriers and the many negative feelings between people today. In fact, the apology company is an arm of a psychological stress reduction center that he also runs in some low concrete buildings that belong to the Hongqiao district government, his partner in what he hopes will be a profitable venture. Our society is changing very fast
Re: Intro Text?
I echo Rick...students love the Myers text and the warmth and humanism it exudes are pluses. His social psych. text is terrific too. Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College Portsmouth NH -- From: "Rick Adams" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: Intro Text? Date: Wed, Jan 3, 2001, 2:15 PM Jessica wrote: Anyone have any recommendations for a good Introduction to Psychology textbook for undergrads? And reasons for the recommendation? Thanks so much. Good luck with the start of a new semester! Sure--Psychology (6th Ed) by David Myers! The book is well balanced between meeting a student's needs for learning tools and meeting an instructor's needs for inclusiveness. I've compared it to quite a few others and, apart from the fact that in spots Dave Myers comes across as a bit more "conservative" in his views (not his psychology--only his presentation of some examples), the text comes off as far more "learning centered" than most. In addition the very extensive Instructor's resources provide a great number of valuable tools for teaching Intro students. I've used various editions of this text since I started teaching (come to think of it, my _own_ first text in Psychology was the same book in the first edition!) and the new edition (which I'll be using for the first time this term) is by far the best yet. Besides, if it doesn't work for you, you can berate the author here in TIPS--Dave Myers is a long time member of the list! :-) Hope it helps, Rick -- Rick Adams [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Department of Social Sciences Jackson Community College Jackson, Michigan
TV Special repeat: Is it a Boy or a Girl?
Title: TV Special repeat: Is it a Boy or a Girl? Hi TIPSters, Several TIPSpersons and I have been anxiously awaiting the repeat of Is it a boy or a girl? It's a Discovery Channel special about children born with ambiguous genitalia. One of my students saw it and remembered that, among other things, some guevodoces from Santo Domingo are interviewed. Beth Benoit Daniel Webster College College of Lifelong Learning Portsmouth NH Here is info: Join My Discovery Medical Mysteries Is it a Boy or a Girl? Since the 1970s, the birth of an intersexed child has been treated as a medical problem to be surgically corrected. Explore the latest in scientific thinking on this phenomenon which challenges the very notion of what it means to be male or female. Air Time(s) Eastern/Pacific Time: DHC Jan 5 2001 1:00 AM DHC Jan 5 2001 10:00 PM DHC Jan 6 2001 12:00 AM DHC Jan 6 2001 9:00 PM DHC Jan 8 2001 4:00 AM
Re: large classes
Title: Re: large classes Diana, One issue you mentioned is attendance... Unlike some of our colleagues, I feel that attendance is important, and taking attendance encourages the beginning of a good habit (remember that many/most intro. students are first year students) but how to do it in a huge class? I pass around two blue books - starting one at each end of the auditorium. I put a date at the top of the page, and remind students that they are responsible for signing in. It only takes two sets of blue books for the whole semester. An additional benefit is that it discourages students from signing in for others, because a quick glance would show if, for example, four names were probably signed by the same person. When in question, I can even compare previous signatures. (Only did that for one student whose attendance was spotty, though he protested he was always there.) I allow the equivalent of a week's worth of absences (i.e., if class met twice weekly, they could have two absences, etc.). After that, I deduct one point for each class missed. Students missing NO classes get three bonus points added to their final grade. I include in my syllabus Woody Allen's quote (probably picked up on TIPS): ³80% of success is just showing up.² I have a computerized grade/attendance program (called Grade Quick - I recommend it highly...we discussed these computer programs on TIPS some time ago). One nice feature is that I can set it to select a student's name as I began to type it in, which helped when I wanted to record absences for the huge class and don't want to have to hunt for each student's name to record attendance (or a grade). Handing back tests is difficult, and I set aside a whole class to hand them back and go over them. I rejected the posted grades idea because of confidentiality issues we discussed on TIPS. I didn't want to go looking for trouble there. Since I'm an adjunct, my TA assignments are a bit spotty, so I have found I am pretty much on my own. Therefore, I decided to forego papers and assignments. (Couldn't think of facing 160-175 papers to grade.) For teaching mode, I have a cordless microphone and do a sort of Oprah routine, wandering around and trying to encourage class participation. I also am a fanatic about overhead transparencies (am just now converting to PowerPoint which will help so that I don't have to hover near the projector). I always put important points on the transparencies, cartoons, my pathetic simplistic drawings (you should see my drawings for the executive rat experiment, as well as the Seligman learned helplessness experiment...always good for some laughs). I found that having the important points listed helps these new-to-college students learn how to take notes. Test-taking is a challenge with a huge group. If you have any help at all from TA's, this is a good time to use them. I had them watch students like a hawk, and when I was suspicious of cheating, I called the students at home AFTER the test and said the TA's felt they had witnessed cheating. I know, I know, it's the chicken way out. But it helped me to confront them. Every single student admitted it, BTW. They were so grateful that I allowed them to retake the test (which almost every one failed, interestingly) and didn't have them expelled from school. Another life lesson... Final suggestions: have a sense of humor, try to learn as many students' names as you can (I take pictures of each and attach them to an index card, punch a hole in a corner of the card and put all the cards on a large key ring), and try to get a good night's sleep the night before (it's more exhausting teaching one of these huge classes). Much, much luck, Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell Middlesex Community College
Math-challenged students
For the first time that I can recall, I had quite a few students who were unable to fully answer this question: "Using Terman's formula, what would be the IQ for a child who is seven years old, but is able to answer only those questions we would expect a six-year-old to answer?" Answer: "I don't have a calculator, but I know it would be 7/6 X 100." We are raising a generation of college students who can't divide 7 into 6 without a calculator? I've long become accustomed to handing a sales clerk $1 for a 99¢ item, and watching as he/she looks at the cash register display a second time to be sure that the appropriate change should be 1¢, but in college?? God help us. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Gender in the Workplace - book or ideas?
Title: Gender in the Workplace - book or ideas? TIPSters, I'm designing a new course for an aeronautical college (changing horses to some new schools because I can no longer rationalize a long, long commute for an adjunct position) and am hoping TIPS can help with 1) textbook suggestions and 2) content suggestions for a course about Gender Issues, perhaps with an emphasis on workplace issues. The school is about 80% male, so I felt gender might be more appealing than women - at least as a course name. ;-) Am looking at Gender by Linda Brannon and Sex and Gender by Hilary Lips. As for content, I'm still toying with ideas... TIA, Beth Benoit (New Horses: Daniel Webster College Portsmouth NH and College of Lifelong Learning New Hampshire University System Portsmouth NH)
Emotional abuse - brain changes
Title: Emotional abuse - brain changes I hope TIPSters will forgive my recent reliance on The Boston Globe as a primary source (I wouldn't accept it for a research paper!!), but I'm at home. Actually I doubt that my school subscribes to Cerebrum, the journal mentioned in the following article. But this topic is bound to cause some interesting talk in the future. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell Gauging toll of abuse on a child's brain By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff, 12/15/2000 The harsh words, brutal beatings or sexual advances of a parent or adult family member might actually cause brain deformities in a child, a McLean Hospital researcher concludes in a paper released yesterday. The findings challenge the theory that all mental illness can be neatly divided into physical or emotionally based problems. The prevailing orthodoxy among psychiatrists holds that some conditions, like schizophrenia and manic-depressive disorder, are caused by inherited chemical imbalances in the brain that can be treated by drugs. The other category is personality disorders, which stem from emotional trauma and can be dealt with through therapy. But the paper by Dr. Martin Teicher, director of McLean's developmental biopsychiatry research program, offers evidence that emotional trauma such as child abuse can actually cause adverse physical changes in the brain. The deformities, in turn, can cause depression, anxiety, and other conditions later in life, he found. ''The brain is fundamentally sculpted by our experiences. Adverse experience will sculpt our brain in a different way,'' he said. In the paper, which appears in the journal Cerebrum, Teicher focuses primarily on what he termed serious abuse cases involving sexual and physical assault. But in an interview, he talked about his other research, which finds similar initial results involving verbal abuse, an even more controversial assertion that challenges the time-honored parenting techniques of tongue-lashing and shaming. ''Verbal abuse may be just as damaging as sexual abuse. And it's very prevalent and something that a lot of people need to be concerned about,'' said Teicher. ''It's going to be interesting to see how this emerges over the next few years,'' he said, noting that he is still writing the first paper on the topic. ''But we are finding that verbal abuse is devastating.'' Teicher's paper describes the effect of child abuse on the ability of one hemisphere of the brain to communicate with the other. The major ''phone line'' between the left and right sides is called the corpus callosum. Teicher's team reviewed MRI brain scans, which show the corpus callosum of 51 abused children admitted to McLean, in Belmont. He compared them to MRIs from 97 healthy children. In the abused children, the corpus callosum, the mass of white, transverse fibers that connect the two sides, was smaller on average. In girls, sexual abuse shrunk the corpus callosum but neglect had no effect. In boys, the opposite was true. The result of a smaller corpus callosum can be that children can ''reside'' in one hemisphere of the brain, rather than shifting seamlessly between the two, as is typically found. This problem can linger into adulthood, causing anxiety and depression. ''A lot of individuals who have survived childhood trauma reside in their left hemisphere when they function well. But when traumatic thoughts arise, they retreat into their right,'' said Teicher. ''They can get very emotional, without any of the logic of the left side there to guide them.'' An early diagnosis of this sort of dysfunctionality might allow for treatment that would help the corpus callosum ''regrow,'' Teicher said. For instance, music therapy, such as intensive piano lessons, might help, said Teicher. The right hand is controlled by the left hemisphere, and the left hand by the right; coordinating them through piano playing could make hemispheric communication more efficient, according to the theory. Teicher also found that childhood abuse might cause arrested development in the left hemisphere and improper development of the portions of the brain that regulate emotions. Evidence that environmental stresses cause brain deformities was established in lab animals almost 50 years ago. But researchers were slow to test the hypothesis on humans. One stumbling block was in figuring out whether the abuse caused the deformities or the deformities made people more susceptible to abuse. New theories of mental illness follow a century of Freudian dominance, in which abuse was thought to lead to emotional wounds that could be dealt with in talk therapy. Then in the 1990s, scientists established that some mental illnesses were inherited, physical disorders. Quickly, all mental illnesses were forced into one of these two categories. Teicher still remembers the 1984 conference where he first introduced his idea that emotional trauma causes physical problems. ''They were curiously interested,'' he said
Re: student email query
I didn't find Marty's post funny, but not because I'm offended, think he's insensitive or any of the reasons on that little private list some TIPSters seem to keep which decides which posts are politically incorrect. The reason it's not funny to me anymore is that I get AT LEAST ONE of these every single semester. Students seem to feel that great need=a passing grade. I have never been able to figure it out. I NEVER give in on these whiny things, yet continue to receive them, semester after semester. You'd think I'd be accustomed to them, but my jaw drops every single time. It's hard to keep a straight face when addressing the writer because I'm so incredulous. In person, they usually begin by being very agreeable, warm, etc., but when they find out their sad story will not win them a passing grade, they usually change their demeanor and stalk off with an offended air. Never pleasant to deal with... Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Middlesex Community College "I am writing you again in regards to my grade. I hate to sound this way but I really need to pass this class in order to graduate this semester, even if its with a D. I should have put more effort into this class but it has been hard with my schedule, i did an intern this semester also. Please let me know if there is any extra credit I can do if I need to. Thanks, " Marty Bourgeois University of Wyoming.
Re: student email query
Hi Linda and others, You're right. I can't believe I missed it. Marty wrote me about it, and I'm wondering when I got to be so humor-challenged. I guess I could plead end-of-the-semester snow blindness or something. Thanks for your post. Beth -- From: "Linda M. Woolf, Ph.D." [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Beth Benoit [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: student email query Date: Wed, Dec 13, 2000, 5:41 PM Hi Beth, I think the post was assumed to be funny not because of the "grade groveling" but because his excuse was that he "did an intern". Most likely he meant that he did an internship. Hope your semester is winding down smoothly. Linda Beth Benoit wrote: I didn't find Marty's post funny, but not because I'm offended, think he's insensitive or any of the reasons on that little private list some TIPSters seem to keep which decides which posts are politically incorrect. The reason it's not funny to me anymore is that I get AT LEAST ONE of these every single semester. Students seem to feel that great need=a passing grade. I have never been able to figure it out. I NEVER give in on these whiny things, yet continue to receive them, semester after semester. You'd think I'd be accustomed to them, but my jaw drops every single time. It's hard to keep a straight face when addressing the writer because I'm so incredulous. In person, they usually begin by being very agreeable, warm, etc., but when they find out their sad story will not win them a passing grade, they usually change their demeanor and stalk off with an offended air. Never pleasant to deal with... Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Middlesex Community College "I am writing you again in regards to my grade. I hate to sound this way but I really need to pass this class in order to graduate this semester, even if its with a D. I should have put more effort into this class but it has been hard with my schedule, i did an intern this semester also. Please let me know if there is any extra credit I can do if I need to. Thanks, " Marty Bourgeois University of Wyoming. -- Linda M. Woolf, Ph.D. Associate Professor - Psychology Director - Gerontology Coordinator - Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Webster University 470 E. Lockwood St. Louis, Missouri 63110 http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Elevation in the news
I'm always pleased to see psychology getting intelligent and positive press. Research on the emotion of "elevation" by Jonathon Haidt (U. of Va.) got front page coverage in the Boston Globe this morning. (For those of you not from the Boston area, the Globe is a very intelligent - albeit very liberal, my husband complains and I cheer - newspaper, not related in any way to that sensationalist rag with a similar name. Hint: the word "Boston" doesn't precede the other one.) Haidt describes elevation as a distinct emotion that can function as a kind of physical gateway to encourage people to be more social and giving. Again, I stress that this is not a journal article, but rather a nicely done article for the "common folk." It also has a nice collection of photographs of facial expressions and what they denote that would have come in handy recently when someone on TIPS was looking for photos showing emotions. Here's the website: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/341/nation/Seeing_how_the_spirit_moves_us+ .shtml Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Elevation story web address
Sorry to any who tried to access the story via the path I gave. It seems to have a short circuit in it. In lieu of that, please go to the main site: www.boston.com/globe/ The story is on the front page there for today's (Dec. 6th) edition. I'll see if I can figure out a way to access it after today. Sorry for confusion. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Stolen Dreams - Child Labor
Thought TIPSters might find this webpage of interest. It's from the Boston University School of Public Health (my daughter is in the grad. program there, but none of this is her work). These are photographs that accompany doctoral dissertations. Of particular interest, I thought, is Gallery II - Portraits of Working Children. Very chilling. http://www.bumc.bu.edu/SPH/Gallery/ Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: Yanomami
Title: Re: Yanomami Paul Brandon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: As far as I know, their conclusions on the measles vaccine have not been modified over that past 30 years. Well, measles vaccines have certainly taken a lot of hits lately. Their possible link to autism comes most immediately to mind. (Note I say possible.) http://www.findarticles.com/m0999/n7133_v316/20415309/p1/article.jhtml This is from the CDC website about measles vaccine used on the Yanomami: Since 1963, when both inactivated and live attenuated (Edmonston B strain) vaccines were licensed, the type of measles vaccine used in the United States has changed several times. Distribution of the inactivated and live Edmonston B vaccines ceased after 1967 and 1975, respectively. Distribution in the United States of a live, further attenuated vaccine (Schwarz strain) first introduced in 1965 has also ceased. A live, further attenuated preparation of the Enders-Edmonston virus strain that is grown in chick embryo fibroblast cell culture, licensed in 1968, is the only measles virus vaccine now available in the United States. This further attenuated vaccine (formerly called Moraten) causes fewer adverse reactions than the Edmonston B vaccine. They do admit that encephalitis is a concern of immunization though the evidence is inedequate (underlining mine): Encephalitis with resultant residual permanent central nervous system (CNS) impairment (encephalopathy) develops in approximately 1 per 1,000 persons infected with measles virus. Whether attenuated live viral measles vaccine can also produce such a syndrome has been a concern since the earliest days of measles vaccine use. In 1994, the IOM noted that most data were from case reports, case series, or uncontrolled observational studies, and concluded that the evidence was inadequate to accept or reject a causal relation (150). BTW-- what are the _odds_ of contracting HIV by sharing toothbrushes? Still looking for any statistics about HIV and toothbrushes, but this is from the CDC's own website: Avoid deep, wet, or French kissing with an infected person. Possible trauma to the mouth may occur, which could result in the exchange of blood. It is safe, however, to hug, cuddle, rub, or dry kiss your partner. Avoid alcohol and illicit drugs. Alcohol and drugs can impair your immune system and your judgment. If you use drugs, do not share injecting drug works. Do not share needles, syringes, or cookers. Do not share personal items such as toothbrushes, razors, and devices used during sex which may be contaminated with blood, semen, or vaginal fluids. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Measles vaccine (was Yanomami)
Title: Measles vaccine (was Yanomami) The CDC site also refers to the possibility of encephalitis (warning issued in 1979), Guillan-Barre syndrome (it looks like the first warning was issued in 1990, but it's a little confusing and I'm losing patience wading through the CDC site), severe allergic reactions among those allergic to eggs , etc. (Because the vaccine is incubated in chicken eggs.) As a matter of fact, reading this report has made me a bit alarmed about MMR vaccines. I've never been against immunization, but have to admit that this article is a bit scary. Check for yourself: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00053391.htm#3189.htm Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Yanomami
Title: Yanomami I used to discuss the Yanomami in earlier years in social psych. (as a group who seemed inclined to great amounts of violence in their culture), but recent developments suggesting that the reports might be skewed caused me to stop including that info until more is known. This just came to my attention, and I thought others might find it of interest: Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell Anthropologists in Uproar Over Yanomami Charges Reuters Nov 17 2000 4:20PM SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Did U.S. researchers spark a measles epidemic that killed hundreds of Amazon Indians? Or has a crusading author unfairly savaged the reputations of some giants in the scientific community? A meeting of the American Anthropological Association in San Francisco this week has been gripped by those two questions in a scandal that cuts to the very heart of modern academic contacts with isolated and indigenous groups scattered around the world. At the center of the crisis is investigative journalist Patrick Tierney, whose new book Darkness In El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon has riven the normally-staid world of academic anthropology with shocking charges and impassioned counter-charges. I know it was a wrenching book to read, and for me to write, Tierney told hundreds of anthropologists gathered last Thursday night for a marathon discussion of the book. I do appreciate how difficult it is to come to terms with some of these issue. AN EPIDEMIC DEEP IN THE AMAZON The issue, according to Tierney's book, involves evidence that scientists during a 1968 expedition inoculated Yanomami Indians against measles and possibly contributed to an epidemic of the disease that killed hundreds, perhaps thousands of the isolated tribe in a remote region of Venezuela. The expedition was funded by the former Atomic Energy Commission and led by the late geneticist James Neel of the University of Michigan and then-University of California at Santa Barbara anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon, one of the world's most famous ethnographers of the Yanomami. Since the book's publication, the charges against Chagnon and Neel have exploded through the academic world -- a seemingly horrific tale of modern investigators preying on defenseless and isolated people in the name of science and academic reputation. But Tierney's charges have also drawn a firestorm of criticism of both his data and his methods, with colleagues and researchers accusing him of producing a piece of political propaganda aimed at destroying Chagnon and Neel's reputations and ultimately doing more harm to the Yanomami and other groups as they pull closer to the modern world. The anti-science views that Patrick Tierney promotes in his book have the potential to deny the native populations of South America access to health care, said Magdalena Hurtado of the University of New Mexico. Tierney suggests that only treatment, and not research, is justifiable. OFFICIAL PROBES, ACADEMIC ANGER The American Anthropological Association has reacted officially to the El Dorado scandal by forming special ad hoc task forces to probe Tierney's charges as well as more general questions of ethical guidelines for field research. At a meeting Thursday, emotions ran high as Tierney faced critics who challenged his assertions that the scientists' decision to inoculate Yanomami with the Edmonston B anti-measles vaccine actually gave them the disease. The Edmonston B vaccine did have side-effects and eventually was withdrawn from the market in the early 1970s, but was a standard treatment in 1968, and critics said Tierney was on dangerous ground with his theory. Tierney's unsupported insinuation that a vaccine caused the epidemic could have an impact on public health programs around the world, said Susan Lindee, a scientific historian at the University of Pennsylvania. Other critics took on Tierney's research methodology, accusing him of cooking the facts to suit his thesis. William Irons of Northwestern University, who appeared at the meeting representing Chagnon, urged participants to assess various defenses of his friend's work being mounted by teams at the University of Michigan, the University of California-Santa Barbara, and other institutions. Tierney says it took him 11 years to research his book, and it took a matter of days to prove some of his allegations were not true, Irons said. If Tierney says it, it probably is not true. Tierney acknowledged the strong emotions that his book has raised, and urged more research into the topic. I understand the anger, he said. They feel that I have recklessly destroyed the reputations of great scientists. But he said the greater question was to discover how the Yanomami had been mistreated in the past, and what the future holds for them. I hope that everyone can work together to find some light from this darkness, he said.
Re: Yanomami
* PAUL K. BRANDON [EMAIL PROTECTED] * wrote: Note: The CDC has stated unequivocally that the measles vaccine used could not cause measles. Why does that statement not convince me? Their "unequivocal" statements change more often than I care to think about. Let's see: Earlier statement: "You can't contract HIV from using the toothbrush of an infected person." Later statement: Oh, yeah, well, I guess you can in some circumstances. E.S.: You can't contract HIV from "french kissing" an infected person. L.S.Well, yeah, you can in some circumstances. The list does go on. Anyone think of others? Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
I just can't believe it's true. . .
Title: I just can't believe it's true. . . Ever influenced by my skepticism (and probably too much time spent reading The Straight Dope and checking out the Urban Legend website [www.snopes.com]) I did some searching and finally find the Tulsa World (Tulsa's daily newspaper) website, and alas, found the story in the archives, verbatim. So I guess that at least in Tulsa, they believe it's true... Here's the website if anyone is as obsessed as I: http://search.tulsaworld.com/archivesearch/default.asp?WCI=DisplayStoryID=001027_Ne_a17paren Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
OOPS -Incomplete pronunciation summary
TIPSTERS, I'm so sorry - I just accidentally sent a partial summary of the "button" pronunciation. (Meant to "send later.") It's only partially complete, but more importantly, it's a mess. I intended to summarize and pare it down to a manageable size, etc. In the present state it's long and illegible. I hope it doesn't clog mail boxes. My sincere apologies. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Pronunciation of button summary
Title: Pronunciation of button summary Subj: Pronunciation question Date: 10/10/2000 5:53:09 PM Eastern Standard Time From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Beth Benoit) To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (TIPS) There's a discussion going on in one of my classes on the pronunciation of buttons (the terminal neuron kind, not the ones on a jacket). Some have been taught to pronounce it to sound like boot-ONS with accent on ons, while others the same as the clothing item. (I was taught the clothing pronunciation.) The students who pronounced it boot-ONS weren't French, so I ruled that out. Anyone taught it the boot-ON way? If there's any interest, please respond offlist and I'll compile the figures. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell I learned the pronounciation, boo-tONS, by several masters in the neurosciences. Spelling is/was, however, boutons. . . . This was back in the dark ages. Sandra Nagel Randall Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI Count me as one giving the boot to boutons. Heck, I even pronounce Benoit as Ben-wah. 'Course, I'm from Quebec, so I may not even count. Regards Stephen Glancing through a stack of old intro books, I found that Weiten, Sternberg, and Zimbardo use button. But the real reason I wanted to chime in is to increase the mystery. James Kalat in the 2nd edition of his Intro to Psych book (1990) used terminal button (page 71). (Don't ask why I still have the 2nd edition within reach... I really don't know.) Is it possible that the it was button, but then someone started saying bouton and now the spelling has started to change to match the pronunciation? Okay... enough of a break for me, back to grading... - Marc G. Marc Turner, MEd Lecturer Head of Computer Operations Department of Psychology Southwest Texas State University San Marcos, TX 78666 phone: (512)245-2526 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi Beth, I was taught boo-ton with accent on the second syllable in both my master in physio psych (seems like such a long time ago) and in the med school neurology classes. I have only seen button as in the clothing variety in a few undergrad texts. Linda M. Woolf, Ph.D. Associate Professor - Psychology Director - Gerontology Coordinator - Holocaust Genocide Studies, Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Webster University 470 East Lockwood St. Louis, MO 63119 Well, the dictionary I quoted had it as bouton, and so does Kalat, and Kandel also (and he just won the Nobel Prize, so we'd better listen up). But Pinel calls it a button. So, some do, some don't. Two observations: 1) Those who call it bouton should pronounce it boot-ON 2) Those who call it button should pronounce it button. And why two names? Kalat (new 7th ed., p. 33) notes that multiple names for structures in the nervous system are common, and amusingly quotes Candace Pert (who probably thinks _she_ should have received the Nobel Prize) that Scientists would rather use each other's toothbrushes than each other's terminology. It's like calling something aubergine or eggplant. Whatever you call it, it's the same stuff. But it does sound as though it would taste better in French. Maybe it's the same with anatomy. -Stephen Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at: http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/ I can go along with this one. There is a dude in the Mind series that says, sigh-naps though. What's the skinny on that? - The Other M.S. Stephen Black wrote: The on-line medical dictionary didn't have it, but the regular one at http://www.dictionary.com/ did. Unfortunately, the pronunciation marks don't reproduce with my mailer, but they specify boot-ON (accent on the second syllable). Case closed? -- * * Mike Scoles * [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Department of Psychology * voice: (501) 450-5418 * * University of Central Arkansas * fax: (501) 450-5424 * * Conway, AR 72035-0001 * * * http://www.coe.uca.edu/psych/scoles/index.html Stephen is correct; however, why is it spelled button (pronounced, but'n) in the textbooks? One of the definitions of a button is: 4. Any of various knoblike organic structures, especially; a. The head of a small mushroom. b. The tip of a rattlesnake's tail. Might there be some French influence on the pronunciation? In John Mitterrer's videodisc from the early 90's (Dynamic Concepts in Psychology--Harcourt Brace) he pronounces it as bouton. John is Canadian, although I do not know if he is French-Canadian. I remain curious why the word is spelled button
Pronunciation question
There's a discussion going on in one of my classes on the pronunciation of "buttons" (the "terminal" neuron kind, not the ones on a jacket). Some have been taught to pronounce it to sound like "boot-ONS" with accent on "ons," while others the same as the clothing item. (I was taught the clothing pronunciation.) The students who pronounced it boot-ONS weren't French, so I ruled that out. Anyone taught it the boot-ON way? If there's any interest, please respond offlist and I'll compile the figures. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: Color of Fear
Found this interesting site for the film, "Color of Fear": http://www.cnn.ru/US/9512/racial_reality/
Re: Name frequency
Title: Re: Name frequency I know the list Stephen found is ten years old, but I was still surprised to see relatively old-fashioned names like Mary and Barbara on the list. (My own, Mary Elizabethcomprises two of the top five, and I have a sister named Barbara. Guess my parents weren't very original.) But I can't remember the last time I had a Mary, except maybe Marybeth - usually condensed into one word. Where are the Jennifers and Kimberlies? I typically have three of the former and two of the latter in just about every class. I'd kind of go for Ardelia, myself. And there were at least two Darrells on the Bob Newhart show about their inn in Vermont. (Remember, This is my brother Darrell, and this is my other brother Darrell?) Back to work... Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell HEAR ME http://www.pagoo.com/signature/bbenoit3 -- From: Stephen Black [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: TIPS [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Name frequency Date: Sun, Oct 1, 2000, 10:05 PM Following up my own post about the relative frequencies of the name Fanny in the US and Britain, I found the web site I was looking for. I can now answer one-half of this question. The site is the US Census, 1990 (2000 is now in progress, it seems) at: http://www.census.gov/genealogy/names/ and it's a handy source of information on frequencies of first and last names, whether for amusement or more serious purposes. Name frequencies and their vissisitudes could well be items of deep psychological and social significance. Fanny comes in at a frequency of .009% and a rank of 974th out of 4,275 female names listed. It's not the most popular, certainly, but it's no slouch as a name, either. Unfortunately, I can't find an equivalent British site, so the issue regarding Fanny is unresolved. For what it's worth, here are the top and bottom five male and female names on the list. The male list has only 1, 219 names on it, so there are about 3.5 times as many unique female names as male names. Both lists were prepared from a sample of 6.3 million names. James John Robert Michael William . . . Elden Dorsey Darell Broderick Alonso Mary Patricia Linda Barbara Elizabeth . . . Ardelia Annelle Angila Alona Allyn I note the absence of the truly bizarre names favoured by rock stars such as Moon Unit and Dweezil. This is probably because even in a sample of 6.3 million names they're unlikely to occur even once. Also, the census people seem to have done some data trimming to eliminate the most infrequent from the list. My own name scores a respectable .540%, or 34th rank. Of course, popular names are not necessarily the best. Who, for example, would want to be Mary in a class where everyone has this name? If you were an Alonso or an Allyn, when you heard your name, at least you would know the teacher meant you. Stephen Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at: http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/
Re: Please help us.
Annette, don't feel foolish. It occurred to me that the quotation beneath your name was very prescient. Am I now standing here with egg on my kindly face? annette Annette Taylor, Ph. D. Department of Psychology E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] University of San Diego Voice: (619) 260-4006 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 "Education is one of the few things a person is willing to pay for and not get." -- W. L. Bryan Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: PKU question
Title: Re: PKU question Since PKU diets require lowering the amount of protein in a baby's diet, a PKU baby can be partially breastfed (emphasis on partially) - that is, just enough to give the baby the minimal protein it needs for growth. The baby is supplemented with a special low phenylalinine formula. The baby's blood levels are checked weekly and the mother given directives about how many times per day she may breastfeed the baby, dependent on that week's blood levels. Actually, the same is true for formula-fed babies. The baby is given an optimum balance of formula vs. low phenylalinine formula. The key is that weekly blood level test. For a first-hand report of breastfeeding a PKU baby, here's an interesting website from La Leche League (a group devoted to encouraging breastfeeding): http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBSepOct98p153.html Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell HEAR ME http://www.pagoo.com/signature/bbenoit3 -- From: shensch [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: PKU question Date: Wed, Sep 27, 2000, 7:15 AM Tipsters: I'm not often stumped by student questions (at least not that I admit), but a student in my lifespan development class posed an interesting question...when a baby is born with PKU can the mother breastfeed, or does mother's milk contain phenylalanines? Anyone out there know the answer, off the top of your head? Shirley Hensch -- Shirley Hensch, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Psychology University of Wisconsin - Marshfield/Wood County mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --
Re: Please help us.
Am I missing something here? Are we being asked to do students' assignments?? What's the operational definition of TIPS? We are four undergraduate students who are conducting a research experiment on free word recall with different types of music. Can any of you help us with the following topics: 1. Operational definition of positive and negative words. etc.. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: Looking for the Prism Glasses Guy
Hi Kathy, It's Jim Matiya you're looking for. He's at [EMAIL PROTECTED] I have two different pair of his wonderful prism glasses. Always a huge hit in class. He's a goldmine of psych. ideas. He also puts out a newsletter of psych. ideas called "Psychsig." Ask him about it, because he's too modest and won't toot his own horn enough. He makes or finds all kinds of things that have to do with psychology - stamps and buttons, even brain-shaped lollipops. Good luck, Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell -- From: Kathleen Morgan [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Looking for the Prism Glasses Guy Date: Tue, Sep 19, 2000, 6:51 PM Hi Tipsters! Somewhere out there in TIPS land, I know there is someone who sells prism glasses. Might that person please contact me? Or if you know the person I need to communicate with, please email me offline. Thanks!:-) --Kathy Morgan [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Grades, Curving, Fairness Motivation
Title: Re: Grades, Curving, Fairness Motivation Hi Mike, I've wrestled with this problem and found the fairest (particularly if I'm feeling like something failed to click in my classroom) is to offer them a retake outside of class at one scheduled time. (Best if it's a Saturday at 8 a.m. That will show you who cares.) This may be a bit of a hassle for you, but you'll be surprised to find it weeds out those who just needed another chance and those who don't care. Those who don't care will either not show up, show up late, and/or get about the same grade second time around. The good things are 1) it's a lifesaver for those who blew it and are just sick about it, 2) it will make you feel better. Of course you will have to offer it to all, so even those who got a 91% may choose to take it again. (Ah, that's a good student, albeit a student who is a tad obsessive.) Good luck, whatever your chosen path. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell -- From: Michael J. Kane [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Grades, Curving, Fairness Motivation Date: Wed, Sep 20, 2000, 3:15 PM Hi all, I have a 2-part question, based on the following (too true) premise: I just gave the first exam of a Cognitive Psychology course, which consisted of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. The class includes many 1st and 2nd year students, with a smattering of 3rd and 4th year students. Based on percent-correct scores, my grade distribution breaks down as follows: A's: 11% B's: 11% C's: 11% D's: 18% F's: 50% Yikes. Clearly, some students performed admirably, but many others did not. So here is part 1 of my question: Would you leave the grades as-is, or re-scale them somehow? If the latter, what method would you choose, given that the 2 highest grades are near-perfect scores (98%), and the bottom grade is 25% correct? I'm typically not fond of finding breaks in the distributions as a means to assign grades, because I do not want to foster competition among my students. I also would like each exam and quiz score to be a number (e.g., 90%, 75%) so that's it's easy for students to calculate their grades as the semester proceeds. Are there good reasons NOT to simply give everyone a free 10%, for example, which would raise everyone's grade and make the distribution look a little more reasonable (beyond the fact that a few students will have grades over 100%)? The 2nd part of my question is, given that many students did not do well, many of us -- including me -- are likely to feel some sense of failure. Although I would like to think that these poor grades will improve the motivation and work ethic of my students and me, my previous experience suggests that this will be true for only some students. Any suggestions on how to *build* motivation and/or confidence in a situation like this, as opposed to crushing it? I've been at this just a few years and I'm not sure I've figured it out yet. Thanks much! -Mike Michael J. Kane Department of Psychology P.O. Box 26164 University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC 27402-6164 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone: 336-256-1022 fax: 336-334-5066
Re: Levitation
Fairy dust, perhaps? (Worked for Peter Pan.) This may seem like one of those silly me-too posts, but it is followed by a serious request. Have we gotten off the path of teaching psychology? With the exception of a p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e link to social psychology (people can be fooled in a group?) I don't see much science here. This is silly. I'd be embarrassed if someone were to have just subscribed to TIPS and saw this group of academicians bandying this topic around. Can we get back to psychology? Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: Guest Speaker(?)
Can I suggest more than one? 1. (Our own) Dave Myers - I've heard him speak twice, once at APA. He has warmth and charm and he gave a very interesting presentation about the work he did to find out about happiness in people. Could touch on research methods, social psych., even abnormal. He's at Hope College and has textbooks in social and general psychology. 2. Claude Steele 3. Phil Zimbardo 4. (Our own) Stephen Black - you know all of us at TIPS would love to meet him and hear him talk about anything. (He's going to kill me for this, and I've never personally met him - only in cyberspace!!!) Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell -- From: Shirley-Anne Hensch [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "TIPS" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Guest Speaker(?) Date: Mon, Sep 18, 2000, 10:46 AM Tipsters: Imagine that your department had a 'relatively unlimited' amount of money available, and you were asked to select one speaker who would come to your campus and do a presentation on some current topic for your Introductory Psychology students. Who would you suggest the department invite? Shirley Hensch -- Shirley Hensch, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Psychology University of Wisconsin - Marshfield/Wood County mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --
Re: MSN Health - Strange migraine cure
Yes, this procedure has been offered for migraines since about 1994, but it might also be noted that another "downside" is that the person is being injected with BOTULISM toxin. (Called "Botox.") The possible side effects, quite severe, have to be weighed against the severity of the migraines and only after other measures have proved unsuccessful. Another consideration, which I would take quite seriously, would be to make sure the physician is very competent. This is a potentially dangerous procedure. The effects do last for about 3 months and cost "several hundred dollars" per treatment. At present, the only FDA-approved use of Botox is to stop tremors and spasms, but doctors are allowed to use medications for conditions other than those for which they're designed as long as they see a benefit. I think I'd be pretty leary of having botulism toxin injected so close to what I have left of my brain. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell A friend who suffers migraines tells me that she heard botulism injections are also being touted as a mirgraine cure. If the botulism injections temporarily paralyze the nerves in the muscles that produce frowns (is this indeed what happens?), then it appears to be a less drastic way to arrive at the same conclusion. The downside is that the injections are temporary in nature and relatively expensive for a long-term treatment. The upside is that they are a temporary fix and be stopped at any time. Anyone ever heard of this? Margie Stinson Adjunct Faculty, Lee College Huntsville, Texas
Re: Applied Survivor Activity
Title: Re: Applied Survivor Activity I am so upset by this posting that I can hardly see to type. There is so much wrong with this that I hardly know where to start. The two worst offenses, of course are: -stupidity of student -anyone with Tourettes' Then of course, the idea of escorting undesirables from the classroom, based on the outcome of a popularity poll, is unconscionable. I could visualize that, if M. Sylvester were to indeed incorporate this paradigm into the classroom, perhaps the students would see clearly enough to escort him from the classroom. Considering past postings from Michael, I'm not sure whether his posting was tongue-in-cheek, just posted to yank our chains, or serious. Please say you were only joking, Michael. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell I am toying with the idea of incorporating the Survivor paradigm in class. Just as in the TV series,someone gets kicked off the island;in my Classroom version I would ask students to secretly vote who they feel should be kicked out of the class.The criteria to be used to express their desire to kick a student out of the class would be: -stupidity of student - unrelenting tardiness - lack of communication - poor critical thinking skills - dozing off -anyone with Tourettes' The students who are voted to be kicked out would then be escorted out of the class and permitted to re-enter after they have apologized to the class. It is hoped that this activity would lead to a high self-monitoring of behavior and hence improve classroom morale. Michael Sylvester,Ph.D Daytona Beach,Florida
Aphasics: human lie detectors
Title: Aphasics: human lie detectors Interesting short article in Discover : Human Lie Detectors Josie Glausiusz People who think they know a lie when they hear one are fooling themselves. According to psychologist Nancy Etcoff, the average joe is terrible at telling when another person is being deceitful. The superior truth detectors are certain kinds of aphasics those who, because of damage to the brain's left hemisphere, have lost the ability to understand spoken sentences. Etcoff, of Massachusetts General Hospital East in Charlestown, recently showed a test video to both a group of aphasics and a group of people with normal language skills. The video showed volunteers describing their emotional states as they watched a movie. Half the time the volunteers were interviewed while watching gruesome scenes of limb amputation and lying about their feelings; the other half of the time they were viewing peaceful nature films and responding honestly. Aphasics correctly identified lies in up to three quarters of all cases, whereas normal subjects were correct just half of the time no better than chance. Loss of language may free aphasics to pick up on unspoken cues to deceit a fleeting expression of sadness, a raised pitch of voice that most other people ignore. When we're talking to someone else, we're getting information overload what they say, their facial expressions, their gestures, Etcoff explains. But we really focus in on language, and language may camouflage some of the other cues. Also, local brain damage might trigger changes in the nerve cell wiring that enhance lie detection. Etcoff hopes future studies with brain imaging tools will settle the question. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell HEAR ME http://www.pagoo.com/signature/bbenoit3
Re: throwing up my hands
Title: Re: throwing up my hands Isn't is nauseating that Current evidence shows these facts: nauseous is most frequently used to mean physically affected with nausea, usually after a linking verb such as feel or become? So does that mean that usage - even incorrect usage - will ultimately change the original meaning of the word? What's next? Perhaps that meaningless expression I could have cared less actually meaning I couldn't care less? Heaven help us!! Is there no mercy for those of us who consider themselves the Keepers of Flame of Correct Usage?? Trying to hold my head aloft so I don't become - well, you know, Beth Benoit University of Massachuseetts Lowell HEAR ME http://www.pagoo.com/signature/bbenoit3 -- From: David [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: throwing up my hands Date: Fri, Aug 4, 2000, 12:20 PM On the question of _nauseated_ vs. _nauseous_, I've always let Merriam-Webster be my guide: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary Main Entry: nau.seous Date: 1612 1 : causing nausea or disgust : NAUSEATING 2 : affected with nausea or disgust usage: Those who insist that nauseous can properly be used only in sense 1 and that in sense 2 it is an error for nauseated are mistaken.; figurative use is quite a bit less frequent. Use of nauseous in sense 1 is much more often figurative than literal, and this use appears to be losing ground to nauseating. Nauseated is used more widely than nauseous in sense 2.
Re: Correct English police (was At last a test...)
Title: Re: Correct English police (was At last a test...) Hi Stephen, Hope you don't think I was correcting you with my little nauseous/nauseated offering. But was it really that particularly nauseating word that introduced us?? I'd forgotten. So while we're on the subject, can you enlighten us a bit? (Inquiring minds want to know...) What's on pogey? What are: a Robertson screwdriver, Canadian tire money, Participaction (another typo?). And who are Doug and Bob? Feeling smug because I knew the other answers, Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell HEAR ME http://www.pagoo.com/signature/bbenoit3
Re: 2 questions
The documentary is available from the History Channel. I ordered a copy from the website (www.historychannel.com) - I think it was about $19.95. Frankly, it wasn't as exciting as I'd expected it might be...lots of interviews with the observers who didn't call the police...not as "meaty" as I'd hoped. Too bad: I bought it with personal funds. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell -- From: ninat [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: 2 questions Date: Wed, Jun 14, 2000, 8:47 AM A couple of months ago a tipster entioned that there was a documentary on PBS on the Kitty Genovese story. I tried taping the documentary that night, but was unsuccessful. It was not playing in our area. Was anyone able to tape it or do you know where I may be able to pick up a copy of this video? Second question, I am teaching a class on Group Dynamics in a coupld of weeks and would like to start preparing for it now. has anyone ever taught a class on Group Dynamics and could you give me some insight as to how you taught the class (i.e., assignments, class activities, exams, etc.) I have never taught this class or taken the class so, I am at a loss right now. Nina Tarner
Re: Psychology and the Unabomber
Title: Re: Psychology and the Unabomber The idea that a teacher/mentor can be responsible for influencing a person is certainly not new, but I think the Atlantic Monthly article that Jeff Nagelbush brought to our attention is chilling, and an important reminder that we may have influence in many ways we don't anticipate. How responsible are we? How responsible should we feel? What if a student points a finger at us and says, I got the idea from her? Sobering thoughts... It occurred to me that we don't mind taking credit for positive influences, but perhaps when the influence may have a negative outcome we hasten to say, You can't blame me! I think/hope this may prove to be a very interesting thread about teacher responsibility in the heady sector of ideas. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: Feebleness of excuses (new thread)
Well, gee, I THINK my students like my CLASSES. I don't have a problem with class attendance - I seldom have more than a couple not there, and they often bring friends. I think I was pointing out that it's the TESTS they make excuses for... Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell Louis Schmier wrote: Why is the classroom not attractive, alluring, inviting to them? Why don't they want to come to class, look forward to it...I think it is easy to point a finger and cast blame; what is our role--perhaps fault--in this having created this situation?
Feebleness of excuses (new thread)
Title: Feebleness of excuses (new thread) I have been beginning to wonder if the feebleness of excuses is indicative of the lack of importance we, as teachers, inadvertently place on showing up. I allow makeup tests with a good excuse. But I also remember that I NEVER missed a test or exam, no matter how sick, etc. I received this missive last night, from one of my best students. (This surprises me, in light of a recent TIPS posting correlating excuse-making with poor performance in class. I agree with this and have found it to be true.) Would the student miss an interview for the job of a lifetime? Would they fail to make an appointment to collect a check for $1,000,000? Obviously we can't expect our class to be in the same category of importance, but I use these two examples in class to TRY to impress on students the idea that what sometimes seems to them to be a no-choice situation, where they regretfully have to miss class, is indeed a pretty careful calculation of what's important to them. I found the following a bit feeble - and I'm a dog lover: Professor Benoit- You will not get this until tomorrow, perhaps not even until after class, but please allow me to take the exam on Tuesday. My aunt ran over her dog tonight and she is going to be put to sleep tomorrow. This is devastating to the entire family and we're going to say goodbye to her tomorrow. Please accept my apology and e-mail me back when you can. Thank you. So she's missing an exam to say goodbye to a poor dog who is on life support? (It also bothers me that they're putting off euthanasia for the poor dog...) Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: Seeing thunder and hearing lightning
Title: Re: Seeing thunder and hearing lightning This discussion reminds me of an article I read fairly recently - and of course can't find now - about people who associate colors with numbers. I thought the article was in Discover Magazine, but didn't recognize it on the website of archive issues. Can anyone help me before I acknowledge the loss of my mind? If anyone can remind my feeble brain of where I saw it, I'll find it and summarize it for TIPS, since it's on the same wavelength as this thread. (Unlike me...) Numbly yours, Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: Liars
Title: Re: Liars Haven't come across any organized groups for compulsive liars, (perhaps Michael Quanty is right There is but htey never meet where or when they say they will!) but did come across these interesting bits of information: (from Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell) Liars use short sentences, the past tense and negative statements Summarised from an article by Cherry Norton, entitled 'Liars unmasked by the way they speak', in the Sunday Times and from an item by Nigel Hawkes, entitled 'Truth to tell, liars are not easy to spot', in the Times (Sept 8th '97). Bella DePaula, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, has found, in a study of 3,000 people, that the following clues are the most useful indicators of whether somebody is lying: 'Liars say I am not a crook rather than I am honest ' *Lack of specific detail - not volunteering names of people and places *Short answers *Using the past tense *Using negative statements (for example saying I am not a crook rather than I am honest) *Increased eye contact *Higher pitched voice In one experiment, the diaries kept showed that the student participants lied in 77 per cent of their conversations with strangers, 48 per cent with acquaintances and 28 per cent with good friends. Dr Richard Wiseman, psychologist at Hertfordshire University, believes that people's performance in detecting liars can be improved by up to 70 per cent. His hypothesis is that right-handers (who specialise in using the left-hand side of the brain to pick up verbal and linguistic clues) will be better at detecting liars than left-handers (who use both sides of the brain for the same task). Freeze frame videos reveal liars Summarised from an item by Mark Austin in the Sunday Times (Aug '97) entitled 'Candid camera exposes liars'. 'At one frame per second, the person's underlying micro-expressions are revealed' If a person who is lying is videoed at 25 frames per second, and one frame in 25 is picked out; and if then the selected frames are shown at a rate of one frame per second, the person's underlying 'micro-expressions' are revealed. Almost two thirds of 120 volunteers, in a study led by Dr Richard Wiseman at the University of Hertfordshire, were able to pick out the liars using this method, whereas only just over a third were able to do so with normal footage. Signs of lying were found to include: *moving the head a lot when talking *touching the face *a smile that does not engage the eyes *too much eye contact *short answers to questions *a big gap before answering a question *overcompensating for mistakes *sweat *dilated pupils.
Re: those Cuban-American Psychologists
I stand my ground in stating that "we" psychologists still have no business making predictions about what is best for Elian. Even the statistical predictions Richard Platt referred to superiority of statistical prediction over clinical prediction. Personal contact might make us more confident in our evaluation of the likely outcome but it would not necessarily result in a better prediction are based on having a certain amount of knowledge about the situation at hand, and the opinion of those not privileged to the information can be no better than a guess - the very thing that statistics hopes to improve upon. Could we assert, with statistics behind us, that ANY child would be better or worse off with ANY parent? No, of course not. Our assertion would depend on the facts we know about the child and his/her personality development, intelligence (retarded? of normal intelligence? autistic?) and facts we know of the parent (abusive? alcoholic? mentally ill?). The more facts we know, at least, the better we could make a prediction with a certain amount of statistical certainty. (All of the above adjectives about the child and parent, of course, are examples. PLEASE don't construe these comments to mean that I harbor these thoughts about Elian or his father. I'm only using David Cooper's tactic of example for the sake of making a point.) So here's my rounded-off conclusion: we don't have enough facts to spout off a prediction. I find the continual interviewing of psychologists by the press on this issue to be an embarrassment to our profession. Their GUESS is as good as mine (a community psychologist) or Ron Blue's (a correlation-opponent-process advocate) or even Louis Schmier's (a historian). But to continually present these interviewee's opinions as fact is annoying. The headline of the article I quoted in my earlier post was: "Elian's needs unmet, specialists say." with a subheadline: "While sides spar, psychologists worry about damage to boy." Maybe they need to interview Michael Sylvester, who will tell them HE'S sure the kid will do fine, based, I guess, on his proven ability to hang onto a liferaft. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: Animal intelligence and animal observation (TV)
Our Labrador Retriever barks wildy at other dogs on TV. She's our fourth Lab, but the only one to do so...It's not just a response to the TV dog barking, because just a "visible" dog is all that's necessary to elicit this response. Other than this behavior, I'd hesitate to say she's particularly bright. (Au contraire...) No response to photo- graphs. Guess they have to be moving to be "alive" - a bit like the "animism" of toddlers?? Any other reports of TV-watching dogs (with breed reported)? Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
TV show on gender identity
One of my students told me of a television show she saw about two weeks on gender identity. It was shown on our "Discovery" channel, and was called something like "Is it a boy or is it a girl?" It was shown on a Sunday night and showed interviews with several families with "guevodoces" (recently discussed on TIPS) and some CAH girls. Naturally, she didn't think to tape it, although she recognized the topics we'd discussed in our Psychology of Women class. : ( I immediately checked the listings for that week and found it was indeed shown on the previous Sunday night on the Discovery channel. I've checked the Discovery.com website several times since then and can find no mention of the show. I'd buy it, if it's available, but haven't found it. Did anybody else see it and/or know where I can get it? (Or was it even good enough that I should be considering buying it with my own $$?) Thanks. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: those Cuban-American Psychologists
A friend, knowing (or assuming!) my psychology "expertise," asked me recently what, as a psychologist, I thought of the Elian issue. Tempting as it was to issue some authoritative- sounding statement about developmental stages, influences on personality development, and the impact of trauma on a child, I bit my tongue, held my ego in rein, and said I didn't know, because I hadn't had any contact with this particular child. (And frankly, couldn't necessarily KNOW even if I had.) As psychologists, I think we should know step back from taking sides in this political hotbed. We should know better than to attempt to assess the psychological well-being of a child we have not personally had the opportunity to assess (unless you count Time Magazine, our local newspapers, television news, the person-in-the-street, and Michael Sylvester). To assume, as Michael Sylvester did, that If he is resilient enough to survive in the ocean,he should be able to survive the trip back to Cuba and the lifestyle there seems to me to be the most solipsistic analysis I have yet encountered in all the Elian-media reporting. I'm still struggling with my shock at Michael's slur on Elian's cousin (whose name, incidentally, is "Marisleysis," not "Marleysis") for her purported hospitalization for depression. Is this supposed to make her less credible as an loving person to Elian? It is tempting to use our Piagetian/Developmental background and assess Elian, as Joyce Pavao (an expert in adoption) did, declaring, "It is absurd, but this is a very young child...still in shock and in grief, and of course he would likely say that he wants things to stay as they are. Who wouldn't?" (Boston Globe, April 3, 2000) Yet she did not interview Elian, but is making judgments based on her instinct about Elian as a prototype for the children she has encountered. There are so many variables in a child's reactions to a life situation that it seems to me to be very rash to make a pronouncement here, unless it is offered as a political opinion. Or as David Cooper offered with his extreme examples of rescuing a child from East Berlin or slave conditions, as an extreme scenario offered for the sake of argument. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: The IQ of animals (no joke)
I know I've read that pigs have high IQs (for an animal), but haven't found a source. But I did come across this interesting and entertaining site: www.wnet.org/nature/animalmind/index.htmlti=NATURE%3A+Inside+the+Animal+Min dtop= It even has a great little video clip showing a chimp using problem-solving to get a banana and an interview with Jane Goodall discussing animal intelligence. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: cheating?
Of course it's cheating. I think the problem may be our expansion of what we consider "not cheating." Our new meaning allows us to consider ease of results into the morality equation: If the "system" (in this case, the computer program) doesn't forestall the resultant effort, then it's not cheating. Or to translate: If there's a simple, obvious way to do something, then it's obviously not cheating. If the first effort produced a 40% and the second effort, after changing answers, produced a 100%, then that is cheating. What happened to honor? (Buried in cyberspace perhaps?) Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell The situation was unfortunate, but I'm not really sure if I would consider what these students did as cheating. There was simply a problem with a computer program. What do y'all think? -- Steven M. Specht, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology Psychology Department Utica College of Syracuse University 1600 Burrstone Rd. Utica, NY 13502 (315) 792-3171 ***savor meaningful moments***
Re: skepticism and religious students/books
Just a quick note - the second book recommended by Gary Peterson, was written by one of "our own" - Dave Myers. I think it's kind of enjoyable to find out that something we're discussing on TIPS involves a member of our "community" of TIPS. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell Myers, D. G., Jeeves, M.A. (1987). Psychology through the eyes of faith. New York: HarperCollins. A less controversial tome (well, okay, it could be ;-) with chapter headings matching the typical Intro Psych text, but also coverage of psychic stuff. Gary Peterson
Re: Fearing that my hair will turn white
Title: Re: Fearing that my hair will turn white In response to Jeff Ricker's question, an answer from the eminent authority, Cecil Adams, from More of the Straight Dope: (Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell) Can hair turn white overnight from fright? Dear Cecil: We have a question that has been plaguing us ever since Ask Andy declined to answer it some 30 years ago. Can hair turn white overnight from fright? We recall reading somewhere that during stressful events the few remaining dark hairs in a salt-and-pepper head can loosen and come out so that a person appears to be very much whiter. Is this true? We have been let down before, Uncle Cece, so please come through for us. --Susan K., MD, Los Angeles, and NWB, Seattle Cecil replies: I'm not saying you lack initiative, doc. But if this question had been bugging me for 30 years it might have crossed my mind to head down to the library. Doing so would have turned up a delightful essay on the subject by J.E. Jelinek, a dermatology professor at NYU. Overnight graying or whitening of hair has been reported for centuries, Jelinek says. For almost as long as doctors have been arguing about whether it actually occurs, and if so, how. The hair of Thomas More, for one, is said to have become entirely white the evening before his execution in 1535. Henry of Navarre, later Henry IV of France, supposedly went suddenly white following his escape from the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572. But the evidence for such stories is often highly suspect. Legend has it, for instance, that Marie Antoinette's hair turned white the night before she was beheaded. Several writers clearly state, however, that in fact her hair had lost its color long before. (One claims it turned suddenly white following her failed attempt to flee France in 1791.) Even in modern times reports of rapid graying often turn out to be secondhand or to have originated with doctors who examined the patient months after the supposed event. The problem with sudden whitening, of course, is that hair is dead tissue. So you'd think it would be incapable of becoming entirely white until it grows out from the roots, a process that takes weeks. Still, as you say, there does seem to be one way that hair can appear to turn gray in a very short period of time. What happens is that a condition called diffuse alopecia areata may occur in somebody with a mix of normal and gray hairs. Alopecia can result in sudden, substantial hair loss. For unknown reasons it seems to affect mostly pigmented hairs, leaving white ones untouched. The impression one gets, therefore, is that the patient has become suddenly gray. The sequence of biological events resulting in alopecia is not well understood, but it's thought emotional stress can contribute to it. Wherefore, chill. If you're male you're probably going to lose all that hair eventually, but no sense hurrying the process. --CECIL ADAMS sdbod -- From: Jeff Ricker [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: TIPS [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fearing that my hair will turn white Date: Sun, Mar 19, 2000, 11:58 AM I was reading the NY Times Book Review this morning. In one book, a claim apparently is made that a person's hair turned white while being tortured over a period of several days. It seems obvious that the claim being made is this: intense fear can cause a person's hair to turn white very rapidly (over a period of hours or days). Many of us have heard this claim before. Does anyone have any evidence that this can happen? It seems unlikely to me because I can't think of any physical mechanism that might cause hair to change color so rapidly. If it is a myth, where does it come from? Jeff P.S. I have a large amount of white hair. Have I repressed an emotionally traumatic incident from my past? Should I go into therapy to try to recover this memory? Actually, I kinda' like my white hair: it makes me look like a young Phil Donahue. Do you think my repressed memory has anything to do with Phil Donahue??!! -- Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213 9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298 Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED] Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626 The truth is rare and never simple. Oscar Wilde Science must begin with myths and with the criticism of myths Karl Popper
Extra psych. books
Hi TIPSters, Just finishing up my last day of spring break, and decided to try cleaning up my bookshelves...I remembered that Jim Matiya, who is a frequent TIPS contributor, is thrilled to receive our extra textbooks. He puts on a Psychology Fair at his high school in the spring that sounds very exciting and offers psychology textbooks as prizes for his students at the Fair. Those of us at college/university levels get inundated with textbooks to peruse for consideration. In all my years of teaching, only once have I been asked by a publisher to return a textbook if I decided not to use it. (I recall that they gave me a return envelope.) So what to do with the largesse of textbooks? I suggest we donate them to high school teachers who can use them. If you want to send them to Jim, here's his address: Jim Matiya Carl Sandburg High School 13300 LaGrange Road Orland Park, IL 60462 Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Margaret Mead sources (long list)
Title: Margaret Mead sources (long list) This is a bit of a tease (sorry, Stephen!) but here are headlines and titles of Margaret Mead sources. I clicked on a few but there were charges for each, so. If anyone wants to shell out a few coins to find the real stuff, we at TIPS will be happy to share in your largesse. Headlines that caught my attention are that a think tank called Mead's methods sloppy and her conclusions false, naming her work the worst nonfiction book of the century. Okay, I was tempted to hand over my MasterCard number on that one... The source that looked most scientific (from Science) was in the Letters section. However it assessed a charge for gawking as well. Here's the source for searches - I've bookmarked it for future. It looks pretty thorough - includes both professional and non- for sources. Even helpfully lists reading level for article. (Could that be a measurement for future TIPSters? Reading level below 15 need not apply?) http://www.elibrary.com/s/encarta1 Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell Date: 05-01-1999 Reading Level: 14. The Margaret Mead Vendetta, Round Two ; The World I LOWELL D. HOLMES; 05-01-1999 Size: 15K Relevancy: 100; Date: 11-04-1998 Reading Level: 10. Jokes or hoax, we've fallen for some mighty tall tales ; Gannett News Service JOHN OMICINSKI; 11-04-1998 Size: 6K Relevancy: 100; Date: 02-05-1999 Reading Level: 11. Friday Book: Sex and the Samoans ; Independent Jonathan Benthall; 02-05-1999 Size: 6K Relevancy: 100; Date: 01-21-2000 Reading Level: 9. Mead's observations of Samoan culture named worst nonfiction bookPThink tank calls methods sloppy, conclusions false ; The Dallas Morning News Jean Christensen / Associated Press; 01-21-2000 Size: 5K Relevancy: 100; Date: 07-02-1999 Reading Level: 15. Margaret Mead in Samoa ; Science Freeman, Derek; 07-02-1999 Size: 3K Relevancy: 100; Date: 07-02-1999 Reading Level: 15. Margaret Mead in Samoa ; Science Freeman, Derek; 07-02-1999 Size: 3K Relevancy: 100; Date: 07-02-1999 Reading Level: 15. Margaret Mead in Samoa ; Science Freeman, Derek; 07-02-1999 Size: 3K Relevancy: 100; Date: 07-02-1999 Reading Level: 15. Margaret Mead in Samoa ; Science Freeman, Derek; 07-02-1999 Size: 3K Relevancy: 100; Date: 09-22-1995 Reading Level: 10. The roles and status of men and women in nineteenth century Omaha andPawnee societies: postmodernist uncertainties and empirical evidence . ; The American Indian Quarterly Wishart, David; 09-22-1995 Size: 25K Relevancy: 100; Date: 01-21-2000 Reading Level: 12. 1925 Mead work takes another hit // A think tank named her famed work on American Samoans the worst nonfiction book of the century. ; Minneapolis Star Tribune ; 01-21-2000 Size: 4K Relevancy: 100; Date: 07-01-1998 Reading Level: 8. Histories of Special Education: Stories From Our Past, Insights for Our Future ; Remedial Special Education J. DAVID SMITH; 07-01-1998 Size: 24K Relevancy: 100; Date: 01-01-1991 Reading Level: 16. Mead, Margaret ; The Reader's Companion to American History ; 01-01-1991 Size: 4K Relevancy: 100; Date: 01-08-1995 Reading Level: 7. BROWN REFURBUSHES LANDLORD IMAGE - MANSION HILL HOME REVAMPED FOR OFFICES, APARTMENTS ; Wisconsin State Journal BY JUDY NEWMAN, FOR THE STATE JOURNAL; 01-08-1995 Size: 4K Relevancy: 100; Date: 05-01-1999 Reading Level: 9. Thoughts on the Changing Meaning of Disability: New Eugenics or New Wholeness? ; Remedial Special Education J. DAVID SMITH; 05-01-1999 Size: 12K Relevancy: 100; Date: 10-14-1995 Reading Level: 7. 19th Margaret Mead Film Video Festival ; New York Amsterdam News Charles Baillou; 10-14-1995 Size: 9K Relevancy: 100; Date: 02-01-1998 Reading Level: 12. Science: An expression of the facts ; Independent on Sunday Kenan Malik; 02-01-1998 Size: 14K Relevancy: 100; Date: 03-07-1997 Reading Level: 13. U of Penn features Margaret Mead Festival: Selections taken from her ; Philadelphia Tribune, The ; 03-07-1997 Size: 4K Relevancy: 100; Date: 03-22-1998 Reading Level: 12. Franz Boas and professional anthropology: on mapping the borders of the modern..(Special Issue: Victorian Ethnographies) ; Victorian Studies Hegeman, Susan; 03-22-1998 Size: 76K Relevancy: 100; Date: 11-01-1998 Reading Level: 13. Magnificent seven ; Women's Review of Books Wineapple, Brenda; 11-01-1998 Size: 10K Relevancy: 100; Date: 12-12-1999 Reading Level: 8. LETTERS PAGE ; Denver Rocky Mountain News ; 12-12-1999 Size: 11K Relevancy: 100; Date: 05-13-1996 Reading Level: 10. The 'junior' in junior high finds some respect Illinois school has new ideas ; USA Today Dennis Kelly; 05-13-1996 Size: 5K Relevancy: 100; Date: 01-01-1995 Reading Level: 0. Margaret Mead ; Archive Photos ; 01-01-1995 Size: 1K Relevancy: 100; Date: 03-01-1995 Reading Level: 9. Assisted suicide and older poeple - a deadly combination: ethical problems in permitting assisted suicide. ; Issues in Law Medicine Osgood, Nancy J
Re: William James and dope
Title: Re: William James and dope This resource from The Atlantic Monthy might be of interest in this discussion: http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/96may/nitrous/nitrous.htm Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Answer to light bulb brain teaser
Title: Answer to light bulb brain teaser OK, here it is. You have three switches, 1,2, and 3. Turn on any two switches, say, 1 and 3, and leave on for a minute. Then turn off one switch, say, 1. Then go upstairs. If the light is on then it's obviously controlled by switch 3. If the light is off and cool, switch 2 controls it. If the light is off and warm, switch 1 controls it. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Re: what do brain teasers demonstrate?
Title: Re: what do brain teasers demonstrate? I use brain teasers as an example of how difficult it may be to assess different kinds of intelligence (a la Gardner's multiple- factor theory). It seems that the modern take on intelligence stresses the importance of problem-solving skills that require creative thinking, with less emphasis on the older ideas that intelligence is based on logical thinking skills. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell Molly's reaction struck a cord with me, in that I have been wondering what the instructional use of brain teasers would be? I will (hopefully) be teaching an Intro Psych course here at UNC next year, and had thought of using the previous hat brain teaser, but couldn't think of what it would be used to demonstrate. Any suggestions/ideas? Thanks, Matt Raney
Re: Ethnic urban legends
Title: Re: Ethnic urban legends This rather interesting exchange took place on another list I came across while searching for some Mead background: (Note: I issue my standard caveat about web sources - an undocumented source on the web is only worth the paper on which it's written. ) ;-) Also, in America, groups like Poles and Italians were not always considered white. Benjamin Franklin stated that Germans, Swedes, French, and Russians were members of the swarthy races and that the Anglo-Saxons were the only truly white people in the world. White is a rather moveable feast. As we now understand it, the term white was created in the 1970s and may or may not include Arabs. Although one can define caucasian (hence the inclusion of Asian Indians and Ethiopians), there is no historically or culturally valid definition of white. In fact, Poles, Italians and the like were considered non-white by U.S. immigration authorities until about the 1920s. Also, in one of the postings there was talk about Native Americans' attitudes toward the Earth and its natural resources. But these attitudes varied from tribe to tribe and were influenced by how people fed themselves. The hunting and fishing tribes tended to have one way of dealing with nature, the farming tribes another.
Ethnic urban legends (Was: Rites of passage and anthropological accuracy)
Title: Ethnic urban legends (Was: Rites of passage and anthropological accuracy) Having also heard the Mead controversy (I also alluded to it in a recent post), I thought it might be interesting to compare notes about studies, facts, etc., about ethnicity which were held to be true but later dismissed. (I'm looking for Mead controversy sources...) One that immediately comes to mind, as discussed in Janet Hyde's Half the Human Experience, my text for Psychology of Women: The belief that menstruating women in American Indian tribes were isolated because they were contaminated. This belief was described by Stephens in 1961. (Stephens, W.N. (1961). A cross-cultural study of menstrual taboos. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 64, 385-416.) Firsthand accounts from Indian writers provide a different interpretation: Menstruating women were not shunned as unclean, but rather were considered extremely powerful, with tremendous capacities for destruction. Women's spiritual forces were thought to be especially strong during menstruation, and women were generally thought to possess powers so great that they could counteract or weaken men's powers. (quote from Hyde) Source: LaFramboise, Teresa D., Heyle, Anneliese M., Ozer, Emily J. (1990). Changing and diverse roles of women in American Indian culture. Sex Roles, 22, 455-476.) Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell -- From: Stephen Black [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: TIPS [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Rites of passage and anthropological accuracy Date: Wed, Mar 8, 2000, 10:46 AM On Wed, 8 Mar 2000 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: However, keeping in mind that some of my Native relatives have had fun over the years telling anthropologists and psychologists stories about some of our traditions that aren't fully true..some things just aren't meant to be shared under certain circumstances. Now that's interesting. There's a current controversy concerning Margaret Mead's work, and apparently a claim that at least some of what she put into Coming of Age in Samoa was a joke perpetuated on her by her interviewees. I have sources, somewhere. -Stephen
Brain teasers wanted
I used John Kulig's wonderful "hat" brain teaser in class to demonstrate different approaches to assessing intelligence. It was such a hit that I'm hoping to have occasional teasers to spice up class. Anybody have any others? Here's one I have to offer (hope I can describe it as well as I heard it): (Answer tomorrow!!) You have three electrical switches on the first floor of your house. One of them turns on a light in a closet on the third floor of your house. You want to figure out which switch turns on the light, making only one trip upstairs. (You can't see the light outside at night.) How can you tell which switch turns on the light? Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell
Being a sucker - African American males
Title: Being a sucker - African American males I have a former student who is now a graduate student in Public Health. She is looking for research on a very specific topic and I haven't been able to offer much in the way of help. Does anybody have any input/suggestions (beyond the usual lit search, which she has conscientiously done)? Below is my summation of her description. After that is a longer description she emailed me. Many thanks. Beth Benoit University of Massachusetts Lowell She is working on a research project about the encouragement of violence within the African American culture among male adolescents as a sort of rite of adolescence in order to gain respect. The expression being a sucker refers to not having respect for themselves, particularly because they feel victimized. The best way to not be a sucker is to be violent with each other, and this will win respect. Here is what she emailed me: African American male adolescent violence, interpersonal, continues to be an epidemic, and recent studies have shown that perhaps the violence is not simply a result of anger since the violence is described by these males as a way to free themselves from further victimization. Throughout history African Americans have been victimized by society with living conditions, poverty, resources, education, healthcare and they experience feelings of hopelessness and of being victimized. African American Males experience violence among each other as a rite of passage, and it is believed that one has to protect oneself. They taunt each other about being a sucker, the belief that they do not have respect for themselves and that they are not worthy of respect from others, and the only way to prove self respect and prevent further victimization is to act out in violence. Therefore they prove that they respect themselves, and because they believe that violence against Whites will have severe punitive affects, they have violence among each other because the act usually is unrecognized and they win respect that they do not recieve interracially. Self-respect is something you win, that you wear, that you acquire from others, not something within. They have been robbed of respect and in this one way they may preserve a small part of it.
