[tips] lazy American students.........maybe not quite that bad

2009-12-22 Thread Pollak, Edward
I wish I could send TIPS some of the blog entries written by a young cousin of mine who was teaching English in China at some private schools for the children of fairly wealthy families. The poor work ethic, sense of entitlement, lack of respect for authority that she described (for the

[tips] Simulated hallucinations

2009-12-08 Thread Pollak, Edward
Many thanks for that, Sue. There had been a similar thing on the NPR site, produced by another drug company but it disappeared from the NPR site I'd been unable to find it. Ed - Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of

[tips] FW: [NOVA] What Are Dreams?

2009-11-23 Thread Pollak, Edward
Fire up the VCRs.. - Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania epol...@wcupa.edu http://home.comcast.net/~epollak

[tips] Views: A Defense of the Lecture - Inside Higher Ed

2009-11-20 Thread Pollak, Edward
Thanks for that, Chris. I LOVED it. My favorite part was ...and unless we want to cultivate students who believe that their every utterance is intrinsically worthwhile due to their precious snowflake-hood, it would probably be good to get them to a point where their confidence is earned,

[tips] FW: Chutzpah------- too bad, it was a good story

2009-11-16 Thread Pollak, Edward
, biopsychologist bluegrass fiddler .. in approximate order of importance. -Original Message- From: Pollak, Edward Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 12:32 PM To: tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Subject: Chutzpah OK, Folks

Re:[tips] listserv policy

2009-10-22 Thread Pollak, Edward
Extinction hasn't worked because there always some list neophytes who will respond. So we're really dealing with some form of partial reinforcement and we all know the result of that vis a vis extinction. Listen, folks. In my particular universe, I am widely considered a loose canon who,

[tips] question about faculty missing classes

2009-10-20 Thread Pollak, Edward
It might matter whether the faculty member is out for the day or just missing a single class. I am at a school with a collective bargaining agreement and if you are absent you need to fill out a form (or at least have the secretary fill it out for you) indicating whether you are taking a sick

[tips] FW: Researchers to animal-rights activists: We're not afraid

2009-10-09 Thread Pollak, Edward
For the full story see http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/08/animal.rights.threats/index.html Researchers to animal-rights activists: We're not afraid Three research scientists have taken a rare public stand against animal-rights activists, describing them as terrorists for their threats and

RE:[tips] annoying cat solicitation purr

2009-09-22 Thread Pollak, Edward
Claudia Stanny wrote Cats are able to control their humans by emitting a high-pitched solicitation cry - embedded in a purr - that is so annoying it can't be ignored (Sept 18). They go on to note that in busy households where such purring is often overlooked, the cats resort to overt meowing.

[tips] Flubadub (flubbed)

2009-09-18 Thread Pollak, Edward
Sorry, folks. That post was supposed to go to my BGRASS-L (bluegrass) list. Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania http://home.comcast.net/~epollak Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, bluegrass

[tips] Fabulous Flubadub

2009-09-17 Thread Pollak, Edward
Tommy Texino writes, Now who remembers The Flubadub? Well I do, and he was a puppet on The Howdy Doody Program back in the 1950s. The Flub was an animal made up of various other creatures, sort of like them things they got down in Australia. Anyway, Well, It occurred to me that with Mr.

[tips] Darwin Movie Too Dangerous for the USA..........................

2009-09-13 Thread Pollak, Edward
Darwin Movie Too Dangerous for the USA.. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6173399/Charles-Darwin-film-too-controversial-for-religious-America.html Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania Office:

[tips] A Szaszian View of Death (was Diagnoses are psychiatry's star signs)

2009-09-10 Thread Pollak, Edward
Bentall's article reminded me of some of the old Szaszian literature which in turn reminded me of one of my favorite little papers of all time, A Szaszian View of Death, or the Myth of Death by Vatz Weinberg (1977). I found it reprinted on a public forum at

Re:[tips] Del Valley Wrap Up

2009-09-10 Thread Pollak, Edward
t...@bgcollector.net wrote I was also disappointed with Marty's show, but in all fairness, I'm very finicky and don't like much. I'm a fan of Marty's tv show, and have great respect for Marty's appreciation of country bluegrass history, as well as his talent. Honestly, I think I would have

RE:[tips] UFOs/British open minded

2009-08-21 Thread Pollak, Edward
Some shorter more entertaining (but less thorough) clips are from James Randi. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39PM03iVbqE and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dp2Zqk8vHw There are several others that might also be useful if you search for James Randi on YouTube. Ed Edward I. Pollak,

[tips] Mid-Week Humor.

2009-08-20 Thread Pollak, Edward
Since Michael came up dry this week, I offer this gem: These are bagpipes. I understand the inventor of the bagpipes was inspired when he saw a man carrying an indignant, asthmatic pig under his arm. Unfortunately, the man-made sound never equalled the purity of the sound achieved by the pig.

Re:[tips] Outrageous (im)portune(ing)

2009-08-20 Thread Pollak, Edward
Joan Warmbold wrote ...I have had my cell phone ring during class a couple of times and it the few times this has occurred, the class has erupted with laughter as they know how we instructors really don't like cell phones. FWIW, we just had a member of Campus Security discuss security issues

[tips] Why Do Single Women Go After Married Men?

2009-08-15 Thread Pollak, Edward
Michael Sylvester wrote, BTW, I would not import any type of evolutionary significance (a la Desmond Morris-the British zookeeper who turned ethologist) to behavior in the United States. I am reminded of AC/DC Money Talks. Desmond Morris' understanding of evolutionary theory as in the Human

[tips] Dreams (was PLEASE NOTE : NEW FEATURE)

2009-08-07 Thread Pollak, Edward
I've never missed an exam but that is the theme of a recurring nightmare that I have. When I was younger, the nightmare centered on missing an exam I was supposed to take. It now centers on missing an exam I'm supposed to give. When the shift occurred, I deemed it a major indicator of a changed

[tips] Upending conventional wisdom: On violence

2009-07-17 Thread Pollak, Edward
And on a related issue, you often hear that Homo sapiens is the most aggressive and murderous of species. I tell my animal behavior class that I can think of no other primate species in which you could have 40 adult, sexually mature individuals sitting in close quarters for 75 minutes without

RE:[tips] Ed Pollak's favorite web site?

2009-06-24 Thread Pollak, Edward
Yes, Claudia. But to clarify, That's my favorite PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY web site. But to be honest, my true favorite web sites are http://home.comcast.net/~epollak/family_photos/family_photos.htm and http://home.comcast.net/~epollak/. In the former you can see some adorable pictures of our own

[tips] info: Sociobiological Fathers; day

2009-06-09 Thread Pollak, Edward
I am aware of no data suggesting that children resemble fathers more than mothers. I do, however, remember a study which found that a (putative) father's family, and especially his in-laws, were more likely to SAY that a new baby resembled the father. Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of

[tips] Sotomayor/Eurocentric consensus

2009-06-01 Thread Pollak, Edward
Michael Sylvester wrote (in the context of the Sotomayor nomination) The framework of Eurocentric cognitive imperialism is the idea that objectivity excludes emotional factors when in reality emotion and experience are in the mix whenever evaluative judgenent is required. Just curious as to how

[tips] Uneasiness with Evolutionary Psychology

2009-04-27 Thread Pollak, Edward
Michael Britt wrote, If I understand it right, some people are concerned about this perspective because, for example, even though animals demonstrate a behavior that is in some way similar to what humans do doesn't mean that the reason animals show this behavior (which is probably related to

[tips] Psychology the Easy Way

2009-04-15 Thread Pollak, Edward
I'm seriously considering adopting Nancy Mellucci's Psychology the Easy Way from the Barron series. Unfortunately, today is our book ordering deadline. Although that deadline is hardly firm, I'd rather not wait for the examination copy. So can anyone share their thoughts on the suitability of

Re:[tips] Learning Styles interview

2009-03-30 Thread Pollak, Edward
Michael Smith wrote, I have heard many instances of (learning styles) being promoted by educators or those selling products (such as concept diagrams for visual learners). Not that concept diagrams are not useful, but it seems only visual learners can get the most from them by definition. I

[tips] Looking for: The Sights and Sounds of Schizophrenia

2009-03-23 Thread Pollak, Edward
I used to show a clip from an NPR story on the experience of schizophrenias. The story is still up at http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2002/aug/schizophrenia/ However, every time I try to click on the link to the multimedia show, I find it is no longer available. Does any, perchance,

[tips] Discredited treatment endorsed by Obama's Surgeon General]

2009-01-17 Thread Pollak, Edward
sbl...@ubishops.ca wrote I'm still disappointed that Gupta didn't take a more scientifically-informed view of this dreadful therapy but what he's done falls well short of advocacy, at least in the urls cited above. Thanks for that, Stephen. I also read the articles at those links and came away

Re:[tips] Weighty problem

2009-01-11 Thread Pollak, Edward
through more than I can even imagine. Ed (normally the old Curmudgeon) Pollak Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania http://home.comcast.net/~epollak http://home.comcast.net/~epollak Husband, father

Re:[tips] Oprah duped by holocaust survivor

2008-12-30 Thread Pollak, Edward
FWIW, when this story first started circulating on the internet a few years ago, it sounded questionable to me. So I checked it out on Snopes.com. Alas, they said it was true. Does this mean Snopes was wrong on Bill Gates sending me money for forwarding an e-mail to everyone I know? I lost a

[tips] The mother of all false memories?

2008-11-30 Thread Pollak, Edward
Similar to the story cited by Stephen but not nearly so dramatic: My twin brother I were at a bluegrass festival at the Pine Hotel in the Catskills. He was left-handed and played guitar bass fiddle. I am right-handed and play fiddle, banjo bass. The story I later related to my family was

[tips] Sociobiology/True or False

2008-11-17 Thread Pollak, Edward
Michael wrote I could swear that I read somewhere (might have been a review in Time magazine) that some tenets of sociobiology state that men go to war to please women, and that gays make it possible for there to be more females available for reproduction and thus enhancing the gene pool.

[tips] History channel/ the brain

2008-11-11 Thread Pollak, Edward
I saw only bits of it but in the last half hour they had a major segment on psychics that I thought was atrocious. It included a favorable segment on John Edwards, the guy who claims to contact the dead. I was appalled. Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University

[tips] attn: Commonwealth Tipsters

2008-11-11 Thread Pollak, Edward
It was a common practice to purchase little, artificial poppies on Veterans Day in New York when I was growing up in the 1950s (and probably later). They were sold by a veterans group, either the Veterans of Foreign Wars or maybe the American Legion. Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of

[tips] FW: intro psych resources

2008-09-22 Thread Pollak, Edward
Jon, I'm didn't see this one on your list. It's an interactive psychopharmacology animation. Immensely entertaining popular with students. See http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse.html Ed Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of

[tips] Temporary Animal Behavior position for the Fall, 2008 semester (Southeastern, PA region)

2008-08-13 Thread Pollak, Edward
West Chester University of Pennsylvania is in need of a temporary faculty member to teach two sections of Animal Behavior in the Fall, 2008 semester. There is the possibility of a full-time position in the fall if you are willing to also teach two sections of research methods. If interested

[tips] Dragon Speak 10

2008-08-06 Thread Pollak, Edward
I'm having rotator cuff surgery on August 21st and will likely be out the whole fall semester until I can raise my arm high enough to write on a blackbord.. I'm thinking of buying a voice recognition program, Dragon Speak 10, mostly for e-mail web searching playing on-line poker for the few

[tips] Mother's diet can help determine sex of child: study - Yahoo! News

2008-04-24 Thread Pollak, Edward
Chris wrote, Ah, nothing like sheer correlation to get the hypothesis-generation juices flowing. Why do evolutionary psychologists so often fall into the this trap? http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080423/ts_afp/healthdietsexchildren In all fairness, Chris, Robert Trivers came up with that

[tips] question about REM sleep disorder

2008-04-22 Thread Pollak, Edward
DeVolder Carol L asked I should know this, but I'm blanking on it--how does REM sleep without atonia differ from sleepwalking or does it? The obvious answer is that slepwalking occurs in stages 3 4. Also, I may be displaying my ignorance here but doesn't REM sleep disorder always lack atonia?

[tips] Is Homosexuality a Choice YouTube animation

2008-04-17 Thread Pollak, Edward
Mark wrote, Thanks Sue for the video link. It's perfect for my introductory psychology class. As much as I liked the animation, I'd recommend against using it in an intro course, Mark. Had they not named the protagonist Christian you could get away with it. But as it stands, it's just too

[tips] Split Brain Videos

2008-04-14 Thread Pollak, Edward
There are a number of good split brain videos on YouTube if you search for them. The one I like best is a very old one at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lmfxQ-HK7Y. I especially like the segment toward the end where a patient's hands are squabbling over which gets to perform a Koh Block

RE:[tips] Help settle an argument

2008-03-24 Thread Pollak, Edward
While searching the web regarding the logic of religious dogmas, I came across the following. Apparently, this tidbit has been floating around cyberspace for a while... I've omitted the relatively gory picture that usually accompanies it. Christianity: The belief that

[tips] Twins

2008-03-20 Thread Pollak, Edward
Doris Vasconcellos wrote re being a twin, Olha so esta! OK, so I'm the 3rd twin on the list. There were 5 sets in my kindergarten class. Ed Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Peoples Building, Room 44 Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania Spring semester office hours: Monday

[tips] Identical twins?

2008-03-19 Thread Pollak, Edward
As I suspected, something not mentioned in the NYT article is the fact that these copy number variations (CNVs) represent a genetic mosaic. They exist only in some tissues and not in others and represent copy errors during embryonic development. Something analogous is responsible for true

Re:[tips] Politician's Wives

2008-03-17 Thread Pollak, Edward
Joan Warmbold wrote I have had many friends also express dismay that his wife stood by his side. My response is that her pale and very sad expression certainly let the public see that she was one unhappy woman. Of course, we can't be sure for what reasons--i.e., her husband's betrayal, the

[tips] Obama thinks textbook writers are scammers

2008-02-26 Thread Pollak, Edward
One of my major complaints about textbooks if that they have too many cute little boxes, pictures which provide no useful content, silly pedagogical gimmicks, etc. all of which jack up the price and IMO make the text more difficult to follow for a student. The book reps are fond of pointing out

[tips] Subject: Am I special here?

2008-02-25 Thread Pollak, Edward
We all get such requests/.excuses. I do not grant such requests because a) it would require me to make up a new exam for that student and each of the others requesting to take the exam a day, or days or one week late. b) while studying for that exam they are falling behind on their reading for

[tips] FW: [NOVA] Ape Genius

2008-02-15 Thread Pollak, Edward
This looks like a must see,. especially for those of us teaching animal behavior, animal cognition, or maybe even evolutionary psychology. Ed -- Next on NOVA: Ape Genius http://www.pbs.org/nova/apegenius http://www.pbs.org/nova/apegenius Tuesday, February

[tips] subject pool management software

2008-02-14 Thread Pollak, Edward
Can someone explain to me the benefits of specialized software over Excel? What do they do that Excel cannot? Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania Spring semester office hours: Monday noon-2 3-4; Tuesday Thursday 11-1; by

Re:[tips] The Crazy Old Sea Captain - A Parable of Science?

2008-02-09 Thread Pollak, Edward
As long as we're talking parables, here's one I use in biopsychology animal behavior to illustrate the pitfalls in deducing changes in hypothetical constructs (e.g., hunger or any other motivational state). An eminent scientist is interested in studying the jumping behavior of frogs. He

Re:[tips] Why psychology is hard

2008-01-13 Thread Pollak, Edward
Apples oranges. Math physics are really hard because they contain complex concepts that are difficult to grasp. Statistics, for example is hard because students have trouble grasping basic concepts such as binomial probability, variance, and analyzing that variance. Calculus is hard

[tips] Evolutionary Psychology, Mental Illness, Mania Autism

2008-01-13 Thread Pollak, Edward
Rae Marsh asked, . I can understand that asthma is pandemic. This makes sense evolutionarily. As the air quality becomes worse, natural selection will weed out those of us with conditions such as asthma, etc. for those who can tolerate the dirtier air quality.However, are

[tips] upper and lower level courses

2008-01-10 Thread Pollak, Edward
Does anyone out there know of any published (or anecdotal) guidelines that differentiate upper-level courses from lower-level courses? Pennsylvania used to fund us by paying more money/student for 300 400 level courses than for 100 200 level courses. So, of course, almost all of our

Re:[tips] Sociobiology: Human Animal

2007-12-27 Thread Pollak, Edward
fiddler and herpetoculturist.. in approximate order of importance. Subject: Re: Sociobiology: Human Animal From: Mike Palij [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:01:46 -0500 X-Message-Number: 2 On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:30:27 -0500, Pollak, Edward wrote: I'm hoping someone can help me

[tips] Sociobiology: Human Animal

2007-12-26 Thread Pollak, Edward
I'm hoping someone can help me. For years I've been looking for the old NOVA (PBS) program, Sociobiology: Human Animal with complete lack of success. It was originally put out on 16 mm in 1977. Does anyone have a clue as to where and how I might get a copy on VHS or DVD? Ed Edward I.

[tips] Oedipus complex

2007-12-20 Thread Pollak, Edward
You can find this video at http://youtube.com/watch?v=LuSBCIV1zuQ From there you can use www.zamzar.com to download it. I already hae. Thanks, Robin!!! Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/home.htm

[tips] Lyrebird Mimicry video

2007-12-17 Thread Pollak, Edward
This item is more appropriate for another list but TIPS has been slow this week and this clip is so cool I just had to share.. This video clip is not new. It's from David Attenborough's The Life of Birds but I just came across it and have already downloaded it for

[tips] More Great Bird Clips

2007-12-17 Thread Pollak, Edward
Glad you liked it, Beth. My daughter is on TIPS. She teaches at Fitchburg in Mass. She couldn't listen to it at home become her Labrador retriever started going nuts! But here are two others you'll enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDYpW3zyXqQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDYpW3zyXqQ

[tips] Re Freud - what is a theory

2007-11-27 Thread Pollak, Edward
Annette wrote, Just a small point in this discussion. Even we, as good scientists, fall into the trap of calling Freud's (and Piaget's for that matter, and a whole host of others) theories, theories when in fact, if they cannot be falsified they cannot be legitimately called theories. As such I

RE: [tips] Am I expecting too much?

2007-11-21 Thread Pollak, Edward
Louis Schmier wrote, I think some of us are being too harsh. We aren't very understanding of our very young students. We're not walking in their shoes or remembering how we were like at those ages. I remember how I was at those ages. I'd been books for pleasure for many years. As for being

RE:[tips] Fly fishing is only the tip of the iceberg

2007-11-20 Thread Pollak, Edward
Not exactly a novel, but if it's still in print, Vincent Dethier's To Know a Fly is a little gem of a book. Very humorous and providing a wealth of insight into the research process. Ed Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania

[tips] Am I expecting too much?

2007-11-19 Thread Pollak, Edward
A few weeks ago I gave an exam in animal behavior and asked a question about Kamikaze sperm. One student asked what species a Kamikaze was. I then asked the next 4 students entering my office if they'd ever heard the word , kamikaze. The first three had never heard the word. I'm convinced that

[tips] Doonesbury on laptops in the classroom

2007-11-12 Thread Pollak, Edward
Only once have I had to come down on a student in class for using a lap top and that was only because whatever he was looking at was attracting the attention of those around him. Reading comic books in class, etc., is a time honored tradition. Laptops just make it more obvious. But since I

[tips] Great Video Clip of Temper Tantrum

2007-11-04 Thread Pollak, Edward
Many of you may have seen this but it's a great clip. It can used in a discussion of pos. neg. reinforcement, extinction, partial reinforcement, etc. The students LOVE it. See http://youtube.com/watch?v=M9tv_zM-G84 http://youtube.com/watch?v=M9tv_zM-G84 And for those pf you who don't know,

[tips] Humans go into heat after all, strip club study finds

2007-11-03 Thread Pollak, Edward
I can't really answer your first question, Nancy, having literally no experience such clubs. (I always suspected I'd find them very depressing.) As for the 2nd. This is merely more evidence that the difference in cyclicity of sexual activity in mammals is best viewed on a continuum rather than

[tips] Humans go into heat after all, strip club study finds

2007-11-02 Thread Pollak, Edward
This from http://www.world-science.net/othernews/071027_estrus.htm I can think of some alternative hypotheses, but it is quite interesting. Ed ~~~ Humans go into heat after all, strip club study finds Oct. 28, 2007 World Science

[tips] Sabbatical Info Request

2007-10-18 Thread Pollak, Edward
Bill Hill asked There has been some discussion about expectations for the length of time a person should agree to return to the university after a sabbatical leave? Some have suggested 1 years, others 2. I would appreciate some feedback on the average. Our university says you must return for t

[tips] Staffing Student Counseling Centers

2007-10-02 Thread Pollak, Edward
This sounds like a really bad idea to me. I can only begin to imagine the difficulties that a classroom instructor, academic adviser. field experience supervisor, etc. (i.e., a social work or psychology professor) would have with so-called dual relationships. See Bleiberg, J.R. Baron, J.

Re:[tips] serotonin and popcorn?

2007-10-02 Thread Pollak, Edward
I remember that the anthropologist, Marvin Harris, had some hypothesis about an over-reliance on maize in ancient Mesoamerica resulted in reduced serotonin turnover hyper aggressiveness. He even tied it in with human sacrifice. I believe the book was Cannibals Kings. And the barbarity

[tips] About an apology

2007-10-02 Thread Pollak, Edward
I agree with everyone else that another apology is unnecessary. However, I'm not entirely sure that the question was as ridiculous as it sounds at first blush. I would have said something like, No, a period is not typically an expelled pregnancy. However, a fairly large percentage of newly

[tips] Spontaneous lactation

2007-09-16 Thread Pollak, Edward
Annette wrote, .In the Caribbean islands and other Afrocentric cultures non moms nurse babies. As a matter of fact the lactation process among the Caribs( originally inhabitants of the Caribbean) occurred among all the women as a species-survival mechanism. Some nannies in the days of slavery

[tips] Spontaneous lactation

2007-09-15 Thread Pollak, Edward
Rob Weisskirch wrote, student claimed that she heard that women who hang around nursing mothers and infants often will sometimes start spontaneously lactating, even though they are not pregnant. I know that infant cries can cause nursing mothers to leak but have never heard of lactation by

[tips] Is there evidence that being a researcher makes you a better teacher?

2007-08-22 Thread Pollak, Edward
I don't think that being an active researcher necessarily makes you a better classroom instructor. HOWEVER, I do believe that faculty who are doing classroom teaching AND conducting research are (other things being equal) more valuable to the department than those who are just teaching. Such

[tips] Re: availability

2007-06-27 Thread Pollak, Edward
I have to agree with Louis on this one. When I was chairperson I always maintained that my single greatest duty was simply to be there. I actually like getting e-mails from students (most of the time). I'm not crazy about some such as the string of e-mails I received yesterday from a mother whose

[tips] FW: Assessment

2007-06-25 Thread Pollak, Edward
From:Rieser-Danner, Loretta [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Course Assessment Strategies I am collaborating with a colleague to collect information on course assessment practices, particularly standard or recommended assessment practices. My colleague is looking to gather this information for a

[tips] Devil's Advocate: RE: The things students will say...

2007-05-08 Thread Pollak, Edward
Stuart wrote, When we calculate a final percentage grade, how reliable is it? Another way of putting this is: What is the standard error of measurement? Our official grading system is as follows: Grade Quality Points Percentage Equivalents A 493 - 100 A- 3.6790 - 92 B+ 3.3387 - 89 B 383 -

[tips] Tension between enabling understanding and good grades with

2007-04-29 Thread Pollak, Edward
Miguel wrote Ed, I tend to agree with the general tone of your post. However, my colleague, Jeff Nevid, has published evidence that at least one of those learning aids, concept signaling, (when short definitions/explanatory notes appear in the margins of the page) can enhance student performance.

[tips] Tension between enabling understanding and good grades with requirement for class

2007-04-29 Thread Pollak, Edward
Three things: 1) I agree with you Annette about requiring the learning of more names of investigators in upper level class. My comment was for intro psych only. 2) Your findings on 2 vs,. 3 distracters is counterintuitive and conflicts with my experience. Did you delete the 4th distracter at

[tips] Tension between enabling understanding and good grades with requirement for class averages

2007-04-28 Thread Pollak, Edward
[EMAIL PROTECTED] asked .My students also frequently ask for study guides for exams, so they know what to concentrate on. That's one of my pet peeves. The students are not really asking about the topics on which they should concentrate. Rather, they are asking, which parts

[tips] Honorarium for proctoring

2007-04-10 Thread Pollak, Edward
Rick Froman asked I wonder if any of you have experience with having faculty proctor standardized tests and whether you do or, even if your only experience is with nonfaculty proctors, what an appropriate honorarium would be for proctoring such a test. I will take a couple of hours in a computer

[tips] Re: It's what they believe

2007-04-07 Thread Pollak, Edward
Louis wrote I'm not talking about the ability to live up to a moral code; I'm asking about the source of that ethical and moral code in the first place if you--editorially--don't accept the existence of the Divine. Louis' query is a superb example of why the theistic hypothesis should NOT be

[tips] Re: It's what they believe

2007-04-05 Thread Pollak, Edward
My favorite quote on the topic came from one of the Huxley's. (I think it was Theodore but wouldn't bet my life/immortal soul) on it. He said that God is no longer a viable hypothesis. I find that is the usually the best answer to students who want to argue the point and since I teach an

[tips] RE: Random Thought: A Quickie on Caring

2007-03-21 Thread Pollak, Edward
Just out of curiosity, Louis, how many students do you have each semester in your 4 sections of US History? I have 150 students in my 1 section of intro psych and another 120 in my two sections of animal behavior. And, of course, I've got about 75 undergraduate advisees. (And no, I do not have

[tips] Re: That's Incredible's Rat Basketball

2007-03-08 Thread Pollak, Edward
Aw, you folks have no sense of humor. I show the following to trigger discussion of several learning-related topics such as negative reinforcement, punishment, regression, etc. and it always gets howls of laughter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCHDGxlEFS0 And instead of rats playing

[tips] RE: Giving Kubler-Ross some grief

2007-03-03 Thread Pollak, Edward
Rick Froman wrote My favorite depiction of Kubler-Ross' five stages is in Homer Simpson's response to hearing he was dying in the 11th episode of the second season of the Simpsons: One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish. Good one. But my favorite treatment is in one of my very favorite movies,

[tips] Darwin's God

2007-03-03 Thread Pollak, Edward
Darwin's God God has always been a puzzle for Scott Atran. When he was 10 years old, he scrawled a plaintive message on the wall of his bedroom in Baltimore. God exists, he wrote in black and orange paint, or if he doesnt, were in trouble. Atran has been struggling with questions about

[tips] Angry God, angry people

2007-02-28 Thread Pollak, Edward
Angry God, angry people New re­search may clar­i­fy the re­la­tion­ship be­tween re­li­gious in­doc­tri­na­tion and vi­o­lence, a top­ic that has gained new no­to­ri­ety since the Sept. 11 at­tacks. In the stu­dy, psy­chol­o­gist Brad Bush­man of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Mich­i­gan in Ann Ar­bor,

[tips] Re: states of consciousness

2007-02-27 Thread Pollak, Edward
Paul Brandon wrote Pigeons have been taught to report internal states, such as whether they are being affected by a psychoactive drug. Can we say that they are 'conscious' of being in that state? If not, what is missing beyond the tautological observation that they are not human? I don't believe

[tips] Re: states of consciousness

2007-02-27 Thread Pollak, Edward
Marc Carter asked: if I am completely engrossed in a pain, in what sense would I not be conscious? Even though in this case the pain and the awareness of that pain cannot be physically separated, they can be conceptually separated, and so we have that aboutness -- but in this case without the

[tips] Re: states of consciousness

2007-02-26 Thread Pollak, Edward
Peter wrote On Feb 25, 2007, at 8:14 AM, Pollak, Edward wrote: It's quite rare that I disagree with Stephen but this is one of those times. Stephen wrote ..We generally accept two kinds as uncontroversial: either we're conscious or we're not. And we know someone is conscious when

[tips] Re: states of consciousness

2007-02-25 Thread Pollak, Edward
It's quite rare that I disagree with Stephen but this is one of those times. Stephen wrote ..We generally accept two kinds as uncontroversial: either we're conscious or we're not. And we know someone is conscious when they're aware of their surroundings. This implies that conscious is a

[tips] Re: states of consciousness

2007-02-22 Thread Pollak, Edward
[EMAIL PROTECTED] asked I think that the stages of sleep are differing states of consciousness, but what about the following, which came up in class today? alpha (awake, relaxed), when taking Benadryl or some other drugs with side effects of drowsiness, and a change in alertness and reaction

[tips] RE: Psychology/Out of Africa

2007-02-19 Thread Pollak, Edward
The most compelling question for me is why you people even bother to respond? We've all had that student in class who, whenever he opens his mouth, elicits the synchronized rolling of dozens of eyeballs. In class I feel compelled to respond to poor soul described above. I feel no such compulsion

[tips] Ethnomusicologists against torture

2007-02-14 Thread Pollak, Edward
Just FYI... the ultimate compendium of music jokes is maintained by a guy at M.I.T. and may be found at http://www.mit.edu/people/jcb/jokes/. Too many of these are simply recast versions of old lawyer and blond jokes. (The current banjoist in my band is delightful young woman

[tips] Ethnomusicologists against torture

2007-02-13 Thread Pollak, Edward
Christopher D. Green wrote The Society for Ethnomusicology has issued a statement (http://webdb.iu.edu/sem/scripts/aboutus/aboutsem/positionstatements/pos ition_statement_torture.cfm) condemning the use of music as a means to torture or psychologically abuse prisoners. The society is committed to

[tips] Random Thought: A Snippet of a Conversation in Class

2007-01-25 Thread Pollak, Edward
Louis wrote, I'll keep this brief and let you draw out the meaning of this part of a conversation we had yesterday in class about studying. Hmmm. I would guess that the student's ... sudden, stunned, and confused look (and) .. Pregnant, telling, and revealing silence. Indicated her joy

[tips] RE: Random Thought: A Snippet of a Conversation in Class: Clarification

2007-01-25 Thread Pollak, Edward
, grandfather, biopsychologist, bluegrass fiddler and herpetoculturist.. in approximate order of importance. -Original Message- From: Pollak, Edward Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 9:04 AM To: tips@acsun.frostburg.edu Subject: Random Thought: A Snippet of a Conversation in Class Louis

[tips] Re: B.F. Skinner's Last Speech at APA Convention

2007-01-19 Thread Pollak, Edward
Joan Warmbold wrote Jon Mueller has encouraged Oakton to digitizing the video and make it available online in a streaming format. Would you still want a VHS copy if this became available? Having made a similar offer last year, I have some sage advice for you, Joan: You're freakin' nuts!! I

[tips] Re: The student as a con.

2007-01-04 Thread Pollak, Edward
The reps get a list of everyone who asks for a desk or examination copy of a book. I'd be surprised if he went undetected for very long. Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA 19383 http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/home.htm

[tips] Re: Ah hah! Admissions Criteria!

2006-12-21 Thread Pollak, Edward
Riki Koenigsberg asked I wonder what your experience has been with students who come in having taken an AP Psych class and done well enough on the exam to exempt the class in college. How does their preparation for your 200 level classes compare with the students who took your school's Intro

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