Edward Thorndike:
1. Explain Thorndike's puzzle-box experiment.
- Thorndike felt that learning was a matter of creating associations between stimuli and responses, and no speculation about mind was necessary or useful. Thorndike substituted a foot-pedal so the research could be done with cats. If the animal stepped on the switch, the door of the cage opened. The object of the research was to study how quickly the cat learned to perform this response in order to get free. He made like a laberynth for the cat so he was able to go and get his food.
-http://www.psywww.com/intropsych/ch08_animals/thorndikes_puzzle_box.html
2. Explain Thorndike's "Law of Effect".
- It was the responses that were closely followed by a satisfaction, that had firmly attached objects on the situatuin they were and was most likely to be repeated. if the situation is followed by discomfort, the connections to the situation will become weaker and the behavior of response is less likely to occur when the situation is repeated.
-http://psychology.about.com/od/lindex/g/lawofeffect.htm
3. Explain Thorndike's "Law of Exercise".
- The law of exercise stated that behaviour is more strongly established through frequent connections of stimulus and response. In 1932 Thorndike determined that the second of his laws was not entirely. stated that those behavioral responses that were most closely followed by a satisfying result were most likely to become established patterns and to occur again in response to the same stimulus.
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/689639/Thorndikes-law-of-exercise
B.F. Skinner:
1. Explain Skinner's concept of Operant Conditioning
-The use of a behavior's antecedent and its consequence to influence the occurrence and form of behavior. Operant conditioning is distinguished from classical conditioning and also called respondent conditioning in that operant conditioning deals with the modification of voluntary behavior or operant behavior.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning
2. What does reinforcement always do?
- a sequence that causes a behavior to occur with a greater frequency.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning
3. What does a punishment alsways do?
- a consequence that causes a behavior to occur with less frequency.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning
4. Explain the difference between "postive" and "negative" as they are used in opernat conditioning.
- The positive: the reinforcement way occurs when a behavior is followed by a stimulus that is appetitive or rewarding, increasing the frequency of that behavior. In the Skinner box experiment, a stimulus such as food or sugar solution can be delivered when the rat engages in a target behavior, such as pressing a lever.
- The Punishment way occurs when a behavior is followed by a stimulus, such as introducing a shock or loud noise, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.
- The negative: the escape way occurs when a behavior is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, thereby increasing that behavior's frequency. In the Skinner box experiment, negative reinforcement can be a loud noise continuously sounding inside the rat's cage until it engages in the target behavior, such as pressing a lever, upon which the loud noise is removed.
-The penalty way occurs when a behavior is followed by the removal of a stimulus, such as taking away a child's toy following an undesired behavior, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning
miércoles, 1 de diciembre de 2010
viernes, 26 de noviembre de 2010
Watson and Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov:
1. What was Pavlov actually studying when he developed his theory of classical conditioning?
- The salivation of dogs.
2. Explain (in detail) how Pavlov's experiment was conducted.
- He rang a bell every time before giving the food. The bell is the conditioned stimulus because it will only produce salivation on condition that it is presented with the food. Salivation to the bell is a conditioned response. and in that way the dog respond to the stimulus.
3. Identify the conditioned stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned response from Pavlov's experiment.
-The condition stimulus will be the bell, the unconditional stimulus will be the food, and the condition response is when the dog salivates after the bell rang.
4. Explain what extinction means in relation to classical conditioning.
- As the same to classical conditioning extinction is when Classical Condition is absence from the unconticional statement, and that is spotaneous recovery.
5. Explain what stimulus generalization means in relation to classical conditioning.
- Stimulus generalization is the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to suggest similar responds for the ones who have been conditioned.
6. Explain what stimulus discrimination means in relation to classical conditioning.
- Discrimination is to be able to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that are similar to it.
7. Explain at least two limitations of this experiment.
- that he adapted a tube to the dogs glands, and this experiment is to difficult to do.
8. Explain what Pavlov theorized about how we learn.
- Pavlov theorized that there is learning by association., most behaviors consist on learned responses to certain signals or events happening in the environment according to this.
John B. Watson:
1. Explain (in detail) how Watson's "Little Albert" study was conducted.
- Little Albert was a baby who underwent a series of experiments around the age of nine months, he was exposed to a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks, fur coats, and burning newspapers. These things were all a series of stimuli., as these things were presented to him, Watson observed the child’s reaction to them.
2. Identify the conditioned stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned response from Watson's study
- The conditioned stimulus were the hairy animals and objects, unconditioned stimulus was the loud noise triggered each time the hairy things were presented to Albert, and conditioned response was that the infant felt uncomfortable in the presence of furry things and cried.
3. Explain at least two limitations of this study.
- The experiment cannot be repeated, and instead of using an adult they used a baby that doesn´t have a lot of knowledge.
4. Explain Watson's law of frequency.
- stated that the more often two things are linked the association will be more powerful.
5. Explain Watson's law of recency.
- That the more recent this behavior happens the most likely it will still have a response to the stimuli.
6. Explain the basic assumptions of behaviorism according to Watson.
- That everything depend in its own environment.
1. What was Pavlov actually studying when he developed his theory of classical conditioning?
- The salivation of dogs.
2. Explain (in detail) how Pavlov's experiment was conducted.
- He rang a bell every time before giving the food. The bell is the conditioned stimulus because it will only produce salivation on condition that it is presented with the food. Salivation to the bell is a conditioned response. and in that way the dog respond to the stimulus.
3. Identify the conditioned stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned response from Pavlov's experiment.
-The condition stimulus will be the bell, the unconditional stimulus will be the food, and the condition response is when the dog salivates after the bell rang.
4. Explain what extinction means in relation to classical conditioning.
- As the same to classical conditioning extinction is when Classical Condition is absence from the unconticional statement, and that is spotaneous recovery.
5. Explain what stimulus generalization means in relation to classical conditioning.
- Stimulus generalization is the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to suggest similar responds for the ones who have been conditioned.
6. Explain what stimulus discrimination means in relation to classical conditioning.
- Discrimination is to be able to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that are similar to it.
7. Explain at least two limitations of this experiment.
- that he adapted a tube to the dogs glands, and this experiment is to difficult to do.
8. Explain what Pavlov theorized about how we learn.
- Pavlov theorized that there is learning by association., most behaviors consist on learned responses to certain signals or events happening in the environment according to this.
John B. Watson:
1. Explain (in detail) how Watson's "Little Albert" study was conducted.
- Little Albert was a baby who underwent a series of experiments around the age of nine months, he was exposed to a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks, fur coats, and burning newspapers. These things were all a series of stimuli., as these things were presented to him, Watson observed the child’s reaction to them.
2. Identify the conditioned stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned response from Watson's study
- The conditioned stimulus were the hairy animals and objects, unconditioned stimulus was the loud noise triggered each time the hairy things were presented to Albert, and conditioned response was that the infant felt uncomfortable in the presence of furry things and cried.
3. Explain at least two limitations of this study.
- The experiment cannot be repeated, and instead of using an adult they used a baby that doesn´t have a lot of knowledge.
4. Explain Watson's law of frequency.
- stated that the more often two things are linked the association will be more powerful.
5. Explain Watson's law of recency.
- That the more recent this behavior happens the most likely it will still have a response to the stimuli.
6. Explain the basic assumptions of behaviorism according to Watson.
- That everything depend in its own environment.
lunes, 15 de noviembre de 2010
Summary #3: Being A Night Owl In High School Is Linked With Lower College GPA Summary
This study basicly was based on data from 89 students (between 17 and 20 years old) preparing to begin college and 34 of those students as they completed their first year at a liberal arts college. Evening type students or those who say they feel more alert and do their work later in the day have less sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene refers to regular bedtime routine, a regular wake time, a regular bed time, and sleeping in a comfortable bed. Results indicated that evening types had lowered their GPA to (2.84)in their first year in college while morning types to (3.18). These evening-type students showed a greater decrease in GPA in their transition from high school to college their GPA grades dropped .98 GPA points, while others only dropped .69 GPA points. They found a decline in the grade point average of students during the transition from high school to college. Results indicate that evening types had significantly lower first year. In my opinion it will be better if the teens doesn´t sleep until late thinking and advancing in some cases some work because that affects you a lot.
Summary#2: Starting high school one hour later may reduce teen traffic accidents.
Summary#1: Delayed School Start Time Associate with improvements in adolescent behavior
1.They studied 201 students in grades 9 through 12 attending a high school in Rhode Island. The study, class start time was delayed 30 minutes, from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Students were required to complete the online retrospective Sleep Habits Survey before and after the change in school start time. The study showed that students sleeping less than seven hours of sleep decreased 79.4 %, with at least eight hours of sleep increased from 16.4 % to 54.7 %. Students unhappy or depressed decreased from 65.8 % to 45.1%, "grumpy" students also decreased from 84 % to 62.6 %. The visits to the nurse decreased from 15.3% to 4.6%. I think that the article in Science daily from Judith OWens is correct because the lack of sleeping affect the way your emotions will change later.
miércoles, 29 de septiembre de 2010
Teenage brain
This week we saw a video about how teenage brains work and why they might act in that way. I found very interesting this video because know I learn and also the parents know how their kids act by the time they are finish developing their brain so it becomes mature. While we are changing our brain also changes, specially the frontal lobe of the brain. To be able to have a normal and relaxing day you have to sleep 9-11 hours that the majority of the teenegers don´t sleep the enough hours you need then you will be tired and maybe will be in a bad mood because of the cause of don´t sleeping the hours you need to. They had proved that there were positive changes amongst teens by giving them extra hours for sleep. But, when a late start affects after school activities that are said to benefit a person even more than sleep. Teenagers seem to be always in a bad mood, or having a terrible time, and some times they treat in a bad way their parents and the parents should not suffer how their son or daughter treat them only because they did not sleep well. In my opinion, parents should be patients with their sons or daughters because they need to understand the problems that they are passing through.
domingo, 26 de septiembre de 2010
How our brains work?
1. What does the word "hemisphere" refer to when talking about the brain?
Are two different region of the eutherian brain. Each of these hemispheres has an outer layer of grey matter called the cerebral cortex that is supported by an inner layer of white matter. Each hemisphere does a different job, without hemisphere the other one wouldn´t knew anything about it.
2. What are the major differences between the left and right sides of the brain?
- It is divided into two hemispheres connected by a thick band of nerve fibers which sends messages back and forth between the hemispheres. And while brain research confirms that both sides of the brain are involved in nearly every human activity, we do know that the left side of the brain is the seat of language and processes in a logical and sequential order. The right side is more visual and processes intuitively, holistically, and randomly.
3. What is the corpus collasum?
- is a wide, flat bundle of neural fibers beneath the cortex in the eutherian brain at the longitudinal fissure. It connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres and facilitates interhemispheric communication. It is the largest white matter structure in the brain, consisting of 200–250 million contralateral axonal projections.
4. Explain the study performed by Paul Broca in which he discovered "Broca's Area."
- The discovery of Broca's area revolutionized the understanding of speech production. New research has found that dysfunction in the area may lead to other speech disorders such as stuttering and apraxia of speech. Recent anatomical neuroimaging studies have shown that the pars opercularis of Broca's area is anatomically smaller in individuals who stutter whereas the pars triangularis appears to be normal.
5. Explain the study conducted by Roger Sperry in regard to "split brain."
- ¨ Split-brain is a lay term to describe the result when the corpus callosum connecting the two hemispheres of the brain is severed to some degree. The surgical operation to produce this condition is called corpus callosotomy and is usually used as a last resort to treat intractable epilepsy. Initially, partial callosotomies are performed; if this operation does not succeed, a complete callosotomy is performed to mitigate the risk of accidental physical injury by reducing the severity and violence of epileptic seizures. Prior to callosotomies, epilepsy is treated through pharmaceutical means.¨
6. Explain the study conducted by Karl Wernicke which led to the discovery of Wernicke's Area."
- ¨is one of the two parts of the cerebral cortex linked since the late nineteenth century to speech (the other is the Broca's area). It is involved in the understanding of written and spoken language. It is traditionally considered to consist of the posterior section of the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant cerebral hemisphere (which is the left hemisphere in about 90% of people).¨
7. Which lobe is most responsible for vision?
- occipital lobe.
8. Which lobe is most responsible for hearing and language?
- Tempoal lobe.
9. Which lobe is most responsible for performing math calculations?
- Frontal lobe.
10. Which lobe is most responsible for judgment, reasoning and impulse control?
- Frontal lobe.
Bibliography: - http://frank.mtsu.edu/~studskl/hd/hemis.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_callosum
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Broca
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-brain
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke's_area
Are two different region of the eutherian brain. Each of these hemispheres has an outer layer of grey matter called the cerebral cortex that is supported by an inner layer of white matter. Each hemisphere does a different job, without hemisphere the other one wouldn´t knew anything about it.
2. What are the major differences between the left and right sides of the brain?
- It is divided into two hemispheres connected by a thick band of nerve fibers which sends messages back and forth between the hemispheres. And while brain research confirms that both sides of the brain are involved in nearly every human activity, we do know that the left side of the brain is the seat of language and processes in a logical and sequential order. The right side is more visual and processes intuitively, holistically, and randomly.
3. What is the corpus collasum?
- is a wide, flat bundle of neural fibers beneath the cortex in the eutherian brain at the longitudinal fissure. It connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres and facilitates interhemispheric communication. It is the largest white matter structure in the brain, consisting of 200–250 million contralateral axonal projections.
4. Explain the study performed by Paul Broca in which he discovered "Broca's Area."
- The discovery of Broca's area revolutionized the understanding of speech production. New research has found that dysfunction in the area may lead to other speech disorders such as stuttering and apraxia of speech. Recent anatomical neuroimaging studies have shown that the pars opercularis of Broca's area is anatomically smaller in individuals who stutter whereas the pars triangularis appears to be normal.
5. Explain the study conducted by Roger Sperry in regard to "split brain."
- ¨ Split-brain is a lay term to describe the result when the corpus callosum connecting the two hemispheres of the brain is severed to some degree. The surgical operation to produce this condition is called corpus callosotomy and is usually used as a last resort to treat intractable epilepsy. Initially, partial callosotomies are performed; if this operation does not succeed, a complete callosotomy is performed to mitigate the risk of accidental physical injury by reducing the severity and violence of epileptic seizures. Prior to callosotomies, epilepsy is treated through pharmaceutical means.¨
6. Explain the study conducted by Karl Wernicke which led to the discovery of Wernicke's Area."
- ¨is one of the two parts of the cerebral cortex linked since the late nineteenth century to speech (the other is the Broca's area). It is involved in the understanding of written and spoken language. It is traditionally considered to consist of the posterior section of the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant cerebral hemisphere (which is the left hemisphere in about 90% of people).¨
7. Which lobe is most responsible for vision?
- occipital lobe.
8. Which lobe is most responsible for hearing and language?
- Tempoal lobe.
9. Which lobe is most responsible for performing math calculations?
- Frontal lobe.
10. Which lobe is most responsible for judgment, reasoning and impulse control?
- Frontal lobe.
Bibliography: - http://frank.mtsu.edu/~studskl/hd/hemis.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_callosum
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Broca
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-brain
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke's_area
miércoles, 22 de septiembre de 2010
Phineas Gage
Phineas Gage was an american railroad construction foreman now remembered for his incredible survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe , and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior. He had an accident that occur like this:
¨On September 13, 1848, 25-year-old Gage was foreman of a work gang blasting rock while preparing the roadbed for the Rutland & Burlington Railroad outside the town of Cavendish, Vermont. After a hole was bored into a body of rock, one of Gage's duties was to add blasting powder, a fuse, and sand, then compact the charge into the hole using a large iron rod. Possibly because the sand was omitted, around 4:30 PM:the powder exploded, carrying an instrument through his head an inch and a fourth in , and three feet and inches in length, which he was using at the time. The iron entered on the side of his face...passing back of the left eye, and out at the top of the head.¨
Amazingly Phineas was strong enough and did not die his is a little summary about how he continued his normal life that I found in wikipedia, ¨By November 25 Gage was strong enough to return to his parents' home in Lebanon, New Hampshire, where by late December he was "riding out, improving both mentally and physically." In April 1849 he returned to Cavendish and paid a visit to Harlow, who noted at that time loss of vision (and ptosis) of the left eye, a large scar on the forehead, and "upon the top of the head...a deep depression, two inches by one and one-half inches wide, beneath which the pulsations of the brain can be perceived. Partial paralysis of the left side of the face." Despite all this, "his physical health is good, and I am inclined to say he has recovered. Has no pain in head, but says it has a queer feeling which he is not able to describe.¨ The ideas of why we learn braim localization is because different parts of the brain perform different functions. a Brain lateralization is A longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebral hemispheres, connected by the corpus callosum.
google images
jueves, 9 de septiembre de 2010
Athletic ability..Nurture or Nature???
Having an athletic ability would it be nature or nurture? first of all nature is something you have genetically and nurture is something you learned also sayed as ¨enviromental¨. I choosed the topic of athletic abilities because it is something that peoples struggles of it like if it was nurture or nature. In my opinion a athletic ability it is both nature and nurture, for example lets see the soccer players like Ronaldinho or Messi, these both players have great abilities that some people think if it genetical or enviromental. As I said before they are both because a player can be born to be a great soccer player but without training it will not work. Yes, it can come genetically but to be able to get to be a famous soccer player you have to train hard. Also, I think that looking if it is biological if very difficult for the reasons above. In th next paragraph their are some opinions of experts and how they are trying to solve this problem.
Some thoughts of psychologists are ¨ Is a child's athletic ability inherited, or simply a product of training? If one parent has schizophrenia, will his child acquire the disease? The genetic foundations of behavior are studied by behavior genetics, an interdisciplinary science which draws on the resources of several scientific disciplines, including genetics, physiology, and psychology. From a genetic point of view, physical traits, such as the color of a person's hair, have a much higher heritability than behavior. In fact, behavior genetics assumes that the genetic bases of an individual's behavior simply cannot be determined. In theory, these links probably exist; in practice, however, researchers have been unable to isolate traits that are unmodified by environmental factors. ¨ In this paragraph is an opinion of some psychologists that what they think is that they are having many difficulties looking for a idea that explain what an athletic ability is. In my opinion this athletic ability are bot biological, and enviromental because some people have the genetics to be a great athlete but only because of the genes you will not be the best, you also have to have hard training to get to a great position, until you become one of the best one like early last year Lionel Messi demonstrated and also Ronaldinho in some years before that demonstrated being the best three years in a row. That are experts and my opinion of what could this subject could be.
In conclusion, what could this subject be? This is a very interesting topic to research about. Finaly, I think that not all people are born with a future for greater abilities like these two athletes and their or much more in other different sports. As experts said , this is a subject that could not be determined if it is biological or enviromental but in my opinion it is both. Also not always could be biological because if a person is not good in a sport and practice a lot and then be the best it would mean something else. This topic could be nature or nurture, all of the people have different points of views and their could be many different arguments about this.
- Google images
jueves, 2 de septiembre de 2010
Nature vs Nurture
Nature and Nurture is a term that regards the influency of heredity and enviromental, ¨ for its binary simplification of two tightly interwoven parameters, as for example an environment of wealth, education and social privilege are often historically passed to genetic offspring.¨ The english victorian polymath Francis Galton was the first to use this term.
This topic debates ¨ concern the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities versus personal experiences in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits.¨ Like some topics of how some of the following topics could be nature or nurture: Athletic abilities, Intelligence, Criminal Behaviors, Personality, Creativity, and the last and most difficult to see if it is nature or nurture..Homosexuality. ¨In scientific circles, this conflict led to ongoing controversy of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology¨
¨ To disentangle the effects of genes and environment, behavioral geneticists perform adoption and twin studies. Behavioral geneticists do not generally use the term "nurture" to explain that portion of the variance for a given trait that can be attributed to environmental effects. Instead, two different types of environmental effects are distinguished: shared family factors and nonshared factors.¨
Bibliography: - Google images
This topic debates ¨ concern the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities versus personal experiences in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits.¨ Like some topics of how some of the following topics could be nature or nurture: Athletic abilities, Intelligence, Criminal Behaviors, Personality, Creativity, and the last and most difficult to see if it is nature or nurture..Homosexuality. ¨In scientific circles, this conflict led to ongoing controversy of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology¨
¨ To disentangle the effects of genes and environment, behavioral geneticists perform adoption and twin studies. Behavioral geneticists do not generally use the term "nurture" to explain that portion of the variance for a given trait that can be attributed to environmental effects. Instead, two different types of environmental effects are distinguished: shared family factors and nonshared factors.¨
I think that Nature vs Nurture is a very interesting topic and also impresioning of how some thingsare, before I study Psycholgy I didn´t knew what Nature vs Nurture was and know that I know I find it really interesting.
Bibliography: - Google images- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture
jueves, 26 de agosto de 2010
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin was a Enlgish naturalist, that was the one who established a theory that states that all species of life had descended overtime because of there common ancestors that is called the national selection, also proposed to make it a scientific theory. He passed the mostly of time of his life trying to prove his theory and start coming crazy. Darwin start arriving to his theory by start observing other species of animal of how they react in some occations. He had some issues of making popular his theory because he didn´t knew if she agree with him because of her beliefs; but after she tells him to publish it an he does it. He had a lot of anguish between his theory because of all the stress of working on it, and then a person sends him a letter that his developing the same theory , so Darwin was nervious because he start thinking all what will happen if that person publish the theory first them him and his work was going to be for nothing. Other anguishment of him was the health of his daughters and sons.
Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin#Social_Darwinism
lunes, 16 de agosto de 2010
What is Psychology?
Psychology is the scientific study of human or other animal mental functions and behaviors.Basic research in psychology includes perception, cognition, attention, emotion, motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships.Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring underlying physiological and neurological processes. Psychological knowledge is typically applied to the assessment and treatment of mental health problems, it is also applied to understanding and solving problems in many different spheres of human activity.
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