Thinking Fast and Slow - Class discussion and individual presentations
Read Chapters 15 - 23. Research presentations assigned below
| Thinking Fast and Slow Assignments | Presenter | Respondents | |||||
| Chapter 15 - 23 | |||||||
| Schwarz(1991,131-132) | Lin LineLinnea | Ella | Julia | Winslow | Mary | ||
| Hsee(1998,160-161) | Olivia | Erik | Emma | Sophie | Cheyenne | ||
| Kahneman(2009, 234-237) | Jeremiah | Ezra | Bennett | Ian | Alex | ||
Thinking Fast and Slow - Class discussion and individual presentations
Read Chapters 24 - 28. Research presentations as assigned below
| Thinking Fast and Slow Assignments | Presenter | Respondents | ||||||
| Chapter 24 - 28 | ||||||||
| Dawes(1979, p226) | Brooke | Ada | Maggie | Zandra | Irene | * respondents have until Monday to respond to this one. | ||
| Åstebro(2006, p257) | Ezra | Ella | Erik | Brooke | Jeremiah | |||
| Berner(2008, p263) | Ada | Linnea | Olivia | Maggie | Bennett | |||
| Kermer(2006, p293) | Emma | Winslow | Sophie | Zandra | Ian | |||
| Kahneman(1990, p296) | Julia | Mary | Cheyenne | Irene | Alex | |||
M March 4
LAB
A brief mental palate cleanser from Thinking Fast and Slow!
Exploring the Somatic Marker Hypothesis
Cognitive Neuroscientists use case studies, neural network modeling and laboratory-based gambling tasks to understand the role of emotion and cognition in risky decision-making. In this section we will be exploring this topic with the material below.
Before you read the material below, go to this website and fill out the personality inventory and play the Iowa Gambling Card Game that follows. This is the experimental task that is used to test the Somatic Marker Hypothesis in the research papers we will be reading. Doing this game in advance will help you understand the articles better and you will not be biased by knowing about the task before taking it. Take a screen shot of your results if you can to compare your results with the results in Bechara (1997) for the control group.
Next read the Wikipedia Page for the Somatic Marker Hypothesis!
Finally read through the two articles below. You can find them on the google drive class resources page.
The first article below is the first empirical study presenting laboratory evidence for the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH). The followup article present a critique on how Bechara et al. interpreted their results and an alternative view about the relationship between cogniton and emotion in the Iowa Gambling Task! Be ready to engage in argument and debate over this heated topic, GSR's will raise! Which article do you find most persuasive? We will vote on it in class!
Bechara, A. (1997). Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the. Science, 275, 1293-1293.
Brand, M., Fujiwara, E., Borsutzky, S., Kalbe, E., Kessler, J., & Markowitsch, H. J. (2005). Decision-making deficits of korsakoff patients in a new gambling task with explicit rules: associations with executive functions. Neuropsychology, 19(3), 267.
Impulsiveness Impairs and Arousal Assists Performance on the Game of Dice Task. Allison Sweeney, Noah Freed, and Erik Nilsen. Western Psychological Association Meeting. April 2010.
Thinking Fast and Slow - Class discussion
Read Chapters 29 - 34. Research presentations as assigned below
| Thinking Fast and Slow Assignments | Presenter | Respondents | ||||||
| Chapter 29 - 34 | ||||||||
| Kahneman(1986, p306) | Bennett | Ella | Olivia | Ezra | Alex | |||
| Viscusi(1987, 316) | Maggie | Linnea | Sophie | Irene | Jeremiah | |||
| Yamagishi(1997,329-330) | Winslow | Ada | Cheyenne | Brooke | Emma | |||
| Quiodbach(2010)p397 | Zandra | Mary | Erik | Julia | Ian | |||
Thinking Fast and Slow Read Part V - Two Selves Chapters 35 - 38. We will be discussing the whole section and its real life implications as a class. Here is a word cloud I created with relevant concepts.
Bertrand, M., Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2006). Behavioral economics and marketing in aid of decision making among the poor. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 25(1), 8-23.
Moodle Assignment is to either write a reaction paper or create a mind map comparing and contrasting the research and lived examples of the Experiencing versus Remembering Self that Kahneman presents in this final section of the book.
We will also be reprising the whole Magnus Opus today and assigning small groups to discuss and present to the class ways that TFS informs our understanding of a few non-controversial topics like
1) COVID Testing, Mitigation Strategies and Vaccination Messaging
2) Global Climate Change
3) Systemic Racism
4) Immigration Policy
5) Health Care Policy
6) Gun Control Policy
M March 11
LAB
Music and the Mind!!
For today please read and be ready to discuss (and perhaps vocalize?!?!)
I have 4 articles I want us to discuss about different research approaches that that illustrate the powerful role music can impact our cognition and wellbeing on many levels.
This paper aims to illuminate how singing and especially choir singing promotes wellbeing.
Satoh, M., Yuba, T., Tabei, K. I., Okubo, Y., Kida, H., Sakuma, H., & Tomimoto, H. (2015). Music therapy using singing training improves psychomotor speed in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a neuropsychological and fMRI study. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders extra, 5(3), 296-308.In their everyday communication, parents do not only speak but also sing with their infants. However, it remains unclear whether infants’ can discriminate speech from song or prefer one over the other. The present study examined the ability of 6- to 10-month-old infants (N = 66) from English-speaking households in London, Ontario, Canada to discriminate between auditory stimuli of native Russian-speaking and native English-speaking mothers speaking or singing to their infants. Infants listened significantly longer to the sung stimuli compared to the spoken stimuli. This is the first study to demonstrate that, even in the absence of other multimodal cues, infant listeners are able to discriminate between sung and spoken stimuli, and furthermore, prefer to listen to sung stimuli over spoken stimuli.
Schneider, C. E., Hunter, E. G., & Bardach, S. H. (2018). Potential Cognitive Benefits From Playing Music Among Cognitively Intact Older Adults: A Scoping Review. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 0733464817751198.Music therapy intervention using singing training may be useful for dementia patients by improving the neural efficacy of cognitive processing.
The purpose of this study was to review the current evidence related to playing a musical instrument being a potentially protective mechanism against cognitive decline among older adults. 11 studies all showed that music playing was correlated with positive outcomes on cognitive ability; more high-quality research is needed in this area to understand mechanisms behind potential cognitive protection of music.
T March 12
Sex and Gender and Psychology, OH MY!
The Future of Sex and Gender in Psychology: Five Challenges to the Gender Binary is a thoughtful piece that will give us a lot to think about.
We will form small working groups to lead discussions of the 5 sections of the paper below.
The Challenge From Neuroscience
The Challenge From Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
The Challenge From Psychological Research: Gender Differences and Similarities
The Challenge From Psychological Research With Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals
Changes Over Time in the Comprehension of He and They as Epicene Pronouns is an article that shows that personal pronouns matter in how they prime our reading and how the language has changed over 15 years.
How the APA changed their practice (and the publication manual) based on research on the use of pronouns!
Keener, E., & Kotvas, K. (2023). Beyond he and she: Does the singular use of “they, them, their” function generically as inclusive pronouns for cisgender men and women?. Gender Issues, 40(1), 23-4
Finally, Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior is an article that I found that is a case study of how Sweden was the first country to formally add a third gender-neutral pronoun to their language and how public perception transformed over a 4 year period.
Gustafsson Sendén, M., Renström, E., & Lindqvist, A. (2021). Pronouns beyond the binary: The change of attitudes and use over time. Gender & Society, 35(4), 588-615.
A very interesting article that shows how other languages beyond Swedish are adjusting to a multigendered world!
Discussion and workshop for Final Project Proposals
Upload a 1 - 2 page document containing the basic idea of your research project, including methodology, hypotheses and citation and brief summaries of at least 2 primary source research articles related to your topic. Post this information to the class moodle page by Saturday, March 16th at 5 p.m. and followup with a consultation with Erik during Monday's March 18th lab and extended office hours next week!
M March 18
LAB
Consultations with Erik to refine and advance Final Project Proposals! Each person signs up for at least 1 meeting after submitting their Initial Proposals on the class moodle page.
Psychology of Humor
Please (1) Read the links provided below, (2) take the Humor Styles Questionnaire, and (4) contribute to the class moodle forum by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 19th.
Here is the Humor Styles Questionnaire to take online and record your scores for discussion in class.
I want each of us to come up with one question or open ended observation from the course material assigned for today and post it on this forum as a new item by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 19th. Then read them and make a response with your perspective and observations to at least 2 of them by class time on Thursday, March 21st.
(*Make sure that your postings show that you read and engaged with the material and can be answered in a open ended way rather than just a simple YES or NO!*). I will seed the forum with an entry or 2 to give you examples. You can respond to 1 of mine if you choose as part of the 2 assigned responses.
What's so funny, and why, and where?
What Makes Things Humorous. Warren(2015)
Humor comprehension in older adults. Mak(2007).pdf
Humor Modulates the Mesolimbic Reward Centers. Mobbs(2003).pdf
We will look at these during class, no need to look at them ahead of time.
The Laugh Lab of Dr. Richard Wiseman. Cross Cultural Appreciation of Humor. The original Laugh Lab Final Report from 2002. and a list of 1001 clean jokes from the study!
Gotta Love the Far Side Humor! An animated short.
Laughter Online University Website.
Th March 21
False Memories - In the Lab and Beyond!!
Watson (2004). Attempting to avoid false memories in the Deese/Roediger–McDermott
paradigm: Assessing the combined influence of practice and warnings
in young and old adults.
Wade (2002). A picture is worth a thousand lies: Using false photographs to create false childhood memories.
Greenberg (2004). President Bush’s False ‘Flashbulb’ Memory of 9/11/01.
False beliefs about fattening foods can have healthy consequences. Alda/Loftus video clip (33:08 - 40:12)
Spring Break
M April 1
LAB
False Memory Lab
We will go over and set up the lab in class. You will run 4 participants using Coglab outside of class time and turn in the data and lab report to the class moodle sometime before Sunday, April 7th so that we can analyze it and create APA style graphs in the Lab on Monday, April, 8th.
Slips of the tongue and action: A Theory of Attention Based on Errors!
We will be looking at the cognitive psychology of slips of the tongue (aka Spoonerism) and slips of action. We all succumb to these odd mistakes that catch us by surprise. Have you ever ended up in your driveway when you intended to drive somewhere else? Have you ever been in the shower and forgotten if you shampooed yet? You know that I have said things that I did not quite intend a number of times in class this term and if you admit it, you do this occasionally as well! I have two articles with amusing collections of these types of errors and a model of attention that tries to explain them!
Norman, D. A. (1981). Categorization of action slips. Psychological review, 88(1), 1. (Find it on the Class Google Drive)
Hauptman, Don (2014) ""Pay No Attention To The Can Behind The Merton" A Gallimaufry of New Spoonerisms," Word Ways: Vol. 47 : Iss. 3 , Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/wordways/vol47/iss3/2
Human Cognition Through the Lens of Social Engineering Cyberattacks
Bhusal, C. S. (2021). Systematic Review on Social Engineering: Hacking by Manipulating Humans. Journal of Information Security, 12, 104-114.
Montañez, R., Golob, E., & Xu, S. (2020). Human cognition through the lens of social engineering cyberattacks. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1755.
M April 8
LAB
SPSS and APA Figure Creation Workshop using False Memory data collected last week.
Meditation and the Brain
Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners. Brefczynski(2007).pdf
Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Tang(2007).pdf
Loving-Kindness Meditation Increases Social Connectedness Hutcherson(2008).pdf
Buddha’s Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation Davidson(2007).pdf
Way out there. The god helmet! and brain damage induced religious experience
Th April 11
Read the articles and be ready to discuss them with special attention to the ART theory. Reaction paper to come after you get your Walk On! Stay tuned.
Get Your Walk On! Cognitive Benefits of Walking in Nature and more!
Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological science, 19(12), 1207-1212.
Berman, M. G., Kross, E., Krpan, K. M., Askren, M. K., Burson, A., Deldin, P. J., ... & Jonides, J. (2012). Interacting with nature improves cognition and affect for individuals with depression. Journal of affective disorders, 140(3), 300-305.
Hunter, M. R., Gillespie, B. W., & Chen, S. Y. P. (2019). Urban nature experiences reduce stress in the context of daily life based on salivary biomarkers. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 722.
Today we are literally going to take a walk in the park (weather willing) living out the promise of ART theory we discussed in class last Thursday! Wear good walking shoes, bring your water bottle and favorite music to walk to if you are so inclined!
M April 15
LAB
No lab class today, Erik is available in the classroom between noon to 3 pm for individual consulation about your project and your Intro and Method Section drafts that are due by class time on Tues. April 16th.
T Apr. 16
Final Project - Draft of Introduction, Lit Review and Methodology due at class time today on the class moodle page.
You also need to bring a printed copy of your draft to exchange in class and conduct a professor directed peer review.
Introduction to Sensory-Sensory, Sensory-Motor Interactions, Illusions and Delusions!
Good six minute Overview Video of Synesthesia with Witthorft Shoutout!
Hearing Colors, Tasting Shapes. RamaHubbardSciAm_2003.pdf. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Edward M. Hubbard. Scientific American. p 52 - 59. May, 2003.
SYNESTHETIC COLORS DETERMINED BY HAVING COLORED REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS IN CHILDHOOD Witthorft(2006).pdf
Synesthesia Overview and Case Studies
Synesthesia Immersion Video - Colorful Acoustic Letters!
Musical Color 360 Immersive video
Rama - Lama- chandran NOVA video on Secrets of the Mind on Phantom Limb Syndrome will be shown in class. Be prepared to be intrigued!
Phantom Limb Therapy
A controlled pilot study of the utility of mirror visual feedback in the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome (type 1). McCabe(2003).pdf
Investigating the efficacy of a virtual mirror box in treating phantom limb pain in a sample of chronic sufferers. Murray(2006).pdf
M April 22
LAB
Workshop to Create Data sets for Final Project
To make the best use of the time today, come with your hypotheses, your experimental design, including your independent variables and dependent variables and their units of measurement and a graph of what data would support your hypotheses.
Phantom Fun, Somatosensory Strangeness, and Kinesthetic Quirks.
Touching a Rubber Hand: Feeling of Body Ownership Is Associated with Activity in Multisensory Brain Areas. Ehrsson(2005).pdf
Rubber Hand Video (don't watch until class time)
First Person Experience of Body Transfer in Virtual Reality
1st draft of Results and Discussion Section due on class moodle page Due at class time today.
We will be conducting a prof. directed peer review during class today
Tuesday April 30
8:30 - 11:30
Erik will be available in the classroom for consultation on your final paper. Signup will be provided.
Final Papers are due in electronic form, uploaded to the moodle by 11:59:59 p.m. on the evening of Thursday, May 2nd.