THORNDIKE AND SKINNER

1.       Explain Thorndike's puzzle-box experiment.

Thorndike put a cat in a puzzle box and observed the cat’s behavior toward escaping to get food.
2. Explain Thorndike's "Law of Effect".

The ‘Law of Effect’ states that if the response of an action has a positive response, there is a more likely chance that the action will be repeated. On the other hand, the worse the reaction is, the less likely chance there will be of repeating the action.
3. Explain Thorndike's "Law of Exercise".

The ‘Law of Exercise’ states that something can’t be learned by watching. The action must be performed.

B.F. Skinner:

1. Explain Skinner's concept of Operant Conditioning

Skinner said that reinforcement and punishment change our behavioral tendencies.

2. What does reinforcement always do?

Reinforcement always increases the behavior.

3. What does a punishment always do?

Punishment decreases the behavior.

4. Explain the difference between "positive" and "negative" as they are used in operant conditioning.

Positive reinforcement means you give the person something. A positive reinforcement would be giving a kid a chocolate because he got an ‘A’. While negative takes something away. A negative reinforcement would be not allowing them to use their phone for two weeks for failing a test.

PAVLOV and WATSON

1.What was Pavlov actually studying when he developed his theory of classical conditioning?

Pavlov was actually studying the digestive processes of dogs.
2. Explain (in detail) how Pavlov's experiment was conducted.

First, he did a surgery on the dogs that put a hole in his where a bottle, that would hold saliva, was put in. The dog was brought food. Seeing the food brought saliva to the dogs mouth. The food was called the unconditioned stimulus. Later, he put the dog behind a wall so he couldn’t see when the food was coming. 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. That means it is a response to the conditioned stimulus.
3. Identify the conditioned stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned response from Pavlov's experiment.

The conditioned stimulus is the bell. The unconditioned stimulus is the food. The conditioned response is that the dog will salivate to the bell.
4. Explain what extinction means in relation to classical conditioning.

If a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly without the unconditional stimulus, then the conditioned respons will disappear. This is called extinction. If a dog learned to associate the sound of the bell with the food and then the bell is rung repeatedly, without food being presented, then the dog will soon stop salivating at the sound of the bell.
5. Explain what stimulus generalization means in relation to classical conditioning.

Stimulus generalization is when a dog who has been conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell of one tone, may well salivate to a similar sounding bell or a buzzer. Stimulus generalization is the extension of the conditioned response from the original stimulus to similar stimuli.
6. Explain what stimulus discrimination means in relation to classical conditioning.
An animal or person can be taught to discriminate between different stimuli. For example, if a dog is shown a green square every time he is fed, then he will salivate at the sight of the green square alone. Initially, the dog may generalize and salivate at squares of any color. If the dog is only fed when the green square is presented and not when other colors are shown, he will learn to discriminate between green and the other colors.
7. Explain at least two limitations of this experiment.
First, the dogs had a surgical procedure done, we as a class can’t repeat this. Second, This experiment was performed only on dogs. Perhaps there are different results on other species.
8. Explain what Pavlov theorized about how we learn.
He called it ‘respondent conditioning’. Condition means something learned. Unconditioned means it is innate, or we are born with it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1904/pavlov-bio.html

notes from class


John B. Watson:
1. Explain (in detail) how Watson's "Little Albert" study was conducted.
John b. Watson exposed furry objects such as rats, rabbits, fur coats, and dogs to Little Albert. At first, the baby was not afraid of any of the objects. Then, every time the rat was produced, Watson made a loud noise. This would cause the baby to cry. This caused the baby to fear furry objects.
2. Identify the conditioned stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned response from Watson's study.
The conditioned stimulus was the rat. The unconditioned stimulus was the bell. The conditioned response was to fear furry creatures.
3. Explain at least two limitations of this study.
First, Watson only used one child. Perhaps, only this child would react this way to these circumstances. Second, this experiment was done unethically, so it cannot be replicated.
4. Explain Watson's law of frequency.
.  The more often two things or events are linked, the more powerful will be that association.  If you have an eclair with your coffee every day, and have done so for the last twenty years, the association will be strong indeed -- and you will be fat.
5. Explain Watson's law of recency.
Other things being equal, the things learned last will be best remembered. The opposite is also true. The longer the student is away from a new fact or understanding, the harder it is to remember. For example, it is fairly easy to recall a telephone number dialed a few minutes ago, but it is usually impossible to recall a new number dialed last week. The instructor must recognize the law of recency when planning a good summary. He should repeat, restate, or reemphasize the training objectives. He also repeats important information the students need to remember.
6. Explain the basic assumptions of behaviorism according to Watson.
Watson said that behaviourism in its most basic terms is all behavior is determined by our environment. http://www.mysdcc.sdccd.edu/Staff/Instructor_Development/Content/HTML/Laws_of_Learning.htm
notes from class

SLEEP DEPRIVATION ARTICLES

The UK Healthcare Good Samaritan Sleep Center in Lexington, Kentucky was in charge of this experiment. The students were living in Kansas. In this experiment, a county started their schools an hour later. This hour delay is believed to cause less car accidents. Instead of starting at 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., schools started at 8:30 and 9:00. This county used to have the highest crash rate. In the two year experiment, crash rates dropped 16.5%, opposed to in the rest of the state where it increased 7.8%. In my opinion, sleep is very crucial to living a healthy life. The lower crash rate is just proof to back up this statement. All schools should start later.

Judith A. Owens, M.D., M.P.H., of the Hasbro Children's Hospital, Providence, and colleagues, studied 201 students in grades 9 through 12 attending an independent high school in Rhode Island. They delayed the start time from 8:00 to 8:30. They saw that with this half hour delay, students were happier and more willing to participate. There was a decrease in students going to the doctor’s with fatigue-related symptoms. Students were more alert. In my opinion, sleep is very essential to a healthier, happier life. This survey proves this theory.

The study was supported by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics and the National Center for Research Resources. In this experiment, researchers took 92 healthy adults without the gene variant and 37 healthy adults who had the gene variant (DQB1*0602 gene) but didn’t have any sleep disorders. The first two nights, the participants slept 10 hours. The next five nights, the participants slept about 4 hours. The researchers found that, even on the first two nights, the people with the gene were more fatigued than those without the gene. Those with the gene variant spent less time in deep sleep. The two groups had the same results when they took memory and attention tests. There was also no difference in their ability to sleep during the day. In my opinion, this shows that people with this gene will have more fatigue, but there they won’t have any further problems.

TEENAGE BRAINS

For the past two days we watched a movie on the teenage brain. My first reaction to the video was "is this staged?" I have never seen teenagers act so rudely.  If my parents saw the video, they would view me as an angel. I don't think the video fairly portrays what a teenager is like. Adults always say teenagers are bratty, rebellious, and annoying. That is a generalization. In all my days as a teenager, I have never acted in such a rude, stubborn way as the kids in the video did. This leads me to believe, either they are born that way or my parents did an excellent job raising me! I have never felt the need to treat my parents with disrespect. Because of this, I believe my parent's way of raising kids is the best. We are very close. However, they give me my freedom, as is needed with all teenagers. If I wish to go out with friends, they allow me. However, they still put some boundaries. I always have a curfew. This helps me to feel as I have freedom, however I am still protected. In conclusion, the movie was very interesting and led to many interesting conversations on teenagers and parenting skills.

BRAIN & ITS FUNCTIONS

1. What does the word "hemisphere" refer to when talking about the brain?

“Hemi” means half. Our brain is spilt in half. It has the left side and the right side of the brain. Each side has its different functions.  The two sides are connected by the corpus collasum.
2. What are the major differences between the left and right sides of the brain?

No one is only left brained or only right brained. However, one side dominates. If you are dominated by your right side, you tend to be more creative. You aren’t always organized.  You like to see things visually. On the other hand, if someone is left brained, then they tend to look at the logic behind things. They think things out before doing them. Left brained people tend to look at parts, rather than the whole.
3. What is the corpus collasum?

The corpus collasum is the nerve fibers that connect the left side of your brain to your right side.
4. Explain the study performed by Paul Broca in which he discovered "Broca's Area."

Broca’s area is on the surface of the left frontal lobe. When someone has damage there,  they lose the ability to forms words and sentences. Paul Broca had two patients who had this, Lalong and Leborgne. They both could form few words. Broca determined that it was because they had damage in the surface of the left frontal lobe.
5. Explain the study conducted by Roger Sperry in regard to "split brain."

“Split brain” refers to when, in surgery, someone’s corpus collasum is cut. This is usually done if someone has a really bad case of epilepsy. In doing this, the right and left side of the brain cannot process as one. There are advantages and disadvantages. This is a last resort. Most patients had the same memory as before. They could pay attention when spoken to, Also, they had good control of themselves.
6. Explain the study conducted by Karl Wernicke which led to the discovery of Wernicke's Area."

Wenicke’s area is in the posterior section of the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant cerebral hemisphere (which is the left hemisphere in about 90% of people). He believes that this part of the brain, if damages, caused aphasia. Aphasia is  a difficulty comprehending or producing spoken or written language.
7. Which lobe is most responsible for vision?

The occipital lobe is most responsible for vision.

8. Which lobe is most responsible for hearing and language?

The temporal lobe is most responsible for hearing and language.

9. Which lobe is most responsible for performing math calculations?

The frontal lobe is most responsible for performing math calculations.
10. Which lobe is most responsible for judgment, reasoning and impulse control?

The frontal lobe is most responsible for judgment, reasoning, and impulse control.

PHINEAS GAGE

           Phineas Gage was born July 9, 1823 and died  May 21, 1860.Phineas Gage was an American railroad construction foreman. On September 13, 1848, 25-year-old Gage was foreman in 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 “the powder exploded, carrying an instrument through his head an inch and a fourth in [diameter], and three feet and [seven] 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.^” (from a witness that was there).

                                                                 
                                                                 scienceblogs.com

                   After accident, he was in the hospital for around a year. He saw a series of doctors. People expected him to die. However, gradually he became better. First he moved. Then, he started walking. Then, he begged to be allowed to visit his parents. He went outside. He recovered well both physically and mentally. “He said he was not in pain, however he had a queer feeling that he was unable to describe.” After the surgeries friends said he was “no longer Gage”. Before he had the accident been a kind, responsible, respectable, young man. After, he was completely different. He couldn’t hold down a job. He had tantrums in which he would say the most vulgar things. He was impatient, and had the “animal passions of a strong man” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage).

                                                                         boston.com


              
                  Phineas Gage was a case study. From him, scientists learned two main things. First, they learned about brain localization. Meaning, each part of your brain has a specific task. You can lose one and the rest will still function. Gage’s friends found him“no longer Gage,” Harlow wrote.  Second, this case study showed that our ability to control ourselves lies in the frontal lobe. Without it, a person has no control over themselves.  Second, we learned about brain lateralization. This is the theory that left and right sides of the brain can control many different parts of your body.

open.salon.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage
 http://www.smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gagesonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Phineas-Gage-Neurosciences-Most-Famous-Patient.html#ixzz104yemFUO

HOMOSEXUALITY: NATURE OR NURTURE?

Homosexuality is a very heated topic at the moment. Some people believe you are born that way (nature), while others believe that through your environment (nurture) you become homosexual. Many people say that it is someone’s choice to be gay. However, I believe that you are born that way. It is neither a disease nor something you should be ashamed of. It is how that person feels, and we should all respect that. I believe that a person is born that way. In many countries, homosexual people are frowned upon. They face really hard times. Why would someone bring that upon themselves if it weren’t that they were born that way? Why would someone choose to make their life harder? However, I also believe that someone may come to realize their homosexuality through an experience. Perhaps, some people may never know true happiness because they never realized that they were homosexual. Because of this, I believe that is mostly biological for why people are gay; however there are some environmental parts that many play a part.



D.F. Swab was the first person to note that there was a physical difference from homosexual people to heterosexual people. Many scientists believe that it has to do with the development of the hypothalamus, which is a part of the brain which has shown to differ between homosexuals and heterosexuals. A homosexual man has the hypothalamus about twice the size of a heterosexual man. In 1993, Dean Hamer, a scientist at the National Cancer Institute, wrote in the Science Journal an article called “A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation”. He found that homosexuality is passed down from the mother. However, for lesbians it is different. Hamer suspects that women’s sexual preference may be less genetically programmed than men’s. However, he still believes that it is passed down in families.


On the other hand, there is the idea that we choose to become homosexual. This means that through our experiences we become homosexual. Some psychoanalysts believe that an overbearing mother and a distant father can cause a boy to become gay. They say that the boy is taught to act more like a girl, causing them to become homosexual. Thomas Schmidt wrote an argument called “Straight& Narrow? Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexual Debate”. He believes that being homosexual is a choice. He believes that for many external factors cause this. For example, if a child is bullied as a kid and considered a ‘sissy’, he might relate better to the girls in his class. He believes that the idea of feminism has a large influence on females becoming lesbian.

According to Craig M. Pease and James J. Bull, “it is estimated that 2%-5% of men are gay, 1%-2% of women are lesbian, and these percentages appear to hold across cultures.” (Chapter 23)So, through all this research, I have come to believe that it is a little bit of both nature and nurture. I believe that some people are born with a larger tendency to become homosexual. We should never judge someone because of their sexual orientation. In 1994, the APA finally stated, "...homosexuality is neither a mental illness nor a moral depravity. It is the way a portion of the population expresses human love and sexuality".

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kiccacakes.com/images/Photogallery/weddingcakes/images/092-GAY-WEDDING-CAKE.JPG&imgrefurl=http://bestforweddingday.blogspot.com/2009/12/gay-wedding-cake.html&usg=__5921p-_ray_hWfc-6xdI13HsB6E=&h=450&w=432&sz=44&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=chi-QjQYg3F6MM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgay%2Bwedding%2Bcake%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1R2SKPB_enHN340%26biw%3D1135%26bih%3D542%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=624&ei=wJCFTMXkEIT78AaN07CAAg&oei=j5CFTNX2OYXdngepj821Dg&esq=4&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0&tx=46&ty=44

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://themusicslut.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/777px-gay_flag.png&imgrefurl=http://themusicslut.com/2009/06/happy-new-york-city-2009-gay-pride/&usg=__uDrvFsa4V4RbX6A7U4-hmDu9tpY=&h=480&w=777&sz=3&hl=en&start=80&zoom=1&tbnid=FiBnHivJIhB55M:&tbnh=101&tbnw=164&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgay%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2SKPB_enHN340%26biw%3D1135%26bih%3D542%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1628&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=742&vpy=190&dur=6895&hovh=176&hovw=286&tx=88&ty=149&ei=84-FTOrfJ8KC8gbc5OzbDA&oei=Ao-FTLbWJIGLnAfLx5G1Dg&esq=23&page=5&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:80&biw=1135&bih=542


WORKS CITED:

(http://allpsych.com/journal/homosexuality.html)

Bull, James J. and Pease, Craig M. “Biological Correlates of Being Gay” Online. 11 April 2003. Available http://www.utexas.edu/courses/bio301d/Topics/Gay/Text.html.

Thompson and Devine. “Homosexuality: Biologically or Environmentally Constructed?” Online. 8 April 2003. Available http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/Research/ HNatureProposalsArticles/Homosexuality.biologicall.html

Sonya Safro “ Nature versus Nurture: Homosexuality’s Link to Biology and Society” January 17,2008. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1910