Dr. Brian Uldall’s Psychology Page

Everyone should read the following article regarding the relationship between musical & reading taste and SAT scores:

Music that makes you dumb

A couple of points:

1. This is a really interesting analysis and does show how much interesting data there is out there to be analyzed.

2. Even though the author quoted “Correlation does not equal causation–duh”, the article STILL implies a causal link here! Beethoven will NOT make you get a higher test score! …nor will listening to rap make you get a lower one. At least, this data is not sufficient to demonstrate that relationship. It could be that that the causal arrow points the other direction–that getting lower or higher scores encourages greater empathy with a certain type of music or literature; or that a completely different (3rd variable) is responsible for both: for instance, low levels of cognitive complexity could lead to liking of particular music and books AND drive lower test scores.

Still, quite an interesting topic, even if the media reporting on it is typically flawed. On second thought, given the url of the original page created by the study author “booksthatmakeyoudumb.com”, I wonder how deeply this mistaken interpretation goes. I’ll have to check back some time when the site comes up again–at this point, both of the original sites have crashed due to increased traffic… Still, some good food for thought!

Much of the time we explain behavior using the nature of the people in question: someone has a ‘bad personality’, or is ‘has a good heart’, is ‘evil’, etc.  However, accounts that rely solely on a person’s disposition fail to take into consideration of impact of the social environment…

One of the most famous studies in social psychology investigated the impact of the social situation on prison behavior, testing the dispositional hypothesis: That the supposed nature of the people who populate prisons (both inmates and guards) creates the awful conditions. In the study, participants were *randomly assigned* to the role of either prisoners or guards. The effect of this role over powered the effect of participants’ individual personalities in determining resultant behavior: “Despite the fact that guards and prisoners were free to engage in any form of interaction (positive or negative, supportive or affrontive, etc.), the characteristic nature of their encounters tended to be negative, hostile, affrontive, and dehumanizing” (Haney, Banks, & Zimbardo, 1973, p. 80). This effect was so strong that the study had to be halted prematurely due to ethical considerations.

Zimbardo is still active in pursuing the implications of this line of work, especially as an aid in understanding the scandal involving behavior at Abu Graib in Iraq. You can read a lot more about his work and view a slide show and other media presentations at this website.

Reference

Haney, C., Banks, C., & Zimbardo, P. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1,  69-97.

This is just a brief bulletin announcing my upcoming course offerings as the Fall schedule starts to materialize:

Summer session I: (May 19 - June 13)

Psychology 322: Social Psychology

Summer session II: (June 16 - July 25)

Psychology 100: General Psychology

Psychology 213: Statistical Techniques 

Fall Semester

Psychology 321: Personality Psychology

Many students enjoy the greater efficiency of the summer session–working intensely and finishing sooner: An adventure for all!  I’m currently drafting the syllabi for each of these courses.  Interested students are welcome to email me regarding details–some modifications have been made since previous administrations of these classes…

Sometimes seeing is believing… Everyone should take a look at the Faces of Meth photo essay. Illicit drugs such as methamphetamines have profoundly detrimental effects on the biology and psychology of humans.

Some types of experimentation just aren’t worth it (not to mention the legal consequences)…

Those who are interested in learning more about the behaviorist perspective may be interested in some of the following resources:

Association for Behavior Analysis International - Mission: to develop, enhance, and support the growth and vitality of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

The B. F. Skinner Foundation - Devoted to the works and thoughts of the great behaviorist

Hawaii Association for Behavior Analysis - Dedicated to the practice, research, and dissemination of Applied Behavior Analysis.

National Association of Animal Behaviorists - Specialize in resolving animal behavior problems.

Review of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior - A reprint of Noam Chomsky’s searing review of Skinner’s attempt to explain the complexities of language in behaviorist terms.

What Happened to Behaviorism - A recent commentary on the integration of behaviorist perspectives into modern psychology: “all psychologists today are behaviorists”

Naegleria fowleri is the name of the amoeba I mentioned in class today. It is found in warm bodies of fresh water and can cause confusion, hallucinations, coma and ultimately death following an infection of the olfactory bulb and sinus tissue in the nose; from there, it climbs nerve fibers through the floor of the cranium to infect the brain, consuming neural tissue until death occurs within about 2 weeks.

It is extremely rare (responsible for 6 deaths in the U.S. in 2007), but extremely deadly (only 3% of patients have survived once infected). This is a rather gruesome subject, but being able to better identify and protect ourselves (and others) from a variety of disorders and infections is one motivation to learning more about the nervous system.

For those interested, *here* is a relevant news release, and *here* is an information fact sheet regarding N. fowleri from the Centers for Disease Control.

Due to flash flooding dangers, classes have been canceled today–News regarding the closing can be found at the UH-Hilo website.

Therefore, topics scheduled for today will be pushed to later in the week. That is, our philosophy of adjustment to unforeseen circumstances will be that rather than skipping great subjects like the question of dualism vs. monism in understanding the nature of the self and the mind-body problem, we’ll cover them in conjunction with other topics scheduled for later on…

Psychology 100 students eager for a head start can peruse such sites as this Guide to the Philosophy of Mind, or this good online introduction. Psychology 313 students should be prepared to begin discussing reliability and validity of specific tests and assessments such as the S-MAST.

Stay safe everyone!