January 28th, 2008
On the subject of the psychology of language development, researchers have been able to show that infants start learning new words before they even begin to speak, as early as 1o months (Pruden, Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff, & Hennon, 2006). They can also use words in recognizing complex objects by 12 months (Hollich, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pesek, 2007).
This is something to remember when talking to (or around) young ones because they often will understand much, much more than you might expect…
References
Hollich, G., Golinkoff, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2007). Young children associate novel words with complex objects rather than salient parts. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1051-1061.
Pruden, S. M., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., & Hennon, E. A. (2006). The birth of words: Ten-month-olds learn words through perceptual salience. Child Development, 77, 266-280. [READ THE ARTICLE!]
Posted in development, language | No Comments »
January 22nd, 2008
The question of whether or not violence in the media can be linked to aggressive behavior in real life is a common one addressed by social psychologists–Answered YES in the work of Craig Anderson and Brad Bushman (2001; 2002). I thought of it when I read the news report linked below about online gamers whose virtual rivalry escalated to homicide:
Online game rivalry ends with real life murder
Something to think about the next time you wonder if venting in online environments might make you a more peaceful person in the ‘real world’…
References:
Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). The effects of media violence on society. Science, 295, 2377-2379.
Bushman, B. J. & Anderson, C. A. (2001). Media violence and the American public: Scientific facts versus media misinformation. American Psychologist, 56, 477-489. [READ THE ARTICLE!]
Posted in Uncategorized, aggression, media violence | No Comments »
January 12th, 2008
A new semester has begun at UH-Hilo, excitement!
I’m teaching General Psychology and Testing & Measurement this time around, and am looking forward to the opportunity to both educate and learn from my students in the process. Education is always an adventure!
Students can find syllabi and other documents in the course materials page…
Best of luck to all!
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