BlogginG! YEAH YEAH YEAH!
Video: Pleasure and Addiction
http://www.learner.org/resources/series150.html
An experiment was done implanting chemicals into the pleasure systems of clinically depressed patients. The chemicals were directed at the Nucleus Accumbens, the powerhouse of emotion and addiction. Test subjects were allowed to control their own tests, and what was found was that drugs simulate the same areas of the brain as sex and food. The primary example given was that of the rat and the shock. A rat was exposed to a peddle, which when stepped upon, created a pleasurable stimulus. The rat was so inclined to experience this stimulus, that even after it was required that the animal endure an extremely painful shock, it tolerated it to reach that pleasure. This is a clear example of association of objects with pleasure, a concept connected to mood's link to memory. In terms of humans, drugs such as heroin and cocaine stimulate the exact area of the brain as food and sex. In the case of heroin, the higher cortex is shut down and the emotional brain is left to act alone. Coke, however, boosts the entire brain, centering on pleasure centers. This information was not shocking to me or even all that new. My skepticism comes in personal experience. I have been told that drugs can be a replacement to sex, by someone who's engaged in both on several occasions. This is impossible to believe for me. I really don't care what science says, the contact of another human being, the physical touch, is a totally different sensation than a needle or a rolled piece of paper lit into action. These experiments are not accounting for emotional attachment, desire, or the affects of repeating actions of different manners several different times. Food is a replacement for sex, drugs a replacement for sex. But this doesn't mean they're interchangeable, just a bit similar. The research is all well and good, but I've got to rely more on life lessons for this one.
Video: Mnuemonics For The Brain
http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2008/09/22/episode-72-video-memorize-the-parts-of-the-brain/
This guy is kind of a wackadoodle, but he's good at what he does. I took crazy notes for this video, so I'm basically going to throw back what I wrote down and comment on a few of the choices he made...basically I'm going to blog=]. The cerebral cortex is involved in complex thinking, like e=mc sq. Tex makes one think of texas...cowboy hat. Hat sits right on the head, and the cortex is right under the hat. Corpus callosum. I thought his first method was pretty great, the second suggestion, not as great. CorPLUS ColloSUM. Adds parts of the brain toether, and communicates, a.k.a. call someone. The thalamus. Ok this one was a little weird. He named two guys Hal and Amos, and these guys have the job of directing the signals of the brain to their processing centers. I guess I just have to think of two little airplane-stick holding dudes. Next came Hypothalamus. Hypo-the llamas. Cool them off with a hypodermic needle after a long trip whrn they are thirsty. The hypothalaums controls thirst, body temperature, and drives. This must have taken him sveral sill hours to come up with. Now up, the hippocampus. The hippo carries a compass to remember where home is and the hippocampus controls memory. This one was cute. Number six, the amygdala, the fear center. I guess there's something calleda mig and it's scary. Tah Dah. Pons is easy. Ponds are relaxing, the pons controls relaxation and sleep. Easy peasy puddin and pie. The cerebellum. OK this one was jsut dumb. You have to picture athlethes balancing cells, as the cerebellum controls balance and motor control. Whatever, dude. Maybe this crazy image will work. Reticular formation arouses and alerts. When you're tickled you're alert. Wow, guy, took the easy road for this one. FINALLY. The medulla. His were dumb so I made my own. The purple heart is a medal, the medulla regulates the heart and lungs. See, I could totally be him.
Reading: Ecstasy
http://www.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=brainBriefings_ecstasy
E damages axons. This club drus is viewed as nothing more than a boost to a great night out, but the studies presented in this article showed that with repeat use, this drug can weaken users memory and strategic mental abilities. Besides the immediate effetcs of naseau and sweating, Ecstasy damages the axons carrying serotonin related neurons, pleasure centers of the brain. However, it also made it obvious that most effects were minor and still being researched. I don't think i'll freak out over a little E until the research is more solid. That's not to say that I'm going to run out and snag some, but this article just wasn't a scary enough deterence, honestly.
Reading: Learning From Mistakes Only Works After Age 12
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080925104309.htm
Aha! So when we ask, " Why did he just stick that marble up his nose again?", we can know that he just didn't learn. What a novel concept. This article suggests that younger children do not respond to negative feedback, just encouragement, regulated by the cerebral cortex. Conversely, the older one gets, the more responsive the brain is to negative feedback. The question, though, is if this difference comes from experience, and no one really knows yet. Positive feedback, though, has been pinpointed to the basal ganglia. I did a project on Huntington's last year and the basal ganglia was the primary area affected. How does this relate? Hmmm. I'm a bit confused...
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Readin. Watchin movies. Doin Work.
WARNING MR. WALTMAN- WHITE FONT!!!
Reading: Mirror Neurons. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-mirror-neuron-revolut
This article was really cool. I was extremely interested, and I think it was mostly because I actually understood what the heck was being said. So, what i gathered is this. Mirror neurons are social butterflies. Their job is to interpret social cues within the brain, exchanging neurotransmitters to one another. They work with social tensions, connecting to the social psych unit in terms of attitude, and maybe even in group and out group. If someone has defective mirror neurons; if they cannot transmit the proper signals through their terminal branches, one may be viewed as awkward, hence, the out group. Also the connection to language and emotion shows how closely connected the parts of the brain truly are.
Video: Natural Morphine http://www.learner.org/resources/series150.html
The war imagery that prompted this video definitely spoke to a heightened reality and an endorphin rush. This brief clip began with the background of drug abuse becoming prevalent in the Vietnam war, and it's positive effect on scientific exploration. It was discovered that heroin, the drug of choice, fit in the identical reaction sites as the brain's natural substances! Easily obtained poppy extracts do the trick, too. Hans Kosterlitz, in 1972, found natural opiates in the brain in the form of morphine. It took a basic experiment with just a strip of muscle to make a breakthrough. Honestly, I didn't find this super exciting. It was nothing I didn't know. I watched the Drug Years. I know what's up. It WAS cool though that the government gave scientists the go ahead, even though Nixon had declared a drug war. Huh, the government is a far out thing, man.
Reading: Memories Are Made of This http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/10/memories-are-made-of-this.php
Yay! Review and new material all in one. So, this started by exploring memories. It discussed encoding, not in the sense of failure or bettering memory, but in how we recall what's in our brains in a neurological sense, of what we encoded. This was helpful in connecting encoding and the several types in review to help learn this new material. Moving on. It looked at epilepsy, and this study was pretty sick, and kind of seemed like I had seen in on Grey's Anatomy. But, what they found was that neurons were firing, aka action potential, hundreds of times when exposed to TV clips. The breakthrough part was that they found the same neurons firing when the clip was showed again. Also, through unconscious recollection, the neurons were firing ahead of the clip. I don't think 'resurrection of neuronal activity from the past' is insensitive, maybe just not cool with moms and mushy gushy types.
Video: Hormones and Brain Developmenthttp://www.learner.org/resources/series142.html
This video was repetitive, but interesting none the less. In rat brain studies, it found that there is a definitive link between sex hormones and the shape of both the brain and the body. Females tend to have more symmetrical hemispheres in both rats and humans, and male rats have a thicker right hemisphere. However, when female ovaries are removed, the right cortex is thicker, and when male testes are removed, the left cortex is thicker, unlike typical males. This is an undeniable link. The studies also showed that the cortex can change at any age with certain experiences. The section I found the most insightful was on impoverished environments versus nurtured, enriched environments. The rats in more enriched environment actually had bigger brains! It was a clear link to humans, and the ignorance argument of the poor and downtrodden. There is genuine scientific evidence that it's not a fruitless point. Wowza, science explained social conditions. Isn't that called psychology....
Reading: Mirror Neurons. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-mirror-neuron-revolut
This article was really cool. I was extremely interested, and I think it was mostly because I actually understood what the heck was being said. So, what i gathered is this. Mirror neurons are social butterflies. Their job is to interpret social cues within the brain, exchanging neurotransmitters to one another. They work with social tensions, connecting to the social psych unit in terms of attitude, and maybe even in group and out group. If someone has defective mirror neurons; if they cannot transmit the proper signals through their terminal branches, one may be viewed as awkward, hence, the out group. Also the connection to language and emotion shows how closely connected the parts of the brain truly are.
Video: Natural Morphine http://www.learner.org/resources/series150.html
The war imagery that prompted this video definitely spoke to a heightened reality and an endorphin rush. This brief clip began with the background of drug abuse becoming prevalent in the Vietnam war, and it's positive effect on scientific exploration. It was discovered that heroin, the drug of choice, fit in the identical reaction sites as the brain's natural substances! Easily obtained poppy extracts do the trick, too. Hans Kosterlitz, in 1972, found natural opiates in the brain in the form of morphine. It took a basic experiment with just a strip of muscle to make a breakthrough. Honestly, I didn't find this super exciting. It was nothing I didn't know. I watched the Drug Years. I know what's up. It WAS cool though that the government gave scientists the go ahead, even though Nixon had declared a drug war. Huh, the government is a far out thing, man.
Reading: Memories Are Made of This http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/10/memories-are-made-of-this.php
Yay! Review and new material all in one. So, this started by exploring memories. It discussed encoding, not in the sense of failure or bettering memory, but in how we recall what's in our brains in a neurological sense, of what we encoded. This was helpful in connecting encoding and the several types in review to help learn this new material. Moving on. It looked at epilepsy, and this study was pretty sick, and kind of seemed like I had seen in on Grey's Anatomy. But, what they found was that neurons were firing, aka action potential, hundreds of times when exposed to TV clips. The breakthrough part was that they found the same neurons firing when the clip was showed again. Also, through unconscious recollection, the neurons were firing ahead of the clip. I don't think 'resurrection of neuronal activity from the past' is insensitive, maybe just not cool with moms and mushy gushy types.
Video: Hormones and Brain Developmenthttp://www.learner.org/resources/series142.html
This video was repetitive, but interesting none the less. In rat brain studies, it found that there is a definitive link between sex hormones and the shape of both the brain and the body. Females tend to have more symmetrical hemispheres in both rats and humans, and male rats have a thicker right hemisphere. However, when female ovaries are removed, the right cortex is thicker, and when male testes are removed, the left cortex is thicker, unlike typical males. This is an undeniable link. The studies also showed that the cortex can change at any age with certain experiences. The section I found the most insightful was on impoverished environments versus nurtured, enriched environments. The rats in more enriched environment actually had bigger brains! It was a clear link to humans, and the ignorance argument of the poor and downtrodden. There is genuine scientific evidence that it's not a fruitless point. Wowza, science explained social conditions. Isn't that called psychology....
Sunday, October 19, 2008
I Just Wanna Be Used.
This chapter simply put labels to the things we encounter everyday. None of the concepts were overly forein or difficult to understand, just a bit tough to tell apart at times. So I think the best way to apply them is in everyday situations. 1.) When a stupid girl makes up a rumor based on a look I gave her or laugh in her direction---Fundamental Attribution Theory. 2.) When I slack off in Econ becuase I'm crazy bored---Social Loafing. 3.) When I'm a jerk to my best friend when she's a jerk---equity. 4.) I wear a skirt that's too short on Halloween---Normative Social Influence. 5.) I like this girl because she also hates that other girl that I hate more than I hate her---Superordinate Goals. 6.) Oh my God! I hate her too! And so do these 4 girls---Group Polarization.
Ahhh. Psychology at work=]
Ahhh. Psychology at work=]
Sunday, October 12, 2008
oops=]
I read some of the other blogs and I'm not sure if this is right...but I'm going to write a story. About attraction and conflict. Two things that often come hand in hand in my life. So, this is a real life story, because I don't really care to be private or touchy about things that are no big deal. Plus, I'm sure I'm not the only one that this has happened to.
I fell for this guy. And he was handsome, smart, and so so bad. Which I loved. He was different than any guy I'd ever fallen for. He was extremely intelligent, but not because of formal education, just because he was. School wasn't his thing, and I think his anti-conformity was aluring, since I'm a total school geek. He read constantly and listened to the best, most chill music, and had cool posters on his walls. We fell into a "relationship" I guess? We were together, we didn't really label beyond that, but we were happy. He balanced me out, the opposite of my intense, neurotic, constantly busy self. I was attracted to him, but more so I think I was attracted to the way he made me feel and act, changed me when I was with him. I guess of the four points of attraction(physical*, proximity*, familiarity, similartity) we filled two. Things were good, they were easy. But there was somebody else.
Don't you just feel like as soon as someone new enters your romantic life, someone else tries to squeeze in simultaneously? It is so unfair. I was finally feeling right with this guy, we were meshing and had gotten past the "gettting to know one another" stage, when stupid guy #2 pranced in. I must admit, he was somethin. We'd been friends, but never anything more, not to say I hadn't thought of him as anything more in the past. CONFLICT. arg. So anyhow, he enters the picture. At first it was no big deal, harmless flirting, hanging out a few times a week, whatever. The thing is, I never told guy #1, because he wasn't my "boyfriend", and although we had talked about our connection to each other, we hadn't really set rules. Yeah, that was a mistake. Justification at it's finest. So, I crossed the line with guy #1, rather he crossed the line( yes, justification and finger pointing again). He kissed me. But I pulled away! See, I'm not that bad of the bad guy. It was weird though. I don't think I wanted to pull away, it was just immediate. My head knew it was wrong, even if animalistic instinct disagreed. It was the perfect example of cognitive dissonance. I did it, but I felt awful, and to cover it up, I justified it. #1 wasn't my boyfriend. The worst part of this intense conflict, was that I didn't tell #1. For quite a while. I guess I convinced myself that he was doing the same, so it was fine. Turns out he wasn't. And I am such a bad person, but it's like I was glad that #2 cared so much. It's like social facilitaion kind of? I don't know. I just know this is a very real version of conflict and attraction is psychology.
I fell for this guy. And he was handsome, smart, and so so bad. Which I loved. He was different than any guy I'd ever fallen for. He was extremely intelligent, but not because of formal education, just because he was. School wasn't his thing, and I think his anti-conformity was aluring, since I'm a total school geek. He read constantly and listened to the best, most chill music, and had cool posters on his walls. We fell into a "relationship" I guess? We were together, we didn't really label beyond that, but we were happy. He balanced me out, the opposite of my intense, neurotic, constantly busy self. I was attracted to him, but more so I think I was attracted to the way he made me feel and act, changed me when I was with him. I guess of the four points of attraction(physical*, proximity*, familiarity, similartity) we filled two. Things were good, they were easy. But there was somebody else.
Don't you just feel like as soon as someone new enters your romantic life, someone else tries to squeeze in simultaneously? It is so unfair. I was finally feeling right with this guy, we were meshing and had gotten past the "gettting to know one another" stage, when stupid guy #2 pranced in. I must admit, he was somethin. We'd been friends, but never anything more, not to say I hadn't thought of him as anything more in the past. CONFLICT. arg. So anyhow, he enters the picture. At first it was no big deal, harmless flirting, hanging out a few times a week, whatever. The thing is, I never told guy #1, because he wasn't my "boyfriend", and although we had talked about our connection to each other, we hadn't really set rules. Yeah, that was a mistake. Justification at it's finest. So, I crossed the line with guy #1, rather he crossed the line( yes, justification and finger pointing again). He kissed me. But I pulled away! See, I'm not that bad of the bad guy. It was weird though. I don't think I wanted to pull away, it was just immediate. My head knew it was wrong, even if animalistic instinct disagreed. It was the perfect example of cognitive dissonance. I did it, but I felt awful, and to cover it up, I justified it. #1 wasn't my boyfriend. The worst part of this intense conflict, was that I didn't tell #1. For quite a while. I guess I convinced myself that he was doing the same, so it was fine. Turns out he wasn't. And I am such a bad person, but it's like I was glad that #2 cared so much. It's like social facilitaion kind of? I don't know. I just know this is a very real version of conflict and attraction is psychology.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Read Me! Watch Me! Try Me!
Ok. I'll break this down into three sections. Video. Experiment. Reading. Ready, Go.
1.) Let's watch some killer psych videos, eh?!
I watched #24 on aggression and violence in the brain. My computer was being weird and didn't stream the video right, so I just saw pictures that moved every so often with words atop them. I think if I took anything from this video it was the importance of situation and conditions. At first hearing what this man had done, it was only natural to assume that he was a bad guy,because bad guys do bad things. That's what the attribution theory tells us. But when we discover his cruel acts were linked with a type of medical condition, everything changes. Our attitudes of disgust and horror change to sympathy and pity. This can be applied to situations in everyday life. If we actually knew what was going on inside someones head, if we even cared, I bet perceptions would change. Aggressive behavior could become a reaction to abuse. Harsh words could be just ways of hiding jealousy sparked by an event. This video demonstrated that we never truly know.
2.) Experimenting is fun fun stuff.
I did a few. Because I think they're great. There's not really much to say about them, really. I did the facial attractiveness experiment for men first, but I was ticked because it didn't give me results, it just gave made me do another experiment. But, if I had to guess, I could summarize my data. I picked broader faces, eyes, noses, the works. No small eyes or feminine features. I like men who look like strong willed, masculine, intelligent individuals. And for some reason, I attribute all of these characterises to a more solid face. I'm attracted to confidence. Next I did one that associated characteristics to faces, again no results. I guess the more cultured looking, smaller faced and more groomed hair older men I saw as more intelligent and successful. The more feminine older woman seemed more caring and maybe even successful, but the more rugged, weathered woman I judged as more trustworthy and intelligent. Life wears you down, and this woman showed it. Finally,I did male attractiveness on a scale of 1-7 for something like 16 photos. Turns out I'm picky. The average is about 2.7. Mine was 2.2. What are ya gonna do. I like em handsome.
3.) Read to Achieve!
So, I read about why we do dumb things. Nothing too shocking. It broke down some experiments we've looked at. I.e. Milgram and Stanford, and the concepts we've done a lot with in class. Prejudice, conformity, bystander effect, all that fun stuff.The halo effect was kind of a fancy name for attribution theory. I feel like I should write more, but I really have very little to say and feel like the rest will be filler. Maybe I'll add more later if I suddenly feel inspired by this article. Fingers crossed.
Norm Schmorm
This was so freakin fun. I almost died of embarrassment. But then I just said screw it, and went all out. And it was great. So what did I do, you ask? I defied a social norm, silly. Duh=]. One of my best friends and I were headed to UB this weekend, so we decided to make a quick stop at the Galleria mall, and I thought to myself, what a perfect location to be a little nuts. I don't know anyone there, and tons of wack a doodles flock to malls. So we decided to pick a place where lots of normal people go, Old Navy. I figured this would give me a broad range of subjects and a fairly open space, room to project. Oh yeah! I should probably mention the norm I defied. When shopping, one is expected to do certain things. They pull cute tops from the racks, maybe hum the tune playing around them softly to themselves, even oogle at a baby or shoot a stare at a punk ass kid. Singing at the top of your lungs as you prance down the aisle, not normal. Especially off-key. That's just ludicrous, ludicrous I say. Well, I did it=]. It took me a while to muster up the courage. I was basically spazzing out. I'm putting up the video from Try #1, the unsuccessful trial run. Pardon Heather's language. She says sorry. Finally though, I just did it. My stomach was in complete knots. I felt like an idiot. But it was so fun, I cannot even explain how amazing it felt to just let go of all of my inhibitions and do whatever the heck I wanted. The looks were funny. These two tween boys just laughed like I was a weirdo. Moms tried not to stare, but could not help themselves and shot me stares as if I wasn't raised right. Sorry Ma. Some people just ignored it. Probably easier. My favorite though, by far, was an old Russian woman. I ran out of the store, and as I was exiting, she walked up to me casually, muttered something at me in Russian with a disapproving tone, looked me up and down, and sauntered away. It. Was. Perfect. Heather was embarrassed to be seen with me, which I couldn't have cared less. She and I were just falling down laughing. This was an epic assignment.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
QUESTION
c. Consider the psychological consequences of stripping, delousing, and shaving the heads of prisoners or members of the military. What transformations take place when people go through an experience like this?
QUESTION
d. At first push-ups were not a very aversive form of punishment, but they became more so as the study wore on. Why the change?
QUESTION
f. Most prisoners believed that the subjects selected to be guards were chosen because they were bigger than those who were made prisoners, but actually, there was no difference in the average height of the two groups. What do you think caused this misperception?
ANSWER: C.
There are few greater personal challenges than losing sight of your own identity. You look the way you do. You may not like what you see, or even feel like the person you're looking at reflects the inner you, but at the end of the day, you know your face and you fall back upon that same image in the mirror each morning. Prisoners lose themselves, and it's completely intentional on the part of the superiors. Being shaved is the first step to becoming a nobody, just another face in the guilty crowd. Especially for women, hair obviously is the decoration to a bland face. It's the first step in both a physical and emotional wearing out. The same is to be said for delousing or stripping. These acts bring out the most self conscious side of a person, a vulnerable side that can be molded and manipulated. The most important trait lost is pride. Pride in oneself and one's view of themselves pertaining to the outside world. They become small, unimportant, and shameful. The perfect specimen of a broken soul to be manipulated.
ANSWER: D.
At first, push ups were no big deal. Many people incorporate push-ups into their everyday workout patterns, a routine common to get fit and healthy. Also, these are young college men. I'll bet everyone of them is coursing with ego and pride, just waiting to show each other participant in this crazy test exactly what they're made of, and at first, they may even revel in the idea of a few man-ups. However, these feelings will quickly change. The social facilitation will run it's course. As with anything, connections change actions. Push-ups are no longer a menial punishment, rather a drudgery and embarrassment, a spectacle of insubordinance and failure. Push ups will become tell alls to nosy inmates and constant reminders of failure, the reason you are where you are.
ANSWER: F.
Intimidation. Their perception stems from their unproud fear of these men who were once considered equals outside the cell walls. It's almost as if it's justification, like there could be no other reason that these men are holding power over them other than the fact that they're bigger. Their insecurities grow with every passing day and this is yet another example of how they are personally putting themselves below a "greater" authority. They're not being bullied into belief, rather they genuinely believe that they are becoming lesser. It's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more the "smaller" individuals examine the situation and search for incongruity, the bigger and bigger the guards will become, both literally and figuratively.
c. Consider the psychological consequences of stripping, delousing, and shaving the heads of prisoners or members of the military. What transformations take place when people go through an experience like this?
QUESTION
d. At first push-ups were not a very aversive form of punishment, but they became more so as the study wore on. Why the change?
QUESTION
f. Most prisoners believed that the subjects selected to be guards were chosen because they were bigger than those who were made prisoners, but actually, there was no difference in the average height of the two groups. What do you think caused this misperception?
ANSWER: C.
There are few greater personal challenges than losing sight of your own identity. You look the way you do. You may not like what you see, or even feel like the person you're looking at reflects the inner you, but at the end of the day, you know your face and you fall back upon that same image in the mirror each morning. Prisoners lose themselves, and it's completely intentional on the part of the superiors. Being shaved is the first step to becoming a nobody, just another face in the guilty crowd. Especially for women, hair obviously is the decoration to a bland face. It's the first step in both a physical and emotional wearing out. The same is to be said for delousing or stripping. These acts bring out the most self conscious side of a person, a vulnerable side that can be molded and manipulated. The most important trait lost is pride. Pride in oneself and one's view of themselves pertaining to the outside world. They become small, unimportant, and shameful. The perfect specimen of a broken soul to be manipulated.
ANSWER: D.
At first, push ups were no big deal. Many people incorporate push-ups into their everyday workout patterns, a routine common to get fit and healthy. Also, these are young college men. I'll bet everyone of them is coursing with ego and pride, just waiting to show each other participant in this crazy test exactly what they're made of, and at first, they may even revel in the idea of a few man-ups. However, these feelings will quickly change. The social facilitation will run it's course. As with anything, connections change actions. Push-ups are no longer a menial punishment, rather a drudgery and embarrassment, a spectacle of insubordinance and failure. Push ups will become tell alls to nosy inmates and constant reminders of failure, the reason you are where you are.
ANSWER: F.
Intimidation. Their perception stems from their unproud fear of these men who were once considered equals outside the cell walls. It's almost as if it's justification, like there could be no other reason that these men are holding power over them other than the fact that they're bigger. Their insecurities grow with every passing day and this is yet another example of how they are personally putting themselves below a "greater" authority. They're not being bullied into belief, rather they genuinely believe that they are becoming lesser. It's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more the "smaller" individuals examine the situation and search for incongruity, the bigger and bigger the guards will become, both literally and figuratively.
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