Introductory Psychology:
Demonstrations
The demonstrations are designed to be performed individually by students during Laboratory Wednesdays (see the calendar). The demonstrations are available on the DaVinci Academy computer lab. To get full credit for the performing the demo, you must be in class to perform the demonstration and hand in the completed the demo assignment(s) required for a given session. Partial credit will be given to those whose are absent on the day the demos are completed but who submit the demo assignment before the end of the next class period.
Demo 1: Scientific Psychology.
1a. Psychology’s Timeline (assignment)
Purpose:
To provide a more comprehensive synopsis of the
origins of psychology, the early history of psychology as a discipline, and the
major themes in twentieth century psychology
Summary:
This activity will take you on a tour through
the history of psychology. You will learn how psychology grew out of philosophy
and medical physiology, and will become acquainted with some of the pioneers of
psychology as a scientific discipline.
Demo 2. Behaviorism and Learning. Students must complete 2a and 2b. Completing 2c will earn students extra credit.
2a. Classical Conditioning (assignment)
Purpose:
To simulate the acquisition and extinction of
conditioned associations
Summary:
This activity provides a review of Pavlov's
famous experiment on the salivary response in dogs, as well as the basic
processes of classical conditioning: acquisition, generalization, discrimination
training, and extinction. You will play the role of an experimenter attempting
to produce a conditioned eye blink in a human subject.
2b. Operant Conditioning (assignment)
Purpose:
To demonstrate some principles of behavior
control through the manipulation of reinforcement
Summary:
This activity describes a form of learning
called operant conditioning—learning from the consequences that follow our
actions. The concept of reinforcement as illustrated with examples from everyday
life, while the value of controlled reinforcement schedules is demonstrated in a
simulated experiment showing rat bar-pressing behavior under four different
schedules of reinforcement.
2c. Monkey See, Monkey Do (assignment)
Purpose:
To introduce Albert Bandura’s classic research
on observational learning
Summary:
In this activity
you will learn about Albert Bandura’s classic experiment on observational
learning, will see some video clips of two children who participated in the
experiment, and will be able to practice your skills in observing and labeling
specific behaviors performed by these children.
Demo 3.
Brain and Behavior: 3a is required, 3b or 3c will earn you extra credit
and give you an excellent
background for the exam!
3a. Your Mind on Drugs (assignment)
Purpose:
To describe the basic types of psychoactive
drugs and the neural mechanisms of drug action.
Summary:
In this activity you will explore the behavioral
effects of some common drugs that influence the brain—producing changes in our
arousal level, our mood, our perception of our environment, and our actions.
3b. Hemispheric Specialization (assignment)
Purpose:
To explain how research on split-brain patients
has helped us understand the special abilities of the two halves of the brain
Summary:
This activity describes what researchers have
learned about the special abilities of the left and right sides of the brain.
After a brief review of the way that information is carried from the main
sensory channels to the brain, you will test the responses of a simulated
“split-brain” patient to demonstrate that, for most right-handers, the main
language center is located in the left hemisphere, and the right hemisphere is
specialized for spatial tasks. Then you will carry out the same experiments with
a simulated “normal” individual to explore the functioning of the hemispheres in
an intact brain.
3c. Neural Messages (assignment)
Purpose:
To describe and simulate the basic principles of
axonal conduction and synaptic transmission in the nervous system.
Summary:
This activity explains the way neurons
communicate with each other. You will review the basic types of neurons and the
parts of a neuron, and then learn how neurons “fire” (generate impulses) and
send messages to neighboring neurons.
Demo 4. Sensation and Perception: Complete both demos.
4a. The Auditory System (assignment)
Purpose:
To explain how we hear and how the physical
nature of the sound wave determines the quality of the sound experience
Summary:
This activity covers the characteristics of
sound that are important for hearing, and describes the structure of the ear and
auditory pathway. You will be asked to locate the parts of the ear on a drawing.
The activity simulates the transmission of a sound wave through the outer,
middle, and inner ear and shows how the cochlea converts the mechanical energy
to neural impulses. Next, it explains the concepts of frequency, amplitude, and
waveform and shows how these aspects of the sound wave are related to the
experience of pitch, loudness, and timbre.
4b. Visual Illusions (assignment)
Purpose: To demonstrate and explain four well-known visual illusions
Summary:
This activity offers the opportunity to test
your susceptibility to four famous visual illusions. In the Müller-
Lyer, Ponzo,
Horizontal-Vertical, and Poggendorf illusions you will be asked to adjust the
length or position of one
part of the
stimulus to match the apparent length or position of another part. Your results
will be displayed and
interpreted.
5. Memory: Complete 5a and either 5b, 5c, or 5d.
5a. Trusting Your Memory (assignment)
Purpose:
To explain research by Loftus, Schacter,
Roediger, and others about memory errors based on gist memory, source confusion,
and suggestibility
Summary:
In this activity you’ll be able to test the
reliability of your memory, and then learn what researchers have discovered
about the way that memories are stored and modified by new information.
5b. Iconic Memory (assignment)
Purpose:
To demonstrate some aspects of sensory register
Summary:
This activity simulates
Sperling’s classic experiments on the duration of visual sensory memory. You
will
see nine
random letters flashed in a 3 x 3 matrix, and will attempt to recall the letters
under three conditions: free-
recall,
cued-recall, and delayed cued-recall. Your results will be compared to
Sperling’s finding of rapid decay of the
visual
“icon.”
5c. Short-Term Memory (assignment)
Purpose:
To explain some basic aspects of short-term memory
Summary:
In this activity you will learn about the common
model of memory storage, and will be able to test your ability to hold
information in short-term memory.
5d. Forgetting (assignment)
Purpose:
To demonstrate the effect of
interference on memory
Summary:
This activity will help you understand one of
the reasons why we forget information—interference. After
some
introductory material, you will play the role of a subject in a simulated
experiment on paired-associate learning.
6. Evolutionary,
Social, and Personality Psychology.
Complete both demos.
6a.
Dating and Mating (assignment)
Purpose:
To explain evolutionary psychology’s explanation
of sex differences in mate selection
Summary:
In this activity you will explore your own
preferences for an “ideal mate,” then consider the perspective of evolutionary
psychology on this important issue.
6b. Helplessly Hoping (assignment)
Purpose:
To explain the research basis for the
concept of learned helplessness
Summary:
In this activity you will explore the importance
of a sense of personal control over the events in your
life. You’ll
participate in a simulated experiment on learned helplessness in dogs, and then
consider how the results
might apply
to the behavior of people trapped in unpleasant situations.
7. Developmental Psychology. Complete both demos.
7a. Cognitive Development (assignment)
Purpose:
To describe Piaget’s theory on
the growth of intelligence and simulate the performance of three
children of
different ages on some of Piaget’s tasks
Summary:
After presenting background information on Jean
Piaget, this activity explains some of the basic
concepts of
his theory, including schemas, operations, and assimilation/accommodation. Next,
Piaget's stages of
cognitive
development are described and illustrated with examples. In the last segment,
you act as the experimenter,
testing 4-,
7-, and 13-year-olds on Piaget's conservation and seriation tasks.
7b. Who Am I? (assignment)
Purpose:
To review Erikson’s perspective on identity
formation and Marcia’s categories of identity status during adolescence
Summary:
This activity
will help you understand Erik Erikson’s perspective on identity
formation, as well as James Marcia’s four steps or stages in the identity
process. The activity will also help you reflect on your own progress toward
achieving a secure and stable identity.
8. Psychopathology and Therapy. Complete both demos.
8a. Mystery Client (assignment)
Purpose:
To review and test understanding of the
classification of behavioral disorders
Summary:
This activity will be most useful to you after
you have read the text material on psychological disorders. In this activity
you’ll take the role of a consultant called in to provide a second opinion on
several clients with disorders, based only on the information contained in the
clients’ files. You will select the information to be examined for each client,
then form a diagnosis according to what you know about the symptoms of the
various disorders.
8b. Mystery Therapist (assignment)
Purpose:
To help students understand the basic goals and
techniques of the main forms of psychotherapy
Summary:
The activity reviews the major perspectives on
psychological disorders and therapy and presents an interactive exercise in
which students read brief fragments of case studies and are asked to identify
the type of therapy exemplified by each case.