Numbers say that intelligence test performances have been rising steadily since the Weschler and Stanford-Binet tests were created. The score that I received on the IQ test seemed kind of low to me, but when I looked on the graph it shows that my score is average for people in 2010, and is about 25% higher than the average score 100 years ago.
The higher average modern scores can probably be attributed to the better nutrition and possibly even education that we have access to today.
If your IQ can change as you age, is it possible that someone can be considered mentally retarded after a lifetime of what was otherwise considered average intelligence? And could the opposite be true, someone formerly considered mentally retarded could then be of average intelligence later in life? If these cases exist, they are probably rare, but to say that this is impossible would be too extreme.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Blog Assignment 3/23
6 Chapter 9 Concepts that we Used Today in Class:
1. Overconfidence-Drier was overconfident today that our solution to the record spinning problem was incorrect. Even though this belief was not correct, he remained confident in it.
2. Belief perseverance- Jason exercised belief perseverance during the nail challenge when I found a completely different solution to the problem. He still claimed that the problem could not be solved this way, even though I had discredited his argument.
3. Fixation-I exhibited fixation today with the nail challenge by turning the board upside down, balancing on the nail's head, and setting the nails on the wood. Once Drier told me that this was not the answer, I was stumped. This was the only perspective that I could see a possible solution to.
4. Heuristic-The puzzle with the different people and the cars could be solved using these thinking strategies.
5. Insight-We all had a moment of insight when Jason showed us how the nail problem could be solved, and we thought that we should have gotten the answer sooner.
6. Mental set-Patrick had the tendency to approach the record problem in a way that he had been able to make things move in the past, by using the rubber band propulsion system.
1. Overconfidence-Drier was overconfident today that our solution to the record spinning problem was incorrect. Even though this belief was not correct, he remained confident in it.
2. Belief perseverance- Jason exercised belief perseverance during the nail challenge when I found a completely different solution to the problem. He still claimed that the problem could not be solved this way, even though I had discredited his argument.
3. Fixation-I exhibited fixation today with the nail challenge by turning the board upside down, balancing on the nail's head, and setting the nails on the wood. Once Drier told me that this was not the answer, I was stumped. This was the only perspective that I could see a possible solution to.
4. Heuristic-The puzzle with the different people and the cars could be solved using these thinking strategies.
5. Insight-We all had a moment of insight when Jason showed us how the nail problem could be solved, and we thought that we should have gotten the answer sooner.
6. Mental set-Patrick had the tendency to approach the record problem in a way that he had been able to make things move in the past, by using the rubber band propulsion system.
Monday, March 22, 2010
weekly blog assignment #5
Right now we are discussing the trustworthiness of the fMRI testing to verify if memories are valid or not. Sean made a good point about similar memories being lighted up in the brain, even if the person didn't actually commit the crime. I don't really trust current lie detector tests, either, because if the person is nervous or stressed, they might show the same physical symptoms as a liar even if they are innocent.
I also wonder if innocent people could create memories that they committed the crime, due to suggestibility from those questioning them. Or if the reverse is possible-people who have committed a crime could repress the memory or create an altered version, convincing themselves that they are innocent.
While I know that some abuse victims repress their traumatic memories, accounts of people who believe they have been sexually abused as children but didn't notice it until adulthood seem kind of sketchy to me. I'm sure that a lot of false abuse victims actually believe that they have been victimized due to imagined memories, but hasn't anyone considered the possibility that maybe some of these false abuse victims are simply crying wolf?
It's a good thing we have forensic evidence, because human memory is unreliable.
I also wonder if innocent people could create memories that they committed the crime, due to suggestibility from those questioning them. Or if the reverse is possible-people who have committed a crime could repress the memory or create an altered version, convincing themselves that they are innocent.
While I know that some abuse victims repress their traumatic memories, accounts of people who believe they have been sexually abused as children but didn't notice it until adulthood seem kind of sketchy to me. I'm sure that a lot of false abuse victims actually believe that they have been victimized due to imagined memories, but hasn't anyone considered the possibility that maybe some of these false abuse victims are simply crying wolf?
It's a good thing we have forensic evidence, because human memory is unreliable.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
weekly blog assignment #4
I had recently read about intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations. I have a fairly easy time figuring out which motivations fall in which category. It was a good example that we did in class today that we wrote down why we took AP psych and then classified them into groups of whether they were intrinsic or extrinsic motivations.
I agree with what Drier said about intrinsic motivations being stronger and creating a more effective drive in people. I feel pretty comfortable with the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, but it was good to revisit it in class today.
I agree with what Drier said about intrinsic motivations being stronger and creating a more effective drive in people. I feel pretty comfortable with the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, but it was good to revisit it in class today.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Weekly Blog Assignment, #3
I have a few connections to in-class content with personal experiences.
I have worked at a chocolate store for the past year and half. As a result of my frequent exposure to this setting, I can no longer smell chocolate. This is an example of sensory adaptation, because I am not alerted to the smell of chocolate anymore.
I also can make a personal connection to classical conditioning. Two years ago, I was sitting at a gas station after dark in my mom's van, waiting for her to buy a bag of ice from the gas station. Two men approached the van and started tapping on the windows and asking me to open them. They pulled on the door handles, and when I wouldn't let them in, they threw their bodies at the side of the van.
Since this experience, I have not gone to a gas station after dark. I refuse to because I am now afraid of dark gas stations. This is an example of classical conditioning. In this case, the unconditioned stimulus is the two men trying to get into my mom's van. The unconditioned response is my fear. The neutral stimulus is the dark gas station, which later becomes the conditioned stimulus because I have learned to link dark gas stations with scary, aggressive men. The conditioned response is a fear of going to gas stations at night.
I have worked at a chocolate store for the past year and half. As a result of my frequent exposure to this setting, I can no longer smell chocolate. This is an example of sensory adaptation, because I am not alerted to the smell of chocolate anymore.
I also can make a personal connection to classical conditioning. Two years ago, I was sitting at a gas station after dark in my mom's van, waiting for her to buy a bag of ice from the gas station. Two men approached the van and started tapping on the windows and asking me to open them. They pulled on the door handles, and when I wouldn't let them in, they threw their bodies at the side of the van.
Since this experience, I have not gone to a gas station after dark. I refuse to because I am now afraid of dark gas stations. This is an example of classical conditioning. In this case, the unconditioned stimulus is the two men trying to get into my mom's van. The unconditioned response is my fear. The neutral stimulus is the dark gas station, which later becomes the conditioned stimulus because I have learned to link dark gas stations with scary, aggressive men. The conditioned response is a fear of going to gas stations at night.
Friday, March 5, 2010
weekly blog assignment, #2
Is Dani a mutant?
We read in the textbook reading that sensory interaction is supposed to improve your sensitivity to what you are eating, because you can smell it. When you take away that sense of smell, it is supposed to inhibit your sense of taste a little as well. This makes sense to me, since smell, texture, and taste all influence what we taste overall.
Our findings during the taste station were a little contradictory to this teaching, though. When Dani was using both her sense of taste and her sense of smell to determine which flavor of jelly bean she was eating, she only got four out of the ten trials correct. When she had her nose plugged, she could identify seven out of the ten.
Perhaps she guessed more accurately without sensory interaction because she was able to focus more intently on the one sense that she was able to use, kind of like how blind people sometimes have an acute sense of hearing.
Or maybe Dani is too cool for sensory interaction?
We read in the textbook reading that sensory interaction is supposed to improve your sensitivity to what you are eating, because you can smell it. When you take away that sense of smell, it is supposed to inhibit your sense of taste a little as well. This makes sense to me, since smell, texture, and taste all influence what we taste overall.
Our findings during the taste station were a little contradictory to this teaching, though. When Dani was using both her sense of taste and her sense of smell to determine which flavor of jelly bean she was eating, she only got four out of the ten trials correct. When she had her nose plugged, she could identify seven out of the ten.
Perhaps she guessed more accurately without sensory interaction because she was able to focus more intently on the one sense that she was able to use, kind of like how blind people sometimes have an acute sense of hearing.
Or maybe Dani is too cool for sensory interaction?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Public Service Announcements
These are the public service announcements that I watched...
Sara, Candice, and Lauren
http://www.youtube.com/user/appsychology1023
Lexi, Katie, and Joonho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu9wKUIQG1I
Ben, Melissa, and Corey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?V=XR7-5enn7vY
My favorite of the three was Sara, Candice, and Lauren's because they did a good job of thoroughly explaining the different stages of development. They were specific with what each attraction has to offer for every stage, and the pictures were relevant to what they were talking about. Plus, this video kind of resembled an actual public service announcement. There was a lot of information and they told the viewers which stage each attraction is good for. All three of them talked for almost the same amount of time, and the information was presented in an intelligent manner.
Sara, Candice, and Lauren
http://www.youtube.com/user/appsychology1023
Lexi, Katie, and Joonho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu9wKUIQG1I
Ben, Melissa, and Corey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?V=XR7-5enn7vY
My favorite of the three was Sara, Candice, and Lauren's because they did a good job of thoroughly explaining the different stages of development. They were specific with what each attraction has to offer for every stage, and the pictures were relevant to what they were talking about. Plus, this video kind of resembled an actual public service announcement. There was a lot of information and they told the viewers which stage each attraction is good for. All three of them talked for almost the same amount of time, and the information was presented in an intelligent manner.
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