Another fun video

I wanted to share another video in a quick post. Please scroll down for a different video and my reflection on it; this one's just for fun. Here is a Jack Russell who has been trained with a clicker and positive reinforcement. Amazing what can be taught in this way! There’s a whole series of Jessie the Jack Russell doing amazing tricks on YouTube, if you can’t get enough.

Module 1: IAT

(I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but this topic really interests me).

I took four of the Implicit Association Tests (IATs): Gender-Career, Age, Race, and Religion. The first three provided results that I predicted; however the Religion results surprised me. I would like to share my results with you all, because I think it illustrates nicely how associations may work.

For anyone who did not take the Religion IAT, here is a summary. I was asked to categorize words related to four religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), and words related to good or bad. The results indicated how the religions fell on a scale from Positive associations to Negative associations.
Let me provide some background information about my conscious beliefs. I do not align myself with any particular religion, although I did grow up in a slightly Christian family, and in a very Christian town. I have taken several classes on different kinds of religion, and frequently read on my own, as the variety of religions and religious beliefs is an interest of mine. I do not claim to have a particular fondness for any religion.

My results can be seen in this image:

Obviously, I have many positive associations with Buddhism, while the other three religions are clustered together in the more negative section. This really surprised me. I figured that they would all be rather close together, and that Christianity would be the most positive, since it is what I am most accustomed to, considering my childhood and our culture. After thinking about it, however, I think I may have a theory as to why I received such results.

While I was taking the IAT, certain feelings and snippets of experience were appearing for me. When I think of Buddhism, I tend to think of meditation, peace, calm, and understanding. These are all positive associations. Although I do have positive associations for each of the other religions, the negative ones tended to come out while I was taking this IAT: for Christianity, discrimination against minorities, women, and homosexuals; for Islam, the terrorist attacks on the United States, the War on Terror, and the media’s portrayal of Islam; and for Judaism, the thousands of years of discrimination of Jews, especially the Holocaust. While I am not necessarily making judgments about any of these religions when I think of these things, I am thinking of associations that these religions provide. I believe that this is why Buddhism appeared so positively on the scale. Perhaps if I had read stories about terrible atrocities that have happened to, or because of, Buddhists, then this would have changed.

I think this dovetails nicely with what Gladwell (2005) discussed in the sections of Blink to which we listened. He claimed that we can make connections more quickly with pairs of ideas that are already related, rather than those whose connections are new to us. If we are all “little pieces of associating machinery” (p. 41), as James (1899/1962) claimed, then it is true that we make connections between certain words and ideas, and it makes sense that we would be quicker at making a connection if they are already associated. This explains why it was easier for me to place Buddhism with “good” and the other religions with “bad,” since negative aspects of the three other religions came through to me more strongly. But what does this have to do with the process of learning?

We can assume that we would be able to learn things more efficiently and more quickly if we already have some associations with those objects. This is already used in our school systems, as subjects build upon prior knowledge and make connections with what students have already learned. What may not be so clear are all the associations and connections that students are making unconsciously, that the instructor may or may not be intentionally provoking. We heard in Gladwell's book how students can make snap judgments, which turn out to be accurate, on a teacher’s effectiveness with just two seconds of a silent video clip. Similarly, one can assume that students could also pick up teachers’ moods and ideas about a subject unconsciously. If the teacher seems disinterested in a subject or brings in bias about it, the students’ unconscious is surely noticing this. This could affect how the students relate to the subject, and how much interest (and therefore passive attention) they have for that content. This could have a powerful influence on learning. James (1899/1962) mentioned this as well, as he said that “above all, the teacher must himself be alive and ready, and must use the contagion of his own example” (p. 53). A teacher should make sure that they are not exhibiting negative ideas about a subject or any of the students, as the students’ unconscious will observe these and add them to the pile of associations the students may already have about that subject.

It seems that we would also be able to remember things easier if they were connected to our associations, as the unconscious would be able to latch on to these much more quickly. As James (1899/1962) claimed, “the ‘secret of a good memory’ is thus the secret of forming diverse and multiple associations with every fact we care to retain” (p. 61). By forming more associations, our unconscious would be able to make connections faster, so that we could remember some ideas and use those ideas to make decisions, without any conscious effort at all. This can be witnessed right now, in our current studies. I feel I am learning behaviorism and the IAT information much more easily, and will be able to better hold it in my memory, because I can associate it with what I have read and discussed in James' book. We may be getting a little “meta” with this. :)

Finally, these unconscious associations and biases can greatly affect the future behavior of students. Gladwell (2005), and the documentary excerpt on implicit associations regarding height, provided many examples of cases where race, height, etc., can negatively affect people’s performance on tests and provide prejudices against other people when making friends, hiring new employees, or making decisions. Since James (1899/1962) defined education as “the organization of acquired habits of conduct and tendencies to behavior” (p. 15), it would follow that it is important that students’ unconscious “internal computers,” as Gladwell referred to them, are able to help the students make the best decisions. Gladwell explained that we can break our unconscious bias about minorities by exposing ourselves to minority races frequently, so that we can become comfortable. It would seem that teachers should attempt to recreate this effect, by exposing children to as many things in the world as possible, so that students do not develop these negative associations that can affect their future behavior.

I really enjoyed these implicit association tests. Do you see anything I have said in this post that relates to your own IAT experience?

References:
Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
James, William. (1899/1962). Talks to Teachers on Psychology. New York: Dover Publications.
A documentary excerpt focusing on men's height, provided by Dr. Usher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln7p95kZgi4

Skinner on Superstition

In this video, Michael Britt from the Psych Files shows how Skinner's idea of behavioral conditioning is why we have superstitions.  We have seen how animals will perform actions that are associated with a certain reinforcement.  Similarly, if animals receives a reward, and they were doing a particular behavior at that time, they will associate the behavior with the reward and will continue to perform the action, hoping to receive more of the reward.  This causes a "superstition" and can be seen in many examples.  The video shows the example of what movements different people make after throwing a bowling ball, and how people often hit the elevator button multiple times, because they have previously experienced the door open at the exact moment that they pushed the button.

I was really astonished by this, just because it brought to mind so many examples of when I do this myself.  I am often guilty of pushing the elevator button multiple times, as well as the buttons at the pedestrian crosswalks on campus, even when I can see the countdown and know it will not change.  I see these kinds of superstitions in sports, as well, as I always pick up the bowling ball a particular way before I throw it, and one only needs to watch a baseball game to see all the various motions that players go through before pitching, hitting, or catching the ball.  I think this video is useful because it shows more examples of behaviorism in both animals and humans, which usually aid in solidifying ideas and providing connections to which one can make while reading. It also shows how we can think that a certain reinforcement was received because of a behavior, when in reality it was just a coincidence.

It seems that this could have implications on learning.  Perhaps being in a group setting could accidentally reinforce some behaviors, as a student may do one thing and receive reinforcement for something someone else did, and this creates a "superstition" effect where one continues performing an action even though it did not actually cause the reinforcement to occur.  Reinforcing students for mediocre work, or any other time when teachers provides reinforcement when they perhaps should not, could also possibly train students that they will receive reinforcement for any work of similar quality, and lead to a similar effect as superstition.  These might be far-fetched situations, but can you think of any other implications for learning that this might have?

Great Little Passage

Hi all! This is not related to our behaviorism assignments, but I just wanted to share this little tidbit that someone posted on Facebook earlier today.  Since many of you are/will be teachers, I thought you would appreciate it.  Don't be turned off by the beginning; you'll see.

Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It's time we put thing in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit! We can get that for minimum wage. That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 AM to 3:00 PM with 45 minutes off for lunch and plan - that equals 6.5 hours). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day? Maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations. LET'S SEE. That's $585 X 180= $105,300 per year.What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6.5 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year. Wait a minute - there's something wrong here! There sure is! The average teacher's salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student - a very inexpensive baby-sitter (and they even EDUCATE your kids!) WHAT A DEAL!!!! Make a teacher smile; re-post this to show appreciation. :)

XV The Will

In his final talk, James (1899/1962) discusses the will in the narrow sense of those actions that we perform voluntarily, rather than those associated with reflex and habitual acts.  He explains that in the deliberation of the will, there are two conflicting thoughts: one that causes us to want to act and one that inhibits our action.  Our voluntary actions are a combination of these two thoughts, and it is important that students are able to make the right choices and think on their actions.

Throughout this dense chapter, James (1899/1962) slips in a perfect summary of his entire set of talks when he says “Thus are your pupils to be saved: first, by the stock of ideas with which you furnish them; second, by the amount of voluntary attention that they can exert in holding to the right ones, however unpalatable; and third, by the several habits of acting definitely on these latter to which they have been successfully trained” (p. 92).  This seems to perfectly sum up his thoughts on the matter, as well as help illustrate the bigger picture of what teachers should be infusing into their students.  Teachers are not simply supposed to fill student’s minds with knowledge. Although this is an important aspect, they should also instill in them the abilities to use this knowledge wisely and effectively.  As James (1899/1962) states, “The highest form of character, however, abstractly considered, must  be full of scruples and inhibitions.  But action, in such a character, far from being paralyzed, will succeed in energetically keeping on its way, sometimes overpowering the resistances, sometimes steering along the line where they lie thinnest” (pp. 87-88).  Learning how to make the right decisions and use our knowledge effectively is an important and difficult notion to attain, and I hope that what I’ve learned from James and what I will learn from the other theorists whom we will discuss in class can help me better understand how we learn and how I can apply this to my career.

XIV Apperception

 James (1899/1962) dispels the myth that apperception is a mystified element of psychology by explaining that it is simply the idea that every new perception is incorporated into all the pre-existing thoughts, feelings, and bits of knowledge.  He explains the law of economy and how it factors into our preference to associate new information with the old, rather than feeling that something is totally new and foreign. 

James again brings up the idea that older people are unable to learn new things.  Previously he discussed it in the context of the ability to be curious, but now he adds that “the conceptions acquired before thirty remain usually the only ones we ever gain” (James, 1899/1962, p. 82).  Furthermore, and in the passage that most concerns me, James (1899/1962) claims that “a new idea or a fact which would entail extensive rearrangement of the previous system of beliefs is always ignored or extruded from the mind in case it cannot be sophistically reinterpreted so as to tally harmoniously with the system” (p. 78).  What frightens me so about this statement, if it is true, is the implications it brings for people’s acceptance of diversity and change.  Let us set curiosity and knowledge aside for a moment; most would agree that accepting that there are diverse types of people and cultures in the world, and acknowledging that they are just as valid and meaningful as our own people or culture, are two important attributes that we need to have in order to function in our world.  If James (1899/1962) is correct, there is no way that any “old fogies” (p. 79) could ever learn to accept anyone who is different into their minds. Are we truly incapable of allowing, or even forcing, ourselves to see new mindsets and learn new things?  Does this really end at a certain age?  James claims that every new perception is connected with those that already exist.  What if we already have the notion in our minds that something new is not necessarily bad?  Could not this supersede our innate habit to reject anything that is new or that does not fit into our preconceived notion?  Could not the will, which we are about to discuss, come into play so that we can choose our thoughts and actions?

XIII The Acquisition of Ideas

James (1899/1962) briefly discusses how we acquire ideas little by little, and can then move to classify these thoughts into systems of knowledge.  He explains the levels of education and how children begin with constructing and interacting with their surroundings, and that it is not until their adolescence that they can begin examining more advanced, abstract ideas.  It is important to teach these at the right time, and to give multiple kinds of examples so that the students are not learning things incorrectly, or learning them but not being able to apply them properly.  

James (1899/1962) brings up the fact that “many another youth is spoiled for a certain subject of study (although he would have enjoyed it well if led into it at a later age) through having had it thrust upon him so prematurely that disgust was created, and the bloom quite taken off from future trials” (p. 73).  While it is true that improper timing can hinder a person’s interest in a subject, I think there are many other factors that can greatly impact a student’s like or dislike of a subject.  I already mentioned in a previous blog entry how I was influenced by my peers’ opinions of school and education, but I think the attitude of the instructor can also play a large role, both in helping students enjoy a subject when they are first learning it, and in keeping them interested in it over time.

I am reminded of my experience with an instructor in my senior year of my undergraduate courses.  I had been a Classics major for the previous three years, and had been taking Latin and Ancient Greek.  I began my first reading course in Greek that year, and was taking it with an instructor I had never had before.  I believe she wanted to challenge us so that we would progress quickly in our Greek skills, but her way of trying to achieve this was not affective.  Rather than challenging us in a positive and rewarding manner, she would embarrass us in front of the class if we were struggling with a passage.  She rarely ever gave out A grades, so that almost everyone in the class finished with a B or below, even though we had all been making A’s in our previous Greek classes and were progressing just as quickly.  It never seemed that she took a step back to see if maybe it was her teaching method that was causing us to perform poorly on her exams; instead, she assumed that we were lazy or not cut out to take Greek, and made sure that we knew that she felt that way.  This professor’s attitude caused me so many bad experiences in class, and so much stress while trying to complete my homework to her high standards, that I soon despised Greek, and have never taken a Greek class since then.  If she had been a supportive and encouraging teacher, I do not think that my opinion on the language that I had previously enjoyed would have changed so drastically.  I later found out that another student taking a different course with her had a similar experience, and also decided to leave his program because of it.  This shows that teachers need to be aware of how they are treating their students, and how their attitude can affect their student’s disposition.  How can teachers make sure that they are challenging their students, without embarrassing them or giving them a feeling of hopelessness?  What can another instructor do to help revivify students’ interests in a subject, after the students have had a bad experience with it?