Law of effect and Operant Conditioning

Edward Thorndike

1. Put a cat in a Puzzle box and observe the cats behavior towards escaping to get food.

2. The law of effect is when responses are closely followed by satisfaction and become firmly attached to the situation and therefore more likely to happen again when the situation is repeated. Though, if the situation is followed by trouble, the connections to the situation will become weaker and the behavior of response is less likely to occur when the situation is repeated.

3. The law of exercise means that you have to practice in order to be good at something and the more you practice the best you will be at it

B.F. Skinner

1. operant conditioning: reinforcement and punishment change our behavioral tendencies.

2. Reinforcement is consequence that causes the behavior to occur with greatear frequency.

3. Punishment is consequence that causes a behavior to occur with less frequency.

4. Positive reinforcement: occurs when a behavior response is followed by a stimulus that is appetitive or rewading, increasing the frequency of that behavior. In the skinner box experiment, a stimulus such as food or sugar solution can be delivered when the rat engages in a target behavior, such as pressing a lever.

Negative reinforcement: occurs when a behavior response is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, thereby increasing that behavior's frequency. In the Skinner box experiment, negative reinforcement can be a loud noise continuously sounding inside the rat's cage until it engages in the target behavior, such as pressing a lever, upon which the loud noise is removed.
Positive punishment: occurs when a behavior response is followed by a stimulus, such as introducing a shock or loud noise, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.
Negative punishment: occurs when a behavior responseis followed by the removal of a stimulus, such as taking away a child's toy following an undesired behavior, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.




http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thorndike
http://tip.psychology.org/skinner.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner

Ivan Pavlov and John Watson

Ivan Pavlov

1. He wanted to know how if he could make a dog salivate without the presence of food.

2. First he gave the god food and made him salivate. Then, he gave the dog food and rang a bell. After a few times of doing this, the dog started drooling when the bell was rang, even if food was not present.

3. The conditioned stimulus was the bell, the unconditioned stimulus was the food and the conditioned response was the salivation of the dog.

4. Extinction is a gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of the conditional response tendency. Extinction occurs from many presentations of conditioned stimulus.

5. stimulus generalizations means a response to a specific stimulus and becomes associated to other stimuli and occurs to those other stimuli.

6. Stimulus discrimination is learning to respond to one stimulus and not another

7.-Pavlov had to change the route of the salivary glands.

- that the results of this experiment could be different with humans.

8. Pavlov theorized that we learned through association.


John Watson 

1. John Watson made an experiment that proved behaviors on humans, he used Little Albert and exposed him to a white rat, a rabbit, a dog, a monkey, masks with and without hair, cotton wool, burning newspapers, etc. Two months later, Little Albert was placed near a laboratory rat and he was allowed to play with the rat. Little Albert was not scared. While he was playing with the rat, Watson and his assistant made a loud noise by striking a steel bar. After this, Little Albert cried and showed fear. Every time he was shown something close to a rat he cried.

2. The conditioned stimulus was the white rat, the unconditioned stimulus was the loud noise, and the conditional response was crying of little albert. 

3. The limitations were that it was unethical and that it could never be done again. 

4. The law of frequency states that the most often events are linked, the more powerful will be the association.

5. The law of recency states that the response that has most recently occurred after a particular stimulus is the response most likely to be associated with that stimulus.

6. Watson thought behaviorism was almost all of psychology since he believed that psychology was the study of human behavior. He believed that he could turn someone into whatever he wished to if he could controlled the behavior.

http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/psychology/pavlov.html

http://nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/pavlov/readmore.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Albert_experiment

http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/watson.htm

Selected Articles about Sleep

Delayed School Start Time Associated With Improvements in Adolescent Behaviors

ScienceDaily (July 8, 2010) — A short delay in school start time appears to be associated with significant improvements in adolescent alertness, mood and health, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

They made this experiment in order to tell wether the late start of school affected the students in a negative or positive way. The results given say that students are happier at school and not mad so, delaying the time to enter school had a positive impact in all the students in high school.

In my opinion, I completely agree with this source because of my personal experience. When we have a late start in school i get to sleep two hours more  than normal and the next day i feel with more ability to learn and in a happier mood. This way it is easier for me to remember things and be succesful in all my school work. 

Being A Night Owl In High School Is Linked With Lower College GPA

ScienceDaily (June 11, 2009) — According to a research abstract that will be presented on June 9, at Sleep 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, students who consider themselves to be evening types (that is someone who feels more alert and does their best work later in the day) have poorer sleep hygiene scores than morning and intermediate types. Sleep hygiene is the group of behaviors linked to good sleep and alertness. Examples include having a regular bedtime routine, a regular wake time, a regular bed time, and sleeping in a comfortable bed.

 An experiment was done in order to see if lack os sleep can affect you GPA. The less people sleep the lower their grade will be because students are not capable of learning and being successful while they have not rested for a while. The results were the GPA of students in highschool diminished for students who don't sleep enough each night. 


In my opinion, I agree that if you don't sleep well you grades will decrease do to the fact that you are not rested and your brain needs rest in order to function in the correct way. By personal experience, when I don't sleep well the next day i am very tired and not willing to do anything but sleep. 

Starting High School One Hour Later May Reduce Teen Traffic Accidents

ScienceDaily (Dec. 17, 2008) — A new study shows that after a one-hour delay of school start times, teens increased their average nightly hours of sleep and decreased their "catch-up sleep" on the weekends, and they were involved in fewer auto accidents.

An experiment was done, that when students sleep more there is less probability of car accidents happening. When school started late data was recorded and 50% of students slept  even 9 hours.

In my opinion, I believe that if there is a late start in school there will be more car accidents because the kids would like to go to party the night before since they will still be getting the same amount of sleep they usually do.  So during the night before there might be more car accidents. 

Teenage Brain

The human brain is not fully developed and mature until you are 25 years old! Various things such as video games, computers, cell phones or other electronics can affect in a bad part for the brains development. Something that is essential in every teenage brain is sleep. A teenager needs at least 9 hours of sleep every day. Sleeping the correct amount of hours a day can bring benefits to every teenager such as having a greater ability to learn, feeling less tired and also you will be in a better mood.  Being in a good mood not only benefits you but everyone around you and this way people would want to be around you since you are not all grumpy and mad at everyone. By having a good ability to learn you can be successful in school and have really good grades by paying attention and can even be at the top of the class. The fact that you will not be tired if you sleep enough every day, will make you very active and this will give you other productive benefits. In conclusion, if we give good care too our brains since young we will get to old very healthy.

How our brain works.

1. What does the word "hemisphere" refer to when talking about the brain?
The brain is divided into the left and right hemispheres that are connected by a thick band of nerve fibers called the corpus collasum that sends messages between both hemispheres. 


2. What are the major differences between the left and right sides of the brain?
The left side of the brain is the seat of language and processes in a logical and sequential order. On the other hand the right brain is more visual and processes intuitively, holistically and randomly,

3. What is the corpus collasum?
It is in charge of sending messages between the left and right brains. 

4. Explain the study performed by Paul Broca in which he discovered "Broca's Area."
Paul Broca was a french physician, anatomist and anthropologist, he is mostly known for his research in the Broca's Area which is a region in the frontal lobe that was named after him, this area has the function of the ability to talk. 

5. Explain the study conducted by Roger Sperry in regard to "split brain."
Roger Sperry was a neuropsychologist, neurobiologist and nobel laureate that together with other two men called David Hunter and Torsten Nils won a prize of Nobel Medicine with the investigation of the split brain. The split brain is when the corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the brain. 

6. Explain the study conducted by Karl Wernicke which led to the discovery of Wernicke's Area."
Karl Wernicke was a german physician, anatomist, psychiatrist, and neuropathologist. The Wernicke's area is one of the two parts of the cerebral cortex that is related to the understanding of written and spoken language.  

7. Which lobe is most responsible for vision?
The occipital lobe 

8. Which lobe is most responsible for hearing and language?
The temporal lobe

9. Which lobe is most responsible for performing math calculations?
The frontal lobe 


10. Which lobe is most responsible for judgment, reasoning and impulse control?
The frontal lobe 

Phineas Gage

It is believed Phineas Gage was born July 9, 1823 and died May 21, 1860. He was an American railroad construction foreman that is mostly recognized and remembered of surviving through severe brain damage. From his injury he was the first patient from whom Doctors learned the relation between personality and the function of the frontal parts of the brain. On September 13, 1848, when Cage was 25 years old he was working in a town outside of Vermont. A hole was made into a body of rock and Gage had the job to add blasting powder, fuse and sand to it then he had to compact it with a large iron rod. The power exploded and he had the iron rod inserted through his head, going through his left eye and out through the top of his head.  The accident affected a lot in Phineas life, mostly his personality and behavior changed that his friends saw him as "he is no longer Gage," he also lost his eye, The term brain localization mean that every single part of your brain has a different function some more important than others but all necessary. Brain lateralization is that the brain is divided into two parts, left and right both have different functions. The lateralization theory helps us understand our behavior, personality, creativity, and the ability to make a proper way of thinking and achieving different tasks. It took Phineas about two weeks to recover from his accident. He died twelve years after from severe convulsions. His case is so famous that his skull is in the Harvard medical museum. 

























http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage
http://www.theorderoftime.com/politics/cemetery/stout/h/brain-la.htm
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0002/ai_2699000205/

Homosexuality

    Homosexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction between someone of his or her same gender. Men that are attracted to Men are called “gays” and woman that are attracted to woman are considered to be called “lesbians” and when a person is attracted to both woman and men is bisexual.  What is being debated or discussed a lot now days is whether people get homosexual genes or if they are learned do to the environment.

   Some people who study human sexuality believe that it comes from your genetics while others believe that it creates according to the environment you live in, whether it is family problems or you are treated in a different way but most of the scientists do not support this theory.  Homosexuality is not considered to be a disease even the American Psychological Association says that it is not a mental disorder and that instead it only brings you stress and anxiety and then these develop physical problems such as headaches having trouble to sleep or nausea, so it is recommended to talk with people with whom you have trust, in order to be more secure of who you are around other people, and also to help reduce the stress and anxiety. Most of the scientists believe that homosexuality is genetic do to the fact that there is more proof. A perfect example is with twins, there are two types the identical twins that share all their genetics and their entire environment and the non-identical which only share the same environment but have different genetics. An experiment was done with some twins that were about 6 years old and one was very girly he even painted his nails, played with dolls and had his room decorated as a girl and the other one was very boyish and played with trucks like a normal boy. These two boys have shared the same environment all their lives so we can conclude they are non-identical twins and that one got homosexual genes. But it is better to study the cases individuallybecause sometimes it may vary whether kids have homosexual genes or they learn them from the environment they live in.

   In conclusion, I believe that homosexuality can be both genetic and environmental. It can be genetic because there is more proof and also the example above supports a lot the genetic theory besides the human being knows that homosexual people are not often let in, into society most of the times they are left out soy why would they choose to be gay or lesbian if they know they are not going to be treated in a fair way? but on the other hand it can be environmental because it depends in the parents if they let the kids act like their opposite sex, because when boys or girls are young they don’t actually know the difference between both sexes so it’s the parents job to guide them in the right way. To conclude I can say that nature and nurture have a big role in homosexuality.  

http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/7033.aspx

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/teens/sexuality/739.html

   

 

Nature vs Nurture

Nurture versus Nature was a term first used by Francis Galton who was a English Victorian Polymath. What this term means is that some things come with you when you are born through your genetics and others through the environment. In other words it can also be called Biological versus Environmental Factors. Some topics that scientists still are studying further are athletic ability, intelligence, criminal behavior, personality and homosexuality because they still do not know wether they come in your genes or you learn them according to your environment. The overall belief about this debate is that in nurture the human being changes his way of thinking a lot over time  and now people are very different than before, and in nature people act differently because of the change in their environment. Nurture affects more the human body than nature because that is more like physical.  In my opinion all these topics are very hard to determine if they are Biological or they are environmental factors but i believe that it depends in the person and their past wether they get all of these. Also i think that scientists should make the investigations according to individual cases because all of them are different and it depends in the genetics of the people.  

http://www.adoptionblogs.com/media/FosterAdoption/nature_nurture.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXKXH7lxpp1v8xkGsJsgmeSxw5g5hM5f6iyTeFJiQm12VH8VhMqKyFzGZW3D4wt4AWRKff_vwc2z2h_8TL4LicN-gjRUM-AIohJV1X4ZAba4Nq7vyEOsAehEp6aSZhM6pbkAW1YPmUpXH/s400/dnadoublehelix2.jpg

Darwin

Charles Darwin was an English naturalist which was born in February 12, 1809 in England. He became famous because of his theories of evolution and natural selection. He believed that all life on earth evolved over millions of years. He came out with his theory when he set out in the H.M.S Beagle to do an expedition all around the world where he studied plants and animals and gathered information about them. With everything that he studied he concluded with the theory of natural selection that states that nature will select who survives and who does not and if a animal does not adapt to their environment then they will die or become extinct including their characteristics. Back in Darwin's days this theory was not accepted because of religious views. Charles Darwin did not want to talk much about his theory because he did not want people to take his ideas away until his book came out and everyone would read it and be surprised with every idea he had in mind. In my opinion Charles Darwin was a great naturalist who wanted to experience things by himself being original and seeing the world in a different way, he died in April 19, 1882.

What is Psychology and why should we study it?

Psychology is the study of the human mind and behavior. A professional practitioner of this field is called a Psychologist. The basic things in psychology include perception, cognition, attention, emotion, motivation, brain funtioning, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. By learning psychology you learn to understand yourself and others also this way you can experience the world learning how people act, think, reason and feel.