Friday, July 8, 2011
Modeling and Violence
I remember watching the “Karate Kid” movie many times over as a young boy. Right after we finished viewing the film, my brother and I would go down to our basement bedroom, dress up as martial artists, and start “lightly” hitting and kicking each other. Once in a while, one of us would get hurt. Recently, I studied an experiment and watched a video of an experiment conducted by Stanford’s Alert Bandura that studied violence and aggression in children. I must say that I was greatly disturbed! As a young boy I grew up playing with toy guns and swords, so “aggressive behavior” seemed somewhat normal to me. I thought, “That’s just the way children are.” But after viewing the video of the model showing aggressive behavior and then watching how the children reacted, it was apparent, even after just a few seconds, that the violent behavior was not just copied, but rather escalated. The children who were exposed to the violent behavior developed new ways of showing aggression towards the doll that were not modeled. And, where the model stoically demonstrated aggression, the children embraced the aggression as an enjoyable activity. I’d be interested in finding more research on the power of modeling. It seems that modeling is a powerful tool in development and learning. Teachers should be aware that their actions speak as loud if not louder than their words. And parents should be concerned about the amount and frequency that their children view violent acts on TV and in video games. I also wonder about studies that have been conducted about the affects of violent 1st person video games and their affects on children and teens. It seems to me that there would be an even greater influence on the mind when a child willingly partakes in a violent act as opposed to just viewing it.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Decision Making
Before you read chapter 8, Circle the correct answer.
1. Once you have decided on an alternative, it is best NOT to review your decision because research has shown that the first choice people make is usually the best. F
2. It is usually not possible to determine if the best decision was made. T
3. If we develop the habit of writing lists of alternatives on paper, then we don't have to be concerned abou the possibility that memory is biasing the decision making process. F
4. When people are highly confident about their ability to make sound decisions, their self-confidence is usually warranted. F
5. We tend to judge information that is easy to recall as more frequent in occurrence than information that is difficult to recall. T
6. When picking 6 lottery numbers, 12, 7, 4, 31, 6, 28 is mor likely to win (if the lottery is fair) than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. F
7. When you are deciding about continuing a project in which you have already invested time and money, the amount of time and money that you have previously invested should be the primary consideration. F
8. The fact that you are familiar with something or someone will influence your decision so that that alternative or person is evaluated more favorably than a less familiar alternative or person. T
9. There is a considerable body of evidence that shows that people make better decisions when they use a worksheet procedure. T
10. A decision should always be judged by the quality of its outcome. F
1. Consider the problem: "I need more money" (common enough among college students). Generate at least eight possible alternative solutions for this problem. How does generating more alternatives help re-frame the problem? Does having more alternatives to choose from lead to a higher-quality decision? Why or why not?
2. Look for instances of the confirmation bias, availability heuristic, representativeness heuristic, wishful thinking, cognitive dissonance, and hindsight, in the everyday decisions made by yourself and others around you. List an example that you found and explain how the example fits the definition given in the text.
1. Once you have decided on an alternative, it is best NOT to review your decision because research has shown that the first choice people make is usually the best. F
2. It is usually not possible to determine if the best decision was made. T
3. If we develop the habit of writing lists of alternatives on paper, then we don't have to be concerned abou the possibility that memory is biasing the decision making process. F
4. When people are highly confident about their ability to make sound decisions, their self-confidence is usually warranted. F
5. We tend to judge information that is easy to recall as more frequent in occurrence than information that is difficult to recall. T
6. When picking 6 lottery numbers, 12, 7, 4, 31, 6, 28 is mor likely to win (if the lottery is fair) than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. F
7. When you are deciding about continuing a project in which you have already invested time and money, the amount of time and money that you have previously invested should be the primary consideration. F
8. The fact that you are familiar with something or someone will influence your decision so that that alternative or person is evaluated more favorably than a less familiar alternative or person. T
9. There is a considerable body of evidence that shows that people make better decisions when they use a worksheet procedure. T
10. A decision should always be judged by the quality of its outcome. F
1. Consider the problem: "I need more money" (common enough among college students). Generate at least eight possible alternative solutions for this problem. How does generating more alternatives help re-frame the problem? Does having more alternatives to choose from lead to a higher-quality decision? Why or why not?
2. Look for instances of the confirmation bias, availability heuristic, representativeness heuristic, wishful thinking, cognitive dissonance, and hindsight, in the everyday decisions made by yourself and others around you. List an example that you found and explain how the example fits the definition given in the text.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Is saying “Good Job!” a good thing?
This last week I read an article by Alfie Kohn entitled “5 Reasons to Stop Saying ‘Good Job.’” I must say that as I began this article, I was skeptical. How could encouraging others in their success be a negative thing? But during the course of time it took to read this piece by Kohn, the author had me reevaluating when and how I give praise.
Kohn begins his article by pointing out that most adults see nothing wrong with what he terms as “giving praise.” Why? It is simply because many of us were praised as children. It seems innate to us to verbally reward someone for making their first basket or passing all their classes with high marks. But Kohn challenges his readers to look deeper into the reason why praise is given, how it is used, and makes the suggestion that it is not as positive a response as we may believe it to be.
Kohn makes his first argument by quoting Rheta DeVries, a professor of education from the University of Northern Iowa. When exclaims that praise is nothing more than “sugar-coated control…[that is a way] of doing something to children to get them to comply with our wishes” (1). Kohn goes on to say that this may indeed be effective when children are young and seeking to please their parents, but it is not long lasting and may leave children feeling like they have been manipulated (1).
The second point states that giving praise can produce praise addicts. Kohn makes his case clear that he is not saying parents or teachers should ignore the success of children, but rather should sparingly make value judgments of them (2). The more children are judged, the more it makes them insecure. The more insecure they become the more they will be hindered by apprehension. Praise, one of the most common motivators is actually a deterrent for positive growth.
In the last three points, the article argues that praising negatively affects and hinders children’s progress by stealing their personal pleasure of success, causes them to loose interest, and reduces their achievement. These digressions are caused by the inability of external motivation to produce self-satisfying and long lasting results. Children who are aiming to please, when they no longer receive praise, quit.
In response, Kohn proposes three alternatives to praise giving:
1) Say nothing. Often, people give praise because they don’t know what else to say. This does not mean that you never give positive or encouraging feed back. It just means that you should sparingly make a value judgment. Try encouraging in other ways that automatically saying: “Good job!”
2) Say what you saw. Giving a descriptive statement lets the child or learner know that you saw them do it. Kohn says that this allows the child to take pride in what they did (5).
3) Talk less and ask more. Get the student or child to reflect on what they just accomplished. Help them find their voice by leading them to make an evaluative conclusion.
Finally, Kohn makes is clear that he is not discouraging encouragement. Rather, he is getting adults to consider their motives: “Are our reactions helping the child to feel a sense of control over her life—or to constantly look to us for approval” (5). Praise-giving has become an almost mindless response to anyone who performs well on any task with possibly the classroom being the most prolific of locations in which it is given. In order to ensure that children are able to make confident, analytical and responsible decisions, it is important that they move beyond pleasing to thinking for themselves.
The most impacting portion of this article for me personally was the section on becoming addicted to praise. There have been times in my life where I craved the praise of others more than I cared about my own thoughts or feelings. I did not understand how this developed, but I knew that it was a problem that interfered with my independence and stability as a person. I see now that much of that has been shaped by society and has been constantly reinforced with praise. I am not yet sure that I will completely eliminate praise from my speech, but I am going to be more aware of my tendencies to give it, and will probably be more intentional in seeking other ways of encouraging and motivating others than by mindlessly saying “good job!”
Kohn begins his article by pointing out that most adults see nothing wrong with what he terms as “giving praise.” Why? It is simply because many of us were praised as children. It seems innate to us to verbally reward someone for making their first basket or passing all their classes with high marks. But Kohn challenges his readers to look deeper into the reason why praise is given, how it is used, and makes the suggestion that it is not as positive a response as we may believe it to be.
Kohn makes his first argument by quoting Rheta DeVries, a professor of education from the University of Northern Iowa. When exclaims that praise is nothing more than “sugar-coated control…[that is a way] of doing something to children to get them to comply with our wishes” (1). Kohn goes on to say that this may indeed be effective when children are young and seeking to please their parents, but it is not long lasting and may leave children feeling like they have been manipulated (1).
The second point states that giving praise can produce praise addicts. Kohn makes his case clear that he is not saying parents or teachers should ignore the success of children, but rather should sparingly make value judgments of them (2). The more children are judged, the more it makes them insecure. The more insecure they become the more they will be hindered by apprehension. Praise, one of the most common motivators is actually a deterrent for positive growth.
In the last three points, the article argues that praising negatively affects and hinders children’s progress by stealing their personal pleasure of success, causes them to loose interest, and reduces their achievement. These digressions are caused by the inability of external motivation to produce self-satisfying and long lasting results. Children who are aiming to please, when they no longer receive praise, quit.
In response, Kohn proposes three alternatives to praise giving:
1) Say nothing. Often, people give praise because they don’t know what else to say. This does not mean that you never give positive or encouraging feed back. It just means that you should sparingly make a value judgment. Try encouraging in other ways that automatically saying: “Good job!”
2) Say what you saw. Giving a descriptive statement lets the child or learner know that you saw them do it. Kohn says that this allows the child to take pride in what they did (5).
3) Talk less and ask more. Get the student or child to reflect on what they just accomplished. Help them find their voice by leading them to make an evaluative conclusion.
Finally, Kohn makes is clear that he is not discouraging encouragement. Rather, he is getting adults to consider their motives: “Are our reactions helping the child to feel a sense of control over her life—or to constantly look to us for approval” (5). Praise-giving has become an almost mindless response to anyone who performs well on any task with possibly the classroom being the most prolific of locations in which it is given. In order to ensure that children are able to make confident, analytical and responsible decisions, it is important that they move beyond pleasing to thinking for themselves.
The most impacting portion of this article for me personally was the section on becoming addicted to praise. There have been times in my life where I craved the praise of others more than I cared about my own thoughts or feelings. I did not understand how this developed, but I knew that it was a problem that interfered with my independence and stability as a person. I see now that much of that has been shaped by society and has been constantly reinforced with praise. I am not yet sure that I will completely eliminate praise from my speech, but I am going to be more aware of my tendencies to give it, and will probably be more intentional in seeking other ways of encouraging and motivating others than by mindlessly saying “good job!”
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Memory
Memory is fallible, but we can do things to improve our chances of remembering. Conduct the three experiments in the back of the article you have as well as these two experiments. What can we learn from these?
Role of Organization
1. Tell your group “The words you will hear are organized into four categories: fruits, flowers, cities, and countries. I will read a list of words aloud. Each set of four words will include a member of each category: fruits, flowers, cities, and countries. In addition, each word in a set of four will begin with the same letter.”
2. When you are ready, read the following words aloud from left to right and remember to give your group the following hints
a. The words you will hear are organized into four categories: fruits, flowers, cities, and countries
b. Each set of four words will include a member of each category.
c. Each word in a set of four will begin with the same letter.
Tomato Tulip Toronto Turkey
Raspberry Rose Reno Russia
Lemon Lily London Luxembourg
Banana Bluebonnet Boston Brazil
Cantaloupe Carnation Cancun Canada
Grape Geranium Geneva Germany
Once you’ve read the words, ask your members to write down as many as they can remember.
Performance on this list usually exceeds the typical five to nine item recall found on the initial list. Discuss the importance of organization.
Short Term Memory
1. Ask your group members to listen to all of the following words but not to take notes.
Tulip
Center
Carpet
Book
Window
Pony
Russia
Lime
Disk
Sidewalk
Table
Salad
Phone
Coffee
Pillow
2. Ask your group to write down as many words as they can. See how they did.
3. Now read the next list to your group members and ask the students to DO the things you say.
Blink
Cough
Clap
Lean
Sneeze
Scratch
Squint
Twist
Squeeze
Wink
Yawn
Reach
Stretch
Gargle
Kick
1. Ask your group to write down as many items as they can remember.
2. Once written, give your group members information about the words read aloud in both groups.
3. Ask them how many they had correct.
4. Discuss the performance on the two tasks.
a. What is the role of the serial position effect?
b. The benefits of organization?
c. The role of elaboration?
d. The role of interference?
e. What is rote memorization and how does it apply here?
f. Why would distributed practice be better than massed practice?
i. Distributed practice: breaking a list of rote learning items into shorter lists
ii. Massed Practice: Practice for a single extended period
Role of Organization
1. Tell your group “The words you will hear are organized into four categories: fruits, flowers, cities, and countries. I will read a list of words aloud. Each set of four words will include a member of each category: fruits, flowers, cities, and countries. In addition, each word in a set of four will begin with the same letter.”
2. When you are ready, read the following words aloud from left to right and remember to give your group the following hints
a. The words you will hear are organized into four categories: fruits, flowers, cities, and countries
b. Each set of four words will include a member of each category.
c. Each word in a set of four will begin with the same letter.
Tomato Tulip Toronto Turkey
Raspberry Rose Reno Russia
Lemon Lily London Luxembourg
Banana Bluebonnet Boston Brazil
Cantaloupe Carnation Cancun Canada
Grape Geranium Geneva Germany
Once you’ve read the words, ask your members to write down as many as they can remember.
Performance on this list usually exceeds the typical five to nine item recall found on the initial list. Discuss the importance of organization.
Short Term Memory
1. Ask your group members to listen to all of the following words but not to take notes.
Tulip
Center
Carpet
Book
Window
Pony
Russia
Lime
Disk
Sidewalk
Table
Salad
Phone
Coffee
Pillow
2. Ask your group to write down as many words as they can. See how they did.
3. Now read the next list to your group members and ask the students to DO the things you say.
Blink
Cough
Clap
Lean
Sneeze
Scratch
Squint
Twist
Squeeze
Wink
Yawn
Reach
Stretch
Gargle
Kick
1. Ask your group to write down as many items as they can remember.
2. Once written, give your group members information about the words read aloud in both groups.
3. Ask them how many they had correct.
4. Discuss the performance on the two tasks.
a. What is the role of the serial position effect?
b. The benefits of organization?
c. The role of elaboration?
d. The role of interference?
e. What is rote memorization and how does it apply here?
f. Why would distributed practice be better than massed practice?
i. Distributed practice: breaking a list of rote learning items into shorter lists
ii. Massed Practice: Practice for a single extended period
Monday, June 27, 2011
What I thought I knew about Behaviorism
For many years now I have been aware of the behavioral practices of Skinner and Pavlov. Their names recall in my mind common strategies for training pets or conducting scientific studies on animals. I was first introduced to behavioral learning in my TESL courses during my undergraduate studies. During that time I became aware of behavioral psychology, but I did not give it much credence because it seemed to be a shallow theory, one which ignored the cognitive and social aspects of learning. I did not (and still do not) think that humans are robots, and so I took note of the general aspects of the theory and then stuffed it somewhere in the back of my mind in a file that I don’t access much.
When reading through the possible syllabus for this course, I thought that I could very well skip over that chapters dealing with “Behavior Psychology” because I had already been introduced to those ideas. Well, little did I know that this chapter would open the door to a skeleton in my closet that has deeply influenced and affected not only my academic life by my social development as well. As it turns out, there are parts of my human existence that have been the product of behavioral practices, and if I am not intentional with my instruction of students, I may as well pass on many of these same manipulative and controlling tendencies –all in the name of education.
Behavior is an essential part of life. Our social interactions are affected by it. And there are reasons why people behave and act the way that they do. But is focusing on behavior an affective way to approach a relational situation? Possibly. At least for some aspects. But can a responsible model for education be solely concerned with external behaviors? Personally, I believe that to do so is not only to diminish an individual, but will but a severe roadblock in that person(s) future. Current research has show that an educational model that is only concerned with the positive and negative behaviors of children is ill equipped to properly motivate students to learn and in fact does act in some cases as a deterrent to learning. In my following posts I will unearth my own discoveries as to how deeply I have been affected by behaviorism as well as analyze and critique a few studies and models that relate to and challenge this school of thought.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Test run
Paula,
Thank you for the blog tips and for the discussion questions. I am working on them this morning, hopefully my post will be up this afternoon. If not, it should be by tomorrow morning. This is a test post to see if the email notifications are being sent.
jdf
Thank you for the blog tips and for the discussion questions. I am working on them this morning, hopefully my post will be up this afternoon. If not, it should be by tomorrow morning. This is a test post to see if the email notifications are being sent.
jdf
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
First real day
And so here I am in the computer lab, trying to figure out how to allow others to post to my blog...thought this would be easier to figure you out, Blog! Perhaps my trouble with technology is nothing more than a lack of patience. Learned helplessness fits in there somewhere as well, I'm quite sure of it, but that is an entirely different discussion. Or maybe not. Maybe that is the discussion. Time will tell. But in the meantime, I'll be working to figure out how to structure manipulate this virtual wall of words.
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