A Molecule of Motivation, Dopamine Excels at Its Task - From the New York Times

Here is an interesting article about the ever-so-popular neurotransmitter, dopamine.

The article suggests that dopamine is not just a "pleasure" or "reward" neurotransmitter, but also the key to motivation. For example, rats with very low levels of dopamine will starve to death even in the presence of food... they just don't seem motivated to eat it. If you put it in their little ratty mouth they'll eat, but if they have to walk a bit, forget about it. They just starve to death.

Great Nerve Transmission Website

The Nobel Prize website has a fantastic animated explanation about how nerve signals work. Click on the link to go step-by step through nerve anatomy, action potentials, and neurotransmitters. If you don't "get it" in class or when you read the book, this site may be just the thing you need to help you understand. Why do they have it on the Nobel Prize site? Because the people who figure out how these things work get Nobel Prizes in medicine.

http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/nerve_signaling/game/nerve_signaling.html

Split Brain Experiments -- How we learn about the localizatilon of language centers in the left hemisphere.

Left visual field to Right Hemisphere: Right visual field to Left Hemisphere.

The Nobel Prize Organization has a great website showcasing the work of prize recipients. You can learn about Sperry's split brain experiments there at http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/split-brain/background.html .

A new article in Scientific American Magazine describes how we are continuing to learn about the brain, thanks to people who are being treated for severe epilepsy.

Rare Procedure Pinpoints the Location, Speed and Sequence of the Brain's Language Processes -


You can learn more about the language processing capabilities of Broca's Area (and parts of the left temporal lobe.) Again, as in the Sperry and Gazzaniga studies, sufferers of severe epilepsy have allowed us to learn details about how the human brain functions.

Human Brain Coloring Diagrams Due Along with the Ch. 3 Reading

Use the coloring diagram packet you received in class to learn basic structure and function of major brain areas and neurons. Read all the directions carefully and use colored pencils to underline the text and color the diagrams according to the instructions.

Complete the first four plates (1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and 2-1) by 10/19 (a-day) and 10/20 (b-day)

Complete the last three plates (2-4, 2-5, and 2-7) by 10/21 (a-day) and 10/22 (b-day)

As you are studying Chapter 3 in the book, take a break and do some coloring for a while and then go back to the reading. This will add some variety to your work and get more parts of your brain processing the material.

If you want to buy your own copy of the book we use in class you can get it on Amazon.com. You can also choose a different version... there are several out there some of which can be purchased very inexpensively.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_1_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=human+brain+coloring+book&sprefix=human+brain

Latino Mental Health Conference - El Arte de Sentirse Bien

You can receive extra credit points and service learning hours if you attend this conference and create a presentation or blog post about it for our class.

On Sunday October 25, 2009, The Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute will sponsor its third annual latino mental health conference, entitled: "El Arte de Sentirse Bien" (The Art of Feeling Well). Conference participants can sign up to learn about entering a new culture, depression in children and adolescents, partner/spouse relationships, communication between children and parents, employment stress, and substance abuse. Please note that this conference is for the general public. It is completely free, in Spanish, and child care is available. Please pass the word on to anyone who may benefit from a supportive ear-clients, friends, colleagues, etc-and anyone who works with Spanish-speaking clients.

El Arte de Sentirse Bien

Third Annual Latino Mental Health Conference

Sunday, October 25, 2009
2:15-4:30pm

St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church
806 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL

*Pre-Registration is NOT Required*

**This conference is in Spanish**


For More Information:

Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute
for Mental Health Education
at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
325 North Wells St., Room 742
Chicago, Illinois 60654

www.naomicohenfoundation.org

The Naomi Ruth Cohen Foundation was founded in 2002 by Larry and Marilyn Cohen as a tribute to their daughter, Naomi, who took her own life after struggling with bipolar disorder. In 2008, the foundation formally affiliated with The Chicago School and became the The Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute for Mental Health Education. The Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute regularly partners with mental health professionals to promote education, anti-discrimination, and advocacy as a means of reducing the stigma of mental illness. Since its beginning, the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute has reached thousands of community members through conferences, workshops, and other outreach programming.

Get an AP Exam Prep Book

One great way to study for our quizzes and then for the AP Exam is to use an Exam Prep book. You can check public libraries or, better yet, purchase one of you own so you can highlight and write in it. You can find them at any big bookstore or online at sites like Amazon.com.

You can often buy them used for just a few dollars... a few dollars well spent. You don't necessarily need the newest version since the exam does not change that much from year to year.

You can see some of the options and read reviews written by other students on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ap+psychology+exam&x=0&y=0

Bernstein Ch. 3 - Biological Basis Reading Assignment.

Cornell Notes on Ch. 3 due on 10/19 (a-day) and 10/20 (b-day)
Study Guide and FlashCards due on 10/21 (a-day) and 10/22 (b-day)

Research Methods Quiz - Thurs 10/8 (a) and Fri 10/9 (b)

The ~ 30 question multiple choice, closed note quiz will cover Bernstein Chapter 2 and our class work on research methods.

Study Bernstein Chapter 2 and all your class notes about research methods. Use the Bernstein Study Guide to quiz yourself to check for understanding and then re-study the areas you were weak in.

Review your reading assignment sheet to make sure you can meet all your learning objectives.

Study your flashcards with a friend by quizzing each other.

Decide how many points higher you want to score on this quiz than the last quiz and do what it takes to achieve that goal. Remember you need to be scoring around 80% or better now to build the foundation of knowledge you need for the AP exam.

CHECK YOUR PSYCH BLOG LINK!

Please find your name in the "AP Psych Scholars" section of my blog and check to make sure your blog is up there. If you made a blog, but it is not linked to here please send me the blog address via e-mail or as a comment on this post.


If you have not yet made your blog do it NOW. You can find the instructions in the archives of this blog. If you have questions or are having trouble e-mail me or see me Monday after school. Your grade will be adversely effected if you don't get this done before progress reports Update: (Some of you still have not checked your links!!!)

Reading Scatter Plots and Understanding Correlations - 1st Period Due Tues 10/6

Blog Post Assignment #2 - Reading Scatter Plots and Understanding Correlations.

Also, look at the post below this one so you can finish the "Shoe Size Statistics" sheet you received in class today.

This post only contains 1st Period Data - 7thPeriod data is in a previous post.

On your own academic blog please discuss each of the following graphs. Be sure to address the questions below each graph. Please don't copy the questions or number your answers, rather, you should write a paragraph or two in complete sentences so your reader knows what you are talking about. In your post you should either copy the graph images from my blog or link to them in your post using the link button (it looks like a little chain link just to the right of the Text color button at the top of your "new post" window.) Be sure to e-mail me to let me know your blog post is up. Put your full name and "AP Psych-Per 1" in the subject line and in the body of your e-mail. Review the "how to e-mail a teacher" post on my blog before you send your e-mail.


Above is the data we collected about our shoe sizes vs our heights. Can you see a relationship? Is there a correlation? If so, is it positive or negative? Does shoe size cause height to change? Does height cause shoe size to change? Does correlation imply causality?



What can we see from the above scatter plot of hair length vs. height? Is there a correlation? If so, is it positive or negative; strong or weak? What information about the students in our class does this graph give you? Are there a few "outliers" or extreme data points that seem unusual? If you throw them out of the data set what does the correlation look like? What other information would be helpful to interpret the data?

(click on the graphs to enlarge)

Descriptive Statistics and creating a histogram for 1st Period - Due Tues 10/6

This data is from 1st period AP Psych.

1. The three columns below represent the data we collected in class today. The right column is Shoe Size, the middle column is Hair Length and the right column is Height. All the numbers are rounded to the nearest centimeter. Use these numbers to fill out the front of your "Shoe Size Statistics" sheet you received in class today. (If you don't have this sheet, it is available with our other documents on our website... click the link on the upper right corner of this blog.)

PLEASE NOTE each column has been sorted in ascending order, the data from different columns in the same row does NOT represent the same individual.

2. Create the histogram showing the frequency of shoe size distribution in our class on the back of your "Shoe Size Statistics" sheet.

Shoe 23
23
24
24
24
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
26
26
26
27
27
27
27
28
28
28
29
29
30
30
32

Hair 1
1
2
2
5
5
8
9
13
14
19
20
23
23
29
29
30
30
34
35
35
40
40
43
43
50
50
51
52

Height 149
152
152
152
154
155
157
157
158
159
160
160
162
162
165
165
167
167
168
169
169
169
169
169
173
176
177
179
181

Reading Scatter Plots and Understanding Correlations - 7th Period Due 10/5

Blog Post Assignment #2 - Reading Scatter Plots and Understanding Correlations.

This post only contains 7th Period Data - 1st Period data will be in the next post.

On your own academic blog please discuss each of the following graphs. Be sure to address the questions below each graph. Please don't copy the questions or number your answers, rather, you should write a paragraph or two in complete sentences so your reader knows what you are talking about. In your post you should either copy the graph images from my blog or link to them in your post using the link button (it looks like a little chain link just to the right of the Text color button at the top of your "new post" window.) Be sure to e-mail me to let me know your blog post is up. Put your full name and "AP Psych-Per 7" in the subject line and in the body of your e-mail. Review the "how to e-mail a teacher" post on my blog before you send your e-mail.



Above is the data we collected about our shoe sizes vs our heights. Can you see a relationship? Is there a correlation? If so, is it positive or negative? Does shoe size cause height to change? Does height cause shoe size to change? Does correlation imply causality?



What can we see from the above scatter plot of hair length vs. height? Is there a correlation? If so, is it positive or negative; strong or weak? What information about the students in our class does this graph give you? Are there a few "outliers" or extreme data points that seem unusual? If you throw them out of the data set what does the correlation look like? What other information would be helpful to interpret the data?

(click on the graphs to enlarge)