Online Demo: Capacity of Short Term Memory

As the text points out, the capacity of working (or "short term") memory is quite limited. In order to test out your own working memory, you can choose to participate in the following (brief) demo:

Working Memory Test

Studying for your Cognition and Memory Test

Your unit test on Cognition and Memory is coming up on Wednesday, October 7th. To help you prepare, I'm compiling a bunch of study tools here, including notes from this unit. I'll add more next week, but this is a good start for now.

• Quizlet Flashcards
• NEW! Flashcards with Problem Solving Error Examples
• Extra MC Questions on Memory and general Cognition topics.
• Crash Course Video: How We Make Memories
• Crash Course Video: Remembering and Forgetting
• Crash Course Video: Cognition - How Your Mind Can Amaze and Betray You
• Crash Course Video: Language

Memory


Cognition and Problem Solving Notes


Language

Availability Heuristic - Summer of the Shark

Looking forward to sharing this classic (2002) Daily Show clip to introduce the Availability Heuristic to students this week. With the transition to a new host some of my links to Jon Stewart clips needed to be updated, so I'm posting it here in part so I can locate it again in the future.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

Picking Cotton - Eyewitness Memory

During Tuesday's class, you will be investigating a criminal case involving eye-witness testimony. There will be two video clips that you will need to view, and you will use this worksheet to guide your investigation. The video clips are embedded below.

Clip #1:


Clip #2:

Using Cognitive Science to Improve Your Study Strategies

Greetings, AP Psychology students!

I'm sorry I couldn't be with you today. I'm attending meetings in Washington, D.C. as part of my affiliation with Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) and the APA. But that doesn't mean your learning will be put on hold!

The unit of study we are beginning today concerns Cognition (i.e., thinking) and Memory. Happily, researchers have learned A LOT about what helps people understand and remember what they have learned, and this information should be immediately useful to students hoping to improve and refine their study strategies (and, by extension, their course grades).

Regardless of how you think yesterday's test went--whether you think it was a face-plant or you feel you knocked it out of the park--today's assignment will give you some helpful ideas about how to study more efficiently and more effectively, AND it will introduce you to some basic memory terminology that we will encounter this unit.

You'll have time in class to view this video series by Dr. Stephen Chew of Samford University, and you should complete this worksheet as you go. The worksheet is due Monday (Sept. 21), so anything that you don't finish in class should be completed over the weekend. Note: since there is sound with this video, please use a pair of headphones when viewing so that you don't disturb others.

Enjoy! Happy Learning!

Mrs. Welle

Wason's Rule Detection Task

Try out this fun problem-solving challenge! We will discuss this in class in relation to the scientific method. Once you've solved it, don't share the answer with your neighbor until we're ready to discuss it!

Eyewitness Testimony: How Reliable is it?

Hello, AP Psychology Students!

Since I'm out of the building (once again) for some meetings this (Tuesday) morning, I've got your activities posted here. If you need to see me about anything today, don't worry: I'll be back by 12:30 PM and will be with my afternoon classes.

For today's activities, you'll be completing this worksheet and viewing the two video clips below. Your teacher (either myself or the sub) will lead you in a discussion about what you learned.

Clip #1


Clip #2

Review Links for Cognition & Language Exam

With the weather in Wisconsin unusually cold, we've had some interesting schedule changes lately. The staff is currently in the process of deciding how to adjust the finals schedule to account for the missed school days, and how I schedule the Ch. 10 test will depend (to some extent) on that determination. For example, I am rather averse to the idea of having the Ch. 10 test AND your final on the same week...but this may not be up to me. Regardless of when it actually happens, here are some links to help you review for your test on Cognition & Language

Chapter 10 Review - Cognition & Language

• Practice Multiple Choice Items
• Quizlet Flashcards
• Video: Heuristics
• Videos: Language Acquisition (including phases) & "What is Language?" (reviews phonemes & morphemes)
• For fun...The Cognitive Bias Song!

Using Cognitive Science to Improve Your Study Strategies

If not today, soon you will be getting an assignment from your instructor that requires you to access this video series by Dr. Chew of Samford University. Due on Monday, this assignment requires you to view five short videos and to think about what research says about human memory and learning. Of course, you'll also be prompted to apply it to your own study habits.

I won't try to steal the show from Dr. Chew by describing everything in the videos here. However, I will tell you that, as an AP Psych teacher, I see students making the EXACT SAME mistakes that Dr. Chew describes in the video and suffering for them as well (in terms of grades, that is). The strategies that he proposes as alternatives are the same ones I would recommend to students, as they are research-supported. I hope by viewing the videos now you can put these into place before your first test, rather than waiting until afterwards to try to figure out what went wrong. Of course, as Dr. Chew points out, even if the first test doesn't turn out the best, there are good strategies you can harness to recover and improve from that point onward (but there are also ways to set yourself up for continued hardship...avoid those)!

Happy studying! - Mrs. Welle

Preparing for Your Cognition & Language Test

It's that time again. Time to review your notes, textbook reading, and study guides in order to perform your very best on our LAST test before Christmas break! This unit seems to have gone by quickly, but on some level they all do, I suppose.

To help you with your studies, we will have a study session from 5-7 PM tomorrow (Wednesday)evening. If you are looking for more practice with multiple choice questions than you can find in you study guide (or just need some new ones to try), give these a shot.

Otherwise, our old friend Quizlet is here to help you out, too.

The Marshmallow Challenge

A 3rd Hour team completes the tallest tower of the day: 31''!

Today in class we kicked off our unit on cognition by tackling a now-fairly-famous team problem-solving task: The Marshmallow Challenge. Our teams' performances very closely mimicked the findings of Tom Wujec, which he summarizes in the brief talk I've embedded below.

The task is an excellent illustration of the complexities inherent in problem-solving (e.g. mental set interferes with effective design, incentives don't always work the way you would think, communication problems and social jockeying can be an issue, etc.).



Winning team from 7th Hour

 Throughout the day we had 16 of 24 teams successfully construct towers that held the marshmallow, very close to the success rate found by Wujec (60%). The tallest tower measured 31 inches and was completed by Nick, Rachel, Sam, and Kayla in my 3rd hour class!

If you've got some spaghetti, marshmallows, and some string and tape, maybe you would want to try this out with your own family tonight. :-)



Note to my fellow psych teachers who follow this blog: this was the first year I attempted this task with students, and I'd highly recommend it. Not only does it serve as a great jumping-off point for conversations about problem-solving, but it is engaging and the supplies are cheap. To do this with 100 students today I only had to spend $14! (A bargain compared to some of my other demos/activities for the same amount of people.)

More complete instructions are available here.

Probably the cutest marshmallow of the day: Smiley!

Inspiration for Your Studies: The Bias Song

I am humbled by this AP Psych teacher's mad skills. The song includes a review of several of the terms we've covered during this unit on thinking & language. Other forms of "bias" in the song we will address later in the year...but you should find it entertaining nonetheless.

New Quizlet Added: Thinking & Language

Sorry for the delay, but here's the link to the Quizlet on Thinking & Language! From here on out you will be able to find it on the "Commonly Used Course Links" list on the left hand side of the blog.

Talk with a Chat Bot: Ultra Hal

Today in class we conversed with Ultra Hal, a chat bot who is designed to "learn" from the conversations you have with him.

Hal's developers are marketing software that will allow you to "talk" with your computer, much like having a virtual assistant. Apparently, Hal also has a Facebook presence and a character on 2nd Life.

He sounds like a busy guy, but if you want to catch up with him for a brief chat, here's the link!

Shopping Psychology

I'll credit my colleague, our high school Marketing teacher Mr. Jon Sylte, for alerting me to this

intriguing title. It has wiggled its way to the top of my "To-read" list. (Okay, it's actually right behind some books I have to read for a grad class, but you know what I mean).

In Priceless: the Myth of Fair Value, author William Poundstone explains all the fascinating (and seemingly manipulative) tricks used by companies to get us to accept a particular price for an item. Much of it smacks of the content of a psychology course on problem solving or cognitive obstacles.

In the video below, Poundstone explains how restaurants manipulate their menus to encourage us to buy certain items (at prices the owners want us to pay). One neat trick: use the "anchoring heuristic". Lots of examples of framing as well.

Chat with A.L.I.C.E.

A couple of days ago, our classes chatted online with A.L.I.C.E. (Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity), a "chatbot" the simulates chatting with another person. Several students have requested the link to try out on their own, so here it is! You can also read up on the history of A.L.I.C.E., as well as find general info about machines and their "thinking" capacities.

Remember, it may seem as though you're talking to a person, but "A.L.I.C.E." is really a machine! And...she's learning from your conversation, so don't be mean and try to confuse her.

And, for (albeit confusing) entertainment: A.L.I.C.E. and Fake Captain Kirk (two chatbots) attempting to have a conversation.

Functional Fixedness & MacGyver

Today in AP Psych, we practiced overcoming functional fixedness...by using a seemingly random assortment of classroom/household supplies to build (or attempt to build) record players. In doing so, I urged students to "be MacGyver."

MacGyver was, of course, the beloved titled character in the popular 1980s television show: a guy who was constantly getting himself into dangerous situations and then emerging victorious by utilizing random things in the surrounding environment. For example, he could diffuse bombs and pick locks with paper clips and chewing gum wrappers. Here's the original show intro for those who are interested.

MacGyver has been spoofed many times over for the predictable (yet unbelievable) plot lines and antics in the show. Below are some great examples.



My recent favorites have been SNL skits featuring Will Forte as "MacGruber", a similar but less successful and more distracted version of MacGyver.