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This guide describes the contents of the Houghton Mifflin Introductory Psychology
Lecture Starter Video (LSV). The LSV contains a series of high-interest, concise
segments that instructors can use to begin a class meeting or change to a new
topic. In this guide, we will briefly describe each segment, indicate concepts
from the textbook that each segment might usefully address, and offer suggestions
of ways you might want to use each segment.
The segments were chosen after viewing over 200 full-length tapes in the Films
for Humanities and Social Sciences library. From these tapes, we selected dozens
of segments for the LSV, chosen on the basis of meeting the following criteria:
1) high-interest content to capture student attention
2) relevance to important material from the textbook
3)representation of diverse topics across many textbook chapters
4)concise and brief passages
The LSV is organized into 34 units, each of which contains one or more video
segments. On the tape, each unit is heralded by the appearance of a title on
the screen. If there are multiple segments contained within a single unit, the
individual segments are separated by a short, blank moment.
In this guide, we have indicated the location of each unit on the LSV tape.
If you set your VCR's timer to zero and have rewound the tape, these times should
provide you with the approximate location of the units. This guide also offers
a summary of each unit's contents, lists relevant topic that each unit might
be used to introduce, and offers suggestions for ways you might want to use
each unit in your classroom. The units are ordered to approximately parallel
the order of analogous material covered in the textbook.
We hope you enjoy using the LSV in your classroom!
Choose a Unit:
[Top]
Unit #1: Greeting from Doug Bernstein
Begins at approximately: 1:10
In this segment, Doug Bernstein outlines the major features of the textbook
and the motivation for he and his co-authors to write the text. This section
would be useful during the introductory class and provides a first hand insight
into what the text is about for your students.
[Top]
Unit #2: Research Methods: A Psychologist at Work
Begins at approximately: 6:00
This unit provides a demonstration of a psychological research experiment. The
steps of the research experiment are explained and demonstrated in detail.
This unit would also be appropriate for use in the discussion of Emotions in
that the experiment examines the effect of gazing on people's attraction to
one another.
[Top]
Unit #3: Neurons and the Nervous System
Begins at approximately: 13:28
Summary:
Three segments provide graphic depictions of the neuron and the organization
of the brain and nervous system. Neurons are shown and explanations are given
for neuronal parts, neuron function, sysnapes, and neurotransmitters. A graphic
shows a synapse as neurotransmitters are release and bind with receptors. The
peripheral nervous system is also presented, using the specific example of connections
to muscles. The discussion centers on how information is shuttled between the
spinal cord and the periphery, while the neuron is depicted as the fundamental
unit of the nervous system. A graphic sequence shows that the axon can be an
extremely long neuronal branch.
Relevant Concepts:
axon, biological psychology, brain, dendrite, gray mater, nerves, neuron, neurotransmitter,
peripheral nervous system, spinal cord, synapse, white mater
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "What would happen if receptors were stimulated without the use of neurotransmitters?"
2) Ask: "What would happen if the neurotransmitters were removed from the synapse?"
3) Ask: "What would happen if a neuron damaged its axon? Its dendrite?"
[Top]
Unit #4: The Brain
begins at approximately 16:64
Summary:
Two segments present a description of how the human brain is organized and how
it functions. First, an actual brain is shown in cross-section, with descriptions
and definitions of the visually apparent gyri, sulci, white mater and gray mater.
The term cortex is introduced, along with a discussion of its structure and
function.
Then another segment uses a metaphor of storing sound and picture on different
parts of a film to introduce the notion of modularity in the brain--different
parts of the brain coordinate different aspects of mental and behavioral functioning.
There is also some discussion of the "binding problem," the need to unite the
differentially specialized and anatomically separated brain regions to create
a single, integrated brain. A patient is presented who has visual agnosia, such
that brain damage has left her able to see (e.g., she can read), but able to
name objects only from senses such as touch and smell. This case is used to
argue for modularity in the visual system--different aspects of visual processing
are controlled by different brain regions. Motion blindness--the inability to
perceive movement despite otherwise intact vision--is also presented in this
context along with a special effect that gives the viewer a sense of experiencing
this condition.
Relevant Concepts:
biological psychology, binding problem, brain, case study, cortex, gray mater,
gyri, information processing approach to the brain, modularity in the brain,
motion blindness, neuropsychology, perception, research methods, sensation,
sulci, vision, visual agnosia, white matter
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "What are the benefits of a brain being organized into separate modules,
and what are the costs of such organization?"
2) Ask: "The video segment argues that the brain is composed of different modules
that compute different aspects of mental functioning. What kinds of studies
could be conducted to evaluate this proposal?"
[Top]
Unit #5: An Example of a Brain Structure: The Cerebellum
Begins at approximately: 20:00
Summary:
Two segments focus on the brain and its structures. First, a lecturer uses a
three dimensional plastic model to show several brain areas, and in particular
the cerebellum. This segment also has a description of various ways in which
neurons can be differently specialized--by shape, size, location, interconnections,
neurotransmitter use, etc.
A second segment is a video of a patient who has damaged the cerebellum of his
brain. We see him demonstrate the motor coordination difficulties typical of
cerebellar ataxia. A graphic displaying the location of the cerebellum in the
brain is also shown interspersed within the video of the patient.
Relevant Concepts:
ataxia, biological psychology, brain, brain structures, case study, cerebellum,
movement, neurons, neuropsychology, research methods
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "As we look at the man with damage to his cerebellum, what do his problems
tell us about the way the brain organizes control of movement? What functions
must have the cerebellum been performing when it was intact? What other motor
functions are apparently not under the control of the cerebellum? How could
we test any of these ideas in an experiment?"
[Top]
Unit #6: Hearing
Begins at approximately: 21:50
Summary:
Two segments describe the anatomy and functions of the outer, middle, and inner
ear. First, illustrated graphics and a plastic model show the structural composition
of the middle ear bones and inner ear. The discussion focuses on the physical
nature of sound, and there is a demonstration of the relationships between frequency
and pitch and between amplitudes and loudness.
Then, additional use of illustrated graphics and a plastic model shows how the
physical nature of sound activates the structures of the middle ear and inner
ear. We see the parts in motion in a cascade of responses to sounds presented
to the outer ear. There is also a discussion of conduction deafness and an anatomical
explanation for this phenomenon.
Relevant Concepts:
amplitude & loudness, biological psychology, cochlea, conduction deafness,
ear, ear drum, frequency & pitch, hearing, inner ear, middle ear, outer
ear, psychophysics, sensation, sound, sound waves
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "Where does sensory transduction occur in this system?" (The important
point here is that the transduction--the conversion of physical energy into
neural signals--actually does not occur until the basilar membrane of the cochlea.)
2) Ask: "how could someone be helped if they have fluid in their middle ear?"
3) Ask: "Could this system hear sounds under water? In outer space? Why or why
not?"
[Top]
Unit #7: Taste and Smell
Begins at approximately: 26:20
Summary:
Two segments explore the sometimes neglected importance of the role of taste
and smell in human life. First, a graphic helps explain the anatomy of the olfactory
system, emphasizing the location of olfactory fibers in the upper part of the
nasal passages. This segment also describes how smells can be weakened or distorted,
and the phenomenon of "phantom smells" are presented as examples of olfactory
hallucinations.
Then, a second segment discusses a number of different ways in which the sense
of smell can be impaired. A woman is presented who has entirely lost both her
sense of taste and her sense of smell. She discusses how this deficit has impacted
her, pointing out that temperature, texture, and appearance are the only bases
upon which she now selects food.
Relevant Concepts:
Biological psychology, case study, consciousness, flavor, food, food selection,
hallucinations, nose, perception, phantom smells, research methods, sensation,
smell, taste
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "If you had to lose one sense modality, which would it be? Why?"
2) Ask: "If you could give the woman back either her sense of taste or her sense
of smell, which would it be? Why?"
[Top]
Unit #8: Constructionist View of Perception
Begins at approximately: 30:15
Summary:
Three segments reinforce the concept of perception as an active process of imposing
meaning on sensations by drawing on past experience, expectation, context, etc.
First, a segment introduces perception using a metaphor of wine tasting. Perception
is thus described as a task of using experiences to impose meaning on incoming
information.
Second, a segment shows an Ames room, an apparatus in which one side of the
room is actually closer and smaller than the other side, but when looking into
the room from a viewing port in one wall, the dimensions of the room appear
symmetrical and normal. Thus, we watch a person walk side to side in the Ames
room and appear to grow in size as he moves. A brief explanation of the basis
for the illusion is provided, along with a discussion of how illusions are based
on assumptions made in constructing perception.
Finally, a third segment shows a person walking in a dark room with only a few
light beacons attached to different parts of the body. As such, all the viewer
sees are individual discrete lights that move as the walker moves. As we see
the different moving lights, we tend to group them in such a way as to imply
a person walking, but the tape shows how alternative perceptual groupings could
be possible too. The segment discusses how we impose a meaning we are comfortable
with on these lights to construct a perception.
Relevant Concepts:
Ames room, constructionist view of perception, hierarchical features detection,
Gestalt, illusion, motion perception, perception, reconstructive memory, top-down
processing
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "In what ways would you expect perception to differ for computers versus
for humans?"
2) Ask: "If someone had never seen a room before, how would he or she perceive
the size of the person moving in the Ames room?
3) Ask: "If someone had never seen another person walking before, how would
he or she perceive the moving lights?"
[Top]
Unit #9: Attention
Begins at approximately: 33:05
Summary:
Two segments present issues in attention research. First, a segment discusses
the dichotic listening technique and shows a subject being tested with such
a paradigm. The audio portion of the tape recreates what the stimulus experience
is like for the subject. Research in this area is related to other domains in
which one must split attention over several relevant inputs, such as when air
traffic controllers must keep their eyes on numerous flights.
A second segment discusses divided attention, making the point that it is easier
to divide attention between inputs in different modalities as opposed to inputs
within the same modality. An illustrative vignette shows a man trying to read
a newspaper while riding a bicycle.
Relevant Concepts:
attention, dichotic listening, divided attention, hearing, sensation, perception,
research methods
Suggested Uses:
1) Try having two students stand in front of the room and each read a different
passage of text simultaneously. Then ask the class pairs of questions, one from
each passage, and discuss the extent to which people could attend to information
from both passages.
2) Ask: "What 'real life' situations are likely to require you to pay attention,
simultaneously, to more than one piece of information in the same sense modality?
How well do you think you can attend to all inputs in these situations? What
could improve your ability to attend to the inputs in these situations?
[Top]
Unit #10: Phantom Limb
Begins at approximately: 35:20
Summary:
A single segment describes the sense of touch featuring a man who has had an
arm amputation. As a cotton swab is swept across the patient's face, he describes
how this action creates apparent sensations in his phantom limb. The demonstration
is discussed with an explanation of the brain organization of touch specifically
and information processing more generally.
Relevant Concepts:
case study, consciousness, constructionist view of perception, contralateral
mapping in the brain, information processing approach to the brain, modularity,
neuropsychology, phantom limb, research methods, sensation, skin senses, top-down
processing, touch
Suggested Uses:
1) The phenomenon of phantom limb sensations can be used to initiate a discussion
of the extent to which perception represents a faithful picture of the environment
versus an actively constructed picture of the outside world. You might as students
"How 'real' do the phantom limb sensations feel to this patient?" and from there
go on to question the extent to which self-report of subjective impressions
are reliable data.
[Top]
Unit #11: Narcolepsy
Begins at approximately: 38:05
Summary:
Two segments give graphic depictions of the sleeping disorder, narcolepsy. The
first segment introduces narcolepsy and its basic features. Narcoleptic dogs
are shown suffering attacks, and a scientist talks about research into possible
genetic bases for the disorder.
A second segment contains footage from a Phil Donahue program on narcolepsy.
A woman talks about what it is like to have this condition, and a film clip
shows her suffering an attack. A narcoleptic dog is also presented who suffers
an attack, live, as he is presented to the Donahue audience. A sleep researcher
talks about narcolepsy, the distinctions between normal REM and non-REM sleep,
and discusses sleep as an active state of consciousness.
Relevant Concepts:
case study, consciousness, genetics, narcolepsy, REM, research methods, sleep,
sleep disorders, states of consciousness
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "What is meant by calling sleep an 'active' state of consciousness?
Give some examples of why this is so."
2) Ask: "How would your life be affected if you were a narcolepsy sufferer?"
[Top]
Unit #12: Learning and Phobias
Begins at approximately: 43:00
Summary:
A single segment profiles a man who has a phobia of cats. Although he is clearly
not a fearful person generally (e.g., he raises and trains bulls for a living),
he is intensely afraid of cats. In one scene, a mere photo of a kitten sends
him running away from the camera, his face flushed and his eyes tearing. Phobias
are discussed from a learning-oriented perspective, and the concept of desensitization
is presented as a method for minimizing such fears.
Relevant Concepts:
classical conditioning, emotion, fight-or-flight response, learning, phobias,
preparedness, systematic desensitization
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "Why would it be that this person learned a fear of cats whereas other
people with similar experiences might not have become so afraid?"
2) Ask: "Besides the desensitization method discussed in the video, how else
could a person such as this man learn to have less fear of cats?"
3) To illustrate classical conditioning, as the class to identify the UCS, UCR,
CS, and CR described for this man's learned fear of cats.
[Top]
Unit #13: Alzheimer's Disease
Begins at approximately: 48:00
Summary:
Two segments present Alzheimer's disease, showing both the nature of the disease's
symptoms as well as the effects it has on personal and family lives. The first
segment is a video clip from an ABC Nightline episode, later re-presented during
an airing of the Phil Donahue show. The segment describes a longitudinal study
of Alzheimer's disease underway in a Milwaukee convent. The nuns of the convent
have consented to annual mental status interviews, and have agreed that after
their deaths they will donate their brains for study. This population is unique
because they have relatively similar environments over a long period of time,
thus allowing for researchers to better control for the influence of diet, activity,
living conditions, etc. An interesting trend in the study appears to be that
these nuns have a lower rate of Alzheimer's disease than expected based upon
incidence from the general population.
Then a second segment shows a woman with end-stage Alzheimer's, at this point
quite demented and unable to live at home alone. The segment shows how the woman's
daughter has come to live with her as a care-taker, and we see in actions and
interviews how this disease affect not only the patient but also families.
Relevant Concepts:
Alzheimer's disease, amnesia, longitudinal studies, memory, neuropsychology,
research methods, stress
Suggested Uses:
1) A website describing the nun study can be found at http://www.coa.uky.edu/nunnet/
2) Ask: "If there were a test you could take to tell you whether or not you
will get Alzheimer's disease, would you take it? Why or why not?
[Top]
Unit # 14: Eyewitness Memory
begins at approximately: 52:25
Summary:
A single segment shows a robbery occuring in a convenience store. The goal here
is for students to have a try at eyewitness memory of this episode after a suitable
delay (see instructions below). This exercise is a good way to show that memory
is active and constructive, not simply a passive register of experience.
Relevant Concepts:
constructive view of perception, eye-witness memory, memory, perception, reconstructive
memory
Suggested Uses:
1) Show the video segment at the beginning of class, and then wait until about
the middle of class time to ask people to answer the following questions about
what they had witnessed:
- Did the robber wearing the hat enter first or second?
-When did the glasses fall off of the customer who entered the store?
-How many times did the robber strike the customer?
-Did the care turn right or left after it sped away from the store?
-When did the storekeeper call the police?
-What was the store keeper doing when the robbers first entered the store?
-How old were the youths who robbed the store?
-What weapon did the second robber hit the customer with?
-Did the shopkeeper shout for help before or after the cash register was opened?
2) Review the responses to these questions with your class, and then watch the
video clip again together. Note that some questions may have misled people into
"remembering" things that did not occur, or misremembering the way in which
some of the events transpired. Relevant to the questions above, some issues
to consider are:
-Neither robber wore a hat
-It is unclear whether or not the robber ever actually "struck" the customer,
and the attacking robber apparently has no weapon - he appears to be merely
scuffling with the customer and holding him down.
- The car was not seen making a turn to the left or the right.
-The storekeeper did not call the police at all.
-Calling the robbers "youths" may prompt younger age estimates than, say calling
them "men."
[Top]
Unit #15: Artificial Intelligence
Begins at approximately: 53:35
Summary:
A single segment presents a version of Turing's test of consciousness in a computer.
Subjects are shown interacting with a computer screen display, attempting to
decide if their digital conversion is with another person typing on a terminal
in another room, or with a computer.
Relevant Concepts:
artificial intelligence, consciousness, language, research methods, self-awareness,
Turing test
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "Do you think computers will ever have consciousness and self-awareness
2) Ask: "Is the 'Turing test' a reasonable measure of whether or not a computer
is self-aware? Why or why not?
[Top]
Unit #16: Decision Making
Begins at approximately: 54:55
Summary:
A single segment shows the launch and explosion of the Space Shuttler Challenger,
with a description of how the decision-making associated with this event was
problematic. The segment uses the notion of a "thought illusion" to discuss
the limitations people have on estimating how much information they do and do
not know.
Relevant Concepts:
cognition, decision-making, experts, illusion, probability estimation, problem
solving
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "How could the Challenger explosion have been prevented?"
2) Ask: "In what ways are experts better than novices in solving problems, and
in what ways are novices better than experts?"
[Top]
Unit #17: Language
Begins at approximately: 56:00
Summary:
Three segments explore human language. The first segment shows a man who is
blind and deaf, but who communicates through touch. Using a system called "Tadoma,"
he holds his hand on the face of a woman as she speaks. As she talks, the flow
of air creates vibrations on her throat and face which the man can discern via
tactile senses.
The second and third segments deal with the extent to which language is learned
or biologically preprogrammed. The discussion first presents the notion that
language could be learned by imitation, showing children being rewarded for
certain aspects of speech. A critical analysis of this perspective is anchored
by shoing children speaking grammatical phrases that they are unlikely to have
learned by verbatim imitation (e.g., "I eated it all up"). The discussion also
presents Chomsky's view that language is an innately wired preprogrammed function,
such that all languages use the same basic deep structures.
Relevant Concepts:
cognition, behaviorism, blindness, communication, deafness, deep structure,
genetics, language, language acquisition device, learning, nature vs. nurture,
operant conditioning, perception, sensation, skin senses, Tadoma, touch
Suggested Uses:
1) A reference for the Tadoma communication system, described in the first segment,
is Reed, C.M., Rabinowitz, W. M., Durlach, N.I. & Delhorne, L. A. (1992).
Analytic study of the Tadoma method: Improving performance through the use of
supplementary tactual displays. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 35(2),
450-465.
2) Ask: "What is common to communication through Tadoma, oral speech, and written
language?"
3) Ask: "What kinds of things do all languages have in common?"
4) Ask: "In what ways is human language different from communication in non-humans?"
[Top]
Unit #18: Eating Disorders
Begins at approximately: 58:47
Summary:
Multiple segments describe the problems associated with anorexia and bulimia.
The first segment presents the main characteristics of anorexia, including a
brief interview of a woman describing her experiences as a recovering anorexic.
This segment is followed by a discussion with a clinical nutritionist who, earlier
in her life, suffered from anorexia. She talks about her experience with anorexia,
emphasizing the specific behaviors she undertook and the feelings she had in
relation to them.
The next segment presents the main characteristics of bulimia, with a description
of the binge-purge cycle. Several women talk about the toll that bulimia took
on their lives. The interviews point out the extent to which their behaviors
were dangerous and sometimes life-threatening. Another segment follows up on
this material via an interview with a man who is recovering from bulimia. The
presentation includes a discussion of the role of exercise habits in eating
disorders.
A final segment discusses some of the health consequences of the eating disorders
with examples of famous celebrities and athletes with problems from eating disorders.
Relevant Concepts:
anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorders, exercise, food, motivation,
nutrition, health, self-image
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "How might you go about treating someone with an eating disorder?"
2) Ask: "In what ways might eating disorders be prevented?"
[Top]
Unit #19: Displaying Emotion
Begins at approximately: 1:05:12
Summary:
A single segment illustrates the facial feedback hypothesis. We see subjects
faces as they peer into the camera and an experimenter's voice directs them
to create specific aspects of specific facial expressions (e.g., "raise the
inner edges of your eyebrows"). Data are discussed in which it is found that
posing a facial expression affects subjectively felt emotion.
Relevant Concepts:
emotion, facial expressions, facial-feedback hypothesis, James-Lange theory,
research methods
Suggested Uses:
1) You may want to use this video to introduce the James-Lange theory of emotion,
which argues that specific patterns of feedback from the periphery causes specific
emotion.
[Top]
Unit #20: Prenatal Life
Begins at approximately: 1:06:30
Summary:
This segment has video footage of a fetus as it develops within the uterus,
apparently using a camera attached to a fiber optic device. Not only can we
see the fetus moving, but a microphone allows us to hear what the fetus hears
from the outside world (including conversations, music and the mother's own
voice). Research is presented suggesting that fetuses can respond to such sounds,
discriminate familiar from unfamiliar voices, and is sensitive to vagaries in
the mother's emotions.
Relevant Concepts:
attachment, development, genetics, fetus, hearing, learning nature versus nurture,
prenatal development, sensation
Suggested Uses:
1) This segment helps raise an important distinction in nature versus nurture
debates. Often, traits which are present at birth are assumed to be genetic
in origin. But, as this segment demonstrates, a newborn has been subjected to
environmental influences already, from which significant learning may have occurred.
2) As the class to list all the possible environmental factors that could affect
a fetus.
3) Ask: "Given the issues raised in this video, to what extent can we say that
behavioral patterns and traits of a newborn are necessarily genetic in origin?"
[Top]
Unit #21: Development of Identity and Attachment
Begins at approximately: 1:08:32
Summary:
Two segments explore some early issues in development. The first segment shows
kids in a "mirror self-recognition test," an experiment designed to explore
the development of self-identity in childhood. Children see themselves in a
mirror, either with or without a red dot painted on their faces. The children's
statements and explanations are taken as a measure of their awareness of who
the person in the mirror is.
A second segment shows actual video footage from Harlow's attachment study with
rhesus monkeys. In this famous experiment, motherless monkeys formed attachments
to cloth covered rather than plain wire figures, even when the wire figures
contained a milk bottle. We see a baby monkey clinging to the cloth "surrogate
mother," and seeking the cloth surrogate's "protection" when an unfamiliar motorized
toy is placed into the cage.
Relevant Concepts:
attachment, cognition, development, emotion, Harlow study, learning, research
methods, self-awareness
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "Is there any way to speed up the development of self-awareness? What
makes it difficult for very young children to recognize the the person in the
mirror is themselves?"
2) Ask: "According to the results of the Harlow study, if you have a baby, what
kinds of things are likely to lead to the baby becoming attached to you?"
[Top]
Unit #22: Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Begins at approximately: 1:10:55
Summary:
Four segments present various aspects of Piaget's approach to cognitive development.
The first segment shows the three-mountain study in preoperational children,
showing a child attempting to describe what a doll on the other side of the
table would see from its viewpoint. This is a good illustration of the extent
to which children have a difficult time understanding that there are perspectives
which may differ from their own.
The second segment shows preoperational children attempting to complete a categorization
task. Limited use of logic in preoperational thinking is illustrated as we watch
kids attempting to sort pencils based on both color and size.
The third segment introduces and defines conservation and presents several examples
of children attempting to conserve volume as a liquid is poured into glasses
of various sizes. We also hear the kids explaining their thinking.
The final segment presents an older child who is beginning to develop enough
logical reasoning to perform conservation of volume, and we hear him explain
his reasoning in this area. He is still unable to perform certain logical operations,
however, such as follow transitive relationships among three or more items.
Relevant Concepts:
cognition, concrete operations, conservation, development, egocentrism, logic,
Piaget, preoperational stage, three-mountain study, research methods
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask students to describe the research methods used in studies like those
demonstrated in the videos. Solicit feedback as to the strengths and weakness
of these techniques.
2) Ask: "What would be some other examples of conservation, other than conservation
of volume?"
[Top]
Unit #23: Stress and Disease
Begins at approximately: 1:15:35
Summary:
Two segments discuss the relationship between stress and the immune system's
ability to fight disease. The first segment introduces the research which suggests
that stress can affect health through weakening of the immune system. The segment
argues for practical applications of such findings, such as being careful to
avoid vaccinating people at times when they would be likely to have high stress.
The second segment presents some of the data linking stress and health in cancer
victims. A study of women with terminal breast cancer is highlighted, wherein
women randomly assigned to conventional treatment along with regular support
group meetings lived over a year longer than women randomly assigned to conventional
treatment alone.
Relevant Concepts:
coping, health, immune system, stress
Suggested Uses:
1) Solicit from the class examples of times when stress is likely to contribute
to a decline in health (e.g. an increased mortality rate among widows and widowers
in the months immediately following the death of their spouses).
2) Ask: "What do you think explains the data found in women with breast cancer?"
[Top]
Unit #24: Responding to Stress
Begins at approximately: 1:17:45
Summary:
A single segment discusses methods of responding to stress, particularly emphasizing
responses such as exercise and biofeedback. A biofeedback session is shown,
complete with explanations of what the technique is attempting to do and how
it might be useful.
Relevant Concepts:
biofeedback, coping, exercise, health, immune system, learning, nonconscious
processes, stress, stress responses
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "What kinds of things might biofeedback be useful for?"
2) Ask: "How might it be that exercise has an affect on stress responding? Why
would this be helpful?"
[Top]
Unit #25: Origins of Nature I
Begins at approximately: 1:19:13
Summary:
A single segment from a Phil Donahue special explores the idea that personality
is determined by one's genetic makeup. In particular, the segment explores data
from identical twins separated at birth, raised in separate environments, and
who meet only much later as adults. One interview presents a pair of identical
twins who, separated at birth and reunited as adults, have striking similarities
in the ways they have led their lives. Data are also presented from dozens of
similar such cases.
Relevant Concepts:
genetics, identical twins, mental abilities, nature versus nurture, personality,
quasi-experiments, research methods, twins
Suggested Uses:
1) Use this unit together with unit 26. After viewing both units, as the students
to decide which plays the greater role, nature or nurture, and to support their
answers with explanations.
[Top]
Unit #26: Origins of Nature II
Begins at approximately: 1:22:30
Summary:
A single segment from a Phil Donohue special explores the idea that personality
is determined by one's environment. The "Better Baby Institute" is featured,
in which children are "power taught" in the first 5 years of their lives, intensively
exposing them to a vast array of information and experiences. we see kids bombarded
with rapid-fire flash cards, learning to speak foreign languages, and recognizing
classical works of art, and we see a five-year-old read aloud easily from aTime
magazine article he has never seen before.
Relevant Concepts:
behaviorism, learning, mental abilities, nature versus nurture, personality
Suggested Uses:
1. See Unit 25.
[Top]
Unit #27: Tourette's Syndrome
Begins at approximately: 1:26:14
Summary:
A single segment presents the details of Tourette's syndrome, featuring footage
of a psychiatrist who suffers from the condition. We see him experience several
episodes of uncontrollable vocalizations and head and body movements, and hear
him discuss what it is like to live with such a condition. A description of
the basic elements of the disorder is also presented.
Relevant Concepts:
dopamine, movement, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychological disorders,
Tourette's syndrome
Suggested Uses:
1) You may want to present this unit along with unit 28, painting a picture
of a continuum from normalcy to obsessive-compulsive disorder to Tourette's.
[Top]
Unit #28: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Begins at approximately: 1:28:25
Summary:
Three segments from a Phil Donahue program present obsessive-compulsive disorder.
First, we see a boy describe and demonstrate his compulsions regarding stair
climbing, such that he sometimes took several hours to climb a single flight
of stairs.
Second, a segment presents a woman with obsessive-compulsive disorder. She discusses
her obsession related to driving, such that she was perpetually concerned that
she had somehow caused an accident or harmed someone with her car even though
she recognized that there was no objective data to support such a possibility.
She also discusses her obsessions with the concept of "hell," wherein she felt
that virtually every behavior from her was sufficient to consign her to an eternity
in purgatory.
The final segment features an expert on obsessive-compulsive disorder discussing
the defining features of this condition and what kinds of things are or are
not thought to underlie it.
Relevant Concepts:
anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychological disorders
Suggested Uses:
1) See unit 27
[Top]
Unit #29: Mood Disorders
Begins at approximately: 1:34:12
Summary:
A pair of segments describe major depression. The first segment discusses the
details of clinical depression, contrasting it with being "down in the dumps."
A man recovering from depression describes what it felt like and how it affected
his life when he was suffering from the disease.
The second segment offers a discussion of some of the theories of the cause
of depression, especially focusing on the possibility that it may stem from
a brain deficiency of the neurotransmitter serotonin. A psychiatrist talks about
the stigma attached to the label of depression, as does a woman recovering from
the disease, and arguments are offered that such stigmas have far-reaching and
costly affects for our society.
Relevant Concepts:
brain, defining normality, depression, emotion, mood disorders, neurotransmitters,
psychological disorders, serotonin, valuative approach to normality
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "Is it possible to prevent major depression by a person being 'strong'
enough to resist it? Should people try to do so? Why or why not?"
[Top]
Unit #30: Biological Treatment vs. Talk Therapy
Begins at approximately: 1:39:08
Summary:
A single segment presents a video clip from the television show "Think Tank
with Ben Wattenberg." The segment takes the position that drug treatments, and
medical technology more generally, have become a widely used part of the treatment
of mental illness, and argues that such a development may be occuring at the
expense of reduced utilization of "talk therapy."
Relevant Concepts:
biological treatments, brain, psychological disorders, therapy, treatment of
psychological disorders
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "What role should medical technology have in the diagnosis and treatment
of mental illness?"
2) Ask: "If you had a mental illness of some kind, what kind of treatment methods
would you want to receive, and what kinds would you want to avoid? Why?"
[Top]
Unit #31: Treating Tourette's Syndrome
Begins at approximately: 1:40:35
Summary:
A single segment details some of the treatment options for Tourette's syndrome,
and we revisit the psychiatrist with Tourette's encountered in Unit 27. He and
his wife discuss their planning for the future in the context of his problem,
as well as their thoughts regarding having children given the fact that such
children would be at risk for developing Tourette's like their father's.
Relevant Concepts:
biological treatments, brain, dopamine, movement, psychological disorders, Tourette's
syndrome, treatment for psychological disorders
Suggested Uses:
Ask: "Would you have children if you know that your children had a 50% chance
of inheriting Tourette's syndrome? Why or why not?"
[Top]
Unit #32: Treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Begins at approximately: 1:43:02
Summary:
A single segment presents some of the treatment options for obsessive-compulsive
disorder, including the drug treatments and their rationale. The use of desensitization
programs is featured as well, and we see an in vivo desensitization session
between a woman and her therapist.
Relevant Concepts:
anxiety disorders, anxiety hierarchy, behavioral therapy, biological treatments,
desensitization, drug treatments, psychological disorders, treatment for psychological
disorders
Suggested Uses:
1) Have the students construct their own anxiety hierarchy for something they
fear.
2) Ask: "Should drugs be used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder if they
have been shown to be effective in treating the disease?"
[Top]
Unit #33: Treating Mood Disorders
Begins at approximately: 1:44:55
Summary:
Two segments profile the treatment of depression. The first segment presents
an overview of the depression treatment. We meet a woman experiencing depressive
symptoms, and then again later when she is relatively nemcumbered with such
symptoms. We see, and hear her describe, the overpowering nature of depression
symptoms, and watch her interact with her therapist as well as take her medications.
The tendency toward using medications in the treatment of mental illness is
impactfully demonstrated when we see her take her usual morning regimen of several
medications.
The second segment discusses how the vast majority of people who seek treatment
for major depression get better as a result of such treatments. Both drup and
talk therapy is discussed, and a patient recovering from depression talks about
the roles her therapist served in the process.
Relevant Concepts:
biological treatments, depression, drug treatments, mood disorders, neurotransmitters,
psychological disorders, serotonin, therapy, treatment for psychological disorders
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask students to present arguments for and against the use of drugs to treat
depression.
[Top]
Unit #34: Prejudice and Stereotype
Begins at approximately: 1:49:20
Summary:
Three segments from a Phil Donahue program featuring high school students discussing
some of their attitudes toward others of different races, ethnicities, gender,
or sexual orientations. This first segment shows an African-American student
who expresses her feelings about Puerto Rican students in her school. The second
segment presents a Chinese-American high school student discussing some of the
problems she has experienced in terms of others' treatment of her based on her
Asian appearance and heritage. The final segment presents a Caucasian high school
student who discusses why he feels he experiences reverse discrimination as
a white male.
Relevant Concepts:
attitudes, conflict, prejudice, stereotype
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "How do you think these individuals developed the attitudes that they
expressed?"
2) Ask: "Are the students in the video showing accurate thinking or are they
showing prejudice? Why?"
[Top]
Unit #35: Fostering Cooperation
Begins at approximately: 1:52:40
Summary:
A single segment continues from the Phil Donahue programs seen in Unit 33. Here,
the segment features a program operated by an African-American woman who teaches
high school English. She describes and demonstrates the methods she uses in
her school to help students confront their attitudes and behaviors, and then
take steps to avoid conflicts with people as a result of such attitudes and
behaviors.
Relevant Concepts:
Attitudes, cooperation, conflict, prejudice, stereotype
Suggested Uses:
1) Ask: "Do you think that the method shown in the video is likely to help avoid
conflicts stemming from prejudice? Why or why not?"
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