Solitary Confinement... not cool, especially for teens.

By now you have most likely heard that Albert Woodfox, a man placed in solitary confinement in Angola in 1972 for the killing of a prison guard has been ordered released, but his release is heing blocked by the attorney general of Louisiana, Buddy Caldwell. Albert Woodfox has been held in solitary confinement for over 40 years. Because humans are social animals, it seems highly likely that solitary confinement would have a significant impact on psychological health. You can watch a video and read about Albert Woodfox here.

Solitary confinement is a practice that is also used with incarcerated teens. It may be especially damaging considering the importance of this period for brain maturation. Check out the article in The Atlantic about the impact of Solitary on the Teen Brain.

Whirlwind Tour of the Senses

So, here's an enormous collection of videos and links to better acquaint you with the senses that you've been using all your life.

Hearing:
A nice clear overview and An animation

Smell:
 a little overview and here's another overview and as we all know, some things just go together so check out this smell and taste combined video.


Taste:
A 6 minute mini-documentary, click on "view"
This might drive you out of your mind, but if you have fast processing speed check it out
Really nice, easy to understand overview of taste

The vestibular sense: 

quick and to the point explanation

The Gate control theory of pain:
Before you do anything else, read this short paper

a longish (7 minute) interview, that will help clarify
and finally, a nutty little animation

Have a Vision

So now that you know that your eyes don't really "see" anything, you should get really comfortable and familiar with what your eyes actually do do. Take a look at this excellent overview of human vision. Also take a look at this short clip from NOVA, it covers much of the same material, but from a different perspective.

Take a look at this excellent site that will give you an understanding of how we process what we think of as "color". Make sure you click on all 3 tabs at the top to get the full overview

SPOILER ALERT: Santa Claus isn't real (and neither is astrology, graphology, ESP, ghosts, etc., etc., ad nauseam)

As Clever Hans, my mind reading scam and those fake personality tests showed us, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. And let’s face it, there are all sorts of “extraordinary” claims out there, from people trying to sell weight loss pills without dieting, to psychics claiming that they can communicate with dead loved ones.

Believing in pseudoscientific claims can actually hurt people in many ways; physically, emotionally, financially, and last but not least intellectually. Don’t be a sucker and demand to “see the evidence!”

Take a look at the following videos and respond thoughtfully in the comment section.

It’s kind of long, but if you never saw Billy Nye the Science Guy when you were a kid, you’re gonna love his episode on Pseudoscience.

"Therapeutic Touch" was a theory based on a lot of "woo woo", until a nine year old skeptic decided that she wanted some evidence. Check out John Stossel's report on this whack therapy!

So, how do psychics do it?  Watch Derren Brown's "Science of Scams" episode on psychics. The "reading" lasts until 5:28 and then the explanation takes place thereafter. You'll feel less bad about being a victim of the "Forer Effect"

More Sleep!

It's a cliche to say that we spend at least one-third of our lives asleep, but it's true, which probably explains why it's a cliche. Anyway, check out any or all of the following videos on the sleep cycle. They're all relatively short and the more sources you have the better it'll stick!

"The Sleep Cycle" a slow-moving cartoon, but will help
"The Sleep Cycle", not as slow, but with bizarre choice of music
SUPER SHORT! 30 seconds!!!! Sleep Cycle and more

Guess what? Bad things can happen when you don't get enough sleep! Although there isn't a one among you that has ever fallen asleep in my class, you know it happens. Check out this 4 minute NPR podcast on teens and their sleep deficit. There's also a really good Q & A section on the same topic, give it a once over.

And, finally, what would happen if you stayed up for 8 days straight? Staying up 24 hours straight has the same impact as being totally drunk (legally), so how 'bout 8 days? Find out by watching a little overview of the famous sleep deprivation experiment by Peter Tripp, a dj trying to raise money for a charity. Also check out this creepy little retelling of the experiment, shockingly there's actually more information about what happened to poor Tripp afterwards.

Sleep!

Ainsworth and Harlow: the Importance of the Beginning

 As we discussed in our last meeting, developmental psychology is interested in looking at the relationship between heredity and the environment. One question of enormous interest has been how important is the infant-caregiver bond on later development? What can the quality of that bond tell us about the growth and temperament of the individual?

Two psychologists, Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow were interested in this question and conducted important experiments in order to examine the importance of these early social interactions. Read a brief description of Ainsworth's work and watch footage of her experiment. You may want to skim this article which provides extensive background on Harry Harlow before watching this video, which includes an interview with Harlow and original footage and this one, which is a bit more appalling. 


After watching both experiments, please complete this task. Extra points for typed responses!