Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 4, Number 5, January, 2010

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 4, Number 5, January, 2010

Hello and welcome to the forty-first Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

Happy New Year! Happy New Semester!

We just found a fascinating article in this month’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. E. J. Horberg and Serena Chen, at the University of California, Berkeley, tested the concept of relationship-specific self-worth. This concept is related to both the contingencies of self-worth literature and to the classic notion of conditional positive regard from Carl Rogers. Across three studies, Horberg and Chen found evidence that people can feel good or bad about themselves based on their performance in an area in which a significant other wants them to do well in. This article is the first (that we know of, anyway) to provide evidence for the fascinating dynamic of conditional and unconditional positive regard.

Alas, I was unable to find a summary or press release to link to on Personality Pedagogy, but perhaps you can find the full article through your library:

Horger, E. J. & Chen, S. (2010). Significant Others and Contingencies of Self-Worth: Activation and Consequences of Relationship-Specific Contingencies of Self-Worth. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98 (1), 77–91

Did you happen to catch the new PBS series which premiered this month called This Emotional Life? We’re still talking about it around here. Daniel Gilbert explores what makes us happy, including relationships, positive and negative emotions, and universal traits of happiness. Check out the website (below) where you can see more about the people and stories featured on the series, learn more about the topics mentioned, find information about resources and support organizations, and purchase a DVD (if you didn’t manage to record this for yourself). The section on attachment theory was particularly well done and featured videos of the original Harlow monkey studies. In addition to the parts on attachment, happiness, resilience, and emotions, which are directly relevant to a personality class, other parts of the series relate to abnormal, social, and intro psychology classes.

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues. Remember, you can read old newsletters, comment on newsletters, view the current newsletter or you can even re-read what you missed in last month’s newsletter by checking out our new blog: http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com/  You can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via an RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”) feed as soon as they are posted.

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino@arcadia.edu

1. Why and How to Write APA-Style Citations
The Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology (OTRP) is pleased to
announce the following new resource: ”Why and How to Write APA-Style Citations in the Body and Reference Section of Your Papers (2010)” by
Drew C. Appleby (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis). This
resource is a 35-slide packet (in Microsoft PowerPoint®) that instructors can use to lecture about writing APA-style citations, following guidelines of the 6th edition of The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. In addition, a short file for the instructor provides suggestions for how to use the slides in classes.

2. A Template Paper with Comments for Illustrating the 6th Edition of APA Style (2010)
The Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology (OTRP) is pleased to
announce the following new resource: ”This resource uses a 14-page undergraduate research paper to illustrate many features of the 6th edition of APA style by presenting the paper as a sample for students to emulate. Extensive comments in the margin call attention to the feature being highlighted. The sample paper has more extensive explanations of APA style than the sample papers in the APA Publication Manual and by not overlapping pages, users can read the entire paper’s content”. Written by Jordan Buess and Rick Froman of John Brown University.

3. Few Gender Differences in Math Abilities, Worldwide Study Finds
”Girls around the world are not worse at math than boys, even though boys are more confident in their math abilities, and girls from countries where gender equity is more prevalent are more likely to perform better on mathematics assessment tests”, according to a new meta-analysis of international research by Nicole Else-Quest, summarized here, and published in the January 2010 edition of the “Psychological Bulletin”. From “ScienceDaily,” January 6, 2010.

4. This Emotional Life
From the website: ”A three-part series that explores improving our social relationships, learning to cope with depression and anxiety, and becoming more positive, resilient individuals. Harvard psychologist and best-selling author of ”Stumbling on Happiness”, Professor Daniel Gilbert, talks with experts about the latest science on what makes us ”tick” and how we can find support for the emotional issues we all face. Each episode weaves together the compelling personal stories of ordinary people and the latest scientific research along with revealing comments from celebrities like Chevy Chase, Larry David, Alanis Morissette, Robert Kennedy, Jr., and Richard Gere. The first episode, ”Family, Friends & Lovers”, looks at the importance of relationships and why they are central to our emotional well-being” (including an excellent overview of and current research on Attachment theory). ”In the second episode, ”Facing Our Fears”, we look at emotions that are commonly regarded as obstacles to happiness — such as anger, fear, anxiety, and despair” (includes a discussion of Anger, Depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Stress and Anxiety). ”The last episode, ”Rethinking Happiness”, explores happiness. It is so critical to our well-being, and, yet, it remains such an elusive goal for many of us”
(includes Creativity and Flow, Forgiveness, Happiness, Humor, Meditation, Resilience).

5. Life History Manuscripts from the Folklore Project, WPA Federal Writer’s Project, 1936-1940
From the website: ”These life histories were compiled and transcribed by the staff of the Folklore Project of the Federal Writers’ Project for the U.S. Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration (WPA) from 1936-1940. The Library of Congress collection includes 2,900 documents representing the work of over 300 writers from 24 states. Typically 2,000-15,000 words in length, the documents consist of drafts and revisions, varying in form from narrative to dialogue to report to case history. The histories describe the informant’s family education, income, occupation, political views, religion and mores, medical needs, diet and miscellaneous observations. Pseudonyms are often substituted for individuals and places named in the narrative texts.”

6. Carl Rogers: Overview
Overview of Roger’s theories including a discussion of the 3 essential conditions for a therapeutic relationship and the 10 questions therapists should ask themselves to assure that they are creating a truly helping relationship.

7. Carl Rogers: On Education
From the website: ”Best known for his contribution to client-centered therapy and his role in the development of counseling, Rogers also had much to say about education and group work.”

8. Behavior: Skinner’s Utopia: Panacea, or Path to Hell?
To mark the release of Skinner’s book ”Beyond Freedom and Dignity”, ”Time” magazine presented this overview of Skinner’s life and theory, his controversial book, and what it means for modern society. While some of the references are dated (e.g. President Nixon), the questions raised by both Skinner and his opponents are as relevant as ever for our time. Originally published Monday, Sep. 20, 1971.

9. Skinner’s Teaching Machine of the Future
Skinner himself explains why ‘’studdying by way of a teaching machine is often dramatically effective” in this classic black and white film clip. (runs 4 minutes, 19 seconds; contains Spanish subtitles)

10. Skinner on Reinforcement
An in-depth view of how Skinner trained pigeons to read in this classic film clip. Includes a discussion of schedules of reinforcement, gambling, and his controversial views on free will (runs 3 minutes, 58 seconds).

11. Common Cognitive Distortions
John M. Grohol explains ”What’s a cognitive distortion and why do so many people have them? Cognitive distortions are simply ways that our mind convinces us of something that isn’t really true. These inaccurate thoughts are usually used to reinforce negative thinking or emotions — telling ourselves things that sound rational and accurate, but really only serve to keep us feeling bad about ourselves.” Briefly describes 15 common cognitive distortions including overgeneralizations, jumping to conclusions, catastrophizing, and more.

12. Fixing Cognitive Distortions
John M. Grohol explains, ”Cognitive distortions have a way of playing havoc with our lives. If we let them. This kind of ‘’stinkin’ thinkin”’ can be ”undone,” but it takes effort and lots of practice — every day.” The 8 exercises described here will help readers identify and reverse cognitive errors including thinking in black and white, unrealistic beliefs, and overgeneralizations.

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 4, Number 4, December, 2009

Hello and welcome to the fortieth Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new.

OK, I’ll admit it: I put baking Christmas cookies and visiting family ahead of sending out this newsletter! We’re hoping that you made similar choices, and are enjoying a restful holiday. But if you’re not enjoying the holidays, link #15 below is dedicated to you. When you’re ready to think about your classes in the new year, take a peek at some of the links below.

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues. Remember, you can read old newsletters, comment on newsletters, view the current newsletter or you can even re-read what you missed in last month’s newsletter by checking out our new blog: http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com/  You can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via an RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”) feed as soon as they are posted.

We wish a restful and renewing holiday season and all good things to you and yours in 2010!!

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino@arcadia.edu

1. Psych Elves

Michael Britt, of the Psych Files Podcast, had the temerity to turn these three personality psychologists into Elves. Can you identify them?

2. Evolutionary Psychology: An Interview with David Buss (Part 1)

Psychology teacher Michael Britt created an episode for his podcast, The Psych Files, all about Evolutionary Psychology (Episode 111): Evolutionary Psychology – David Buss Responds to Critics. There has been a lot of criticism of evolutionary psychology lately. How do researchers respond? One of the leading researchers in this field – Dr. David Buss of the University of Texas – responds to these critics in part 1 of this 2-part episode. Find out how he responds to these questions: a) is evolutionary psychology sexist?, b) doesn’t evolutionary psychology just give people the ammunition they need to not take responsibility for themselves? c) theories from evolutionary psychology are not falsifiable, thus it’s not scientific and d) human society is always changing – it hasn’t been stable enough long enough for any human behavior to have evolved. (Originally released December 6, 2009).

3. Evolutionary Psychology: An Interview with David Buss (Part 2)

Psychology teacher Michael Britt created an episode for his podcast, The Psych Files, all about Evolutionary Psychology (Episode 112): David Buss Responds to Critics – Part 2. ”In part 2 of my interview with David Buss, he responds to more criticisms of evolutionary psychology. Here’s what we cover: a) does evolutionary psychology just give criminals another reason not to take responsibility for themselves?, b) is all the research in evolutionary psychology done on American college students?, c) are evolutionary psychology theories falsifiable? We cover such topics as whether women’s mating strategies change depending on where they are in their menstrual cycle? and How does evolutionary psychology might explain homosexuality? and what does evolutionary psychology say about cultural differences in the desire for women with a low waist-hip ratio?” (Originally released December 16, 2009).

4. Correlation and Causation

From the website: ”Looking for examples of correlation and causation? You’ve heard it a million times: correlation doesn’t mean causation. Still need help? Well, here’s a humorous look at this topic that I think drives home the point. The Psych Files “Breaking News” explores whether satisfied workers are more productive and whether living together causes divorce. I hope you enjoy this unique video episode of The Psych Files”. (Originally released November 16, 2009).

5. Narcissism Among Celebrities, on Facebook and in Shakespeare

From the website: ”Are celebrities really more narcissistic than you are? Is your Facebook page telling the world that you are a narcissist? And finally: who is Shakespeare’s most narcissistic character? I’ll give you a hint: the character can be found in Twelfth Night. So if you’re looking for more information about the Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or just everyday narcissism, as well as examples of famous narcissists, you’ll find it in this in this episode of The Psych Files”. (Originally released November 22, 2009).

6. Love and Envy Linked by the Same Hormone: Oxytocin

The hormone oxytocin, the “love hormone,” which affects behaviors such as trust, empathy and generosity, also affects opposite behaviors, such as jealousy and gloating. “Subsequent to these findings, we assume that the hormone is an overall trigger for social sentiments: when the person’s association is positive, oxytocin bolsters pro-social behaviors; when the association is negative, the hormone increases negative sentiments,” explains Simone Shamay-Tsoory at the University of Haifa. This summary, from ScienceDaily, November 13, 2009.

7. Males Have More Personality?

”Males have more pronounced personalities than females across a range of species — from humans to house sparrows — according to new research. [I]n most species males show more consistent, predictable behaviours, particularly in relation to parental care, aggression and risk-taking. Females, on the other hand, are more likely to vary their behaviour”, according to this summary from ScienceDaily, November 19, 2009.

8. The Introvert’s Corner: How to live a quiet life in a noisy world

Writer Sophia Dembling writes this blog filled with personal experiences, interviews with experts, and helpful suggestions about living as an introvert. Recent entries include: standing up for rights, surviving parties, friendships and more. Excellent way for extroverts to understand how the other half lives; good advice and insights for introverts.

9. Antidepressants Can Change Personalities

”Taking an antidepressant can lead to significant personality changes, likely for the better, a new study finds. The study looked at the effects of taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are widely used to treat depression today, and found that those who took these antidepressants experienced more positive emotions, were more outgoing and more emotionally stable in the long-term. “Our findings lead us to propose a new model of antidepressant mechanism,” said Tony Z. Tang of Northwestern University in Chicago. “Our data suggests that modern antidepressants work partly by correcting key personality risk factors of depression”” according to this summary in Live Science, December 7, 2009.

10. 7 Thoughts That Are Bad For You

These 7 thoughts, or ways of thinking such as cynicism, lack of meaning, anxiety, lack of self-control, etc., reflect our personalities, affect how we cope with everyday life, and may be bad for our health and well-being in the long run.

11. fMRI techniques: Validity and Reliability Questioned

New findings raise questions about reliability of fMRI as gauge of neural activity in this article by Laura Sanders from Science News, December 19th, 2009; Vol.176 #13 (p. 16).

12. Bowing to Body Clocks, N.B.A. Teams Sleep In

Three basketball teams, the Boston Celtics, the San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers have dropped the traditional early morning shoot-around in favor of research on body clocks which suggests that a better night’s sleep will help players more than an additional practice the morning after a big game. By Howard Beck, New York Times, December 19, 2009. (Remember that access to articles in the New York Times is free but you need to register first by setting up an account).

13. Hourly Employees Happier Than Salaried

”People paid by the hour exhibit a stronger relationship between income and happiness”, according to a study published in the current issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (PSPB), summarized in this article from Medical News Today, December 14, 2009.

14. Physical Activity Reduces Disease-Related Fatigue And Depression By Increasing Self-Efficacy

”Researchers in the US studying people with chronic diseases found that physical activity may reduce depression and fatigue by increasing self-efficacy, or the belief that one can master physical goals and attain a sense of accomplishment from applying oneself” according to this summary in Medical News Today, December 16, 2009.

15. 9 Holiday Depression Busters

Time-tested ways to cope with the flurry of the holiday season. Brought to you by BeliefNet writer Therese J. Borchard.

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 4, Number 3, November, 2009

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 4, Number 3, November, 2009

Hello and welcome to the thirty-ninth Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

What’s new this month? Lots!!

Did you know that elders who go online show increased brain function and less depression than elders who do not use the internet to learn about new things, reminisce, play games, and connect with family and friends? You can read the whole article here: http://tinyurl.com/yh7pgo2

Are your students looking for a study abroad internship experience in psychology? AIDE, a not-for-profit organization which provides international internships and volunteer experiences, is offering a special 2-for-1 discount on deposits until November 30. Check it out: http://www.aideabroad.org/index.asp

Do you teach other classes in psychology? The Society for the Teaching of Psychology, Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology, just debuted a wiki for the Teaching of Psychology (http://teachpsych.pbworks.com/). Here’s your chance to jump in to the wonderful world of wikis!

Are you familiar with Discovery Education? A division of Discovery Communications, i.e., they of the TV and magazine, designed a series of lesson plans for the k-12 classroom (but which can be easily beefed up for an intro-level college course). Though they seem to have many topics except for psychology (language arts, history, astronomy, ecology, economics, fine arts, biology, literature, mathematics and more) we found some gems for genetics, evolution and even Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams hidden in these pages. Check them out via the links below.

Do you own the ill-fated 6th edition of the APA manual? We have word from Ted Bosack (via the PsychTeacher listserv) about the APA Manual exchange program:

”The leadership of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA, Division 2) wants to be sure that as many of its members as possible are aware of APA’s decision to replace copies of the recently published Publication Manual revision that contained a number of errors and inconsistencies. APA will replace these purchased manuals with corrected copies. However, there are a number of requirements that must be met prior to a December 15, 2009, deadline if purchasers are to receive a replacement copy. These requirements are as follows:

APA has agreed to replace copies of the Publication Manual (1st printing). If
you wish to take advantage of this opportunity, you must follow these steps:
* Call 1-800-374-2721, ext. 5510 between 9:00 and 6:00 EST.
* State your desire to exchange your manual for a new printing and be
prepared to answer some questions.
* You will get an e-mail with an instruction sheet and pre-paid mailing label to
send your old manual back.
* REMEMBER, THE DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 15!!

These requirements are also detailed on the STP Web site at
http://teachpsych.org/news/news.php ”

Of course, if you’re fed up with the manual and the entire brouhaha, then check out the first link to a free, online, APA style sheet for the current (2009) style guidelines.

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues. Remember, you can read old newsletters, comment on newsletters, view the current newsletter or you can even re-read what you missed in last month’s newsletter by checking out our new blog: http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com/ You can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via an RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”) feed as soon as they are posted.

I, personally, am very thankful for the community of teachers which have helped me with my teaching throughout the years and especially to the readers and subscribers who support Personality Pedagogy. We wish a bountiful and restful Thanksgiving holiday to you all!!

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino@arcadia.edu

1. Free APA Style Sheet

From the website: ”APA Lite for College Papers” is a concise guide to crafting research papers in the style of the American Psychological Association (APA). It is based on the current edition of the APA Publication Manual (2009) while incorporating guidelines for ”Material Other Than Journal Articles” found in the last edition. Specifically covers writing scientific papers at the undergraduate level.

2. OTRP Teaching of Psychology Wiki

The Society for the Teaching of Psychology, Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology, just debuted this wiki. Wiki-Master Sue Frantz, Highline Community College, Des Moines, WA, explains: ”This brand new resource is completely dependent on you to build it. In the spirit of reciprocity, we ask that if you take something, you leave something. To be able to write to this wiki, you will need to request access from the Wiki-Master.”

3. Statistics Glossary

The STEPS (STatistical Education through Problem Solving) consortium has developed problem-based modules to support the teaching of Statistics in various fields including Psychology. As part of their online support, Valerie J. Easton and John H. McColl maintain this statistics glossary for all of the terms covered in a basic course. The glossary is arranged alphabetically or organized around key topics including presenting data, sampling, probability, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, categorical data, nonparametric methods, time series data, design of experiments, ANOVA, paired data, correlation, regression, and random variables and probability distributions

4. Psychobiography

This website, maintained by William Todd Schultz, Pacific University Oregon, describes psychobiography (the application of psychological theory and research to individual lives of historical importance), the influential people in the field, an annotated bibliography and lots more.

5. Nova: Stem Cell Breakthrough

Three separate teams overcome a biomedical hurdle—creating stem cells without the use of human embryos. Learn about their research here and much more about stem cells including related science news, links and books, transcript, and a teacher’s guide The program, 13 minutes and 39 seconds long, originally aired on PBS July 23, 2008 and is available in closed captioning. Click through to the teacher’s guide for a shortened version 5 minutes and 16 seconds long.

6. A Dream Interpretation: Tuneups for the Brain

A new theory suggests that dreams are a warm-up for the day ahead. In a paper published last month in the journal ”Nature Reviews Neuroscience”, Dr. J. Allan Hobson, a psychiatrist and longtime sleep researcher at Harvard, argues that the main function of rapid-eye-movement sleep, or REM, when most dreaming occurs, is physiological. Read all about his research in this ”New York Times” article by Benedict Carey, from November 10, 2009. (Remember that access to the New York Times is free, but you may need to sign up for a free account).

7. Henry Murray: 20 Needs

Summarizes Henry Murray’s theory of needs and describes the original 20 needs he wrote about including nAchievement, nPower, and nAffiliation.

8. Otto Rank (1914). The Myth of the Birth of the Hero. New York: Vintage.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/mbh/index.htm

The full-text version of his book is available from this website: ”In this study Rank looks at a a wide variety of Eurasian hero birth narratives, including Greek, Roman, Judeo-Christian, Indian, and Germanic legendary figures. He uses the methodology and vocabulary of classic Freudian psychoanalysis to do so. The middle part of this book, where Rank enumerates some of these tales, will be the most useful for modern readers, as he draws on a wide range of sources, some of them fairly obscure. In the last part he puts these myths ‘on the couch’ as it were, and ties up his thesis very coherently.”

9. Dr. Matthew Fox: The Stanford Lectures: An Immersion in Creation Spirituality
What is the Creation Spirituality lineage and Why does it strike fear in the hearts of Inquisitors and Fundamentalists? What does it mean to be Spiritual and adult in the 21st century? What is the future of spirituality, religion and interfaith in our time? Fox answers these questions is a series of videos, using the theories of Otto Rank, ”the youngest and the most brilliant” of Freud’s students:

a) Otto Rank Overview of his theory (9 minutes, 57 seconds)

b) Otto Rank on Art (6 minutes, 50 seconds)

10. Genetic Screening: Ethical issues

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, London, prepared this report to encourage debate about the ethical issues raised by research on genes associated with psychological and behavioral traits. Read their report, reviews of the evidence, and other materials here.

11. An interview with Dr. Klaus-Peter Lesch

From the website: ”In-cites talks with Dr. Klaus-Peter Lesch about his paper, “Association of anxiety-related traits with a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region,” (Science 274[5292]: 1527-31, 29 November 1996), as well as his related research. This paper has been named a Highly Cited Paper in the field of Neuroscience & Behavior by  Essential Science Indicators, and currently has a total of 1,160 citations to its credit.” Includes a summary of the paper and a description of his current work.

12. Human Genome Project
http://genomics.energy.gov/
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/education/education.shtml

Find information about the Human Genome Project including project facts; educational materials; medicine and the new genetics; and ethical, legal and social issues. The second link brings you to resources for teachers.

13. Lesson Plan: Evolution

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on Evolution, students will: demonstrate an understanding of the theory of evolution, study how the theory of evolution has been received by society over time and consider why it has been so controversial and compare the theory of evolution to other ideas about how different life forms emerged and assess which ideas should be taught in science class.

14. Lesson Plan: The Interpretation of Dreams

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, students will understand that Freud argued that our dreams contain clues to our hopes, fears, and fantasies and that Freud claimed that developments in our childhood affect the way we act and the kinds of dreams we have.

15. Lesson Plan: Genetics

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on Genetics, student will: Describe the technologies make that make genetic manipulation possible, identify situations in which genetic manipulation could solve a problem and debate the positive or negative arguments of the ethical issues surrounding the use of genetic manipulation.

16. Lesson Plan: Understanding the Power of Genes

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on genetics students will discuss new scientific information about genes; consider how that information is changing thoughts about human behavior and scientific research; and write essays about how information about genetics affects private homes, the research laboratory, and hospitals and clinics.

17. Lesson Plan: Genetic Engineering

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on genetics students will: discover ethical issues surrounding the practice of genetic engineering in reproductive medicine; and understand key terms and concepts related to the science of genetic engineering.

18. Lesson Plan: Nature versus Nurture

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson, students will learn that environment can influence some personality traits, while others are genetic; understand that the most effective way to study the concept of nature versus nurture is by conducting research with identical and fraternal twins reared separately and together; and discover that the issues of nature versus nurture are still debated in the scientific community.

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 4, Number 2, October, 2009

Hello and welcome to the thirty-eighth Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

What’s new this month? Well, it would be hard to top last month’s issue between the lost book of Carl Jung, the 100th anniversary of Freud’s visit to America, and the fMRI of the dead salmon. But just in case you missed these, the big news this month is that you can read old newsletters, comment on newsletters, view the current newsletter or you can even re-read what you missed in last month’s newsletter by checking out our new blog: http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com/ You can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via an RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”) feed as soon as they are posted.

In other news, have you ever wondered what happened to Little Albert, the baby who was conditioned by John Watson to fear a white laboratory rat? Well, psychologist Hall P. Beck does some sleuthing and discovers who psychology’s most famous research participant actually was.

In old news, the updated 6th edition of the APA style manual which came out over the summer is riddled with errors and typos . . . and many corrections have been issued, including an unprecedented reprinting of the entire manual!

If you’re new to all the fuss, our links below should help you straighten things out. The corrections include four pages of “nonsignificant typographical errors” and five pages correcting errors in content and problems with sample papers in the book. The APA also released four corrected sample papers in their entireties.

And, according to John Foubert who started a Facebook group called Boycott the APA Manual 6th edition, “I have just received word that After November 2, call APA at 1-800-374-2721, ext. 5510. Ask for instructions on how to go on-line and print a mailing label you can use to return your copy and receive a corrected copy. I don’t know for sure that this will work, but it sounds as though we may have won a victory.”

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues. We hope you get many treats (a new style manual perhaps?) and not too many tricks (typos) this month!

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino@arcadia.edu

1. APA Manual Corrections: Overview of corrections (opens in PDF format)

Corrections to the First Printing of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition (July 2009). “Corrections to the first printing of the manual have been organized into four categories in an effort to group like changes together: Errors in APA Style Rules, Errors in Examples, Clarifications, and Nonsignificant Typos. In the first three categories, each correction is followed by a brief explanation of the change that directs users to the relevant APA Style rule or section in the manual to provide context. Items in the fourth category, Nonsignificant Typos, are simply listed with no explanation, as the majority of these have no direct APA Style implications.” Also includes links to the corrected sample papers.

2. Little Albert: Lost and Found

http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2009/10/little_albert_lost_.html

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/64/7/605/

Have you ever wondered what happened to Little Albert, the baby who was conditioned by John Watson to fear a white laboratory rat? Well, psychologist Hall P. Beck does some sleuthing and discovers who psychology’s most famous research participant was and writes about his experience in the American Psychologist, Volume 64(7), October 2009, 605-614. (The first link summarizes his findings, the second directs you to the published PDF version of his paper).

3. Understanding the Anxious Mind

Writer Robin Marantz Henig describes the research of Jerome Kagan and his colleagues who “put the assumptions about innate temperament on firmer footing, and they have also demonstrated that some of us, like Baby 19, are born anxious — or, more accurately, born predisposed to be anxious… babies differ according to inborn temperament; that 15 to 20 percent of them will react strongly to novel people or situations; and that strongly reactive babies are more likely to grow up to be anxious.” in this article from the New York Times Magazine, published September 9, 2009.

4. All about Projection

Psychology teacher Michael Britt created an episode for his podcast called The Psych Files which about projection: “How do the Rorschach, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the House, Tree, Person tests work? Do you reveal something about yourself when you tell stories about pictures or tell what you see in an inkblot or even when you do something as seemingly innocent as drawing a picture of a house? In this episode I try to answer these questions as well as show you how a wonderful poem called How It Will End by Denise Duhamel could be an excellent example of psychology in everyday life.”

5. How to Give a Good Talk in Psychology or Other Sciences

Kevin Grobman, “wrote the following advice primarily to help psychology graduate students improve their talks at a conference, pro-sem, or brown-bag. By speaking to lots of graduate students (and recently being one myself), I felt the most important areas to cover are developing self-confidence and knowing how to target a particular audience. Most of this advice is applicable to other speakers (e.g., undergraduates), other fields (e.g., business, physical sciences), and other medium (e.g., poster presentations).” Also includes links for a PDF file version of this essay and the 40-minute slide presentation which inspired it.

6. Resilient Kids Learn Better

“Embed lessons on optimism, assertiveness and flexibility into class instruction and you’ll improve a child’s outlook on life, curb his likelihood for depression and boost his grades, according to new research presented at APA’s Annual Convention by University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin E.P. Seligman, PhD.” according to Amy Novotney, in an article in this month’s APA Monitor on Psychology, 40(9), 32. October, 2009.

7. Epigenetics: DNA Isn’t the Whole Story

“Most people see DNA as the most significant factor in genetics, but when it comes to behavioral differences—even those as complex as mothers’ affection—researchers say we shouldn’t overlook other biochemical factors. Biologists have recently begun looking harder at epigenetics—the chemical modification to DNA that can change genes’ activity—to explain things that basic DNA transcription can’t. This year’s Neal E. Miller lecturer, Michael Meaney, PhD, explained why it’s important to psychology at APA’s 2009 Annual Convention” according to Michael Price, in an article in this month’s APA Monitor on Psychology, 40(9), 34. October, 2009.

8. All Mixed Up

“Madeline H. Wyndzen, Ph. D., a transgendered professor of psychology, discusses her personal experiences with gender dysphoria and critiques the mental illness model of “gender identity disorder” on this page called “All mixed up: A transgendered psychology professor’s perspective on life,the psychology of gender, and gender identity disorder.” Includes links to background information on transgenderism and the psychology of transgenderism, a revision of her autobiography, essays on living a transgendered life, and a discussion of transgenderism in society.

9. Resilience as a Life Skill

Writer and educator Sherri Fisher summarizes important findings from recent studies on resilience that “predict resilience and recovery from high-risk childhood, and success as adults.”

10. What Makes Us Happy?

Joshua Wolf Shenk writes: “Is there a formula—some mix of love, work, and psychological adaptation—for a good life? For 72 years, researchers at Harvard have been examining this question, following 268 men who entered college in the late 1930s through war, career, marriage and divorce, parenthood and grandparenthood, and old age. Here, for the first time, a journalist gains access to the archive of one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies in history. Its contents, as much literature as science, offer profound insight into the human condition—and into the brilliant, complex mind of the study’s longtime director, George Vaillant.” From the Atlantic Magazine, June 2009.

11. Overview of Adult Attachment Theory and Research

http://www.psych.uiuc.edu/~rcfraley/attachment.htm

From the website: “Research on adult attachment is guided by the assumption that the same motivational system that gives rise to the close emotional bond between parents and their children is responsible for the bond that develops between adults in emotionally intimate relationships. The objective of this essay is to provide people who are new to the field–or people who may simply be interested in learning more about research on adult attachment–a brief overview of the history of adult attachment research, the key theoretical ideas, and a sampling of some of the research findings.”

12. R. Chris Fraley: Research

Visit this page to learn about the research of Chris Fraley on attachment theory and close relationships, personality organization, dynamics, and development, Social cognition and affect regulation, evolutionary psychology, and dynamic modeling, simulation, and psychological methods. Includes links to sleeted publications in PDF format.

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 4, Number 1, Sept, 2009

Hello and welcome to the thirty-seventh Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new.

We have lots of news to share with you this month: A birthday, an anniversary, a lost-and-found book by a famous personality psychologist, and a dead salmon.

First, the birthday: The Personality Pedagogy Newsletter turns 3 years old this month. The site was unofficially launched in June of 2006 and our first newsletter came out that September. Since then, we’ve grown close to 200 subscribers with the number of hits — and links — on the site steadily increasing. Thanks to all of you: our loyal readers and visitors!!

Second, the anniversary: Do you know what famous personality psychologist made his first and only visit to the United States (the country he called a ”gigantic mistake”) 100 years ago this month? Check out the links below for the answer.

Third, the book: Can you imagine a 100-year old book, thick cream-colored parchment, bound in red leather, with ”Liber Novus” (New Book) etched in gold on the cover, filled with paintings of otherworldly creatures and handwritten dialogs with gods and devils? Though it looks like a medieval tome, it was actually written by none other than Carl Jung. After being locked in a Swiss bank vault for years, the book will be published in facsimile form and will be on public display.

What was so dangerous about this book that moved Jung’s family to keep it locked away? According to the New York Times article: ”In 1913, Jung, who was then 38, got lost in the soup of his own psyche. He was haunted by troubling visions and heard inner voices. Grappling with the horror of some of what he saw, he worried in moments that he was, in his own words, ”menaced by a psychosis” or ”doing a schizophrenia”.” This book describes his ”confrontation with the unconscious” in uncensored, and at times, unflattering honesty. Imagine a trip into the unconscious with Carl Jung as your personal guide. . .

Those of you in the New York area should definitely try to see the book. It will be on display until the end of January at the Rubin Museum of Art, in conjunction with an exhibit and special events on mandalas.

And if that’s not all, before you get too excited at the recent news articles that claim to have located a shopping or an empathy center in the brain, see why fMRI studies are problematic and should be interpreted with caution. A team of researchers vividly illustrate the problem of not correcting for chance properly in fMRI studies by finding that parts of the brain of a dead salmon (!) responded to human emotion.

As you can see, this month’s newsletter proves once again that truth is stranger than fiction! As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues. We wish you a happy fall season!

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino “at” arcadia “dot” edu

1. The Holy Grail of the Unconscious

At the age of 38, Carl Jung was haunted by troubling visions and inner voices. Afraid that he was being ”menaced by a psychosis” or ”doing a schizophrenia” he describes his ”confrontation with the unconscious” in this recently discovered book. This article from the ”New York Times Magazine,” September 16, 2009, by Sara Corbett describes the book and the fascinating background story of how the book was lost and then recently found. Includes photos of some of the original hand drawings by Carl Jung.

2. Rubin Museum

The Rubin Museum, 150 West 17th Street, New York, NY, which specializes in Himalayan Art, will have Jung’s book on display until the end of January. They also feature a special exhibit on mandalas, including a film series, during this time.

3. Psychoanalysis, American Style

Psychologist and History of Psychology expert Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr. explains the significance of Sigmund Freud’s first visit to America 100 years ago, in this article written for the APA Monitor on Psychology, Volume 40(8), September 2009.

4. Wiki quotes

We usually avoid the obvious sources (e.g., Wikipedia, About.com, and the like) but we couldn’t resist this fun page of the quotes of Sigmund Freud from Wikiquote.org, a subdivision of Wikipedia. This page includes quotes and sources as well as some misattributed quotes of Freud.

5. Dead Salmon’s Brain Activity Cautions fMRI Researchers

A shopping center or an empathy center in the brain? See why fMRI studies are problematic and should be interpreted with caution. A team of researchers vividly illustrate the problem of not correcting for chance properly in fMRI studies by finding that parts of the brain of a dead salmon responds to human emotion. See also the Story Behind the Salmon here and the pdf of the study here.

6. Data Visualization Tools and Videos

The Social Psychology Network (an excellent site, if you’re not already familiar with it) features these ”links to web videos that dramatically illustrate why statistics are worth studying and how ”data animation” is being used to address problems such as climate change, global poverty, and the spread of HIV. Inspiring, informative, and highly recommended for teachers, students, and anyone who analyzes statistical data” according to founder and webmaster Scot Plous, Wesleyan University.

7. Sigmund Freud Online Activities

National Museum of Science and Industry, in the UK, sponsors this amazing website on Making the Modern World, including learning modules on all sorts of topics. One in particular, on Measuring the Unmeasurable, ”aims to take the user through various aspects of psychiatry and the study of mental illness. It looks at the treatment, diagnosis and methods used in psychiatry as well as the investigation of mental illness from a historical and socio-cultural perspective.” This module includes 4 pages on Sigmund Freud: Freud and Psychoanalysis, Freud’s concept of the Personality, Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, and Freudian Techniques of psychoanalysis. The module on Psychoanalysis includes online activities on dream analysis, the Word Association Test, and Ink Blot Generator.

8. Delay of Gratification

A modern twist on the classic Marshmallow test. See children successfully and unsuccessful delay gratification in this clip. Embedded in a presentation on Temptation, the test itself starts at about 45 seconds and lasts just over 4 minutes.

9. Cultural Influences on Personality: Taboo

The National Geographic series Taboo ”explores rituals and customs that are acceptable in some cultures but forbidden, illegal, or reviled in others.” The site features videos, photos, and an interactive game ”How taboo are you?”

10. George H. Mead

George Herbert Mead (1934) ”Mind Self and Society from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist” (Edited by Charles W. Morris). Chicago: University of Chicago.

11. Gender: Digit ratio

Exercise sheet for determining digit ratio. From James W. Pennebaker and Samuel D. Gosling’s Introductory Psychology class at the University of Texas. Digit ratio is affected by prenatal androgens, and may be related to various personalty traits including sexual orientation.

12. The Newcastle Personality Assessor (NPA)

David Nettle, writing for ”The Guardian”, March 7, 2009, describes the Five factor model and presents The Newcastle Personality Assessor (NPA), a 10-item measure of the traits of extroversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness. Scoring instructions and interpretation are provided.