If you are a PSYCH 256 student you will need to get started by logging into the blog page by clicking “Log in” at the top of this page. Once you log in, you can start creating your blog entries and comments in the blog here.
The purpose of the blog is to allow students to write about the course concepts as they observe those concepts in real life. Sort of like a personal news story. The trick is to start thinking like a cognitive psychologist; seeing the theories and concepts in action.
While the blog is less formal than term papers or other similar assignments, remember that you are writing for an audience (classmates, instructor, visitors, etc.) so you will want to have strong logic, grammar, spelling, formatting, etc. in addition to strong ideas/content. You are highly encouraged to bring in graphics and outside links so that your readers can learn more about the ideas that you are presenting.
Again, while the blog is less formal, remember to properly cite, quote, paraphrase and reference. Here are a few good resources to make sure that you have the right tools to do so:
1. Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) APA website. It has a lot of good information on how to cite and reference properly in addition to general APA format. In particular click on the “Reference List” and “In-text Citations” links.
2. The Penn State Libraries Plagiarism and You website which offers a lot of great how-to-avoid plagiarism information as well as tips on how to paraphrase and cite properly. Remember, it is not enough to cite or reference alone – you also need to paraphrase or quote.
3. Another good resource is Grinnell College’s tutorial on The Importance of Citation regarding proper quoting, citing, paraphrasing, and referencing are important.
4. Indiana University’s Writing Tutorial Services pamphlet for creating a good thesis for written assignments.
Once you have your blog space and have reviewed the above information, you can start posting in the blog by hovering the mouse over ‘+ New’ at the top of the page. Select ‘Post’ and start editing your post. Don’t forget to choose a category when you post as that helps organize the blog for people who are interested in learning more about a topic (there are categories corresponding to each lesson – you can find them on the right side of the page – you might need to scroll down a bit). Also, don’t forget to add some tags and keywords (typically the theories or concepts you are discussing) to help people search on more specific topics (these can be added below the category).
Everyone is required to behave in a professional and friendly manner. The blog administrator reserves the right to remove spam and/or derogatory comments. Everyone is also encouraged to put social media buttons in their posts (such as a Twitter button) to help share your information.
If you have any questions, please contact: Josh Wede at jwede@psu.edu
This is quite an interesting reading, given that it is not often that people write about their pet pigs and how they made the decision to keep pigs as pets. In fact only a small population among American households have pets as pigs, and often there is no common activities among them. It is unlike dog owners, or horse breeders who often have dog shows and horse races for major common events. So the question that comes back to this topic is why own a pig, when you can own a dog or a cat? Even bird ownership seems more common among people who are not too hard on keeping a pet in a cage.
From a psychological perspective, I think that people in general, and American’s in particular do not own pigs as pets because it constitutes part of their regular food menu. Again, this is only my perception because I know that in some parts of Asia, dogs and cats are not seen as pets but as part of livestock that they eat. Would you not agree therefore that keeping an animal that one also considers to be food, can make it difficult to see the logic of a pig as a pet? Hopefully you can provide some insights into how you can deal with such a dilemma.
Wow. That was a interesting read. I thought that was very creative and bold of you to decide you wanted a pig. I know several people that don’t want to have the traditional cat or dog as a pet. They have interesting pets as well. My friends own scorpions, pigs, anacondas and other animals that you might see on Discovery Channel. I love people that try different things. I’m a big curious about a few things though. You mentioned how intelligent pigs are, were you able to potty train or even teach the pig tricks yourself? How old is the pig now and how much does it weigh ? When it becomes a adult I’m sure you have a decision to make because it’s not going to be as cute as it once was but a beast of it’s own. Would you decided to keep it?
Similarities between Humans and Pigs
By Kim Echols
After a tiresome three year search for the perfect canine companion for my family ended in failure, I decided to explore other options. I stumbled upon the possibility of having a pig as a pet while watching television with my husband one night. I immediately fell in love with the thought of having an adorable pet mini pig. My husband on the other hand was not as easily convinced. After weeks of begging and pleading, my husband finally agreed to consider the pet mini pig only if I could provide him with detailed information in regards to the precious little piggy. Throughout the course of my research I found out several interesting facts about pigs including various similarities they share with humans.
Many individuals already know that pigs and humans share certain physiological and anatomical similarities when it comes to certain organs such as skin, the brain and also the heart. Medical professionals have used pig skin to replace human skin when performing skin grafts and pig heart valves to replace human heart valves. As far as similarities between the brains of the two species, we know that they are comparable in myelination, growth and development. When you take into consideration the similarities between the two species, the idea of pigs and humans having similar psychological characteristics seems less farfetched.
For this reason, experts from Newcastle University decided to test their theory that pigs and humans share emotional characteristics. They tested their theory by providing two different lifestyles for the pigs in their experiment. One group was pampered with many toys and straw to graze and also given a large living space. The second group lived in smaller living quarters with no straw and only one non interactive toy. Dr. Catherine Douglas and her team decided that the pigs should be able to tell them whether they felt optimistic or pessimistic in regards to their living arrangements. They then decided to teach the pigs to associate a note on the glockenspiel with a treat (an apple) and the sound of a dog training “clicker” with something unpleasant (a plastic bag). The team then played a completely different noise (a squeak) and the pigs that were subjected to the better environment were optimistic of what the new noise could mean and approached looking for a treat. The pigs that were subjected to the less desirable environment showed signs of pessimism and did not approach looking for a treat; instead they stayed back associating the noise with the unpleasant plastic bag.
Dr. Douglas had the welfare of farm animals in mind when she conducted this experiment and used settings that could easily be mimicked on commercial farms. Research such as this has influenced the treatment of pigs in farm settings and also lab settings, creating a better environment for pigs and also a healthier test subject. Findings such as these are very beneficial to science, pigs and also humans. I found this to be quite interesting and have since discussed this experiment as well as pigs and their likeness to humans with my peers. Pigs are also very intelligent animals that can be taught tricks. They can also play simple video games!
For my efforts, my husband awarded me with a mini pig of my very own. He was quite impressed with my research findings. His name is Earl and from my own observations I can say that he is the most intelligent pet that I have ever owned. He is also very loving and reminds me a lot of my daughters when they were of toddler age. Now it’s time to convince my husband that Earl needs a playmate.
Works Cited:
1. Wilkinson, Tom. “Pigs exhibit complex emotions, claims study.” Independent [United Kingdom] 28 07 2010, Web. 19 Sep. 2013. <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/pigs-exhibit-complex-emotions-claims-study-2037318.html
2. Angier, Natalie. "Pigs Prove to Be Smart, if Not Vain." New York Times [New York, New York] 09 11 2009, New York D1. Web. 19 Sep. 2013. .