It’s common sense! I think of myself as a pretty smart individual yet I tend to over-analyze things every day from math problems in my stats class to how my co-worker hasn’t talked to me as much as usual. “She must be upset at me!”  In our lesson commentary for the chapter on problem solving, our professor gives us the nine dot problem to try and solve. I racked my brain to do so and after much frustration I gave up and continued to read on the lesson and of course, I over analyzed and over thought the situation and didn’t realize the obvious, “Go outside the “box.” If I would have been told to, I would have easily figured out the problem.  Ironically, not thinking outside of the box is what is usually my problem in my everyday life and honestly, causes me to stress myself out when I really do not need to. This was my huge problem in statistics. I started my class believing it was going to be Einstein complicated therefore, something as simple as the Sum of Squares became unsolvable to me. Aren’t EX2 and E(X2) and (EX)2 the same thing!? After tutor help, it became so obvious and simple that I laughed at myself for making something so complicated when it was so simple. The Nine Dot problem showed me that I still haven’t learned my lesson and need to take a step back, breathe in, breathe out, and evaluate everything in the most simple terms. I hope to be able to master this soon because I do not want to be more stressed out than I need to be! Problem solving doesn’t have to be so complicated!

During this week I have gotten introduced to this game called flow. The object of the game is to fill an entire board with pipe to solve the puzzle. You do so by connecting matching colors. If you try to overlap pipe it will break the connection that already exist. It sounds really easy and while some boards do present themselves as fairly easy some boards are also really hard to solve. I have found the game to be very addicting and I enjoy trying to solve the puzzles.

While playing this game I am reminded of the chapter on problem solving. While I am not doing something really similar to the acrobat problem or the tower of Hanoi problem this game does require you to use problem solving strategies to complete one board and advance to the next level.

What I enjoy most in playing this game is getting a perfect score on a particular board. Every board has a certain amount of moves it can be completed in at a minimum. However there is no limit on how many moves you can take. I have managed to solve 149/150 of the 296 puzzles with perfect scores so far. Hopefully by the end of the holiday I will have completed the 900 I have access to.

I must admit, I was very skeptical in accepting the idea of false memories being created. But here I was reading about this very thing in my cognitive psychology course. It seems a bit odd to major in psychology and be exposed to various theories, experiments (with personal participation in some), and supporting data, that I would remain a skeptic, but that is exactly what occurred. I wondered, how is it possible for an entire story to be produced with just a nudging from someone else’s account or through altered family photos? Although I remained doubtful, over the past week I discovered that not only was this a real concept, but it can actually happen at any given time and aid in curbing unhealthy behaviors.

With recent influx of dietary plans, fitness equipment, videos, supplements, and various “lose weight” schemes on the market, it is obvious that obesity is problematic for our society. Although optimum health and fitness is desired, it’s not always easy to get rid of bad habits. The multiple health clubs and new “breakthrough” programs abound for this very reason and many of us fall into the same trap only to remain the same. And while this may seems like a hopeless cycle, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. Wilson (2013) shared an experiment from leading cognitive psychologist, Elizabeth Loftus, which attempted to influence unhealthy eating habits (online). She desired to see if pairing of a negative childhood experience with an unhealthy food would alter eating habits as an adult (Wilson, 2013, online). To test this, participants were given a false memory in which they believed strawberry ice cream made them sick as children (Wilson, 2013, online). The findings from the study a week later was eye-opening:

…researchers asked about the ice cream incident. Many participants had developed a detailed memory — what Loftus calls a “rich false memory” — about when they had gotten sick. Subsequent studies showed this memory affected the participant’s actual eating behavior. (Wilson, 2013, online)

This seems to suggest that such methods would help the fight against obesity and perhaps discourage unhealthy eating habits. However, it would not be without its critics. In the same article, Harvard Professor Daniel Schacter, admonished such an act saying that it would be ‘playing around’ with one’s mind, instead of “trying to understand what’s going on in our memories” (Wilson, 2013, online).

Although planting false memories may not be the way to go, it does show how malleable memory can be and how certain behaviors can be altered with a little nudging. It’s absolutely amazing how the mind works and it seems we are just discovering how vastly complex it truly is.

References:

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (n.d.). PSYCH 256 Lesson 9: Everyday memory and memory errors. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa14/psych 256/001/content/10_lesson/printlesson.html

Wilson, J. (2013, May 18). Trust your memory? maybe you shouldn’t. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/18/health/lifeswork-loftus-memory-malleability/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

In the United States, 21% of school-age children (ages 5-17) speak a language other than English at home. (Hanen) When I was that age, I was included in that statistic. Friends have always asked me why my older sister has an accent and doesn’t speak English as well as I do. I never really knew what to say. My family is a first generation immigrant. I was born in Afghanistan but moved to Germany at age 2. My siblings and I grew up speaking Dari (our native language) and German. My family and I moved to the US when I was 10. All my siblings and I had to learn how to speak English. Learning a new language after the age of three years old is called Sequential Acquisition. (Hanen) By age 12 I spoke 3 languages fluently. According to the NALDIC (National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum), sequential bilingual learners don’t start speaking a 2^nd language at the time of birth but afterward which allows them to be able to use different learning strategies. For some adult, the thought of learning a 2^nd language difficult to swallow but what about children? What is happening in a child’s brain while they are learning a 2^nd language?

The two most important “language areas” of the brain include Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. According to the research on brain activity (Washington), people who learned a 2^nd language at an early stage in life where showed using overlapping regions of Broca’s and Wernicke’s area when speaking both languages. People who acquired a 2^nd language as adults also used overlapping regions of Wernicke’s area but used different adjacent regions of Broca’s area when using different languages. “Some studies have also suggested that late bilinguals are more likely to use the same cortical areas for understanding what the words mean (Wernicke’s) but different areas for grammar and syntax (Broca’s).” (Washington) Does this mean it more challenging for your brain to learn a 2^nd language as an adult versus at early childhood stages?

We use different memory procedures for language as children than when we are adults. Amy Finn at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research states we have a “free memory” that we get as infants that allows us to process information and remember things like riding a bike unconsciously. As we mature into adults, we develop another memory system that is more based on exploratory processing and it controls the language learning process. We try harder than we should to learn a language. It doesn’t come free flowing as we hear tones and mimic them when we are children. There is research being done on a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation to allow us adults to “turn off” certain brain areas to allow us all to better accept new language rules and sounds. Hence, why some people don’t do too well in pronouncing words in different languages.

Researching language development has allowed me to better understand why I always wondered why my older sister has an accent and I didn’t, even though we both learned English at the same time. One side note that would make it completely different for her is that she was 16years old when we moved to the US and I was only 9 years old, turning 10. My brain wasn’t as challenged in picking up a third language like my older sister’s (who was going into adulthood) was. Children at the early stages are sponges and enough research has been done that our communities are more aware of language development that Disney has developed shows like “Dora the Explorer” that teaches Spanish or “Ni Hao Kai-Lan” that teaches Chinese. More and more adults are more accepting of their children becoming bilingual than ever before. In the world today, more opportunities are waiting at the doorsteps of bilingual individuals than mono-lingual individuals.

References:

Bilingualism in Young Children: Separating Fact from Fiction. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Bilingualism-in-Young-Children–Separating-Fact-fr.aspx

Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2014, from http://www.naldic.org.uk/eal-teaching-and-learning/outline-guidance/bilingualism

(n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/second.html

Want to Learn a Language? Well, Don’t Try Too Hard. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://time.com/3013439/language-trying-hurts-learning/

One of my favorite psychological phenomenon is the flashbulb memory, which we learned about in lesson 9 of this course. The first time that I learned about flashbulb memory and how it functioned was in a course called Sensations and Perceptions, and I was utterly enthralled learning about how certain memories became etched into our brain when processed in unison with strong emotions. Goldstein tells us that a flashbulb memory is “a person’s memory for the circumstances surrounding hearing about shocking, highly charged events,” but that it is “important to emphasize that the term flashbulb memory refers to memory for the circumstances surrounding how a person heard about an event, not memory for the event itself” (Goldstein, 2011). The main reason for my interest in the phenomenon of flashbulb memories is the link between emotion and memory, which appears to be directly associated with the amygdala as we learned in lesson 9.

Though Goldstein emphasizes that flashbulb memories only refer to hearing about an event, I can certainly recall several memories that I would categorize as flashbulb that I was directly involved in. I have to disagree with Goldstein’s definition and, as our lesson commentary suggests,  believe that a flashbulb memory is any memory that is processed in the context of intense emotion, searing the details of the memory into our minds. These emotions don’t necessarily need to be good or bad, simply out of the ordinary emotions that caused us to construct the memory differently than normal. For example, I have incredibly vivid memories of visits to my grandparents’ house in Vermont as a child. I recall the crispness of the air in the countryside where they lived; the drive through the woods to get to their house; the smell of their wood-burning stove; the bark of their dog as we approached; even seemingly pointless details like counting the fence-posts as we made our way up their driveway. None of these things invoke intense emotion one way or another, but the setting was different enough and caused me to experience different enough sensations that I, for whatever reason, stored the memories away as important. Quite honestly, I can recall many of those memories better than I can the common flashbulb memories, like the events of 9/11.

Without a doubt the detail with which we process memories is directly linked to our emotions, however it would seem to me that the type of memory that might be categorized as flashbulb might be different for everyone. While everyone certainly experiences intense emotion during a crisis, we also all handle it differently which would suggest that we also all process it differently. One person’s 9/11 flashbulb memory might be the most intensely vivid memory that they have ever experienced, while someone else’s most vivid memory might simply be sitting by a lake fishing with their father.

Goldstein, B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience (3rd ed.). Wadsworth, Inc.

During high school I was afforded the opportunity to go to Japan during an exchange student program that my county had participated in. A group of baseball players from my county were selected to play against several Japanese high school teams and learn about the Japanese culture. Naturally as a 9^th grader, me and my teammates were excited about this opportunity and couldn’t wait to step off the plane after a 14 hour flight. However, one thing I personally completely forgot about was the difference in language between Americans and the Japanese. In America, it seems as though everything is translated for those whose primary language is not English. From the signs on the bathroom doors to the instructions to assemble a crib, almost everything is made available to be read in several languages. My trip to Japan however, made me realize how significant language is to communicating our ideas to one another.

In a foreign country, I believe one of the most nerve wrecking experiences one can have is asking what’s in a certain food and receiving an answer that is in a language you are unable to understand. Due to the fact the Japanese language was something I was very unfamiliar with, the words that the people I interacted with used were so unfamiliar because of the low frequency I had with hearing the Japanese language. Most of the conversations I heard sounded like a blur of speech that made me feel like I was watching a movie without the subtitles. Looking back, I am confident there were no instances of speech segmentation since I couldn’t determine when I was suppose to respond with a smile or laughter when speaking to anyone who did not speak English. Often verbal communication was used in order to convey the message that was intended for me. This experience really made me understand how vital it is for people to be able to communicate their ideas to one another. In my opinion it is amazing that across different cultures and parts of the world there are so many languages that people in that region are collectively understand.

My time in Japan though confusing at times, was a learning experience that I was able to take a lot from. The importance of being able to communicate to another person or a group was an eye opener when I realized how difficult it would be if we did not have this ability as humans. Being able to differentiate and use speech segmentation to infer the meaning of words used in a sentence allow us as humans to have conversations with one another on a consistent basis. If I could do this experience again I definitely would, but next time I’d definitely use brush up on my Japanese before mistaking Saki on a menu for Sprite.

     Memory and Emotion is a topic we cover in lesson nine — Everyday Memory and Memory Errors.
In this lesson we learned that emotions are often associated with events that are more easily remembered. A perfect example of the above provided in this lesson is the “9/11 terrorist attacks, which seem to be remembered more easily and vividly than less emotionally charged events.” But also personal events such as beginning or ending relationships and events throughout, both happy and unhappy memories.
I witnessed how the understanding of such can be extremely beneficial to a relationship, either romantic or platonic. Through a very close friend I learn how much it helps to realize that at times our reactions to certain arguments or circumstances have a lot to do with something we might have experienced in the past that perhaps had gone unresolved.
I personally observed a very volatile, very accusative and defensive relationship change into a more understanding and patient relationship. This change was not an easy task nor did it happen overnight, in fact it took a lot of work, many hours of counseling and, most importantly, the willingness of both parties involved. Some of what they learned had to do with why some of their reactions seemed involuntary, provoked and defensive. What they learned was to understand how their emotions were triggering certain memories which would cause them to react in a certain way as well as the other person would react. Through the process they learned that the reactions were influenced by the amygdala. The amygdala records the emotional response to events, and when similar events in the future occur – that recording is referenced in arguments, that’s why when something happens that is similar to a previous issue, one person may bring up that past issue it’s also why you’re more reactive, because that emotional state is also referenced so where you’d normally start out at a level 0 of stress, you’re already starting at level 2.
I have since applied that understanding to my everyday dealings with colleagues and family members, and even with how I behave/react at certain situations and it has definitely given me a different perspective on people’s reactions and how they handle them.

My Eyewitness Memory

Would you report a person who you have seen drinking and driving? Today at 10:42 am, I causally walked out of the store and to my car. I noticed a man sitting in a driver’s seat of a green mini van, drinking what looked like to be a forty- ounce can of beer wrapped in a brown bag. I couldn’t help but wonder why someone was drinking so early in the morning and attempting to drive.

He noticed me as I noticed him. I decided to take a photo of the vehicle, memorize the scene and report the man in the vehicle. My photo didn’t turn out well, so I had to get closer to the car and memorize the license plate. I read it out loud a couple of times and then repeated it in my head over and over again. Once I realized that I had memorized the license plate number, I decided to call the non-emergency police phone number, in the city of Long Beach. Just as I made the decision to call, the man pulled out of the parking lot .

I dialed the number and was eager to speak to someone to help assit me with this matter. I stated my name and my phone number and why I was calling. I also had to recall the scene of where I first encountered the suspect. It wasn’t hard for me to remember the scene because I go to this particular location two times per month and drive by there everyday, two times per day. I was also asked to recall the license plate number. A1515 was what I was able to remember. I knew I was missing a number. I was also asked to recall other information I was only able to remember a partial plate number.

My eyewitness memory was for the most part accurate except for the missing number of them licensee plate. Just as I have made a mistake not being able to recall a number of a plate there are other people that will make mistakes regarding the scene, time of day and even mistaking someone’s identification. According to the Innocence project Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in 72% of convictions overturned .
In conclusion, I read the drinking and driving.org website and it states that ninety percent of all drunk driving happens after drinking with family, friends and coworkers. I this particular circumstance I felt that it was my job as a citizen to recognize and be aware of the situation to keep the community safe and not allow this man to drink and drive. I hope that the police caught up with him and makes sure that he does not drink and drive again.

References:
www.drinkinganddriving.org
www.theinnocenceproject.com
www.madd.org

Language and the mind

The mind is an amazing organ.  The way it processes and analyzes things is truly a mystery.  The way we learn and keep all the things we learn in our memories, whether it be short-term or long-term memories.  You can see it almost immediately where children are concerned.  To watch my children grow and learn and maintain all those things is truly amazing.

I can remember when my children were very little, infants actually and I marveled at how fast they would learn something and then be able to keep doing it, for example, speaking for the first time.  Just talking to my children, you could see they wanted to talk back.  I fully expected them to say ‘Mama’ for their first word but of course they said ‘Dada’, much to their Dad’s delight.  But once they started talking, they never stopped. To be able to mimic and then repeat a word and then to understand that word is mind-blowing.

They would learn new words almost on a daily basis and just repeating the words they were able to keep those words in their memory bank.  They knew when they said Dada, they were talking about their dad.  All the words they learned, from the very beginning, were processed as short-term memory then stored in their long-term memory.  They wanted to learn.  Children are eager to learn.  I love watching their faces when they learn something new.  What they learn, they keep and are able to use what they learned in later years.

Children are able to pick up on a language and use that language to communicate and express ideas.  They learn quickly what to say and what the meaning of what they are saying in order to talk to others.  I love watching the expressions on their faces when they learn a new word.  To be able to quickly process the new word and apply meaning to it is fascinating.  The mind is a beautiful thing.