UNIT 1. The Science of Psychology 1. Why Study Psychology?, APS Observer , February 2004 Four well-known psychologists describe why they studied psychology and how they are currently using their training. Each psychologist works in a different but important subfield of psychology . 2. Does Psychology Make a Significant Difference in Our Lives?, Philip G. Zimbardo, American Psychologist , July/August 2004 Noted psychologist Philip Zimbardo argues that psychology indeed does make a difference in our lives. Psychologists, however, need to continue to "give psychology away" to the public. Zimbardo highlights psychology’s achievements in the fields of testing, behavior change,… therapy, life-span development, parenting, stress, the unconscious, work, and prejudice . He also highlights areas where psychology can make a notable difference in the future, for example preventing the spread of AIDS . 3. Causes and Correlations, Massimo Pigliucci, Skeptical Inquirer , January/February 2003 This article reminds the reader to think critically about science. Too many phenomena, such as ESP (extra-sensory perception), are explained post hoc. Few lay people understand the difference between correlation and causation. The author reviews these two concepts and also explains control, experimentation, and statistical inference. UNIT 2. Biological Bases of Behavior 4. What Makes You Who You Are, Matt Ridley, Time , June 2, 2003 For decades, psychologists and biologists have tried to determine what plays a greater role in human behavior— genes or the environment. This controversy is known as the nature-nurture controversy. The newest theory suggests that both factors shape us and, surprisingly, that each affects the other. 5. Genetic Influence on Human Psychological Traits, Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr., Current Directions in Psychological Science , August 2004 A large body of evidence supports the conclusion that individual differences in many psychological characteristics, normal or not, are influenced by genetic factors . Bouchard reviews why the study of genetics is important to psychology and then provides estimates of the magnitude of genetic influence on various traits such as intelligence, interests, mental health, personality, and social attitudes . 6. Neuroscience: Breaking Down Scientific Barriers to the Study of Brain and Mind, Eric R. Kandel and Larry R. Squire, Science , November 10, 2000 An important aspect of the biological basis for behavior is the nervous system. In this article, Eric Kandel and Larry Squire first review the history of neuroscience and then detail the various ways that psychology and neurological science are related. UNIT 3. Perceptual Processes 7. Vision Seekers: Giving Eyesight to the Blind Raises Questions About How People See, Bruce Bower, Science News , November 22, 2003 Individuals who are given the gift of sight later in life see and perceive the world around them differently from individuals who are sighted at birth. Such unfortunate events, however, offer scientists the opportunity to study vision as a perceptual process . 8. A Matter of Taste, Mary Beckman, Smithsonian , August 2004 The author reviews the research of psychologist Linda Bartoshuk who studies taste . Bartoshuk has found that there are differences in how well people can taste food. She has discovered " supertasters ", individuals who have many taste buds (papillae on their tongues) and whose taste experiences are intense. For supertasters, everyday foods can be delightful or repugnant. Bartoshuk also discovered that taste sensitivity can affect health via the foods people prefer. Many supertasters, for example, find healthy vegetables too bitter. 9. It’s a Noisy, Noisy World Out There!, Richard Carmen, The Saturday Evening Post , March/April 2002 A clinical audiologist bemoans the ubiquitous assault of noise on our ears. About one-third of all hearing loss is the result of this cacophony. What we can do to avoid hearing loss is also covered in this article. 10. Pain and Its Mysteries, Marni Jackson, Maclean’s , May 27, 2002 Pain is something we could all live without. In fact, some people do live without it—they have congenital analgesia. Pain—how and why it is experienced and how to reduce it—is being studied by scientists. 11. Night Life, Jill Neimark, Psychology Today , July/August 1998 Many Americans say that they cannot sleep or that they suffer from insomnia . The author delves into the field of sleep problems and finds that there are psychological as well as physical problems that lead to sleep deprivation and insomnia. 12. Brains in Dreamland, Bruce Bower, Science News , August 11, 2001 One hundred years have passed since Sigmund Freud’s work on the interpretation of dreams, and scientists still cannot agree on their function. Bruce Bower reviews seminal theories on the subject as well as some of the neurology involved in these nightly theatrics. UNIT 4. Learning and Remembering 13. The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers, Daniel Schacter, Psychology Today , May/June 2001 Daniel Schacter explains why so much routine forgetting occurs. He discusses such processes as transience, absentmindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, and persistence. He even delves into biological factors such as Alzheimer’s disease and points out the paradox that memory’s vices may also be its virtues. 14. Memories of Things Unseen, Elizabeth F. Loftus, Current Directions in Psychological Science , August 2004 Memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus reveals new findings about the malleability of memory . Specifically, it is possible to change memory for events and in addition possible to plant entirely false memories of implausible or impossible events. Her findings are especially important given the fact that DNA evidence is not freeing individuals formerly convicted on faulty eyewitness testimony . UNIT 5. Cognitive Processes 15. The Power of Babble, Mary Duenwald, Discover , December 2003 How babies begin to create their first sounds (babbles) intrigues researchers wanting to examine how language contributes to consciousness and how babies discriminate mere sounds from actual words . Brain imaging and other sophisticated techniques are used in this exciting research. 16. The Mind’s Self-Portrait: An Illusion of Conscious Will, Phillip Ciske, APS