From psych3120@lists.csbs.utah.edu Sat Nov 1 00:04:18 2008 From: psych3120@lists.csbs.utah.edu (Kyle Patton) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:04:18 -0600 Subject: [Psych3120] Human Factors Message-ID: <43019307-C371-45B8-AABC-89FAB21679DB@gmail.com> I work in a radiation oncology clinic, where we treat men diagnosed with prostate cancer with high dose radiation. I was talking to one of our medical physicists the other day about the readings which were assigned during the human factors lectures. The section was titled "set phasers on stun" and when I started describing the incident he immediately recognized it. He said that all physicists are given the case to read, in order to make them more aware of the problems that can happen. There are several things that we do in our clinic, which are meant as defenses to close holes which might contribute to an incident, as described in the swiss cheese model of human error. This theory states that although an unsafe act causes an error, this act is preceded by latent failures such as organizational flaws, unsafe supervision, and other preconditions for unsafe acts. When the physicists in our clinic arrive at the beginning of the day, the machine is inspected, and a trial run is initiated. Before any radiation plans can start the doctor must approve the patients plan, that it is indeed the patient in the treatment area, that the physicist has the correct dosage, and that all the connections are attached properly. This is to ensure that no unseen errors are slipping past the physicist. However, my co-worker said that even taking shortcuts on seemingly insignificant things can cause major problems. For example, after every treatment the physicist will survey the patient and machine to make sure that the radioactive seed (it's very small about the size of a grain of rice) is back in the machine, and nowhere in or around the patient. It's so rare that the seed will come unattached from it's cable (it's laser welded on) that on one occasion a physicist went to survey the patient and didn't have batteries in his geiger counter. We also have a radiation meter that reads all of the radiation in the treatment room (this also happened to be broken..swiss cheese model). The physicist made a poor decision, and didn't replace the batteries in the geiger so that the patient could be surveyed. It turns out that on this particular treatment the radioactive seed had come off of the cable and came loose inside of the patient. Subsequently the patient died from radiation poisoning several months later. This example, really helped me understand the swiss cheese model of human error, and how important it is that we put checks and monitoring into place to keep incidents or even worse catastrophes from happening. From psych3120@lists.csbs.utah.edu Sat Nov 1 14:47:42 2008 From: psych3120@lists.csbs.utah.edu (Russell Armstrong) Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2008 07:47:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Psych3120] The Memory of a rat Message-ID: <747244.65822.qm@web51106.mail.re2.yahoo.com> --0-2111471596-1225550862=:65822 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I was reading the news a short bit ago and read an interesting article about how they have taken the memories of rats and erased certain parts of their LTM. They would inject a substance into the hippocampus called ZIP and found it would erase something recently learned without affecting STM or other LTM. I found this very interesting as they talked about how they really don't understand in general how memory completely works and where it exactly happens and is stored, but now they understand the hipposcampus has a lot to do with learning and memory. This research could be helpful as they might be able to eventually apply it to understand what happens to people with disease that affect memory and LTM. I think we will continue to see this research grow. --0-2111471596-1225550862=:65822 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
I was reading the news a short bit ago and read an interesting article about how they have taken the memories of rats and erased certain parts of their LTM. They would inject a substance into the hippocampus called ZIP and found it would erase something recently learned without affecting STM or other LTM. I found this very interesting as they talked about how they really don't understand in general how memory completely works and where it exactly happens and is stored, but now they understand the hipposcampus has a lot to do with learning and memory. This research could be helpful as they might be able to eventually apply it to understand what happens to people with disease that affect memory and LTM. I think we will continue to see this research grow. |
Are many people born with executive functioning =
problems? It seemed to me that most problems with executive =
functions are from frontal lobe damage or from getting older. Is there =
any certain conditions from birth that would be considered executive =
functioning problems?
robbie bullock
From tuesday's lecture on Dr. P and executive =
functions, I thought the topic of Environmental Dependency Syndrome was =
very intriguing. It seems so odd that a small malfunction in =
executive control can cause a person to behave so vastly different than =
an unaffected person would in the same social context. I would be =
interested in learning more about this syndrome and its different =
effects on people who have it.
| Even though we learned about Primacy and Recency for our last exam, it's still cool to me that we can learn something in the classroom and apply it to everyday life. I was offered some lunch choices over the phone today. There were about 10 choices read to me - all in consecutive order. I heard all of the choices but none of them really registered except the first choices and the last choices. So I ordered what I could remember, which was the first option and the last option. When I got to where I was going and read the lunch choices for myself, there were choices I would much rather of had, but since I didn't 'hear' them - I could only choose from the first and last choices offered. |
Memory- I love
learning about the memory, it is a very multifaceted subject. I agree =
with the
research that has shown, when memorizing things or subjects to attach =
them to a
meaning or emotion to help you remember. At first this seems more
difficult, because now you have to remember two meanings. One =
trick I have
used, it to use meanings and memories I am most familiar with, or if =
you’re
studying for a test you can use a visual reminder in the classroom to =
help you.
Although, if you don’t write down exactly what and how you are
remembering something (say with an acronym), and you are disrupted or =
you don’t
give yourself enough time to remember the acronym it could make matter =
much
worst, during the test you might only remember the acronym and not class =
work that
goes with it.
Heather Oldroyd
i thought it was interesting in class when we were talking about recalling information and sometimes not being able to. like the example he gave when were a baby and that we cant remember mu ch when we were a baby. the earliest i can remember is when i was three and getting one of those Foot tall ninja turtle action figures for christmas, and i am still a big fan of the ninja turtles, but i just think its crazy that we have access to our memeory, but to some memories we dont. sometimes i find myself in a situation where im trying to name an actor whos movies ive seen many times, and for some reason i cant think of the name, i draw a blank. youd think it would be automatic to just think of the name but no, sometimes i have those blanks, and then later when you think of the name your like what the hell is wrong with me. i just think its weird that the access
to those memories is sometimes DENIED
Makeon Hendrix
--- On Tue, 11/4/08, psych3120-request@lists.csbs.utah.edu <psych3120-request@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote: From: psych3120-request@lists.csbs.utah.edu <psych3120-request@lists.csbs.utah.edu> |
Clive =
video- I
thought this video was very insightful. It is always nice to have =
visuals
to help learn from. We can read all the books on memory storage =
from the
short term “working memory” encodes to the long term and how =
implicated
and explicated work with the memory storage. But explaining in words =
what a
person who has problems with their encoding and storage memories goes =
through
everyday would be impossible. It was really sad hearing =
Clive,
state that “now he is really alive”, over and over not =
realizing he
is unable to encode his new STM memories to LTM storage. Perhaps =
it is
only sad to us because we know he’s memory is not working properly =
but to
him, he is unaware and living happily every new minute. I =
have one
question; he was to have all his memories prior to the brain damage, so =
I was
wondering why he had forgot his daughter’s =
name?
Heather Oldroyd
Today in class we discussed “flashbulb = memories”. = These are characterized as extremely vivid memories of = a personal circumstance surrounding the discovery of a shocking = event. We learned that = the amount of emotion felt at the time of the event is positively = correlated (.9) to the vividness of the memory. As stressed in class, = vividness does not necessarily equal accuracy. Our discussion of this made me = think of an experience I had recently that illustrates this point.
=0A=A couple weeks ago I was at Sunday dinner with all = of my family. There are = six kids and there is an 8 year gap from the second youngest to the = youngest. The youngest = sibling is my sister Stephanie. = Her birthday is approaching and we were all talking about the = surprise we felt when we first learned that Mom and Dad were having = another kid when they both were 40 years old. As we listened to each = other’s memory, we realized that not all of our stories lined = up. I remember being on a = camping trip with my two brothers when my father told us. I remember my Mom being a = little upset the next morning that he spilled the beans without = her. My brother Greg, = however, insists that Mom told everybodytogether after one of his soccer = games. As is usually the = case, my brother and I are both convinced that we are right and that the = other is mistaken. After = class today I realized that chances are we are both = wrong!
| I was very overwhelmed by todays lecture ( as usual) but now reviewing the notes it really made me think// I've taken a couple of psych classes and Episodic Memory has never gone into this much detail, in the same token this much detail explains alot of empty gaps that were formulated by previous psych classes. I especially thought the part about recoded Engrams and Ecphonic information really made it more clear about the things that were a little partial in other psych classes>> anyway another section that cleared up some gaps was the part about how memory is effected by our environment |
= =0A
If older information is displaced by newer information, could newer inform= ation be influenced by older information?
=0AWould describing information about an incident dishonestly or i= naccurately distort one=A2s actual memory of that incident?
=0A<= P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt">What do experiments like the Waugh and norm exper= iments tell us, are there any real world implications?
=0A&= nbsp;
=0A=0A
let me know if there are any problems with the= se questions.
=0Athank you for your time and patience.
= =0A=0A
Edward D. Golub
=0A=
I read this article in today’s paper and, = given our recent discussion about cell phone use and driving, thought it = would be nice to share it with the class. It was published in the Deseret News on Friday, = November 7. It is about a = legislative proposal to ban cell phone use for school bus = drivers.
=0A=Our discussion in class showed that the = research regarding cell phone use and driving was very clear in = establishing a strong trade-off effect in driving performance. A law banning cell phone use = for bus drivers is, at least for me, a no-brainer. It will be interesting to see if this = gets passed into law and if it will re-open the debate as to whether = cell phone use and driving should be banned for = everyone.
I read this article in today’s paper and, = =3D given our recent discussion about cell phone use and driving, thought it = =3D would be nice to share it with the class. It was published in the Deseret News on Friday, =3D November 7. It is about = a =3D legislative proposal to ban cell phone use for school bus =3D drivers.
=3D0A=3DOur discussion in class showed that the =3D research regarding cell phone use and driving was very clear in =3D establishing a strong trade-off effect in driving performance. A law banning cell phone use = =3D for bus drivers is, at least for me, a no-brainer. It will be interesting to see if = this =3D gets passed into law and if it will re-open the debate as to whether =3D cell phone use and driving should be banned for =3D everyone.
I read this article in today=92s paper and=2C given our recent discussi= on about cell phone use and driving=2C thought it would be nice to share it= with the class. =3B It was published in the De= seret News on Friday=2C November 7. =3B It is a= bout a legislative proposal to ban cell phone use for school bus drivers.= font>
 =3B
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1=2C5143=2C7052= 61418=2C00.html
 =3B
Our discussion in class showed that the research regarding cell p= hone use and driving was very clear in establishing a strong trade-off effe= ct in driving performance. =3B A law banning ce= ll phone use for bus drivers is=2C at least for me=2C a no-brainer. =3B It will be interesting to see if this gets passed into la= w and if it will re-open the debate as to whether cell phone use and drivin= g should be banned for everyone.
On Thursday we learned about Baddley's State Dependent Learning Theory. I thought it was interesting that he first tried his experiment on deep sea divers (random population to choose!) The whole point of his research is that people recall more information when they are in the same environment as when they learned the information. I think that this is especially important for students. If you study in a desk similar to the test taking circumstances you will do better on the test. I even think it's beneficial to write the essay questions for this class with the same pencil I am going to use during the test! I always thought that it was silly to use the same pen or pencil, but according to this model, it's not! |
I find the case of clive very interesting and have =
heard about it in a few classes. This is a very rare problem but i =
was wondering if there is any research into curing this? I was thinking =
along the lines of stem cell research and regrowing cells in the =
hipocampus. I don't know if this is even remotely possible but it was =
just a thought that came to me.
Robbie Bullock
I was thinking about state dependent memories/learning = and was curious what effect this has on depressed persons. It = seems to me if you are depressed or sad it would be easier to recall the = sad and depressing memories you have. This seems like it could become a = slippery slope and make it even more difficult for those suffering from = depression to work beyond it. Another factor I though might compound the = effects of depression have to deal with how Dr. Strayer mentioned that = memories that have stronger emotional ties are easier to recall. Again = this seems like it would compound the effect of depression by = allowing very emotional and sad memories to be retrieved more easily. =
------_=_NextPart_001_01C942DC.E16127F2-- From psych3120@lists.csbs.utah.edu Mon Nov 10 03:52:17 2008 From: psych3120@lists.csbs.utah.edu (braden parker) Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2008 20:52:17 -0700 Subject: [Psych3120] (no subject) Message-ID: <1047fb640811091952r7cde6dc7md140af636be78910@mail.gmail.com> ------=_Part_64684_19672898.1226289137409 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline I find it very interesting how so many eyewitness cases are false. I am guessing that what you want to believe plays a big part. I know in some cases, eye witnesses have strong feelings against or for a case and this can change the way they remember things. They set their minds and often times convince themselves. I am excited to learn more on this very interesting subject. Braden Johnson Parker ------=_Part_64684_19672898.1226289137409 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inlinetuesday's lecture on varieties of memory was very =
interesting. The video about Clive was particularly =
fascinating. It is sad and amazing to see the effects on his life =
just from damage to his hippocampus. I can not even begin to =
imagine living like that, with no recollection of anything i just =
did. But one thing i am curious about is the cause of the =
damage. I think Prof Strayer said it was some sort of virus, but I =
think it would be very interesting to learn more about it and how it is =
contracted and how it works.
On Thursday we learned =
about Baddley's State Dependent Learning Theory. I thought it was =
interesting that he first tried his experiment on deep sea divers =
(random population to choose!) The whole point of his research is =
that people recall more information when they are in the same =
environment as when they learned the information. I think that =
this is especially important for students. If you study in a desk =
similar to the test taking circumstances you will do better on the =
test. I even think it's beneficial to write the essay questions =
for this class with the same pencil I am going to use during =
the test! I always thought that it was silly to use the same pen =
or pencil, but according to this model, it's =
not! |
Declarative memory, particularly active recall was a fascinating subject to me. Active recall reminded me about the style between two test preparation companies and how they went about helping you understand and remember the material. One was exactly like a classroom and someone would lecture to you while giving you a list of junk to memorize. The other emphasized learning by asking yourself "why, why, where, how?" and taught you the material in a way that facilitated active recall. Not surprisingly I still remember tons of material I learned which is rare for me, since I usually flush everything out once the test has been taken (bad habit, I know).
The video of Clive was also an interesting piece to watch. I was reading the other posts on this list and one student made a comment about how we create our own memories/realities. The Clive video and that comment reminded of the movie Memento (quality film by the way). Without steering too far off tangent and giving too much away, the main character suffers from anterograde amnesia and uses little mementos to help him remember what just happened. It seems like a fairly creative way to try and combat such a problem.
Umair Naveed
------=_Part_102538_15708840.1226301180251-- From psych3120@lists.csbs.utah.edu Mon Nov 10 15:36:05 2008 From: psych3120@lists.csbs.utah.edu (Alison Jean Kunz) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:36:05 -0700 Subject: [Psych3120] Post- Memory and Alzheimer's References: <200811100709.mAA78YIs009059@topo.csbs.utah.edu> Message-ID:It really bothers me when I think that=
a
lot of my memories may indeed be false. It just overwhelms my mind when I t=
hink
of it because I have so many memories that I am so positive about how they
happened. I really have the hardest time believing that maybe they are
incorrect or at least parts of them are. But I can understand how some peop=
le
can be told that they experienced that they really did not and eventually t=
hey
really feel like that “memory”/event happened and can feel the =
pain
or what not of it. I remember when I was dating this guy right out of high
school. One night he wanted a guy’s night and I was cool with that bu=
t
all of my friends were busy that night so I just stayed home with the famil=
y
and watched a movie but the next day I did not want to sound like a loser (=
I
was just out of high school and for some reason I wanted to be impressive t=
o
this boy) so I told him about how my friend and I went and watched some of =
our
guy friends play basketball. (This is something we did frequently in the pa=
st
but hadn’t done it for a while) but then he asked questions about it =
and
I embellished it so much and for so long that it started to seem like it re=
ally
did happen. It was weird how that happened, I had to remind myself that it
really did not happen. I know it was stupid but I think it helped me to
understand how people can be made to believe that something happened when i=
t
really did not.
Rachelle Park
From:
psych3120-admin@lists.csbs.utah.edu
[mailto:psych3120-admin@lists.csbs.utah.edu] On
Behalf Of braden parker
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2=
008
8:52 PM
To: Psych
Subject: [Psych3120] (no sub=
ject)
I find it very interesting how so many eyewitness cases are
false. I am guessing that what you want to believe plays a big
part. I know in some cases, eye witnesses have strong feeli=
ngs
against or for a case and this can change the way they remember things=
.
They set their minds and often times convince themselves. I am
excited to learn more on this very interesting subject.
Braden Johnson Parker
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This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for
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=0D
and are not to be disclosed to any other party.
=0D
If you have received this email in error please return it to the sender,<=
br>=0D
and erase any copies thereof.
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| KRISTIE BLANCH PSY 3120 11/10/2008 P= OST 10 Changing History: Something from Nothing From recent l= ectures on memory, it would seem a good analogy for memory would be silly p= utty, insomuch that it can be reformed and manipulated in whatever way we c= hoose. It is shocking to me that we can re-create memories (recoded engram)= that differ greatly from the actual occurrence (original event). I=92m sur= e we all have accounts of certain childhood memories that are divergent fro= m those of our siblings or parents. My little brother always seems to remem= ber things quite differently from the rest of my siblings and me! Who is ri= ght? It is difficult to say, as we are all so certain that our memories ref= lect what really happened, and as we have learned in lecture, confidence in= memory does not predict accuracy. Even more striking than me= re manipulations of memory is the fact that memories can be created. In= recent years, there have been several accounts of clients in therapy actua= lly generating memories - often horrific, and highly graphic =96 of childho= od sexual abuse and satanic rituals. These clients are put in a suggestible= state, then, by evocative guidance from the therapist, they uncover these = traumatic events that never actually happened. But, now that these events h= ave been experienced in the mind, they will be stored in long-term memory, = where they can be recalled and relived. These people have changed their per= ceived history. And, since perceived reality is reality, it is just as real= as perhaps recalling what one ate for breakfast. It is incredible and a li= ttle frightening to me that we have the ability to create something where t= here was nothing. |
Clive’s wife, Deborah said that Clive was =
showing us
unfiltered human passion. This made me think about what Dr. =
Strayer said
about childhood amnesia, that the encoding process was probably =
different
because as children, we communicate and think more in terms of emotions =
rather
than in terms of language. I wonder if there is a sort of =
switching
process that happens as we grow up and that when there is damage either =
due to
illness, accident or age, we revert on some level to this older encoding
processI know that as I have observed family members and friends with =
Alzheimer’s,
it does appear that the memories that endure the longest and even seem =
to
override those gained later in life are very old and emotional in =
nature.
They might assume people around them are childhood friends or their =
parents or
siblings. . It would be interesting to dig around and see if =
anyone
has done research to that effect.
| I really thought todays video was really well done and the victims testimonies were quite emotionally bearing. The part that really stood out to me was the part were Ron Cotton started writing those letters it really made me think about how the justice system sometimes defeats its own purpose of making people feel free and protected, yeah sure the justice system makes mistakes but Ron Cottons life was taken away for almost 11 years// Any way Elizabeth Loftus' statement about how even though we may go through some extremely dramatic experiences we cant just record what we saw or go through, its just not an image we can later on replay, was for me a step back moment// Many times I defend my own situations and try to justify my reasons by some emotional and/or dramatic memories, this doesn't necessarily mean that its true it just means that we are confident on
what we believe and that can sometimes interrupt our memory. |
| I found today's video very interesting. I heard about this story in my social psychology class before, but it was interesting to learn about it again from the cognitive psychologist perspective. I had learned in my social psychology class that the people have a harder time identifying someone of another race then themselves (I think this is especially interesting in the south where there is deep seeded racism and prejudice). Compound that factor with a high-stress situation and coding and recoding memory it is easy to see how Cotton's situation could happen! It is scary to think that anyone could be wrongly accused and go to jail for 11 years!! It is also scary to think that someone may not believe your eyewitness testimony that you believe is so accurate! Somehow there needs to be a middle ground in the justice system - that works for the eyewitness and also the accused party. |