-
Reflecting on Behavior: Giacomo Rizzolatti Gives a Tour of the Mirror Mechanism
In his keynote address at the APS 23rd Annual Convention, Giacomo Rizzolatti of the Università degli Studi di Parma, Italy, gave a brief history of the mirror mechanism. In general terms, the neurons that form the basis of this mechanism fire when a person executes an action as well as when he or she perceives it. If anyone is qualified to describe the evolution of this field of study, it's Rizzolatti, whose laboratory discovered the connection in the late 1990s while studying monkeys. To demonstrate the mechanism in action, Rizzolatti played a video of one of his laboratory's first mirror neuron studies.
-
Undergraduate Psychology Courses Preferred by Graduate Programs
My name is Timothy Lawson from College of Mount St. Joseph and I presented my research at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. To obtain recent information useful for advising and curriculum planning, we examined the undergraduate course preferences of all U.S. psychology graduate programs. PsyD programs’ preferences were more likely than PhD programs to reflect national undergraduate curriculum guidelines. Important differences also emerged among various subdisciplines (e.g., clinical/counseling versus educational/school). Teaching Institute Poster Session - Board: - 006 Thursday, May 26, 2011, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Gunston Timothy J. Lawson College of Mount St. Joseph Debra L.
-
Do Graduate Students Really Think Straight About Weird Things?
I'm Sean Hughes from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and I presented my research at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Students come to the study of psychology equipped with a range of misconceptions. Unless they are directly targeted for correction, students often leave with many of these erroneous beliefs intact. We tested 550 graduate psychology students to see if they could distinguish psychological fact from fiction.
-
Leading Researchers Discuss Current Directions in Schizophrenia Research
Today, five distinguished researchers came together to discuss the latest research on schizophrenia, a debilitating mental disorder that affects millions of people. If there’s one thing that all five can agree on it’s that schizophrenia research has come a long way. According to Robin Cautin, a psychological scientist from Manhattanville College who provided a brief history of schizophrenia research, most research conducted in the early twentieth century was based on trial and error. Cautin discussed the work of psychologist David Shakow, who revolutionized clinical research on schizophrenia.
-
Self-Explanation of an Answer Choice Is Beneficial to Student Performance
My name isDarcey N. Powell from West Virginia Universityand I presented my research at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington DC. Requiring students to explain their answers to multiple-choice homework questions improved their performance on the assignment, suggesting that these explanations facilitate a deeper understanding of the concepts. Female students scored higher than male students, but explanations were only associated with significantly higher scores for the male students. Teaching Institute Poster Session - Board: - 049 Thursday, May 26, 2011, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Gunston Darcey N.
-
Capacity for Commitment May Start in Early Childhood
MSN Health: The ability of men and women to have staying power and a strong level of commitment in their romantic relationships can be traced back to their early childhood and adolescence, a new study finds. Researchers asked 78 people aged 20 or 21 and their heterosexual partners about their level of commitment to their relationship. The researchers already had data on the participants from when they were aged 2 and 16, including how loving and attentive their mothers were when they were toddlers, and how they dealt with a conflict with a friend as teens.
