The Flynn Effect

None Of The Above: What IQ Doesn't Tell You About Race By: Malcolm Gladwell

Write a two page summary of the article and address the following topics:

  1.) Evidence for the Flynn Effect
  2.) Racial Disparities in IQ and explanations for that
  3.) Possibilities that IQ may not be a measure of intelligence
  4.) Impacts on mental retardation diagnosis
  5.) Your impressions of the article

      100 points DUE FRIDAY

Illusion Websites

Below are some links to a variety of websites pertaing to this unit. There's too much for us to cover in class, so feel free to click around and have fun!

Gestalt Psychology

Illusion Contest Winners

Motion Illusion

Tons of Illusions

Human Eye Webquest

Please use the following websites to complete your  Human Eye Webquest.

The Human Eye (site 1)

The Eye Site (site 2)

Subliminal Messages

The widely accepted psychological view of subliminal messages is that the effects (if any) are weak and thus no cause for alarm. They are worthy of research and debate, but certainly not a justification for concern.  In the 1980's rock music came under fire for allegedly encouraging devil worshiping through subliminal messages in their music. To listen to some of those music samples, click here.

Disclaimer: I do not believe any of these bands are satanic, nor do I endorse such "lyrics". The key here is to realize how our expectations influence our perceptions. Listen to the music backwards before you look at what it supposedly says. Then judge how your own anticipation of such lyrics changed the way you hear them.

Recent research has focused on how subliminal messages may influence out political attitudes. The following article summarizes research conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that found that efforts to influence voters attitudes didn't work as planned. Click here to read the article.

Stanford Prison Experiment

Today you were given an assignment asking you to answer questions about the famous Stanford Prison Experiment. Please use this link to answer the questions.

What Would You Do?

If you like social psychology, check out ABC's show "What Would You Do?". They create controversial situations in public settings and record the reactions of strangers. For instance, would you defend a couple of gay parents who were being openly bashed in a restaurant for their sexual orientation? You can watch full episodes online here.

Contemporary Psychological Perspectives

In our first unit we will be touching on the various perspectives or "schools" of psychology. This assignment can seem overwhelming because it is all new information. At least one of the perspectives of psychology will be in almost every chapter we discuss over the year. The packet you have now is just to introduce you to the concepts we will be using all year. When completing this please draw information from your textbook and the following website.

Perspectives of Psychology

Due Wednesday, August 17th.