brain_based_learning - George Bradford on Diigo

23 Jul 09

Personality Processes

Prepared as a chapter for the Annual Review of Psychology, 1995.
For more information on personality theory and research, go to the Personality Project
SOME PEOPLE ARE THE SAME: THE STUDY OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES

personality-project.org/...some.html - Preview

brain_based_learning satisfaction reward-punishment neural_physiology

The consistency of the behavior genetic evidence can be interpreted in two ways: Rather than showing whether or not environments are important determinants of personality, genetic modeling has shown how dynamic is the process of personality development. Gene-environment covariation suggests that people are selecting and shaping the environments in which they live, rather than being passively acted upon by the environment. Children shape the action of their parents just as parents try to modify the behavior of their children (Rowe & Waldman 1993; Scarr 1992).
That the proposed biological mechanisms for these conceptual systems differ from investigator to investigator should not be taken as a sign of theoretical weakness but rather a sign of the complexity of the purported systems. No single structure, transmitter, or gene controls the entire system, but rather each plays a supporting and limiting role.
8 more annotations...
- In broad strokes, Eysenck's theory and subsequent modifications (1990, 1991a) are theories of approach and reward, inhibition and punishment, and aggression and flight. All three constructs have been, of course, fundamental concerns for many years and have been the basis for descriptive as well as non-biological theories of motivation and learning (Atkinson 1960; Dollard & Miller 1950).
- The Behavioral Approach System (BAS, Gray 1994), also known as the Behavioral Activation System (Fowles,1988), or Behavioral Facilitation System (Depue & Iacono 1989), activates approach behaviors in response to cues for reward or non-punishment.
- It may be associated neurophysiologically with the motor programming system. "The key components are the basal ganglia (the dorsal and ventral striatum, and dorsal and ventral pallidum); the dopaminergic fibers that ascend from the mesencephalon (substantia nigra and nucleus A 10 in the ventral tegmental area) to innervate the basal ganglia; thalamic nuclei closely linked to the basal ganglia; and similarly, neocortical areas (motor, sensorimotor, and prefrontal cortex) closely linked to the basal ganglia." (Gray 1994, p 41). Dopamine is said to play an essential moderating role in the functioning of the BAS (Depue & Iacono 1989; Depue, et al., in press), but the full relationship of dopaminergic activation and reward is less than clear (Wise and Rompre 1989).
- If the BAS is the engine of behavior, the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) is the braking system. Signals of punishment, non-reward, novel stimuli, and innate fear stimuli lead to behavioral inhibition, an increment in tense arousal, and increased attention. The BIS may be considered both as a cognitive and physiological system (Fowles,1988; Gray 1982). Cognitively, the role of the BIS is to compare the current state of the world with expectations, and to inhibit and modify behavior that leads to deviations from expectation. Physiologically, the comparator function of the BIS is associated with the septohippocampal system. Input to this system comes from the prefrontal cortex, and output flows through the noradrenergic fibers of the locus coeruleus, and serotonergic fibers from the median raphe (Gray 1994). More detailed reviews of the neurophysiology of the BIS emphasize the role of seretonin (Clonginger 1987, Depue & Iacono 1989, Spoont 1992) and the amygdala (Kagan, Arcus & Snidman, 1993).
- Unfortunately, identification of particular biological systems with particular personality traits or psychopathological disorders tends to ignore the complexity of neural architecture. The brain has evolved to solve many different problems and primitive systems are controlled by later, more complex systems (Derryberry & Tucker 1992; MacLean 1990).
- The need to optimally specify parameters to detect presumed relationships has long plagued the personality research (H. Eysenck & Levey 1972). It is useful to consider this issue in some detail, for appropriate parameter values are a consistent difficulty in personality research. At the most naive level, individual differences in a trait would be expected to produce consistent individual differences in an associated construct independent of other parameters. This assumption is typical of classical test theory, which assumes that equal true score differences are equally discernible (i.e., will lead to equal observed score differences) at all levels of true score. More recent approaches (e.g., item response theory), however, make it clear that this is not the case. Observed scores are a monotonic, but non-linear function of individual differences on some underlying attribute. They also reflect differential response probabilities (difficulty) associated with the situation (item) being measured. That is, even large differences on a latent trait are not easily detectable if the situational parameters are inappropriately specified. Such scaling artifacts include ceiling or floor effects. These scaling problems can lead to inappropriate inferences about group differences as well as about interactions of multiple variables (Revelle & Anderson 1992).
- Traits are not behavior. They are summary statements describing likelihood of and rates of change in behavior in response to particular situational cues. In addition to their relationship to the probability and latency of response, stable predispositions may be conceptualized in terms of differential sensitivities to situations and differential response biases. Intervening among traits, situations, and responses are momentary affective and cognitive states.
- Social learning theory explains consistent individual differences in behavior in terms of stabilities in the supporting environment rather than in terms of an individual's characteristics. Consistency across situations reflects similarity of situations rather than stable individual traits. Behavior can be modified by changing the environmental cues. Total reliance on prior learning experiences rather than on individual readiness is as much a straw man for social leaning theory as total cross situational consistency is for trait theory. Adherents of social learning theory now emphasize the need to understand how individual cognitive representations of the environment lead to behavior (Cantor 1990; Cantor & Zirkel 1990).

24 Mar 09

WNYC - Radiolab: Who Am I? (February 04, 2005)

Who Am I?

The "mind" and "self" were formerly the domain of philosophers and priests. Today, it’s neurologists who, armed with giant magnets, are asking the big questions, like "How does the brain make me?" We stare into the mirror with Dr. Julian Keenan, reflect on the illusion of self-hood with British neurologist Paul Broks, contemplate the evolution of consciousness with Dr. V. S. Ramachandran. Also, the story of woman who one day woke up as a completely different person.

www.wnyc.org/...04 - Preview

radiolab podcast brain_based_learning neural_physiology self-consciousness

15 Oct 08

http://mindblog.dericbownds.net

Deric Bownds' MindBlog

This blog reports new ideas and work on mind, brain, and behavior - as well as random curious stuff

images.google.com/imgres - Preview

SciAm brain_based_learning blog brain

07 Aug 08

Education best practice or malpractice

Other researchers have found that the human brain will “downshift” to more primitive structures when under stress. Goleman (1995) referred to this as a “neural hijacking.” When under stress, the brain is programmed to respond in two ways: fight or flee. In times of perceived or real danger, it makes sense that the brain would resort to simple, basic patterns of self-preservation; however when the brain is hijacked, it is at the expense of critical and careful thought.

www.cyc-net.org/...cycol-0903-education.html - Preview

brain_based_learning relaxed_alertness stress neural_hijacking

Other researchers have found that the
human brain will “downshift” to more primitive structures when under
stress. Goleman (1995) referred to this as a “neural hijacking.” When
under stress, the brain is programmed to respond in two ways: fight or
flee. In times of perceived or real danger, it makes sense that the
brain would resort to simple, basic patterns of self-preservation;
however when the brain is hijacked, it is at the expense of critical and
careful thought.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional
intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York: Bantam.

MSF Perspectives

The learning environment in the BRC is characterized by high challenge and low threat, and learning occurs in a context of relaxed alertness, a situation that arises when a student is motivated in a non-stressful environment - proven to enhance learning. A few critics suggest that this environment, in which students are more relaxed, less stressed, learn vital skills earlier and have fewer crashes during training, is evidence the new curriculum is less rigorous. Indeed, to the uneducated eye, especially one that focuses on what the instructor does instead of what the students are doing, the teaching-learning dynamic in the new curriculum may appear on the surface to be too simplistic.

online.msf-usa.org/...Article.aspx - Preview

brain_based_learning relaxed_alertness applied_science

High Challenge, Low Threat
The learning environment in the BRC is characterized by high challenge and low threat, and learning occurs in a context of relaxed alertness, a situation that arises when a student is motivated in a non-stressful environment - proven to enhance learning. A few critics suggest that this environment, in which students are more relaxed, less stressed, learn vital skills earlier and have fewer crashes during training, is evidence the new curriculum is less rigorous. Indeed, to the uneducated eye, especially one that focuses on what the instructor does instead of what the students are doing, the teaching-learning dynamic in the new curriculum may appear on the surface to be too simplistic.
1 more annotations...
- For instance, imagine two training sequences. One has a novice rider practicing sharp, tight turns with an instructor barking out scripted commands each time the student approaches. The other shows a novice rider practicing sharp, tight turns with the instructor sometimes giving a thumbs-up signal, sometimes encouraging the student to make an adjustment to technique, and often saying nothing. Which scenario would be considered the best approach?
  
  Old-school evaluators would like the first scenario and likely consider the second as inferior. Those familiar with more effective teacher-learner dynamics and motor skill development principles would choose the latter as the better approach. Indeed, it's the latter that produces more than just surface level learning. The students are engaged and responsible, and there's a greater likelihood that important concepts and content will be retained and applied after the course is over. It's important not to focus on teacher performance, but rather on the quality of learning and its results. Instruction should not get in the way of learning.
  
  We've frequently used the term "adult learning" in relation to the BRC. Adult learning means that instruction should acknowledge the past experience of the students and honor their tendency toward self-direction. Adults like problem-solving situations and learning environments where their dignity is honored and respect is shown. An intensive motorcycle instruction course is no place for treating adults like second graders.

Second Psychophysiological Study of<br /> Out-of-the-Body Experiences in a Selected Subject at Charles T. Tart Home Page and Consciousness Library Online. For Transpersonal Psychology, Parapsychology, Consciousness, Hypnosis, Psi, Mindfulness.

Relaxed alertness is accompanied in many people by the alpha rhythm, a rather regular, sinusoidal rhythm whose frequency varies from about 8 to 13 cps, although in a single person the frequency is relatively constant. As a person becomes drowsy, this alpha rhythm breaks up, clusters of it becoming less and less frequent as they are replaced by a stage- 1 drowsy pattern. Consciousness waxes and wanes with the alpha rhythm, although it is impossible to say clearly at exactly what point consciousness is lost

www.paradigm-sys.com/ctt_articles2.cfm - Preview

brain_based_learning relaxed_alertness definition

Relaxed alertness is accompanied in many people by the alpha rhythm, a rather regular, sinusoidal rhythm whose frequency varies from about 8 to 13 cps, although in a single person the frequency is relatively constant. As a person becomes drowsy, this alpha rhythm breaks up, clusters of it becoming less and less frequent as they are replaced by a stage- 1 drowsy pattern. Consciousness waxes and wanes with the alpha rhythm, although it is impossible to say clearly at exactly what point consciousness is lost.

06 Aug 08

INNATENESS, AUTONOMY, UNIVERSALITY?

The concepts of the innateness, universality, species-specificity, and autonomy of the human language capacity have had an extreme impact on the psycholinguistic debate for over thirty years. These concepts are evaluated from several neurobiological perspectives, with an emphasis on the emergence of language and its decay due to brain lesion and progressive brain disease.

Evidence of perceptuomotor homologies and preadaptations for human language in nonhuman primates suggests a gradual emergence of language during hominid evolution. Regarding ontogeny, the innate component of language capacity is likely to be polygenic and shared with other developmental domains. Dissociations between verbal and nonverbal development are probably rooted in the perceptuomotor specializations of neural substrates rather than the autonomy of a grammar module. Aphasiological data often assumed to suggest modular linguistic subsystems can be accounted for in terms of a neurofunctional model incorporating perceptuomotor-based regional specializations and distributivity of representations. Thus, dissociations between grammatical functors and content words are due to different conditions of acquisition and resulting differences in neural representation. Since human brains are characterized by multifactorial interindividual variability, strict universality of functional organization is biologically unrealistic.

A theoretical alternative is proposed according to which (a) linguistic specialization of brain areas is due to epigenetic and probabilistic maturational events, not to genetic 'hard-wiring', and (b) linguistic knowledge is neurally represented in distributed cell assemblies whose topography reflects the perceptuomotor modalities involved in the acquisition and use of a given item of knowledge.

www.bbsonline.org/...bbs.mueller.html - Preview

innateness brain_based_learning linguistics_research

LE CERVEAU À TOUS LES NIVEAUX!

This is a really interesting and cool site. Don't worry about the title, it's both in English and French.

I would describe the unique design of the site as being built in 3 dimensions: you can move across different topic areas (z axis); on a particular topic, you can select between different perspectives, such as sociological, psychological, neurological, cellular, and molecular (x axis); and within any of the aforementioned areas, you can select to read the topic as a beginner, intermediate, or advanced learner (y axis). This structure affords a reader to explore in many ways a particular topic.

thebrain.mcgill.ca/...index_d.html - Preview

brain brain_based_learning education unique-design

30 Jul 08

James L. McClelland OnLine Publications

Researches into linguistics. Professor at Stanford University.

Recent Book

Rogers, T. T. and McClelland, J. L. (2004). Semantic Cognition: A Parallel Distributed Processing Approach. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, available from Amazon.com. BBS Multiple Book Review Precis (in press) [PDF].
Working Paper

McClelland, J. L. and Vander Wyk, Brent. (2006). Graded constraints in English word forms. Working manuscript, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University. [PDF.]

Check out: "Success and failure of new speech category learning in adulthood: Consequences of learned Hebbian attractors in topographic maps." This is the paper that explores the liquid consonents in English that are tough for native speakers of Japanese.

www-psych.stanford.edu/...papers - Preview

linguistics_research Stanford brain_based_learning

Consultants: Norman Doidge, M.D. / Principal / New York, NY

Boswell Group's write up on Norman Doidge, MD

Norman Doidge, M.D., is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, and New York Times bestselling author. He is on the Research Faculty at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, in New York, and the University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry. He has been described by Oliver Sacks, as an “eminent psychiatrist and researcher,” and has presented his research at the White House, in Washington. He uses his background as a psychoanalyst and researcher in the cutting-edge science of brain plasticity to help individuals and groups understand and transform themselves.

www.boswellgroup.com/consultants_doidge.php - Preview

brain_based_learning book plasticity

Executives - Posit Science Corporation

Posit Science Corp Executive Team

www.positscience.com/...our_team - Preview

brain_based_learning products applied_science

About Dr. Merzenich | On the Brain by Dr. Mike Merzenich,Ph.D.

Michael Merzenich, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, University of California at San Francisco
Chief Scientific Officer, Posit Science

For more than three decades, Dr. Merzenich has been a leading pioneer in brain plasticity research. In the late 1980s, Dr. Merzenich was on the team that invented the cochlear implant, now distributed by market leader Advanced Bionics.

merzenich.positscience.com/?page_id=145 - Preview

brain_based_learning plasticity

George Bradford's Library tagged brain_based_learning → View Popular