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Faculty Guide
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Worth Publishers
Digital Media Archive: Psychology
Joe Morrissey, Ph.D. and Rebecca Osterhout
State University of New York, Binghamton
WORTH PUBLISHERS
Faculty Guide for Worth Publishers Digital Media Archive: Psychology
by Joe Morrissey and Rebecca Osterhout
Copyright © 2003 by Worth Publishers
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced for use with Worth Publishers
Digital Media Archive: Psychology, but may not be reproduced in any form for
any other purpose without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 0-7167-0222-3
First Printing, 2003
Worth Publishers
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New York, NY 10010
www.worthpublishers.com
Digital Media Archive: Psychology
CD Contents and Segment Lengths
Segment lengths are approximate.
CD 1:
Segment Length:
NEUROSCIENCE
1. Neural Communication
2. Brain Structures
3. Brain Imaging
00:35
04:44
00:26
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
4. Müller-Lyer Illusion
5. Depth Cues
01:38
00:26
LEARNING
6. Pavlov’s Discovery of Classical Conditioning
7. Watson’s Little Albert
8. Thorndike’s Puzzle Box
9. B. F. Skinner Interview
10. Cognitive Maps
11. Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment
03:08
00:50
01:06
05:25
02:35
05:06
DEVELOPMENT
12. Harlow’s Studies on Dependency in Monkeys
13. Testing Competency in the Newborn
14. Reflexes in the Newborn
15. Object Permanence
16. Stranger Anxiety
17. Morelli’s Strange-Situation Test
18. Piaget’s Conservation Task
19. Body Part Counting System
20. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development
06:12
01:05
02:37
01:10
01:21
03:15
00:50
01:54
00:58
THINKING AND LANGUAGE
21. Chomsky’s View of Language Development
22. Gleason’s Wug Test
01:23
01:08
CD 2:
MEMORY
23. Neisser’s Selective Attention Test
24. Aging and Memory
25. Clive Wearing—Living without Memory
00:48
04:00
05:53
MOTIVATION
26. Self-Stimulation in Rats
00:45
EMOTION
27. Reading Nonverbal Communication
28. Ekman’s Studies on Facial Expressions of Emotion
03:34
02:17
iii
iv
DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY CD Contents and Segment Lengths
CD 2 (continued):
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
29. The Schizophrenic Brain
30. The Mind of the Psychopath
31. Multiple Personality Disorder
32. Gender Identity Disorder
33. Mood Disorders
Segment Length:
00:58
07:17
08:52
04:05
11:48
CD 3:
THERAPY
34. Schizophrenia
35. Treatment of Drug Addiction
36. Early Treatment of Mental Disorders
37. Electroconvulsive Therapy
05:18
03:31
05:01
05:11
STRESS AND HEALTH
38. Stress on the Job
39. Selye’s Stress Response Studies
10:46
02:52
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
40. Takooshian’s Psychology of Bystanders
41. Milgram’s Obedience Studies
42. Schachter’s Affiliation Experiment
01:33
05:08
06:12
Digital Media Archive: Psychology
VHS and DVD Contents and Counter Times
Counter times are approximate. Be sure to set your counter to 0:00 before inserting each tape.
VHS and DVD 1:
Start Time:
NEUROSCIENCE
1. Neural Communication
2. Brain Structures
3. Brain Imaging
0:00:35
0:05:19
0:05:45
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
4. Müller-Lyer Illusion
5. Depth Cues
0:07:23
0:07:49
LEARNING
6. Pavlov’s Discovery of Classical Conditioning
7. Watson’s Little Albert
8. Thorndike’s Puzzle Box
9. B. F. Skinner Interview
10. Cognitive Maps
11. Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment
0:08:15
0:11:23
0:12:13
0:14:41
0:18:44
0:21:19
DEVELOPMENT
12. Harlow’s Studies on Dependency in Monkeys
13. Testing Competency in the Newborn
14. Reflexes in the Newborn
15. Object Permanence
16. Stranger Anxiety
17. Morelli’s Strange-Situation Test
18. Piaget’s Conservation Task
19. Body Part Counting System
20. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development
0:26:28
0:32:40
0:33:45
0:36:22
0:37:32
0:38:53
0:42:08
0:42:58
0:44:52
THINKING AND LANGUAGE
21. Chomsky’s View of Language Development
22. Gleason’s Wug Test
0:46:50
0:48:13
MEMORY
23. Neisser’s Selective Attention Test
24. Aging and Memory
25. Clive Wearing—Living without Memory
0:49:21
0:50:09
0:54:09
Tape and DVD 2:
Start Time:
MOTIVATION
26. Self-Stimulation in Rats
0:00:31
EMOTION
27. Reading Nonverbal Communication
28. Ekman’s Studies on Facial Expressions of Emotion
0:01:16
0:04:50
v
vi
DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY VHS and DVD Contents and Counter Times
Tape and DVD 2 (continued):
Start Time:
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
29. The Schizophrenic Brain
30. The Mind of the Psychopath
31. Multiple Personality Disorder
32. Gender Identity Disorder
33. Mood Disorders
0:07:07
0:08:05
0:15:22
0:24:14
0:28:19
THERAPY
34. Schizophrenia
35. Treatment of Drug Addiction
36. Early Treatment of Mental Disorders
37. Electroconvulsive Therapy
0:40:07
0:45:25
0:48:56
0:53:57
STRESS AND HEALTH
38. Stress on the Job
39. Selye’s Stress Response Studies
0:59:08
1:09:54
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
40. Takooshian’s Psychology of Bystanders
41. Milgram’s Obedience Studies
42. Schachter’s Affiliation Experiment
1:12:46
1:14:19
1:19:27
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY 1
SEGMENT 1A
Neural Communication
Description:
Clip 1a depicts how neural communication works. This clip illustrates
simulated action potentials traveling from one neuron to another. How an
action potential from an excitatory neuron can create an excitatory
postsynaptic potential in the target neuron is demonstrated. Also
illustrated is how an excitatory postsynaptic potential depolarizes the
target cell. The clip explains that if depolarization reaches the excitation
threshold of the target neuron, the neuron will fire. Both temporal
summation and spatial summation are also described.
Another principle discussed in this clip is how an inhibitory
postsynaptic potential causes hyperpolarization of the target neuron,
thereby causing the membrane potential to decline further from the
excitation threshold. The clip then illustrates what an axoaxonic synapse is
and how it can function.
Placement:
This video segment is well suited for lectures dealing with the nervous
system, particularly on the cellular level. It describes a number of the
essential neuronal processes. It is also useful as a preface to lectures on the
effects of drugs, since these pathways are the site of drug action. The
portion that deals with depolarization and hyperpolarization is particularly
helpful in explaining the agonistic and antagonistic nature of drugs.
SEGMENT 1B
Neural Communication
Description:
The differences between action potentials in myelinated axons and
unmyelinated axons are discussed in clip 1b. An action potential is first
depicted in an unmyelinated axon. The narrator describes that in an
unmyelinated axon the depolarization of the axon membrane opens
sodium channels, which are present down the entire length of the axon,
and allows the action potential to be regenerated at every point along the
axon. Action potentials in the unmyelinated axon are also shown to
progress down the axon at a constant rate.
The way in which an action potential travels down a myelinated axon
is also depicted. The narrator describes that in a myelinated axon the
action potential is regenerated at the Nodes of Ranvier and travels through
the myelinated sections of the axon via passive conduction. After the two
types of conduction are depicted, conduction in myelinated and
unmyelinated axons is compared. The narrator explains that conduction in
myelinated axons can be up to fifteen times faster and is more efficient
than conduction in unmyelinated axons.
2
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
Placement:
This is another segment that is very helpful with lectures on the nervous
system. It explains a specific type of nerve cell conduction that is seen in
the white matter. The neurophysiological aspects of communication in the
nervous system are covered. In addition, discussions of the support cells of
the nervous system, called glia, are supported since the myelin sheath that
is the focus of the information is created by a type of glial cell, the
oligodendrocyles.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENTS
2A–2M
3
Brain Structure
Description:
The second series of clips are related to the illustration of different brain
structures. All of the clips in this series look at an animated threedimensional model of the brain and rotate the animation so that the student
is able to see various brain structures in relation to each other. Clip 2a
shows how the optic nerve connects the eyes to the brain. The brain rotates
a full three hundred and sixty degrees, starting from the left side view of
the brain. Clip 2b illustrates the same connection between the eyes and
brain via the optic nerve, while rotating the brain from a ventral view to a
left-side view. Clips 2c-2f each depict the different lobes of the brain
(frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes). Each clip rotates the brain
differently to give a different view of each of the lobes. Clip 2c rotates the
brain from the left side to the front, clip 2d rotates from the backside to the
right, clip 2e rotates from the top to the left-side view, and clip 2f rotates
from the bottom to the left-side view. Clips 2g-2i all depict lower level brain
structures. Clip 2g shows the limbic system and rotates the brain from the
back to the left-side view. Clip 2h depicts the brainstem and thalamus,
while rotating the brain from the left side to back view. The brainstem and
thalamus are shown in clip 2i and the brain is rotated from back to left-side
view. Clips 2j (rotates the brain from back to left-side) and 2k (rotates the
brain from the left-side to the back view) both illustrate the cerebellum.
Clips 2i (rotates the brain from the front to the right-side view) and 2m
(shows the brain rotating from the right-side view to the front) both depict
the remaining brain structures when the cerebral cortex is removed.
Placement:
These segments are helpful for lectures dealing with the nervous system
from a gross anatomical perspective. They show the brain from different
perspectives. On some of these clips it is possible to see the subcortical
structures of the brain, such as the thalamus and basal ganglia, since the
animation highlights these structures that are found deep within the brain.
On others, it is possible to see structures that lie on the surface of the brain,
like the cerebellum and the cerebral cortex. Some of the segments could
also be used with lectures on sensation, to point out primary and
secondary sensory cortices, and with lectures on language abilities, since it
is possible to point out cortical regions such as Broca’s or Wernicke’s areas.
4
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENTS
3A-3D
Brain Imaging
Description:
Clips 3a-3d are all related to brain imaging. The first clip in the series, clip
3a, depicts a simulated imaging room where PET, MRI and CT machines
are located. Clip 3b demonstrates what is done during an MRI scan. The
simulation shows a subject being presented with two types of visual
stimuli. The first visual stimulus is a series of lines, while the second
stimulus is a figure-like image. The different areas of the brain that each of
these stimuli activate are depicted in a simulated MRI scan of the brain.
The series of lines in different orientations activates the central areas of the
occipital lobe, while looking at the figure-like stimuli activates the lateral
and inferior parts of the occipital and temporal lobes. The final clips (3c
and 3d) both show actual MRI scans of the brain from two different
viewpoints. Clip 3c is a coronal MRI (brain is divided into the front and
back part of the brain) and clip 3d is a sagittal MRI (brain is divided into
left and right hemispheres).
Placement:
This segment is useful for lectures dealing with the nervous system, since
brain imaging techniques are critically important methods for studying the
functions of different portions of the nervous system. It is also helpful
when used with material from cognitive psychology. This is due to the
fact that researchers in a field of psychology known as cognitive
neuroscience employ these methods more than any other researchers.
Cognitive neuroscience is concerned with determining what structures of
the brain are involved in cognitive processes like memory or language.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 4
5
Müller-Lyer Illusion
Description:
The classic Müller-Lyer visual illusion is demonstrated in this clip. In the
Müller-Lyer illusion an individual looks at two lines that are identical in
size. One of the lines is enclosed in an outward pointing arrowhead, while
the other is enclosed in an inward pointing arrowhead. An individual who
observes this illusion will report that the line with the outward pointing
arrow is longer than the other, when the two lines are actually identical in
length. This clip shows a variation of this classic illusion. The illusion is
demonstrated inside a building, where the line in the corner of the
building (outward pointing arrow) appears longer than the line drawn for
the ticket booth window (inward pointing arrow).
Placement:
This segment is useful for lectures on perception. Optical illusions are
important to the field of perception because they show us how our
perceptual system can be ‘tricked’ by certain types of stimuli. The reason
that we are vulnerable to these illusions is because they tap into perceptual
processes that we use to make sense of ‘real-world’ objects. Thus, the
demonstration in the clip shows that we are misled by the Müller-Lyer
illusion because it is similar to a cue that we use often when judging depth.
6
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 5
Depth Cues
Description:
Depth cues are demonstrated in this clip by using the moon illusion. The
moon illusion occurs when the moon appears to be smaller when it is high
in the sky as opposed to when it is close to the horizon. The actual path
along which the moon travels is depicted in this clip. Then the lunar path
as perceived by subjects is shown.
There are two main explanations for the moon illusion. The first is
related to how an individual perceives size in relation to how far away an
object is. When an object is seen at the horizon it is usually perceived as
being farther away than when at the zenith. The moon produces the samesize retinal image at two different locations; however, when in the location
which is judged to be further away, the moon will seem larger.
Another explanation of the moon illusion is assimilation. When the
moon is on the horizon it assimilates into it other objects that are nearby.
Therefore, buildings, trees and other objects serve as cues that the moon is
on the horizon and the moon appears larger. However, the zenith moon
has no objects nearby that can be assimilated.
Placement:
As with the previous segment, this clip is best utilized with lecture material
dealing with perception. The ‘moon illusion’ is another example of how
our visual system can be ‘fooled’ and shows us pointedly that there is more
to seeing than the sensory information that our eyes take in. Higher
perceptual functions are critical to the interpretation of this information.
This clip presents two possible explanations for the ‘moon illusion’.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 6
7
Pavlov’s Discovery
of Classical Conditioning
Description:
This clip is a recreation of Pavlov’s famous experiment on the salivation
response in dogs, which led to the development of classical conditioning.
Pavlov’s initial goal was to explain what caused dogs to salivate. Initially,
the dogs in Pavlov’s experiment started to salivate when their tongues
touched food. However, as the experiment progressed, Pavlov found that
the dogs started to salivate before they ate food. Pavlov then decided to
introduce a stimulus before feeding that was completely unrelated to food,
the ticking sound of the metronome. Pavlov soon found that in anticipation
of food, the dogs began to salivate to the sound of the metronome.
Placement:
This segment’s primary utility is for lectures on learning. Pavlov is a
seminal figure in this field. His experimentation with dogs’ salivation
response to the sound of a bell is an unmistakable classic in the field of
psychology. For this reason, the clip could also be used with lectures on
the history of psychology. Furthermore, it is possible to see a use for this
clip with lectures on treatments of psychopathology, since exposure
therapies, which are part of behavior modification, are the clinical
application of the extinction process of classical conditioning.
8
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENTS
7A–C
Watson’s Little Albert
Description:
All three clips are scenes from Watson’s famous experiment on emotional
conditioning with Little Albert. This series of clips demonstrates basic
principles of conditioning and generalization. Clip 7a shows Little Albert
prior to being conditioned to fear a rat. In this clip Little Albert is not
fearful when a rat is presented to him. The second clip (7b) depicts Little
Albert after he had experienced the conditioning phase of the experiment,
in which the presence of the rat was paired with a loud noise. In this clip
Little Albert cries and tries to crawl away when the rat is presented, a
reaction that is very different from the response that was seen in the first
clip. The final clip demonstrates how Little Albert’s fear of rats is also
generalized to other similar animals (rabbit).
Placement:
These segments are appropriate for use with lectures on learning,
particularly classical conditioning, because together they show how
Watson was able to pair a neutral stimulus (a laboratory rat) with an
aversive stimulus (a loud noise) to produce conditioning in ‘Little Albert’.
In addition, the clips can be used during lectures dealing with ethics in
research methods. This experiment would never be approved by an
internal review board in any university today due to the trauma that
‘Little Albert’ was put through. Experiments such as this one harmed
psychology’s reputation early in its history.
Finally, the clips could be used with lectures on abnormal psychology
or treatments of psychopathology. The pairing of the rat and the loud
noise by Albert shows the process that behavioral psychologists believe
underlies the formation of phobias. This information is important for
lectures on exposure therapies, a part of the behavior therapies topic.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 8
9
Thorndike’s Puzzle Box
Description:
Thorndike was very interested in examining how new skills are learned.
This clip is a recreation of the experiments that Thorndike performed on
cats in puzzle boxes (boxes in which the cat could only escape by using a
series of levers) in order to examine how animals learn. After observing cat
behavior during repeated exposures to the puzzle box, Thorndike
concluded that successful attempts to escape were made by accident or
trial and error. Thorndike believed that animals engage in behaviors
because of their consequences. These experiments led to the development
of Thordike’s law of effect, which states that an action that results in a
favorable effect is more likely to be repeated, while an action that results in
an unfavorable effect is less likely to be repeated.
Placement:
This segment covers an important part of any lecture on learning.
Thorndike’s work with cats and the puzzle box was an important
antecedent to Skinner’s work on operant conditioning. Thorndike was
interested solely in observable behavior and wrote the first dissertation on
animal learning. This clip shows his most well-known experimental
technique, the puzzle-box escape. Thorndike’s ‘law of effect’ was
influential in the development of Skinner’s work on reinforcement. The
segment also has limited utility with lectures on treatment of
psychopathology, especially reinforcement therapy, which is a type of
behavior therapy.
10
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 9
B. F. Skinner Interview
Description:
This footage from Skinner’s lab shows pigeons in a Skinner box
responding to words and other stimuli by spinning or pecking. The
narrator explains that the pigeon has learned the desired responses by
being reinforced with food. Just as pigeon behavior can be shaped by
reinforcement, so too can human behavior. In an interview with B.F.
Skinner, Skinner discusses how a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement
is used in gambling machines and argues that individuals gamble because
of the type of reinforcement they receive. In the interview, Skinner also
discusses his opinion that free will is an illusion and that behavior can be
explained by other causes.
Placement:
This segment is useful for lectures on learning, especially operant
conditioning. Skinner is a dominant figure in the study of learning. He is
the founder of the field of operant conditioning. His views on animal and
human behavior have been very influential throughout the entire field of
psychology. In this segment, viewers can see operant conditioning at work
in the lab setting (pigeon responding for food reinforcement); Skinner
discussing how a laboratory manipulation (schedules of reinforcement)
can be seen as an analog of a human behavior (gambling); and Skinner
discussing one of the most basic tenets of his philosophical and scientific
position regarding human behavior—that all behavior is determined and
free will is an illusion.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENTS
1 0A AND 1 0B
11
Cognitive Maps
Description:
Clips 10a and 10b both demonstrate how animals use cognitive maps or
mental representations of the world around them. Clip 10a shows how
elephants living in a desert in Southern Africa use cognitive maps. The
elephants would not be able to survive if they did not rely on mental maps
in order to remember the location of water sources. Clip 10b shows how a
lab rat creates a cognitive map of a maze while trying to locate food. When
the rat is placed back into the maze and the old route to food is blocked,
the rat is able to use cognitive maps to locate food instead of trial and
error learning.
Placement:
This segment can be used with lectures on the cognitive perspective of
learning. Cognitive psychologists are concerned with thought processes.
In this way, they differ from behaviorists in the study of learning. While
behaviorists such as Hull believe that behavior is entirely reflexive and
brought about by cues from the environment, cognitive psychologists are
willing to posit the existence of thought in animals, even animals as
primitive as the rat. Both clips show animals engaging in enterprises
which support the cognitive perspective—the elephants find water in the
desert and the laboratory rat finds food in the radial arm maze by using
cognitive maps.
12
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 11
Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment
Description:
In clip 11 Albert Bandura, one of the first scientists to conduct experiments
on observational learning in children, narrates a video of one his most
famous experiments on modeled aggression. Bandura was interested in
how much modeled aggression a child learned just by watching others
perform aggressive acts. During this experiment children viewed a video
tape in which an adult performed both novel aggressive behavior and
novel aggressive language towards an inflated doll. The children were then
observed during free play. The children who had not viewed the video of
novel aggression modeling never exhibited the novel forms of aggression;
however, the children who had watched the video are shown in clips
displaying the novel aggressive behavior and language seen in the video.
Placement:
This segment is useful with lectures dealing with social learning theory.
This material can be found in chapters that deal with learning. Bandura
became famous based on the work he did with the modeling of aggression
in children. The idea was that individuals can learn from watching others.
This has been shown to be true in a number of studies. What makes
Bandura’s study so interesting was that he showed that children who
watch adults acting aggressively will become aggressive themselves. This
research is often cited by advocates for reducing violent content of
television shows. The segment can also be helpful with lectures on social
development, because it shows that a child’s environment influences
his/her behavior.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENTS
12A–12C
13
Harlow’s Studies on Dependency
in Monkeys
Description:
Developmental psychologists once thought that infants develop
attachments to their mothers primarily because their mothers satisfy the
infants’ need for food. Harry Harlow and his experiments on infant
monkeys demonstrated other important factors in attachment
development. Clips 12a, 12b, and 12c show footage from Harlow’s original
experiments. In clip 12a, a monkey is given two “mothers”: one mother
made of wire that provides food, and the other mother made of cloth that
does not provide food. The monkey only goes to the wire mother to eat
and spends the rest of the time with the cloth mother. In fact, each day the
monkey spends 17 to18 hours with the cloth mother and less than 1 hour
with the wire mother.
Clips 12b and 12c are both concerned with the monkey’s reaction in
fearful or threatening situations. In clip 12b, when the monkey is exposed
to a mechanical robot that moves and makes loud noises, the monkey runs
directly to the cloth mother and ignores the wire mother. In another
threatening situation, depicted in clip 12c, the monkey is placed in a novel
environment. When the monkey is first placed in the environment, there is
no mother in the room, and the monkey is very cautious and does not
explore the new environment. In the next segment, when the wire mother
is placed in the new environment, the monkey acts much the same as
when no mother was in the room and does not go to the mother. In
contrast, when the cloth mother is placed in the room, the monkey runs to
the mother immediately. Harlow describes that the contact comfort that
the cloth mother provides helps the monkey to feel secure in the novel
environment. After the monkey feels secure he is able to relax and explore
the environment.
Placement:
These segments are very useful for lectures dealing with attachment,
which is a topic covered in social development. Harlow’s work was
initially an attempt to test the two theories of attachment that existed.
These were the psychoanalytical theory and the behavioral theory. Both of
these theories agreed that children become attached to their mothers
because their mothers are sources of nourishment. Harlow’s work shows
that nourishment is not the only factor in attachment. His monkey babies
showed a preference for the ‘mother’ in his study that was soft, rather
than the ‘mother’ that supplied nourishment. He used the term ‘contact
comfort’ to explain why the babies preferred the terry-cloth mother. The
babies also show ‘safe-base behavior’ in the latter two clips. Freud,
Erikson, and Ainsworth have also done important work on attachment.
14
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 13
Testing Competency in the Newborn
Description:
At the time of birth, newborns are checked for anything that might
warrant medical attention. This clip discusses the most common scale used
for assessing newborns, called the Apgar scale. Using the Apgar scale,
infants are given a rating of zero, one or two for each of five different vital
signs (color, heart rate, muscle tone, respiration and reflex responsiveness).
The newborns are given ratings at the time of birth and then again at five
minutes. The narrator also explains that, while a total score of ten is rare, a
score of 7 is average for a normal, healthy baby.
Placement:
This segment is appropriate for lectures dealing with physical development.
The issue of neonatal health is of great importance due to the vulnerability
of newborns. The Apgar scale is used to diagnose any physiological
warning signs directly after the child’s birth. Any maladies at this period
of development can have severe consequences later in life. For this reason
the Apgar tests are standard procedure in all delivery rooms.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 14
15
Reflexes in the Newborn
Description:
Babies are born with reflexes that are crucial to survival in the world.
Some of the automatic responses that babies are born with are discussed in
this clip. Very basic reflexes include: breathing, blinking, swallowing,
sucking, rooting (turning of the head when the cheek is touched in order
to suck), and the Babbinsky reflex (toes curl under when the bottom of the
foot is touched). As the narrator suggests, some researchers believe that
these reflexes were critical during an earlier stage of human evolution
when infants had to cling to their mothers.
Placement:
This segment is very helpful in a number of contexts. First, when
discussing the field of ethology, the infant reflexes are excellent evidence
for the existence of innate behavior patterns. Some of the reflexes, namely
the grasping, Moro, and Babbinsky reflexes, are examples of vestigial
behaviors (responses that were at one time in our evolution crucial to our
survival, but now are not so). The clip can also be used with lectures on
physical development in children. During development these reflexes are
lost when higher brain centers take control of these responses. For this
reason, the clip can also be used for lectures on physiological psychology.
16
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 15
Object Permanence
Description:
This clip discusses the concept of object permanence, defined as the
knowledge that objects exist even when they are out of view. The video
shows children of different ages in order to demonstrate how object
permanence develops during the first year of life. After a child has
developed object permanence, the child will look for an object even if it is
hidden. One common mistake that young children make after they
develop object permanence is called the A not B error, and is also
discussed in this clip. The A not B error is demonstrated when a child is
shown looking for a toy where he originally found it rather than where he
observed it being hidden.
Placement:
This segment is a strong addition to lectures on cognitive development.
Since the essential figure in the area of psychology is Piaget, and the
behavior that defines the first stage of his theory is object permanence, this
clip is very helpful. Children in Piaget’s sensorimotor stage are unable to
grasp this concept. The segment can also be used with lectures on research
methods. Piaget’s methods were critical to his understanding of cognitive
development. Today there is some controversy regarding these methods,
particularly as to whether they caused Piaget to overestimate how long it
takes a child to pass from one stage to the next.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 16
17
Stranger Anxiety
Description:
At approximately six months of age, infants begin to display stranger
anxiety, which is the topic of this clip. Stranger anxiety is evident in the
apprehension a baby often displays when confronted with an adult. This
video shows footage of infants’ adverse reactions to strangers. The child’s
reliance on a caregiver when confronted with a stranger is evidence of the
bond between a parent and child. When babies encounter strangers, they
often look to their parents—their most trusted social partners—for
reassurance and clues on how to respond.
Placement:
This segment is well-suited for lectures on social development. Stranger
anxiety is a product of the process of attachment. Once a child is fully able
to identify their mother (or other caregiver), the child then realizes that
others aren’t his/her mother. At this point, the child develops a highly
adaptive uncertainty regarding others and seeks the safety of the mother
when encountering them. This phenomenon first appears at about 9
months of age and usually continues past the child’s second birthday.
18
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 17
Morelli’s Strange-Situation Test
Description:
This clip discusses the development of attachment in babies, which usually
develops around seven months of age. Researchers measure attachment by
using a “strange-situation” test. In a strange-situation test, the researcher
measures a baby’s reaction to being separated and then reunited with a
caregiver. By measuring the infant’s reaction in a strange-situation test, a
researcher is able to determine if a baby is securely attached. Research
using a strange-situation test has also been conducted in different cultures.
Footage of infants’ reactions demonstrates that cross-culturally infants
react very similarly to a strange-situation test.
Placement:
This segment is useful with lectures on social development. The strangesituation test is used to test attachment in human infants. The test consists
of a number of arranged pairings of the child with his/her mother, or the
child with the mother and a stranger, or the child with the stranger, or the
child alone. Attachment is rated by whether or not the child shows certain
behaviors during the test. The behaviors of interest are social referencing,
safe-base behavior, and separation protest.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 18
19
Piaget’s Conservation Task
Description:
Piaget’s third stage of development, known as concrete operational stage,
is the topic of this video. Once a child has reached the concrete operational
stage he/she is able to think logically about concrete events. One way to
measure if a child has attained this level of development is to use Piaget’s
conservation task. This task measures whether a child understands that an
object or thing can change while still retaining its underlying identity. This
clip shows a child participating in the conservation task. In this task the
child is asked whether the amount of water in a container is the same once
it is poured into a different shaped container. The child responds correctly
and demonstrates that she has reached the concrete operational stage of
development.
Placement:
This segment works well with lectures on cognitive development.
Conservation is the skill that defines the second stage of Piaget’s theory of
cognitive development. The term conservation comes from the law of
conservation of matter. The ability that Piaget thought he was measuring is
the ability to determine that when matter changes shape or size, it doesn’t
increase or decrease the amount of matter that exists in the object.
Children in the pre-operational stage do not understand this concept, but
children in the concrete operations stage do. It is what marks the passage
of an individual from stage 2 to stage 3.
20
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 1 9
Body Part Counting System
Description:
This clip discusses the unique twenty-seven body part counting system
that is used by the Oksapmin people of Papua New Guinea to represent
numbers. Geoffrey Sachs, who has studied the counting system of the
Oksapmin, is featured in the clip and explains the system. The clip also
explains the interesting adaptation of the system in response to western
culture. When western culture was introduced to the Oksapmin, the
children developed strategies for solving western type of arithmetic
problems using the existing counting system. This way of using the
counting system had not previously existed in the Oksapmin culture and
therefore was an original historical invention of the children. The clip then
concludes with an example of a child using the system to solve a simple
addition problem.
Placement:
This segment is useful with lectures on cultural psychology. The counting
system of the Oksapmin is an invention of their culture. It influences the
way that they think and communicate. It is an example of a unique
cultural adaptation. The clip could also be used with lectures on cognitive
development, especially those that cover the innate properties of cognitive
development. This is due to the fact that this unique adaptation is
evidence for the role of environment in the development of thought.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 20
21
Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development—
Trust versus Mistrust
Description:
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory of development consists of eight
stages. During each of Erikson’s stages, the person’s task is to successfully
resolve the specific conflict that characterizes that stage. This clip discusses
the first stage of development, which is concerned with the resolution of
the conflict of trust versus mistrust. The type of caregiving that produces
both trust and mistrust in infants is explained. Erikson believed that if
caregiving is predictable and consistent, an infant will feel as though the
world is reliable and this feeling will foster trust. However, if caregiving is
erratic or incompatible to their needs, infants develop mistrust, as they feel
the world around them is unsafe and unreliable.
Placement:
This segment can be used with two different lectures. First, it is a very
good companion to material on social development. Obviously, this clip
complements lectures on Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development.
In this theory, the psychoanalyst Erik Erikson attempted to explain the
critical events in a person’s social development. The clip can also be used
with lectures on abnormal psychology due to the fact that, according to
Erikson, unsuccessful resolution of his first stage leads to a lack of
development of a conscience. Later in life individuals without a conscience
are referred to as psychopaths or sociopaths. In the parlance of the DSMIV, these individuals have anti-social personality disorder.
22
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 21
Chomsky’s View of Language Development
Description:
In this clip, Noam Chomsky’s theory of language development is
explained. The ability of humans to master grammar, Chomsky claims, can
not be explained solely by learning. Therefore, Chomsky asserts that the
grammar in language is more likely to have a biological basis than the
meaning of individual words. In other words, Chomsky argues that
humans have an inborn, predisposition for language and grammar. The
clip then gives examples of sentences that are grammatically different
when words are removed at the end of the sentence. Humans are able to
understand the sentences as meaning two different things without
explicitly learning the grammatical rules that make the sentences different.
Placement:
This segment can be used with lectures on cognitive development.
Chomsky’s work on psycholinguistics is the cornerstone for our
understanding of how humans develop language skills. The clip can also
be used with lectures on nature/nurture since Chomsky’s theory is highly
nativistic. Chomsky’s work was revolutionary because he argued against
the behavioral explanation of language development, espoused by B. F.
Skinner, which stated that language development was a purely learned
phenomenon. The clip could also be used with a lecture on the history of
psychology when introducing Chomsky’s contribution. Finally, when
presenting material on the language areas of the brain during
physiological psychology lectures, it might be useful to mention that
Chomsky’s work was critically important to the notion that humans are
hard-wired for language.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 22
23
Gleason’s Wug Test
Description:
This clip discusses the Wug Test, which was developed by Jean Gleason.
The Wug test uses words that do not exist in order to test whether or not
children can apply the rules of their language to unfamiliar words. Fake
words are used to eliminate the possibility of previous exposure to the
words, and to give support to the tenet that learning alone is not enough
to explain grammar use. The clip depicts a psychologist administering the
Wug test to a child, who demonstrates his ability to apply the rules of
grammar to the nonsense words used in the test.
Placement:
This segment is useful with lectures covering cognitive development,
especially language development. Jean Gleason has invented a way to test
children’s grammatical development. This test employs non-words and, in
many cases, is complemented by images. The point is to test whether
children understand rules like adding –s to a noun makes it plural, or
adding –ed to a verb makes it refer to events in the past.
24
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 23
Neisser’s Selective Attention Test
Description:
This clip is a portion of the actual tape Neisser showed to subjects in his
selective attention test. Selective attention is a person’s ability to only pay
attention to certain aspects of an experience. In Neisser’s selective
attention test, subjects were shown images of three men in black shirts
passing a basketball to each other superimposed on images of three men in
white shirts passing a basketball. The subjects were instructed to press a
key each time they saw a man in a black shirt pass the ball.
Placement:
This segment is useful for lectures on perception, particularly the segment
on attention. Selective attention is often studied using the dichotic listening
technique. In this technique participants listen to two separate streams of
information coming in to their right and left ears through a set of
earphones. It is this technique that has helped to make us aware that we do
not perceive much of the content of the unattended ear. Ulrich Neisser has
developed a different task for testing selective attention. This task requires
individuals to watch, rather than listen, but measures the same ability.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 24
25
Aging and Memory
Description:
This clip discusses the research on aging and memory. Much of the
research that has been done on the memory of older adults has focused on
retrospective memory, or memory for events that occurred in the past.
However, this clip discusses research on prospective memory, or memory
for intended actions in the future. In the experiment discussed in the clip,
time-based and event-based prospective memory was tested. In the timebased test, a subject was asked to remember to press a key every five
minutes while he/she answered questions. In the event-based test, subjects
were asked to answer questions and to remember to press a key when a
question came up about a president. Each type of test was given to both
young adults and older adults. Researchers found that for the time-based
task, significant memory differences existed between older adults and
younger adults. However, in the event-based task, no memory differences
were found.
Placement:
This segment is useful with lectures on memory. The type of memory that
is measured by the researchers in the clip is called prospective memory, or
memory for things in the future (i.e. remembering to do things). This is an
area of memory research that is not well explored. The researchers here are
able to show that older adults are as good as younger adults at prospective
memory tasks when they are given external cues, but are worse when the
cues are absent. This clip could also be helpful when discussing neural
degeneration during the physiological psychology part of the course.
26
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 25
Clive Wearing—Living Without Memory
Description:
This clip discusses an extreme form of memory deficit, in which a
person is unable to form new memories. Before sustaining significant
brain damage caused by viral encephalitis that left Clive Wearing unable
to form new memories, Clive was an accomplished choir director and
musical arranger. The clip shows both Clive and his wife Deborah
discussing his condition.
Placement:
This segment is helpful when lecturing on memory. Clive Wearing is a
tragic case. His ability to encode new memories has been destroyed by a
viral infection. This leaves Clive perpetually confused by his situation
since mentally he has not aged since the damage, yet he is forced to
confront external information that contradicts his mental state. His case is
reminiscent of that of HM, the individual who had his hippocampus
surgically removed to abate his epilepsy. Both men are unable to encode
new information into long-term memory. The clip can also be used with
material on physiological psychology, since Clive Wearing’s memory
deficit is a product of brain damage.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 26
27
Self-Stimulation in Rats
Description:
One factor that influences an organism’s behavior is the brain. The lateral
hypothalamus is a brain structure that has been implicated in the reward
system. This clip demonstrates how the lateral hypothalamus can affect
behavior. In this clip, a rat is seen in a chamber with an electrode placed
in the lateral hypothalamus region of its brain. Eventually, the rat presses
a lever that sends a weak electrical current that stimulates the lateral
hypothalamus. Once the lateral hypothalamus is stimulated, the reward
system is activated, which reinforces the rat’s behavior. Then the rat is
shown pressing the lever constantly, at the expense of other critical
activities such as eating and drinking.
Placement:
This segment is useful with lectures on motivation since it deals with
excitation of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB), or reward pathway, in the
brain. This structure mediates the experience of pleasure. All events or
stimuli that organisms find pleasurable cause the neurons in this part of
the brain to become active. Thus, we are motivated to engage in behaviors
that will cause activation of the MFB. Olds and Milner did the research to
uncover the existence of this structure. The technique they used, which is
shown in the clip, is called intercranial self-stimulation (ICSS).
This clip is also useful with lectures on abnormal psychology,
particularly depression, since the assumption that has been behind the
development of anti-depressant drugs is that people who are depressed
have an insufficient amount of activity in the reward pathway. Also, the
clip is useful with lectures on nature vs. nurture, because the reward
pathway is an evolutionarily engineered brain structure designed to
enhance an individual’s chances of survival. Behaviors such as eating,
drinking, and sexual activity all cause the MFB to become active.
28
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 27
Reading Nonverbal Communication
Description:
Human emotions are conveyed in both verbal and nonverbal actions.
Therefore, nonverbal behavior is a very important aspect of the way
humans communicate. Facial expressions in particular, can reveal a lot
about how a person is feeling. This series of clips deals with the detection
of nonverbal communication. The first two clips are of women talking on
the phone. Using nonverbal cues, the viewer is to decide whom she might
be talking to. Likewise, in the final clip a woman tells two different
versions of her life story and the viewer is to decide which story is a lie
and which is the truth, based on nonverbal information.
Placement:
This segment is useful for lectures dealing with emotion. The clip attempts
to demonstrate how it is possible to tell certain things about a person’s
emotional state from their facial expressions and their voice. Also, one of
the presentations is a test of whether the viewer can tell if the person on
tape is lying or telling the truth. Ekman has done extensive studies of what
he refers to as ‘action units’ that are facial movements which collectively
become facial expressions. He has shown that there are individual
differences in being able to read facial expressions. The portion of the tape
where the person is describing parts of her past is an excerpt from his
experimental stimuli.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 28
29
Ekman’s Studies on Facial Expressions of
Emotion
Description:
The human face is vitally important in displaying emotions. In this clip
Paul Ekman describes the multiple roles of the human face and its primary
importance in conveying emotion. Ekman also describes his studies of
facial expressions, in which he traveled to many different countries to
measure how people of different cultures express the six basic emotions
(surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness and sadness). Included in Ekman’s
sample, was a preliterate tribe from New Guinea who had little contact
with other cultures. Ekman found that in every culture emotions were
expressed with very similar facial expressions. Therefore, it was concluded
that evolution, and not learning, is responsible for our facial expressions.
Placement:
This segment is useful with lectures on emotion. Paul Ekman describes his
famous research on the cross-cultural recognition of emotions. Ekman has
traveled to a number of different countries and has shown people faces of
individuals who were posing in one of the basic emotional expressions
(happy, sad, angry, surprised, disgusted, afraid). He has found that,
regardless of culture, people are able to recognize the facial expressions
that he has shown. This is very strong evidence that facial expressions are
innate behaviors. If they were learned, then there would be a difference
between people of different groups.
The clip is also useful with lectures dealing with the topic of nature vs.
nurture. Once again, this is due to the fact that emotional expressions are
examples of innate, or genetically programmed, behaviors.
30
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 29
The Schizophrenic Brain
Description:
This video shows the differences in brain characteristics of a schizophrenic
patient when compared to the brain of his normal identical twin. Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the schizophrenic brain shows larger
amounts of spinal fluid in the space between the brain and the skull in
comparison to the normal twin. This clip illustrates the brain abnormalities
related to schizophrenia and the often-observed brain shrinkage in
schizophrenic patients.
Placement:
This video would be helpful with lectures on the role of nature and
nurture, due to the fact that it discusses schizophrenia, a mental illness
with a strong genetic component, in the context of identical twins. It can
be used to demonstrate that brain morphology is a combination of both
genes and environment. The video segment can also be used with lectures
on abnormal psychology. It is helpful to show this clip in order to support
the idea that schizophrenia is due to organic causes. It links the brain and
the disorder.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 30
31
The Mind of the Psychopath
Description:
The difference in the functioning of a psychopath’s brain in comparison to
the functioning of a normal individual’s brain is discussed in this clip. Dr.
Robert Hare describes his lexical decision paradigm that was used to
examine how psychopaths process information differently than other
individuals. In the lexical decision paradigm, a person decides if a string
of letters forms a word. The words presented in Dr. Hare’s experiment
were either neutral or emotionally negative in connotation.
Results showed that in contrast to normal individuals, psychopaths
seem to process emotionally laden words in the same way that they
process neutral words. This may suggest that psychopaths do not extract
emotional meaning from words in the same way that normal individuals
do. Dr. Hare also asserts that psychopaths may be unable to process deep
semantic or emotional meaning. The viewer is shown PET scans of brains
that were taken while patients were performing the lexical decision task.
The PET scans clearly show marked differences in the way normal and
psychopathic individuals process emotional information.
Placement:
This clip is useful with each of the following topics:
The nervous system—The clip demonstrates the technique of S.P.E.C.T., a
form of PET scan, which is used to image the brains of individuals
diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder (psychopaths). The narration
also briefly mentions fMRI while a brief view of a scanner is given.
Social development—It is not directly relevant to what is seen in the clip,
but a discussion of the development of the conscience and Erikson’s first
psychosocial stage (Basic Trust vs. Mistrust) is important to the
understanding of anti-social personality disorder. This clip can be used to
describe the development of this disorder.
Abnormal psychology—This clip can be helpful in elaborating on a
description of anti-social personality disorder. The lack of emotion shown
by the individuals in the study that is presented is evidence of a
physiological component to this disorder.
32
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 31
Multiple Personality Disorder
Description:
In this clip, a man named Tony describes his life and struggle with
multiple personality disorder. Tony, with the help of a therapist, has
identified at least 53 of his different personalities. While some
psychologists agree that alternative personalities are created to escape
trauma, others feel the disorder is culturally created and is not a true
psychological disorder.
Dr. Putnam and his colleagues examined evoked potentials in the
brains of multiples. Results showed different patterns of activity in
response to stimuli presented to different personalities of the same
individual. These results suggest that actual bodily changes (galvanic skin
response, patterns of brain activity) occur when different personalities
surface. Dr. Putnam and others argue that this evidence supports the claim
that multiple personality disorders is a valid psychological disorder that
merits further research.
Placement:
This segment is useful when covering the tools that are used to measure
brain activity. This would be relevant to lectures on the nervous system. A
psychologist in the clip uses an EEG apparatus to obtain evoked potentials
from the patient being studied. The differential activity patterns for the
person with multiple personality disorder are suggestive of an actual
physical change occurring in the man’s brain when he takes on another
personality. It is also effective for use with lectures on abnormal psychology
when discussing the different forms of mental disorders. Finally, since
there is a therapy session shown briefly in the clip, it can be used with
lectures on treatments of psychopathology to demonstrate how
psychotherapy might proceed.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 32
33
Gender Identity Disorder
Description:
Brad describes his personal struggle with gender identity disorder. He
describes his feelings of confusion and discomfort with being born
biologically as a woman but always feeling psychologically as though he
were a man. Brad speaks to the viewer only a year after his reassignment
surgery. Since the surgery Brad says he now views himself as one person
and one sex and expresses his feelings of wholeness.
Placement:
This segment can be used with lectures on the gender identity portion of
social development. This individual would be an example of the idea that
gender identity is a complex development phenomenon that consists of
both physiological and social variables. For a historical perspective, it
could be shown in conjunction with lectures on abnormal psychology to
accentuate a discussion of the fact that until the early 1970s, homosexuality
was considered a mental disorder.
34
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 33
Mood Disorders
Description:
Depression and mania are the main focus of discussion in this clip.
Individuals who suffer from both depression and mania share their
experiences. Depression is also discussed from both a psychological and a
biological perspective. The use of medications to treat patients with
depression and mania is also described. An animation is used to illustrate
synaptic activity in manic and depressed patients. The animation also
illustrates how different medications control neurotransmitter
release/absorption and can therefore alleviate symptoms of both
depression and mania.
Biological and psychological treatments are emphasized as being used
in conjunction with one another during treatment. The last several minutes
of the clip are devoted to a dramatization of a depressed client’s
progression through treatment. The treatment involves both
psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic methods, asserting that
while medication can be many times necessary, successful treatment lies in
the application of both medical and psychological methods.
Placement:
This segment could be a component of a lecture on neurotransmission that
is part of coverage of the nervous system. There is brief coverage of the
role of norepinephrine and serotonin transmission in affective disorders.
The material for the majority of the segment is more appropriate for
lectures on both abnormal psychology and treatments of
psychopathology. It is an attempt to dramatize the symptoms of
depression and their resolution via both pharmacological and
psychotherapeutic means. There are a number of segments of a
dramatized interaction between therapist and client.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 3 4
35
Schizophrenia
Description:
This clip discusses the medical treatment of schizophrenia. In the 1950s,
chlorpromazine was a drug that was given to many patients plagued with
a variety of mental disturbances. While chlorpromazine was not very
useful in treating some mental disorders, it was extremely effective in
treating schizophrenia. Following the advent of chlorpromazine, many
other drugs have been developed that help schizophrenic symptoms. All
of these medications seem to have one thing in common; they act on the
neurotransmitter dopamine. This discovery led to a theory of
schizophrenia that suggests that schizophrenics suffer from excessive
activity at dopaminergic synapses. These medications alleviate many
patients’ symptoms by blocking dopamine receptors and normalizing the
chemistry of the brain. The effectiveness of anti-psychotic medications is
demonstrated by showing two separate interviews with Augustine, a
young schizophrenic patient: one interview done before medication, and
one interview completed after four weeks of treatment with medication.
Placement:
This segment is useful with lectures on abnormal psychology.
Schizophrenia is described in this segment through a case study of an
individual who has the disorder. The most effective treatment for the
disorder, anti-psychotic drugs, is discussed. These drugs are dopamine
antagonists and thus slow down that rate of activity in dopamine
pathways in the brain. The history of treatment of schizophrenia is also
briefly discussed.
The segment could also be used with lectures dealing with treatments
of mental disorders, since treatments are discussed throughout much of
the clip. Finally, the clip could be used with physiological psychology
lectures, since the physiological underpinnings of schizophrenia are
discussed in some detail.
36
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 35
Treatment of Drug Addiction
Description:
This clip features a recovering drug addict, Greg Scrirrotto, talking about
his addiction to crack cocaine. Crack cocaine is a particularly powerful
stimulant. After using the drug, the regular user experiences an intense
rush of euphoria followed by a crash and craving. Cravings can last for
hours and return days later. As a result of his addiction, Greg abandoned
his family, lost his job, was on welfare and started to commit petty crimes
in order to support his habit. In order to receive treatment, Greg entered a
program at the University of Pennsylvania treatment center. When the clip
was filmed, Greg had been sober and clean for four years. In the clip Greg
discusses the skills he learned that were particularly helpful in
accomplishing and maintaining his sobriety goal.
Placement:
This segment is appropriate for lectures on abnormal psychology.
Substance-use disorders are classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual. This manual includes, among other things, the classification
scheme for mental disorders. This videoclip shows an individual discussing
his addiction and what became of his career and family life due to his
addiction. The clip could also be used with lectures on treatments for
mental disorders. In the segment, the individual talks about how and
where he received treatment for his addiction and how it improved his life.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 36
37
Early Treatment of Mental Disorders
Description:
During the first half of the twentieth century, many treatments for mental
disorders were used. Most of these treatments were crude and largely
ineffective. Some of the most popular forms of treatment are discussed
and shown in this clip. The first treatment shown is called hydrotherapy.
In hydrotherapy patients were sprayed by water in order to stimulate
them. The wet pack was another technique that was commonly used,
and involved wrapping patients in wet sheets. The third treatment was a
continuous bath that was used in order to sedate patients. Similar to the
continuous bath, hot boxes and hot lamps, which the patient would
either sit in or lie under, were used to help relax patients. A precursor to
electroconvulsive therapy, insulin therapy was developed and used
primarily on patients with schizophrenia. Insulin was administered to
patients in order to produce an insulin induced comma. Insulin therapy
often produced convulsions and wet shock (excessive sweating and
drooling) in patients. Another reaction to insulin therapy was referred to
as dry shock, and involved a full brain seizure. Glucose was then
administered to bring patients out of the insulin induced coma. The
purpose of this therapy was to alleviate severe mental disturbances.
Other forms of convulsive therapy were also popularized during this
time. The last method of treatment discussed in the clip is a lobotomy, in
which the front portions of the frontal lobe are surgically severed from
the other parts of the brain.
Placement:
This segment is helpful for lectures dealing with treatments of mental
disorders. This often-shocking film clip shows some of the methods that
were used on psychotic individuals before anti-psychotic drugs were
developed. None of these methods were particularly efficacious, but in the
absence of a clear understanding of illnesses like schizophrenia and manic
depression, clinicians were forced to use heuristics when attempting to
derive treatments for mental disorders. This clip illustrates some of the
most widely used of these methods. Some of them are particularly
unpleasant to watch.
38
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 37
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Description:
This clip discusses the use of electroconvulsive therapy for severely
depressed patients. ECT is used on patients who do not respond to
conventional methods of treatment. At the beginning of electroconvulsive
therapy the patient is put to sleep and then given a dose of muscle
relaxant. An electric shock is then administered for .5 to 4 seconds. ECT
produces a seizure that needs to last 25 to 120 seconds to be effective.
Patients typically receive 6 to 10 treatments over the course of 2 to 3
weeks. Following ECT treatments patients may show confusion or loss of
memory for recent events. These deficits, however, are temporary and long
term memory loss is rare. Mary, a depressed woman, is used as an
example of a person helped by electroconvulsive therapy. ECT was used to
quickly and effectively reverse Mary’s severe depression and constant
thoughts of suicide.
Placement:
This segment is appropriate for lectures on abnormal psychology or
treatment for mental disorders. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a
treatment for clinical depression. It is used only in situations where the
person suffering from the depression is an imminent risk to themselves or
in cases where anti-depressant drugs are not efficacious. ECT is used
sparingly due to the fact that it produces seizures in the individuals who
receive it. Also, memory deficits for events closely preceding the treatment
are reported. Currently, ECT is less traumatizing than it was in the past
due to the fact that only one electrode is used on one of the patient’s
temples and the amount of current that is passed through the person’s
brain is greatly reduced.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 38
39
Stress on the Job
Description:
Interactions in brain can be upset by environmental changes such as those
experienced during stress. The physiological response to stress is
discussed in this clip. The stress response activates many brain structures
(the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, locus coeruleus, and adrenal gland)
and results in the release of neurotransmitters (namely norepinephrine).
Low levels of stress experienced over long periods of time keep messages
from the limbic system flowing to the frontal cortex. The balance that the
organism tries to maintain between the limbic system and cortex during
stress is exhausting and leads to the erratic behavior that is often seen in
victims of stress. This prolonged stress can cause exhaustion, disease
(ulcers, cancer, and heart disease) and even death.
The importance of the neurotransmitter GABA is also discussed.
GABA appears to lower the excitability of cells that are about to receive
incoming information. However, if stress is prolonged, GABA’s ability to
block messages decreases. Individuals who experience high levels of
prolonged stress can be helped by a class of drugs called benzodiazepines
(i.e. Valium), which enhances GABA’s inhibiting action.
Placement:
This segment can be used with lectures on physiological psychology.
Since the clip deals with stress and its manifestations, it could be used to
discuss the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, particularly the
sympathetic arm. Stress activates this system and causes a number of
physiological events to occur. The autonomic nervous system is an
evolutionarily engineered system that is very effective in preparing us for
life-threatening situations. However, this system can cause us problems in
situations where stress in ongoing. In these circumstances, we can develop
ulcers, high blood pressure, and other physical disorders due to the
activation of the sympathetic nervous system. The clip can also be used
with lectures on abnormal psychology, since stress plays a role in
precipitating many types of psychopathology.
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Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 39
Selye’s Stress Response Studies
Description:
Dr. Hans Selye has continued to work at the University of Montreal since
1945, functioning as the University’s director of experimental medicine
and surgery. The University is known worldwide for the study of stress.
This clip features Dr. Selye describing his early theories of stress. Dr.
Selye’s work on stress began with the observation that there seemed to
exist a set of symptoms that were common to all diseases (feeling tired,
loss of appetite). This common syndrome of symptoms, Dr. Selye
concluded, was a result of stress on the body. Dr. Selye also discusses how
he conceptualizes the positive role of stress in his own life.
Placement:
This segment can be also be used with lectures on physiological
psychology. The reason why is much the same as it is with segment #38.
Stress affects the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn causes us to
be activated for life-threatening events. However, long-term activation of
this system can cause physical illness. Selye is famous for his model of
adaptation to stress. According to Selye, when we encounter a stressful
event, we initially go into an alarm state. As time passes, we gradually
adapt to the stressor. In this way we are able to successfully confront the
potentially harmful situation. However, Selye also pointed out that if the
stressor lasts for a prolonged period, eventually we fall into the exhaustion
phase. In this phase, our coping mechanisms start to fail and the stressor
can lead to physical illness.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 40
41
Takooshian’s Psychology of Bystanders
Description:
After 38 neighbors witnessed the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in
Queens, New York in 1964 and did not call for or try to help, social
psychologists became very interested in bystander psychology. This clip
shows staged crimes committed in public. In this clip, a man steals
bicycles and a wallet (from a woman and a man). Even though many
people witness these staged crimes, only in one instance does a person
intervene. These findings have led psychologists to suggest that a person
is less likely to call for or offer help to another individual when other
people are present. This is now known as the bystander effect.
Placement:
This segment is appropriate for lectures dealing with social psychology.
The clip details studies done by Takooshian on the reaction of bystanders
to events in which one individual is victimized. Takooshian, as well as
others, has observed something known as the ‘unresponsive bystander
phenomenon.’ This is the name given to the finding that people who are
alone are more likely to help another person who is in trouble. This
originally seemed counter-intuitive, but researchers like Takooshian
determined that the presence of others has inhibiting effects on each of us
that lead us not to help, but rather to look to others to render assistance.
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Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 41
Milgram’s Obedience Studies
Description:
This clip shows footage from Milgram’s famous study on social obedience.
In Milgram’s study, the participant was told that they were helping to
conduct an experiment on how punishment affects learning. The teacher
(participant) was to ask the learner (who was actually a confederate)
questions. For every wrong answer the teacher was to administer
increasing levels of shock to the learner. During the experiment the teacher
could hear the learner yelling for the shock to stop. Milgram was
interested in seeing if a person would continue to administer shock when
he/she was ordered, even when they believed that the recipient of the
shock was harmed. This clip shows one of the participants in Milgram’s
experiment under obvious distress about shocking the learner, but
continuing to give the shock, even after the learner becomes unresponsive.
Placement:
This segment details one of the most famous studies in the history of
psychology. The segment is useful with lectures on social psychology.
Stanley Milgram was interested in the behavior of those who were involved
in the Holocaust. His study was an exploration of obedience. He asked his
participants to take part in an experiment on human learning. In the
experiment it was necessary for the participants to administer shocks to
another participant (actually a confederate of Milgram). With every incorrect
answer by the confederate, the participant was asked to administer a shock.
Actually, no shock was being delivered. Eventually the voltages of the
shock, as displayed on the console used by the participant, became very
high. Milgram was very surprised to find that many participants were
willing to administer shocks that were very likely to harm or kill the
confederate, as long as he took responsibility for their actions.
The segment is also useful for lectures on research methods,
particularly ethics involved in research. Milgram’s study exposed the
participants to a great deal of stress and it is doubtful that such an
experiment would be permissible at a university today. It was a watershed
experiment for the psychological community for deciding just how much
stress research participants could be put through.
Faculty Guide to DIGITAL MEDIA ARCHIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
SEGMENT 42
43
Schachter’s Affiliation Experiment
Description:
This series of clips discuss Stanley Schachter’s experiment on the desire of
the individual to have contact with others in high-fear versus low-fear
situations. The first clip shows footage of the experimenter introducing
himself to a group of subjects as a doctor from the department of neurology
and psychiatry who would be conducting an experiment on the effects of
electric shock. The next clip shows footage from the high-fear and low-fear
condition. Participants in the high-fear condition were told that the shock
would be very painful, whereas the participants in the low-fear condition
were told that the shock would not be painful at all. In the third clip the
participants in both conditions were told that they must leave the room
while the equipment is set up. Each participant was given the choice to wait
alone or in a group. Each participant was then given a questionnaire to fill
out that asks if he/she would prefer to wait alone or in a group and how
strong that preference was. The “real” experiment, of course, did not have
anything to do with the effects of electric shock, but rather with an
individual’s group or alone preference in fearful versus non-fearful
situations. In the fourth clip the experimenter debriefs each of the
participants as to the nature and the experiment. In the final clip Dr. Stanley
Schachter gives a summary of the study and explains why experimentation
was necessary to test his hypotheses about fear and desire for affiliation.
Placement:
This segment is useful with lectures dealing with social psychology.
Schachter’s method was to create fear in a group of strangers and then
compare their desire to affiliate with that of another group that
experienced a much less stressful situation. Schachter found that fear is a
powerful motivator for social cohesion. The group in his experiment that
had been told they would be receiving painful shocks was much more
likely to opt for a situation in which they could await their turn in a group
setting. In this way, Schachter illustrated one of the prime motivating
factors for social activity.