Now Hear This! Podcasts begin.
Your Peer Leaders have created a podcast to give you an idea of the creativity you can use with this assignment. Remember, the most important criterion for your podcast is that you summarize the psychology topic your group chooses and that you consider either how it was presented on a previous show or how it could be presented. Also, make sure to make reference to your supporting source of information (article, podcast, etc.). Your podcast will be approximately 10 minutes. Listen to your Peer Leader's podcast at: Motivation?
I enjoyed today's conversation regarding Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild. I can't help but identify with the determination that Chris had to live an authentic life and to search his soul for the essence of what it means to be human. I think that a strong, emphathic soul is very vulnerable to the ideals of passionate writers like Tolstoy, Thoreau, and London. There is a "terrible beauty" in the idea of connecting to the world in a stripped-down, intimate way...it's a call that can be extremely enticing. In a culture that is wrapped up in itself, it can be hard for the reflective soul to thrive--to breathe and grow. Personally, I've always been afraid that my travels and adventures would end some day...I understand what Chris means when he says that "the joy of life comes from our encounteres with new experiences." In some ways, I can't shake the feeling of voyeurism that is a part of reading Chris's story. On other hand, I feel grateful for having had the chance to see the world from his eyes, if only for a little while. To see the wonderful website for the Into the Wild movie, go to: 
Two weeks ago we discussed how music lessons can improve intelligence. Now, a recent study shows that music lessons can also improve reading and writing skills. ScientificAmerica.com summarizes the new study and highlights that the improvements may be the result of changes to the brain stem. To find out more about about this fascinating process, read the full summary at 
One of my greatest pet-peeves as an experimental psychologist is the perception that psychology is not a "hard" science. Therefore, I was ecstatic when I read an article in this month's Observer by APS President John Cacioppo discussing recent research demonstrating the importance of psychological science. Most interestingly, Cacioppo reviews a study by Boyack, Klavans & Borner (2005) demonstrating that psychology is one of the seven hub disciplines of science (along with mathematics, physics, chemistry, earth sciences, medicine, and the social sciences). As Cacioppo notes, the results of the study "indicate that scientific contributions in psychology advance not only the discipline but many other scientific fields as well." I'm proud that my discipline is doing it's part to support the scientific process!
I am so glad that you all enjoyed watching E. O. Wilson's TED talk. I found the talk inspiring and am very sincere in saying that it reminded me of the breadth and depth of the world around me. It's easy to be self-centered in our fast-paced culture, we need visionaries like Wilson reminding us to appreciate the sheer wonder of this life we share. When researching Wilson's work, I also found a very interesting interview on NewScientist called Can E. O. Wilson really save the world?. In this interview, he talks about his most recent book which calls for "...evangelical Christians and scientific secularists to unite..." in order to try to save our environment. The idea is that, no matter how you think the world came to be, we all have the responsibility to protect it. The interview is fascinating and you can listen to it at: 
Emily has shared a cool song by artist Michael Tolcher called The Sun Song. She thought it was appropriate given the sun icon of Sunday Morning. I thought this brought up an interesting question...what would the theme song of our class be? Nominate your choice by commenting on this entry. If you are interested in hearing Emily's choice, you can watch a fan video that is set to The Sun Song by following this YouTube link: 
As I commented on Kirsten's blog, there are just so many things I want to learn more about. As we continue to watch Sunday Morning, I realize just how varied my interests are. A Police tribute band...who knew? The destruction of insects would herald the end of the world...oops! Flip flops as a way to literally walk back into time...really? I have to admit, I love how much I take away from the show, even when I don't initially find the topics intriguing. In terms of discussion this week, I've noticed many of you opening up more and more to the class...in some cases sharing really interesting ideas that hadn't occurred to me. In particular, I really enjoyed our conversation about what makes a hero. We seemed to reach a consensus that, in today's culture, our heroes are more "real" than heroes from the past. Traits we identified for heroes included perseverance, humility, honesty, compassion, responsibility, a willingness to take risks, an ability to handle pressure, and a sense of allegiance. We also acknowledged that there may be a very fine line between heroes and villains--that, when it comes down to it, perspective may come into play. Finally, we discussed that while we all have a number of personal heroes, only a few of them may reach legend status because legends grow over time as more and more people hear the story.
One of the most interesting findings in class for me this week was the idea that the music we listen to can signal to other people more about our personality than what we read, what movies we watch, or what clothes we wear. It appears that music can be used to accurately assess many aspects of someone's personality--even someone you have just met (or haven't met at all in the case of the Rentfrow & Gosling study). For example, listening to someone's top ten list helped participants accurately assess someone's openness to experience, emotional stability, and agreeableness. Why is music such a helpful cue to someone's personality? Rentfrow & Gosling suggest that perhaps we selectively choose music that we think protrays the personality we have. Another suggestion they give is that our music selection may have more to do with managaing our mood and arousal levels. Whatever the reason, the next time you want to learn more about someone, ask them for their music top-ten!
One segment we didn't get to talk a lot about this week (because many of you didn't see it) was the piece about the Hampton art community. As a long-time viewer of the show, I recognized one of the artists they mentioned, Chuck Close, as an artist that Sunday Morning has been interviewing periodically over the last 20 years. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the video that showed how his art has changed over the years. I thought his story was particularly inspiring because at age 49 Close became a quadriplegic. But despite this tragedy, he was able to find a way to adapt and continue to his work, creating the photorealism approach for which he is perhaps most famous. Eary this past summer, Sunday Morning presented a montage of Close interviews from before his illness to the present day. In fact, this was one of the segments that convinced me the show would make a great class. If you'd like to see Close at work, you can check out this brief video from the Sunday Morning catalogue: 
Cognitive Group started this week with a great article on study strategies that impact long-term memory for information learned in class. One of the most interesting findings was that overlearning (practicing material immediately after you've mastered it) does not improve long-term memory. Instead, the research showed that it is much better to set the material you've mastered aside for future study and use that extra study time to review previously learned material or to focus on other information you would like to learn. I also thought that the article made a rather insightful suggestion regarding how textbooks should design practice problem sections. And, of course, you've got to love an article that makes a strong case for cumlative exams, right? To find out more, check out the article: 
I have to admit that I was somewhat nervous when our first Sunday Morning episode started this week. I'm convinced that the show has a lot to offer...but I didn't know if I would be able to find readings and follow-up information on the stories on a week to week basis. However, I have to say I think we did a good job with the first episode. I think our discussion of Positive Psychology should give you all a good idea of what article discussions in upper level psych classes might be like (of course, they usually tend to be a little more in-depth and cover a lot more about design, implications, etc.). And I enjoyed hearing the stories that you all were brave enough to share. I've been telling my colleagues I have a really interesting group of students...and I got to see that again on Thursday. The only topic we didn't get to that I wanted to touch on was the musical instrument story--I think there is a lot to debate there in terms of how music may positively impact student performance and how we make decisions regarding how to use charitable funds, etc. Enjoy the show on Sunday!
I think today's first "open floor discussion" was a good start for the semester. Your Peer Leaders and I noticed that almost everyone contributed, and I hope that soon, everyone will feel comfortable contributing and directing the flow of conversation. I look forward to examining some of the segments in more detail with you on Thursday. I've never been a fan of Southwest Airlines, but it will be interesting to consider how the leadership's creation of a "positive" work environment may actually be "good business." And, of course, I look forward to the challenge of convincing you all that the Iowa State Fair segment was the best from this week's episode!