Does Music Inspire Intelligence?

Have you ever wondered if listening to music could make you smarter? Apparently, Zell Miller, the Governor of Georgia back in 1998, believed so and proposed a plan to spend $105,000 of the state’s budget to distribute a cassette/CD of classical music, such as Mozart and Bach, to the parents of each new child born in Georgia. However, after reading a New York Time’s article titled “Georgia’s Governor Seeks Musical Start for Babies” by Kevin Sack and the original journal article by Rauscher, Shaw, & Ky titled “Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship,” I discovered that the original evidence does not support Zell Miller’s decision. Zell Miller’s decision was devoted to stimulating brain development in newborn children; however, the original evidence does not support it because the original evidence focuses on preschool children, around the ages of 3 to 4 years old, and college students, not newborn children. Even though the results of the tests from the original journal article showed listening to classical music improved some of the students’ skills pertaining to certain subjects such as object assembly, the studies were not directed to newborn children and thus Zell Miller’s decision is not properly supported by the original article.

Learning from Video Games

Growing up, I played many genres of video games from Pokémon to violent video games using guns where in order to win I would’ve have to shoot virtual people. It was fun playing violent games despite the fact that enjoying violent games is probably not a good sign. For one thing playing violent games may have especially negative effects on a person’s mindset, for example these games may affect how the player may perceive violence in everyday life. When I was younger I used to be a very big video gamer, I was so engrossed in that activity that without my family monitoring and checking up on me when I was playing these I would probably end up a different person today. The negative effects of video gaming are very individualized, and the effects when playing video games in general may not be seen as strongly in some people than in others. For one thing if a person is so engrossed in a game and becomes too serious about it, they may let their temperament get the better of them when they lose a game. This is one thing that should be looked into because while video games are fun, they should not cause such a violent reaction. When this happens people need to step away from the game controllers, step away from the virtual world, and have fun in reality. Something that I believe people can learn from any video game is no matter how fun it may be to play video games nothing defeats playing games and having with other people in physical world.

Sensation & Perception

Do you have any idea what synesthesia is? Synesthesia is a condition that many people have that occurs when one sense, such as sound, triggers another sense, like taste, at the same time. People with this condition view and learn things differently than other people who do not have it. Today, I watched a TED Talk titled “Different Ways of Knowing” in which Daniel Tammet, an author, talks about his experience of synesthesia; as well as how he and other individuals with synesthesia may sense and perceive different sensations in certain situations. Daniel Tammet mainly discussed how he personally visualizes, learns, and perceives some images, writings, and problems; however, all people with synesthesia are not affected the same way. By this I mean, when one sense such as sound is triggered for two different people with synesthesia, one person’s sense of taste may be triggered, while the other person’s sense of smell may be triggered instead.

I have heard of synesthesia once before, but it was not explained as in depth as it was in this video. This TED Talk enlightened and confused me. This video enlightened me because I now have a better understanding of individuals who have synesthesia than I did before. This video confused me because Daniel Tammet clarified how he saw and understood things, but even afterwards it still sounds complicated to me.

Before today, I thought synesthesia would make day to day life more complicated, but after watching this entire video, it makes me think that day to day life would not be as hard as I make it out to be. I am pretty sure there would still be some obstacles because people with synesthesia still view and perceive things differently than the majority of the people in the world; however, those people still work, do the same the tasks, and live life like every other person.

Why We Sleep

Have you ever wondered why individuals sleep? Well, earlier this week I watched a Ted talk video, titled Why do we Sleep?, in which Russell Foster, circadian neuroscientist, discusses the neuroscience of sleep. In that video, he outlined three prominent theories about why we sleep which were restoration, energy conservation, as well as brain processing and memory consolidation. Out of these three theories I find the restoration theory to be the most convincing about why individuals sleep. I think this because when people sleep they restore the energy they have used up while awake. Proof of this is when a person has just finished performing an action that required a lot of effort, such as exercising or playing an intense game of football, and during or afterwards the person may feel tired and may just want to sleep. This is because they have exerted a great deal of energy and must recharge to gain that energy. And once people have rested they feel better than before, that is if they rested for an ideal amount of time because if not they will still feel a bit tired. I am not saying that the other two theories are not ideal, I just don’t believe that they are the primary reason to why individuals sleep. The reason why I keep saying individuals and not people is because animals need to sleep like people do.

I wish I could sleep more these days but unfortunately I do not have that pleasure. I am attending college and that means long nights filled with homework and studying. My current sleeping habits including going to sleep around one in the morning and then having to wake up around seven or eight a.m. on the weekdays. Because of this I tend to sleep in on the weekends till around lunch time, and that means I wasted several hours of getting homework completed and spending the rest of my day finishing assignments. I do take breaks, but that just causes me to stay up even later. I do not find my sleeping habits to be very healthy, honestly I should be going to be around 11 p.m. and waking up around 8 or 9 a.m. As I go through college, I want to able to catch some more Zs, and hopefully not in the classroom.

Memory Improvement

Do you want to improve your study habits and memorization skills, so you can do better on exams? I always want to do better on exams and I usually tend to make satisfactory grades on them; however, my studying methods could use some improvement. When I study for tests I review the notes I have taken in that class, study any homework assignments, complete any available study guides, and read the textbooks for that intended class. I usually do well in these areas but the hardest ones for me, and the ones I need improvement in, include completing the study guides accurately and reading information from the textbook(s). Completing the study guides are more challenging for me because if I answer the questions incorrectly, and am not given the correct answers before the test to fix my mistakes, I may study the incorrect information and that will negatively affect how I will do on exams. Reading material directly from textbooks is also tough for me because there is usually so much info to cover in them. And for certain subjects, such as science and history courses, it is especially difficult for me to discern what is and is not significant to study.

For my first psychology exam in General Psychology 101C I did not do as well as I wanted. The reason for this is because I did not study every day, and even though I understood a lot of the information discussed in class, I did not keep up with it. There was information on the test that was not discussed in class; however, my psychology teacher did warn the class about this fact. In order to prepare for my next psychology exam, I will see a tutor if I am struggling on a certain subject and spend more time before the test comes to study the information discussed in class and stated in the textbook. I enjoy my psychology class a great deal, and I want to do whatever I can in order to do well in it.

The Neuroscience of a Killer and How One is Born

Have you ever wondered how the brains of psychopathic killers operate? Today, I watched a TED Talk about how people become psychopathic killers. I chose to watch this TED Talk because its title reminded of a Forensic Science class that I took back in high school. Most of the discussions in that course were related to murders and serial killers, so I thought the video might interest me like my old class did. The speaker in the TED Talk was a man by the name of Jimmy Fallon. No, I am not referring to the celebrity entertainer Jimmy Fallon, of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, but a neuroscientist who has taught neuroscience at the University of California.

Jimmy Fallon had studied the brains of several psychopathic killers and came up with a number of pieces of data. Apparently there are several factors that play into the creation of a psychopathic killer, and they are genetics, brain damage, interaction with the environment and when all these factors, occurred in that person’s lifetime. Jimmy Fallon said that to end up with a psychopath in a killer depends upon when exactly the damage occurs. Apparently it is a very precisely timed thing, and depending when the damage occurred defines what kind of psychopath will develop.

Another thing that Jimmy Fallon discussed was that a key component is the development of psychopathic killers are the High Risk Gene, the MAOA gene. This is a variant of the gene that is the general population, but it is sex linked and is on the X-chromosome. This means that people can only receive this gene from their mothers, and it is probably the reason why mostly boys are psychopathic killers are very aggressive. Girls can get one X-chromosome from the mother and one X-chromosome from the father; however, the high risk gene from the mother gets diluted from the gene from the father. This means that girls have less of a chance or getting the MAOA gene. Another interesting variable that he explained was that boys can only receive the X-chromosome from their mothers, this has to do with too much serotonin during that person’s development as baby still inside their mother’s womb. Serotonin is a substance that is supposed to make people feel calm and relaxed; however, if it is in the uterus then the baby is bathed in it. This causes the babies brains become sensitive to serotonin, and so it doesn’t work on the later on. And in order to express the high risk gene in a violent way, then that person would be involved in or witnessing a lot of violence before puberty. As Jimmy Fallon said, a combination of the MAOA gene and witnessing a lot of violence, is a recipe for disaster.

The next thing Jimmy Fallon went on to discuss was that if this combination goes on for several generations then that tends to concentrate these genes. So now both the girls and boys receive the MAOA gene. He also talked a little about his family and his family tree. Apparently, a few of his ancestors were serial killers, including Ezra Cornell and Lizzie Borden.

The factor I found the most interesting of this TED Talk was that Jimmy Fallon actually said that he had ancestors who were murders. Saying something like that, and to the entire world, is something that requires a lot of courage; however, while I do find him trustworthy I do not necessarily trust the information he presented. The reason why I do not trust the information the Jimmy Fallon said about how psychopaths are created sounds a bit fictional. What he said was like saying that there is this element when combined with a lot of stress before puberty creates a psychopath. And while this information might actually be true I don’t really find logical without more evidence and research. The reason why I do trust Jimmy Fallon is because while even though he could have said he was related to killers to just to make a point in his story, would mean he had presented false evidence and I do not believe saying you are related to a murder is something to be taken lightly.

One way to erase my doubts of if Jimmy Fallon’s information is actually logical is to create my own research study that involves using the information Jimmy Fallon presented to see if his claims on how a psychopath is created is accurate. First, I would try to find some couples of different social classes and areas of life who have had and or are about to have a baby. Next I would track those individuals’ process through life, but after making sure if they have the high risk gene and were bathed in serotonin while in the mother’s womb. After that occurs I would look out for when and if they have received brain damage and if they have or will be exposed to high levels of violence. Then I would watch out for them and see if they actually commit murder like a psychopath would. Later, I would conclude my results and make my conclusion. This study is interesting, and it would be nice if society could be able to prevent psychopaths from being developed and killing people.

Development of Proper Parenting

Did you have a good childhood? This is a question that a lot of people may think about a few times in their life. One factor that plays an important role in deciding an answer for this question is how their parents’ raised them, that is if they had parents who raised them. Parents have their own ways of raising their children; however, some parents may use methods that they think, but in reality they are not, beneficial to raising children. There are certain methods, life lessons, as well as must haves that parents must give and teach to their children in order to help them grow up to be happy, healthy, and productive members of society.

Parents are the guiding force leading their children through life until they are ready to take control of their lives and be able to manage surviving in the real world on their own feet. In order to be an ideal parent there are some things that a person needs to be able to do and that includes look after their own children, make sure that they are healthy and happy, and most importantly love their children. Children need love from their parents and to know that they are loved by them. Loving your own child is the most important thing that a parent can give their children; however, that alone is not enough to help them grow up to be healthy and productive members of society. In order to be an ideal parent one must be able to give them kindness, be kind and caring, be able to discipline and give tough love when needed. A parent must be able to make sure that their children are in good health, receiving a proper education, eating healthy, and help with any problems they may have. Parents also need to teach their children important life lessons, facts about the world, how to treat others, how to stand up for themselves and for others. Things that a parent should do is encourage their kids to be active with a group of people or in an activity, allow them to be able to enjoy life, teach them how to be independent and responsible as they get older, and be able to catch their children if they fall or stray too far away. and make sure that their children know their own dignity and self-worth. Three of the most important things that a parent should give their children, alongside love, is letting them know their own dignity and self-worth as well as is teaching them to have a firm belief and faith in God and the church. Everybody should have someone to turn to, someone bigger than themselves to believe in, and will let them know that they do mean something.

A parent is someone who cares for their children and truly loves them, even if they may not be blood related. A bond between a parent and child is something truly special and unique. I might have said earlier that parents’ guide their children, but children also help guide their parents through life and through everything. Being a parent is hard and being an ideal parent is even harder, so even someone does not have all of the little details I have listed that does not make them a lesser parent, it just means that they are still trying to help raise their children as best as they can. On a final note being presented with the title of parent is a gift and not something be taken lightly.

Research Methods – Is Yawning Contagious – First Impression

Have you ever heard about people who go into the world and try to find ancient legends and prove them to be true? Today, I watched a video about people similar to those adventures who call themselves the MythBusters; however, this group focuses more on using scientific logic to figure out the truth behind stories, questions, facts. The MythBusters do not travel the world in search of the Lost City of Atlantis, well I don’t think so. The video I observed was about try to prove if the action of yawning is contagious. The MythBusters sent out a message looking for volunteers to act as test subjects in their experiment. They experimented on the volunteers by placing each individual in their own isolated room, which each had a hidden camera in them, while the MythBusters observed their test subjects from their control room. One of the MythBusters, Carrie, would yawn at two of every three test subjects as she ushers them into their cubicle. She does this in order to figure out if the volunteers would yawn faster, if at all, if they observed the stimulus of yawning. The test subjects don’t do anything but stand in a small room with a paper sign that says: QUITE PLEASE. It does take some time but eventually the volunteers start yawning. After five hours the MythBusters eventually finish experimenting all fifty of their test subjects. The results of this experiment concluded that 29% of their test subjects yawned when they subjected to the stimulus of Carrie yawning, while 25% of these tests subjects still yawned even when they did not observe to Carrie’s yawning. The average time it took for those subjected to Carrie’s yawning to yawn was 9 minutes, while it took those who were not subjected to the yawning seed to yawn in a 9.6-minute average. The MythBusters confirmed that based on their results and how large their test audience was that yawning is contagious.

During this experiment the MythBusters used some very procure methods that made this experiment successful; however, some of methods they used also could have hurt their results. Some of the strengths in the MythBusters procedures include sending out a message to receive willing volunteers for their experiment, placing each volunteer into their own isolated room, watch the test subjects with hidden cameras from a control room, and have someone yawn at two of every three subjects as she ushers them into their cubicle to notice if there is a difference between those who yawn with a stimulus and those who yawn without one. Some of the weak points in the MythBuster’s procedure include not hiding the cameras well enough because some of the test subjects found the cameras and that could have hurt the results of the experiment, or stating the differences in their test subjects because different people who also have different backgrounds and of different ages could react different to this. The overall focus of this experiment was to see if yawning is contagious and as stated before yawning is contagious. Another confirmation that yawning is contagious is that I yawned so many times during this film and even now as I am writing this blog.

The First ‘First’ Impression Post

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step is an accurate phrase describing the position that I am currently in. My name is MontersCollegeBlog and this is my very first blog so hopefully readers will like it. I am a freshman attending Austin College as a Biology Major studying to become a Physical Therapist. I am from Texas and played a lot of sports when I was younger, but then I started focusing more an art and video games. My backup plan if I do not become a P.T. is to work as a Veterinarian because I love animals. Currently, I am taking a Psychology course because I am hoping to learn more about myself, others, and how I might approach different types of people. This is my first Psychology class and that means I have no experience with this type of work. When I hear the word psychology I think of the terms brain, mind, emotions, and thoughts. By the time the class ends at the end of the semester I want my teacher to answer this question: “If people know that they are doing something wrong then shouldn’t that person’s conscience tell them that they shouldn’t do it? And if so what other factors of psychology play a role in this?” Psychology interests me a bit, that is why I am taking this class but there are some topics that I am and am not looking forward towards learning. The topics that I am the most interested in learning are about Memory Encoding, Concussions, and Treating Mental Illness. The topics that I am the least interested in learning about are Theories of Intelligence, Brain Structures, and Neurons. I do not know why I think this way but I guess this is just how I view how I might like those class discussions. Well I am getting tired and need to finish up my other homework assignments, I’m just glad I don’t have to do a project right now. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this little insight into my current predicament. I need to take one step at a time if I want to pass this class. Until my next blog, Hasta Luego!