Psychophysics to Literary Experiments: Gertrude Stein and Neural Composition

The last chapter returns to automatisms and the concept of the reflex arc as they were investigated and rethought in Gertrude Stein’s early writings. Critics frequently analyze Stein’s work by reference to William James, one of her teachers at Harvard. Only a few think it important that Hugo Münsterberg, the German physiological psychologist, supervised most of her work in the Harvard psychology laboratory. I argue that Stein sided with Münsterberg against James’s interest in split personalities and his belief that they explained automatic writing. Stein conducted an experiment to discount such ideas, and in the process she discovered her process of allowing automatism to foster invention in composition. But, eventually recoiling from Münsterberg’s aim to exploit unconscious physiological automatisms for industrial efficiency and social order, Stein later experiments in Tender Buttons with ways to escape such determined responses in the creation of meaning.

Strength Is Still a Weakness in Coalition Formation: Replicating and Understanding the Strength-Is-Weakness Effect

A key observation in coalition formation is that bargainers with most resources are often excluded from coalitions: the Strength-is-Weakness effect. Previous studies have suffered from low sample sizes and lack of (appropriate) incentives and have rarely focused on underlying processes. To address these issues, we conducted a cross-platform replication using the Online Coalition Game. We replicated the Strength-is-Weakness effect in a psychology laboratory, on Amazon Mechanical Turk, and on Prolific. Moreover, our results showed that the equity norm shapes the Strength-is-Weakness effect in two ways. First, strong bargainers claim a higher larger of the payoffs than weak bargainers do, making them less attractive coalition partners. Second, weak bargainers expect strong bargainers to make these larger claims, directing weak bargainers to each other from the outset. Finally, the studies suggest that the Online Coalition Game is a viable tool for conducting high-powered coalition formation research.

Do Effect Sizes in Psychology Laboratory Experiments Mean Anything in Reality?

The artificial environment of a psychological laboratory experiment offers an excellent method for testing whether a causal relationship exists, — but it is mostly useless for predicting the size and power of such effects in normal life. In comparison with effects out in the world, laboratory effects are often artificially large, because the laboratory situation is set up precisely to capture this effect, with extraneous factors screened out. Equally problematic, laboratory effects are often artificially small, given practical and ethical constraints that make laboratory situations watered-down echoes of what happens in life. Furthermore, in many cases the very notion of a true effect size (as if it were constant across different manipulations and dependent variables) is absurd. These problems are illustrated with examples from the author’s own research programs. It is also revealing that experimental effect sizes, though often quite precisely calculated and proudly integrated into meta-analyses, have attracted almost zero attention in terms of substantive theory about human mental processes and behavior. At best, effect sizes from laboratory experiments provide information that could help other researchers to design their experiments, — but that means effect sizes are shop talk, not information about reality. It is recommended that researchers shift toward a more realistic appreciation of how little can be learned about human mind and behavior from effect sizes in laboratory studies.

Using Students’ Concept-building Tendencies to Better Characterize Average-Performing Student Learning and Problem-Solving Approaches in General Chemistry

Students’ concept-building approaches (abstraction vs. exemplar), identified a priori with a cognitive-psychology laboratory task, have been extended to learning complex topics in general chemistry. Here, the effect concept-building approaches have on the problem-solving behaviors of average-achieving students was probed via think-aloud interviews.

ESTABLISHMENT AND CURRENT STATE OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES IN AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY

The development of psychology in Azerbaijan is closely linked with the opening of the first higher education institutions in the country since the 1920s. In 1919, Baku State University, the first higher education institution in the republic, and in 1921, the first Pedagogical Institute were established. Departments of pedagogy and psychology and the first psychology laboratories were established in these universities. The first psychology laboratory in the country was organized in 1926 under the leadership of prominent psychologist F. Ibrahimbeyov at Baku State University, where psychological devices such as chronoscope, tachistoscope, visual adaptometer, audiometer, ergograph, etc. were installed.The development of psychology as a science in our republic began in the 20s and 30s of the last century, and at that time there were no national psychologists. Therefore, Russian scientists, Azerbaijani philosophers, pedagogues and neurologists taught psychology in the newly opened universities. Among them, the services of A.O. Makovelsky, A.K. Zakuzade, F.A. Ibrahimbeyov, H.B. Shakhtakhtinski, S.N. Hajiyev, V.I. Mustafayev and others should be especially noted.

a Priori and Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Social Acceptability of Innovative Robot-Assisted Gait Training by Users

Background An innovative mobile and modular robot for gait rehabilitation was tested according to a psychosocial intervention framework, involving users, neuroscientists, engineers, and a social psychology laboratory. The study included a pre-design phase allowing the definition of the robot specifications. Our main objective was to study the social acceptability of the robot prototype among users and determine the relevance of the technological options chosen and the possible obstacles to the dissemination of the robot in light of the users' perceptions and experience with the robot. Methods The a priori acceptability of the robot by patients with a neurological impairment that altered their gait capacity and physical therapist (PT), both naïve to the robot, was evaluated just before its implementation in 2 rehabilitation departments and then that after 7 days (D7), and 28 days (D28), and 5 months (M5, only for the PT). The evaluation was conducted using questionnaires with Likert scale (maximum 7), according to the UTAUT (unified theory of acceptance and usage of technology) model, developed by the social psychology laboratory. Each patient participated in three 45-minute rehabilitation sessions with the robot per week for four weeks, for a total of 12 sessions, conducted by the 4 PT included. The change in the responses to the questionnaires as a function of time and the influence of the degree of gait recovery of the patients were analyzed, as well as the evolution of balance and gait parameters. Results 36 patients, mean age 58 years (SD10) and 4 PT were included. The robot was well accepted. It appeared to be useful, usable, and socially acceptable by both patients and PT and the intention to use was rated repeatedly ≥ 5. The rehabilitation activities met the functional expectations defined during the pre-design phase. In addition, a significant improvement in balance and gait was observed. Conclusion The acceptability of the robot was good for both patients and PT. Inclusion of a pre-design phase probably reduced the resistance to change often observed in healthcare organizations. The results concerning balance and gait are encouraging. They must be confirmed by a randomized controlled trial.

A Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning (POGIL)-Based Curriculum for the Experimental Psychology Laboratory

We implemented NSF-funded computerized Experimental Psychology Laboratories at Touro College and incorporated process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL). We designed POGIL modules for the labs and conducted workshops for faculty on the implementation of the guided-inquiry approach, including learning teams. Data were collected from students who took experimental psychology with and without using POGIL, to assess the impact of the curriculum materials. Achievement was measured with (a) selected items from the Major Field Achievement Tests (MFAT) and (b) our own assessment instrument. Results indicated that students using the POGIL materials performed significantly better on both achievement tests than students not using them. This is the first demonstration that POGIL led to higher achievement than non-POGIL instruction for experimental psychology. These results are consistent with previous POGIL findings in the field of chemistry.

Do Effect Sizes in Psychology Laboratory Experiments Mean Anything in Reality?

The artificial environment of the psychological laboratory experiment offers an excellent method for testing whether a causal relationship exists — but it is mostly useless for predicting the size and power of such effects out in the world. A laboratory effect may be artificially inflated or deflated in comparison with the same causal process outside the laboratory. Indeed, in many cases the very notion of a true effect size (regardless of type of manipulation or dependent variable) is absurd. At best, effect sizes from laboratory experiments provide information that could help other researchers to design their experiments — but that means effect sizes are shop talk, not information about reality. NOTE: Comment articles are invited at the journal.

Seductive Details in the Flipped Classroom: The Impact of Interesting but Educationally Irrelevant Information on Student Learning and Motivation

In this study, we assessed the impact of providing students with short video clips highlighting the relevance of material they are learning in the genetics classroom to their everyday lives. These interesting but non–learning objective oriented clips, referred to as “seductive details,” have been studied extensively in laboratory contexts. In laboratory studies, seductive details have been shown to actually decrease learning, leading some to recommend that any information not directly pertaining to academic learning outcomes be removed from education materials. We aimed to uncover effects of seductive details in an actual college course, in a manner divorced from the confounding variation introduced by instructor-level differences in personality and lecture styles. Our results show that, in a flipped-classroom environment, seductive details do not harm students’ content attainment, interest, or perceived learning, but they are memorable. Students with high background knowledge of genetics reported greater learning after watching videos containing seductive details than students who watched equivalent videos without seductive details, but there was no difference in quiz scores between the groups. These results contradict some of the major effects observed throughout decades of studies conducted in artificial psychology laboratory environments and highlight possible affective benefits of instructors using seductive details.