What is she thinking? Mirror neurons have been hailed by some as a discovery of major importance (for exampl,e the neurologist V.S. Ramachandran). It is claimed that they may explain the ability of humans to understand what someone else is feeling and thinking. This is not mind-reading but ‘Theory of Mind’ – the understanding that other people have a separate mind to your own and therefore do not see or experience the world as you do. A certain group of neurons were discovered in macaque monkeys which were activated when the monkey was inactive itself but was watching another monkey perform an action. The big question is whether such mirror neurons, as they are called, will be able to explain empathy, autism, morality, language and more, or whether it’s all a storm in a tea cup .
This topic is covered in the A2 specification that some of you will be studying – so you might be interested in a recent item in the New Scientist. A team of scientists have provided evidence that mirror neurons (MNs) are not always activated when understanding the actions of others. This overturns the current views on MNs and suggests that a rethink may be needed.
Posts archived in Cognition and development
What is she thinking? Mirror neurons have been hailed by some as a discovery of major importance (for exampl,e the neurologist V.S. Ramachandran). It is claimed that they may explain the ability of humans to understand what someone else is feeling and thinking. This is not mind-reading but ‘Theory of Mind’ – the understanding that other people have a separate mind to your own and therefore do not see or experience the world as you do. A certain group of neurons were discovered in macaque monkeys which were activated when the monkey was inactive itself but was watching another monkey perform an action. The big question is whether such mirror neurons, as they are called, will be able to explain empathy, autism, morality, language and more, or whether it’s all a storm in a tea cup .
This topic is covered in the A2 specification that some of you will be studying – so you might be interested in a recent item in the New Scientist. A team of scientists have provided evidence that mirror neurons (MNs) are not always activated when understanding the actions of others. This overturns the current views on MNs and suggests that a rethink may be needed.
Natalie Portman is best known for her acting, in films such as Star Wars and Cold Mountain. However, she isn’t just a pretty face and talented actress but also a keen student of Psychology, having studied for a degree in the subject at the prestigious Harvard University. While there she was the co-author of a journal article (using her real name of Natalie Hershlag). The research study concerned object permanence in young infants, a concept introduced by Jean Piaget to explain the ability to understand that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight, such as a toy being hidden behind a pillow. Piaget regarded object permanence as one of the early milestones in developed, achieved around the age of 8 months. (Though, other researchers, such as Renée Baillargeon, have devised numerous ingenious experiments to demonstrate that infants may have this ability at a much younger age). The research by Natalie and her co-workers looked at the role of brain maturation in object permanence. Specifically they studied frontal lobe activity in infants using a new technique – near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Other brain scanning techniques don’t work with infants because they wriggle about too much, whereas NIRS involves wearing a kind of high-tech hat. In NIRS an infrared light to detect how much oxygenated blood is in target regions of the brain, which indicates what regions are most active. Using this technique the study showed that children who had not developed object permanence showed no activity in the frontal lobes, whereas in children who did look for a hidden object (i.e. had object permanence) the frontal lobes were active. This supports the view that frontal lobe activity underlies object permanence. The study was also important in developing a technique that could be used in studying the brain development of infants.
Brain decline begins at 27……
Professor Timothy Salthouse of Virginia University found reasoning, speed of thought and spatial visualisation all decline in our late 20s.
Therapies designed to stall or reverse the ageing process may need to start much earlier, he said
Over FIFTY psychological explanations of learning – all in one place…..
I wonder if some kind of advanced form of theoretical systematic review could iron out all of the inevitable overlaps and maybe shake it all down to a manageable three or four key factors? – I wonder what they’d be? Would the ’key’ theorists everybody has heard of play the biggest role? Or would some obscure approach that seldom emerges in lectures outside of a PhD course prove to have the most robust supporting evidence? – I often feel a lot of the classics we teach, in every field of psychology, can carry a weight or ‘historical resonance’ far beyond the quality of the actual research results….
My money would be on Vygotsky – not for any reason other than it feels right to me (You might get a mark for this very feeling in an exam if you call it ‘intuitive appeal’). For example, I like his idea of ‘scaffolding’ :
Instructional scaffolding is the provision of sufficient supports to promote learning when concepts and skills are being first introduced to students. These supports may include:
- Resources
- A compelling task
- Templates and guides
- Guidance on the development of cognitive and social skills
These supports are gradually removed as students develop autonomous learning strategies, thus promoting their own cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning skills and knowledge. Teachers help the students master a task or a concept by providing support. The support can take many forms such as outlines, recommended documents, storyboards, or key questions.
- building a tower of knowledge together with a nudge and a prod – shoring up this bit, talking up that bit onto a firmer footing. It’s a pleasingly rugged, masculine model of teaching- Like the guys who scaffolded our place: Roll up in a van whistling a cheery tune, throw up a rough structure for students to build their knowledge skywards, knock off mid-afternoon, never come back to take it down again….
Matters of psychological interest conveyed for your convenience and edification in the modern realplayer format. Bought to you by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the wonders of the electronic interweb: