Remarks to the Ceremony of Achievement

Address presented at Dardanelle High School, Dardanelle, A

Remarks During New Beginnings

Address presented at Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, A

The Pavlov-Yerkes Connection: What Was Its Origin?

Historians of psychology traditionally acknowledge Robert Mearns Yerkes as responsible for introducing the work of Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov to American psychologists. The introduction occurred in a 1909 Psychological Bulletin paper coauthored with Harvard graduate student, Sergius Morgulls. Yet how Yerkes, who did not read Russian and who never personally used Pavlov\u27s conditioning paradigm, came to know and appreciate Pavlov\u27s endeavors is unclear. This paper examines how Yerkes became acquainted with salivary conditioning studies and suggests a reason why the 1909 paper was actually written

Portraits of a Discipline: An Examination of Introductory Psychology Textbooks in America

The time has gone by when any one person could hope to write an adequate textbook of psychology. The science has now so many branches, so many methods, so many fields of application, and such an immense mass of data of observation is now on record, that no one person can hope to have the necessary familiarity with the whole. - An author of an introductory psychology text If we compare general psychology textbooks of today with those of from ten to twenty years ago we note an undeniable trend toward amelioration of terminology, simplification of style, and popularization of subject matter. - A reviewer of an introductory text When were these remarks made? in the 1980s? The 1960s? Perhaps the 1940s? No, the first quote came from the preface to McDougall\u27s Outline of Psychology, published in 1923 (p.vii). The second quote came from a 1937 review of Vaughn\u27s (1936) General Pscyhology (Ewert, 1937, p.173). These comments, which easily could have come from a contemporary author or reviewer, demonstrate that some aspects of the introductory textbook enterprise have not changed much over the years. Of course, many other facets of introductory textbooks show that they have changed dramatically. Our portrait of 100 years of introductory psychology texts shows that they have been characterized by both stability and change

History and Psychology: Shall the Twain Ever Meet?

As all detectives (fictional or real) know, every story contains at least an element of truth, and the most likely is usually the most truthful. Those trying to cover their tracks know or discover to their dismay that interrogators use that principle to their own advantage. Early in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the disguised Huck realizes this simple reality when he first returns to town after his faked death and “pumps” Mrs. Judith Loftus for information: “Somehow it didn’t seem to me that I said it [his name] was Mary before,” Huck relates; “seemed to me I said it was Sarah; so I felt sort of cornered, and was afeared maybe I was looking it, too.” ([Garden City, NY: Nelson Doubleday, nd], p. 56). Huck’s outlandish fabrications always land him in trouble. As Jack Higgins has the redoubtable Liam Devlin note of his “cover” in The Eagle Has Flown, “the best kind of lie is the one that sticks closest to the truth.”(p.165, 1991). Various disciplines have various methods, or tools, for assessing truth and thus telling likely stories to explain the facts at hand. Again as all good detectives know, the more tools at one’s disposal, the greater the probability of ascertaining and constructing a credible account of the world. This article urges adding the tool of historical methodology to students’ research repertories. Our urging is based on our conceptions of the scholar as detective, of man as human, of student as scholar, of history and psychology as disciplines, of cognition, and of research. Some of this may sound heretical; we ask your indulgence and your assent that heresies contain some element of truth

Resveratrol Effects on Astrocyte Function: Relevance to Neurodegenerative Diseases

Inflammatory molecules have been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Resveratrol is an antifungal compound found in the skins of red grapes and other fruits and nuts. We examined the ability of resveratrol to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of inflammatory molecules from primary mouse astrocytes. Resveratrol inhibited LPS-induced production of nitric oxide (NO); the cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), and IL-6; and the chemokine monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), which play critical roles in innate immunity, by astrocytes. Resveratrol also suppressed astrocyte production of IL-12p40 and IL-23, which are known to alter the phenotype of T cells involved in adaptive immunity. Finally resveratrol inhibited astrocyte production of C-reactive protein (CRP), which plays a role in a variety of chronic inflammatory disorders. Collectively, these studies suggest that resveratrol may be an effective therapeutic agent in neurodegenerative diseases initiated or maintained by inflammatory processes

More Than Mere Weather: James\u27s Talks to Students About Life

William James addressed the last 3 lectures in Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life\u27s Ideals (1899/1958) specifically to students. The first of these lectures, The Gospel of Relaxation, encouraged students to be both relaxed and active. The second, On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings, promoted awareness of and empathy for the diversity of individual human interest. The last lecture, What Makes Life Significant, argued that neither ideals nor passion alone gave life meaning but that the 2 in confluence yield significance. In all, James shared insights suggesting how students might improve their lives

Fostering Insight into Personal Conceptions of the Elderly: A Simulation Exercise

As a class exercise, Human Development students adopted the roles of elderly individuals by designing costumes to simulate the physical constraints and appearance of advancing age. Then, while engaging in everyday activities, they observed the reactions of themselves and others to their condition and behavior. This activity allowed students to examine their personal conceptions of the elderly. Students reported that the exercise was educational and that it fostered empathy with senior adults

Expanding Coverage in the History Course by Toasting Significant but Often Overlooked Contributors

This teaching activity attempts to expand the range of contributions usually covered in a history of psychology course by incorporating the social custom of toasting